Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's Visit to U.S. Troops in Iraq; In Najaf, Fighting Between Iraqi Insurgents, U.S. Troops
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello. I want to welcome our international viewers, as well. We are following breaking news at this hour. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld making a surprise visit in Baghdad. He's there right now. So let's head live to Baghdad for more details from Karl Penhaul -- good morning, Karl.</s>KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. Donald Rumsfeld touching down a short while ago. We understand he's here with Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers, as well. A day long visit, from what we're told, but, again, the exact details of this trip being kept pretty closely under wraps for security reasons. But obviously as secretary of defense, we would expect him in the course of the day to meet with as many American troops as he possibly can and also we don't expect that the scandal of the prison abuse at Abu Ghraib will be far away from attention. Although on the plane and according to reports talking to reporters that he took with him on the 15 hour flight from Washington, he did say that he wasn't in Iraq to come and pour water on a fire. Though, nevertheless, we would expect that he is going to face some tough questions about that Abu Ghraib Prison scandal.</s>COSTELLO: No doubt, Karl. What do the troops want to hear from Mr. Rumsfeld?</s>PENHAUL: It depends. On the one hand, the troops that I've been speaking to over the last few days feel that to some extent their morale has been undermined by the prison scandal at Abu Ghraib. So they'll probably be looking for some kind of assurances there from the defense secretary. Also, as well, the deaths of American servicemen continue. Today, another American serviceman died here in Baghdad in a roadside bomb. We now calculate that 777 U.S. troops have died since this conflict began. So they'll be wanting to know, many of them, I would guess, how soon they can go back and see their friends, families and loved ones, and also reassurances that they'll have the equipment to do the job here and stay safe while they're here.</s>COSTELLO: Going back to the prison investigation, Karl, nobody seems to know who exactly was in charge. Will Donald Rumsfeld get some answers today, do you think?</s>PENHAUL: I'm not sure Donald Rumsfeld is here to look for answers to those questions. One would expect that he, as secretary of defense, knows the answers there or certainly as secretary of defense should know the answers there. I guess he would face questioning from possibly members of the Iraqi Governing Council, if he meets with those. I'm sure also he'll be briefing Ambassador Bremer on the way forward and also receiving details, possibly, in the preparations for the court-martials that are planned. We now hear that seven U.S. soldiers are going to be court- martialed for these offenses in the prison. Charges there ranging from dereliction of duty to abuse and maltreatment of detainees.</s>COSTELLO: Karl Penhaul live in Baghdad this morning. We want to get some more insight on Mr. Rumsfeld's surprise visit to Iraq. On the phone live from Chicago, military analyst General David Grange. Good morning, General Grange.</s>BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Good morning to you.</s>COSTELLO: Why did Donald Rumsfeld decide to go to Iraq?</s>GRANGE: Well, this is a priority issue, obviously, for the Department of Defense. He wants to get on site, show command presence and I think talk to soldiers, the good soldiers. He won't talk to anybody involved in the cases. But he'll talk to the good soldiers in the units to show hey, look, everybody's doing a good job over there. We have a few problems, but the majority are doing well. And then I think he'll also talk to some of the Iraqi leaders to explain the concern of the United States and that the focus is still to get on with the mission and accomplish it.</s>COSTELLO: He brought some Pentagon lawyers with him. Why?</s>GRANGE: I think it's always because for advice, guidance to evaluate the situation, to ensure that things are done in a fair manner. The legal process in the military is similar to in the civilian sector, to ensure that things are in progress the right way.</s>COSTELLO: And when he talks to the troops, you went into a little bit of what he might say to them. But what do they need to hear?</s>GRANGE: I think they need to hear that this is a concern for the highest leadership in the United States government, that they are</s>COSTELLO: As far as the Abu Ghraib Prison, nobody seems to know who was giving the orders there. Might Donald Rumsfeld look into that, ask questions of General Miller, the general now in charge of that prison?</s>GRANGE: Well, I'm sure he'll be talking to General Miller and other senior commanders. But, you know, the confusion on who was giving orders and all that at the -- when we listen to the testimonies in the Senate, will be concern over whether it's TCON, they call it, tactical control. And even if you have one organization that has tactical control over another, all that means is that that organization can direct operations. It doesn't have anything to do with the training of discipline that the parent organization always has as an inherent responsibility. So I think you're going to see that there is responsibilities on both lines, but for different things. And that'll come out as they complete the investigation and they go through the legal process.