Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Rumsfeld Visits Iraq; Interview With Hekmat Karzai
Aired October 10, 2004 - 09:00 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.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. It's Sunday, October 10. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING -- 9:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C., 8:00 in New Orleans. I'm Drew Griffin.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Erica Hill, in today for Betty Nguyen.
If you're just walking up on the West Coast, 6:00 a.m. Thanks for starting your day off with us.
A look at what's happening "Now in the News."
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld makes a surprise visit to Iraq today. He told troops in the western desert it's unlikely any U.S. troops will be pulled out of Iraq before that country's January elections.
In Pakistan, an ultimatum. Kidnappers threaten to kill two Chinese engineers unless al Qaeda members held in Pakistan are released. That word from Pakistani officials today. The Chinese engineers and two Pakistani employees were taken hostage yesterday near the Afghan border.
The Senate is taking up a $136 billion corporate tax bill in a rare Sunday session today. It may also get to a hurricane relief measure. FEMA runs out of money tonight, at least on paper.
Israel pounds a refugee camp in Gaza again this morning. Palestinian sources say three Palestinians were wounded when a missile was fired into the camp. Late last night, a missile attack on the same camp wounded four Hamas militants. The assault is part of Israel's campaign to crack down on Palestinian terrorists.
GRIFFIN: Here's what we have for you this hour on CNN. Our Sunday segment, "A Soldier's Story," we're going to talk to a veteran of the Iraq war about the battle overseas and life back here at home.
In our "Best of the Web" feature, political fact checking. It's just a mouse click away, but is it substance or spin?
And we'll turn our eye on Carson Kressley, one of the stars of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." He's out with a new book.
HILL: More killing this morning in Baghdad. A suicide car bomb takes a heavy toll. It was one of two such blasts in the Iraqi capital. This one killed 17 Iraqis. The bomb detonated at a busy intersection about 200 yards from an Iraqi police academy. Most of those killed were passersby. Seven were women.
The other car bomb exploded in southern Baghdad as a U.S. military convoy was passing. The driver of the suicide car was the only person killed. One American soldier, though, was wounded.
The U.S. military said today an American Marine was killed yesterday in Al Anbar province. That's west of Baghdad. No details were released. The Marine's death brings the American toll in Iraq to 1,071.
GRIFFIN: The blasts in Baghdad come as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld makes a surprise visit to the troops there. Let's get the details from CNN's Brent Sadler. He is in Baghdad.
And hello to you, sir.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Drew. Good morning.
Just a very quick update on one of those car bomb attacks. U.S. military officials here in Baghdad confirming that a U.S. soldier was killed in one of those attacks just a few hours ago.
Now, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has been in Iraq throughout this day, starting off visiting U.S. Marines in the western desert area of Iraq. The first time Mr. Rumsfeld has visited this country since the handover of power back on the June 28th, some three months ago.
Mr. Rumsfeld fielded questions from U.S. Marines in a town hall- style meeting. And he told them that between now and the end of January, when elections are planned for this country, there was likely to be an upsurge in violence. Mr. Rumsfeld also told American troops not to expect any U.S. reduction in troop levels between now and the end of January. And any subsequent post-January reductions in the number of troops here would depend very much on the performance of Iraq's own emerging security forces.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, our hope is that as we build up Iraqi forces we will be able to relieve the stress on our force and see a reduction in coalition forces over some period of time. Probably post-Iraqi elections. But again, it's going to depend entirely on the security situation here in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SADLER: Meanwhile, Iraqi interim government officials, backed up by continuing U.S. firepower, are trying to negotiate their way into some key rebel strongholds, notably Sadr City, on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, and Fallujah. Not so much success so far in Fallujah. But in Sadr City, an accord seems likely to go into effect within the next 24 hours, whereby militants in Sadr City would hand over weapons -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: Brent, I wanted to follow up on that with you. Has anybody handed over any weapons yet? We were told yesterday it would be within the next 48 hours. Obviously, that has not happened to this hour.
SADLER: It's planned to start on Monday morning. We've already seen some video today of loyalists of Muqtada al-Sadr, the militant Shiite cleric, dismantling heavy weapons. In our video, it showed what appeared to be a 50-caliber machine gun.
Now, this deal incorporates the handing over of heavy and medium- range weapons to Iraqi security forces over a five-day grace period. After that, Iraqi security forces should be able to go into Sadr City and regain control. If this happens -- and there's still a big "if" in terms of implementing this deal -- then it would be seen, in the words of Iraqi officials here, as a significant breakthrough in trying to negotiate peace rather than having to use force to crush insurgents.
GRIFFIN: Brent Sadler, live this morning in Baghdad. Thank you for that, Brent.
HILL: President Bush has stepped off the campaign trail for today. He is at his ranch near Crawford, Texas, with no public events scheduled. Some preparation, though, for Wednesday's debate just may be on the agenda.
