Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Coordinated insurgent Attacks Target U.S., Iraqi Troops, Police, Civilians
Aired June 24, 2004 - 10:00 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: And we'll go ahead and get started at CNN headquarters in Atlanta. Good morning, I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's start with the headlines.
Three U.S. troops are among 80 people killed in a series of strikes today across Iraq. Attackers detonated bombs and launched ambushes in Mosul, Baquba, Ramadi, Baghdad and Fallujah. The offensive comes six days before the coalition's scheduled transfer of power. We'll have a live report straight ahead from Iraq.
There were also a pair of attacks today in Turkey. The country's hosting next week's conference of NATO leaders. That includes President Bush. An explosion aboard a bus in Istanbul killed five and wounded more than 20 others. It follows this morning's detonation of a smaller bomb, outside an upscale hotel in Ankara. There are reports that President Bush had been due to stay at that hotel.
Speaking of President Bush, he holds a morning meeting with members of Congress today. Next week's transfer of power was expected to be a key focus of the bipartisan gathering at the White House. Fifteen to 20 members of the House and the Senate are expected to attend.
Iran has released eight British servicemen three days after they were captured and their boat seized in Iranian territorial waters. Tehran agreed to the release after deciding the intrusion was an innocent mistake. The men are said to be in good health.
Let's kick off our hour to Baghdad: northeast, west and north and in the capital itself. It has been a bloody day. Insurgent attacks have targeted U.S. troops and Iraqi troops, police and civilians. Here is a breakdown of what has taken place. First to Mosul, a series of bombings and attacks have killed scores in Fallujah. U.S. forces, backed by air power, battled well-armed insurgents. And in Ramadi, multiple rocket-propelled grenades hit the central police station. In Baquba, insurgents now control part of that city. Two U.S. soldiers have been killed in that ambush. And in Baghdad, a suicide bomber kills five Iraqis.
Let's go straight to the Iraqi capital where our Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf has more on today's widespread violence -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Daryn, Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is blaming that violence in Mosul, with three virtually, simultaneous car bombs, on Abu Musab Zarqawi, the man -- the most wanted man in Iraq; blamed for many of the recent suicide bombs, some of the kidnappings, beheadings, and now according to the interim prime minister, this day of carnage in the northern city of Mosul that has killed more than 58 people, and wounded up to 200.
As you mentioned, Daryn, this took place in a number of cities. One of the deadliest days in terms of number of attacks and the broad spectrum of attacks that we have seen here, in less than a week before this handover to sovereignty. There have been car bombs exploding, police stations attacked, rocket-propelled grenades fired at police facilities, and ambushes of U.S. soldiers. Three U.S. soldiers dead in two separate attacks in two cities.
And in the town of Ramadi west of Baghdad, a U.S. helicopter downed. It went down, made an emergency landing, according to coalition officials, after coming under fire with small arms fire. The crew was unhurt, according to the coalition. The helicopter was recovered -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Jane, looking forward six days in this very insecure environment, what are we actually going to see, in terms on the day of the handovers? Is there anything public that is supposed to take place?
ARRAF: Well, as with everything that's public these days in Baghdad, it will take place under intense security, Daryn. And what that means, practically speaking is that the numbers of people actually allowed in the building will be strictly limited. It will apparently be televised for the Iraqi public to see. It is in fact -- it's supposed to be aimed partly at them. But in terms of the numbers of people who are actually be allowed to be there, that will be limited.
There will be intense security, the usual U.S. military security, along now with those several layers of Iraqi security that we are seeing increasingly. The Iraqi police, the new Iraqi National Guard, and in some places the Iraqi army. But as we're seeing more of them, Daryn, this is the problem. The more we see of them, the more they are attacked. They are the main focus these days of the attacks by the insurgents -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Jane Arraf with the latest from Baghdad. Jane, thank you.
Coming up in just a few minutes, Iraq's deputy prime minister joins us live from Baghdad. I'll have the chance to ask him about the latest attacks and about the handover of power, now just six days away. More U.S. troops deployment to Iraq are evidence that security problems are expected long after next week's handover. More than 600 members of a Wisconsin National Guard infantry battalion will train in Mississippi, before they move on to Iraq. And Pentagon officials say troops from the Individual Ready Reserve could be plugged into units deploying to Iraq later this year. Those IRR troops are those with past military service who still have a mandatory obligation.
Pentagon officials deny that Saddam Hussein has been abused in captivity, saying the former Iraqi leader is being treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention. One of Saddam's lawyers is alleging the abuse, citing a document from January 21, which says that Saddam was in good health, but slightly wounded. The attorney also defended Saddam from any links to killings when he was dictator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED RASHDAN, SADDAM HUSSEIN'S ATTORNEY (through translator): There is no proof that many were killed by Saddam Hussein. But what is proven and what 100 percent is that the number of people killed during the last year is much more than those who were killed in Iraq in the last 40 years, including those who died in early accidents. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: The information Saddam was wounded was found on a capture card, that is a card that is printed by the International Red Cross, but not filled out by the group. It informs family members that a prisoner is in custody.