</s>COSTELLO: All right, Gen. David Grange, many thanks to you. And we apologize about the audio quality of that phone call. We're going to say good-bye to our international viewers right now. But, of course, viewers in the United States and Japan and Canada, please stay with us. Other headlines we're following this Thursday morning, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will resign in a few hours after his party was defeated in parliamentary elections. The new party in power will be headed by the Italian born Sonya Ghandi, who was widow of Rajid Ghandi. In money news, The Gap is blowing the whistle on itself, saying many of its overseas workers are mistreated. The company issued what it calls a social responsibility report, vowing to improve conditions. In sports, Sacramento beat Minnesota in second round NBA play-off action. The final score, Kings 87, Timberwolves 81. The series now tied at two games apiece. In culture, last week we said good-bye to friends. Tonight, we bid adieu to "Frasier," which started as a spin-off of "Cheers" and has lasted 11 successful seasons -- Chad.</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.</s>COSTELLO: American troops in Karbala are battling the militia of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr today. The two forces clashed overnight in Najaf in Iraq. In the meantime, al-Sadr is sending mixed signals on efforts to bring peace to the city. CNN's Jane Arraf is with the U.S. troops in Najaf. She joins us live this morning -- hello, Jane.</s>JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Those clashes you mentioned were the closest to the holy shrines since U.S. forces have got here. Now, they were still about almost a mile, three quarters of a mile from the Imam Ali Mosque, which is one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims around the world. But they were on the edge of the holy cemetery, the cemetery that Shias all over the world aspire to be buried in. U.S. officials here say on a routine patrol on the highway near that cemetery, their patrol came under fire from rocket propelled grenades. They fired back, killing, they say, three suspected members of the Mahdi militia. They called in tanks and reinforcements, partly in response to a request for help from an Iraqi police station in the area. That firefight continued for about an hour last night -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: Jane Arraf reporting live from Najaf, Iraq this morning. Two more U.S. soldiers will be court-martialed for allegedly abusing Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib Prison. Let's go live to D.C. and Bill Prasad. He has the latest on the prisoner abuse scandal from the Washington angle -- good morning, Bill.</s>BILL PRASAD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Pornographic, disgusting and humiliating -- that's how senators describe the photos of prisoner abuse. It's still unclear if those photos will be released to the public, especially after the homicide that killed Nicholas Berg.</s>PRASAD (voice-over): Bag after bag filled with evidence of abuse against Iraqi detainees. Senators viewed about a thousand photographs and digital video, among them, pictures of a man beating his head against a wall; video of hooded men masturbating; and Iraqi women forced to bare their breasts.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very appalling.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they were bad. They're all bad.</s>PRASAD: Senior Republicans warned against making the pictures public because they say it may incite more violence against Americans.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Err on the side of caution. I think at this time, it would not be wise to publish them.</s>PRASAD: Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz will testify at a Senate hearing today. He's expected to be questioned about the prison abuse scandal. Yesterday, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld promised justice.</s>DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: People will be punished at every level.</s>PRASAD: The body of slain American Nicholas Berg is now back in the U.S. A private memorial service is set for tomorrow. His sister Sarah spoke to reporters.</s>SARAH BERG: My family is devastated.</s>PRASAD: A group that says it has ties to al Qaeda taped the murder of the 26-year-old then put the images on the Web.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is no justification for the brutal execution of Nicholas Berg. No justification whatsoever.</s>PRASAD: The FBI says it is now the leading investigative agency in this homicide. Well, live in Washington, I'm Bill Prasad -- Carol, back to you.</s>COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Bill. Interrogation techniques by U.S. intelligence officials are coming under question. The "New York Times" is reporting the CIA is using coercion in questioning some al Qaeda suspects. The "Times" reports, and I'm quoting here, "These techniques were authorized by a set of secret rules for interrogation of high level al Qaeda prisoners -- none known to be housed in Iraq -- that were endorsed by the Justice Department and the CIA." Now, a year and a half ago, CNN visited the U.S. Army intelligence training center in Arizona. One interrogation instructor who worked in Afghanistan and did not want his identity revealed had this to say about the training there.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to keep in mind that they're human. And if you do forget that, then you lose some of your best tools. You will be amazed at what a kind word and a cup of hot cocoa on a 15 degree night will get you as far as information.</s>COSTELLO: Veteran intelligence officials say the large numbers of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan are draining the supply of trained interrogators. Just ahead on DAYBREAK, more on Donald Rumsfeld's surprise visit to Baghdad this morning. And later, images of war, prisoner abuse, the killing of a hostage and flag draped coffins -- how much is too much for you? We'll have an in depth look. This is DAYBREAK for Thursday, May 13.