The president campaigned yesterday in Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota, where he attacked John Kerry's positions on Iraq, health care and taxes. Political adviser Karl Rove says Bush's audiences will be hearing a lot more about Kerry's Senate record.
Meantime, Senator John Kerry attends mass this morning in Miami before he flies to New Mexico, where he'll prepare for the presidential debate number three. Campaigning yesterday in Ohio and Florida, Kerry also talked about health issues, accusing the Bush administration of misleading the public on the flu vaccine shortage. He said the president has flip-flopped on Americans to import cheaper prescriptions from Canada, now supporting a ban on such imports.
Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards, will be the guest today on "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER." You can catch that at noon Eastern right here on CNN.
GRIFFIN: Now to a big domestic concern. Each week we've been bringing you reports on some of the hot-button issues. Well, today we're going to zero in on the economy and jobs. And some say employment figures tell the story, but as CNN's Bob Franken reports, it's not always so simple.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Have a seat, sir. And we'll do a little bit at a time, OK?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Want to get confused? Listen to the takes on the very same job numbers.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Last Friday, the job report for August showed we added 144,000 new jobs. That's 1.7 million over the last 12 months.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the first president of the United States since the great depression, since Herbert Hoover, who's presided over the loss of jobs.
FRANKEN: Both are accurate. But does that mean that the economy is in the tank, as the Democrats contend, or has President Bush turned it around thanks to his tax cut?
BUSH: In order to keep jobs here, in order to make sure people can work, we've got to be wise about how we spend your money in Washington. And we must keep your taxes low.
FRANKEN: Making taxes low, says Kerry, for rich people.
KERRY: While he's been doing that, the tax burden of average working people in America has actually gone up.
FRANKEN: Kerry would roll back tax cuts for the wealthy, cut tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas, and cut middle class taxes. His economic plan would include training for high-tech jobs.
The Bush plan includes job training, too. His tax policy will involve still undefined changes in the fundamental way it's collected. When the proposal is rattling around, a so-called flat tax. That would be controversial.
So would his recommendation to supplant overtime with more comp time and flex time, part of an ongoing campaign to modify the overtime rules of the wage and hour laws. As a backdrop, there is the federal budget, a record surplus before the Bush administration took over. That's a record deficit now. Still another contributor to an overall uncertainty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a situation where the economy is middling. It's OK. But there's a lot of fear, which is very different.
FRANKEN (on camera): A fear from not knowing what must be done for Americans to avoid losing in this economy. Democrats and Republicans each have the same answer, elect them.
Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: And next week our series on election issues outlines the candidates' stand on health care, a topic, of course, critical to nearly every American.
Well, health care and the economy will be among the issues discussed in the third and final presidential debate on Wednesday. That's in Tempe, Arizona. CNN, of course, will have live coverage. It begins at 7:00 Eastern Time.
Our e-mail question today, if you are asking the questions, what would it be? E-mail us at wam@cnn.com. We're going to read your replies at the end of the program.
HILL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai praised the Afghan people for braving long lines, bad weather and terrorist threats to exercise their right to vote in the historic elections held there yesterday. He said problems were to be expected. But the irregularities that did occur were nothing compared to the violence many had feared.
Well, it's now been about 24 hours since the polls closed. CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, has the latest for us now from Kabul.
Good to see you again.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Erica, some people are describing it, it wasn't bullets and guns that marred yesterday's election, but a faulty batch of ink. And there are still rumblings and grumblings from some of the opposition candidates.
The election authorities here have said that they will set up an investigative body in order to look at the complaints by the candidates. But today, at a press conference, they said that they would not answer the candidates' demands to nullify this historic election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMB. ROBERT BARRY, OSCE ELECTION SUPPORT: I said that I thought the demand was unjustified. Unjustified because, to nullify the results of an election where millions of people had turned out, without adequately knowing what the facts are behind that, does seem to me to be, on the face of it, unjustifiable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So after hours and hours of people here lining up to vote, they certainly told us today that they did not want this election nullified. They thought that whatever the result was, it should be accepted.
They told us that they were voting for peace and security and for jobs, all the kinds of things that ordinary people want. And Hamid Karzai himself said that to nullify this election, that would be an insult to the voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI, AFGHANISTAN: All the candidates must respect the very fact that the Afghan people have come out of their homes in snow and rain and dust and waited for hours to vote. And we should respect the result, whatever that may be, and allow time for the commission, the joint commission, to study whatever irregularities that there were. (END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Now, there are behind-the-scenes meetings with these opposition candidates to get them to drop their boycott and to act within the framework of the law. Certainly the U.S. ambassador is here, U.N. officials and others, other diplomats that we've been talking to, are definitely trying to save this -- the future of this election so that it doesn't get challenged in terms of in any violence or anything like that. And so that the results are respected by both the winner and the losers.
So that's the -- that's what's going on here today, Erica.
