Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

Iraqi Special Tribunal Brings Formal Charges Against Saddam Hussein; Four Suicide Car Bombings in Baghdad Kill 9, Wound 20

Aired July 17, 2005 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: We are following developing news out of Iraq this morning. The Iraqi special tribunal has brought its first formal charges against Saddam Hussein. Those charges stem from a series of arrests and executions of Shiite villagers back in 1982 and we're going to go live to Baghdad in just a few minutes with an update.
There has also been a string of suicide car bombings in and around Baghdad this morning. The four attacks killed nine people and wounded more than 20.

Meanwhile, a suicide bombing south of Baghdad yesterday left one of the largest death tolls from any insurgent attack. Sources now tell Reuters that 98 people were killed and around 160 wounded.

Well they are packing up and getting out. Thousands of tourists have been leaving Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula ahead of Hurricane Emily. Emily could strengthen into a category-5 storm today and it could strike the peninsula as early as tonight.

It is 8 a.m. in Cancun, Mexico as they prepare for Emily.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Brace yourself.

NGUYEN: Yes, brace yourself is right. Category-5, boy, that's powerful. Nine a.m. in our nation's capitol. We want to say good morning everybody. It is Sunday, July 17th. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And good morning everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for starting your day with us. Ahead this hour Hurricane Emily strong and only getting stronger and that has people boarding up their homes, packing their bags and crossing their fingers.

Also we'll go beyond the insurgent attacks and the U.S. military presence to bring you a slice of life if Baghdad.

And being out of the war zone doesn't mean the battle is over. In our Soldiers Story adjusting to life back home.

NGUYEN: Now it's the kind of visitor you hope passes through without ever stopping by. Right now though it's stirring up storms of anxiety and unease. The name, Hurricane Emily. At this hour Emily is churning in the Caribbean with winds around 150 miles per hour. Emily is barreling towards Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and is now a category- 4 storm close to a category-5.

Hurricane Emily though could make landfall in Mexico overnight, but it's already visited Jamaica. Its eye passing southwest of there on Saturday. Emily caused bans of rain and high wind, flooding and evacuations, as you can imagine. Landslides cut off some communities from the rest of the island.

Meanwhile many in the Cayman Islands are bracing for a brush with disaster as Emily slipped past there early today. Grand Cayman is under a tropical storm warning and officials say many residents are indoors ready to ride this one out. And perhaps Mexico is most worried, as Emily churned close to the Yucatan Peninsula and could hit late tonight or early tomorrow. Officials there have asked tourists in Cancun to leave.

So where is she headed and when is she going to get there? We want to get the latest on Emily.

HARRIS: Yes, let's check in now with meteorologist Bonnie Schneider in for Rob Marciano this morning. She's at the CNN hurricane center.

Bonnie, good morning.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning. Right now Emily is a strong category-4 storm. Maximum winds are at 150 miles per hour. One hundred fifty five MPH winds and greater would become a category-5, so right now it's a category-4.

According to the latest report from the National Hurricane Center we're not expecting the storm to strengthen any more though some fluctuations are possible with any hurricane. Good news for the Caymans though the hurricane warning there has been canceled, so there's a tropical storm warning in effect. But the hurricane warning that continues is really for the Yucatan. That's where this storm is going to barrel in full force later on tonight or into early tomorrow, so a very situation there.

We're expecting a direct hit for Jamaica. The storm skirted to the south. Still caused flooding, still caused 18 foot waves, but when the storm is actually going to come in through the Yucatan you can see that cone of uncertainty pretty much covers much of the Yucatan. This is a flat area here. Not too many areas in the way of the mountains like we saw with Jamaica that kind of squeezed out more rain from it.

But still when you have a category-4 storm coming in we could see some very, very heavy downpours. In fact five to eight inches of rain is expected. The next landfall site is, of course, the U.S. into northern sections of Mexico 2 a.m. Wednesday, early Wednesday late Tuesday as a category-3 storm.

This is a changing situation, Tony, and we're going to have a very important advisory coming up a little before 11 a.m. and that advisory will give us the latest track and maybe we can narrow down this tone of confusion. I should say of uncertainty. HARRIS: OK, Bonnie, thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

HARRIS¨ As you just heard, people of Mexico are very worried about when and where the hurricane may hit and the potential for damage. In Cozumel, a popular tourist spot some visitors are evacuating. On the phone is Alfredo Garcia manager of The Reef Club in Cozumel where some guests, we understand are actually leaving.

Alfred, are you there?