Our series of specials on "COUNTDOWN TO HANDOVER" continues today. Richard Quest hosts a town hall meeting on Europe's influence in Iraq and the Middle East. That's live today at 1:00 p.m., 10:00 a.m. Pacific. And at the same time on Friday, we're going to look at how the old and new Europe will define relations with the U.S.
Well, perhaps you can't judge a book by its cover, but there's a little mystery in the title of imperial hubris. It is a scathing indictment of the Bush and Clinton administration's war on terror. It is written by a CIA veteran who remains anonymous, but not to CNN's national security correspondent David Ensor, who filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the book, Anonymous says President Bush and the west have seriously underestimated Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there's a certain amount of what can guys with turbans squatting in the desert do to the United States of America? I think we have just grossly underestimated this threat.
ENSOR: Anonymous writes he is certain that al Qaeda will attack the continental United States again, that its next strike will be more damaging than that of 11 September 2001, and could include the use of weapons of mass destruction. It was the CIA, which insisted on his appearing only in silhouette. Officials saying they don't want anyone to think he speaks for the agency.
Anonymous says, President Bush is flat wrong when he says the terrorists hate us for our love of freedom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bin Laden hates us for what we do, in terms of our foreign policy.
ENSOR: He points to the six policies bin Laden has listed as anti-Muslim: U.S. troops on the Arabian peninsula, U.S. support for corrupt, tyrannical Muslim governments, U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. support for suppression of Muslim minorities by Russia, China and India, American pressure on Arab oil producers to keep oil prices artificially low, and U.S. support for Israel. Right or wrong.
Why should anyone listen to a man in silhouette? Terrorist expert Peter Bergen knows him well.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORIST EXPERT: He's regarded as one of the foremost authority on bin Laden, al Qaeda, either within the government or outside it. So his views carry some weight.
ENSOR (on camera): Other CIA officials describe Anonymous as, quote, "kind of an angry fellow," and say he has been shunted off into meaningless work. They suggest he is angry and clearly he is. Angry, he says, because the government is not doing the right things to protect this country.
David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Outgoing CIA director George Tenet has fired off a letter in response to another scathing assessment of intelligence shortcomings. Tenet takes issue with a House Intelligence Committee report that criticized the agency's human intelligence as dysfunctional. The letter, addressed to committee Chairman Porter Goss, lists the agency's accomplishments and dismisses many of the criticisms as absurd. Tenet will resign his post officially next month.
And one more note. The intelligence community may get a big infusion of money from the federal government. The House has passed a record-breaking bill that sends about $40 billion to 15 intelligence agencies. The bill calls for more money for the CIA to recruit new spies and to invest in Arabic programs. The House and Senate must now get together to work out details on that budget.
North Korea has not yet said whether it will accept or reject Washington's package of incentives to abandon its nuclear program. Yesterday at a six-nation gathering in Beijing, the U.S. offered its first detailed proposal, which included security guarantees and energy aid. U.S. and North Korean negotiators are reportedly planning to hold a rare one-on-one meeting, and that is set to take place today.
Back here in the U.S., a young Oregon girl and her coach, they've been missing since last September, they've now been found. Details straight ahead.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Moore presents himself in a very one- sided way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Moviegoers react to "Fahrenheit 9/11." Hear what was said about the film after last night's premier in New York.
And later, author Linda Bruckheimer joins me here in Atlanta to talk about her new book, "The Southern Belles of Honeysuckle Way." She knows Hollywood and she knows small towns in the south. We'll have a chat just ahead.
This is CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: And our breaking news comes out of Washington, D.C. and the Supreme Court, the case concerning Vice President Dick Cheney and the Energy Task Force that he headed up back in 2001.
Let's go to our Bob Franken with the decision from the Supreme Court -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a big win for the White House, for the concept of at the executive branch of government, enjoys some separateness from the other branches of government. The Court in effect has said, in this particular case, a civil case, Vice President Cheney could not be ordered under the circumstances of lower courts to turn over his documents in a lawsuit. Documents that have to do with his formation of an Energy Policy Committee. This is something that is one of the most fundamental issues to reach the court.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): The fight over Vice President Cheney's right to confidentiality is a battle that goes all the way back to 1803. And the Supreme Court's decision supporting Judicial Review and Oversight over the White House. The vice president claimed the lists of participants in his meetings to formulate energy policy were the business of the executive branch alone. Court involvement in effect was meddling.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We start down that road; we're setting a terrible precedent. We're saying the vice president cannot have confidential meetings.
