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CNN SUNDAY MORNING

Five People Dead in Blast in Baghdad; Chechen President Killed in Explosion

Aired May 9, 2004 - 08:00   ET

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

THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi everybody. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING for Mother's Day, May the 9th. I'm Thomas Roberts.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Sophia Choi. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

We have plenty of news for you this morning, including deadly blasts at a crowded market in Baghdad. Five people are killed, 13 injured. And U.S. troops are taking the fight to a radical cleric in Najaf. We've got the latest straight ahead.

And chaos and calamity: the aftermath of an explosion in a packed stadium in the Chechen capital of Grozny. The Chechen president was killed in that blast. We'll have a live report.

Also, a nation on hold? President Bush says establishing a Palestinian state by 2005 is now unrealistic. We'll have reaction.

Topping the headlines at this hour, the pro-Russian president of Chechnya was killed today, along with three others, when an explosion ripped apart a VIP section of a parade review stand in the capital of Grozny. President Akhmad Kadyrov and military leaders were marking Victory Day observances at the time.

In southern Iraq, a new attack today against British forces in Basra. A British military spokesman says three soldiers were wounded by a grenade or homemade bomb thrown at their vehicle.

ROBERTS: Well, the Million Mom March organization is back in Washington today, but not a million moms are there. But some of them are going to be there to demonstrate at the capital in a campaign to keep the ban on assault weapons and promote the Brady campaign in an effort to prevent gun violence.

More now on our top story, U.S. troops on the attack in Najaf. A major offensive is under way in the Iraqi city against the militia of radical cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr. CNN's Jane Arraf is there and she joins us now by videophone from Najaf with more -- Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Thomas, the tanks and troops have come back to base. But for a few hours out there, there was quite intense firing. We were out with some of those troops from the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment close to here, close to this base. The intention was to move forward, move the U.S. military presence forward about a mile out south of the base, expanding the area that it has control of and to kill or capture members of the Mehdi militia, that banned militia loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr.

Officials here say that they have captured two to three of the militia members and killed between five and seven of them. No word of civilian casualties and no U.S. casualties. But while we were out there, Thomas, there was mortar flying overhead, rocket-propelled grenades whizzing by, and a lot of small arms fire.

What they're trying to do here and what they did some of today was to capture some of those weapons. They say they detonated a major arms cache of rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. And they continue these military operations while hoping there will be some sort of political solution that will lead to an end to this -- Thomas?

ROBERTS: Jane, as we understand it, two of the arrests from Muqtada al-Sadr's brigade, one his financial adviser?

ARRAF: As for the people that they've captured here, they've captured them just a short while ago. And they're not sure here who exactly these people are. Now, they have been on the lookout for people close to Muqtada al-Sadr because there's really some question as to whether he, himself, is leading this, or whether it's the people around him.

Now, he has, as you've seen, continued to taunt the U.S. troops. Appearing at a mosque in Kufa nearby to Najaf, (AUDIO GAP) that he was going to continue to travel. One of the things that happened today during the day's offensive was that mortars appeared to be fired from a mosque near Kufa.

The army here did not fire back at that mosque, but they did respond with artillery to another inspiring position, they say. The army here is being very, very careful. They're in a very delicate situation -- Thomas.

ROBERTS: Jane Arraf reporting to us from Najaf, Iraq. Jane, thanks very much.

We want to take you back to the situation in Iraq, though, and fill you in on what coalition forces are talking about in Sadr City. They have nabbed two advisers to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in a surprise raid. Now, troops arrested Sadr's chief financial adviser, as well as his bureau chief. Both were taken into custody outside of al-Sadr's headquarters last night.

CHOI: A top U.S. military officials says Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison will stay open. Major General Geoffrey Miller, the new U.S. commander of detention operations in Iraq, says the military will continue to use it, but it will house fewer prisoners. In a press conference just yesterday, Miller also said the abuse of Iraqi prisoners happened because those responsible for their care failed to follow established policies. The general says military police under his watch are now being retrained.

ROBERTS: Well, this was the chaotic scene today in the capital of Chechnya. It's the aftermath of a blast that killed the Chechen president and several others. The explosion tore through the VIP section of a review stand where the dignitaries were observing the annual Victory Day parade.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote is in Moscow. He joins us now with the very latest on the attack -- Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Thomas.

Well, the Russian-backed leader of Chechnya, Akhmad Kadyrov, was killed in that attack. The Russian president himself made that announcement a short while ago. He said that Akhmad Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, was killed today, but that he left his life undefeated.

Now, in addition to that, Russian officials are saying that at least four other people were killed, an additional 44 people hospitalized, including, very importantly, the leader of all Russian forces in the caucuses in Chechnya, a three-star general, General Valery Baranov, who is currently in an emergency ward after going through surgery.

Now, this attack took place at about 10:35 in the morning. The entire Chechen political and military leadership was on hand. They were in the stadium in the Chechen capital of Grozny. They were watching a military parade to celebrate the 59th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.

