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CNN Sunday Morning
Palestinians Vow Revenge; Interview With Reverend Jesse Jackson
Aired April 18, 2004 - 07:00 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
It is April 18. Good morning everyone. I'm Catherine Callaway.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Renay San Miguel. Thanks for being with us. I don't know if we can have a busier three hours planned...
CALLAWAY: No.
SAN MIGUEL: ...here with all the things that are going on around the world.
Let's get you caught up to date on what's going to be coming up this hour. Assassinations and calls for revenge, Israel kills a top Hamas leader in Gaza City. Mobs of angry Palestinians carry his coffin through the streets and vow that Israel will pay. We'll have the latest on that just ahead.
Also, the Reverend Jesse Jackson was successful in getting those hostages released in Yugoslavia five years ago. Now he's trying to secure the release of an American civilian being held in Iraq. We'll tell you how when Jackson joins us live just minutes from now.
And the war in Iraq is creating an ever louder war of words between the Republicans and Democrats. Which camp fired off the latest verbal shot? We'll tell you all that just ahead.
But first, here's this hour's news alert.
CALLAWAY: Another American casualty in Iraq, a U.S. soldier dies of wounds suffered in a roadside bomb attack on his condor yesterday morning in eastern Baghdad.
Pope John Paul II is calling this morning for the release of hostages in Iraq. The pope says he's following events in Iraq and elsewhere in the Mideast with great sadness. And he called he hostage takers in Iraq to have feelings of humanity.
The spring thaw reveals the body of missing student Dru Sjodin in a ditch northwest of Crookston, Minnesota. That's the hometown of Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., who is charged with kidnapping Sjodin. She disappeared five months ago from a shopping mall in Grand Forks, North Dakota. We'll hear from her family later this hour. SAN MIGUEL: In our top story this hour, angry Palestinians filled the streets of Gaza City this morning. It is the funeral procession for Abdel Aziz Rantisi, leader of the militant Islamic group Hamas. Rantisi and two body guards were killed when a missile fired from an Israeli helicopter destroyed their car.
The killing comes nearly a month after the founder of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in the same manner.
Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is promising this morning to keep hunting down Hamas leaders. And sources in the military wing of Hamas say a leader has already been appointed to replace Abdel Aziz Rantisi.
CNN's John Vause is in Gaza this morning. He has a live report for us now on this latest Mideast Crisis -- John?
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Renay, the body of the Hamas leader is being buried right now at a cemetery here in Gaza not far from his home. But earlier, his body was carried through the streets of Gaza, along with the two bodyguards you mentioned who were also killed by that Israeli missile strike last night.
Thousands of mourners surrounded Rantisi's body. Noticeably, though, smaller number than for this funeral procession than for the Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Yassin.
Renay, you mentioned he was killed about a month or so ago. He was also the victim of an Israeli missile strike.
Rantisi's popularity was mainly among the military wing of Hamas, whereas Sheikh Yassin was...
SAN MIGUEL: OK, I understand that we have just lost our audio feed from John Vause in Gaza City. We will try to re-establish that and bring you more on the situation there.
The assassinated Hamas leader Rantisi held office less than a month. And when he took over, he knew he was a marked man, but said he wasn't afraid of death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDEL AZIZ RANTISI, SLAIN HAMAS LEADER: Are you afraid to die? It's death either by killing or by cancer. The same thing. We are all waiting for the last day of our life. Nothing will be changed. If it is by Apache or by cardiac arrest, I prefer to be by Apache.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAN MIGUEL: Rantisi was an Egyptian-trained pediatrician. He was one of the most extreme voices of the fundamentalist group Hamas.
CALLAWAY: In Washington, the White House issued a statement saying that the United States is gravely concerned for regional peace and stability. "The United States strongly urges Israel to consider carefully the consequences of its actions. And we again urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint at this time."
And we will go to the White House for a live report coming up in the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Well, the top foreign policy official in the European Union denounces the Rantisi killing and warns that it will spark further violence in the Middle East. Javier Solana says that "Actions of this type are not only unlawful, they are not conducive to lowering tensions" there.
SAN MIGUEL: In the wake of the current Middle East situation, we want to ask what you think. This is our e-mail question of the day. Is U.S. foreign policy in the area on the right track? E-mail your responses to wam@cnn.com and we'll be reading them throughout the morning.