HILL: And so much importance, as you said, rests on the fact that those results be well respected. Christiane Amanpour live in Kabul, thanks.
Just ahead, we're going to get a uniquely Afghan perspective on the election. Later this hour, we'll speak with Afghan diplomat Hekmat Karzai -- Karzai, rather. He's also the cousin of the president. That coming up for you in just about 15 minutes.
Well, we hear about the violence every day in Iraq, but what's it like to come face to face with it real life? We'll speak with a veteran of the Iraq war next.
GRIFFIN: Tropical Storm Matthew makes a mess along the Gulf Coast. We'll tell you where and what the storm could do next.
Good morning, Las Vegas. We'll have your complete weather forecast five minutes from now.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Good morning, Las Vegas. Sunday forecast coming up just a few minutes away. But pop star Celine Dion -- Celine Dion -- will receive the Society of Singers Ella Award in Sin City tonight at Caesar's Palace. Congratulations, Celine Dion.
HILL: Beautiful.
Time now for a look at the Sunday morning headlines.
The laborious process of counting ballots is under way in Afghanistan. International monitors determined that voting regularities did not nullify the balloting. The final results of Afghanistan's first-ever democratic election are not expected for weeks, though.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld hinted at possible U.S. troop cuts during a surprise visit to Iraq today. Fifteen hundred U.S. Marines are stationed in Iraq's western desert, where Rumsfeld went. He said Iraqi security forces could be strong enough by January to allow some U.S. troop reductions. Two suicide car bombs exploded in separate sections of Baghdad this morning. At least 17 people died in one attack. One of the car bombs apparently exploded prematurely before reaching its intended target, which was an Iraqi police academy.
GRIFFIN: Thousands of U.S. military personnel have served in Iraq. Every one of them has a story. And each Sunday we try to bring you one of them.
Today's story is about Tracy Reap of Texas. His wife wrote us -- wrote this back in October of 2003. This was a month before an incident that nearly killed him.
"Last night, I was watching some CNN and I was just like, 'Wow, Tracy's been living in this mess. It's just mind-boggling.' I'm sure it is for you, too. It's weird how you just keep going through the motions and try not to think about it too deeply, too often. Like you say, 'Head up and feet moving.'"
The Reaps are with us from Dallas this morning to talk more about their experience.
Good morning to you.
TRACY REAP, U.S. ARMY: Good morning, Drew.
GRIFFIN: You've been back in country about a year. How has this year been going for you?
REAP: It's been going very well, thank you. I have been very blessed.
GRIFFIN: Now, tell us what happened to you, Tracy. Because it was November of 2003 when you nearly died in a shootout, I guess, in Iraq.
REAP: That is correct, Drew. And I'd be happy to share that information with you.
Before I do, though, I feel it incumbent upon myself to share with you one of the new missions that I have, which is, as a spokesperson for an organization by the name of Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, this is an organization dedicated to supporting those wounded and disabled soldiers that have returned from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and are facing the challenges of a new life in order to find out more about how you can support your troops that have been wounded. Please visit our Web site at saluteheroes.org or call our toll-free number at 888-44-SALUTE.
Now, to your question, Drew, it was a year ago almost -- November 11, actually, will be a year. Looking back, it seems like forever since that actually happened.
And again, I feel that I was well trained and well prepared for anything that could have happened. Unfortunately, the worst happened. And I happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. And subsequently was injured due to that.
GRIFFIN: Well, tell us exactly what happened. You guys were in a basic shootout. You jumped out of your vehicle. And somebody fired a rocket right through it? Is that right?
REAP: That is correct, yes. We ran -- I was part of a convoy security team that ran convoys twice a day to a group of our soldiers based at a fuel facility outside the main base. And in doing this, we understood the challenges and the risks that were involved on the evening of November 11. We were returning from dropping off supplies and were attacked, ambushed, in fact. Initially with an IED, improvised explosive device, and subsequently small arms fire.
At that point we exited our vehicles. As I was taking fire from my side of the vehicle, I made a decision to gain a better fighting position, and did so by utilizing the slope of the Humvee.
Unfortunately, that just happened to be where one of the insurgents apparently had a well aimed RPG. And that RPG did enter the Humvee exit actually right where I was standing. And again, subsequently I was injured.
GRIFFIN: And what kind of injuries?
REAP: Well, I received the brunt of the force to the left side of my face, the center, actually of my nose, and to the left shoulder, left elbow. And actually lost two fingers on my left hand due to the -- to the blast.
GRIFFIN: Weeks before this happened, Tracy, your wife wrote you this e-mail: "I love you with all my heart. I know we will be together and happy again soon. I'm excited about helping you get your business going."
REAP: Yes.
GRIFFIN: That was before the accident, but -- incident, but I'm told all of that has come to fruition.