That's when this blast went off directly beneath the VIP stand. Russian officials now saying that they believe that the explosive device was hidden inside the concrete blocks beneath that viewing stand. They say they did a very thorough search both this morning and last night for bombs and didn't find anything there -- Thomas.

ROBERTS: Ryan, let's talk more about the three-day celebration itself and when this took place. So how long had the celebration actually been going on? Was it right off the top of the start of the celebration, or had they been in the stands for some time?

CHILCOTE: They had been in the stands for a short while. The ceremonies here generally begin in the morning. And what we know is that they obviously felt very comfortable with their security because this is not the first attempt on Mr. Kadyrov's life. He's been through numerous assassination attempts.

And, of course, the leader of Russian forces in the caucuses is always a top target for Chechen rebels there. In fact, Chechen rebels put a previous Russian commander in the hospital a few years ago that was leading the Russian military effort there. So this is not the first time that there has been this kind of assassination attempt.

Security was, they said, at its highest level, but still officials now looking at this spot beneath the stand where they say that they now believe the explosives were hidden perhaps a couple of months ago, because they were doing some reconstruction work underneath those stands. And they think that whoever put that bomb there was able to get it in before the concrete was sealed, and then they simply detonated it -- Thomas. ROBERTS: Ryan, real quickly, before we let you go, Vladimir Putin confirmed the assassination. Do we expect to hear more from him today about some of the details to come?

CHILCOTE: I'm not sure we'll hear more from the Russian president today. He already has said quite a bit.

He met with the Chechen leader's son, who happened to be in Moscow. His name is Ramzan Kadyrov. And he paid tribute to Mr. Kadyrov's service to the Russian self-described fight against terrorists in Chechnya.

The Russian president, this is going to be a very serious matter and a very urgent matter for him to deal with. But I expect we'll hear more about this issue tomorrow and the coming days from the Russian president -- Thomas.

ROBERTS: Ryan Chilcote live for us in Moscow. Ryan, thanks so much.

CHOI: President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney under a lot of pressure these days after the release of those pictures of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us now with the latest.

Good morning, Suzanne.

We're going to have that when we come back. We're going to take you to break real quickly right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: The abuse scandal of Iraqi prisoners dominates the national agenda this weekend. Now, President Bush used his weekly radio address to deal with some of the fallout. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us now with the very latest from there.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Thomas.

Wrapping up one of the most -- really one of the most contentious, as well as damaging, weeks for President Bush, the White House is trying resuscitate its reputation, particularly that of Secretary Rumsfeld. It was yesterday that Vice President Dick Cheney and other top officials were here at the White House. They participated in a secure video teleconference with President Bush, who is at Camp David.

The focus here, after a series of apologies from the president on down, is to punish those who are responsible. But senior administration officials say that will not be Rumsfeld, that he will keep his job. In a rare statement that was issued by Cheney's office yesterday, he said, "As a former secretary of defense, I think Donald Rumsfeld is the best secretary of defense the United States has ever had. People ought to let him do his job."

Now, the prison abuse scandal, as you know, of course, has taken on a partisan tone. Both the president yesterday, as well as Democrats, sparring in their weekly radio addresses.

(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, several formal investigations led by senior military officials are under way. Some soldiers have already been charged with crimes. We will learn all the facts and determine the full extent of these abuses. Those involved will be identified. They will answer for their actions.

(END AUDIOTAPE)

(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)

WESLEY CLARK (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The truth is, President Bush has made mistake after mistake as commander in chief, taking us first into a war we didn't have to fight alone and under false pretenses, and now managing it so poorly.

(END AUDIOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And Thomas, tomorrow, President Bush is going to travel to the Pentagon. That is where he's going to receive a military briefing. We are told that he is going stand beside Secretary Rumsfeld and support him. He's going to be getting an update on all that occurred and where they go next year. But, of course, the big question now here, Thomas, is what is the fallout?

ROBERTS: Absolutely. Suzanne Malveaux live for us at the White House this morning. Suzanne, thanks very much.

Also, President Bush is suggesting that hopes are fading for establishing a Palestinian state by next year. In an interview published in Egypt, President Bush says creating a Palestinian state by 2005, as regional leaders hope, is nearly impossible because of the violence in the region. Palestinians disagree, saying there's still time for negotiations. They insist there's no time for delay.

CHOI: Well it's a film that has yet to debut, and already it is raising a few eyebrows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We lost our Mexicans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A day without a Mexico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHOI: It's a mockumentary that depicts what life would be like in California if the Hispanic population disappeared. About 40 percent of the nation's Latinos live on the West Coast. It's a short comedy written, produced and directed by the husband and wife team of Sergio Arau and Yareli Arizmendi.

The film debuts on May 14. And joining us now to talk more about it is Arian Campo-Flores, Miami bureau chief for Newsweek.

