Return to Transcripts main page
Your World Today
Sixth Anniversary of 9/11; Petraeus Presents to Senate
Aired September 11, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Iraq report card. The top U.S. commander in Iraq makes his case for the strategy on the ground for a second day on Capitol Hill.
JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Six years later. Solemn ceremonies, painful rituals and silent reflection as America and the world paused to remember an event etched in memory.
GORANI: And a precious gift for one family. A constant reminder that something good did happen on that horrible September day.
CLANCY: It is noon right now in New York City, 8:00 in the evening in Baghdad. Hello and welcome to our report, broadcast around the globe. I'm Jim Clancy.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. From Washington to Kabul, wherever you are watching today, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
Moments of silence, tearful tributes, bowed heads, hands clutching flags all across America today. Millions are pausing to remember those who lost their lives in the worst terror attack ever on U.S. soil.
GORANI: Well, it is the sixth anniversary of September 11th today, of course. We will take you to commemorations at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and beyond.
CLANCY: These are attacks that changed U.S. foreign policy forever. And today we are also following a critical assessment of the war in Iraq that was launched a year-and-a-half later.
GORANI: Now the top U.S. general in Iraq is testifying on Capitol Hill right now as we speak for the second straight day, this time in the Senate. General David Petraeus, along with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, is giving a progress report mandated by Congress.
Petraeus says the surge, as it is called, of U.S. troops is working but that it needs more time. That prompted a heated exchange with a Democratic senator who is also running for president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If, in fact, the circumstances on the ground are exactly what they are today in march of next year, will you recommend the continuation of somewhere between 130,000 and 160,000 American troops being shot at, killed and maimed every day there?
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, CMDR., MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ: Mr. Chairman, that's a pretty big hypothetical.
BIDEN: Well, I don't think it is a hypothetical if they are the same.
PETRAEUS: I would be hard-pressed to recommend that at that point in time, obviously.
BIDEN: Well, I would pray you would be wise enough not to recommend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, it not only Democrats who are skeptical of the U.S. war strategy, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee says he believes the U.S. faces extremely "narrow margins" for succeeding in Iraq. Let's get more on today's hearing from congressional correspondent Dana Bash.
Well, there seems to be a bit of a different tone to today's proceedings on the Senate versus the House yesterday.
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There definitely does seem to be for a couple of reasons, Hala. First of all, the makeup of this committee, the Senate Armed -- excuse me, Foreign Relations Committee hearing which is going on right behind me, the panel is made up of a lot of outspoken critics of the war, Democrats and perhaps most interestingly Republicans.
An increasing number of Republicans that we heard of over the last several months who are -- have been calling on the president to give a more specific detailed plan for troop withdrawal. They are now questioning the general and the ambassador. And that is -- the skepticism, I think, is the best word to use that we are hearing from these Republicans is probably the most interesting.
Several Republican senators made pretty clear to the general that what he laid out yesterday in his first round of testimony, the idea that troops will start coming home and will be down to the pre-surge level by next summer, that that simply is not enough.
In fact, the top Republican on this committee said that he's worried that that would be an excuse for a real substantial plan for troop withdrawal. And maybe the most sort of telling in terms of the political dynamic here, Hala, came from one Republican who was up for re-election, somebody who is considered vulnerable next year, Republican Norm Coleman of Minnesota.
He said that he wants to see, and his constituents want to see, a light at the end of the tunnel and a plan. Not clear whether or not he actually got the answer he was looking for from the general -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Dana Bash on Capitol Hill. Thanks so much. We will have more on the impact of Petraeus' testimony has had later this hour. We will be speaking to Bob Casey, a Democratic senator who has just returned from Iraq. We will also go to Baghdad for the Iraqi government's view.
CLANCY: Well, it was six years ago today, of course, Hala, that al Qaeda terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people in the worst ever attack to take place on U.S. soil.
GORANI: Well, Americans remember the 9/11 attacks with ceremonies and silence.
