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President Makes Surprise Trip to Baghdad; Marines Under Investigation for Murder; Type II Diabetes: Growing Epidemic; Star Quarterback Recovering from Motorcycle Accident

Aired June 13, 2006 - 15:30   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it was billed as a two-day strategy session on Iraq. What we didn't know, what most of the White House didn't know, was that the president planned to spend half of it in Iraq. CNN's John King tagged along.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The White House says this dramatic trip was about a month in the planning, that the president had decided long ago as soon as possible that he wanted to meet the new Iraqi prime minister face-to-face, but first the White House wanted to wait for the full cabinet to be completed.

Now that key national security posts are filled, Mr. Bush planned this secret trip to Baghdad and brought much of his cabinet up to Camp David on Monday to help pull it off.

After a day-long planning session Monday, we were told the president was at dinner Monday night, said he was, "losing altitude," and was going to go to his cabin and do some reading. Soon after, though, the president and senior staff members snuck out of Camp David, made a secret trip to Andrews Air Force Base, an 11-hour secret the flight to Baghdad.

President Bush greeting the new Iraqi prime minister who was told just five minutes before Mr. Bush walked in the room that he would have a special guest from Washington.

Mr. Bush wanted to have the meeting, White House officials says, in person because of the enormity of the decisions ahead: How many U.S. troops will be here in the months and months ahead? How will the reconstruction of Iraq go forward? Will this Iraqi government, finally, after so many fits and starts provide stability and, more importantly from a U.S. perspective, improve security on the ground?

Mr. Bush will be on the ground about six hours, having a bilateral meeting with the new prime minister and also participating in a previously scheduled video conference call. His official schedule says the president will be participating from Camp David, Maryland. He is, of course, participating from this end here in Baghdad.

A few other meeting here on the ground with Iraqi political leaders and an update from the U.S. military commander on the ground and a pep talk of sorts, the president speaking to military personnel and other U.S. civilians, working here at the U.S. embassy compound in the Green Zone in Baghdad. Then its back to Washington after six hours on the ground, about twice as long as the last time Mr. Bush came to Baghdad, the only other time. That was back at Thanksgiving, 2003.

John King with the president in Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, before the president landed in Baghdad at least five car bombs went off in Kirkuk in a two-hour period. They appeared to target police and a Kurdish political party. It killed at least 14 people.

In Western Iraq meantime, coalition forces fighting back. The U.S. military says a suspected terrorist was killed and almost two dozen others detained in a series of raids north of Ramadi. The military says there was a suicide bomber training site in that area.

What happened in the Iraqi town of Hamidaniya, April 26? The body of an Iraqi killed that day has been exhumed and eight U.S. troops are in detention a half a world away.

A military investigation is under way, but as CNN's John Vause found out in this exclusive report, the dead man's family says he was murdered.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As this evidence receipt shows, U.S. investigators returned to Hamdaniya last week to exhume the body of a man allegedly killed in cold blood by U.S. Marines. One body bag containing one body of deceased, Hasum (ph) Ibrahim Awad, taken from his grave site on June 6th.

(on camera): The family Hasum Ibrahim Awad allege that U.S. forced pressured him to act as an informant to gather information on who was planting road side bombs and carrying out other attacks. The family says he repeatedly refused because he considered it to be without honor and because he didn't agree.

The family says he was murdered and evidence was staged to make him look like a dead insurgent.

(voice-over): Awad was 54 years old and, according to his family, had trouble walking because of wounds he suffered during the Iraq-Iran war. In the early hours of April 26th, a Wednesday, witnesses say six to eight troops on foot patrol came to their small village of Hamidaniya, on the western outskirts of Baghdad, and went directly to Awad's house, according to his brother, Sadoon.

They didn't search his house, they took him immediately. He was seized by two soldiers, each on one of his sides because he was disabled. He goes on to say his brother was taken towards the main street. This rough map drawn by Awad's brother, indicates how he says other members of the patrol then went to the home of this man, Fahran Ahemd Hussein.

They usually search the house and ask US if we have a weapon. The U.S. forces allow us to have one rifle. That night they took my only rifle and my shovel outside the house. Hussein goes on to say he later heard gunshots. Awad's brother believes he was taken to the main road just a few hundred feet from him home and shot.

We heard gunshots, he says. It was about 100 gunshots, maybe less.

The death report issued by local police says Awad's brother was handed to the family the next day along with an assault rifle and shovel. Seven Marines and one Navy Corpsman are being held at Camp Pendleton in California in pre-trial confinement and investigators have evidence the men may have committed pre-meditated murder according to a military source close to the investigation.

Awad's family allege U.S. forces tried to buy their silence, first with an offer of $2,000 which then increased to $10,000 over this past weekend.

But I refused, said Awad's brother. I told them I don't need money. I told them the truth is that you took my brother, you tortured him and killed him although he was disabled and old.

An American military court will likely decide if those accusations are true. John Vause, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the Pentagon reiterates the case is still being investigated and no one has been charged with anything.