CALLAWAY: Jesse Jackson has done it before. Can he do it again? He will join us live coming up next with his plan to win the release of an American hostage in Iraq.
SAN MIGUEL: And John Kerry calls for a new strategy in Iraq. Our political brief is heading your way later this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: The Iraq War hits home as more than 100 people pack a church in Virginia Beach for the funeral of a civilian truck driver. Steven Fisher was killed during an ambush in Iraq April 9. The 43- year old was working for a Halliburton subsidiary when his convoy was attacked near Fallujah.
Now three other civilian contractors died in that attack and several others are still unaccounted for. One civilian from that attack is in the custody of Iraqi insurgents. Thomas Hamill, also a truck driver for Halliburton, was seen in a videotape broadcast on al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, the Reverend Jesse Jackson is calling on religious leaders in Iraq to step in and aid in Hamill's release. You may remember that Jackson has a history of success in securing the release of American hostages in hostile zones. Back in 1984, he was instrumental in the release of an American Navy pilot in Syria. And in the first Gulf War, Jackson went to Iraq to bring home civilians who were being kept as so-called guests of Saddam Hussein.
Back in 1999, he was able to release the -- able to get the release of three American soldiers that were being held in Yugoslavia. And the Reverend Jesse Jackson is joining us now from Chicago this morning.
Thanks for being with us.
JESSE JACKSON, FOUNDER, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION Good morning
CALLAWAY: Good morning to you. I want to start with asking you if you have talked with Kellie Hamill, Thomas Hamill's wife about the situation with her husband?
JACKSON: I called Mrs. Hamill (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and had traveled with her, reaching out to the family in Ohio of the soldier. I talked with Terry Anderson last night, who himself an AP reporter, who was held hostage in Lebanon, now running for state senate in that area.
But in addition to Hamill and the soldier in Ohio, there are about seven other hostages. And so, we joined the pope in appealing for their release. And we do so on moral and humanitarian grounds. If I knew exactly who was holding them, I would appeal to them directly.
In the case of Syria and Assad and Iraq and Hussein and Milosevic in Yugoslavia, I knew who had the problem, but (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in Iraq right now. You can only make an appeal. There are religious leaders that we know in that area, kind of national council and world council church contact and reaching out to them.
CALLAWAY: And indeed there are so many sects there, which as you said, is the problem.
JACKSON: But let me say that...
CALLAWAY: And you say you're appealing to the religious leaders there. Have you been in contact with any of those leaders so far?
JACKSON: We've already begun to make some back channel contacts with them. Each time that we brought Americans home from those hostile ones, I might add in some churches, there were French and Canadian as well, the religious leaders played a significant role in making that moral appeal.
Now the good news is that Jessica Lynch was found in good condition. And Shoshana Johnson, her crew, were found in good condition. Three Japanese citizens were released last week. So that's the high side. The low side, some had been killed while in captivity.
We hope that this humanitarian appeal will help because there must always be some window for negotiation, some window for prisoner swap. There must be some thing that will help break the cycle of violence.
CALLAWAY: I understand that you were trying to contact al Jazeera. Have you been able to do that? And have you received any response from al Jazeera?
JACKSON: Well not yet, but we intend to contact them because they obviously have a very direct contact and influence in the region. At least if they will broadcast our letter, broadcast our moral appeal.
I might add we are also urging our own government to withdraw the help of the United Nations from Iraq as on an expedited time table. Secretary of State Powell made an astonishing statement last week. He said we went there on flawed information, which it means it was a false pretense. And Mr. Rumsfeld said that he is surprised that he's found resistance rather than a welcome mat.
Because of the flawed information and no weapons of mass destruction, no al Qaeda connection or imminent threat, we should be working on a way to get out of this quickly as possible with dignity and not plunge ourselves deeply into a war that is built upon pretenses that are not sound.
CALLAWAY: You know, I want to get back, if we can, to the situation that we're discussing this morning. And that being the hostage situation. What about Keith Matthew Maupin? Have you been in contact with his family at all?
JACKSON: Well, through Terry Anderson, I say the former AP reporter who himself was captive -- or captured for some time in Lebanon, we are reaching out to Mr. Maupin's family to -- already talked to Hamill family. And there are some Danish and about seven other citizens who are held as well.
Of course, the U.S. is holding a significant number of theirs. And I think that in a situation like this, as they seek to get back to the table in Fallujah, the issue of negotiation and prisoner swap must not be out of the picture.