ALFREDO GARCIA, MANAGER, THE REEF CLUB (via-phone): Yes, hello.

HARRIS: You have guests who have actually decided to leave your resort. Is that correct.

GARCIA: Yes, I have a (inaudible) situation. I know that at this moment the airport is open and some guests fly today (inaudible) leaving. And the people not decide leaving and stay here in Cozumel is evacuated the hotel around 11 o'clock.

HARRIS: Alfredo what are the forecast? We just heard from Bonnie Schneider, but I'm wondering what the forecasters closer to you are telling you about the storm and its potential for real damage?

GARCIA: Well, at this moment here in Cozumel it's very quiet. The situation is stable. We don't have any storm here. Not feeling anything about winds or raining. He give us the information here start around 3 o'clock the hurricane winds and the rain.

HARRIS: At about 3 o'clock?

GARCIA: yes.

HARRIS: OK. Tell us about your resort, the Reef Club. Where are you on the island? Are you on the beach, more inland, how big, how strong, how sturdy a structure is your building?

GARCIA: The building is stronger. It's very close tot he beach, but for the close estate with the beach the guest no it's good to stay here in the (inaudible). That is evacuated in one big place in Cozumel is the convention center in Cozumel. In that place is all the people. In this moment that place is prepared for the guest and this hotel is full of beds, water, (inaudible). Everything is ready for the people in this hotel.

HARRIS: Alfredo, have the authorities told people there to evacuate, to leave the island?

GARCIA: The authorities at this moment is decided -- the hotels is very close to the beach. It's good to go to the safety place if you're not staying in the hotels. And authorities decided if the guest can leave Cozumel as well. That him decided he can leaving for the sake of the guests. If they decided to stay in Cozumel it's also safe here. HARRIS: What are you going to do?

GARCIA: Me, stay here and Cozumel and stay prepared for this hurricane.

HARRIS: You're going to stay? You're going to go?

GARCIA: No, I am staying here in Cozumel.

HARRIS: You're going to stay?

GARCIA: Yes because my home is here and I'm safe and well in my home knowing the hotel.

HARRIS: Alfred, be safe.

GARCIA: Yes, thank you.

HARRIS: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

Stay with CNN as we track Emily throughout the day. We are your hurricane headquarters.

NGUYEN: We're also following a developing story out of Iraq this morning. The Iraqi special tribunal has brought its first formal charges against Saddam Hussein. The tribunal's chief investigating judge says court proceedings could come within days. More on this story in just a moment.

But first there is another development out of Iraq. Yesterday's suicide bombing south of Baghdad has left a growing death toll. Sources tell Reuters at least 98 people have been killed and around 160 wounded. The attack happened near a parked fuel tanker as people waited in line for gasoline.

All right, so let's get straight to Baghdad and CNN's Aneesh Raman with all of these developments. Let's start Aneesh with Saddam.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, good morning. As you said, two critically important stories we're following for you today. Earlier today Iraq's special tribunal announcing the first former charges against Saddam Hussein. They're referring him to trial. There's a mandatory 45 day period between the referral and when the trial can begin. So we can expect it to start no earlier than September.

In the interim though court proceedings will get underway. The defense can file appellate motions and evidentiary hearings will be held as well. Saddam is being tried in this first of what could be upwards of 12 trials for an attack in 1982 north of Baghdad in the town of Dejil (ph). That's after Saddam visited there, escaped an assassination attempt and in the days following that killed some 150 people. He will face the charges on that specific incident along with four other detainees, high level detainees.

But again, Betty, he could go on trial multiple times. He could be found guilty multiple times. He could get the death sentence multiple times. But for the Iraqi people, who have been enormously frustrated at the slow speed in their perception that this trial process has taken, a year and a half after Saddam's capture this is huge news. For them it isn't just about Saddam it is about humanity itself on trial, the evil that they endured now confronting justice.

As you say, another important story the backdrop to this news is a violent one. We've had four suicide attacks in Baghdad alone today, nine attacks on Friday, but the deadliest that we have seen, one of the deadliest since the war came late last evening in the town of Musayyib just south of the Iraqi capitol. There a suicide bomber detonated next to a fuel tanker in the town center next to a gas station, near apartments, near houses. We have confirmed from police at lest 70 people killed. Some suggestions that number is higher and upwards of 160 people wounded.

At the same time as the suicide bombing, Betty, we're now told from police that mortar attacks were launched against two police stations in Musayyib, the police headquarters as well as the general hospital. This really underscores, Betty, the need for security not just in Baghdad, a place that is heavily fortified, that has multiple check points with constant patrols, but further north and further south in the more vulnerable areas.