(BELL TOLLING)
GORANI: A moment of silence in New York City where, of course, those two hijacked airliners destroyed the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center. First responders later recited the names of the victims.
CLANCY: This, the scene at Shanksville, Pennsylvania. That's where the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 brought their plane down on September 11th. The hijackers were in the cockpit reportedly targeting the U.S. Capitol Building. The passengers, though, saying "let's roll," fought back, the plane was brought down in a rural area.
GORANI: And another moment of silence at the Pentagon. That's where a plane commandeered by al Qaeda terrorists slammed into the headquarters of the U.S. military.
CLANCY: And the scene at the White House, you see the president there with the vice president, Dick Cheney, and their wives. White House staff joining together in a memorial service on the South Lawn.
GORANI: As all this is going on over the last 24 hours in America, Osama bin Laden apparently is trying to make his voice heard on this anniversary of 9/11. There's a new videotape out featuring a speaker purported to be the al Qaeda leader. Now, the speaker praises hijacker Walid al-Shehri, who was on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. Al-Shehri then gives his last will and testament. The videotape was obtained by terrorism expert Laura Mansfield before it was to appear on Islamist Web sites known for carrying al Qaeda statements -- Jim.
CLANCY: Well, for the second time in just a little more than a week, Germany on edge over a potential terror attack. This time, it was a telephone call, a bomb threat leveled against another U.S. military installation. Police, though, cannot verify that the threat was even real.
Frederik Pleitgen has been following that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The soldiers at Spangdahlem Air Base are checking cars even more carefully than usual after a telephone terror threat on Monday evening.
"This will be taken seriously in regard to the historical date," Norbit Muller (ph) says. "After all, today is September 11th and six years ago the terrible attacks happened. A caller phoned the main office speaking in broken German, threatening to blow up the base. During the call, bombs were mentioned and that at least four people were involved in the operation. They also mentioned the word 'attack,'" he says.
And the word "attack" is enough to set off a major police operation in Germany these days, even though investigators say they doubt this threat was serious. Germany is on the edge after authorities busted what they say would have been a massive terror attack by an Islamist cell motivated by hatred of Americans. The potential targets, U.S. military installations and other places Americans visit in Germany.
Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germany's interior minister, says Germans have to get used to the fact that the threat of terror is more real than most would have believed.
"There's no reason to panic but we also shouldn't downplay the situation," Schaeuble says. "We are taking these developments very seriously and our authorities are well prepared."
A base spokesman says it is business as usual on Tuesday at Spangdahlem, home to the 52nd Fighter Wing that flies F-16 and A-10 aircraft, many of which have been deployed to Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: All right. Let's bring in Frederik Pleitgen. He said Spangdahlem Air Base there where -- was the scene of these -- some of these threats. And how is the U.S. military responding to all of this? After all, they have to work in concert with the German authorities.
PLEITGEN: They do and there has been a big German police operation going on here, Jim. What the Americans tell us is that they have tightened security around the base somewhat. They are trying to continue business as usual as much as they can. And they are relying very much on the German authorities here.
Those German authorities right now are trying to trace back that call threatening to bomb this place right now. They say they don't have any suspects yet. But certainly this police operation is ongoing and there are a lot of police cars in the area.
And the German authorities tell us that they are going to be keeping that police presence here throughout the day just to make sure nothing goes wrong at this air base on this September 11th -- Jim.
CLANCY: And following up on the seizure of a major cache of explosives, police had been looking for almost a dozen suspects, what have they turned up? PLEITGEN: Well, they are still looking for these suspects. Several of these suspects are already in custody, three of them already in custody. That operation is also still going on.
But now what the German authorities are telling us is that this operation where they are looking for these suspects is getting bigger and bigger. Now they are currently looking for up to 50 people. And this is not just in Germany. This is around the world. This is in countries like Turkey and also in other countries that the people who are conducting this operation are not willing to tell us where they are actually conducting all of these searches.
So really this has become a very big anti-terror operation and one thing that the German authorities keep telling us again and again is that they were surprised with the plots that were plotted here last week as to how sophisticated and how far ahead that planning had already gone, Jim. But certainly that operation is still ongoing and it is becoming very, very large -- Jim.