CALLAWAY: If you plan on negotiating on behalf of the Hamill family, other than contacting religious leaders, what else do you plan to do? Do you plan to travel there?
JACKSON: Well, I will travel there if I know with whom to talk and know where to go. Right now, that is a bit less certain because of the other chaos in the region.
But suffice it to say they watch CNN International and CNN Live They watch al Jazeera. And if our voices are heard, it gives us at least a reasonable penetration.
I certainly hope that those who are reaching out from our government will not engage in the kind of name calling, referring to them in this instance, as terrorists and scum. All those kind of attacks, verbal attacks, may arouse a crowd back here in America, but they do...
CALLAWAY: Well, sir, how would you describe those who did kidnap Maupin, who did kidnap Hamill?
JACKSON: Well, I would certainly not try to incite them. One of the key features of inter negotiation is try to relieve your fears. One can be sensitive to the pain of the other, without engaging and embracing their politics. And so, certainly if someone has all the odds in their favor, they have the hatchet in their hand, and your neck is over the fence, you do nothing to incite them. You simply appeal to their better judgment. You're making your moral, humanitarian appeal, not a military threat.
CALLAWAY: Well, Reverend Jackson, good luck in your efforts to secure the release of Maupin, to secure the release of Hamill.
JACKSON: Thanks.
CALLAWAY: And thanks for being with us this morning.
JACKSON: Thank you very much.
SAN MIGUEL: Well, Vice President Cheney speaks out against John Kerry's policy in Iraq, while the Democratic hopeful calls for a new strategy. Your morning dose of politics heading your way next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
And then later this hour, a sad discovery in Minnesota brings a five month search to an end.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I leave it for Senator Kerry to explain or explain away his votes and his statements about the war on terror, our cause in Iraq, and the needs of the American military. Whatever the explanation, it is not an impressive record for someone who aspires to become commander in chief in this time of testing for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: There you have it. Vice President Dick Cheney taking aim at Democrat John Kerry's stance on the war in Iraq and the fight against terror. And joining us to talk about it in our political brief this morning is NPR congressional correspondent Andrea Seabrook.
Thanks for being with us.
ANDREA SEABROOK, NPR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Good morning.
CALLAWAY: Well, the past three weeks has really -- the campaign has really focused on the war in Iraq. Do you think Kerry is getting his message out?
SEABROOK: Well, you know, I think Kerry has a really complicated message. And so in some ways it's easier for President Bush to support the troops and be fully in this war and argue that it's necessary to protect the American people, than it is for Kerry who has to both convince people, the American people, that he would protect them as president. He would do everything necessary. And at the same time, would not go to war in Iraq if he had had that choice, though he voted for. Or would have operated it in a totally different way. And so...
CALLAWAY: But do we know what he would have done?
SEABROOK: Yes, that's a really good question. I mean, you know, this is a guy who voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq, but then voted against the continuing funding for that war.
And so, he's got a complicated message. I mean, right now, what he's trying to do is, like I said, convince the American people that he would protect them at the same time that he's saying he would do this, he would operate this war in a totally different way. And also, questioning the underpinnings of this war in the first place, the motivations for going to war.
CALLAWAY: We heard a little bit of what Dick Cheney had to say about that. And in another part of his statement, he was saying that Kerry doesn't recognize, nor does he understand the murderous ideology of our enemies and the threat that is posed to our nation. Are we going to be hearing a lot more of this? And is Kerry going to be forced to say I do understand, and here's what I would do.
SEABROOK: Well, Kerry has been saying that. He's been saying that at the same time that he's saying that we never should have gone there in the first place. It's very -- like I said, very complex, very nuanced message. And he's been forced into this position where he has to say, you know, this is -- it's important that we do not leave a vacuum for terrorists. He's showing his concern, in other words, for the terrorists at the same time that he's saying, you know, we probably shouldn't have been there in the first place, at least not like this.
CALLAWAY: Let's try to get in...
SEABROOK: Yes.
CALLAWAY: ...do we have time to get in a little bit of Kerry sound from his radio address? Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All Americans are united in backing our troops and meeting our commitment to help the people of Iraq build a country that is stable, peaceful, tolerant and free.
But staying the course does not mean stubbornly holding to the wrong course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: All right, so we're also hearing Kerry say that he wants to see this turned into a NATO security force under an American leader.