REAP: It has, Drew. And again, my mentioning that I am blessed, beyond the fact that I survived such a challenging ordeal, I did so, I feel, you know, greatly due to both of my children, Austin and Hunter, who I love very much, and Elizabeth, my wife, who were here in the United States waiting for me and supporting me and my dream to be an independent business owner. And as of July 29th, I began that business and have been successfully operating it within another company, Self Opportunity, since that time.
GRIFFIN: All right. Tracy Reap joining us from Dallas. We certainly thank you for coming on, sir, and sharing your experience with us.
And saluteheroes.org is the Web site if you want to help people like Tracy and help Tracy help other people like himself. Thanks a lot, sir.
REAP: Thank you.
HEMMER: Let's get a check of the weather now. Rob Marciano is standing by for us in the CNN weather center. .
(WEATHER REPORT)
GRIFFIN: Afghanistan's first stab at democracy running into a few snags. So what does that mean for the legitimacy of its future government? I'll speak with an important member of the Afghan embassy in the U.S. That's next.
HILL: Plus, taking the Internet pulse of the political battle here in the United States. Separating fact from fiction. That and more just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: The U.S. military reports a Marine was killed yesterday in Iraq's western province of Al Anbar. That includes such hotspots as Fallujah and Ramadi. Details of the Marine's death, though, have not been released ---- 1,071 Americans have now been killed in the Iraq war.
The death toll has reached 34 in Thursday's resort bombings in Taba, Egypt, which targeted Israeli tourists. Israeli rescue teams are concluding their search of the rubble. Police have detained some veteran tribesmen for questioning.
The ballots from Afghanistan's first presidential election are being collected and counted. And the electoral director says an independent commission will investigate charges of fraud in yesterday's voting. The opposition candidates who made the charges say they will abide by the commission's findings.
GRIFFIN: Well, imagine if this November's presidential election were the very first time Americans had been allowed to cast ballots. Imagine terrorists constantly trying to assassinate the candidates themselves and threatening deadly violence against anybody who showed up at the polls. It would take a lot of courage to exercise your new voting rights.
Well, that is what happened yesterday in Afghanistan, an ancient and rugged country that has never before held a direct election. Hekmat Karzai is the first secretary of Afghanistan embassy in Washington. He's also the cousin of President Hamid Karzai. He joins us to talk about this historic moment.
Thank you for joining us, Mr. Secretary. I'll talk about the history in a moment. But first, let's talk about the ink. What is the latest on the investigation into what happened or didn't happen in yesterday's election in terms of this ink?
HEKMAT KARZAI, FIRST SECRETARY, AFGHANISTAN EMBASSY: Well, the situation with the indelible ink was basically due to some inexperience of some of the election workers in specific -- in some of the poll centers in Kabul. But the people that protested have today rejected that protest, and they say that they will accept the U.N. commission's findings.
But we should note that this was a victory for Afghanistan, victory for the people of Afghanistan, and also for the international community. For the first time in the history, the people of Afghanistan were given the opportunity to choose their political destiny. And that is an amazing achievement for the people of Afghanistan.
GRIFFIN: And Mr. Secretary, I hope you'll be extremely honest when I ask this question. We've seen so much violence targeted towards anybody who even registers to vote. I was shocked that basically very little took place in the way of violence in terms of millions of people lining up to vote.
KARZAI: It was a very inspiring sight to see, people in snow and for people to wait from 5:00 in the morning to be able to vote in this historic election. But what we should note is that a lot of the security situation has really been blown out -- blown out of context.
A lot of people indicated in the beginning that we're not going to have more than two million or three million people to register in this election because, you know, there will be suicide attacks, there will be bombs. But fortunately that wasn't the case.
There were over 11 million people that registered. And at the same time, 41 percent of them were women. So that is an amazing achievement for the women of Afghanistan.
GRIFFIN: And what message does the vote send to the people who would rather not have your cousin as president, not have a legitimate government there in Afghanistan?
KARZAI: Well, it's a clear indication of the will of the Afghan people, the will to be committed to the peace process, the will to be committed for peace and reconstruction. And most importantly, to move from bullets to ballots. That is the most important message.
GRIFFIN: How long is going to take to count this vote?
KARZAI: Well, the U.N. has indicated that it will take them between two to three weeks. The U.N. has done similar polls in Tibet, and since Tibet has a smaller population, it took them about three weeks. But Afghanistan, with its 25 million to 28 million population, with around, you know, 10, 11 million people who are registered, so I'm assuming it will take between two to three weeks as well.
GRIFFIN: And you fully expect this to be a legitimized vote, fraud discounted?
KARZAI: Well, it is not that there are 16,000 Afghan observers. There are over 300 international observers, you know, the U.N.; the NDI, National Democratic Institute; IFES, International Federation for Elections Systems. So there are international observers who are watching this. You know, and we're hoping and we're confident that this is going to be as fair and as balanced, and as fair as it can be. GRIFFIN: Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us. Good luck to you and your country. And your cousin, if he comes out on top in this election.
KARZAI: It's a pleasure.
