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Security Problems in Iraq Complicating Search for WMD

Aired May 26, 2004 - 10:30   ET

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

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


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's check the stories at the half hour. At least 36 people are confirmed dead in flooding in the Dominican Republic. Hundreds more are missing. Soldiers say that fears of disease are forcing them to bury victims on the spot rather than allowing families to claim their dead. There are more than 80 deaths confirmed on the Haitian side of the island.
In this country, jurors have begun deliberations this hour in the trial of Terry Nichols. If convicted on state charges, Nichols could be sentenced to death. He is already serving a life sentence for his federal conviction of conspiring with convicted bomber Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City attack.

Convicted D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad is already on death row. He'll soon, though, face a second death penalty trial. The chief prosecutor in Fairfax County, Virginia says he will try Muhammad for the fatal shooting of FBI analyst Linda Franklin outside of a Home Depot. Muhammad's teenage accomplice is serving a life sentence for that same shooting.

Also in court the case of Terri Schiavo. She is a brain-damaged Florida woman at the center of a bitter legal dispute. In today's hearing her parents are asking the court to grant them visitation rights that they say have been denied by her husband.

Security problems in Iraq are complicating the search for weapons of mass destruction. That is just one issue brought up by the head CIA hunter in an exclusive interview with national security correspondent David Ensor. David is with us now and has highlights of that conversation. David, good morning.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Charles Duelfer says what's driving a lot of his team's work now is the fear that terrorists and Iraqi scientists with expertise in weapons of mass destruction might actually be working together. That would create the danger of new kinds of horrible terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES DUELFER, CIA: We're very concerned about the terrorist threat here. There is evidence that they have a lot of desire to connect themselves with either or both the intellectual capital of the previous regime with respect to weapons of mass destruction and quite conceivably, materials. That is a very strong concern. It's something, which fuels a lot of our investigation at the moment.

ENSOR: Do you have any evidence that people with say chemical weapons expertise might be hooking up with Abu Musab al Zarqawi or other terrorist leaders in Iraq?

DUELFER: David, you're going into areas where I -- far too much detail than I would be wise to address.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENSOR: Duelfer says so far they've found two chemical weapons, an old sarin nerve gas shell used by insurgents to make a primitive roadside bomb, and an old mustard gas shell. His team is looking for more such artillery shells among the many conventional shells in Iraq. I asked Duelfer whether he has interviewed Saddam Hussein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUELFER: Saddam is a special case and there is one person who has been leading that. You know, he is, of course, of great interest because, you know, if one person knows the real story, you know, it's him.

But, you know, I really don't want to get into a lot of the approaches that we're trying to use to get a detail or a description of what was going on. but it is certainly a very interesting process. It's also very difficult because the incentives for being candid are not necessarily very strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENSOR: Duelfer says, as you mentioned earlier, that the search for weapons has been badly hampered by the dangerous security situation. In fact, his Iraq survey group suffered two deaths and five injuries when munitions they were looking at blew up. That wasn't terrorism in that case, that was simply the danger of the work.

Duelfer says the scandal at the Abu Ghraib Prison, the photos of abuse of Iraqi prisoners by Americans has also made his work a lot more difficult -- Daryn.

KAGAN: So, David, was Charles Duelfer's answer to you, was that a no, he has not interviewed Saddam Hussein or he kind of -- it sounded like he didn't want to go there?

ENSOR: He didn't really want to go there. But my understanding is he personally has not interviewed Saddam Hussein. And there appears to be one individual who's been given the task of debriefing the former Iraqi leader.

KAGAN: And then my other question would be about the math. As you mentioned, there was the one shell that was found a couple weeks ago that has tested positive for sarin gas and one other item. But when you look at that versus the 500 tons of weapons of mass destruction that were the claims going into the war, there's a huge gap in there.

ENSOR: There certainly is. And I asked Duelfer whether he thinks it's possible they might find thousands more sarin or mustard gas shells. He said he didn't think that was likely there may be more shells found.