CLANCY: Frederik Pleitgen on this story in Germany at Spangdahlem Air Force Base, thank you very much.
GORANI: All right. An update now on an incident we told you about last week. Sources are telling CNN that Israeli aircraft did carry out an air strike inside of Syria last week, possibly targeting weapons that were destined for Hezbollah militants. Syria reported that its aircraft fired on Israeli enemy aircraft that flew into northern Syria early Thursday. Sources tell CNN the military operation may have also involved Israeli ground forces who directed the air strike. That would be quite a significant development. Diplomats in the region are trying to ensure that the incident doesn't escalate between the two neighbors.
CLANCY: All right. Hala, we have got to take a short break here, but we will have much more of the testimony that is taking center stage right now in Washington.
GORANI: Straight ahead, you're with YOUR WORLD TODAY, the hearing that could shape the future of U.S. involvement in Iraq. What General David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are telling lawmakers right now about signs that the U.S.-led mission is, according to them, working.
CLANCY: And on this day of Remembrance for 9/11, twin girls born on a day no one can forget. How they brought joy out of so much sorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN CROCKER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Whether Iraq reaches its potential is, of course, ultimately the product of Iraqi actions. But the changes in our strategy last January, the surge, have helped change the dynamics in Iraq for the better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Ryan Crocker there, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. And welcome back, everyone, to CNN INTERNATIONAL, and YOUR WORLD TODAY.
CLANCY: Covering the news the world wants to know with all of the resources of CNN INTERNATIONAL all around the globe. We are going to take a look now at what's going on in U.S. Senate hearings. There we see Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, answering more questions there. Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus, both making the case that the U.S. cannot cut and run from Iraq. They have to stay.
But there can be an organized and orderly drawdown of U.S. troops. We will bring you the latest, if there are any developments coming out of these hearings. Now one theme U.S. senators from both parties came back to is this. Why hasn't the Iraqi government met its own benchmarks for progress? And are Iraqi leaders able -- are they even able to lay the groundwork for a reconciliation between Sunni and Shia? Joining us right now from Baghdad with the Iraqi government's view on all of this is Ali al-Dabbagh. He is the Iraqi government spokesman.
Thank you so much for being with us. How do you answer? When you hear these questions up on Capitol Hill, and I'm sure you have been following it, how would you answer the criticism that this government has come under for a lack of reconciliation, if you will?
ALI AL-DABBAGH, IRAQI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: We do understand that we have a political problem here in Baghdad. And we do need to make political reform. But the reconciliation is a long process. Until now we had more than over 50,000 of the military -- former military, Iraqi military been joining either the civil service or the Iraqi security forces or being given a retirement.
The tribes, which is already now fighting (INAUDIBLE) terrorists has been encouraged through the conferences of the reconciliation to join the political process, to join the Iraqi effort. The de- Baathfication law, which has been approved by the cabinet, has been forwarded to permanent and hopefully within September, it is going to be approved.
A lot of things being approved and is going on. And we do believe that still we need to do more in the reconciliation because along the process, we are reforming the country, the country has been reformed because it was under tyranny of Saddam Hussein and now we have to make a formula, yes.
CLANCY: All right. Before we go into the history of all of that, let's look at current events on the streets of Baghdad, streets all across Iraq. The militias, the militia of Muqtada al-Sadr, the militia of now SIIC, the Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq. When you put the militias out on the streets, some of them fighting with one another, killing innocent civilians, taking over entire neighborhoods, forcing Sunnis out or forcing Shia out, hasn't the time come for the Iraqi government to address these militias, outlaw them, put in jail or prosecute those who lead them?
AL-DABBAGH: There is an effort -- since the beginning of this year, there is a fight against those militias and those who break the law. And there is no exclusion from any militias, whoever breaks the law, there is -- the treatment as per the Baghdad enforcement law. There is also an attack against militia. You could find now militias as being less effective -- less influence compared with the beginning of this year.
