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Live From...

Dealing With Dennis; The War on Terror; Mission: Afghanistan

Aired July 11, 2005 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Dealing with Dennis. Damaging floods across the South. We're live from the hard-hit areas.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Navy SEAL rescued. New details on how his handwriting saved his life in the mountains of Afghanistan.

PHILLIPS: Thousands of people gather to remember a horrific massacre, while critics wonder why those responsible have not been caught. We're live on the special ceremonies.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.

BLITZER: And I'm Wolf Blitzer. This special edition of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

PHILLIPS: Well, it was no trip to the beach, but it could have been worse. Less than a day after Hurricane Dennis came ashore on Santa Rosa Island in the Florida Panhandle, most people are comparing it favorably, thankfully, to Ivan, which hit the same stretch of coast last September.

At this point, Dennis is a depression, spreading heavy rain from the Panhandle to the southern Ohio Valley. And forecasters warn it may be there for days.

More than 360,000 homes and businesses are in the dark today in northwest Florida alone. Tens of thousands more in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Very early estimates of storm-related insurance claims approach $2.5 billion. That's less than half the pay-outs from Ivan.

BLITZER: Ordinarily, the fishing town of St. Marks, Florida, sits a few miles north of the Apalachee Bay. Today the town and the bay are pretty well inseparable. CNN's Chad Myers is there. CNN's Dan Lothian is further west on Pensacola Beach.

Chad, let's go to you first. What's the latest?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The latest is, Wolf, that we are getting a lot of help here. The Red Cross is now in town. The power line companies are in town. And they're in town from all over the country.

These power line guys have been driving for hours and hours. And in some cases, even a day or two to get here, because they knew most of Florida and all the way possibly even over to Alabama and Mississippi are going to need a lot more help than what actually just Florida power could do.

What we're seeing now, though, is the clean-up. People are actually realizing what has happened. They are looking around, they are looking inside.

A lot of folks don't even live here. Maybe they live in Tallahassee, they have a little place here on the ocean that they thought was safe. They are coming down, taking a look at it, and realizing that it was no longer safe.

Obviously it is much higher than the 1985 Hurricane Kate that brought in this wash. This wash of water, because of the wind -- the wind actually came up from Tampa, blew across the Steinhatchee River, right into Apalachee Bay, right into the point, right into the point that is St. Marks, right on the very tippy top of that Apalachee Bay on the western side of the peninsula. As the waves continued to push up, the water continued to push up.

Now, as soon as the wind shifted, the water went down as fast as it came up. But the problem is, a lot of folks, including the folks at Posey's, one of the world-famous places in this town -- only 300 people in this tow, but it's world famous anyway -- this place rust really got wrecked.

In business since 1940. The owners are going to rebuild. They don't know if they have to rebuild on the same site or can they keep the same building.

The problem with this flood was that this was a saltwater flood. We don't talk about saltwater floods much. Most floods come from rain water.

The rain gets in a creek and stream. It gets in the river. The river goes up, and you flood the house. That's a freshwater flood. That's completely different than the water out of the Gulf of Mexico and running back into the land.

Now you've got saltwater in the electrics. Now you've got saltwater all around the copper water pipes. You have saltwater in the wood. Ask that's a completely different restoration than a freshwater flood -- Wolf.

BLITZER: So basically what you are saying, the water that came into St. Marks came in from the Gulf. The water just sort of surged into that little town?

MYERS: That is exactly correct. There was some surge in St. George. There was a little surge in Apalachicola. But the big surge was here.

Wolf, think about it like if you have a funnel, and you plug the bottom of a funnel and you fill it all the way up to the top. Well, the bottom of the funnel, the middle of the funnel, was St. Marks. It was the deepest. The farther you get away from St. Marks, the shallower the surge was. But we got it the worst here. Ten feet over mean sea level here. And that took about -- took almost every business here in downtown St. Marks. They're going to have to rebuild, and it's going to take a long time.

BLITZER: A sad story indeed. Chad Myers, thanks very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now to Dan Lothian, surveying the damage in Pensacola Beach, Florida.

Dan, tell us what you know.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, on Santa Rosa Island. We were not allowed to come over here until just about an hour ago because the bridge leading here, there was some concern about the integrity of that bridge.

They checked it out. They say that the bride is OK, at least one side of it.

