Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

One Dead, One Injured in Florida Plane Crash; Islamist Militia Takes Control of Mogadishu, Somalia; Judge Shot at Courthouse in Nevada; Wife of Slain Preacher Indicted for First-Degree Murder

Aired June 12, 2006 - 14:30   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: One person is dead, one is severely injured, after a plane crash on Davis Island, Florida. Reporter Summer Smith from Bay News 9 joins me live with more details. Summer, what do you know?
SUMMER SMITH, BAY NEWS 9 REPORTER: I'm live on Davis Island in Tampa, where a plane crashed into a single family home just about an hour ago. Now, according to Tampa and fire rescue officials on the scene, the two-engine plane was making a landing, not sure yet where the plane was coming from. However, the plane landed on a street right in the middle of a residential neighborhood, slamming into a home, catching the home on fire.

Now, a woman was home at the time of the crash. She was able to make it outside of the home OK. She is safe and fine. According to officials, however, there were some animals inside the home that are now deceased. Also, there were two adult males on the plane at the time of the crash. According to fire officials, the pilot was killed from his injuries on the scene and the co-pilot was taken to a local hospital, Tampa General Hospital and is being treated for serious burn injuries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole backside is all burned up and all the roof line. He said, well, the aviation fuel and stuff, it's the foam. The house is probably a total loss.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And your wife was at home?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife was home. She was in the front part of the house. She heard this commotion and then she heard the big bang when it hit the house and she just -- she kind of went for it, but she didn't know what to do. She got out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Now, no word yet if today's weather caused the accident. Fire officials are on the scene investigating what happened. And just as a few minutes ago, the fire was still going inside the house, so they're on the scene trying to put that out and trying to figure out exactly what caused this plane to go down.

Reporting live on Davis Island in Tampa, I'm Summer Smith.

PHILLIPS: Summer, thanks so much.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: And we're expecting Governor Jeb Bush once again to hold another news conference out of Florida. We'll take that live as soon as that happens. We're hoping he'll do that in about 20 minutes or so.

Well, is the government giving up the high ground in the battle against tsunamis? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is consolidating offices in Hawaii. That includes the Pacific Tsunami Center. So what? Well, the new location is Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, just a few feet above sea level. A group called PEER, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, says the tsunami center would be at high risk should a killer wave actually arise, but NOAA says the new site is actually safer than the center's current address.

Coming up on LIVE FROM, the never-ending challenge of Somalia. We're going to look at the rise of Islamic militias in the volatile Horn of Africa.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Now, the lingering scars of Somalia. Twelve years ago, the United States ended what began as a food relief mission by withdrawing its troops from harm's way. Just last week, Somalia's lingering problems came full circle when Islamic militias took hold of the country's capitol, raising fears of another Islamic Republic. CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh reports from neighboring Kenya.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After months of heavy fighting in Somalia and hundreds of civilians killed, a lull in violence in Mogadishu. Fighters with the Islamic Court's Union say they're in control of the capital and that they've driven out secular warlords who have kept Somalia a lawless state for more than 15 years.

Now, the Islamist militia says, it wants to work with Somalia's U.N.-backed but largely powerless transitional government to bring stability nationwide. Next door in Kenya, at Nairobi's Al Faxdi (ph) Cafe, Somalis in exile welcome the news.

JAMIL ABDULLAHI, SOMALI IN EXILE: What we like is only to see Somalia get in peace (ph) again and again.

VAN MARSH: Most Somalis in this largely Muslim Nairobi neighborhood say the Islamist fighters will remove the warlords from power and they say the international community shouldn't worry that the Islamic Court's Union will turn Somalia into a radical Islamic state.

AHMED BOUSERI, SOMALI REFUGEE: But I don't know why the people are more sensitive about the name Islam (ph).

VAN MARSH: In Kenya that sensitivity might be linked to the 1998 al Qaeda bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi that killed more than 200 Kenyans. The Bush administration, according to diplomats and a former high-ranking U.S. official, supported warlords in the Somali conflict as part of its anti-terrorism strategy and has accused of elements of the Muslim militia of harboring al Qaeda suspects, but now it says it's reserving judgment on the ability of the Islamic Court's Union to help bring about stability.

In Nairobi, piles of UNICEF aid agency blankets, medicines and school materials await children in need.

(on camera): UNICEF is one of three major aide ages storing food and supplies at this warehouse here in Nairobi. Food and supplies that will eventually make their way over to Somalia.