This is a long process, again, and this is a political process because the militia...
CLANCY: So a long political process. Isn't it true that the government -- the politicians are drawing their support from the streets and from these militias and that's why they are not acting? I mean, you know that the Mahdi Army is headed by Muqtada al-Sadr and his group.
Muqtada al-Sadr, nobody has ever tried to arrest him. Nobody wants to even try to do that because it would spark outright conflict.
AL-DABBAGH: Definitely. We do understand that. Some of the militia is connected with some of the regional countries as being supported by them, as being financed, being funded by them. Also, the terrorist group, we do feel that...
(AUDIO GAP)
AL-DABBAGH: ... this is, again, we do need to treat it in a way that we should not create more struggle in Iraq. We do understand some of the militias connected with some of the political, either figures or parties. There is an effort -- there is a great effort. But the issue here is -- on the ground is more complicated than what they believe there in Washington. We do need the wisdom in order to not create more problems to the Iraqis. We do understand, again, that the Iraqis...
(CROSSTALK)
CLANCY: The Iraqi people -- it is not only the American people, sir. It's not only the American people that are fed up.
AL-DABBAGH: Definitely, definitely...
(CROSSTALK)
CLANCY: It's the Iraqi people that are fed up.
AL-DABBAGH: I do agree. Iraqis as well, definitely. But there is a great effort. We should not deny there is a great effort. But again, we do need to work harder. We do need to work more in order to -- there is a good sign from Jaish al Mahdi that they are going to freeze all their operation within the six years -- the next six months.
This is a good sign that -- it is a start for disarming the militias. There's a militia which has been defined as (INAUDIBLE) 91 (ph) of Bremer. And then it has like been legalized in a way that they should be resolved in a way -- in a political way. And this is -- again, is a agreement between all of the political parties so that the government will take the technical step in order to disarm them, in order to join them by any means. We should not create one more problem by creating a fight -- one more fight.
CLANCY: All right. Ali al-Dabbagh, Iraq's government spokesman there. I want to thank you very much for being with us. It has been -- there has been hotly contested issues on Iraq. And it is good to hear from somebody that's inside the government there giving their point of view and standing up, saying, we need more time.
GORANI: And we are also going to be hearing from somebody who just returned from Iraq. An American politician. The junior Democratic senator for Pennsylvania, Bob Casey. He will be joining us after this.
Also ahead...
CLANCY: The fallout after September the 11th. How Wall Street was hard-hit by events six years ago.
GORANI: And later, confronting the specter of terrorism on its home soil. We will tell you why Europe has become so vulnerable. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes. But first a quick check on stories making headlines right here in the U.S.
The nation pausing to mark the sixth anniversary of 9/11. Ceremonies this morning in New York, Washington, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Because of construction at Ground Zero, the remembrance in New York is taking place at a nearby park. Live pictures now of the events taking place there in the city.
And at the White House, President Bush took part in a moment of silence, honoring the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the terror attacks. The Pentagon also remembering those lives that were lost when a hijacked jetliner slammed into that huge building. A wreath-laying ceremony is part of the event at the Pentagon. And another ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, honors there for the passengers and crew who died when the United Flight 93 crashed into the field.
General Petraeus back on Capitol Hill. The Iraq War, back under the microscope. Today he is testifying before two Senate hearings. Among the lawmakers attending, five presidential candidates from both parties. Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, joined by the chief U.S. diplomat there. Both men are expected to face tougher questioning than yesterday's House hearings. Petraeus assured lawmakers that U.S. military goals in Iraq are being met. And that Iraqi security forces are growing more independent. He is outlined plans to brings home up to 30,000 U.S. troops from Iraq by next summer. Now at the heart of the war debate, public sentiment, a solid majority of Americans, 63 percent, continues to oppose the war. That's according to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll. It also found that public sentiment over the war has changed little since the start of the year. In August, one in three Americans say that they supported that war. Compare that to 31 percent in January.