Betty.

NGUYEN: A lot of developments. Thanks for brining us up to speed. Aneesh Raman in Baghdad, thank you.

HARRIS: And stories across America now. Many of the nation's governors say the country must do more for National Guard troops, at a weekend meeting of more than 30 governors in Des Moines Iowa. Governors say National Guard troops need more jobs and more attention to their needs when they return from overseas deployment.

In Alabama two children have not been seen since their mother's car ran off a highway and plunged into a river early Saturday. The five year old girl and 18 month old boy were riding with their mother who managed to escape and was hospitalized. Police think the children were strapped into seat belts or safety seats when the car went into the water.

And a pastor said, God was throwing a party for him on what would have been his 10th birthday. Some 700 people attended a memorial service in Idaho for Dylan Groene on Saturday. He is the kidnapped slaying victim whose body was found in Montana. His eight year old sister, Shasta, was rescued from convicted sex offender Joseph Duncan when the two were spotted at a restaurant.

NGUYEN: A 19 month old toddler killed by police gunfire has been laid to rest. Funeral services for Susie Pena were held Saturday in Los Angeles. She was killed a week ago today while police were trying to save her from her own father during a hostage stand off.

Peter Viles has more on the funeral and the city's reaction to the shooting. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The little girl who was caught in the middle, 18 month old Susie Pena grabbed the city's heart because of the way she died. She was held hostage and used as a human shield by her own father last Sunday. In this Sunday you see him firing a gun while holding her. A SWAT team tried to rescue her but in a terrible shootout police shot and killed both the father and the little girl.

Some residence of Watts, where the shooting took place, have criticized police and the little girl's family has also questioned police tactics. But the LAPD has insisted it had no choice but to try to rescue the girl. Police say her father had fired a hand gun more than 40 times and threatened to kill the baby. The city is still investigating the shooting.

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, LOS ANGELES: We will do everything possible to ensure that we've uncovered every fact and gotten to the bottom of what happened here.

VILES: At the funeral conducted in Spanish at a Catholic church children came to mourn a girl who never saw her second birthday.

LUIS CARRILLO, LOPEZ FAMILY ATTORNEY: And so know that the family is deeply touched by all this outpouring of love and they just hope that peace and justice and healing comes to this community.

VILES: A week ago Susie Marie Pena was the baby of the family, a bright eyed girl just learning to talk. Today her mother led the rest of her young family in the job of carrying Susie's tiny coffin.

Peter Viles for CNN Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And ahead this morning another e-mail surfaces in the CIA leak investigation, but where will it fit into the puzzle. We're live from the white House.

NGUYEN: But straight ahead, floods aren't' just affecting folks in Emily's path. This panicked Panda tries to escape rushing water in China. It is a rescue story you have to see.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And checking our top stories now. Reuters news agency is reporting as many as 98 people are dead after a suicide bombing in Iraq overnight. Police say a suicide bomber blew himself up next to a fuel tanker in a crowded area.

Hurricane Emily is forcing evacuations along Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The storm is nearing category-5 status as it barrels for the town of Cancun where thousands of tourists are trying to get out.

And nervous anticipation in Taiwan as a powerful typhoon moves in. The storm is expected to hit the island as early today before it heads on to China. Schools and businesses in the capitol of Taipei have been order closed for tomorrow.

NGUYEN: And still ahead this morning the war in Iraq will eventually end, but memories of it will live long after. And coming up I will talk with an Iraq war veteran who got a unique perspective helping fellow soldiers cope after combat. That's later this morning.

HARRIS: And it is time right now to check out some of the other big international stories making news this morning.

NGUYEN: The Israeli Palestinian conflict has escalated yet again. This coming only weeks before Israel's planned pull out from Gaza. So for those details lets go to Anand Naidoo at the CNN international desk.

Hi, Anand.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey thanks and good morning. In he Middle East you're right a new cycle of violence and tensions are rising by the hour. For the latest let's go to CNN's Guy Raz. He's in Jerusalem.

Guy.

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And in a show of force and effect by the Israeli army and by Palestinian militant groups approaching a possible confrontation in Gaza. Israeli soldiers and tanks have been deployed along the country's border with Gaza preparing for a possible large scale incursion. Now that military buildup began about 24 hours ago, the Israeli government says in response to four days of rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli targets carried out by Palestinian groups from Gaza.