You know, it does take a lot of these shells to kill a lot of people. One sarin gas shell, if the wind is blowing in the right direction, might kill 12 or 15 people. That's not really what's usually considered a weapon of mass destruction. You need a lot of them. And so far, it doesn't look like they're going to find a lot of them.

KAGAN: David Ensor in Washington, D.C.

Amnesty International says that the U.S. war on terror has made the world a more dangerous place. The human rights group blasts coalition partners in a scathing report that comes out today. Sean Callebs has details on that. Sean, good morning.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Indeed the specifics of this report are being unveiled right now. Amnesty International's annual report really comes down hard on U.S. tactics in the war on terror. The agency's executive director writes that the war on terror has evolved into a free for all with governments and armed groups duking it out and civilians around the world paying the price.

Amnesty International says armed groups are committing atrocities and governments like the United States are lending legitimacy to armed factions by disregarding their human rights and in some cases the governments are guilty of war crimes.

Now without mention the notorious Iraqi prison Abu Ghraib by name, Amnesty International describes allegations of torture and ill treatment of Iraqi detainees. And states that a dozen are facing court-martial proceedings.

The group also contends that a number of Iraqi prisoners are being held in undisclosed locations with no access to the Red Cross or legal council. Amnesty International is also decrying the alleged denial of basic human rights to detainees being held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan by the U.S. as well as Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM SCHULZ, EXEC. DIR., AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: To President Bush's claim that the war on terror is making the world safer, we say that he is sadly mistaken. The administration's war on terror bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle, and it has made the world a far more dangerous place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Amnesty International alleges that there are significant problems in the treatment of foreign nationals being held by the U.S. in the aftermath of September 11. The group claims there is a pattern of physical and verbal abuse by corrections officers, even though many are in custody for relatively minor offenses.

Now this report is thorough. It examines 65 governments and 177 armed groups around the world. So it's not focusing exclusively on the United States.

Among the findings, more than half of the, quote, "armed groups" that are identified have killed civilians in the past four years. Twenty percent of those armed groups and more than one in four governments committed rape or some form of sexual assault. And one in five armed groups around the world is using children as soldiers -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Sean Callebs in D.C.

New York City is seeing a boatload of very special tourist. The fleet is in for its annual visit. We are live aboard a Navy aircraft carrier coming up for Fleet Week.

And Tom Selleck as General Dwight Eisenhower. Counting down the moments leading up to D-Day. Stay with us to hear about his portrayal of Ike. He is stopping by to talk with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Well, check out this picture. West Palm Beach, Florida. A lesson in determination. This 90-year-old woman, 90, she's graduated from high school more than seven decades after she dropped out of classes to get married. Her achievement was greeted with a letter from the governor and witnessed by many of her 81 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And her name is Uceba Babson. Ms. Babson, congratulations.

And a big welcome to all the sailors coming into New York Harbor on Fleet Week, a parade of ships streaming through New York Harbor this hour, this start of the annual Fleet Week. The annual celebration honors the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in a show of pageantry and patriotism. Jason Carroll following the festivities. He is aboard the USS Intrepid. Good morning.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Daryn. Not exactly the best day for viewing ships, if you take a look out there, is it. But the men and women in the military and their families are a dedicated bunch.

This is the 17th annual Fleet Week. They've been doing this for 17 years. This is really a chance for people to say, thank you, to the men and women who are serving in the military.

And as you said, parade of ships heading into New York Harbor, as we speak. We've got a great shot as some of the ships headed past the Statue of Liberty earlier today. A fantastic shot as we see some dozen ships heading into New York Harbor. This is an opportunity for people to come out, see these ships up close. It's also an opportunity for them to meet some of the men and women who are serving overseas.

Right now we're about to meet one of those men. His name is Sergeant Herman Haymes. You actually just got back from Baghdad last Friday -- last Thursday. So you've barely been home, barely had a chance to see your family. How's it been for you so far? SGT. HERMAN HAYMES, U.S. ARMY: It's been awesome. The experience is great.