SEABROOK: Exactly. It's a very complex situation. He's saying we should take the made in America sticker off of this war, is what he calls it. And he's calling for in fact more troops to be put into Iraq, not less, to try and win this situation decisively and quickly.
But at the same time, trying to appeal to people who didn't support the war in the first place. It's a very complex situation. I think that calling for more troops is probably a politically advantageous, a politically motivated argument, because he knows that would be disastrous for the Bush administration if they were forced to put new troops there. CALLAWAY: Right.
SEABROOK: So you see, there's so many sort of ins and outs and pushing and pulling on this thing that we're going to see for months and months to come.
CALLAWAY: I was getting ready to say, and Andrea, we've got months of this ahead of us. All right. NPR congressional correspondent, Andrea Seabrook, thanks for getting up early with us this morning.
SEABROOK: It's my pleasure.
SAN MIGUEL: Well, controversy from another war. Almost 60 years ago, American soldiers liberated death camps while the soldiers' families were confined at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a difference between good and evil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAN MIGUEL: Unexpected heroes, lifetime memories, next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
SAN MIGUEL: Time for an update on the top stories. Tens of thousands take to the streets of Gaza for the funeral of Abdel Aziz Rantisi. The Hamas leader was killed yesterday in an Israeli missile attack. The militant group is about to retaliate against Israel.
In Iraq, the U.S. military says an American soldier is dead after his convoy was targeted in a bomb attack. The convoy was traveling near Baghdad when it was hit.
CALLAWAY: It has been nearly 60 years since a special American battalion saw firsthand the devastation of Adolf Hitler's final solution. Well, CNN's Frank Buckley has the story of those unlikely American soldiers who became heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At least 28,000 people died at Dachau. The girl in the picture was a witness. 16- year old Janina Cywinska's parents and brother had already died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. Janina was taken to Dachau and survived.
JANINA CYWINSKA, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: I was thinking about that's the end. There was no way out.
BUCKLEY: She remembers when the photo was taken. She'll never forget the day she was liberated by American soldiers of Japanese descent. They were part of the segregated and Japanese American 522nd field artillery battalion. Janina and others thought at first the Japanese won the war.
CYWINSKA: We thought they were going -- they took cover and they're going to shoot us. That was our thinking. Then he said, "I am American soldier. I'm your liberator. And I am here to save you and so forth." And we didn't believe him.
BUCKLEY: George Oiye was one of the liberators.
GEORGE OIYE, RET. SGT. U.S. ARMY, 522ND BATTALION: For the local people to see Japanese faces, it was kind of strange until they learned that, you know, that we're American soldiers.
BUCKLEY: While Oiye and other Japanese American soldiers were liberating the prisoners of a Nazi concentration camp, some of their families were incarcerated in internment camps in the U.S.
OIYE: Our families in concentration camps in the States being the ones that liberate concentration camps, the real ones in Europe. And that seemed to strange.
BUCKLEY: They thought of their families at home in America, living behind barbed wire, while they fought and died for America to prove their loyalty.
OIYE: It seems so ironic and difficult to deal with.
BUCKLEY: Nearly 50 years later, the Japanese-American liberator and the Polish American survivor are friends. George Oiye and Janina Cywinska both live in California. They occasionally appear together at places like the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.
OIYE: Here's my section.
BUCKLEY: Oiye's personal pictures from the war are among those that help to tell the story of man's capacity to hate. Racism and fear stripped people of their dignity in America. It sent people to their deaths in Dachau.
But people were also sent to Dachau to liberate them, teaching the world...
OIYE: There is a difference between good and evil.
Frank Buckley, CNN, San Jose, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: The regiment, which included the go for broke troops of the 522nd Battalion was one of the most decorated during World War II. But the 522nd wasn't alone. Around 33,000 Japanese American men and women served in the military during the war.
SAN MIGUEL: A tale of hope and survival all through that story.
CALLAWAY: Frank Buckley did a great job.
SAN MIGUEL: He did. Well, we've got another one for you as well coming up. A 23-year old hero finds himself between life and death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I put my hand up on my neck and I realized my finger went into my neck. And it was kind of -- you know, a lot of blood on my hands. So I knew I was hit. So then I tried to yell. And I couldn't yell.
SAN MIGUEL: It's another chapter in our heroes series. Hear his story, coming up next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: And then later on, have you filed your taxes? I sure hope so, because you're late. We'll tell you how to spare yourself some headaches coming up next year.