GRIFFIN: Take care.
KARZAI: Thank you.
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 October 10, 2004 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. It's Sunday, October 10. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING -- 9:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C., 8:00 in New Orleans. I'm Drew Griffin.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Erica Hill, in today for Betty Nguyen.
If you're just walking up on the West Coast, 6:00 a.m. Thanks for starting your day off with us.
A look at what's happening "Now in the News."
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld makes a surprise visit to Iraq today. He told troops in the western desert it's unlikely any U.S. troops will be pulled out of Iraq before that country's January elections.
In Pakistan, an ultimatum. Kidnappers threaten to kill two Chinese engineers unless al Qaeda members held in Pakistan are released. That word from Pakistani officials today. The Chinese engineers and two Pakistani employees were taken hostage yesterday near the Afghan border.
The Senate is taking up a $136 billion corporate tax bill in a rare Sunday session today. It may also get to a hurricane relief measure. FEMA runs out of money tonight, at least on paper.
Israel pounds a refugee camp in Gaza again this morning. Palestinian sources say three Palestinians were wounded when a missile was fired into the camp. Late last night, a missile attack on the same camp wounded four Hamas militants. The assault is part of Israel's campaign to crack down on Palestinian terrorists.
GRIFFIN: Here's what we have for you this hour on CNN. Our Sunday segment, "A Soldier's Story," we're going to talk to a veteran of the Iraq war about the battle overseas and life back here at home.
In our "Best of the Web" feature, political fact checking. It's just a mouse click away, but is it substance or spin?
And we'll turn our eye on Carson Kressley, one of the stars of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." He's out with a new book.
HILL: More killing this morning in Baghdad. A suicide car bomb takes a heavy toll. It was one of two such blasts in the Iraqi capital. This one killed 17 Iraqis. The bomb detonated at a busy intersection about 200 yards from an Iraqi police academy. Most of those killed were passersby. Seven were women.
The other car bomb exploded in southern Baghdad as a U.S. military convoy was passing. The driver of the suicide car was the only person killed. One American soldier, though, was wounded.
The U.S. military said today an American Marine was killed yesterday in Al Anbar province. That's west of Baghdad. No details were released. The Marine's death brings the American toll in Iraq to 1,071.
GRIFFIN: The blasts in Baghdad come as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld makes a surprise visit to the troops there. Let's get the details from CNN's Brent Sadler. He is in Baghdad.
And hello to you, sir.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Drew. Good morning.
Just a very quick update on one of those car bomb attacks. U.S. military officials here in Baghdad confirming that a U.S. soldier was killed in one of those attacks just a few hours ago.
Now, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has been in Iraq throughout this day, starting off visiting U.S. Marines in the western desert area of Iraq. The first time Mr. Rumsfeld has visited this country since the handover of power back on the June 28th, some three months ago.
Mr. Rumsfeld fielded questions from U.S. Marines in a town hall- style meeting. And he told them that between now and the end of January, when elections are planned for this country, there was likely to be an upsurge in violence. Mr. Rumsfeld also told American troops not to expect any U.S. reduction in troop levels between now and the end of January. And any subsequent post-January reductions in the number of troops here would depend very much on the performance of Iraq's own emerging security forces.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, our hope is that as we build up Iraqi forces we will be able to relieve the stress on our force and see a reduction in coalition forces over some period of time. Probably post-Iraqi elections. But again, it's going to depend entirely on the security situation here in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SADLER: Meanwhile, Iraqi interim government officials, backed up by continuing U.S. firepower, are trying to negotiate their way into some key rebel strongholds, notably Sadr City, on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, and Fallujah. Not so much success so far in Fallujah. But in Sadr City, an accord seems likely to go into effect within the next 24 hours, whereby militants in Sadr City would hand over weapons -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: Brent, I wanted to follow up on that with you. Has anybody handed over any weapons yet? We were told yesterday it would be within the next 48 hours. Obviously, that has not happened to this hour.
SADLER: It's planned to start on Monday morning. We've already seen some video today of loyalists of Muqtada al-Sadr, the militant Shiite cleric, dismantling heavy weapons. In our video, it showed what appeared to be a 50-caliber machine gun.
Now, this deal incorporates the handing over of heavy and medium- range weapons to Iraqi security forces over a five-day grace period. After that, Iraqi security forces should be able to go into Sadr City and regain control. If this happens -- and there's still a big "if" in terms of implementing this deal -- then it would be seen, in the words of Iraqi officials here, as a significant breakthrough in trying to negotiate peace rather than having to use force to crush insurgents.
GRIFFIN: Brent Sadler, live this morning in Baghdad. Thank you for that, Brent.
HILL: President Bush has stepped off the campaign trail for today. He is at his ranch near Crawford, Texas, with no public events scheduled. Some preparation, though, for Wednesday's debate just may be on the agenda.