CARROLL: I bet it is.

HAYMES: I'm happy to be home.

CARROLL: And it's not just you who's here. If we just can tilt the camera down a little bit. This is his partner, Frankie, who's also been serving with him overseas. Tell us about the relationship between the two of you here.

HAYMES: The bond between me and Frankie is -- words cannot even explain. He's a lifesaver.

CARROLL: Seven years old and basically he's been involved with doing security sweeps overseas. Tell us about that.

HAYMES: Our main focus is force protection, VIP missions and bomb explosive searches.

CARROLL: Now, also, I know you were supposed to be out here with your family, but I know that it's a chilly day, rainy day in New York. So they're back at the hotel, your wife and your two daughters. I bet they are so excited to see you back home at this time.

HAYMES: Yes, they're very excited to see me back home.

CARROLL: Now why aren't they out here? Too cold for them?

HAYMES: It's a little too cold for my kids.

CARROLL: What are your plans? I know you're from Boston, you're down here in New York. What will you be doing?

HAYMES: I'll be down for Fleet Week for five days. And then I'm taking two weeks vacation and we're going to go to Walt Disney World.

CARROLL: Take them to Disney World. Just like the commercial says.

Tell me about Fleet Week. What does it mean to you to see these ships come in, the people coming out to meet and greet.

HAYMES: It is awesome the response that the military as a whole is getting from the civilians throughout the cities and honoring us for the stuff that we do. It's a lot of hard work, but this is great.

CARROLL: All right, Sergeant Herman Haymes. You are stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. Thank you so very, very much for joining us. Have a good time while you're here in New York. And best to you and your family.

These ships are going to be out here just for a few days. So anyone wanting to come out, if you happen to be out in the New York area, I know people like Sergeant Haymes would certainly appreciate you coming down and saying hello to the guys, the men and women who are serving. Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Jason, thank you to you, to the sergeant and his partner. Appreciate it.

No magnum, no mustache. Tom Selleck undergoes a physical transformation. Wait until you see this. It's a new movie about Ike and D-Day. We'll talk to him about it coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM SELLECK, ACTOR: I'm not sending a bunch of fresh young kids from Iowa and California to die on French beaches for people they know nothing about! I'm asking them to die for freedom. And they're ready to do it, and that's why they're heroes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: We are nearing the 60th anniversary of a military milestone. It will be marked by at least one motion pictures. "Ike: Countdown to D-Day" premiers Memorial Day on A&E. It's a dramatic retelling of the final preparations from the largest seaborne invasion in military history.

Tom Selleck stars as General Eisenhower, the allied commander of Operation Overlord, and he is up very early in Los Angeles. We appreciate that.

Tom Selleck, good morning. Thanks for being here with us.

SELLECK: How are you doing, Daryn?

KAGAN: I'm doing OK. It's a little bit later here in Atlanta.

SELLECK: Yes, I know. I'm trapped in a room with no windows.

KAGAN: Welcome to our world.

SELLECK: Thank you.

KAGAN: I got say, I'm a big fan. If I'm casting, though, a movie and I need General Eisenhower, your name is not the first that comes to mind. So how did this opportunity come up?

SELLECK: Well, it was offered to me, which was a nice problem. You know, I probably wouldn't have thought of me first, but when I really got into who Ike was, I had such a small -- a strong reaction to the script. You know, it was very emotional. When you get an emotional read on a script as an actor, it really gives you a signal that maybe this is something you should try. So I guess it's perceived as a risk, but risk is a price you pay for opportunity, and this was a great opportunity.

KAGAN: Very well said. In terms of the physical transformation, when I look at the movie, the first thing that comes to mind is the hairline. What else did they do to you?

