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CNN Live Today
War Summit at Camp David; Middle East Conflict; Marine's Attorney Denies Civilians Were Massacred in Haditha
Aired June 12, 2006 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Daryn Kagan. Welcome to the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY. A lot of stories making headlines this hour.
Along the Florida Gulf Coast, waiting and watching for Tropical Storm Alberto. Live coverage from the region and the latest from the CNN weather center just ahead.
Plus, facing the judge. A court date for suspected terrorists in Canada. We'll go to Ontario for the latest on this case.
And raining rockets. Palestinian militants take aim at an Israeli town. We'll look at the deteriorating situation in the Middle East.
It certainly did not take long. Less than two weeks into the new hurricane season, a tropical storm is taking aim at Florida. Alberto expected to make landfall sometime tomorrow. People along Florida's Gulf Coast are getting prepared, and our severe weather expert, meteorologist Chad Myers, is in the CNN weather center.
Chad, now we're hearing the "H" word, hurricane warning only at this time.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That is correct.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: All right, Chad. Thank you.
MYERS: You're welcome.
KAGAN: Busy day for you. We'll be checking back.
Susan Candiotti is live from Clearwater Beach. We'll talk with her at the half-hour.
And farther north in Florida, along the panhandle, the Tallahassee airport has now reopened. They had a situation there early this morning where there was a suspicious package from the security folks. So they evacuated the airport. No incoming or outgoing flights were allowed, but now the -- it appears that the airport has reopened in Tallahassee, Florida, in the panhandle of Florida.
On now to the war summit at Camp David. It's a two-day strategy session that's under way. The president has gathered his chief defense advisers and cabinet heads.
Our White House correspondent, Ed Henry, has more on that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush is downplaying expectations of U.S. troop cutbacks, while touting the death of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi as a major blow to al Qaeda.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a big deal to have brought him to justice. Having said that, I don't want the American people to think that a war is won with the death of one person.
HENRY: Nevertheless, the Iraq national security adviser is predicting U.S. troop levels will drop below 100,000 by the end of this year.
MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATL. SECURITY ADVISER: And by the end of next year, most of the multinational forces will have gone home, and by middle of 2008, we will not see a lot of visibility, neither in the cities nor in the towns of the multinational forces.
HENRY: But top U.S. officials have heard such pronouncements before, so they're being more cautiously optimistic.
GEN. GEORGE CASEY, U.S. COMMANDER IN IRAQ: I think as long as the Iraqi security forces continue to progress and as long as this national unity government continues to operate that way and move the country forward, I think we're going to be able to see continued gradual reductions of coalition forces over the coming months and into next year.
HENRY: Key areas of discussion at the Camp David Summit include finding ways to capitalize on al-Zarqawi's death to defeat the insurgency and reduce the violence: Continue training more Iraqi troops an police. Deal with the problems of the Shiite militia. Focus on bringing in more electricity so the Iraqi people feel more tangible results.
PAUL BREMER, FMR. COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY: This was a good week in Iraq, not just Zarqawi's death, but filling out the new Iraqi cabinet, and I think it's important to take advantage of the opportunity.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And our Ed Henry is nearby Camp David.
Ed, talking about who was invited to the table, any Iraqis invited into that conversation?
HENRY: Yes. In fact, today the meetings will all be about U.S. officials, key members of the president's cabinet, but also other officials outside the cabinet, director of National Intelligence, for example, trying to convene here and find a way forward in Iraq. But the Iraqis will be coming in tomorrow.
Very interesting, an unprecedented move. The White House will be bringing in by video conference the new Iraqi prime minister, Maliki, as well as key members of his cabinet. Symbolically, this is a clear way for the White House to try to start handing off more responsibility to the Iraqis. But also, from a substantive standpoint, it could be good to have a two-way dialogue and get at this from both the U.S. and Iraqi perspective at the same time -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Ed Henry near Camp David.
Ed, thank you.
There are new developments this hour on the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. A successor has been named to the terrorist leader. CNN has not been able to authenticate the claim by the Islamic Web site.
Meanwhile, early this morning, the U.S. military announced that DNA tests do indeed confirm that this is the body of the terrorist leader. And we have greater details on the autopsy results and how he died in the U.S. airstrike. U.S. officials want to counter rumors that he was beaten or executed by coalition forces that found him alive in the rubble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. STEVE JONES, U.S. ARMY: A shock wave exerting a pressure of 500 pounds per square inch kills only half of the individuals hit. Compare that to the pressure of a 500-pound bomb seen here. Because al-Zarqawi died from primary blast injury, he must have been in an enclosed space where the peak pressure of the blast was magnified. That is how we know he was inside the house when he was hit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Military officials say that Zarqawi died less than an hour after the bombs leveled the house around him. They say he died of internal injuries and showed no signs that he was shot or beaten.