The president campaigned yesterday in Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota, where he attacked John Kerry's positions on Iraq, health care and taxes. Political adviser Karl Rove says Bush's audiences will be hearing a lot more about Kerry's Senate record.
Meantime, Senator John Kerry attends mass this morning in Miami before he flies to New Mexico, where he'll prepare for the presidential debate number three. Campaigning yesterday in Ohio and Florida, Kerry also talked about health issues, accusing the Bush administration of misleading the public on the flu vaccine shortage. He said the president has flip-flopped on Americans to import cheaper prescriptions from Canada, now supporting a ban on such imports.
Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards, will be the guest today on "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER." You can catch that at noon Eastern right here on CNN.
GRIFFIN: Now to a big domestic concern. Each week we've been bringing you reports on some of the hot-button issues. Well, today we're going to zero in on the economy and jobs. And some say employment figures tell the story, but as CNN's Bob Franken reports, it's not always so simple.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Have a seat, sir. And we'll do a little bit at a time, OK?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Want to get confused? Listen to the takes on the very same job numbers.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Last Friday, the job report for August showed we added 144,000 new jobs. That's 1.7 million over the last 12 months.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the first president of the United States since the great depression, since Herbert Hoover, who's presided over the loss of jobs.
FRANKEN: Both are accurate. But does that mean that the economy is in the tank, as the Democrats contend, or has President Bush turned it around thanks to his tax cut?
BUSH: In order to keep jobs here, in order to make sure people can work, we've got to be wise about how we spend your money in Washington. And we must keep your taxes low.
FRANKEN: Making taxes low, says Kerry, for rich people.
KERRY: While he's been doing that, the tax burden of average working people in America has actually gone up.
FRANKEN: Kerry would roll back tax cuts for the wealthy, cut tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas, and cut middle class taxes. His economic plan would include training for high-tech jobs.
The Bush plan includes job training, too. His tax policy will involve still undefined changes in the fundamental way it's collected. When the proposal is rattling around, a so-called flat tax. That would be controversial.
So would his recommendation to supplant overtime with more comp time and flex time, part of an ongoing campaign to modify the overtime rules of the wage and hour laws. As a backdrop, there is the federal budget, a record surplus before the Bush administration took over. That's a record deficit now. Still another contributor to an overall uncertainty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a situation where the economy is middling. It's OK. But there's a lot of fear, which is very different.
FRANKEN (on camera): A fear from not knowing what must be done for Americans to avoid losing in this economy. Democrats and Republicans each have the same answer, elect them.
Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: And next week our series on election issues outlines the candidates' stand on health care, a topic, of course, critical to nearly every American.
Well, health care and the economy will be among the issues discussed in the third and final presidential debate on Wednesday. That's in Tempe, Arizona. CNN, of course, will have live coverage. It begins at 7:00 Eastern Time.
Our e-mail question today, if you are asking the questions, what would it be? E-mail us at wam@cnn.com. We're going to read your replies at the end of the program.
HILL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai praised the Afghan people for braving long lines, bad weather and terrorist threats to exercise their right to vote in the historic elections held there yesterday. He said problems were to be expected. But the irregularities that did occur were nothing compared to the violence many had feared.
Well, it's now been about 24 hours since the polls closed. CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, has the latest for us now from Kabul.
Good to see you again.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Erica, some people are describing it, it wasn't bullets and guns that marred yesterday's election, but a faulty batch of ink. And there are still rumblings and grumblings from some of the opposition candidates.
The election authorities here have said that they will set up an investigative body in order to look at the complaints by the candidates. But today, at a press conference, they said that they would not answer the candidates' demands to nullify this historic election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMB. ROBERT BARRY, OSCE ELECTION SUPPORT: I said that I thought the demand was unjustified. Unjustified because, to nullify the results of an election where millions of people had turned out, without adequately knowing what the facts are behind that, does seem to me to be, on the face of it, unjustifiable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So after hours and hours of people here lining up to vote, they certainly told us today that they did not want this election nullified. They thought that whatever the result was, it should be accepted.
They told us that they were voting for peace and security and for jobs, all the kinds of things that ordinary people want. And Hamid Karzai himself said that to nullify this election, that would be an insult to the voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI, AFGHANISTAN: All the candidates must respect the very fact that the Afghan people have come out of their homes in snow and rain and dust and waited for hours to vote. And we should respect the result, whatever that may be, and allow time for the commission, the joint commission, to study whatever irregularities that there were. (END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Now, there are behind-the-scenes meetings with these opposition candidates to get them to drop their boycott and to act within the framework of the law. Certainly the U.S. ambassador is here, U.N. officials and others, other diplomats that we've been talking to, are definitely trying to save this -- the future of this election so that it doesn't get challenged in terms of in any violence or anything like that. And so that the results are respected by both the winner and the losers.
So that's the -- that's what's going on here today, Erica.
HILL: And so much importance, as you said, rests on the fact that those results be well respected. Christiane Amanpour live in Kabul, thanks.
