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CNN Live Today
President Bush Visits Panama; Operation Steel Curtain Launched
Aired November 07, 2005 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(NEWSBREAK)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is wrapping up a trip to South America with a visit to the most famous canal in the world. Live coverage is ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.
And everywhere you look, it is a scene of utter devastation after a tornado ripped through a trailer park in Indiana, killing at least 17 people. Ahead, the victims relive the horror around them as the twisters ripped through.
And on the offensive in Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers side by side, taking the streets back of a region overrun by insurgents. What's different about Operation Steel Curtain? We'll explain, coming up.
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KAGAN: Turning now to the fight for Iraq. House to house battles continue near the Syrian border. A new anti-insurgency campaign launched by American and Iraqi forces is in its third day. They're calling it Operation Steel Curtain. It's targeting the town of Husayba in Anbar Province. That is a region that remains the hotbed of resistance.
Let's get an update now from our Aneesh Raman, who is live in Baghdad. Aneesh, hello.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN BAGHDAD CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you.
It is really the biggest operation we've seen since the push last year against Fallujah. The goal here is to draw the insurgents of the city of Husayba out into a final fight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAMAN (voice-over): The intent is in the name. Launched over the weekend, Operation Steel Curtain is meant as a final push against insurgents in the volatile Al Anbar Province, stemming the flow of foreign fighters, weapons, and cash from coming across the nearby Syrian border.
LT. COL. DALE ALFORD, U.S. MARINE CORPS: We're expecting a lot of IEDs, vehicles that were rigged for suicide bomb cars, houses that were rigged, doors that when you opened them, they were booby-trapped, pockets of resistance anywhere from eight to 10 to 12 size elements that are really dying in place.
RAMAN: Three thousand American and 550 Iraqi troops started sweeping through the town of Husayba at dawn Saturday, finding and destroying car bombs, conducting air strikes on insurgent command posts, confiscating weapons caches, and killing dozens of suspected terrorists, all the frequent hallmarks of continued operations in the western part of the country.
Over the past several weeks, from Iron Fist to Steel Curtain, the military has worked to cripple al Qaeda in Iraq in its strongest-held province, and unlike before, is now staying after operations are complete.
BRIG. GEN. DONALD ALSON, U.S. MILITARY SPOKESPERSON: What remains is a permanent Iraqi security force presence. We are building, the Iraqi army is building permanent locations in these areas.
RAMAN: A step possible only with larger numbers of trained and equipped Iraqi security forces, which the military says now stands at 211,000. But equally important is the number of operations Iraqis can conduct independent of U.S. support, a number the military says has gone from 13 to 25 percent since May.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAMAN: Now, Daryn, this operation so far has left one U.S. marine killed, nine others wounded. Also something to tell you about -- earlier today in the town of Mosul, north of the capital, a suicide car bomber ramming into a U.S. military convoy. No fatalities, but six U.S. soldiers were wounded in that incident -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Aneesh Raman, live from Baghdad. Thank you.
Now we want to get out of the breaking news story out of the Supreme Court. The high court agreeing to hear the case of an enemy combatant. His name is Salim Ahmed Hamdan. He allegedly was Osama bin Laden's driver -- personal driver and bodyguard -- and would face a military tribunal. And yet, he and his lawyers are challenging that entire system.
Let's bring in our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, on the phone to explain what's at stake here. Hey, Jeff.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Daryn.
KAGAN: This is an important test of the military -- to the military and also the government's power to detain these enemy combatants.
TOOBIN: That's right. This is part of the American legal system's struggle to define the rights of mostly we're talking about the people who have been held in Guantanamo since 9/11. In 2004, the Supreme Court said they could not be held indefinitely without trials. But what this case is about is what kind of rights they will have in a trial, how independent will the fact-finders be? How much like an American criminal trial will these proceedings be?
KAGAN: Jeff, I have more questions about this. I'm going to ask you to hold that thought right now. We want to go live back to Panama, because President Bush is getting a chance to tour the locks.
And our Elaine Quijano is there to tell us more -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. That's right, President Bush arriving here at the Panama Canal just a short time ago. We see him just behind me, in fact, over my shoulder, touring the facility here. We're at a first set of locks here on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. The president is touring with the leader of Panama, Martin Torrijos, as well as their spouses.
The president is really here to highlight what he says has been the good stewardship of the canal by the Panamanian people.