ENSOR: The vice president has refused to provide a list of those participated. His adversaries argue it will show heavy influence by corporate energy interests. Including the likes of ousted Enron's chief executive Ken Lay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The final report of the Energy Task Force reads as if it was written by the energy industry.
ENSOR: Add to the intrigue one adamant Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who rejected demands to remove himself from the case, after disclosures Cheney had taken him on a duck-hunting trip. "If it is reasonable," said Scalia, "to think that a Supreme Court justice can be bought so cheap, the nation is in deeper trouble than I had imagined."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a question of public confidence in the courts.
ENSOR: The entire matter, says the vice president, amounts to a tempest in a teapot.
CHENEY: It's a classic sort of feeding frenzy in Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: The case is a major, major case when it comes to separation of powers. And as a matter of fact, there are other cases now involving terrorism with the same issues comes up. Those are probably going to come next week. Quoting from the majority opinion, "While the president," and by extension, the vice president, "is not above the law; the judiciary must afford presidential confidentiality the greatest possible protection." That was a prevailing view in this case. And by the way, Justice Scalia was among those who joined the opinion supporting Vice President Cheney.
KAGAN: An as you said, it was a 7-2 decision. Who were the two dissenting Justices, Bob?
ENSOR: You had to ask that, don't you? Let me turn my page here and I will tell you. It was Ginsburg and Justice Souter.
KAGAN: All right. Not too surprising there, how they fell along predictable voting patterns there.
Bob Franken in Washington, D.C. thank you for that.
Let's bring in our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin who joins us.
I believe you're on the phone -- Jeff.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Ma'am. Hi, Daryn.
KAGAN: Not just a victory here for the Bush administration, but as you look at how the power of government is separated for the executive branch in general going forward.
TOOBIN: Absolutely. And this is a court that has been very protective of the executive branch's power. I think the decision is not a surprise for that reason. Keeping prying eyes away from the executive branch has been a hallmark of Chief Justice Rehnquist's court. And this is another decision in that tradition.
KAGAN: And so, let's look at the specific case. This was a lawsuit against Vice President Cheney, asking him to give up the list of contacts of people that he had consulted with, for this energy task force back in 2001. Lower courts had ruled against Vice President Cheney. Now what happens to a lawsuit like this? TOOBIN: The lawsuit is over, and Cheney can keep the information secret. Of course, at this point, he is always free to disclose with whom he met in the course of this Energy Task Force. So it may -- it will remain a political issue. But as a legal matter, it's solved. It's over. And this administration does not have to turn over the names of the people they met with.
KAGAN: And in terms of what this says about this particular Supreme Court?
TOOBIN: It is a Supreme Court that is fundamentally conservative, that is protective of the rights of the executive. And a court that does not generally favor disclosure of information, when there can be any argument of confidentiality or national security at stake.
KAGAN: And then the other issue, and Bob mentioned this in his report, the pressure, the request for Antonin Scalia to remove himself -- recuse himself from this particular case, because he's old friends with Vice President Cheney and had recently taken a hunting trip with the vice president. That issue just goes away with the ruling as well? TOOBIN: That issue goes away. He was one of the seven justices. He -- in characteristic way, he didn't feel any pressure to bend over backwards to be hostile to Vice President Cheney's position. He voted with Vice President Cheney's position. And given his history as a justice, again, that's not surprising. He's particularly sympathetic to claims like this. But it will merely go into history as perhaps the most famous duck-hunting trip of all time.
(LAUGHTER)
KAGAN: Yes, that goes without saying. Jeffrey Toobin in New York City, thank you for that.
Once again, the breaking news out of the Supreme Court, the Court -- the High Court ruling 7-2 in favor of Vice President Dick Cheney. He will not have to turn over the list of energy industry contacts that he had in his Energy Task Force back in 20001.
We're going to fit in a quick break, and we'll be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: An Oregon softball coach has been found, along with a missing teenage girl, who was once a member of his team. Police say the two were apparently living together in Knoxville, Tennessee. The girl was just 15 when she disappeared nine months ago from Beaverton, Oregon. Thirty-eight year old Andrew Garver is in custody. The pair was located following a minor traffic accident in Knoxville.
A juror dismissed from the Scott Peterson double murder trial says the judge told him he was a distraction. Attention focused on Justin Falconer just last week, after television cameras caught him talking to Laci Peterson's brother, Brent Rocha. And earlier on "AMERICAN MORNING," the former juror said he thinks Peterson is innocent of killing his wife and unborn son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN FALCONER, DISMISSED PETERSON JUROR: Scott Peterson is innocent until the prosecution proves that he is guilty. And beyond a reasonable doubt. And so you have to have a little bit of sympathy for the guy, knowing that's the case. As you know, he's lost his wife; he's lost his son. He's -- you know, the family, every -- his whole life is upside down. So you have a little bit of sympathy for him there. And then, you know, but you have to understand he's an innocent man until proven guilty. And he has not been proven guilty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: A defense request for a mistrial was rejected.
Coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY, New Yorkers react to Michael Moore's controversial film "Fahrenheit 9/11." That's coming up after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: We are just six days away from the handover of power in Iraq. And it has been a very bloody and violent day across the country. Attacks in five separate cities, attacks that appear to be coordinated.
For more on that, we are welcoming Iraq's deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, joining us now from Baghdad.
KAGAN: Mr. Salih, thank you for being with us.
BARHAM SALIH, DEP. PRIME MINISTER, IRAQ: Thank you for having me.
KAGAN: Can you give us any more information that you've been able to learn about the attacks that have taken place in five separate cities, five bloody attacks across Iraq today?
SALIH: There were bloody attacks; they were targeting Iraqi police, as well as civilians. Many Iraqis have died in the process. We are dealing -- our assessment, we're dealing with a terrorist on slot in the run up to the first of July, when sovereignty is handed over to the Iraqi government. We just concluded -- or this morning we concluded a meeting of the national security of the government...
(POP)
SALIH: ... where we have reviewed the latest situation. And adopted some new measures, by which we could be hopefully dealing with what we anticipate to be an escalating threat, as we approach the first of July.
KAGAN: OK. And for people who just heard a pop and saw the lights go out, I think it was something as simple as just...
SALIH: It was just a light. KAGAN: It was just a light.
SALIH: It was just a light.
KAGAN: OK.
SALIH: Yes, indeed.
KAGAN: Where you are and what's taken place.
SALIH: Daryn, put it. Things are not as bad in Iraq where they cannot reach this deep.
(LAUGHTER)
KAGAN: OK. Sometimes it's just a blown-out light bulb. We want to be clear about that.
SALIH: Yes. Absolutely.
KAGAN: Let's talk about -- and we're glad to have that information. Let's talk about the targets here. And part of this handover are Iraqi forces taking over increasing percentages of security. As they do that, they increasingly become targets themselves. How do you counter that?
SALIH: Indeed.
KAGAN: Yes. How do you fight against that?
SALIH: Well, we have to try to empower our security services by providing them with: better equipment, better training, better command and control. And better partnership with the multi-national forces that will stay in Iraq helping us overcome the terrorist challenge.
We are pleased with what we see to be the resilience of many of the commanders and the officers, whether they are in the police or the newly formed Iraqi army, and the Iraqi National Guards. They understand the terrorist threat, and they understand what they are up against. And the government is determined to provide them what it takes in order to stand up to this challenge.
This will be with us for some time. And we have to brace ourselves that it will get tougher before it gets better. And we have to put things in context. Your own society, the United States of America, is dealing with this terrorist threat. With all the resources and the capabilities that you have, you have difficulty handling it. How about Iraq just coming out of 35 years of tyranny and going through this difficult transition? We have to understand the difficulties that we're dealing with. But please, also understand that we are committed and we are determined to win this battle.
KAGAN: And just from a moral standpoint, how do you keep that up? When a young man who goes, let's say, to a local police station, just to sign up, or apply for a job can be killed just standing in line, how do you continue to get people to want to participate in that process, when their very lives are on the line?
SALIH: Well, no doubt it's very difficult. But people also know what is at stake. People are increasingly aware that these terrorists, who initially mounted their campaigns in the name of liberation, in the name of resistance to occupation, they are exposed for what they are. They are evil people who are against everything decent. They are against human life, against human rights. They are targeting innocent Iraqis who are not combatants. And therefore, it is a battle for our country.
Freedom is not easy and it's not cheap. And people understand that we have a very stark choice between freedom and terror and tyranny on the other side. And we have suffered so much under Saddam Hussein. These terrorists are trying to get us back to what we had to endure under Saddam's regime. There is no way that we can let them win. This is our battle. And hopefully on the first of July that statement will be made more powerfully and more clearly. And Iraqis will know that this is Iraqis against the enemies of Iraq.
KAGAN: Dr. Barham Salih, the deputy prime minister of Iraq, it is a historic time, as you said, the work and challenges are huge. We thank you for taking time out today, sir, to take -- to talk with us.
SALIH: Thank you.
KAGAN: Appreciate your time. Thank you. And good luck in the days ahead.
It was just a blown out light bulb. In just a moment, we're going to step back and see what that was. But that was deputy prime minister joining us from Baghdad.
Turning up the heat in "Fahrenheit 9/11," we're going to tell you about moviegoers and what they think of Michael Moore's controversial film. That is just ahead.
