Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Iraqis Prepare for Elections, Train Troops; Several Injured in L.A. Bus Accident; Reservoir Breaks in Missouri

Aired December 14, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: From CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's the stories that we're working on for you right now.
Ballots and battles on the eve of the Iraq election. Another speech by President Bush. This hour, what's at stake in this vote?

High stakes heist. A college student charged with sticking up a bank. The reason, to pay off online gambling debts.

And closed for Christmas? Why some churches won't be celebrating the reason for the season on Christmas day this year.

All that and more straight ahead. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Iraq stands on edge, campaigning has stopped, and the streets are early quiet. Security is tighter than ever as 15 million eligible voters prepare to cast ballots in landmark elections. They will elect 275 members to the country's first post-Saddam Hussein parliament. It's Iraq's third democratic exercise this year.

CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in Baghdad.

Christiane, what role will American troops be playing while the voting is taking place?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they've been playing a role in training the Iraqi forces to actually take the lead in the security. American forces, of course, will be around, but not right in the voting areas, not very, very close to them, but just in case they're needed.

But the Iraqi security, both army and ministry of interior commandos, as well as police, will be taking the lead, as they did in the referendum.

PHILLIPS: Christiane, there was some stories coming across the wires that some Iraqis were afraid to go vote where American troops were because they're fearful of insurgents attacking U.S. troops. Have you heard that? Are you witnessing that?

AMANPOUR: Well, we haven't witnessed that. But we have been told in some areas, for instance, in the Sunni heartland, American troops aren't allowed. Their commanders have told them that they shouldn't go within 100 meters or so of a polling booth.

But one of the stories of this election is that, in fact, the Sunni insurgents have basically, according to certain web sites -- and you don't want to make a huge big deal about this, but they basically said that people are free to vote and that they would not conduct the same kind of attacks as before.

These would be the -- what they call the nationalist insurgents, those who are not the al Qaeda terrorists, but who nonetheless have an issue with occupation forces and the like.

So there may be violence tomorrow, but the threats have been a lot less than in the past.

PHILLIPS: Now what about the ballots? Another story coming to us is a car, the driver from Iran allegedly, coming through with fake ballots. Are you able to confirm that?

AMANPOUR: We were told about that. Several hours ago, in fact, in the last 24 hours, by a source inside the police. That Iraqi minister of interior denies it. But what the source said was that there was a tanker that had been seen coming over, somewhere near the Iran/Iraq board, that it had an Iranian license plate, that the driver was an Iranian nationalist -- national, rather.

And we've asked all sorts of people here, as I've said. We've got denials from the interior ministry and a "need to investigate" from the election commission and from even the U.S., as well.

So we don't really have hard and fast facts on whether this is actually, you know, 100 percent true and what the exact details are, but certainly, those were the rumors.

PHILLIPS: Obviously, a number stories you've been working on, Christiane, not only the elections and the preparation for the voting, but also the Iraqi army. What do you think? Are they ready to take over for Americans?

AMANPOUR: Well, you know, it's a real mixed bag. I mean, the basic answer is no they're not. And nobody here will tell you they are. They tell you that there is progress, that the good news is things that the Iraqi army were not doing a year ago, they are doing now, such as holding a certain amount of ground in Baghdad.

But it really is a mixed bag. And we found out when we were actually traveling with them, as we watched an Iraqi army unit who's been trained for the last six months by American soldiers here and it is doing better than it had done, obviously, six months ago, but there's still a long way to go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Bouncing around in the back of a U.S. Army Bradley fighting vehicle may rattle the bones. But it's still the safest way to travel around Baghdad. Much safer than conditions for the Iraqi soldiers these Americans are training. In the back of an ordinary unarmored truck, they call "en guard" as they head out on mission.

(on camera) They're saying their prayers in case they die. How safe do they feel in this -- in this truck?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know the situation. We know it's not safe. But we're here to fight the insurgents.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Singing and taunting insurgents, there's a lot of boisterous bravado here. But this is deadly serious business. Only the success of Iraqi units like this one would allow U.S. forces to leave.