One of those rockets killed a 22 year old Israeli woman on Thursday night in southern Israel. Just a short time ago two Israeli settlers were badly injured when a rocket fell through the roof of their home inside of Gaza. Now shortly before that the Israeli army killed a member, a senior member of the militant Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza. He was the eighth member of Hamas to be targeted for assassination by the Israeli government in the past few days.

Now Israel has told the Palestinian Authority that unless it confronts militant groups the Israeli army will go ahead and do it itself.

Anand.

NAIDOO: All right. Thanks, Guy. Guy Raz in Jerusalem. Now let's send it back to Tony and Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Anand.

HARRIS: Will Tiger come out on top? He's ahead for now where the leader here, 12 under par, second place under par, but things, Betty, could change. NGUYEN: They often do.

HARRIS: Yes, they do. Report on the British Open is just ahead.

NGUYEN: And later living life in war. CNN talks to Iraqi civilians trying to cope during combat. Some images out of Iraq that we promise you have never seen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHNEIDER: Good morning everyone. I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider in the CNN weather center where we are tracking Hurricane Emily. Still a powerful category-4 storm now passing to the south of the Cayman Islands. The next stop will be the Yucatan Peninsula where this storm is likely to make a direct hit. Cozumel and into Cancun will be hit very, very hard. We're looking at the storm coming in as a category-4, so it's gong to be very powerful indeed.

Let's take a look at category-4 storms. What does that mean. Winds up to 155 miles per hour classify a storm as a category-4, from 131 to 155. Storm surge could be up to 18 feet. Widespread structural damage is certain with large homes blown down, flooding up to six miles inland. This is very bad news for the Yucatan Peninsula. It's actually surrounded by water on three sides, so unfortunately we're expecting quite a bit of flooding and some very heavy rain as well associated with this storm.

Landfall is expected along the Peninsula at 2 a.m. early tomorrow morning, late tonight, 145 mile per hour wind so it may be downgraded just a little bit, but still a category-4.

Now remember the storm will pass back over the Gulf of Mexico. The water is so warm here 85, 86 degrees. That storm will have enough time to gain strength from a category-2 up to a category-3 when it makes landfall anywhere from central southern Texas down through Mexico. And remember we have our cone of uncertainty. That's why you have to really watch very, very close because the storm could jog a bit to the north towards Brownville. So we're going to keep you up to date.

A very important advisory is coming at 11 a.m. and we will bring that to you as soon as we get it. We are your hurricane headquarters here on CNN.

HARRIS: The Tiger has teed off. Tiger Woods is 12 under par after yesterday's one under 71 and takes a two shot lead into today's final round.

Don Riddell is covering the 134th British Open.

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tier Woods teed off for his final round here at St. Andrews five years ago he was virtually guaranteed the title, but the world number one is going to have to work a bit harder this time around.

Woods is two strokes clear of the 1992 (sic) U.S. Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, and there are some really big names chasing on the leader board. We've got the two-time U.S. Open champion, Retief Goosen. Sergio Garcia is in there. We've got the world number two, Vijay Singh, and the ever popular Scotsman Colin Montgomerie. Even the colorful John Daly, champion here 10 years ago, is in with a shout. He's six under for the tournament six strokes behind.

The weather could play a large part here today. The wind is picking up and the fairways have really dried out making them rather hard to gauge.

If Woods does succeed it will be his 10th major title and he'll be really keen to do it here at the home of golf especially since the great Jack Nicholas retired from the game here only a couple of days ago. And if Woods does succeed it will cost the local bookmakers some 12 million dollars. All in all, we're in for a fun day.

Don Riddell, CNN at St. Andrews in Scotland.

NGUYEN: All right. Back here at home let's talk a little bit about politics. By now you've heard about Karl Rove's e-mail with "Time" magazine's Matt Cooper. But now another e-mail surfaces, what it could mean for the White House. That's next.

Plus, counsel after combat. Coming home not always an easy transition for soldiers returning home from war. Later an Iraq war veteran tells us how he's helping his fellow service men.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And don't forget this morning's e-mail question. We're getting hammered on this, Betty.

NGUYEN: We are. I don't know why. We're asking a question.

HARRIS: It isn't personal is it? In light of presidential adviser Karl Rove's alleged involvement, alleged in the CIA leak will he keep his White House job? Let us know what you think. I don't know if we should be asking that question any more because...

NGUYEN: Don't shoot the messenger.

HARRIS: ...weekends@cnn.com. We'll read those responses a little later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Karl Rove's role, what was it in the CIA leak case? This morning Matt Cooper speaks to CNN. I want to welcome you back on this Sunday morning, I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. That story is coming up first, here's what's happening now in the news. In Baghdad, the Iraqi tribunal has brought formal charges against Saddam Hussein. Saddam is charged along with several former members of his regime. Officials say court proceedings against the former dictator could start within days.