Of course, President Bush also using this to highlight the importance of free trade. The president has been pushing for a free- trade hemisphere, if you will. In fact, that was what began his visit at the Summit of the Americas in Argentina. The U.S., however, unsuccessful in securing an agreement from all 34 countries on the issue of a free-trade zone.
Nevertheless, President Bush winding up his tour of the region by making a visit here to Panama, a country which is moving forward, the president says, with the United States on a bilateral-trade agreement, but interesting to note, Daryn, a bit of domestic politics entering into the discussion about free trade. President Bush, when asked about this, pointing to Democrats, saying it was Democrats who are responsible for holding back some of the free-trade initiatives.
Now the president will finish up with his tour here shortly, and we heard just a short time ago the president asked about a number of issues, but before all of that, Mr. Bush also took the opportunity to comment on those deadly tornadoes that recently swept through parts of the Midwest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I called the governor of Indiana this morning and expressed by deepest condolences for the families who lost lives. I asked him if there was more federal response needed, and he felt like the response that we had given was appropriate at the time, and many Americans are now asking God's blessings on those who suffered through this natural disaster.
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QUIJANO: And the president there also being asked at that same news conference about the ongoing CIA leak investigation. Mr. Bush giving the response that he has given about that, saying he will not comment because it is still an ongoing legal matter.
Now the president, as I mentioned, wrapping up his visit. He will have a roundtable meeting, and then meeting with some baseball players, Panamanian baseball players, later today, before returning to the United States -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Elaine Quijano from Panama, thank you so much.
Let's go back to Jeff Toobin. Jeff, my apologies. How rude to just interrupt you and your brilliant thought. But once again, to remind our viewers, we were talking about Salim Ahmed Hamdan, and he has been deemed an enemy combatant, allegedly an Al Qaeda leader and Osama Bin Laden's personal driver and bodyguard, challenging this whole idea of the military tribunal, and the Supreme Court has now agreed to hear his case.
Interesting legal questions here. What's a POW? What's an enemy combatant? How does the Geneva convention all play into all of this? This is really important stuff.
TOOBIN: It is important stuff, and there's an interesting quirk in the case, which is that the now chief justice, John Roberts, sat on the District of Columbia court of appeals panel that decided the case in favor of the administration. So he said, in his confirmation hearings, he will not sit on any case in which he participated earlier, and he didn't participate in the decision of the court to take the case. So this will be an eight-justice court that will decide this very important issue. The chief justice having already expressed his view that the government is right, that the full range of protections like the right to call witnesses, the right to have sworn testimony, the right to have a neutral, nonexecutive branch person to decide the case, those rights were not guaranteed by the procedure that the administration has set up, but that was OK with the D.C. circuit. We'll see if it's okay with the Supreme Court.
KAGAN: Very interesting stuff. And we love the inside baseball information that you provide for us. Thank you, Jeff.
TOOBIN: All right, Daryn. Good to talk to you.
KAGAN: Once again, we were just showing you live pictures, President Bush visiting the panama canal at this hour. We'll bring you more pictures and talk about the significance of this visit straight ahead.
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KAGAN: We're looking at live pictures from the Panama Canal. That's where President Bush is on the third day his three-day visit to Central and South America. Mr. Bush pushing tree trade and having a mixed response as he makes his way on the journey. More on that just ahead.
(MARKET REPORT)
KAGAN: So our next story is about a bridge that literally spanned life and death, when a family's SUV plunged off the a bridge into Tampa Bay. But as a father and son sank, trapped inside the vehicle, good samaritans came from all directions.
Carol Lin has the rest of the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amira Jakupovic and her husband haven't even met the good samaritans who dove off a highway bridge to save her family Saturday.
AMIRA JAKUPOVIC, ACCIDENT SURVIVOR: And I want to thank them. I owe them my life.
LIN: The couple and their two sons were traveling on an interstate bridge over Tampa Bay, when their tire blew out.
LT. ALLAN CARTER, FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL: They lost control, hit the outer or hit the inside wall. Then spun across the highway, hit the outside wall, and went over the wall and went into the water.
LIN: The SUV flipped over as it plunged. The roof of the vehicle hitting the water first. Amira described being overcome by total darkness and sinking quickly to the bottom of the bay.
She was able to grab her 13-year old son and pull him to the surface. But her husband was trapped. And she could not see their seven-year old son, Amar.
The captain of a small fishing boat came to help. From the bridge, a passer-by, Carrie Reardon, stopped his car and jumped in.
JAKUPOVIC: The next thing I remember is that the - was the guy who jumped from the bridge. And 30 seconds later, he got my boy.