They were also concerned about a lot of debris out there on the ground. And with good reason. Take a look behind me.

This is one of the large hotels or building structures that received extensive damage during Hurricane Ivan. They were repairing that building, not far from completion on fixing that building up.

The scaffolding that is attached to that building, they did not remove it. I was talking to one of the police officers here, and they said they just left it in place.

When the wind started whipping through here -- of course, this being one of the harshest points of that storm -- when the wind came through here, it sheered off a big section of the scaffolding. It came tumbling down, flew over to this visitor's center, and sheered off the back end of that building.

Take a look at some of the pictures that we shot as we were coming in here. You could get a good view of all of the damage.

We're driving in through the main road after crossing over on the bridge. You could see a lot of trees that were down. The right side of the entrance, the lane that comes in on the right side, was covered with a lot of debris.

And then over on the left side, right along the road we saw a couple of wave runners and other debris that was washed up right there from the shore on to the street. As we came into this parking lot where we're currently at, right along Pensacola Beach, debris everywhere and more damage.

We have not had a chance to go beyond this point because police officials telling us that it's simply too dangerous. There's a lot of power lines that are down, a lot of trees that are down. They have a lot of crews out there doing clean-up as we speak. Now, one other thing. Before folks, the residents who live over here were evacuated, they got these stickers that would allow them to come back. It would be proof that you are a resident here. We are told that right now as we speak they should be allowing some of those folks who have the stickers to return here.

One other note as well about the power outages. We've been talking so much about that.

At the peek of this storm, about 60 percent of this region was left without power. The total being around 240,000.

The numbers are much better than that now because about a thousand power crews are out there trying to restore power. And we are told about 3,000 more crew on the way here. They are hoping that they can get everyone back on line soon. But officials telling us it could take as long as two weeks -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Dan Lothian, live from Pensacola, Florida. Thank you.

And the eastward side of Dennis is causing significant flooding today across a big swathe of Georgia. In the Atlanta, Dennis has dumped upwards of six inches of rain, with more on the way. And at this hour, the entire Atlanta area is under a flood warning, with a watch in effect for much of the rest of the state. Hundreds of homes have been evacuated, and boats were used just south of Atlanta to evacuate at least two neighborhoods.

And in parts of Alabama, it's a good day to be a contractor, that's for sure. Especially if you have your own generator.

Besides scattered damage to homes and businesses, Alabama's biggest worry is the far-flung loss of electricity. More than a quarter of a million people are without power today as far north as Birmingham.

BLITZER: What remains of Dennis is soaking much of the South today, even parts of the Midwest. Jacqui Jeras is going to bring us up to date right now from the CNN weather center -- Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BLITZER: CNN.com continues to follow the impact of Hurricane Dennis. You can watch free video of the storm coming ashore and see the pictures of the damage. Just go to cnn.com/hurricane to see how the remnants of the storm will affect where you live.

PHILLIPS: We are going to change gears just a bit now. And in the shadow of the bombings in London, President Bush spoke this morning on the status of the war on terrorism.

CNN's Bob Franken with the story now from the White House -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, he had planned this trip to Quantico, Virginia, and the FBI Academy for the speech before the attacks in London, but those attacks gave him a new framework for it. It was, for the most part, a defense of his war on terror. It's something that we've been hearing quite often, including the controversial parts, which would include the most controversial, is the connection here with the war in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will keep the terrorists on the run until they have no place left to hide. And the war on terror in Iraq is now a central front. The terrorists fight in Iraq because they know that the survival of their hateful ideology is at stake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: There are other controversial policies which were also brought up by the president. The Patriot Act, which faces renewal of 16 of its parts, the president said they are necessary. Civil libertarians have been battling that.

And also the creation of a new domestic internal unit at the FBI. Again, many are saying who are critics of the policy that it just presents another opportunity for abuse and domestic spying. But the president has a new framework now, and he used it. And that is the attacks on London -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Bob Franken live from the White House. Thanks, Bob.

BLITZER: In London today, the British prime minister, Tony Blair, said evidence gathered in connection with last week's bombings suggest involvement of Islamic extremists. As Blair addressed the House of Commons, police raised the death toll to 52.