Ahead of Thursday's elections, they're securing Baghdad neighborhoods and polling stations, setting up checkpoints and look out for suicide car bombs. The repair shops in this street have been known to produce them. This man, an engineer, likes what he sees.

(on camera) Do you think they can protect you?

ABDUL AZAL, MECHANICAL ENGINEER: Yes, they can protect us.

AMANPOUR: But what do you think about the American forces? Should they stay, should they go?

AZAL: They are (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We consider them our friends, OK, and we need them. But when our army is going good, they can go!

AMANPOUR (voice-over): When will that be? We asked platoon Sergeant James Wells, who's training these Iraqi soldiers.

SGT. JAMES WELLS, U.S. ARMY: Ah, that's a -- that's a good question. It's going to depend on more than just my company.

AMANPOUR: Back at his base, there's a wall of photographs. "Never forget," it says, over faces of U.S. soldiers who have died.

COL. EDWARD CARDON, U.S. ARMY: Captain Mike MacKinnon (ph) here was quite involved with training Iraqi forces.

AMANPOUR: Brigade commander Colonel Edward Cardon says he feels the growing political pressure from home.

(on camera) What do you think would happen if America withdrew all its troops within the next year?

CARDON: I'm not sure that would be a good idea. I also get this from the Iraqis themselves. They want us to leave. But they only want us to leave when their own security forces are ready.

AMANPOUR: Iraqi forces hold about 40 percent of Baghdad now with American supervision. Last year, they didn't hold any of this city. But even despite this success, many American commanders tell us that if it wasn't for U.S. logistical support, the Iraqis would do much worse than they're doing now. (voice-over) In fact, the recent Iraqi army actions near the Syrian border were called a big success, but experts say they would not have been, without heavy U.S. support.

Insurgents have killed more Iraqi soldiers and police this year than last. And these soldiers get regular death threats.

This lieutenant says there's still a long road ahead.

"First, need to develop our training," he says, "and we need more weapons so we can face and confront the enemy."

But what these Iraqi soldiers lack in arms and armor, they make up for in determination and pride.

(on camera) Are you ready for the Americans to leave?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

AMANPOUR: Really?

(voice-over) Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, President Bush says the U.S. will remain in Iraq until victory is achieved. With tomorrow's Iraqi elections just hours away, the president and his critics debated the future of U.S. involvement there.

Mr. Bush completed a series of four addresses on Iraq with his speech in Washington this morning. He said tomorrow's elections will be a watershed moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Iraqis still face many challenges, including security and reconstruction and economic reform. But they're building a strong democracy. They can handle these challenges. And that will be a model for the Middle East.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Earlier today, Democrat leaders argued that the president still lacks a clear strategy for success in Iraq. Senator Carl Levin said Mr. Bush needs to press the Iraqis to amend their constitution to encourage more Sunni participation in that political process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: The president has been strong about our staying the course. Where he's been weak is when it comes to telling the Iraqis that they must put their political house in order or there's going to be consequences in term our continuing presence in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And another critic of President Bush's Iraq policy, Congressman John Murtha. Let's listen in.

REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: ... the president's speech. He continues to mischaracterize, linking terrorism with insurgency.

There's no connection between the USS Cole incident and Iraq. There's no connection between 9/11 and terrorism and Iraq. And there's no connection between the embassy attacks and terrorism. Or Iraq, rather.

Let me separate -- and I've said this over and over again. You've got to separate terrorism from the insurgency. Terrorism started in Afghanistan. Terrorism -- we attacked Afghanistan. Everybody supported what we did in Afghanistan. The world supported what we did in Afghanistan. And we went into Afghanistan, started to clean that.

Then we diverted our attention to Iraq. Where there was no terrorism before. No terrorist camps. No nuclear weapons. No biological/chemical weapons, and none of the things that took us to war.

We go to war because of our national security interests. We don't go to war to start democracy in another country. We go to war for one reason, and they...