We are hearing from Democrats now on the Hill about president's surprise trip to Baghdad and the war in Iraq. They were briefed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Here's what Democrat Senator Joseph Biden had to say just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D-DE), RANKING MEMBER, FOR. RELATIONS CMTE.: If it's the status quo, just that we got rid of Zarqawi and there's a unity government. If that's the basis on which the president thinks we will prevail in Iraq, I think he's sadly mistaken. Hopefully his visit is a prelude to a as fundamental a change in policy towards Iraq as he recently made with regard to Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A hidden epidemic has jeopardized the lives and health of millions of Americans and many of them don't even know it. A special report from CNN's Doctor Sanjay Gupta when LIVE FROM returns. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So does someone you know have diabetes? A neighbor, friend, relative, do you? Well the answer to at least one of those questions is almost certainly yes. Doctors warn that Type II diabetes, the kind that you get from how you live and what you eat, is an epidemic. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When Susanna James began feeling tired, she knew something was wrong. But it didn't occur to her that it was anything serious until she lost her vision temporarily.

SUSANNA JAMES, HAS DIABETES: I realized, oh my God, I'm completely blind.

GUPTA: Her doctor said her blood sugar was really high. It turns out she has Type II diabetes.

JAMES: Immediately he was like, what are you doing alive? You should be dead or in a coma.

GUPTA: Millions of people in the United States may have Type II diabetes and not even know it. The disease seem to affect African- Americans, Hispanics, and Native-Americans more than any other groups. James was in her mid twenties when she was diagnosed. Doctors said she probably had Type II diabetes for years without realizing it. Although she was never heavy, her family had a history of the disease. Type II is triggered by lifestyle. Obesity is a major factor.

Doctors say being overweight doubles a child's chances of contracting Type II diabetes. Some of the signs and symptoms of Type II diabetes are increased thirst, some flu-like symptoms, and weight loss or weight gain.

DR. ASHA THOMAS, DIABETES RESEARCHER: Once you get diabetes the earlier you get it, the longer you have it, the more time you are given in your life to have complications.

GUPTA: While there is no known cure for diabetes, Type II is preventable. Physicians say the best way to keep your child from developing diabetes is to start early, insist on exercise and watch those diets. Fight back by eliminating or at least cutting back on junk food. Stress the importance of getting your child to eat a good breakfast.

THOMAS: Children and adults who eat a nutritious breakfast weigh less than people who don't.

GUPTA: James has learned to deal with the life-long condition, but her main concern is her young son. She says she will make sure he grows up healthy and free from diabetes. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well if you're worried about your health or your children's, be sure to watch "Fit Nation" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Removing U.S. troops from Iraq this year or by the end of 2007?

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: But we didn't.

PHILLIPS: That's Donald Rumsfeld now responding to reporters' questions after briefing senators on the Hill about the president's trip to Iraq.

RUMSFELD: ... and the Iraqi government intends to see it completed with success. They are improving and strengthening their security forces and as they do so, we will continue to pass off responsibility to them. There will be meeting with General Casey and the minister of defense and the prime minister in the weeks ahead discussing at what pace we're going to be able to draw down our forces. And it will all be done in a very orderly way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does that assume that there will be draw downs this year?

RUMSFELD: The conditions on the ground will be terminated to the extent it requires an increase as it did during the stand-up of the government, General Casey brought more troops in.

We are now down from a high of 160 down to 129,000. And we will have a force level that will be appropriate. But you've got to remember that the Iraqi security forces are now 263,000. They are vastly larger than we are, and they are increasing every day, every week in both size and capability and experience.

SEN. BILL FRIST (R), TENNESSEE: We are going to need to move, they are going to a similar briefing with the House of Representatives. Thank you all very much, appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: Quick briefing there from Donald Rumsfeld as he and the secretary of state met with senators on the Hill about the president's surprise trip to Iraq and other issues of course concerning the war on terror.

Well, how's the star quarterback for the Steelers doing today and what exactly happened when his motorcycle crashed yesterday? Hear who warned Ben Roethlisberger about riding without a helmet when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Whoever shot a judge yesterday in Reno, Nevada is still on the loose. Family court judge Chuck Weller is said to be in good condition today after someone shot through the window of his third floor office and hit him in the chest. Police say Weller had presided over the separation of his suspected attacker, who's also charged with murdering his estranged wife. The two attacks happened just hours apart. Police are asking the public's help in finding a pawnshop owner named Darren Roy Mack.

Murders, robberies, assaults -- combined they make 2005 a bit more dangerous than 2004. The FBI reports that the U.S. violent crime rate shot up 2.5 percent last year, the biggest jump in 15 years. Murders were up almost five percent and experts aren't sure whether it's the end of a long downward trend in crime or just a one-year quirk. The Midwest saw the biggest increase of any region in that country.