With reports suggesting investigators are groping for leads, Blair assured Britons the killers will be pursued relentlessly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I cannot give details for obvious reasons of the police investigation now under way. I can say it is among the most vigorous and intense that this country has ever seen.

We will pursue those responsible, not just the perpetrators, but the planners of this outrage, wherefore they are. And we will not rest until they are identified, and as far as humanely possible, brought to justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Also today, police announced that four days after the bombing they've now identified one of the victims. The identification process expected to take weeks.

PHILLIPS: New details on the rescue of a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan.

BLITZER: Ahead on this special edition of LIVE FROM, the story may prove that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. We'll go live to the Pentagon.

PHILLIPS: New pictures of the damage Dennis left behind. We're going to go live to our special Hurricane One unit.

BLITZER: A massacre memorial. Special ceremonies about to get under way. We'll take you there live.

We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: In Iraq, suspected insurgents launch another deadly attack. It erupted at an Iraq army checkpoint early today just north of Baghdad. Seven members of the Iraqi army were killed. Five other people were injured.

This attack comes on the heels of an especially bloody Sunday in Iraq. Bombings killed at least 30 people and wounded up to 75 others. U.S. military officials also reporting that two Marines were killed by artillery fire during combat operations in Iraq.

With violence on the rise in Afghanistan, the U.S. military are sending reinforcements. With that story, plus word on the fate of a missing Navy SEAL, CNN's Barbara Starr joining us now live from the Pentagon -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, let's get to that missing SEAL first, because there is a lot to say about that entire operation. Over the weekend, the U.S. military did recover the body of the fourth SEAL of hat four-man SEAL reconnaissance team that went missing on June 28. Now, that brings it to three of the four men having perished, one rescued.

What we can tell you is the fourth man, despite Taliban claims, was apparently never in captivity in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. His body recovered. No indication he was in captivity. But now that everyone is accounted for, we are learning some riveting details about the man who did survive, who was rescued, the one SEAL back in the United States now, we were told, rejoining his family.

When that fire fight broke out on June 28, on that 10,000-foot mountain, Wolf, this one Navy SEAL survived. He had wounds in his legs. We are told he walked three to four kilometers through those mountains trying to evade the insurgents who were still pursuing him, by all accounts.

And he was rescued by an Afghan villager traveling through those mountains who came across him. We are told that Afghan villager took him in hand, escorted him to his village, and put him in hiding.

Now, the Taliban, we are told, in that region came to understand that an American was hiding there. The villagers, we are told, refused to give up the American.

We are told how he was rescued was this: that the Navy SEAL wrote a note verifying his identity, verifying his location. The Afghans took it down the mountain to the nearest U.S. forces they could find. And then a ground rescue mission was launched, because once that note was in hand, the Americans were fairly sure they were not walking into an ambush in that village.

They knew that an American troop was there. They went after him and rescued him. We now know he is back in the United States being reunited with his family -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. That's good news on that front. Very quickly, Barbara, what's the latest on new troops heading to Afghanistan.

The U.S. military has announced, Wolf, today 700 members of the 82nd Airborne will deploy to Afghanistan in the next two weeks. This was on the table but not finalized. Now it is.

They are going to go in advance of these elections coming up in September, with the rise in violence, especially in the east and the south. Clearly, U.S. commanders want a little cushion, want a few more troops there. They will join the 17,000 U.S. troops already in Afghanistan -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thank you very much.

And this note. A manhunt is under way right now in Afghanistan after the apparent escape of four detainees from the main U.S. military base north of Kabul. The men, all suspected terrorists, were being held at the Bagram Air Base. They are discovered missing early this morning.

Military personnel and local government officials launched an immediate ground and air search. A spokesman describes the men as enemy combatants and says this is the first time anyone has broken out of Bagram's detention facility.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, assessing the damage from Hurricane Dennis. Our live coverage of the storm's aftermath continues.

And a fiery crash. It's caught on tape. An aerobatics show in Canada, two biplanes collide.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It may not have an Ivan, but Hurricane Dennis was no weakling. As it made landfall on Sunday, winds of 120 miles an hour. CNN reporters were there waiting for it. Here's a look back at what they faced.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You guys have got to come to us.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now or never.

COOPER: Hey, guys, you've got to come to us quick. We're not sure how long we can stay on.

SANCHEZ: The wind just comes through, blows through, picks pieces of it up. A little while ago, that flap, too.

