U.S. Targeting Iran?; Pregnant Soldier's Death Treated as Murder; U.S. Warship Delivers Food to North Korea
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Iran, Iraq, North Korea, the so-called axis of evil on America's agenda today. Is the U.S. sizing up Iran for a fight?</s>KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, was the fight for Iraq bungled from the beginning? A new report pulls no punches.</s>LEMON: And a U.S. warship arrives in North Korea, not brandishing arms but bearing food. Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.</s>PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips live in New York. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. And we begin with allegations that President Bush is preparing for a possible attack against Iran before he leaves office next year. Journalist Seymour Hersh says that Mr. Bush is preparing the battlefield by significantly increasing the number of covert operations inside Iran. Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has more.</s>JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The allegation that U.S. Special Ops commandos have been conducting covert operations into Iran from southern Iraq threw a quick and unequivocal denial from the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad.</s>RYAN CROCKER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: I can tell you flatly that U.S. forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran in the south or anywhere else.</s>MCINTYRE: While the investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, whose "New Yorker" magazine article claims the efforts are part of a $400- million covert campaign to destabilize Iran's government, argues the operations are so super secret Ambassador Crocker may be out of the loop.</s>SEYMOUR HERSH, "THE NEW YORKER": He may not know the extent to which we're operating deeply, with commandos -- not so much with our Special Forces inside Iran. So it's possible, because he's not somebody -- he'll spin it but he's not somebody who won't say something he doesn't believe.</s>MCINTYRE: it's not the first time Hersh has reported the U.S. has spies inside Iran, and senior Pentagon officials have hinted to CNN that CIA and other highly classified operations are conducted from time to time in the Islamic Republic, but they have never confirmed it. In a statement, the CIA said as a rule it "does not comment on allegations regarding covert operations," but some members of Congress were not so quick to dismiss the idea of the U.S. working secretly in Iran to stop its meddling in Iraq.</s>SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: I think we should be doing whatever we can to let the Iranians know they can't continue this and not expect us to take some action against them on this basis.</s>MCINTYRE: Hersh says some of the U.S. forces operating in Iran may be coming from the other border, Afghanistan. And he suggests their mission is, in part, to gather intelligence about Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, possibly to lay the groundwork for a military strike.</s>PHILLIPS: Jamie McIntyre is joining us now, live from the Pentagon. Jamie, this is something the U.S. has done across the globe, covert operations within a country, whether it's supporting opposition groups or just getting intelligence.</s>MCINTYRE: And you have to remember, Kyra, that this is not something that is discussed openly at the Pentagon, not even on, you know, what we call deep background. The -- the information we get about these kinds of operations often comes with sort of a wink and a nod and a nudge and a shake of the head that indicates, yes, there are operations that take place inside Iran. But it's not clear to what extent it's done by the CIA, to what extent some of these military task forces that assist the CIA or are assisting them, either from just across the border or whether anybody is actually crossing into the country. They're very shadowy operations. But from what we're told, they're basically aimed at supporting the kind of people who would be opposing the Islamic government in Iran. Essentially doing in Iran what the U.S. accuses Iran of doing in Iraq, which is supporting people in Iraq that don't -- that oppose the Iraqi government and U.S. forces there. So it's kind of a fighting fire with fire approach.</s>PHILLIPS: So basically, it's supporting opposition groups and supporting a revolution to overturn that country, the government, versus an open war, where you see U.S. troops coming in by land and by sea?</s>MCINTYRE: Right. I mean, we're not talking about an operation where, you know, a bunch of Delta Force commandos wearing night-vision goggles helicopter deep into Iran and snatch somebody and take them out. Much more subtle kinds of operations than that. And also, there's no expectation this kind of low-level covert activity is going to result in some sort of overnight revolution in Iran. It's more of a constant irritant to Iran, the same way that the U.S. bristles at the interference that they see from Iran in Iraq.</s>PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to talk more about this, obviously, with General David Grange, coming up within the hour. Jamie McIntyre, thanks so much. And with U.S. forces already fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, does a strike against Iran actually make military sense? That's what I'll address with military analyst, retired Brigadier General David Grange, a little bit later in the hour -- Don.</s>LEMON: Another thick report on the was in Iraq says high-level failures led things astray from the very beginning. The study, released today by the Rand Corporation, cites failure -- failures to challenge rosy pre-war assumptions, bureaucratic bungling, and a lack of adequate power to sustain the country at the end of major combat. The Rand report was done for the Army, which released an internal review over the weekend. Among the errors, the Army lists a lack of necessary troop strength, the dissolution of Iraq's armed forces, and a change in the chain of command that blindsided leadership and hampered combat efforts during the rise of Iraq's insurgency. At the White House today, President Bush signed legislation providing $162 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The occasion marked a rare time-out in the partisan struggle provoked by the war.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Bill shows the American people that, even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats can come together to stand behind our troops and their families.