Well a relaxing day as the beach in California ends up with a fatal and freak accident. Investigators are still trying to figure out how two police officers ran over a sunbather without even knowing it. The officers reportedly had stopped their SUV atop a small ledge of sand to check on a swimmer who appeared to be in distress. But when they saw the swimmer was fine, they drove on, apparently unaware that they ran over the head of an Iowa woman who was sunbathing right below the ledge. The witness called the fire department, but 49-year- old Cindy Conolly did not survive. Conolly was in California for her son's wedding. The officers are on paid leave while the accident is investigated.

PHILLIPS: Big Ben is said to be on the mend today in Pittsburgh, but still in serious condition after seven hours of surgery. As you may know, Ben Roethlisberger, star quarterback of the Super Bowl champions Pittsburgh Steelers, well, he wrecked his motorcycle yesterday. He wasn't even wearing a helmet.

CNN's Miles O'Brien has more, in a report that you first saw on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID LETTERMAN, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Now let me know if this hurts, for God's sake.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's Ben Roethlisberger on the Letterman show, fresh from his Super Bowl win. He shaved his lucky beard and the crowd went wild.

On Monday, another kind of close shave for the Steelers quarterback, one that could have cost him his life. Riding his motorcycle in downtown Pittsburgh without a helmet, he crashed into a car.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was turning, and he was coming and he hit the side of her car, and like they said, his head hit the windshield, and he went up and, like, landed on his head.

LINDSAY BILSACK, WITNESS: We turned left onto the 10th Street Bridge, and immediately after turning, heard a really loud crash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was on his bike. When I went over to him, and I looked on, and I said, are you OK? He didn't answer me, but he was looking at me. His eyes were kind of, like, glazed over. O'BRIEN: Medics rushed Roethlisberger to the hospital.

DR. DANIEL PITUCH, MERCY HOSPITAL: Mr. Roethlisberger was evaluated by our trauma team and taken to the operating room, where he underwent surgery for multiple facial fractures. All of the fractures were successfully repaired. He was in surgery for approximately seven hours. His brain, spine, chest, and abdomen appear to be without serious injury, and there are no other confirmed injuries at this time.

O'BRIEN: Roethlisberger preferred riding his bike without a helmet, and that is perfectly legal in Pennsylvania, the helmet law repealed three years ago. But his coaches were none too happy about their first-string quarterback's risky habit, and his fans and friends are worried as well.

TERRY BRADSHAW, FMR. STEELERS QB: Ben, Ben, you're all the sudden, you're starting to make me think you're not that smart. Park the motorcycle. And in 14 years you'll be what 33, 34, ride the sucker all you want. Did you not see what the idiot did in Cleveland, and he might lose millions of dollars? Don't be stupid, son, park the motorcycle. You're cool enough without the Harley.

O'BRIEN: Terry Bradshaw is referring to Kellen Winslow Jr. The number-one draft choice for the Cleveland Browns for the Cleveland Browns tore up his knee and missed the entire 2005 NFL season following a motorcycle accident.

In 2003, the Chicago Bulls Jason Williams nearly died after crashing his motorcycle into a light pole. He's still attempting to come back from those devastating injuries. As for Roethlisberger, it appears his accident could have been worse.

TOM BRADY, PATRIOTS QB: Hopefully he recovers quickly. Hopefully he's doing -- hopefully he's OK. I'm sure everybody out here would feel the same.

You know, I know guys who ride motorcycles and it's scary stuff. You never know. I don't know why that accident was caused. But like I said, hopefully he's OK.

O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, Roethlisberger's accident made us look at the helmet laws across the country. Twenty states and the District of Columbia require helmets for adult riders. The rest don't, according to the American Motorcycle Association. Thirty percent of riders lack enough medical insurance to cover accident costs. Those expenses, about $12,000 per accident on average, get passed to taxpayers. We're expecting a statement soon from the hospital on Roethlisberger's condition. We'll bring that you as soon as it happens.

Time now to check in with Wolf Blitzer, standing by in "THE SIT ROOM" to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour. Hey, Wolf. WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kyra, thanks very much.

P.R. and politics. President Bush makes a surprise visit to Iraq. We'll take you behind the scenes of a secret mission.

Also, Karl Rove in the clear. The Republican mastermind free from legal troubles. Find out why this White House victory may mean bad news for some Democrats.

Plus, guilty as charged. A Kennedy Congressman takes the rap for drugging and driving.

And busted at the border. Customs agents accused of taking bribes for letting people and drugs into the country.

Kyra, all that coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

PHILLIPS: All right, Wolf. We'll be watching. Thanks.

Ali Velshi has the closing bell for us, right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Big waves off Oahu this week. The waves, six to 10 foot swells, are a little out of season. The North Shore of Hawaii's main island doesn't usually get the big surf until winter. For surfer, it's time to hang ten earlier than usual. More swells are expected later this week. That was a shout-out for all my good friends in Hawaii.

Well, great catch off the South Carolina coast. Scientists have discovered a new species of hammerhead shark. They don't have a name for it yet, but they're calling it the cryptic species. The newfound shark could already be as risk of extinction, we're told. The species is considered so rare it may only breed in certain South Carolina bays.

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