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Aired April 18, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
It is April 18. Good morning everyone. I'm Catherine Callaway.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Renay San Miguel. Thanks for being with us. I don't know if we can have a busier three hours planned...
CALLAWAY: No.
SAN MIGUEL: ...here with all the things that are going on around the world.
Let's get you caught up to date on what's going to be coming up this hour. Assassinations and calls for revenge, Israel kills a top Hamas leader in Gaza City. Mobs of angry Palestinians carry his coffin through the streets and vow that Israel will pay. We'll have the latest on that just ahead.
Also, the Reverend Jesse Jackson was successful in getting those hostages released in Yugoslavia five years ago. Now he's trying to secure the release of an American civilian being held in Iraq. We'll tell you how when Jackson joins us live just minutes from now.
And the war in Iraq is creating an ever louder war of words between the Republicans and Democrats. Which camp fired off the latest verbal shot? We'll tell you all that just ahead.
But first, here's this hour's news alert.
CALLAWAY: Another American casualty in Iraq, a U.S. soldier dies of wounds suffered in a roadside bomb attack on his condor yesterday morning in eastern Baghdad.
Pope John Paul II is calling this morning for the release of hostages in Iraq. The pope says he's following events in Iraq and elsewhere in the Mideast with great sadness. And he called he hostage takers in Iraq to have feelings of humanity.
The spring thaw reveals the body of missing student Dru Sjodin in a ditch northwest of Crookston, Minnesota. That's the hometown of Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., who is charged with kidnapping Sjodin. She disappeared five months ago from a shopping mall in Grand Forks, North Dakota. We'll hear from her family later this hour. SAN MIGUEL: In our top story this hour, angry Palestinians filled the streets of Gaza City this morning. It is the funeral procession for Abdel Aziz Rantisi, leader of the militant Islamic group Hamas. Rantisi and two body guards were killed when a missile fired from an Israeli helicopter destroyed their car.
The killing comes nearly a month after the founder of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in the same manner.
Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is promising this morning to keep hunting down Hamas leaders. And sources in the military wing of Hamas say a leader has already been appointed to replace Abdel Aziz Rantisi.
CNN's John Vause is in Gaza this morning. He has a live report for us now on this latest Mideast Crisis -- John?
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Renay, the body of the Hamas leader is being buried right now at a cemetery here in Gaza not far from his home. But earlier, his body was carried through the streets of Gaza, along with the two bodyguards you mentioned who were also killed by that Israeli missile strike last night.
Thousands of mourners surrounded Rantisi's body. Noticeably, though, smaller number than for this funeral procession than for the Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Yassin.
Renay, you mentioned he was killed about a month or so ago. He was also the victim of an Israeli missile strike.
Rantisi's popularity was mainly among the military wing of Hamas, whereas Sheikh Yassin was...
SAN MIGUEL: OK, I understand that we have just lost our audio feed from John Vause in Gaza City. We will try to re-establish that and bring you more on the situation there.
The assassinated Hamas leader Rantisi held office less than a month. And when he took over, he knew he was a marked man, but said he wasn't afraid of death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDEL AZIZ RANTISI, SLAIN HAMAS LEADER: Are you afraid to die? It's death either by killing or by cancer. The same thing. We are all waiting for the last day of our life. Nothing will be changed. If it is by Apache or by cardiac arrest, I prefer to be by Apache.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAN MIGUEL: Rantisi was an Egyptian-trained pediatrician. He was one of the most extreme voices of the fundamentalist group Hamas.
CALLAWAY: In Washington, the White House issued a statement saying that the United States is gravely concerned for regional peace and stability. "The United States strongly urges Israel to consider carefully the consequences of its actions. And we again urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint at this time."
And we will go to the White House for a live report coming up in the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Well, the top foreign policy official in the European Union denounces the Rantisi killing and warns that it will spark further violence in the Middle East. Javier Solana says that "Actions of this type are not only unlawful, they are not conducive to lowering tensions" there.
SAN MIGUEL: In the wake of the current Middle East situation, we want to ask what you think. This is our e-mail question of the day. Is U.S. foreign policy in the area on the right track? E-mail your responses to wam@cnn.com and we'll be reading them throughout the morning.
CALLAWAY: Jesse Jackson has done it before. Can he do it again? He will join us live coming up next with his plan to win the release of an American hostage in Iraq.