And Ronald Reagan's son talks about religion and war. You're going to hear what he has to say about President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq.
(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
Aired June 24, 2004 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And we'll go ahead and get started at CNN headquarters in Atlanta. Good morning, I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's start with the headlines.
Three U.S. troops are among 80 people killed in a series of strikes today across Iraq. Attackers detonated bombs and launched ambushes in Mosul, Baquba, Ramadi, Baghdad and Fallujah. The offensive comes six days before the coalition's scheduled transfer of power. We'll have a live report straight ahead from Iraq.
There were also a pair of attacks today in Turkey. The country's hosting next week's conference of NATO leaders. That includes President Bush. An explosion aboard a bus in Istanbul killed five and wounded more than 20 others. It follows this morning's detonation of a smaller bomb, outside an upscale hotel in Ankara. There are reports that President Bush had been due to stay at that hotel.
Speaking of President Bush, he holds a morning meeting with members of Congress today. Next week's transfer of power was expected to be a key focus of the bipartisan gathering at the White House. Fifteen to 20 members of the House and the Senate are expected to attend.
Iran has released eight British servicemen three days after they were captured and their boat seized in Iranian territorial waters. Tehran agreed to the release after deciding the intrusion was an innocent mistake. The men are said to be in good health.
Let's kick off our hour to Baghdad: northeast, west and north and in the capital itself. It has been a bloody day. Insurgent attacks have targeted U.S. troops and Iraqi troops, police and civilians. Here is a breakdown of what has taken place. First to Mosul, a series of bombings and attacks have killed scores in Fallujah. U.S. forces, backed by air power, battled well-armed insurgents. And in Ramadi, multiple rocket-propelled grenades hit the central police station. In Baquba, insurgents now control part of that city. Two U.S. soldiers have been killed in that ambush. And in Baghdad, a suicide bomber kills five Iraqis.
Let's go straight to the Iraqi capital where our Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf has more on today's widespread violence -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Daryn, Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is blaming that violence in Mosul, with three virtually, simultaneous car bombs, on Abu Musab Zarqawi, the man -- the most wanted man in Iraq; blamed for many of the recent suicide bombs, some of the kidnappings, beheadings, and now according to the interim prime minister, this day of carnage in the northern city of Mosul that has killed more than 58 people, and wounded up to 200.
As you mentioned, Daryn, this took place in a number of cities. One of the deadliest days in terms of number of attacks and the broad spectrum of attacks that we have seen here, in less than a week before this handover to sovereignty. There have been car bombs exploding, police stations attacked, rocket-propelled grenades fired at police facilities, and ambushes of U.S. soldiers. Three U.S. soldiers dead in two separate attacks in two cities.
And in the town of Ramadi west of Baghdad, a U.S. helicopter downed. It went down, made an emergency landing, according to coalition officials, after coming under fire with small arms fire. The crew was unhurt, according to the coalition. The helicopter was recovered -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Jane, looking forward six days in this very insecure environment, what are we actually going to see, in terms on the day of the handovers? Is there anything public that is supposed to take place?
ARRAF: Well, as with everything that's public these days in Baghdad, it will take place under intense security, Daryn. And what that means, practically speaking is that the numbers of people actually allowed in the building will be strictly limited. It will apparently be televised for the Iraqi public to see. It is in fact -- it's supposed to be aimed partly at them. But in terms of the numbers of people who are actually be allowed to be there, that will be limited.
There will be intense security, the usual U.S. military security, along now with those several layers of Iraqi security that we are seeing increasingly. The Iraqi police, the new Iraqi National Guard, and in some places the Iraqi army. But as we're seeing more of them, Daryn, this is the problem. The more we see of them, the more they are attacked. They are the main focus these days of the attacks by the insurgents -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Jane Arraf with the latest from Baghdad. Jane, thank you.
Coming up in just a few minutes, Iraq's deputy prime minister joins us live from Baghdad. I'll have the chance to ask him about the latest attacks and about the handover of power, now just six days away. More U.S. troops deployment to Iraq are evidence that security problems are expected long after next week's handover. More than 600 members of a Wisconsin National Guard infantry battalion will train in Mississippi, before they move on to Iraq. And Pentagon officials say troops from the Individual Ready Reserve could be plugged into units deploying to Iraq later this year. Those IRR troops are those with past military service who still have a mandatory obligation.
Pentagon officials deny that Saddam Hussein has been abused in captivity, saying the former Iraqi leader is being treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention. One of Saddam's lawyers is alleging the abuse, citing a document from January 21, which says that Saddam was in good health, but slightly wounded. The attorney also defended Saddam from any links to killings when he was dictator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED RASHDAN, SADDAM HUSSEIN'S ATTORNEY (through translator): There is no proof that many were killed by Saddam Hussein. But what is proven and what 100 percent is that the number of people killed during the last year is much more than those who were killed in Iraq in the last 40 years, including those who died in early accidents. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: The information Saddam was wounded was found on a capture card, that is a card that is printed by the International Red Cross, but not filled out by the group. It informs family members that a prisoner is in custody.