(voice-over): A top U.N. official says he's hopeful developments in Somalia will make it an easier place to work.

CHRISTIAN BALSLEY-OLESEN, UNICEF SOMALIA: We have had kidnappings, we have roadblocks, we have had threats to our staff, it is very difficult. So we are hoping and praying that this is now going to be better. But, again, we have to be very cautious.

VAN MARSH: Caution seems to be the operative word for U.N. agencies, as well as for African, European and U.S. officials. A hastily arraigned international conference is scheduled in New York to address concerns over the tightening grip of the Islamic militias in Somalia. Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Joining us now from Washington, Somalia expert John Prendergast. He was an Africa policy specialist in the Clinton White House and State Department. He is now a special adviser to the International Crisis Group. He just got back from Somalia and, John, our correspondents haven't even been able to get into Somalia. How did you get in and tell me what you did?

JOHN PRENDERGAST, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: A couple of times I have had to actually take in the contraband flights that go in and out of Somalia from Kenya. There often are no aid agency flights and you have to go in with some of the produce that goes in and out on a daily basis. So, it's a little risky, but it's worth the risk because there is a lot of information there that is really important for Americans to learn about what our government is doing there.

PHILLIPS: So, who did you meet with? Did you meet with the warlords?

PRENDERGAST: I met with the warlords and with the Islamic Court militia and some of the leaders of the Islamic Court Union. So, it's been a long-time affair I've had with Somalia for the last 20 years, going in and out of there. I actually lived there in the '80s and, so, it's like going home. I've known those guys for a long time and have gotten to know where the bodies are buried and who's actually telling the truth. So, I think we have a good handle on what is going on there now. PHILLIPS: Talk to me about the U.S. connection. The CIA financing Somali warlords. What do you know about that and what type of, I mean, how much money are we talking about and what has that money gone towards?

PRENDERGAST: It's really unfortunate. The U.S. has a very narrow objective in Somalia and decided to pursue that objective in a very reckless way by financing warlords to the tune of $100,000 to $150,000 a month by our best guess and they provide that money for the warlords to go after particular al Qaeda suspects to snatch them, capture them or kill them.

They haven't really succeeded. They only got one guy in three years, but in the meantime they increase the support for extremist Islamist Court Militia and, now, have no access whatsoever to Mogadishu through those warlords that they backed.

In the meantime, the government, which there is no government in Somalia, of course, and the prospect for a government has diminished even further because of that U.S. support. I think all of our objectives have really not been met, in fact, our policy has backfired very badly.

PHILLIPS: This is sounding like Afghanistan all over again. You are saying that al Qaeda is getting stronger because of the U.S. backing these warlords.

PRENDERGAST: I think al Qaeda actually has a better chance of operating in Mogadishu, using it as a safe haven because of the U.S. strategy over the last few years.

There is a cell operating in Mogadishu that has undertaken attacks against Kenya and Tanzania, as your report says. That cell has been identified by U.S. intelligence to be planning further attacks, so it is a real threat and the policy that the U.S. has pursued has actually made that threat even worse now.

PHILLIPS: So, you can confirm that attacks, for example, the bombing in Tanzania and elsewhere, were definitely planned in Somalia?

PRENDERGAST: Planning goes on in a number of places, but the individuals who carried out the bombings in '98 and then again against the hotel and the attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner in 2002, the individuals that carried out those attacks came out of Somalia. They used Somalia as their safe haven and they brought the explosives and other things out of Somalia to undertake the attacks.

Somalia was instrumental. And that safe haven that exists in Mogadishu was instrumental in undertaking those attacks.

PHILLIPS: So, John, finally, what does the U.S. need to do? What do you see as an analyst? We don't want another Blackhawk down where the U.S. military goes in, tries to get the drug lord out of there and we saw what happened. Does it mean military intervention? What should happen next? PRENDERGAST: I think, military intervention would be a terrible mistake. Right now the real imperative is initiate discussions and support discussions between the Islamic Court Union that has now consolidated its control in Mogadishu with this transitional federal government, this, pretty much impotent government sitting in a town nearby Mogadishu. Start the dialogue between these two forces and form a coalition, a national unity government, over time that has the ability to administer Somalia and become a counterterrorism partner with the United States and others.

PHILLIPS: John Prendergast, thanks for your time, appreciate it.

PRENDERGAST: Thanks, Kyra.

We're about to get updates on two of our developing stories now. Tropical Storm Alberto headed towards Florida. Governor Jeb Bush will update us on precautions. We're going to bring that to you live.

And Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger injured in a motorcycle accident this morning. A statement on the crash expected in the 3:00 p.m. eastern hour. We'll bring that to you right here on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Little information at this point, but we can tell you we're getting word out of Reno, Nevada. This is according to the "Associated Press," we're trying to confirm it, that a judge has been shot at a courthouse in Reno.

This is according to a police spokesperson. That's all we know. We're trying to figure out exactly where that courthouse is, what courtroom, who the judge was, if, indeed, this has happened and what the circumstances are surrounding this.

Apparently a judge has been shot at a courthouse in Reno, Nevada. We're working details, trying to get you as much information as we can.

Well more than 40 prisoners have tried to kill themselves at Guantanamo Bay, but three men found dead this weekend were the first to succeed. The Defense Department says one man was a close associate of a top al Qaeda strategist. The second is termed a front-line Taliban fighter. The third, supposedly, had been recommended to transfer to another country. The suicides have renewed calls for change at Gitmo, where Republican Senator Arlen Specter says too many have been held for too long.

Last summer CNN's Ben Wedemen went inside the prison camp that continues to be a black eye for the Bush administration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The invitation from the president himself. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These people are being treated humanely. Very few prison systems around the world that have received such scrutiny as this one. For those of you here in the country I suggest buying an airplane ticket and going down and taking a look for yourself.

WEDEMAN: So we did. Spending four days visiting Guantanamo Bay our military escorts took us to camps one and four set aside for so- called compliant detainees those that obey the camp's posted rules and regulations. The most compliant are given white clothing and deck shoes, plus playing cards, books, chess, backgammon and checker boards, even access to books. The somewhat less cooperative are given tan outfits. And some of the least cooperative are given orange uniforms. The only permitted diversion the Loran. And across the board flat denials prisoners have ever been abused.

COL. MICHAEL BUMGARNER, U.S. ARMY: The policy here is no abuse. I can't state it any stronger. That is not allowed and that is not a part of procedures here.

WEDEMAN: Being fluent in Arabic I was hoping to have some sort of contact with the detainees but that is strictly forbidden. I was able to overhear snippets of conversation.

I heard two inmates say they missed each other in Arabic with heavy gulf accents. The two men were unaware reporters were present. In the hospital wing one prisoner shouted in English we take the torture in here. It wasn't possible to talk to the prisoner about his allegation.

According to the ground rules for reporters all videotape must be screened by an employee of the defense department who erased any of our video showing detainee's faces or profiles. We're told this is done to protect detainees and their relatives from reprisal in their home country.

Lawyer Clive Smith represents some of the detainees here. He describes media visits as a propaganda stunt.

CLIVE SMITH, DETAINEE LAWYER: It's simply not true to say this is some sort of Club Med where everyone is treated well. I'm not saying the people here are unpleasant folk in any way. They are not. Quite pleasant people doing terrible things.

WEDEMAN: It certainly isn't Club Med for the young men and women guarding Guantanamo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our biggest problem has been recently the throwing of feces and urine and cocktail number four.

WEDEMAN: Cocktail number four is what the detainees themselves call a noxious mix of sperm, spit, fecal matter and urine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can tell you many of the detainees that I deal with day in and day out want to kill me, they want to kill you. Some of the detainees have told me point blank when I leave here I will kill every American that I possibly can until I myself am killed.

WEDEMAN: Even critics of Guantanamo agree, there are some very dangerous detainees. But with the media restrictions a journalist accepting the president's invitation to get the full picture on what is happening here may be on a mission impossible.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And this just coming in to us from Jackson, Tennessee. You may remember this story when the wife of a preacher had turned herself in after allegedly murdering her husband.

We're now being told that a grand jury in Selmer has indicted this woman, the wife of a slain preacher in his shooting death. The panel returned a first-degree murder indictment against Mary Winkler. She's 32-years-old. She's the mother of the couple's three children.

This indictment offers no details of this March 22nd killing, but we can tell you that they are saying the murder was done with premeditation. Her husband, Matthew Winkler, was the minister whose body was found when he didn't show up for an evening service at the Fourth Street Church of Christ.

Well, we're about to get updates on two of our developing stories. Now Tropical Storm Alberto is headed towards Florida. Governor Jeb Bush will update us on precautions and we're going to bring that to you live.

Plus, Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger injured in a motorcycle accident this morning. A statement on the crash expected in the 3:00 p.m. Eastern hour. We'll bring that to you right here on LIVE FROM.

(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