A new message from al Qaeda on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Word just a short time ago a technical analysis by U.S. intelligence indicates it is Osama bin Laden on that audio recording. On it bin Laden introduces a last testament from one of the 9/11 hijackers. Bin Laden praises Walid al-Shehri who was on the plane that slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Well, ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, one family's fight to get this woman recognized at ceremonies honoring 9/11 victims. We are going to talk with the husband of Felicia Dunn-Jones about why it took years for her to be named among the victims.
A deadly chopper crash to tell you about right now, it is just south of Sarasota, Florida. The sheriff's office says that two men were killed when this helicopter went down in the Gulf of Mexico just about two hours ago. The other man aboard was seriously hurt. People on that helicopter were apparently doing a video shoot for a boating magazine.
YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break. I'm Kyra Phillips. See you in about half an hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries and territories all around the globe, including the United States.
GORANI: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Hala Gorani.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. And these are some of the stories that are making headlines in YOUR WORLD TODAY.
Of course, this, the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks; somber memorial services taking place in New York City, in Washington, in Pennsylvania, in a field, as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan where U.S. soldiers are stationed.
Nearly 3,000 people died when hijacked airliners slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.
The United States top general and top diplomat in Iraq the are testifying on Capitol Hill. Right now, they're in the middle of a recess. These are pre-recorded pictures. We'll get right back to the live pictures when we get them.
It's the second straight day General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker are delivering a mandated progress report on the war in Iraq. Senators, both Democrat and Republican, are pressing them on the wisdom of the U.S. strategy, especially the troop surge. Petraeus repeated his assessment that it needs more time.
After almost two days of testimony by General Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Crocker, have the men changed any minds on Capitol Hill? Joining us now is Democratic senator and member of the Foreign Relations Committee Bob Casey, of Pennsylvania. He has been calling for a new direction in Iraq.
What have you made, Senator Casey, so far, of the Petraeus testimony that there is a possibility that 30,000 U.S. troops could potentially return from Iraq in the next year?
SEN. BOB CASEY (D), FOREIGN RELATIONS CMTE.: Well, thank you, Hala.
That number that General Petraeus cited in terms of a redeployment of troops, I don't think it is nearly adequate enough to say that we changed direction. I disagree with President Bush's policy, which is a stay-the-course policy for our troops.
Our troops have done everything we asked of them to the point of refereeing a civil war. And I think what you are seeing today with General Petraeus' testimony and Ambassador Crocker's testimony, I think, unfortunately, as more of the same in terms of what's happening in Iraq. In the end, it is the president's policy that we are debating. I think it is time for a change in course.
GORANI: What change of course would you recommend then? A more rapid withdrawal? Some said that would lead to complete chaos not only in Iraq but in the region.
CASEY: I don't think anyone on the Democratic side like I have who has voted for several resolutions to change courses, talking about a rapid, or as the Republicans like to use terms like "precipitous withdrawal". We need a phased redeployment, which you can do in a reasonable and responsible way. I think we also have to focus on the central mission and objective which is training the Iraqi security forces so they can take on the enemy for a generation.
We have make sure we have a dramatic and sustained increase in diplomacy. Of course, we have to make sure that we are continuing to focus on hunting down and killing terrorists in Iraq and all the countries in the world where those terrorists are.
GORANI: You just returned from Iraq. What do you make of the new U.S. strategy that is being touted as such a success, of supporting Sunni tribesmen against Al Qaeda? Tom Lantos, the congressman yesterday, said, you know, the U.S. shouldn't be in the business of arming militia and working against its own strategy. What do you make of that?
CASEY: I think you can point to places in Iraq, outside of Baghdad, where that effort has been somewhat successful. The problem, though, remains in Baghdad. Even when you compare it to all of the talk about Anbar Province, and the Marines did a great job there, but within Baghdad, you still have sectarian killing, a civil war and Americans have to -- American fighting men and women have to be concerned about, and are threatened by forces from five or six different directions sometimes. We should not ask them to do this, we should change course.