Hurricane Emily's sustained winds dropped a little as it brushed the Cayman Islands, still a dangerous category 4 storm at 150 miles- an-hour. Emily is headed for Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. No strengthening is expected before it makes landfall later today. Thousands of tourists are scrambling to leave the Mexican coast.

A baby girl is home from a New York hospital mostly unscathed from a building collapse. Her deluxe stroller folded around her like a cocoon covering her from the shower of debris. Paramedics said 7- year -- 7-month-old Abby Laurensky initially was unresponsive and turning blue when bystanders pulled her from the rubble.

NGUYEN: A newly-revealed e-mail may help fill in the blanks about a conversation President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, had with "Time" magazine reporter Matt Cooper. It took place in the critical days before a CIA operative's identity was revealed. Now, the e-mail shows Rove mention that conversation to another senior administration official and how all of this fits into the investigation, only the special prosecutor knows for sure, but CNN's Elaine Quijano tries to sort it all out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just days after speaking with "Time" magazine reporter Matt Cooper in July of 2003, Karl Rove e-mailed the then No. 2 at the National Security Council, Stephen Hadley, according to the "Associated Press" Rove wrote, "Matt Cooper called to give me a heads-up that he's got a welfare reform story coming." Then said, "When he finished his brief heads-up he immediately launched into Niger. Isn't this damaging? Hasn't the president been hurt? I didn't take the bait, but I said if I were him I wouldn't get "Time" far out in front of this."

An attorney familiar with the investigation and sympathetic to Rove's version of events says the e-mail was written as a cautionary note because of the sensitive issues that came up in the conversation. At the time the Bush administration was facing intense criticism after an op-ed piece by former ambassador Joe Wilson accusing officials of twisting intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war. A week after that op-ed ran his wife, Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative was revealed in the media.

Republican's argue Rove's communications with others at the time was designed to steer journalists including Cooper and columnist Bob Novak away from reporting an inaccuracy. Democrats have called toward Rove's resignation or for President Bush to fire him, others want his security clearance pulled. They say it's inappropriate for someone with security clearance to be talking to the media about a CIA operative, but Rove's lawyer has insisted. The prosecutor has repeatedly assured him Rove is not the target of the investigation. Experts say the legal standard for proving someone knowingly leaked a clandestine officer's identity is high.

SOLOMON WISENBERG, FMR. DEP. INDEPENDENT COUNSEL: It's one of the most difficult federal statutes to prove the intent required is very, very high.

QUIJANO: Others point out the special prosecutor could be looking at more than just the initial leak.

LARRY BARCELLA, FRM. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: In this case the question will be did people tell the truth during the course of the investigation? Did they tell the truth to the FBI? Did they tell the truth to the grand jury? Did they try to, basically, for whatever motivation, obstruct what he was doing?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: Now this morning we're learning more information about that conversation Karl Rove had with "Time" magazine rotor Matt Cooper. In this week's issue, in fact, of "Time" magazine, Matt Cooper gives his account of the discussion with Karl Rove in the days before the operative's name came public.

Now, of course, Cooper testified before the grand jury last week. The bottom line, this is what he writes in his article, "So, did Rove leak Plame's her name to me or tell me she was covert? No. It wasn't through my conversation with Rove that I learned for the first time that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA and may have been responsible for sending him? Yes. Did Rove say she worked at the agency on WMD? Yes. When he said that things would be declassified soon, was that was itself impermissible? I don't know. Is any of this a crime? Beats me." And Cooper also notes that it's only Patrick Fitzgerald, really, who has all of the information. Now as we have mentioned time and time again, we are only getting bits and pieces of information, but there's certainly another piece in the puzzle. The special prosecutor, though, Patrick Fitzgerald, only he knows exactly how all of this fits into the investigation.

NGUYEN: Yeah, one answers no, the next is yes. Who knows Elaine? Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this. Thank you Elaine Quijano.

And, you don't want to miss "Time" magazine's Matt Cooper on the special edition of "Reliable Sources" at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. This will be his first cable TV interview since the grand jury testimony.

Let's first, let's get to our e-mail question this morning. In light of presidential adviser Karl Rove's involvement will he keep his White House job? We want to know what you think. Send us your thoughts, weekends@CNN.com.

