Civilian Contractors Caught on Tape in Iraq
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And congratulations from us as well, Lou Dobbs, well deserved. To our viewers, you are in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you the day's top stories happening now. It's 3 a.m. in Iraq. The former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, weighs in on the war. You may be surprised how much he agrees with President Bush. Do insurgents control the streets in this Iraqi town? Are civilian contractors shooting up the streets of this town? Do the pictures tell the story? We'll let you be the judge. And it's 4:00 p.m. in California with the governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is under heavy pressure from fellow Hollywood stars to make a life or death decision in a death row case. I'm Wolf Blitzer, you are in THE SITUATION ROOM. A U.S. military spokesman says insurgents escaping U.S. military sweeps have been drawn to the town of Ramadi in volatile Anbar Province. But are the insurgents able to move at will on the streets attacking U.S. or Iraqi forces? The military says that's an entire matter -- another matter entirely despite what you may see. Let's turn to CNN's Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson; he's in Baghdad.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, operations continue in the west of Iraq. U.S. commanders say they are seeing the benefit of those raids and operations. They say they have seen a reduction in the number of car bombings; a reduction in the number of suicide bombings. But over the day, a new piece of video tape has emerged from the town of Ramadi and it is proving very controversial.</s>ROBERTSON (voice over): This is video that has the U.S. military fighting mad. It supposedly shows insurgents roaming freely on Thursday in the city of Ramadi, in western Iraq. Cameramen filmed the event and sent different video tapes to two TV news agencies. It could be propaganda. And that's what angers coalition commanders. Abu Musab al Zarqawi, they say, is an expert propagandist.</s>MAJ. GEN. RICK LYNCH, COALITION SPOKESMAN: Conducting these kidnappings, these beheadings, these explosions, so that he gets international coverage to look like he has more capability than he truly has. He is lying to the Iraqi people.</s>ROBERTSON: And that's the point of the video tape from Ramadi. Is it real, or staged? It certainly is designed to show that the insurgents can move about at will in the town, but coalition says that's not the reality.</s>LYNCH: Over the course of the day we've had one attack. An RPG attack and it was ineffective. That shows you the disparity between the perception of security in Ramadi and what is happening on the ground.</s>ROBERTSON: On the streets of Ramadi, where CNN is not safely able to go alone, a man identified as an insurgent, claims to control the streets and vows to crack down on U.S. troops. Leaflets, distributed by the gunmen, claim Zarqawi, the head of al Qaeda in Iraq, is taking over Ramadi. That he may be close to the city is not disputed by U.S. officers, but they claim he is on the run.</s>LYNCH: No doubt that Zarqawi tried to gravitate him and his forces towards Ramadi. I know it to be true, our operations are focused on taking him out in Ramadi.</s>ROBERTSON (on camera): Propaganda has become a crucial part of the battle for both sides. General Lynch says U.S. commanders are empowered to impart information to Iraqis. The difference between them and the insurgents, he said, is that U.S. commanders always tell the truth -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Thank you very much. He's been embedded with American troops in combat. He's watched the insurgents fight. And he's seen the new Iraqi army in action. Isn't there any light at the end of the tunnel? Coming up I'll speak with "TIME" magazine's Baghdad Bureau Chief Michael Ware. He has some amazing first-person observations to share with all of us. It would seem insurgents are responsible for nearly all the unsolicited violence in Iraq. But some Iraqi civilians believe some of the brutality is being handed down by an unlikely suspect. Our senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre joining us with details -- Jamie?</s>JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a British company that's one of the largest private security contractors in Iraq is investigating allegations that some of its employees may have fired indiscriminately on civilian vehicles. It's a charge that's been fueled by video clips that are circulating on the Internet.</s>MCINTYRE (voice over): The videos appear to show Iraqi civilian vehicles coming under fire from someone in what might or might not be a private contractor's car as it drives through an unknown part of Iraq. In one of the clips, automatic gunfire is heard, and then a vehicle is seen crashing into another vehicle on the road. The occupants flee in fright. The edited video clips, with music added, were originally posted on a Web site that was purportedly operated by contracts working for AEGIS Defense Services Limited, a British contractor providing protection to civilian and military personnel traveling in Iraq.</s>SEAN MCCORMACK, SPOKESMAN, U.S. STATE DEPT.: These particular individuals were part of that contract at the U.S. mission. And it was found that their behavior deviated in some way from what was expected. And what the rules of engagement were. I would expect that people would take some action.</s>MCINTYRE: CNN contacted AEGIS Defense Services Limited at its headquarters in London, but a spokesperson declined comment beyond the statement posted on its Web site. It says a formal board of inquiry will investigate, along with the U.S. military, whether AEGIS employers were involved. The statement says: "AEGIS personnel have substantial military and peacekeeping experience and all operate under strict and accountable Rules of Engagement ... which allow for a structured escalation of force to include to include opening fire on civilian vehicles under certain circumstances." While the videos are labeled AEGIS TSV, there is no other information that indicates who is doing the shooting or gives any indication of when or where the incidents took place.</s>MCINTYRE: AEGIS says all the incidents involving the use of firearms are logged and investigated to ensure strict adherence to U.S. rules of engagement. And the company says if its investigation finds that any of its employees are connected to the acts depicted on the video, that will merit what they call, quote, "further scrutiny" -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thanks, Jamie, very much. Let's get some more on this extraordinary video online. Let's check in with our Internet Reporter Jacki Schechner. Jacki?