GORANI: OK, really quickly. Let's listen to the Ambassador Sumaidaie, he is, of course the Iraqi ambassador to the United States. This is his response to, perhaps, how the political evolution and progress in Iraq has not gone quickly enough. Then I will have you react.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMIR SUMAIDAIE, IRAQ AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: It takes time. There's always lag between producing a secure environment and achieving political accommodation. Political accommodation takes time. Look at the precedence. I mean, in Ireland, it has taken 38 years. We are not talking about that. We are making progress. You cannot expect an immediate translation, on the same day or the next day between the -- getting better security environment and getting full political accommodation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Senator Casey, what do you make of that? Do you feel like the U.S. should give the Iraqis more time? After all, you cam expect a country that was ruled by a dictator by 30 years to become a model of democracy in five.
CASEY: It is the same I heard in Iraq from the Iraqi leaders. The deputy -- one of the deputy prime ministers, of the national security adviser, they want more time and keep asking for more time. Yet, if we continue to allow them to be dependent upon and rely upon our fighting men and women, we are going to need a lot more time.
We need to change the course of this war and the only way to do that is to give them a clear and unmistakable signal and message that it is time for them to take over the fight.
GORANI: A deadline then?
CASEY: Certainly, we have to be very clear about our redeployment time frame. I voted for several measures that would talk about the spring or the later spring of 2008. You can do that in a reasonable and responsible way. But the problem here is the Iraqi governmental leadership don't have any sense of urgency. And when they don't have urgency, the people who pay most of the price are the American fighting men and women and their families; 175 in Pennsylvania have already lost their lives. It is time for the Iraqis to get moving.
GORANI: All right. That was 9/11 -- oh, you were talking, of course about the servicemen and women who served in Iraq as well as the anniversary of 9/11, Senator Casey, that affected your state as well. Thank you for joining us here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
CASEY: Thank you.
CLANCY: Now, in other news, the father of a British girl who went missing, while he and his wife were on holiday in Portugal, says that both parents are confident they can prove their innocence.
GORANI: Declared formal suspects in Madeleine's disappearance, the McCanns are waiting to hear whether they will face criminal charges in Portugal. The case is now in the hands of the Portuguese prosecutor and the McCanns say they are in an unbearable situation.
CLANCY: Lawyers for former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawa Sharif challenging his expulsion from the country. They filed a petition in the supreme court setting up yet another confrontation between the judiciary and Pakistan's military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
Mr. Musharraf sent Sharif back into exile Monday hours after he landed on a flight from London.
GORANI: A long distance shrapnel packed Palestinian missile exploded in an Israeli army base early today and it wounded 69 soldiers. Most not injured seriously. The wounded were all recent recruits and a spokesman for Islamic jihad took responsibility for the attack.
CLANCY: The FBI's 10 Most Wanted list now has one less face on it. Colombian army commandos captured alleged drug kingpin Diego Montoya Sanchez, hiding in a bed of leaves, clad only in his underwear. The Colombian defense minister says he Montoya and his mob shipped about 70 percent of Colombia's cocaine to the U.S. and Europe.
GORANI: You are with YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. You're very welcome. Let's take a short break.
CLANCY: Coming up here on our program, one family looking back on a day that brought twin blessings, a day that also brought others great tragedy. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(TRUMPETERS PLAYING "TAPS")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God bless our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: That was the scene just about 30 minutes ago as the official ceremonies at ground zero ended with trumpets echoing across Lower Manhattan. A moving solemn moment there, with the fist responders, representatives of the fire department, the police department, trumpeting that farewell, "Taps", to those who were lost. Some nearly 3,000 people on September 11th.
GORANI: Well, September 11th, of course, brought terrorism to a part of the world that hadn't seen anything like it before.
The repercussions still being felt on a continent across the ocean. Paula Newton reports on how Europe had to change since September 11th.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Few could have predicted that the fallout from 9/11 would land so squarely on Europe's doorstep. From the Madrid train bombings in 2004 to the 2005 terror attack in London; to all the failed plots ever since; multiple attempts to strike vulnerable transport services in several countries; the doctor's plot earlier this summer that attempted to blow up car bombs; and the most recent arrest in both Denmark and Germany.