LIN: Reardon swam down nine feet and unhooked Amar's seatbelt. Seconds later, an off duty nurse, Kelly Earl, followed Reardon into the water, administering CPR once the boy was pulled into the boat.
JAKUPOVIC: The other girl, she was jumping from a bridge, too. And I guess she was a nurse. That's what they told me.
LIN: The family is recovering at a nearby hospital. Doctors say they're alive today because of the quick thinking of strangers and because they were wearing their seatbelts.
JAKUPOVIC: I would give them my life because they saved my son's life.
Carol Lin, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: OK, so we're not done with the tears yet. Earlier today on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING, we had the chance to talk with one of those good samaritans. She's the nurse who jumped in to save one of the children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLI EARLE, RESCUED 7-YEAR-OLD BOY: Children definitely have a special place in everyone's hearts. And, you know, just to hear a father and a mother pleading for the life of their child, that appeals to you as a person, not as a professional. And, you know, you're obligated to help -- to help. That's it. It's an obligation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Kelli Earle, by the way, is a labor and delivery nurse. She says when the boy was pulled on to the deck of the fishing boat, he wasn't breathing. She performed CPR until the youngster cleared his lungs of the water. We like those hero stories.
Talking about your family and minivan. How safe is it? The Toyota Sienna, Nissan Quest and Honda Odyssey ranked tops in recent side-impact crash tests. Those tests were conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Top performers come equipped with standard side air bags. Vans ranking at the bottom include the Ford Freestar, the Mazda MPV and molds with outside air bags. The tests simulated what happened when a minivan is broadsided by either an SUV or a pickup truck.
Coming up, we're going to go back to Evansville, Indiana. The latest on trying to get help to those victims of the Sunday morning tornado. That's just ahead.
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KAGAN: Getting back now to Evansville, Indiana, and the destruction and the death that took place in that area after a tornado struck down and touched down early Sunday morning.
With us right now Sherman Greer, director of emergency management for Vanderburgh County. That does include the city of Evansville. Mr. Greer thank you for being with us.
SHERMAN GREER, DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MGMT: Thank you for having me.
KAGAN: What's your biggest challenge at this hour?
GREER: Well, at this hour right now, we're doing the damage assessment with the FEMA organization that's here, so that we can find out exactly how we can start getting assistance to these people. We're doing individual assessment right now.
KAGAN: But do you think that everybody has been accounted for at this time?
GREER: Right now, we're down to the single digits on not being accounted for at this time. It's looking very good. Things are looking very good in that aspect right now.
KAGAN: Do you feel you're getting the kind of help that you need from other government agencies?
GREER: Most definitely. I mean, if you were here at this -- at East Brook Trailer Park, we've got more help than we need in some areas. But we've got the state officials, we've got the federal officials, we've got local elected and appointed officials that have been here throughout the whole -- since Sunday morning.
KAGAN: There's been a lot of questions about the warning system and how it worked, did it work, did it give people enough time?
GREER: Let me tell you, we -- I've been the emergency management director here for 16 years. That's system was in place before I got here. That system is the best system that we could have in this type of situation. I know people are saying that maybe you should have that one that can call everyone.
But, you know, when you look at those type of systems, for the number of people that we had just in this trailer park here it would take them at least 30 minutes to get everyone called for that. So we have ten minutes to do the warning and our warning sirens went off. I -- you know, where I live, the warning sirens were going off. I heard them as soon as the National Weather Service gave us the warning.
KAGAN: So it was just a fluke thing that there was just such a short amount time?
GREER: Pardon me?
KAGAN: It was just a fluke that it turned out this way, that there was such -- in some places, such a short amount of time or no warning?
GREER: You know, that was all with the weather phenomenon of how everything came together with the hot and the cold air and everything else that happened. There wasn't a whole lot of warning time. When they saw it on the radar, they gave us the warning and we set the sirens off. It's not one of those things where that you can have hurricane that's brewing out in the Pacific or the Atlantic and then it's coming in and you've got a warning time. These things sometimes happen with no notice at all.
KAGAN: Mr. Greer, I know you have a lot of work to do in your county and cleaning up and helping up people get their lives put back together. We wish you well with that work, sir.
GREER: We thank you.
KAGAN: Thank you.
Also in the news today, there's an important decision by the Supreme Court this morning that affects the war on terror. We'll get the latest information from Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
And riots continue in and around Paris. They are spreading around the country of France. Is an end to that violence near? Live report is ahead as the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins after a quick break.
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