</s>JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, the video you just saw is also posted on this Web site. The AEGIS Iraq Web site is not associated in any way with the AEGIS Defense Company. The site is administered anonymously and it encourages AEGIS employees to post and comment videos. We are about to show you another video that we found on this site. It is labeled VBIED at Check Point. VBIED is vehicle born improvised explosive device. Now it is posted as a warning to AEGIS employees about crossing a common check point in Iraq. Take a look at the video. Now we want to make clear that we do not know that this is a U.S., Iraqi, or coalition soldier or that it is an AEGIS employee involved. It's an extraordinary piece of video, however. First you watch as the guard walks towards cars as they approach the check point. You'll see a black car coming up momentarily. Now the next part of the video that we are going to show you, as it comes up, is going to be very disturbing -- and tragic. You want to watch as this one ends. You can see the soldier as he walks up to the black car there. Now as he approaches the car, the car is going to explode in a massive fireball. We have chosen to edit that for content. So what we are going to show you now is the next part. This is the aftermath, not the actual explosion, of that soldier. Now, of course, this is video that demonstrates the powerful and viral nature of the Internet. The disturbing video is popping up on many sites online. It is traveling around. We left messages with both the web master and AEGIS corporate asking for comment, and we did not hear back from the site, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Very disturbing indeed. Jacki, thank you very much. Meanwhile, we are learning new details about a Belgium citizen believed to be the first Western woman to carry out a suicide bombing in Iraq. CNN's Brian Todd is joining us from the newsroom with more. Brian?</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there is a genuine sense of shock and disbelief in Belgium where people woke this morning to find that story splashed across the country's newspapers.</s>TODD (voice over): The headline reads, "Fatal Destiny of Muriel". This is the Belgium kamikaze killed in Iraq. Thirty-eight year old Muriel Degauque, born and raised in working-class Charleroi. Belgium terror investigators tell CNN they now believe she was responsible for a November 9th suicide attack on a U.S. military patrol north of Baghdad. One soldier was slightly wounded. The bomber was the only one killed. Degauque's parents still live in Charleroi. Her mother told a newspaper Degauque became a Muslim to marry her first husband, who she divorced. Then she turned to more radical Islam after marrying a Moroccan man who her parents say brainwashed her. The couple were last known to live on this street in Brussels. They took a trip to Syria last summer, returned to Belgium, then left for Iraq. The husband was reportedly killed in fighting a few days before Degauque's attack. As the news broke, Belgium authorities charged five men with involvement in a terrorist network that sent volunteers to Iraq, including Degauque and her husband. Three are Belgians of North African descent, another is Tunisian.</s>TODD: Beyond the discovery by Belgium authorities, that that group sent volunteers to Iraq, a Belgium prosecutor says that terror network has a larger structure in Belgium coordinating transportation, logistics, and recruitment -- Wolf?</s>BLITZER: All right. What a story. Thanks very much. Brian Todd reporting for us. Our Zain Verjee is off today. Carol Lin is filling, she's joining us from the CNN Center in Atlanta, with a closer look at other stories making news.</s>CAROL LIN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: Hi there, Wolf. The Supreme Court has rejected a last appeal by death row inmate Kenneth Lee Boyd. His fate is now in the hands of North Carolina Governor Mike Easley. Now if the governor denies clemency, Boyd would become the 1,000th prisoner executed since capital punishment was reinstated in the United States almost 30 years ago. Boyd is scheduled to be put to death early tomorrow for his killing of his wife and father-in-law. Now the FBI wants your help to catch an elusive gang of jewelry robbers. It's released surveillance video and photos of the suspected thieves. Since 2003 the members of the so-called Gate Cutters Jewelry Crew have looted 56 jewelry stores including a New York store hit just yesterday. Now the thieves have made off with more than $5 million worth of gems. Well, a screening test for the West Nile virus has gotten the OK from the FDA. The test screens blood, organ and tissue donors for the potentially fatal disease. FDA officials say it will help protect patients who receive blood and organ transplants from infection. West Nile virus was first discovered in the United States back in 1999. It's often transmitted by mosquitoes, and it has killed at least nine people here. A holiday celebration in the nation's capital. President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush were on hand for tonight's lighting of the National Christmas Tree. And two little girls did the honors. Mr. Bush called on Americans to remember the U.S. military's men and women serving around the world, and especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's it from here -- Wolf?</s>BLITZER: A nice story indeed to end it on. Carol, thanks very much. Let's go back to New York. Jack Cafferty is standing by with "The Cafferty File." Hi, Jack.</s>JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: Hi, Wolf. Next time you go online, beware. "The New York Times" reports today more and more therapists are treating people for something called Internet addiction disorder. The experts say 6 to 10 percent of 189 million Internet users in this country are hooked. Some say it can be as addictive and destructive as alcoholism and drug addiction. And they are treating it with the same kind of 12 step program they use for chemical addictions. Critics say Internet addiction won't take the some toll on you as those other addictions will. But the shrinks report many of these users are already addicted to gambling or pornography and that the Internet just makes all of that worse. Here's the question, do you think the Internet can be as addictive as drugs and alcohol? You can e-mail us your thoughts at Caffertyfile@cnn.com or cnn.com/caffertyfile. And we'll read some of your responses a bit later in the program.</s>BLITZER: Good question. Thanks, Jack, very much. Coming up, Bill Clinton on the war in Iraq. We'll find out why he agrees with President Bush on the need to stay the course. Our Anderson Cooper will join us live to talk about his exclusive interview with the former president. Also tonight, trouble for Arnold Schwarzenegger. The life and death decision putting him in a political tight spot. And bedbugs that bit. A New York hotel gets hit with a lawsuit by angry tourists. You are in THE SITUATION ROOM.