Just ahead, we're going to get a uniquely Afghan perspective on the election. Later this hour, we'll speak with Afghan diplomat Hekmat Karzai -- Karzai, rather. He's also the cousin of the president. That coming up for you in just about 15 minutes.
Well, we hear about the violence every day in Iraq, but what's it like to come face to face with it real life? We'll speak with a veteran of the Iraq war next.
GRIFFIN: Tropical Storm Matthew makes a mess along the Gulf Coast. We'll tell you where and what the storm could do next.
Good morning, Las Vegas. We'll have your complete weather forecast five minutes from now.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Good morning, Las Vegas. Sunday forecast coming up just a few minutes away. But pop star Celine Dion -- Celine Dion -- will receive the Society of Singers Ella Award in Sin City tonight at Caesar's Palace. Congratulations, Celine Dion.
HILL: Beautiful.
Time now for a look at the Sunday morning headlines.
The laborious process of counting ballots is under way in Afghanistan. International monitors determined that voting regularities did not nullify the balloting. The final results of Afghanistan's first-ever democratic election are not expected for weeks, though.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld hinted at possible U.S. troop cuts during a surprise visit to Iraq today. Fifteen hundred U.S. Marines are stationed in Iraq's western desert, where Rumsfeld went. He said Iraqi security forces could be strong enough by January to allow some U.S. troop reductions. Two suicide car bombs exploded in separate sections of Baghdad this morning. At least 17 people died in one attack. One of the car bombs apparently exploded prematurely before reaching its intended target, which was an Iraqi police academy.
GRIFFIN: Thousands of U.S. military personnel have served in Iraq. Every one of them has a story. And each Sunday we try to bring you one of them.
Today's story is about Tracy Reap of Texas. His wife wrote us -- wrote this back in October of 2003. This was a month before an incident that nearly killed him.
"Last night, I was watching some CNN and I was just like, 'Wow, Tracy's been living in this mess. It's just mind-boggling.' I'm sure it is for you, too. It's weird how you just keep going through the motions and try not to think about it too deeply, too often. Like you say, 'Head up and feet moving.'"
The Reaps are with us from Dallas this morning to talk more about their experience.
Good morning to you.
TRACY REAP, U.S. ARMY: Good morning, Drew.
GRIFFIN: You've been back in country about a year. How has this year been going for you?
REAP: It's been going very well, thank you. I have been very blessed.
GRIFFIN: Now, tell us what happened to you, Tracy. Because it was November of 2003 when you nearly died in a shootout, I guess, in Iraq.
REAP: That is correct, Drew. And I'd be happy to share that information with you.
Before I do, though, I feel it incumbent upon myself to share with you one of the new missions that I have, which is, as a spokesperson for an organization by the name of Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, this is an organization dedicated to supporting those wounded and disabled soldiers that have returned from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and are facing the challenges of a new life in order to find out more about how you can support your troops that have been wounded. Please visit our Web site at saluteheroes.org or call our toll-free number at 888-44-SALUTE.
Now, to your question, Drew, it was a year ago almost -- November 11, actually, will be a year. Looking back, it seems like forever since that actually happened.
And again, I feel that I was well trained and well prepared for anything that could have happened. Unfortunately, the worst happened. And I happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. And subsequently was injured due to that.
GRIFFIN: Well, tell us exactly what happened. You guys were in a basic shootout. You jumped out of your vehicle. And somebody fired a rocket right through it? Is that right?
REAP: That is correct, yes. We ran -- I was part of a convoy security team that ran convoys twice a day to a group of our soldiers based at a fuel facility outside the main base. And in doing this, we understood the challenges and the risks that were involved on the evening of November 11. We were returning from dropping off supplies and were attacked, ambushed, in fact. Initially with an IED, improvised explosive device, and subsequently small arms fire.
At that point we exited our vehicles. As I was taking fire from my side of the vehicle, I made a decision to gain a better fighting position, and did so by utilizing the slope of the Humvee.
Unfortunately, that just happened to be where one of the insurgents apparently had a well aimed RPG. And that RPG did enter the Humvee exit actually right where I was standing. And again, subsequently I was injured.
GRIFFIN: And what kind of injuries?
REAP: Well, I received the brunt of the force to the left side of my face, the center, actually of my nose, and to the left shoulder, left elbow. And actually lost two fingers on my left hand due to the -- to the blast.
GRIFFIN: Weeks before this happened, Tracy, your wife wrote you this e-mail: "I love you with all my heart. I know we will be together and happy again soon. I'm excited about helping you get your business going."
REAP: Yes.
GRIFFIN: That was before the accident, but -- incident, but I'm told all of that has come to fruition.
REAP: It has, Drew. And again, my mentioning that I am blessed, beyond the fact that I survived such a challenging ordeal, I did so, I feel, you know, greatly due to both of my children, Austin and Hunter, who I love very much, and Elizabeth, my wife, who were here in the United States waiting for me and supporting me and my dream to be an independent business owner. And as of July 29th, I began that business and have been successfully operating it within another company, Self Opportunity, since that time.