Well, insurgents are showing no signs of loosening their grip of terror in Iraq. There have been several attacks across the country today. The single deadliest, this roadside blast south of Baghdad. It destroyed a minibus carrying workers for the oil ministry. Six people were killed, another dozen wounded.
Elsewhere in Iraq, at least two other attacks killed seven people and wounded more than 50 others.
It is dangerous out there. After laying low for nearly 13 years, violent crime jumps.
An FBI report released this morning shows the murder rate increased 4.8 percent last year. Rapes, assaults and robberies increased 2.5 percent. And it seems much of it is happening in the Midwest, where violent crime rose more than 5.5 percent. Analysts expect criminal gangs are nesting in smaller cities with limited police resources. Overall, violent crime is actually down in many big cities.
More rocket fire into Israel from Gaza. That follows a weekend of air assaults from both sides. We'll have a live report from Jerusalem.
One U.S. Marine involved in the killing of Iraqi civilians in Haditha is speaking out through his attorney. He gives the first TV interview to CNN. Hear it for yourself straight ahead.
And also, Alberto looming in the Gulf of Mexico. The season's first tropical storm now heading for Florida. The people on the coast are getting ready.
You'll have continuous updates from CNN, your hurricane headquarters.
We're back with an update right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Things are quickly developing along the coast of Florida. Let's check in with Chad Myers -- Chad.
MYERS: Hi, Daryn.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: All right, Chad. Checking back with you many times in the hour.
Thank you.
MYERS: You're welcome.
KAGAN: On now to world news. The rockets are flying in Israel and Gaza after Hamas militants call off a truce. And Israel again targeted members of the militant group who survived Sunday's airstrike. So far, no fatalities from the rain of the militants' rockets.
Fionnuala Sweeney joins us from Jerusalem with the latest.
Fionnuala, the latest on the fallout from the weekend action?
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, you will recall that Hamas ended its cease-fire, Daryn, last Friday night. This followed what is known here as the beach incident, when seven members of one family were killed when a rocket or a shell hit the beach where they had been picnicking. And it was as a result of that that Hamas announced the end of its year-long or more unofficial cease-fire with Israel.
Now, I have to say that the pounding on both sides of the Gaza- Israeli border has been going on for some weeks now, but it has escalated in recent days. Some three dozen Kassam rockets were fired from northern Gaza into Israel over the weekend. No one was killed, as you say, but one man was very seriously injured.
And the fallout from that beach incident is causing waves throughout Palestinian society. It's causing problems for President Abbas of Fatah as he tries to get an agreement with the Hamas-led government on a way forward for the Palestinian people.
He called a referendum for July 26th which he's fairly confident he'll win. And that is based on what is known as a prisoner's document which would guarantee or at least call for a Palestinian state along 1967 borders and also would embolden Hamas to recognize Israel, something it does not do at the moment.
However, what happened on Friday evening has certainly sent shock waves across this part of the world. The Israeli military is still investigating the source of the shelling, and they are withholding full responsibility for it, Daryn, until that investigation is completed.
KAGAN: Now, that incident on the beach in northern Gaza forever changed the life of one 7-year-old girl. Her entire family was killed. What is the status on her?
SWEENEY: Well, she has been pretty much adopted by nearly every senior politician in Gaza and the West Bank, and also by many prominent businessmen of Palestinian society (ph) origin. She is, in fact, 11 years of age, and she was with her father, her mother, her stepmother and several siblings when they were out picnicking on the beach when that shell landed.
She happened to be, at first, it was thought, swimming in the sea when the shell landed. But we now learned later that, in fact, she had been resting under a blanket some distance away from the family. But she was referred to in all the newspapers, as you can imagine, both Arab and Israeli, over the weekend. And she's been adopted symbolically by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and also by Ismail Haniyeh, who's the Palestinian prime minister.
They say that they will pay for her education and funding. Her mother was injured in that attack, as she is recovering in hospital. But her father, and, as you know, several of her siblings died, including her stepmother -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Fionnuala Sweeney, live -- thank you -- from Jerusalem.