SAN MIGUEL: And John Kerry calls for a new strategy in Iraq. Our political brief is heading your way later this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: The Iraq War hits home as more than 100 people pack a church in Virginia Beach for the funeral of a civilian truck driver. Steven Fisher was killed during an ambush in Iraq April 9. The 43- year old was working for a Halliburton subsidiary when his convoy was attacked near Fallujah.
Now three other civilian contractors died in that attack and several others are still unaccounted for. One civilian from that attack is in the custody of Iraqi insurgents. Thomas Hamill, also a truck driver for Halliburton, was seen in a videotape broadcast on al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, the Reverend Jesse Jackson is calling on religious leaders in Iraq to step in and aid in Hamill's release. You may remember that Jackson has a history of success in securing the release of American hostages in hostile zones. Back in 1984, he was instrumental in the release of an American Navy pilot in Syria. And in the first Gulf War, Jackson went to Iraq to bring home civilians who were being kept as so-called guests of Saddam Hussein.
Back in 1999, he was able to release the -- able to get the release of three American soldiers that were being held in Yugoslavia. And the Reverend Jesse Jackson is joining us now from Chicago this morning.
Thanks for being with us.
JESSE JACKSON, FOUNDER, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION Good morning
CALLAWAY: Good morning to you. I want to start with asking you if you have talked with Kellie Hamill, Thomas Hamill's wife about the situation with her husband?
JACKSON: I called Mrs. Hamill (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and had traveled with her, reaching out to the family in Ohio of the soldier. I talked with Terry Anderson last night, who himself an AP reporter, who was held hostage in Lebanon, now running for state senate in that area.
But in addition to Hamill and the soldier in Ohio, there are about seven other hostages. And so, we joined the pope in appealing for their release. And we do so on moral and humanitarian grounds. If I knew exactly who was holding them, I would appeal to them directly.
In the case of Syria and Assad and Iraq and Hussein and Milosevic in Yugoslavia, I knew who had the problem, but (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in Iraq right now. You can only make an appeal. There are religious leaders that we know in that area, kind of national council and world council church contact and reaching out to them.
CALLAWAY: And indeed there are so many sects there, which as you said, is the problem.
JACKSON: But let me say that...
CALLAWAY: And you say you're appealing to the religious leaders there. Have you been in contact with any of those leaders so far?
JACKSON: We've already begun to make some back channel contacts with them. Each time that we brought Americans home from those hostile ones, I might add in some churches, there were French and Canadian as well, the religious leaders played a significant role in making that moral appeal.
Now the good news is that Jessica Lynch was found in good condition. And Shoshana Johnson, her crew, were found in good condition. Three Japanese citizens were released last week. So that's the high side. The low side, some had been killed while in captivity.
We hope that this humanitarian appeal will help because there must always be some window for negotiation, some window for prisoner swap. There must be some thing that will help break the cycle of violence.
CALLAWAY: I understand that you were trying to contact al Jazeera. Have you been able to do that? And have you received any response from al Jazeera?
JACKSON: Well not yet, but we intend to contact them because they obviously have a very direct contact and influence in the region. At least if they will broadcast our letter, broadcast our moral appeal.
I might add we are also urging our own government to withdraw the help of the United Nations from Iraq as on an expedited time table. Secretary of State Powell made an astonishing statement last week. He said we went there on flawed information, which it means it was a false pretense. And Mr. Rumsfeld said that he is surprised that he's found resistance rather than a welcome mat.
Because of the flawed information and no weapons of mass destruction, no al Qaeda connection or imminent threat, we should be working on a way to get out of this quickly as possible with dignity and not plunge ourselves deeply into a war that is built upon pretenses that are not sound.
CALLAWAY: You know, I want to get back, if we can, to the situation that we're discussing this morning. And that being the hostage situation. What about Keith Matthew Maupin? Have you been in contact with his family at all?
JACKSON: Well, through Terry Anderson, I say the former AP reporter who himself was captive -- or captured for some time in Lebanon, we are reaching out to Mr. Maupin's family to -- already talked to Hamill family. And there are some Danish and about seven other citizens who are held as well.
Of course, the U.S. is holding a significant number of theirs. And I think that in a situation like this, as they seek to get back to the table in Fallujah, the issue of negotiation and prisoner swap must not be out of the picture.
