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Length: 2:07
KYRA PHILIPS: In and
around Baghdad, more roadside bombings, another U.S.
soldier killed, more gruesome discoveries, and a
missing U.S. soldier feared kidnapped.
CNN's Michael Ware is there.
Michael, let's begin with the soldier. Fill us in on
the search.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Kyra,
what the situation is, is that at about 2:30 p.m. on
Monday afternoon was the last time this soldier, an
interpreter for a provincial reconstruction team here
in Baghdad, was seen.
Now, it's believed -- he's an Iraqi-American, so it's
believed he was going to visit his family. He was
reported missing at 7:30 p.m. on Monday evening. A
relative who was at the house where it's said that he
was abducted told the story that three vehicles
pulled up with masked gunmen who handcuffed the
soldier and took him away.
That's when an operation was activated and General
Thurman, the commander who owns Baghdad and the 4th
Infantry Division, searched house to house in the
area where it's believed he was taken, including a TV
station and a mosque connected to one of Iraq's key
Shia political factions. Now that search continues.
We've seen this happen before when American soldiers
have been taken. Andrew Maupin some years ago, and to
a lesser extent, pilots from downed helicopters and
other incidents, and I hate to say it, but history
does not bode well here if these facts are true,
Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And we've talked -- actually it's Matt
Maupin -- we have talked a lot about him and the fact
that he hasn't been found yet, Michael. Meanwhile,
still no letup in the violence.
WARE: No, absolutely not. We have five dead in
Baghdad, five Iraqi civilians, from bombings. We have
the death of another American soldier here in Baghdad
today, bringing this month's total to 91. That easily
puts it as the deadliest month in Iraq this year.
And it certainly, if it continues this way with
almost a week left to go this month, it could make
the top three of the worst months in Iraq since the
war began. So it really is a chilling month for U.S.
troops, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Michael Ware, live from Baghdad,
thanks.
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Length: 2:26
DON LEMON: Some of the
major players this morning also talked about Iraq.
Success is possible in Iraq -- is it? Well, it is
according to Washington's point man in Baghdad.
We talked about a timetable. He talked about a
timetable of sorts. He and America's top commander
both mentioned 12 to 18 months. Both also emphasized
it all depends on what happens on the ground. CNN's
Michael Ware has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a joint press
conference by the two most powerful American
representatives in Iraq, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
and American commander General George Casey, the U.S.
administration has outlined its expectations and a
series of new benchmarks that it expects the Iraqi
government to meet.
While underscoring the administration's belief that
the Iraq mission is not only salvageable but can
still succeed, Ambassador Khalilzad nonetheless
recognized the many challenges ahead. He outlined a
list of benchmarks that the administration is now
looking to the Iraqis, in the ambassador's words, to
step up and deliver in terms of tackling the
militias, engaging with the Sunni insurgency,
addressing reforms within the constitution, and the
equal distribution of oil wealth around the country.
However, given that the Iraqi partners that
Ambassador Khalilzad and General Casey repeatedly
referred to, the people that they are looking to to
help them deliver these benchmarks, have proven
themselves either to be weak or actively opposed to
U.S. interests, it's unclear just what the Americans
intend to do if these demands are not met again,
having been outlined many times in the past. The only
hint from the ambassador was perhaps a sign of a
renewed international effort to force the Iraqi
government to deliver.
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMB. TO IRAQ: To broaden
international support for stabilizing Iraq, Iraqi
leaders and the United Nations have been working on a
plan, an international compact with Iraq that will
consist of a commitment by Iraq to do what's
necessary in terms of continuing the economic reform
and policies to put the country on the path to
stability and prosperity in exchange for the
international community's support.
WARE: While the ambassador did not flesh out the
details of this international effort, in one
potentially embarrassing moment during this press
conference by these two pivotal American
representatives here in Iraq, the electricity went
out during tough questioning from the floor, throwing
the room into darkness and the general and the
ambassador silence over the microphones.
Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.
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Length: 3:02
KYRA PHILLIPS: Well, a
tragic Tuesday in and around Baghdad -- more roadside
bombings, another U.S. soldier killed, more gruesome
discoveries, and a missing U.S. soldier feared
kidnapped.
CNN's Michael Ware is there.
Michael, let's begin with the missing soldier. Fill
us in on that search.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the search
continues as we speak.
Monday afternoon, 2:30, was the last time that this
soldier was seen. He's an Iraqi, but he's an American
soldier, a translator attached to a provincial
reconstruction team here in Baghdad.
Now, it's believed he was going into the city to
visit relatives. At 7:30, an operation searching for
him was launched. A relative says the soldier was at
the relative's house, when three carloads of gunmen
showed up, grabbed the soldier, handcuffed him, and
took him away.
Since then, U.S. forces have launched raids,
searching the area where they believed he was last
night, house to house, including a television station
and a mosque connected to one of the most powerful
Shia factions here in Iraq.
So, bottom line, this soldier who left the Green
Zone, it is said without any permission, has
disappeared. And the U.S. military has launched a
manhunt, looking for him.
PHILLIPS: And, Michael, just to put this in
perspective, we're also hearing from other sources,
confirming exactly what you said, that he did not
have permission to leave this base and do what he
did.
This just really puts I guess it's a bit of a reality
check on what these soldiers are up against, when
they do leave, and no one knows where they're going
or where they are. It's a tremendous risk.
WARE: Well, it's extremely rare that a U.S. soldier
just wanders off a base or out of the Green Zone, and
walks alone in what they call the Red Zone, which is
everywhere in the country except for the
international zone, which houses the embassy.
It's not often that we have seen this. We have seen
U.S. soldiers grabbed or go missing in the past, and
they have met a variety of fates. There was a U.S.
soldier who did go missing. It was believed he had
been abducted, but he later showed up in Beirut. No
one has any idea what has happened to this American
translator.
PHILLIPS: So, Michael, let me ask you, then,
considering that this is not a normal thing to do, is
-- are there any questions surrounding why he would
want to leave that base? Could there be another
motive here?
WARE: Well, that delves into the nature of the
investigation and the search that I'm sure is under
way.
Certainly, it does pose questions, whether this is
just a fellow who was doing something that he
shouldn't and fell afoul, or whether there is
something else behind this. I mean, we have seen, in
past experience, that there were other motivations
behind the disappearance of a previous U.S. soldier.
However, we have also seen, tragically, real
abductions, and the grabbing of American soldiers,
all of which have not ended well, I'm afraid.
PHILLIPS: We will keep following the investigation
with you.
Michael Ware, thanks.