PHILLIPS: We'll continue to follow what the congressman is saying there. We have to get to Fredricka Whitfield in the newsroom right now. A developing story in Los Angeles. A bus accident, rather, with a number of injuries, some critical -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Kyra. An MTA bus, as well as a catering truck somehow colliding there in Los Angeles. On the line with us is Ron Myers with the L.A. City Fire Department.

And Ron, give us the circumstances as to how these two came together.

RON MYERS, L.A. FIRE DEPARTMENT: Hi, good morning. About 9 this morning, L.A. Fire Department responded to the intersection of 27th Street and Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, for a reported traffic accident.

When firefighters arrived, they discovered an MTA bus had been involved in the collision with a catering truck. Initial reports had approximately nine patients with two of those being critical.

Since then, as patients are being evaluated, we have extended the incident. We have approximately 20 patients, two of those being serious to critical, and the others are being evaluated on scene. And they'll be transported as necessary to local emergency. WHITFIELD: Is there a clear understanding, Ron, as to how this happened?

MYERS: You know, as of this time, we don't have any information on how this occurred. And that will be under the investigation of the Los Angeles Police Department and the MTA Authority.

WHITFIELD: So 20 patients now, people who have been transported to various hospitals or are being treated. And of those, how many are considered critical injuries?

MYERS: The information we have from the scene is that two of the patients are reported at this time as being serious to critical in their injuries. They have been transported to local emergency rooms and will be evaluated there.

WHITFIELD: And the majority of those injured were presumably on that MTA bus?

MYERS: I'm not sure of the location of the patients that were involved. But if you have 20 patients, I would imagine a majority of those were off of the bus.

WHITFIELD: And about what part of town in Los Angeles?

MYERS: This is in the downtown area, just south of...

WHITFIELD: All right, Ron Myers with the L.A. City Fire Department. Thank you so much.

So again there, Kyra, a collision involving a catering truck as well as an MTA bus, that taking place right in the downtown Los Angeles area. A number of those injured people are being transported.

You're looking at a variation of live pictures, as well as taped pictures, of some of those who have been injured, to be transported -- as you heard from Ron there. Two out of those 20 people injured, or are considered patients were considered injured critically.

More information when we get it, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Fred. Thanks.

Meanwhile, you already know that they may be sitting next to you on an airplane. Now federal air marshals are coming down to earth and possibly to a bus or train station near you.

This week, some of them are taking their mission to protect the country from terrorists to mass transit system across the U.S. Five teams of agents will be on patrol in five cities to test a new surveillance program. Some will work under cover; others will be uniformed.

While the Transportation Security Administration wants to expand their role, it says there is no new intelligence indicating that terrorists want to target the country's mass transit systems. Your security, your civil liberties, your privacy, just some of the issues at stake as Congress takes up the Patriot Act. Should lawmakers breathe new life into it or just pull the plug? We're going to bring in two special guests to tackle that issue, straight ahead on LIVE FROM. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're following the reservoir break in southeast Missouri. Let's go to Fred -- Fred -- Whitfield.

WHITFIELD: Fred might be easier.

PHILLIPS: Fredricka Whitfield. It's so much easier to say "reservoir" than it is Fred Whitfield.

WHITFIELD: I know, it is tricky.

All right. Well, let me just fill you in on a very potentially dangerous and frightening situation for a lot of folks there in Lesterville, Missouri.

And we're talking about this reservoir break earlier this morning, which ended up leading to a great, sizable deluge of water heading down stream and in some cases, sweeping away at least one home, at least one tractor trailer on a highway and sweeping away a family of four. We're glad to say all of whom were rescued. And apparently four people are being hospitalized, treated for hypothermia right now, because of this break taking place in very frigid conditions.

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt is joining us now from Jefferson City, Missouri.

And Governor, give me an idea why you think this breach took place. I know it's very early in the investigation. But at the same time, we understand that there are some areas that are still very vulnerable to any kind of potential flash floods as a result. Why did it happen?