CALLAWAY: If you plan on negotiating on behalf of the Hamill family, other than contacting religious leaders, what else do you plan to do? Do you plan to travel there?
JACKSON: Well, I will travel there if I know with whom to talk and know where to go. Right now, that is a bit less certain because of the other chaos in the region.
But suffice it to say they watch CNN International and CNN Live They watch al Jazeera. And if our voices are heard, it gives us at least a reasonable penetration.
I certainly hope that those who are reaching out from our government will not engage in the kind of name calling, referring to them in this instance, as terrorists and scum. All those kind of attacks, verbal attacks, may arouse a crowd back here in America, but they do...
CALLAWAY: Well, sir, how would you describe those who did kidnap Maupin, who did kidnap Hamill?
JACKSON: Well, I would certainly not try to incite them. One of the key features of inter negotiation is try to relieve your fears. One can be sensitive to the pain of the other, without engaging and embracing their politics. And so, certainly if someone has all the odds in their favor, they have the hatchet in their hand, and your neck is over the fence, you do nothing to incite them. You simply appeal to their better judgment. You're making your moral, humanitarian appeal, not a military threat.
CALLAWAY: Well, Reverend Jackson, good luck in your efforts to secure the release of Maupin, to secure the release of Hamill.
JACKSON: Thanks.
CALLAWAY: And thanks for being with us this morning.
JACKSON: Thank you very much.
SAN MIGUEL: Well, Vice President Cheney speaks out against John Kerry's policy in Iraq, while the Democratic hopeful calls for a new strategy. Your morning dose of politics heading your way next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
And then later this hour, a sad discovery in Minnesota brings a five month search to an end.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I leave it for Senator Kerry to explain or explain away his votes and his statements about the war on terror, our cause in Iraq, and the needs of the American military. Whatever the explanation, it is not an impressive record for someone who aspires to become commander in chief in this time of testing for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: There you have it. Vice President Dick Cheney taking aim at Democrat John Kerry's stance on the war in Iraq and the fight against terror. And joining us to talk about it in our political brief this morning is NPR congressional correspondent Andrea Seabrook.
Thanks for being with us.
ANDREA SEABROOK, NPR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Good morning.
CALLAWAY: Well, the past three weeks has really -- the campaign has really focused on the war in Iraq. Do you think Kerry is getting his message out?
SEABROOK: Well, you know, I think Kerry has a really complicated message. And so in some ways it's easier for President Bush to support the troops and be fully in this war and argue that it's necessary to protect the American people, than it is for Kerry who has to both convince people, the American people, that he would protect them as president. He would do everything necessary. And at the same time, would not go to war in Iraq if he had had that choice, though he voted for. Or would have operated it in a totally different way. And so...
CALLAWAY: But do we know what he would have done?
SEABROOK: Yes, that's a really good question. I mean, you know, this is a guy who voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq, but then voted against the continuing funding for that war.
And so, he's got a complicated message. I mean, right now, what he's trying to do is, like I said, convince the American people that he would protect them at the same time that he's saying he would do this, he would operate this war in a totally different way. And also, questioning the underpinnings of this war in the first place, the motivations for going to war.
CALLAWAY: We heard a little bit of what Dick Cheney had to say about that. And in another part of his statement, he was saying that Kerry doesn't recognize, nor does he understand the murderous ideology of our enemies and the threat that is posed to our nation. Are we going to be hearing a lot more of this? And is Kerry going to be forced to say I do understand, and here's what I would do.
SEABROOK: Well, Kerry has been saying that. He's been saying that at the same time that he's saying that we never should have gone there in the first place. It's very -- like I said, very complex, very nuanced message. And he's been forced into this position where he has to say, you know, this is -- it's important that we do not leave a vacuum for terrorists. He's showing his concern, in other words, for the terrorists at the same time that he's saying, you know, we probably shouldn't have been there in the first place, at least not like this.
CALLAWAY: Let's try to get in...
SEABROOK: Yes.
CALLAWAY: ...do we have time to get in a little bit of Kerry sound from his radio address? Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All Americans are united in backing our troops and meeting our commitment to help the people of Iraq build a country that is stable, peaceful, tolerant and free.
But staying the course does not mean stubbornly holding to the wrong course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: All right, so we're also hearing Kerry say that he wants to see this turned into a NATO security force under an American leader.