Our series of specials on "COUNTDOWN TO HANDOVER" continues today. Richard Quest hosts a town hall meeting on Europe's influence in Iraq and the Middle East. That's live today at 1:00 p.m., 10:00 a.m. Pacific. And at the same time on Friday, we're going to look at how the old and new Europe will define relations with the U.S.
Well, perhaps you can't judge a book by its cover, but there's a little mystery in the title of imperial hubris. It is a scathing indictment of the Bush and Clinton administration's war on terror. It is written by a CIA veteran who remains anonymous, but not to CNN's national security correspondent David Ensor, who filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the book, Anonymous says President Bush and the west have seriously underestimated Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there's a certain amount of what can guys with turbans squatting in the desert do to the United States of America? I think we have just grossly underestimated this threat.
ENSOR: Anonymous writes he is certain that al Qaeda will attack the continental United States again, that its next strike will be more damaging than that of 11 September 2001, and could include the use of weapons of mass destruction. It was the CIA, which insisted on his appearing only in silhouette. Officials saying they don't want anyone to think he speaks for the agency.
Anonymous says, President Bush is flat wrong when he says the terrorists hate us for our love of freedom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bin Laden hates us for what we do, in terms of our foreign policy.
ENSOR: He points to the six policies bin Laden has listed as anti-Muslim: U.S. troops on the Arabian peninsula, U.S. support for corrupt, tyrannical Muslim governments, U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. support for suppression of Muslim minorities by Russia, China and India, American pressure on Arab oil producers to keep oil prices artificially low, and U.S. support for Israel. Right or wrong.
Why should anyone listen to a man in silhouette? Terrorist expert Peter Bergen knows him well.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORIST EXPERT: He's regarded as one of the foremost authority on bin Laden, al Qaeda, either within the government or outside it. So his views carry some weight.
ENSOR (on camera): Other CIA officials describe Anonymous as, quote, "kind of an angry fellow," and say he has been shunted off into meaningless work. They suggest he is angry and clearly he is. Angry, he says, because the government is not doing the right things to protect this country.
David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Outgoing CIA director George Tenet has fired off a letter in response to another scathing assessment of intelligence shortcomings. Tenet takes issue with a House Intelligence Committee report that criticized the agency's human intelligence as dysfunctional. The letter, addressed to committee Chairman Porter Goss, lists the agency's accomplishments and dismisses many of the criticisms as absurd. Tenet will resign his post officially next month.
And one more note. The intelligence community may get a big infusion of money from the federal government. The House has passed a record-breaking bill that sends about $40 billion to 15 intelligence agencies. The bill calls for more money for the CIA to recruit new spies and to invest in Arabic programs. The House and Senate must now get together to work out details on that budget.
North Korea has not yet said whether it will accept or reject Washington's package of incentives to abandon its nuclear program. Yesterday at a six-nation gathering in Beijing, the U.S. offered its first detailed proposal, which included security guarantees and energy aid. U.S. and North Korean negotiators are reportedly planning to hold a rare one-on-one meeting, and that is set to take place today.
Back here in the U.S., a young Oregon girl and her coach, they've been missing since last September, they've now been found. Details straight ahead.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Moore presents himself in a very one- sided way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Moviegoers react to "Fahrenheit 9/11." Hear what was said about the film after last night's premier in New York.
And later, author Linda Bruckheimer joins me here in Atlanta to talk about her new book, "The Southern Belles of Honeysuckle Way." She knows Hollywood and she knows small towns in the south. We'll have a chat just ahead.
This is CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: And our breaking news comes out of Washington, D.C. and the Supreme Court, the case concerning Vice President Dick Cheney and the Energy Task Force that he headed up back in 2001.
Let's go to our Bob Franken with the decision from the Supreme Court -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a big win for the White House, for the concept of at the executive branch of government, enjoys some separateness from the other branches of government. The Court in effect has said, in this particular case, a civil case, Vice President Cheney could not be ordered under the circumstances of lower courts to turn over his documents in a lawsuit. Documents that have to do with his formation of an Energy Policy Committee. This is something that is one of the most fundamental issues to reach the court.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): The fight over Vice President Cheney's right to confidentiality is a battle that goes all the way back to 1803. And the Supreme Court's decision supporting Judicial Review and Oversight over the White House. The vice president claimed the lists of participants in his meetings to formulate energy policy were the business of the executive branch alone. Court involvement in effect was meddling.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We start down that road; we're setting a terrible precedent. We're saying the vice president cannot have confidential meetings.