GRIFFIN: All right. Tracy Reap joining us from Dallas. We certainly thank you for coming on, sir, and sharing your experience with us.
And saluteheroes.org is the Web site if you want to help people like Tracy and help Tracy help other people like himself. Thanks a lot, sir.
REAP: Thank you.
HEMMER: Let's get a check of the weather now. Rob Marciano is standing by for us in the CNN weather center. .
(WEATHER REPORT)
GRIFFIN: Afghanistan's first stab at democracy running into a few snags. So what does that mean for the legitimacy of its future government? I'll speak with an important member of the Afghan embassy in the U.S. That's next.
HILL: Plus, taking the Internet pulse of the political battle here in the United States. Separating fact from fiction. That and more just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: The U.S. military reports a Marine was killed yesterday in Iraq's western province of Al Anbar. That includes such hotspots as Fallujah and Ramadi. Details of the Marine's death, though, have not been released ---- 1,071 Americans have now been killed in the Iraq war.
The death toll has reached 34 in Thursday's resort bombings in Taba, Egypt, which targeted Israeli tourists. Israeli rescue teams are concluding their search of the rubble. Police have detained some veteran tribesmen for questioning.
The ballots from Afghanistan's first presidential election are being collected and counted. And the electoral director says an independent commission will investigate charges of fraud in yesterday's voting. The opposition candidates who made the charges say they will abide by the commission's findings.
GRIFFIN: Well, imagine if this November's presidential election were the very first time Americans had been allowed to cast ballots. Imagine terrorists constantly trying to assassinate the candidates themselves and threatening deadly violence against anybody who showed up at the polls. It would take a lot of courage to exercise your new voting rights.
Well, that is what happened yesterday in Afghanistan, an ancient and rugged country that has never before held a direct election. Hekmat Karzai is the first secretary of Afghanistan embassy in Washington. He's also the cousin of President Hamid Karzai. He joins us to talk about this historic moment.
Thank you for joining us, Mr. Secretary. I'll talk about the history in a moment. But first, let's talk about the ink. What is the latest on the investigation into what happened or didn't happen in yesterday's election in terms of this ink?
HEKMAT KARZAI, FIRST SECRETARY, AFGHANISTAN EMBASSY: Well, the situation with the indelible ink was basically due to some inexperience of some of the election workers in specific -- in some of the poll centers in Kabul. But the people that protested have today rejected that protest, and they say that they will accept the U.N. commission's findings.
But we should note that this was a victory for Afghanistan, victory for the people of Afghanistan, and also for the international community. For the first time in the history, the people of Afghanistan were given the opportunity to choose their political destiny. And that is an amazing achievement for the people of Afghanistan.
GRIFFIN: And Mr. Secretary, I hope you'll be extremely honest when I ask this question. We've seen so much violence targeted towards anybody who even registers to vote. I was shocked that basically very little took place in the way of violence in terms of millions of people lining up to vote.
KARZAI: It was a very inspiring sight to see, people in snow and for people to wait from 5:00 in the morning to be able to vote in this historic election. But what we should note is that a lot of the security situation has really been blown out -- blown out of context.
A lot of people indicated in the beginning that we're not going to have more than two million or three million people to register in this election because, you know, there will be suicide attacks, there will be bombs. But fortunately that wasn't the case.
There were over 11 million people that registered. And at the same time, 41 percent of them were women. So that is an amazing achievement for the women of Afghanistan.
GRIFFIN: And what message does the vote send to the people who would rather not have your cousin as president, not have a legitimate government there in Afghanistan?
KARZAI: Well, it's a clear indication of the will of the Afghan people, the will to be committed to the peace process, the will to be committed for peace and reconstruction. And most importantly, to move from bullets to ballots. That is the most important message.
GRIFFIN: How long is going to take to count this vote?
KARZAI: Well, the U.N. has indicated that it will take them between two to three weeks. The U.N. has done similar polls in Tibet, and since Tibet has a smaller population, it took them about three weeks. But Afghanistan, with its 25 million to 28 million population, with around, you know, 10, 11 million people who are registered, so I'm assuming it will take between two to three weeks as well.
GRIFFIN: And you fully expect this to be a legitimized vote, fraud discounted?
KARZAI: Well, it is not that there are 16,000 Afghan observers. There are over 300 international observers, you know, the U.N.; the NDI, National Democratic Institute; IFES, International Federation for Elections Systems. So there are international observers who are watching this. You know, and we're hoping and we're confident that this is going to be as fair and as balanced, and as fair as it can be. GRIFFIN: Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us. Good luck to you and your country. And your cousin, if he comes out on top in this election.
KARZAI: It's a pleasure.
GRIFFIN: Take care.
KARZAI: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