HARRIS: Despite the daily bombings and the violence, life goes on in Baghdad. Two CNN producers went inside the lives of some ordinary Iraqis who struggle to carry on in the chaos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAINNE SADEQ, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Just outside this tunnel and blasted balls we reach a Baghdad heaven.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello! SADEQ: The Anwea (ph) club is a recreational club in Baghdad. They just go to this club on a daily basis to just have a good time.

We walked into a wedding asked them to let us shoot their wedding.

(on camera): Look at this? It's amazing!

(voice-over): Oftentimes, you know, women might be nervous about outsiders filming their wedding, but in this wedding it was wide open. People were just being themselves and when we spoke to the mother she said to me, this is something they needed to do for their children.

SANAA BAHRI, BRIDE'S MOTHER (through translator): We want the coming days to be happiness and joy. Enough war, enough blood, enough pain. We're tired. We're really tired. So we bring pleasure to our children by these joyous events so that they look forward to the future with hope.

SADEQ: The father of the bride was an ex-captain in the Iraqi navy.

My first impression was what an optimistic family. Why are they optimistic? How are they so optimistic in this time? It was only when I sat with him, one-on-one, I got the sense that he was upset.

ESSAM AL-HUSSAINI, BRIDE'S FATHER: I don't know what's happening. I mean, is it true that Americans didn't plan it well or did they misunderstand what the Iraqis behavior? People are afraid. I'm afraid for my son to go to school. I am afraid for my eldest son that has to travel to his hospital. I cannot send my daughter to the university. They have Bush and the administrations and we are very, very happy when he said that Iraq will be set an example in the Middle East. It will be one of the best countries in the Middle East. We appreciate his words, but I don't know. I mean, is it true that the great America cannot fulfill their promises?

SADEQ: We walked into this apartment and one of Baghdad's safer neighborhoods, it's not too safe, but not -- and it was a small apartment which this group of filmmaker his made for themselves & into their own paradise.

AYMEN MOHYELDIN, CNN PRODUCER: These filmmakers they welcomed Americans with open arms when they first came, but then they saw them as occupiers, taking control of their country and their city, but they also realized that they had a chance and the freedom to express themselves in a way they never had before the Americans came.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Now I can make any films I want, I can make films about communism, Islam, anything.

SADEQ: So here are all these filmmakers who are able to take Baghdad with all of the destruction in it and make it into this canvas for their artwork that looks so beautiful. Like this film they made about the dangers of being a journalist in Baghdad. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have so many relatives killed, siblings, relatives, brothers, sisters, whatever, in every single house. You have to understand that life is difficult and the difficulty of living is the -- is the motivator of ideas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I say that there is chaos, destruction, devastation, killing, terrorism and everything, but on the other hand, there is life.

SADEQ: To me, the optimism of these artists captured something essential about Iraqis. People have seen beautiful Baghdad turn into a war zone. They wanted to see, Iraq be the beautiful Iraq that they love.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Be sure and come back tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern for "CNN Presents, Progress Report: The Iraq War." That's tonight right here on CNN.

NGUYEN: This morning's "Soldier's Story" is one that focuses on the home front upon. For so many troops the real challenges are faced once the overseas tour is over. Jeremy Harrison knows what it's like and his job is now helping men and women adjust to life state side. And he joins us now to talk about that.

First to understand what it's like to readjust, we first have to understand what we went through in Iraq. So, give us a sense of what you saw over there and what you did.

JEREMY HARRISON, READJUSTMENT COUNSELOR: Well, Betty, I was there for the initial onset of the war. We were attached -- I was with an army reserve unit attached to the infantry battalions with the Marines and we went straight to Baghdad with them. We actually built the first bridge under fire in World War II. So we were right in the middle of everything. I spent a little over a year there and I got to see various parts of the Baghdad, I got to interact with people. So, I got a pretty good understanding of how things are.

NGUYEN: But, you also saw people die and you also took part in live combat. Now, I imagine coming home that stayed with you. Talk us to about the fears, the anxieties and the things you faced once you came home.

HARRISON: Well, I, like so many veterans that return home. The first couple of weeks are a great phase, it's -- we call it the honeymoon phase at the vet centers, but once you kind of get settled in to being back home, things start come back to you a little bit and you relive your experience, whether it's through nightmares that you may have, sleep disturbances seem to be the biggest thing. There are a lot of avoidance behaviors. I noticed that I didn't want to be around a lot of large crowds and I just kind of disassociated myself with the people that I was usually around.

NGUYEN: Do you have a lack of trust when you came home? HARRISON: Oh, most definitely. When you're in a situation in Iraq you don't know who your enemy is and when you come back home, you still have that feeling of distrust and you do continue to feel that way...