ENSOR: The vice president has refused to provide a list of those participated. His adversaries argue it will show heavy influence by corporate energy interests. Including the likes of ousted Enron's chief executive Ken Lay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The final report of the Energy Task Force reads as if it was written by the energy industry.
ENSOR: Add to the intrigue one adamant Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who rejected demands to remove himself from the case, after disclosures Cheney had taken him on a duck-hunting trip. "If it is reasonable," said Scalia, "to think that a Supreme Court justice can be bought so cheap, the nation is in deeper trouble than I had imagined."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a question of public confidence in the courts.
ENSOR: The entire matter, says the vice president, amounts to a tempest in a teapot.
CHENEY: It's a classic sort of feeding frenzy in Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: The case is a major, major case when it comes to separation of powers. And as a matter of fact, there are other cases now involving terrorism with the same issues comes up. Those are probably going to come next week. Quoting from the majority opinion, "While the president," and by extension, the vice president, "is not above the law; the judiciary must afford presidential confidentiality the greatest possible protection." That was a prevailing view in this case. And by the way, Justice Scalia was among those who joined the opinion supporting Vice President Cheney.
KAGAN: An as you said, it was a 7-2 decision. Who were the two dissenting Justices, Bob?
ENSOR: You had to ask that, don't you? Let me turn my page here and I will tell you. It was Ginsburg and Justice Souter.
KAGAN: All right. Not too surprising there, how they fell along predictable voting patterns there.
Bob Franken in Washington, D.C. thank you for that.
Let's bring in our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin who joins us.
I believe you're on the phone -- Jeff.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Ma'am. Hi, Daryn.
KAGAN: Not just a victory here for the Bush administration, but as you look at how the power of government is separated for the executive branch in general going forward.
TOOBIN: Absolutely. And this is a court that has been very protective of the executive branch's power. I think the decision is not a surprise for that reason. Keeping prying eyes away from the executive branch has been a hallmark of Chief Justice Rehnquist's court. And this is another decision in that tradition.
KAGAN: And so, let's look at the specific case. This was a lawsuit against Vice President Cheney, asking him to give up the list of contacts of people that he had consulted with, for this energy task force back in 2001. Lower courts had ruled against Vice President Cheney. Now what happens to a lawsuit like this? TOOBIN: The lawsuit is over, and Cheney can keep the information secret. Of course, at this point, he is always free to disclose with whom he met in the course of this Energy Task Force. So it may -- it will remain a political issue. But as a legal matter, it's solved. It's over. And this administration does not have to turn over the names of the people they met with.
KAGAN: And in terms of what this says about this particular Supreme Court?
TOOBIN: It is a Supreme Court that is fundamentally conservative, that is protective of the rights of the executive. And a court that does not generally favor disclosure of information, when there can be any argument of confidentiality or national security at stake.
KAGAN: And then the other issue, and Bob mentioned this in his report, the pressure, the request for Antonin Scalia to remove himself -- recuse himself from this particular case, because he's old friends with Vice President Cheney and had recently taken a hunting trip with the vice president. That issue just goes away with the ruling as well? TOOBIN: That issue goes away. He was one of the seven justices. He -- in characteristic way, he didn't feel any pressure to bend over backwards to be hostile to Vice President Cheney's position. He voted with Vice President Cheney's position. And given his history as a justice, again, that's not surprising. He's particularly sympathetic to claims like this. But it will merely go into history as perhaps the most famous duck-hunting trip of all time.
(LAUGHTER)
KAGAN: Yes, that goes without saying. Jeffrey Toobin in New York City, thank you for that.
Once again, the breaking news out of the Supreme Court, the Court -- the High Court ruling 7-2 in favor of Vice President Dick Cheney. He will not have to turn over the list of energy industry contacts that he had in his Energy Task Force back in 20001.
We're going to fit in a quick break, and we'll be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: An Oregon softball coach has been found, along with a missing teenage girl, who was once a member of his team. Police say the two were apparently living together in Knoxville, Tennessee. The girl was just 15 when she disappeared nine months ago from Beaverton, Oregon. Thirty-eight year old Andrew Garver is in custody. The pair was located following a minor traffic accident in Knoxville.
A juror dismissed from the Scott Peterson double murder trial says the judge told him he was a distraction. Attention focused on Justin Falconer just last week, after television cameras caught him talking to Laci Peterson's brother, Brent Rocha. And earlier on "AMERICAN MORNING," the former juror said he thinks Peterson is innocent of killing his wife and unborn son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN FALCONER, DISMISSED PETERSON JUROR: Scott Peterson is innocent until the prosecution proves that he is guilty. And beyond a reasonable doubt. And so you have to have a little bit of sympathy for the guy, knowing that's the case. As you know, he's lost his wife; he's lost his son. He's -- you know, the family, every -- his whole life is upside down. So you have a little bit of sympathy for him there. And then, you know, but you have to understand he's an innocent man until proven guilty. And he has not been proven guilty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: A defense request for a mistrial was rejected.
Coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY, New Yorkers react to Michael Moore's controversial film "Fahrenheit 9/11." That's coming up after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: We are just six days away from the handover of power in Iraq. And it has been a very bloody and violent day across the country. Attacks in five separate cities, attacks that appear to be coordinated.
For more on that, we are welcoming Iraq's deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, joining us now from Baghdad.
KAGAN: Mr. Salih, thank you for being with us.
BARHAM SALIH, DEP. PRIME MINISTER, IRAQ: Thank you for having me.
KAGAN: Can you give us any more information that you've been able to learn about the attacks that have taken place in five separate cities, five bloody attacks across Iraq today?
SALIH: There were bloody attacks; they were targeting Iraqi police, as well as civilians. Many Iraqis have died in the process. We are dealing -- our assessment, we're dealing with a terrorist on slot in the run up to the first of July, when sovereignty is handed over to the Iraqi government. We just concluded -- or this morning we concluded a meeting of the national security of the government...
(POP)
SALIH: ... where we have reviewed the latest situation. And adopted some new measures, by which we could be hopefully dealing with what we anticipate to be an escalating threat, as we approach the first of July.
KAGAN: OK. And for people who just heard a pop and saw the lights go out, I think it was something as simple as just...
SALIH: It was just a light. KAGAN: It was just a light.
SALIH: It was just a light.
KAGAN: OK.
SALIH: Yes, indeed.
KAGAN: Where you are and what's taken place.
SALIH: Daryn, put it. Things are not as bad in Iraq where they cannot reach this deep.
(LAUGHTER)
KAGAN: OK. Sometimes it's just a blown-out light bulb. We want to be clear about that.
SALIH: Yes. Absolutely.
KAGAN: Let's talk about -- and we're glad to have that information. Let's talk about the targets here. And part of this handover are Iraqi forces taking over increasing percentages of security. As they do that, they increasingly become targets themselves. How do you counter that?
SALIH: Indeed.
KAGAN: Yes. How do you fight against that?
SALIH: Well, we have to try to empower our security services by providing them with: better equipment, better training, better command and control. And better partnership with the multi-national forces that will stay in Iraq helping us overcome the terrorist challenge.
We are pleased with what we see to be the resilience of many of the commanders and the officers, whether they are in the police or the newly formed Iraqi army, and the Iraqi National Guards. They understand the terrorist threat, and they understand what they are up against. And the government is determined to provide them what it takes in order to stand up to this challenge.
This will be with us for some time. And we have to brace ourselves that it will get tougher before it gets better. And we have to put things in context. Your own society, the United States of America, is dealing with this terrorist threat. With all the resources and the capabilities that you have, you have difficulty handling it. How about Iraq just coming out of 35 years of tyranny and going through this difficult transition? We have to understand the difficulties that we're dealing with. But please, also understand that we are committed and we are determined to win this battle.
KAGAN: And just from a moral standpoint, how do you keep that up? When a young man who goes, let's say, to a local police station, just to sign up, or apply for a job can be killed just standing in line, how do you continue to get people to want to participate in that process, when their very lives are on the line?
SALIH: Well, no doubt it's very difficult. But people also know what is at stake. People are increasingly aware that these terrorists, who initially mounted their campaigns in the name of liberation, in the name of resistance to occupation, they are exposed for what they are. They are evil people who are against everything decent. They are against human life, against human rights. They are targeting innocent Iraqis who are not combatants. And therefore, it is a battle for our country.
Freedom is not easy and it's not cheap. And people understand that we have a very stark choice between freedom and terror and tyranny on the other side. And we have suffered so much under Saddam Hussein. These terrorists are trying to get us back to what we had to endure under Saddam's regime. There is no way that we can let them win. This is our battle. And hopefully on the first of July that statement will be made more powerfully and more clearly. And Iraqis will know that this is Iraqis against the enemies of Iraq.
KAGAN: Dr. Barham Salih, the deputy prime minister of Iraq, it is a historic time, as you said, the work and challenges are huge. We thank you for taking time out today, sir, to take -- to talk with us.
SALIH: Thank you.
KAGAN: Appreciate your time. Thank you. And good luck in the days ahead.
It was just a blown out light bulb. In just a moment, we're going to step back and see what that was. But that was deputy prime minister joining us from Baghdad.
Turning up the heat in "Fahrenheit 9/11," we're going to tell you about moviegoers and what they think of Michael Moore's controversial film. That is just ahead.
And Ronald Reagan's son talks about religion and war. You're going to hear what he has to say about President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq.
(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