Show them that -- that flap over there -- oh, there it goes! There it goes! You know what? This looks a little scary. We're going to back out of here.

COOPER: There was this extraordinary wall of white. It was like a solid mass.

ZARRELLA: You couldn't see a thing out there. And the trees were bent, and they're bending again now. We're starting to get another one of those.

COOPER: Yes. And look at the tops of those trees over there. You've seen some of them have snapped already. But these things are moving, and it -- as these bands of the storm come...

ZARRELLA: Here it comes again. Look out here.

COOPER: ... here, another comes. You can feel it now.

ZARRELLA: There we go. Watch out for that aluminum. Watch out!

COOPER: Whoa!

ZARRELLA: Get back! Get back! Get back! It's coming apart!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at it! Look over there! Look over there!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's coming apart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is aluminum. That's part of the sign. Look at that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at this. It's all coming apart. The trees are coming down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that tree. Did you see that tree went down? Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big trees coming down. Big trees coming down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow. Be very careful. Look at that...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that's the sign! It's down! It's blowing apart! Get back! Get back! Get back!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable.

MYERS: Good afternoon, Anderson. And, in fact, you didn't even get the worst of it. I know what you experienced was really bad, but people on the other side of the eye, the eye that actually was moving forward, they got it a lot worse.

Obviously, we don't have pictures from there yet, but we will. What we're experiencing here now is the storm surge coming up and coming over on to the seawall and every once in a while splashing over the top. Ah, now I can talk, because I'm in the shadow of a big building.

COOPER: I've never seen anything like this, John. This is incredible. Have you ever seen anything like this?

ZARRELLA: Never seen anything like this. Have never experienced anything like this before.

COOPER: That sign -- this, of course, is the most dangerous time, when the winds are this strong.

ZARRELLA: Tree limbs are flying down. These pine trees, you see them out there, they keep -- big branches coming down, huge limbs.

COOPER: And it's incredible when you think -- I mean, these are strong pieces of metal. This is not, you know, a little tin. This is a huge metal sign that survived Hurricane Ivan. It has not survived Hurricane Dennis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, thanks to some of our CNN viewers also in the storm zone, we are getting some unforgettable images from Hurricane Dennis. Citizen journalists who've answered the call include Charles with the soggy streets of New Orleans.

Take a look at this picture that he caught for us. Now wonder this city -- you can tell it's definitely below sea level. You know why now it's called the Crescent City.

Brad in Gulf county, Florida, as the staircase goes AWOL.

And Ron in Panama City, as a boat lost its moorings.

And if you're anywhere in the affected area of Hurricane Dennis, e-mail us your pictures of the storm damage. Our address, cnn.com/hurricane. And as our citizen journalists, we'll tell you what we tell our camera crews, of course. Don't do anything risky. You've got to be safe, first and foremost.

BLITZER: Important recommendations.

Let's check some other news from around the world right now. Cleaning up in Cuba. Hurricane Dennis ripped through the eastern part of the island nation like a buzz saw. Almost a million and a half people were forced to evacuate late last week, including nearly 16,000 foreign tourists. The Cuban government reports at least 10 people died as a result of the storm.

In Canada, a reenactment of a World War I dog fight ends in a fiery collision. It happened at a popular air show in Saskatchewan. Both biplane pilots were killed in the crash.

And in Pamplona, Spain, an annual tradition turns fatal. Chaos erupted during the running of the bulls when one stray bull turned around and ran the other way, the wrong way. Four men died and seven other people were hospitalized for treatment of bumps, bruises and head injuries.

I've been to Pamplona, Kyra. I don't know why these young guys...

PHILLIPS: I don't know why they do it either.

BLITZER: ... they do it every single year. It's a tradition, but it's not a good tradition.

PHILLIPS: Machismo, you know? No, it's not. And I guess we should warn viewers next time we roll that videotape. That was a little gruesome.

BLITZER: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Other things we're talking about straight ahead, that episode in modern war, horrible episode in modern war. We're talking about the massacre that killed thousands of people.

BLITZER: Ahead on LIVE FROM, CNN brings you live special coverage of ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre hosted by our own Christiane Amanpour.

Kyra and I will be back at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, in 30 minutes. Until then, thanks very much for joining us.

We'll take a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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