SEABROOK: Exactly. It's a very complex situation. He's saying we should take the made in America sticker off of this war, is what he calls it. And he's calling for in fact more troops to be put into Iraq, not less, to try and win this situation decisively and quickly.
But at the same time, trying to appeal to people who didn't support the war in the first place. It's a very complex situation. I think that calling for more troops is probably a politically advantageous, a politically motivated argument, because he knows that would be disastrous for the Bush administration if they were forced to put new troops there. CALLAWAY: Right.
SEABROOK: So you see, there's so many sort of ins and outs and pushing and pulling on this thing that we're going to see for months and months to come.
CALLAWAY: I was getting ready to say, and Andrea, we've got months of this ahead of us. All right. NPR congressional correspondent, Andrea Seabrook, thanks for getting up early with us this morning.
SEABROOK: It's my pleasure.
SAN MIGUEL: Well, controversy from another war. Almost 60 years ago, American soldiers liberated death camps while the soldiers' families were confined at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a difference between good and evil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAN MIGUEL: Unexpected heroes, lifetime memories, next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
SAN MIGUEL: Time for an update on the top stories. Tens of thousands take to the streets of Gaza for the funeral of Abdel Aziz Rantisi. The Hamas leader was killed yesterday in an Israeli missile attack. The militant group is about to retaliate against Israel.
In Iraq, the U.S. military says an American soldier is dead after his convoy was targeted in a bomb attack. The convoy was traveling near Baghdad when it was hit.
CALLAWAY: It has been nearly 60 years since a special American battalion saw firsthand the devastation of Adolf Hitler's final solution. Well, CNN's Frank Buckley has the story of those unlikely American soldiers who became heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At least 28,000 people died at Dachau. The girl in the picture was a witness. 16- year old Janina Cywinska's parents and brother had already died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. Janina was taken to Dachau and survived.
JANINA CYWINSKA, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: I was thinking about that's the end. There was no way out.
BUCKLEY: She remembers when the photo was taken. She'll never forget the day she was liberated by American soldiers of Japanese descent. They were part of the segregated and Japanese American 522nd field artillery battalion. Janina and others thought at first the Japanese won the war.
CYWINSKA: We thought they were going -- they took cover and they're going to shoot us. That was our thinking. Then he said, "I am American soldier. I'm your liberator. And I am here to save you and so forth." And we didn't believe him.
BUCKLEY: George Oiye was one of the liberators.
GEORGE OIYE, RET. SGT. U.S. ARMY, 522ND BATTALION: For the local people to see Japanese faces, it was kind of strange until they learned that, you know, that we're American soldiers.
BUCKLEY: While Oiye and other Japanese American soldiers were liberating the prisoners of a Nazi concentration camp, some of their families were incarcerated in internment camps in the U.S.
OIYE: Our families in concentration camps in the States being the ones that liberate concentration camps, the real ones in Europe. And that seemed to strange.
BUCKLEY: They thought of their families at home in America, living behind barbed wire, while they fought and died for America to prove their loyalty.
OIYE: It seems so ironic and difficult to deal with.
BUCKLEY: Nearly 50 years later, the Japanese-American liberator and the Polish American survivor are friends. George Oiye and Janina Cywinska both live in California. They occasionally appear together at places like the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.
OIYE: Here's my section.
BUCKLEY: Oiye's personal pictures from the war are among those that help to tell the story of man's capacity to hate. Racism and fear stripped people of their dignity in America. It sent people to their deaths in Dachau.
But people were also sent to Dachau to liberate them, teaching the world...
OIYE: There is a difference between good and evil.
Frank Buckley, CNN, San Jose, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: The regiment, which included the go for broke troops of the 522nd Battalion was one of the most decorated during World War II. But the 522nd wasn't alone. Around 33,000 Japanese American men and women served in the military during the war.
SAN MIGUEL: A tale of hope and survival all through that story.
CALLAWAY: Frank Buckley did a great job.
SAN MIGUEL: He did. Well, we've got another one for you as well coming up. A 23-year old hero finds himself between life and death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I put my hand up on my neck and I realized my finger went into my neck. And it was kind of -- you know, a lot of blood on my hands. So I knew I was hit. So then I tried to yell. And I couldn't yell.
SAN MIGUEL: It's another chapter in our heroes series. Hear his story, coming up next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: And then later on, have you filed your taxes? I sure hope so, because you're late. We'll tell you how to spare yourself some headaches coming up next year.
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