SELLECK: What you see is the -- is what's came back in the two months since making the movie. Yes, I was bald, and I bleached my hair gray and then bleached some of it brown where that was appropriate, but that's about all I did physically. I didn't want to wear appliances. I think the worst trap an actor can get into when you play somebody famous like this is to try to do an impersonation. That's not what it's about. Movies are about the spirit of a man. And this isn't a docudrama; this is a true story, but it's a real movie. And that emotion that it evoked in me seems to be the same emotion that it's evoking in audience s. I sit with them and that's real rewarding, and it's not a history lesson. You just get one while you're entertained.

KAGAN: Yes, and, well, I think the keyword there, though, it is a drama, and there was a lot of drama leading up to that invasion and a lot of politics behind the scenes between the Americans and the British.

Let's take a look at another clip right now.

SELLECK: Thanks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SELLECK: It's easy to gamble a million lives. What's hard is to see how that can hurt one single person. And if you can't keep that straight, well, you'll lose your humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Tom, when you look at the tough decisions that leaders had to make during that time, 60 years ago, do you see parallels to today, that our leaders are having to make?

SELLECK: Well, you know, the movie was written well before 9/11. It was a dream of the writer, Leon Chetlin (ph), to get this made. But that being said, not having a political agenda to today, if you make something right for the time, it's going to inform people about the present.

What it might do, which would do us all a lot of good, I think, is make us walk in a leader's shoes a little more. I don't know how people should vote in November. I don't think anybody knows how they should vote in November, but we have a lot of business to do between now and then, and this stuff, as President Clinton so simply put it, is hard. And it was hard then, and it's probably a little harder now with a 24-hour news cycle.

So it may something to people. I think it will be very subjective. It may inform people in a way they're predisposed to want to be informed. But it'll say something.

KAGAN: Well, one thing that's not hard, watching you on the screen. Always a pleasure.

SELLECK: Thank you.

KAGAN: Tom Selleck. It's called "Ike: Countdown to D-Day," premiers Memorial Day on A&E.

SELLECK: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: Thanks for stopping by. Appreciate.

And you can keep your eye on entertainment any time, day or night, CNN.com/entertainment. The inside scoop on "American Idol," just one of the many highlights you'll find there.

CNN LIVE TODAY is back in a flash.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired May 26, 2004 - 10:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's check the stories at the half hour. At least 36 people are confirmed dead in flooding in the Dominican Republic. Hundreds more are missing. Soldiers say that fears of disease are forcing them to bury victims on the spot rather than allowing families to claim their dead. There are more than 80 deaths confirmed on the Haitian side of the island.
In this country, jurors have begun deliberations this hour in the trial of Terry Nichols. If convicted on state charges, Nichols could be sentenced to death. He is already serving a life sentence for his federal conviction of conspiring with convicted bomber Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City attack.

Convicted D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad is already on death row. He'll soon, though, face a second death penalty trial. The chief prosecutor in Fairfax County, Virginia says he will try Muhammad for the fatal shooting of FBI analyst Linda Franklin outside of a Home Depot. Muhammad's teenage accomplice is serving a life sentence for that same shooting.

Also in court the case of Terri Schiavo. She is a brain-damaged Florida woman at the center of a bitter legal dispute. In today's hearing her parents are asking the court to grant them visitation rights that they say have been denied by her husband.

Security problems in Iraq are complicating the search for weapons of mass destruction. That is just one issue brought up by the head CIA hunter in an exclusive interview with national security correspondent David Ensor. David is with us now and has highlights of that conversation. David, good morning.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Charles Duelfer says what's driving a lot of his team's work now is the fear that terrorists and Iraqi scientists with expertise in weapons of mass destruction might actually be working together. That would create the danger of new kinds of horrible terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES DUELFER, CIA: We're very concerned about the terrorist threat here. There is evidence that they have a lot of desire to connect themselves with either or both the intellectual capital of the previous regime with respect to weapons of mass destruction and quite conceivably, materials. That is a very strong concern. It's something, which fuels a lot of our investigation at the moment.

ENSOR: Do you have any evidence that people with say chemical weapons expertise might be hooking up with Abu Musab al Zarqawi or other terrorist leaders in Iraq?