NGUYEN: Really, even when you're back home?

HARRISON: A lot of -- Yeah. Really, even when you're back home, you're exposed to that for such a long period it's just -- it becomes a part of your life.

NGUYEN: OK, so how did you overcome your difficulties so that you can teach others how to overcome theirs?

HARRISON: Well, when I was getting my undergraduate degree I was actually a work study at one of the vet centers, so I learned about the systems and when I returned home and was having my problems I immediately went to the vet center.

NGUYEN: And so what's the hardest part with it comes to teaching these vets on how to readjust. What's the most difficult part of this? What's the message you try to get through and sometimes it just almost seems impossible?

HARRISON: Well, I just want them to under -- I just want the veterans to understand that it's OK that the problems that they're going through are normal, they're not alone in these problems. And when I talk with them I -- the most difficult thing for me is to relive these experiences through them. It gets difficult for me sometimes, but do I get them to understand that the problems are OK and I think just by being able to have someone to talk to about their problems that they're able to live through them.

NGUYEN: They say it is so important to verbalize those feelings and for you, to have to relive it with each one of these vets must be, as you said, very difficult, but I have to ask you, too, is there a timeline from which you know that people will be OK, they will adjust or is this something that will be a life long process?

HARRISON: Well, certain aspects of it can be taken care of within the first few months just by them being able to talk about it and have someone that understands is a big thing for them. Some of the veterans go for a long time before they can get over the symptoms that they live with and just getting to be able to accept it as being a part of your life and once you're able to accept that and just be able to talk about your problems they seem too get a lot better off.

NGUYEN: That's got to be the big issue too, is getting vets to actually come forward and say "I need help, I need to talk about the problems, I need someone to help me out in getting rid of these problems." So, what advice do you have for vets out there who are thinking about it, but just haven't stepped up to ask for help just yet?

HARRISON: Well, the biggest thing is just to get them to understand that they're not alone. These are problems that won't go away by themselves and you really need to do talk -- you really do need to talk about them. That's the biggest thing.

NGUYEN: Jeremy Harrison, we thank you for your time and for what you're doing.

HARRISON: All right, I thank you.

NGUYEN: Take care -- Tony.

HARRIS: And checking our top stories now, Hurricane Emily's sustained winds dropped a little as it brushed the Cayman Islands. Still a very dangerous category 4 storm at 150 miles-an-hour. Emily is headed for Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Thousands of tourists are scrambling to leave.

We're following a developing story out of Baghdad. The Iraqi special tribunal has brought its first formal charges against Saddam Hussein. Officials say court proceedings against the former dictator could start within days.

The White House has turned over an e-mail and the controversy over top adviser Karl Rove. The e-mail shows Rove told deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley that he had spoken to Matthew Cooper. Cooper will appear on CNN at the top of the hour.

NGUYEN: Archaeologists and historians are paying close attention to Mexico as Hurricane Emily draws closer. What they're watching when we check in with what's most popular online on CNN.com. We'll give you an update on that. All of this coming up right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. Christina, help me here. Now, the most popular stories on CNN.com don't always mirror the top stories on our newscast.

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN.COM: That's right.

HARRIS: This here, Christina Park, from the dot com desk...

PARK: Yeah, they know where I am, Tony.

HARRIS: Yeah they do. All right.

PARK: Well, I'm on CNN.com with our viewers and some of the most popular picks are on CNN.com in the form of free video. All you have to do to find it is log on and look for the green watch box "On Demand News." Now, one story that's definitely in high demand right now, CNN's Karl Penhaul investigates what's at stake in Mexico as residents are preparing for Hurricane Emily. Ancient ruins of Mexico's Mayan civilization which have survived, sand, sea, war and wind are certainly going to be tested again when Emily hits late today or early tomorrow, to not mention Mexico's biggest offshore oil fields nearby.

Now, another top story both on TV and online. Users are downloading Nic Robertson's report on the London terror suspects. We now have images of all four London bombers together in their final moments. Robertson pieces together the moments before the July seven attack which is killed at least 55 people.

Also, in our top video section a great deal is at stake including White House credibility in the CIA operative leak investigation. Most importantly, who's telling the truth and who's not? Well, our Elaine Quijano tracks that digital trail, specifically reports of an e-mail from chief presidential adviser Karl Rove to No. 2 at the National Security Council, Stephen Hadley, about "Time" magazine reporter, Matt Cooper.

Sound intriguing? Sound intriguing, Tony?