Now the latest on the killing of Iraqi civilians in Haditha. Were they massacred by U.S. Marines or merely the victims of the fog of war?
The U.S. Marine sergeant who led the charge said that all 24 civilians were killed inadvertently. His lawyer gave his first television interview to CNN.
Here now is our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, with an exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Neal Puckett represents then-sergeant now Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, the leader of a four-man team that killed the occupants of two houses that day. He's told his attorney several Marines witnessed hostile fire coming from inside the house.
NEAL PUCKETT, ATTORNEY FOR STAFF SGT. FRANK WUTERICH: That door was -- was kicked in. A Frag Grenade was thrown -- thrown inside. And immediately following that, the lead man in the stack went in firing his weapon and killed everyone inside.
MCINTYRE: Puckett, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, insists that was the standard procedure for clearing a suspected insurgent hideout, and that the first Marine in, who was not Wuterich, had done it before in Falluja. It was Sergeant Wuterich's first real combat, says Puckett, and he believed he was in hot pursuit of enemy fighters.
PUCKETT: Sergeant Wuterich noticed that the back door is wide open. He presumes that the guys who were firing had escaped out the back. So they went back out the front door, stealthily went around the house. And the most likely house that they could possibly be in, the fallback position, was cleared the same way.
MCINTYRE: Puckett says Wuterich fired no shots at either house, but he did fire on five men in a car after they refused orders in Arabic to lie on the ground and instead took off running.
PUCKETT: Sergeant Wuterich does not believe that he did anything wrong on that day. He followed the rules of engagement as had been instructed to him by professional instructors, by his chain of command, and everything he understood he was supposed to do he did.
MCINTYRE: Puckett says if anything was to blame for the deaths, it was the rules of engagement that didn't provide enough protection for innocent civilians.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: She jumped online and then she hopped on a plane. The MySpace runaway is back home with quite a story. We will tell it when LIVE TODAY next.
This is CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: These live pictures coming in to us from Glenpool, Oklahoma. That's just south of Tulsa. It's a petroleum fire, and officials believe that it might have started by a lightning strike that ignited this storage tank. It's a petroleum farm south of Tulsa. Firefighters from Glenpool on the scene. Black smoke can be seen rising from the farm in Glenpool near U.S. Highway 75.
We will keep an eye on those pictures.
Live pictures. Thanks to KJRH, our affiliate, for providing those, as well.
So your child is in a chat room and your daughter has run away. Two fears. One family. The story does have a happy ending, but the might have been still resonates.
Here's CNN's Carol Costello.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sixteen year-old Katherine Lester is back on U.S. soil after secretly flying to the Middle East to see a man she met online. Authorities say last Monday the teenager left home and took a plane from New York to Tel Aviv, Israel.
MARY LESTER, KATHERINE'S SISTER: How a 16-year-old can hop on a plane out of the country within a few days is beyond me.
COSTELLO: Katherine's mother says the family had no idea where she'd gone or who she was with until a relative went looking for clues on the girl's computer.
SHAWN LESTER, KATHERINE'S MOTHER: She got on the MySpace and found out that she had been talking to a guy from Tel Aviv.
COSTELLO: Lester was detained at a stop in Amman, Jordan. Police say she planned to meet a 25-year-old man from Jericho on the West Bank. For at least three months, she'd been chatting with him on the social networking site MySpace.com. The family says the man went by the name "Abdulla." Sometimes he posted on MySpace as a 14-year- old, sometimes as a 25-year-old.
S. LESTER: He could take a young girl that's never even had a date and talk her into something. Or, you know, right now I don't know if she went on her own or if she was forced.
COSTELLO: The MySpace Web site, with more than 72 million members, has raised concerns for parents and police about teens being targeted by sexual predators.
M. LESTER: I'm just glad that they caught her when they did, because lord knows what would have happened.
COSTELLO: Investigators have confiscated Lester's computer from home, trying to determine if a crime has been committed. The FBI is assisting with the investigation. On Friday, Katherine arrived back in the United States. S. LESTER: You always think it can't happen to you. You know, we've all went through this. It doesn't seem real. You know, I would have never dreamt, but now I will not have a computer in my home.
I'm just glad she's alive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And you can see more of Carol Costello's stories on "AMERICAN MORNING." Watch weekdays beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
Our big story today is Alberto, a tropical storm. But there is a hurricane warning out there. We'll have the latest with Chad Myers just ahead.
You're watching CNN, your hurricane headquarters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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