DUELFER: David, you're going into areas where I -- far too much detail than I would be wise to address.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENSOR: Duelfer says so far they've found two chemical weapons, an old sarin nerve gas shell used by insurgents to make a primitive roadside bomb, and an old mustard gas shell. His team is looking for more such artillery shells among the many conventional shells in Iraq. I asked Duelfer whether he has interviewed Saddam Hussein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUELFER: Saddam is a special case and there is one person who has been leading that. You know, he is, of course, of great interest because, you know, if one person knows the real story, you know, it's him.

But, you know, I really don't want to get into a lot of the approaches that we're trying to use to get a detail or a description of what was going on. but it is certainly a very interesting process. It's also very difficult because the incentives for being candid are not necessarily very strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENSOR: Duelfer says, as you mentioned earlier, that the search for weapons has been badly hampered by the dangerous security situation. In fact, his Iraq survey group suffered two deaths and five injuries when munitions they were looking at blew up. That wasn't terrorism in that case, that was simply the danger of the work.

Duelfer says the scandal at the Abu Ghraib Prison, the photos of abuse of Iraqi prisoners by Americans has also made his work a lot more difficult -- Daryn.

KAGAN: So, David, was Charles Duelfer's answer to you, was that a no, he has not interviewed Saddam Hussein or he kind of -- it sounded like he didn't want to go there?

ENSOR: He didn't really want to go there. But my understanding is he personally has not interviewed Saddam Hussein. And there appears to be one individual who's been given the task of debriefing the former Iraqi leader.

KAGAN: And then my other question would be about the math. As you mentioned, there was the one shell that was found a couple weeks ago that has tested positive for sarin gas and one other item. But when you look at that versus the 500 tons of weapons of mass destruction that were the claims going into the war, there's a huge gap in there.

ENSOR: There certainly is. And I asked Duelfer whether he thinks it's possible they might find thousands more sarin or mustard gas shells. He said he didn't think that was likely there may be more shells found.

You know, it does take a lot of these shells to kill a lot of people. One sarin gas shell, if the wind is blowing in the right direction, might kill 12 or 15 people. That's not really what's usually considered a weapon of mass destruction. You need a lot of them. And so far, it doesn't look like they're going to find a lot of them.

KAGAN: David Ensor in Washington, D.C.

Amnesty International says that the U.S. war on terror has made the world a more dangerous place. The human rights group blasts coalition partners in a scathing report that comes out today. Sean Callebs has details on that. Sean, good morning.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Indeed the specifics of this report are being unveiled right now. Amnesty International's annual report really comes down hard on U.S. tactics in the war on terror. The agency's executive director writes that the war on terror has evolved into a free for all with governments and armed groups duking it out and civilians around the world paying the price.

Amnesty International says armed groups are committing atrocities and governments like the United States are lending legitimacy to armed factions by disregarding their human rights and in some cases the governments are guilty of war crimes.

Now without mention the notorious Iraqi prison Abu Ghraib by name, Amnesty International describes allegations of torture and ill treatment of Iraqi detainees. And states that a dozen are facing court-martial proceedings.

The group also contends that a number of Iraqi prisoners are being held in undisclosed locations with no access to the Red Cross or legal council. Amnesty International is also decrying the alleged denial of basic human rights to detainees being held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan by the U.S. as well as Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM SCHULZ, EXEC. DIR., AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: To President Bush's claim that the war on terror is making the world safer, we say that he is sadly mistaken. The administration's war on terror bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle, and it has made the world a far more dangerous place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Amnesty International alleges that there are significant problems in the treatment of foreign nationals being held by the U.S. in the aftermath of September 11. The group claims there is a pattern of physical and verbal abuse by corrections officers, even though many are in custody for relatively minor offenses.

Now this report is thorough. It examines 65 governments and 177 armed groups around the world. So it's not focusing exclusively on the United States.