So how do Hispanics fit into the fabric of the United States?

ARIAN CAMPO-FLORES, NEWSWEEK MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Well, you know, there are about 39 million Hispanics, so it's an incredibly rich and diverse community. It fits in to the country many ways.

I mean, you have, you know, a group of more recently-arrived immigrants. Many of them found in places like California and Texas that aren't quite integrated into the economy yet. They hold a lot of service sector and menial labor jobs. But you have also plenty of second, third generation and even Latinos who trace their roots to back to before the founding of the nation that are far more integrated into the society and into the mainstream of America than some of those that are the topic of this mockumentary.

CHOI: And as a group, specifically some states are very important to the economy and politics when we're considering this segment of the population.

CAMPO-FLORES: Yes. I mean, you know, they're concentrated in some of the states of the Southwest, like Arizona and California, New Mexico and Texas. Also in New York and in Florida. And they are key parts of the economy in these states. If you were to remove them, many employers, they would probably fold overnight.

And in looking towards the November elections, they're going to be key in some battleground states that both parties and both campaigns are eying very closely. In particular, Florida, New Mexico, and Nevada and Arizona, all states that were very closely won by either of the candidates last time around. They're going to be very close this time around. And each side is pouring a significant amount of resources into tapping the Hispanic vote there.

CHOI: But as they go after these votes, don't they have to be pretty careful? Because Hispanics do not like what they Mariachi campaigning. Explain what that means.

CAMPO-FLORES: Yes. Well, there's a lot of criticism that when politicians go after the Hispanic vote, a lot of time it's just sort of rhetorical. You know, they'll trot out a Mariachi band on the White House lawn. They'll declare odes to the importance of Hispanics to American culture.

But when it comes down to substantive policy, a lot of times there's not a comprehension of exactly what it is that Hispanics most care about and the way to address those. And so you have that criticism, sometimes of this administration's approach to Latino outreach, that a lot of times it's rhetorical as opposed to substantive. And so as we aim towards the general election, you're going to have Latinos focusing on specifically what policy proposals either side is going to be proposing.

CHOI: Arian Campo-Flores, thank you so much for joining us.

CAMPO-FLORES: My pleasure.

CHOI: Take care.

ROBERTS: OK, so take a peek at this. What is going on back there? We'd like you to tell us. What do you think is a good caption for this picture? Are you drinking all this in? You can e-mail us at wam@cnn.com. We're going to share some of your answers coming up a little later on this morning.

And also, straight ahead for you, your weather forecast this Mother's Day.

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHOI: Well, time now for a quick check of the headlines.

An explosion at a Victory Day celebration in Chechnya this morning killed the republic's president. We'll have a live report from Moscow next hour.

In Baghdad, five people are dead after two explosions at a neighborhood market. Police were unable to disarm explosive devices before they detonated. Thirteen people were injured in that blast.

ROBERTS: Well, it's a very special Mother's Day for Thomas Hamill's family. The former hostage in Iraq is back home now in Macon, Mississippi, this weekend. He spoke about his ordeal in his first public comments yesterday, thanking those concerned, but also issuing a special appeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS HAMILL, FMR. IRAQI HOSTAGE: I'm thankful for all this support. It's overwhelming. But there's still men and women, civilian, military that are in the Middle East that are in harms way. They are all heroes. I see them every day when they leave out in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) transports up to Landstuhl. Some of these soldiers may never make it home. Let's turn this hero's welcome back to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So welcome home to him. And we know that Thomas Hamill has been pretty private since he went to Germany. When he and his wife, Kelly, were reunited, he asked the press to kind of leave them alone.

CHOI: Yes, a very modest guy. And he's really worried about (AUDIO GAP) going to him.

ROBERTS: Exactly. Other Americans that are held captive by Iraqis. Doesn't want to make them angry by his statements.

CHOI: Well, he's afraid that they might -- what he says or the celebration may interfere with their safety in Iraq. So right now he's saying no celebration, please. Let's keep it low-key.

All right. Let's get to our caption contest. You've got to take a look at this picture. Pretty unusual.

This is a Dodge Neon that ended up in the back of this horse trailer after an accident. By the way, the horse, Crimson Agent, not harmed. What's he thinking? We got a couple of e-mails already this morning.

"Do put the car before the horse," says Warren E. from Atlanta.

ROBERTS: And this one coming into us from Terry in New Brunswick, saying, "That's it. The jockey has just got find another way to get to that track."

Now, don't worry, we're going to have more time to read some of your e-mails later on today. WAM@CNN.com is how you can reach us.

CHOI: What fun, captions.

Well, we have much more ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. At 8:30 Eastern, Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores living beyond limits and just how much the human body can handle. Then at 9:15, we'll reconnect a mother with her daughter currently serving in Iraq. And at 9:30, rebuilding the World Trade Center: the challenges of working on the site of such a traumatic event. We'll talk with a psychologist about it.

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