GOV. MATT BLUNT (R), MISSOURI: Well, this is obviously a tremendous disaster. We are not sure at this time why the breach occurred within the reservoir. It does not appear that it was seismic activity. And it's an area where there is significant seismic activity. But it doesn't appear that there was any seismic activity that caused the breach at this point. That's still something we'll continue to investigate.

WHITFIELD: ... an important part that you don't believe it was weather related, either, right?

BLUNT: We do not. And again, we're still investigating. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission really is the regulatory body that will be leading the investigation. And we'll provide them all the cooperation we can. We're still watching a dam in a lower reservoir. Right now, there's a lower reservoir beneath. Obviously, the upper reservoir that is holding. Water is coming over the dam, but the dam itself is holding. Were that dam to break, there would be a significant surge of water, we believe, into the Black Water basin.

That's something we're watching very carefully and closely and encouraging residents of Lesterville, and really, the entire river area, to move to higher ground. In Lesterville, they should go to the Lesterville High School if they think there's any question at all as to whether or not they might be impacted, were there to be a significant surge of water.

WHITFIELD: And when we talk about this lower reservoir dam that you say right now is holding, but you are keeping a close watch on it, what's the proximity to other homes and businesses? Are you issuing mandatory evacuations or are there still volunteer evacuations in place?

BLUNT: In our state, generally local government determines whether an evacuation is mandatory or voluntary. It is a voluntary evacuation at this time. But we're encouraging anybody that has any question at all as to whether or not they might be impacted to move -- to move to higher ground. It's very important.

We've had already three injuries, three pretty significant injuries of young Missourians that were in that home that you mentioned. They are being treated. I encourage everybody to pray for their speedy recovery. And we're hopeful that their recovery will go very well and that nobody else will be impacted in any way.

Our immediate focus is on helping folks that have been impacted already and encouraging others to move out of an area of potential danger. And then we'll begin to evaluate what happened and what we can do in the future to ensure this never happens again.

WHITFIELD: And Governor, is it true that three members of that four-member family, the kinds of injuries they're being treated for are hypothermia-related, right?

BLUNT: I'm afraid they may actually be more serious than that. They're getting medical care now. It's a very young child and then two young Missourians that were within the house, and they're receiving treatment now. Certainly hypothermia is something that everybody might be susceptible to when you combine water and the cold weather. But the injuries do unfortunately appear to be perhaps more serious than that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Our thoughts are with them, and hopefully, they recover soon. Governor Matt Blunt of Jefferson City, Missouri, thanks so much for being with us.

And of course, Kyra, we'll continue to keep tabs on this situation there out of Lesterville, Missouri. As the governor mentioned, while the reservoir experienced one breach there at that hydroelectric plant, there is a lower reservoir dam that they want to keep a close watch on, as well.

PHILLIPS: All right, Fred. Thank you so much.

Well, parts of the eastern half of the country brace for another wintry blast. Several inches of snow are expected from the upper Midwest to the Ohio Valley. Some areas of the mid-Atlantic region could see ice. Also in the northeast, could see a wintry mix of precipitation. More on that and word of a tornado watch in Texas now.

CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider is at the CNN Weather Center -- Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Bonnie, thanks.

Straight ahead, the big beautiful brown eyes of would-be killers. When deer attack. Rick Sanchez investigates.

LIVE FROM has all the news you want this afternoon. We're back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The Atlanta braves. Any fans out there? Well, guess what? They might be for sale. Time Warner says it's exploring selling the baseball team and the cable network Turner South, which carries many Braves games.

"Forbes" magazine estimates the Braves' value at 382 million bucks. Time Warner, which also owns the network and Turner Broadcasting, is under pressure to maximize shareholder value.

Turner Broadcasting chairman Phil Kent released a statement saying, "As a publicly held company, we have a duty to our shareholders to operate in the most effective, efficient, fiscally responsible manner possible."

Kent adds that any financial return could be readjusted and ultimately lead to greater growth for Turner Broadcasting.

A new survey indicates that it's getting harder for low income families to afford even modest apartments. Susan Lisovicz joins us now live from the New York Stock Exchange with all the details.

Hey, Susan.

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com