Among the findings, more than half of the, quote, "armed groups" that are identified have killed civilians in the past four years. Twenty percent of those armed groups and more than one in four governments committed rape or some form of sexual assault. And one in five armed groups around the world is using children as soldiers -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Sean Callebs in D.C.

New York City is seeing a boatload of very special tourist. The fleet is in for its annual visit. We are live aboard a Navy aircraft carrier coming up for Fleet Week.

And Tom Selleck as General Dwight Eisenhower. Counting down the moments leading up to D-Day. Stay with us to hear about his portrayal of Ike. He is stopping by to talk with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Well, check out this picture. West Palm Beach, Florida. A lesson in determination. This 90-year-old woman, 90, she's graduated from high school more than seven decades after she dropped out of classes to get married. Her achievement was greeted with a letter from the governor and witnessed by many of her 81 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And her name is Uceba Babson. Ms. Babson, congratulations.

And a big welcome to all the sailors coming into New York Harbor on Fleet Week, a parade of ships streaming through New York Harbor this hour, this start of the annual Fleet Week. The annual celebration honors the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in a show of pageantry and patriotism. Jason Carroll following the festivities. He is aboard the USS Intrepid. Good morning.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Daryn. Not exactly the best day for viewing ships, if you take a look out there, is it. But the men and women in the military and their families are a dedicated bunch.

This is the 17th annual Fleet Week. They've been doing this for 17 years. This is really a chance for people to say, thank you, to the men and women who are serving in the military.

And as you said, parade of ships heading into New York Harbor, as we speak. We've got a great shot as some of the ships headed past the Statue of Liberty earlier today. A fantastic shot as we see some dozen ships heading into New York Harbor. This is an opportunity for people to come out, see these ships up close. It's also an opportunity for them to meet some of the men and women who are serving overseas.

Right now we're about to meet one of those men. His name is Sergeant Herman Haymes. You actually just got back from Baghdad last Friday -- last Thursday. So you've barely been home, barely had a chance to see your family. How's it been for you so far? SGT. HERMAN HAYMES, U.S. ARMY: It's been awesome. The experience is great.

CARROLL: I bet it is.

HAYMES: I'm happy to be home.

CARROLL: And it's not just you who's here. If we just can tilt the camera down a little bit. This is his partner, Frankie, who's also been serving with him overseas. Tell us about the relationship between the two of you here.

HAYMES: The bond between me and Frankie is -- words cannot even explain. He's a lifesaver.

CARROLL: Seven years old and basically he's been involved with doing security sweeps overseas. Tell us about that.

HAYMES: Our main focus is force protection, VIP missions and bomb explosive searches.

CARROLL: Now, also, I know you were supposed to be out here with your family, but I know that it's a chilly day, rainy day in New York. So they're back at the hotel, your wife and your two daughters. I bet they are so excited to see you back home at this time.

HAYMES: Yes, they're very excited to see me back home.

CARROLL: Now why aren't they out here? Too cold for them?

HAYMES: It's a little too cold for my kids.

CARROLL: What are your plans? I know you're from Boston, you're down here in New York. What will you be doing?

HAYMES: I'll be down for Fleet Week for five days. And then I'm taking two weeks vacation and we're going to go to Walt Disney World.

CARROLL: Take them to Disney World. Just like the commercial says.

Tell me about Fleet Week. What does it mean to you to see these ships come in, the people coming out to meet and greet.

HAYMES: It is awesome the response that the military as a whole is getting from the civilians throughout the cities and honoring us for the stuff that we do. It's a lot of hard work, but this is great.

CARROLL: All right, Sergeant Herman Haymes. You are stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. Thank you so very, very much for joining us. Have a good time while you're here in New York. And best to you and your family.

These ships are going to be out here just for a few days. So anyone wanting to come out, if you happen to be out in the New York area, I know people like Sergeant Haymes would certainly appreciate you coming down and saying hello to the guys, the men and women who are serving. Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Jason, thank you to you, to the sergeant and his partner. Appreciate it.