Much of this points to a persistent brand of terror infecting Europe with one very threatening terrorist profile.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I, and thousands like me, have forsaken everything for what we believe.
PETER CLARKE, BRITISH COUNTER-TERRORISM CHIEF: Of all the things I have seen over the past few years, one of the most worrying has been the speed and ease with which young men can be turned into suicidal terrorists.
NEWTON: Britain's top anti-terror cop admits that he and others in Europe have only recently come to grips with the threat of homegrown terror, undeniably, few ever thought Europeans would attack their own.
BOB AYERS, SECURITY ANALYST: They won't foul their own nest, I think, was the prevailing philosophy at the time. Well, 7/7 proved they were wrong on that.
NEWTON: What makes Europe so vulnerable? By its very nature the European Union is supposed to promote easy travel. Easy access between member states. And add to that a Muslim minority that is far less integrated than in the United States.
AYERS: They stay in their own community and they reinforce each other's perceptions of the unfairness of Western civilization vis-a- vis Islam.
NEWTON: For months European intelligence reports have marked the continent as vulnerable to attack, a soft target for Al Qaeda. Several countries now concede the threat to both Americans in Europe and Europeans themselves is as high now as it was in the lead-up to 9/11.
(On camera): Since 9/11, Americans have been forced to confront terror mostly abroad. Not so here in Europe where the battlefield is now on home soil. Paula Newton, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: September 11th, of course, also brought Western forces into a part of the world that has seen certainly more than its share of conflict. We are talking about Afghanistan, in particular, the border that it shares with Pakistan today. It is a region where Al Qaeda, still able to fuel its war against the West.
Controlling that border between Afghanistan and Pakistan as a matter of geography and a priority of politics. Earlier we talked with our Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson asking him why it's such a challenge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It is very, very difficult. This particular corridor of Afghanistan is one where the Afghanistan fought the Soviets. This was where it took the Soviets the longest time to defeat the Afghans because it is so mountainous; it is so difficult to control in a military way.
What the troops here are doing is hoping to, if you will, win people's hearts and minds. They are involved in nation building; building health clinics, building schools. Putting in $100,000 worth of micro electric power projects to bring electricity to communities of 15,000 people who have never had power before.
So defeating the Taliban the way they are setting about it is to undermine the Taliban's support in the population, win the population over to support the government of Afghanistan, and thereby denying areas where the Taliban can operate. That is the methodology. That is the way they are trying to do it.
But the Taliban and their allies are still going trying to get across the border, are still going to come across where the U.S. troops others, and the Afghan border police cannot patrol, because it is too rugged and mountainous. Can they seal the border 100 percent? No. That's why they are involved in the health clinics, the schools, and water supply, the electricity supplies, Jim.
CLANCY: There is a lot said about the frontlines of the war on terror. But Nic, you are fairly there. That is the location. And I'm wondering on September 11th, what thoughts do you have -- after covering the story for six years -- what thoughts do you have on this day about how much longer this fight will go on?
ROBERTSON: It is going to take a very long time, Jim. This is really just the beginning. It is a fight of ideals. This is a fight that's -- soldiers here have been telling me today to provide stability, to provide security for the Afghan population. And what they explain to the local tribal elders, to the population here, is we will bring you those schools. We will bring you those -- those health clinics and all the Taliban and Al Qaeda will bring is fighting and death and destruction.
And that is -- seems to be what is at stake here. It is going to be a very, very long fight because whenever mistakes are made by the coalition forces here, and Afghans are killed, there was a large explosion in Kandahar today, one of the biggest suicide bombings that have been seen so far in Afghanistan. Almost 30 people killed in that particular attack. That resonates very badly with the Afghan population. Some of them in the heart of the fight will point to the coalition forces and say if you weren't here, this wouldn't be happening.