</s>LEMON: The funding Bill the president signed puts the official total for the war in Iraq at more than $650 billion. The Iraq war looms as perhaps the most important foreign policy issue in the 2008 election. And we want to hear from those of you directly affected by the war. Tell us the most important thing the next president needs to know about the war. If you had the chance, what would you show the next president about the war? Share your stories and your photos at iReport.com/Iraq. And we'll be devoting time throughout the day to a deeper examination of Iraq. We'll take a closer look at homeless Iraqi veterans. Also Iraqi civilian women aiding U.S. security efforts, the so-called daughters of Iraq. And highly trained U.S. bomb investigators, otherwise known as Baghdad CSI. That's all ahead, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM -- Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Well, a published report details a daring secret plan to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenant. "The New York Times" is reporting that late last year, U.S. Special Ops forces were on the verge of moving into the mountains of Pakistan to respond to a buildup of al Qaeda training camps. Six months later, "The Times" says that the Special Ops teams are still waiting for the green light. "The Times" also says that al Qaeda has a new band of terrorist camps where they can plan and train attacks on western targets.</s>LEMON: And news here closer to home. We don't know how she was killed. We don't know who did it. But we do know police are now treating the death of this pregnant soldier as a homicide. Specialist Megan Touma, her body was found in a hotel near Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. And our T.J. Holmes is in Fayetteville with the very latest on that. And T.J., I hear there is some new information about a possible person of interest or someone they're questioning.</s>T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We've got all kinds of twists and turns in this case right now, Don. I want to go to that point you made about this being treated as a homicide. That's a key word there, treated. They haven't confirmed yet if, in fact, she was murdered. There was an autopsy that was done here by the state medical examiner in North Carolina. We don't know the results of that, don't know if it was exactly inconclusive or if there's evidence from that the police have and are just not sharing with us. However, we'd have to understand or believe, at least, if they got information from that autopsy that she was, in fact, murdered, they would be treating this as -- this would be a homicide instead of just saying it's being treated as such. Now that person of interest you speak of, that person we do know, that person has not been named just yet, but we have been told that person is a fellow soldier at Ft. Bragg. Ft. Bragg, of course, is where Sergeant Megan Touma had just been transferred to. That was her new base, as well. We do not know the relationship between Megan Touma and this person of interest but do know this person was training at Ft. Bragg. Also important to note that just because it is a person of interest, it does not necessarily mean it's a suspect. It could turn out to be someone that just believe is connected to the case in some way or someone they just want to question. So we want to make sure we're careful there. But still, a person of interest is how the police are naming it. Also, another autopsy being done. The Army has gotten involved now in this case. They have taken possession of Megan Touma's body. Her body is now in Washington, D.C., going through another autopsy, going through a pathology lab there that has more advanced technology that might be able to help police understand a little better exactly how she may have died. But again, Don, the word today, the new information that she is being treated -- or this case being treated as a homicide but still have not confirmed if, in fact, she was in fact murdered and how she was murdered. And Don, no press conference right now expected from the police today. They say they're not going to come out unless they have a major piece of news to pass along.</s>LEMON: T.J. Holmes at Fayetteville. We appreciate your reporting. Thank you, T.J. -- Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: And right now federal investigators are on the scene of a fiery and deadly helicopter collision in Arizona. Two medical choppers hit each other yesterday while taking patients to a Flagstaff hospital. At least six people, including a patient, were killed, and one person was critically hurt. Now, minutes ago federal investigators did say that it could take a while to try and figure out what exactly went wrong.</s>MARK ROSENKER, NTSB CHAIRMAN: Takes anywhere between 12 and 18 months to get the determination and then make recommendations to prevent this kind of accident from happening again.</s>PHILLIPS: Now, we've had a rash of medical chopper crashes recently, and the latest, actually, is in the eight -- eight in the last six months apparently. In all, at least 19 people have been killed.</s>LEMON: Let's talk now about beauty and grace on the outside, demons on the inside. The death of 20-year-old model Ruslana Koshunova has been ruled a suicide. She plunged nine stories from her Manhattan apartment building Saturday. The Kazakhstan native graced the covers of top fashion magazines and walked the runways for top designers.</s>PHILLIPS: Well, we're learning new and brutal details about Eve Carson's last moments earlier this year. An autopsy report released today says the University of North Carolina student -- well, the body -- the student body president, rather, she was shot at least five times, including a shotgun blast that tore through her hand and struck her in the head. Also new court documents say that two Durham men kidnapped Carson from her home, took her to an ATM before they killed her, and those two now face first degree murder charges.</s>LEMON: A missing 12-year-old girl has triggered Vermont's first ever Amber Alert. Brooke Bennett was last seen on Wednesday, and police are now looking into contacts she made on MySpace on that Web site. One of the last people to see Brooke appears in court this hour. Her 42-year-old uncle, Michael Jacques, is shown on the surveillance video, dropping her off at a convenience store on Wednesday. Police have charged Jacques with sexually assaulting a minor, but they say it's not related to Brooke's case.</s>PHILLIPS: Well, at the rate that we're going, worth it's weight in oil might become the new saying. Black gold setting another record. This morning it actually surged past $143 a barrel for the first time. Analysts point to fears of a supply disruption over Iran's controversial nuclear program. As for your Monday markets, let's take a look at the big board right now. Dow industrials up 57 points. We're going to go live to the trading floor at half past for a full business roundup from our Susan Lisovicz.</s>LEMON: As people hope the Dow will rise, well, we're watching the water rise as well. Weeks after the floodwaters started swamping parts of the Midwest, the Mississippi River's crest heads downstream, and we've got the latest for you.</s>PHILLIPS: They've served their country with honor and valor. Now they're homeless. Tens of thousands of American vets are sleeping on the streets, even park benches right across the street from the White House. We're going to look at just how serious that problem is.