No magnum, no mustache. Tom Selleck undergoes a physical transformation. Wait until you see this. It's a new movie about Ike and D-Day. We'll talk to him about it coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM SELLECK, ACTOR: I'm not sending a bunch of fresh young kids from Iowa and California to die on French beaches for people they know nothing about! I'm asking them to die for freedom. And they're ready to do it, and that's why they're heroes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: We are nearing the 60th anniversary of a military milestone. It will be marked by at least one motion pictures. "Ike: Countdown to D-Day" premiers Memorial Day on A&E. It's a dramatic retelling of the final preparations from the largest seaborne invasion in military history.

Tom Selleck stars as General Eisenhower, the allied commander of Operation Overlord, and he is up very early in Los Angeles. We appreciate that.

Tom Selleck, good morning. Thanks for being here with us.

SELLECK: How are you doing, Daryn?

KAGAN: I'm doing OK. It's a little bit later here in Atlanta.

SELLECK: Yes, I know. I'm trapped in a room with no windows.

KAGAN: Welcome to our world.

SELLECK: Thank you.

KAGAN: I got say, I'm a big fan. If I'm casting, though, a movie and I need General Eisenhower, your name is not the first that comes to mind. So how did this opportunity come up?

SELLECK: Well, it was offered to me, which was a nice problem. You know, I probably wouldn't have thought of me first, but when I really got into who Ike was, I had such a small -- a strong reaction to the script. You know, it was very emotional. When you get an emotional read on a script as an actor, it really gives you a signal that maybe this is something you should try. So I guess it's perceived as a risk, but risk is a price you pay for opportunity, and this was a great opportunity.

KAGAN: Very well said. In terms of the physical transformation, when I look at the movie, the first thing that comes to mind is the hairline. What else did they do to you?

SELLECK: What you see is the -- is what's came back in the two months since making the movie. Yes, I was bald, and I bleached my hair gray and then bleached some of it brown where that was appropriate, but that's about all I did physically. I didn't want to wear appliances. I think the worst trap an actor can get into when you play somebody famous like this is to try to do an impersonation. That's not what it's about. Movies are about the spirit of a man. And this isn't a docudrama; this is a true story, but it's a real movie. And that emotion that it evoked in me seems to be the same emotion that it's evoking in audience s. I sit with them and that's real rewarding, and it's not a history lesson. You just get one while you're entertained.

KAGAN: Yes, and, well, I think the keyword there, though, it is a drama, and there was a lot of drama leading up to that invasion and a lot of politics behind the scenes between the Americans and the British.

Let's take a look at another clip right now.

SELLECK: Thanks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SELLECK: It's easy to gamble a million lives. What's hard is to see how that can hurt one single person. And if you can't keep that straight, well, you'll lose your humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Tom, when you look at the tough decisions that leaders had to make during that time, 60 years ago, do you see parallels to today, that our leaders are having to make?

SELLECK: Well, you know, the movie was written well before 9/11. It was a dream of the writer, Leon Chetlin (ph), to get this made. But that being said, not having a political agenda to today, if you make something right for the time, it's going to inform people about the present.

What it might do, which would do us all a lot of good, I think, is make us walk in a leader's shoes a little more. I don't know how people should vote in November. I don't think anybody knows how they should vote in November, but we have a lot of business to do between now and then, and this stuff, as President Clinton so simply put it, is hard. And it was hard then, and it's probably a little harder now with a 24-hour news cycle.

So it may something to people. I think it will be very subjective. It may inform people in a way they're predisposed to want to be informed. But it'll say something.

KAGAN: Well, one thing that's not hard, watching you on the screen. Always a pleasure.

SELLECK: Thank you.

KAGAN: Tom Selleck. It's called "Ike: Countdown to D-Day," premiers Memorial Day on A&E.

SELLECK: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: Thanks for stopping by. Appreciate.

And you can keep your eye on entertainment any time, day or night, CNN.com/entertainment. The inside scoop on "American Idol," just one of the many highlights you'll find there.

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