That's not the experience of the troops here. They find that there is a high tolerance for them and a high support being built for what they are doing. But as I look at how long it is going to take to control and bring Afghanistan to a point where Taliban and Al Qaeda can have training camps -- and that of course is the essence of what this is all about, denying them the territory to have -- to have terrorist training camps -- it is going to take a very, very long time.
The problems in Afghanistan are complex. They are diverse. The solutions are complexion and diverse. It is a country that has been at war for 30 years. When I look at it, it is very clear it is going to take a long, long time. And it is going to take a lot of persuasion, by people like these troops, that what they are here for is the right cause, it is to support the Afghan people.
And if finally, the Afghans believe that, then they will hope -- then they will have won. It is a long way to go, Jim. And that is what I'm seeing here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: That was our Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson, for us, right there on the Afghan/Pakistan border.
Hala.
GORANI: Today, of course, is September 11th. We remember those who died on 9/11.
CLANCY: But what about those who were born on that infamous day?
GORANI: When we come back a set of twins. They are turning six. How their family handles their unusual birthday. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Some moving photos from all around the world. We have been talking about how September 11th has been marked in the United States. But it was also for the world; there was Northern Ireland there, Japan, India, Pakistan, Israel. All represented with photos there. Sometimes U.S. military, but as you saw, sometimes just ordinary people.
GORANI: That event deeply impacted the whole world with what happened after 9/11 and what happened on that day, of course. And so many, so many people remember exactly where they were on that September 11th morning. But for one Connecticut family, that day marked a new beginning. CNN's Alina Cho explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): While Lower Manhattan was in chaos, Lori Winthrop was in labor. Husband Matt by her side, giving birth to twin girls. She was six weeks early. It was not supposed to happen on September 11th.
LORI WINTHROP, DAUGHTERS BORN ON 9/11/01: That's all the TVs were on; the TVs, all the TVs in all the rooms and everybody was very focused on what was going on.
CHO: Except for the Winthrops.
MATTHEW WINTHROP, DAUGHTERS BORN ON 09/11/01: All the external things, 9/11,
L. WINTHROP: It disappeared.
M. WINTHROP: World Trade Center, it just -- it shot out of the camera. The doctor says, all right, you are going to have babies today. Everything went blank.
CHO: That was six years ago. Today Sydney and Jennifer are celebrating their sixth birthday. But there will be no party on this day. Lori and Matt don't think it is appropriate. So the party will be on Sunday. Over the years, the girls with the birthday no one could forget have become local celebrities, and have grown up in the public eye.
This year, they are entering the first grade. Along with reading and writing, they are also beginning to understand what happened the day they were born.
CHO (on camera): When you guys were born on September 11th --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES, IN UNISON: We know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An airplane crashed into a building. Some of mommies friends died in there.
CHO (voice over): Lori says at first the girls thought they were responsible.
L. WINTHROP: So, they figured they must have had something to do with it. They thought did we kill everybody?
CHO: And even now --
M. WINTHROP: Born on September 11th? Oh? When? '01. Then there is a -- that year? There is about a three second pause where, we already knew, but their brain, oh, oh wow!
CHO: Lori envision as day where people will eat cupcakes instead of cry on 9/11. The girls, a constant reminder that something good did happen on that horrible day. L. WINTHROP: That's what they give back. Maybe they give back a little bit of happiness, what's supposed to be a sad day.
CHO: Alina Cho, CNN, Byron, Connecticut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right, before we end this hour, we are going to show you some live pictures of those remembrance ceremonies. Particularly, this one in New York, at New York's ground zero in Lower Manhattan.
CLANCY: This is the ramp that would lead down into that. Of course, the festivities, the memorials this day, all played out nearby at a park. Not actually at the site of the World Trade Center.
And there you see some of the first responders this year reading out some of the names.
GORANI: The reason for that is because it is a building site and it was considered potentially too dangerous for people to tread on that site. We are going to leave you with those pictures for now.
That is it. I'm Hala Gorani.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. Thank you for being with us. This is CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