HARRIS: Yeah. Boy, this is confusing is what it is.

PARK: Oh yeah.

HARRIS: It shouldn't be. Did you leak it or not? Did you move the name along the food chain, this chain that we feed on, or not?

PARK: Well, from that CNN.com, most popular video.

HARRIS: Thank you, Christina.

PARK: Thank you, Tony.

NGUYEN: And that's a question we've all been asking, Tony, hopefully we'll have an answer to that sometime soon. But in the meantime, look at this, severe floods in south China forced this panda, right there, see in the middle of your screen? Up a tree. Rescue workers hope to evacuate her by injecting the bear with an anesthetic and letting her fall into a mattress. OK, that's when things went a little off plan. Instead of falling on to the mattress, the panda it fell asleep, yeah, into a deep sleep high above the river. Look at that.

HARRIS: Oh that looks good.

NGUYEN: Kind of cute.

HARRIS: That's good.

NGUYEN: So, on to plan B it was, that took about five hours for workers using a rope to manage to get her down safely, but A-OK, the panda should I imagine should be awake by now.

HARRIS: Check the dosage.

NGUYEN: Probably wondering how did I get down?

HARRIS: Yeah.

NGUYEN: All right, your Sunday morning weather forecast is coming up next.

HARRIS: Plus some of your responses and boy, back off us, please! To this morning's e-mail question in the middle of the CIA leak investigation, will Karl Rove keep his job at the White House? We're back after this break.

But first a CNN "Extra." A new study shows unborn babes in the U.S. carry nearly 300 contaminants in the blood including mercury, pesticides, and Teflon chemical PFOA. Although the effects are not clear, several lawmakers are calling for tighter controls on chemicals in the environment. The investigative arm of Congress known as the GAO says the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the power it needs to fully regulate toxic chemicals.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHNEIDER: Good morning, everyone. I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider in the CNN Weather Center. We're tracking Hurricane Emily right now, still a powerful category 4 storm with maximum winds at 150 miles-per-hour. The forecast has this storm slamming into the Yucatan Peninsula later tonight or into early tomorrow morning. That means a lot of rain. Now, even though the storm is going to pass south of Cuba, we're expecting rainfall totals there up to four inches. For the Yucatan Peninsula five to eight inches of rain, localized amounts could get as high as 12 inches. That's a lot of rain for a flat area, especially low-lying areas that will tend to flood quickly.

Taking a look at this storm on our satellite perspective, well a lot of features to note, we can see a pretty well-defined eye and unfortunately this storm has been moving over very warm waters over the western Caribbean. The water temperature is a degree warmer than the western Caribbean, than the eastern Caribbean Sea, so just enough to kind of jack up a little bit of the intensity of Emily, which is what we've been seeing with this storm getting more and more powerful. Yesterday it was teeter on category 5-strength and really, right now, air force reconnaissance crafts are looking into the intensity of the winds as we speak. We're going to have an advisory in less than an hour that will let you know if the storm has strengthened, indeed, to category 5 status.

In the meantime it's expected to make landfall, 2:00 a.m. early hours of tomorrow, or late tonight as a category 4 storm, in the Yucatan. Direct hit for Cozumel it looks like. But then it gets a little bit more uncertain and that's why we call this the cone of uncertain, anywhere from southern Texas down through northern Mexico, landfall is expected and the water temperature here in the Gulf of Mexico also very, very warm, mid 80s to upper 80s. That's enough to help this hurricane get it up to category 3 status. So, we'll be watching this very closely. Remember here on CNN, we are your hurricane headquarters, so we'll have that 11:00 advisory as soon as we get it.

HARRIS: Bonnie, thank you.

Now, all morning long we've been asking for your thoughts on our e-mail question. Let's put it up there on the screen one last time. Will Karl Rove keep his White House job?

Mike writes, from Austin: "He should keep his job, he did nothing wrong. The democrats should drop this and get serious about real issues. If I were Bush I would tell all of you types..."

NGUYEN: You types?

HARRIS: Yeah I guess it's media-types, I don't know. "to shove it where the sun don't shine." Well, thank you for that first thing Sunday morning, Mike.

NGUYEN: Yeah, thanks, Mike. Hey, Karil from San Francisco writes, "Rove must go and if he does not resign he will be forced out. We do have not have royalty in America. Even the president and his men must live within the law." So lots of very interesting responses, all weekend long, about this topic. It has been a busy weekend, a busy morning for us. We do want to thank you for watching.

HARRIS: We will see you back here next weekend. "ON THE STORY" is next.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com