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Quick Guide & Transcript: Iraq war anniversary, teen inhalant abuse
RELATEDSPECIAL REPORT
• Interactive: Who's who in Iraq
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CNN STUDENT NEWS(CNN Student News) -- March 20, 2006 Quick GuideIraq War Anniversary - Hear opposing viewpoints concerning the three-year-old war in Iraq. Tale of Two Wars - Listen as parents of fallen troops share two different perspectives of the Iraq war. "Dusting" A Deadly Drug - Understand the dangers that common household chemicals can pose when inhaled. TranscriptTHIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: We'd like to welcome you to CNN Student News on this Monday, March 20th. I'm Catherine Callaway. On the third anniversary of the Iraq war, the debate is more intense than ever about whether the invasion was worth it. Parents of fallen troops may share a certain understanding, but they can have different opinions on what their children died for. And you might not think of them as drugs. But some household products can be just as dangerous, when used to try to get high. First Up: Iraq War Anniversary BUSH: At this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people, and to free the world of a grave danger. BUSH: By removing Saddam Hussein from power, America is safer and the world is better off. BUSH: America will not abandon Iraq to the terrorists who want to attack us again. We'll finish the mission. CALLAWAY: You've just seen some of the major events of the war in Iraq. From the "Shock and Awe" attack at the beginning, to the ongoing military patrols for insurgents. The conflict started exactly three years ago. Since then, Iraq's former leader has been kicked out of power, captured and put on trial. And Iraqis have participated in their first free elections in half a century, to choose a new government. That's something President Bush sees as a step forward. PRESIDENT BUSH: The Iraqi people voted for democracy last December. 75% of elgible voters in Iraq went to the polls to vote and now the Iraqi leaders are working together to enact a government that reflects the will of the people. I'm encouraged by the progress. We are implementing a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq. And a victory in Iraq will make this country more secure and will help lay the foundation of peace for generations to come. CALLAWAY: Insurgent attacks continue - along with the deaths of troops and civilians. A recent CNN, USA Today Gallup poll showed 57 percent of Americans surveyed, said they thought the Iraq invasion was a mistake. Protesters worldwide are speaking out against the war. MARTIN SHEEN, ACTOR: It started with the Gold Star Mothers against the war, and has spread to middle America, and now in every corner of the country, people are beginning to wake up and realize that we've been had. This war is not worth it. No war is worth it. (END VIDEO CLIP) Spoken Word REP. JOHN MURTHA, (D) PENNSYLVANIA: My argument is that we should say to the Iraqis that this is all about you now, not us, not us but you, and you've got to have the incentive to take over your own country. And we need to do it sooner rather than later, but I think you'll see a substantial withdrawal and redeployment of troops this year. SEN. CHUCK HAGEL, (R) NEBRASKA: We cannot be or should be there indefinitely. We won't do that. That's not our role. We will continue to help them, train, them and support them but the Iraqi people have to step up now. They have to want freedom and their country and independence more than we want it for them. Tale of Two Wars CALLAWAY: More than 2,300 U.S. troops have died in the Iraq war. Few people better understand the sacrifices of the fallen, than their parents. But while they've experienced similar losses. Chris Huntington reports, the parents don't always share the same opinions, about why. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN REPORTER: Lieutenant Seth Dvorin was a platoon leader in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. Lieutenant J.T. Wroblewski, a platoon leader for the 2nd battalion of the 4th Marines. Two young men from New Jersey suburbs who were killed in action in Iraq in 2004. Dvorin's mother Sue and Wroblewski's father John carry similar burdens of a parent's tragic loss. Both are passionately outspoken about what their sons died for, from completely different points of view. SUE NIEDERER, MOTHER OF FALLEN SOLDIER: What did my child, I have to use the word child, die for? If you can't think of something that your child died for, or was killed for, then your child has died in vain. JOHN WROBLEWSKI, FATHER OF FALLEN MARINE: My son, not only my son but all of those heroes that fell, all of the wounded that are in hospitals, and lost lost limbs, and so forth, they did not die in vain, they died honorably. HUNTINGTON: Wroblewksi, a high school athletic director and father of four, is proud his oldest son was a marine and fervently believes the war in Iraq is necessary. WROBLEWSKI: It's a war that if we're not in it and we're not on the offensive, we will be fighting it here on our shores. I think 9/11 proved that. HUNTINGTON: Sue Niederer, a real estate broker, has actively protested that premise since her son was killed while leading a search for improvised explosive devices, a mission she believes he was under-trained and under-equipped to do. NIEDERER: How the heck did a piece of shrapnel get up and under my son's helmet and blow the back of his head off. Somebody explain that one to me. HUNTINGTON: Niederer says her son told her he'd lost confidence in the U.S. mission in IRAQ but was committed to leading his soldiers. Now, she says he is leading her. NIEDERER: I will continue speaking, marching, being arrested, until my son tells me to stop, I'm not stopping. HUNTINGTON: John Wroblewski does not consider himself a pro-war activist. but last Fall, he spoke at a rally to honor military families. WROBLEWSKI: Thank you, to our commander in chief. HUNTINGTON: And last summer, Wroblewski traveled to Crawford, Texas to confront Cindy Sheehan, who'd also lost her son in Iraq and was protesting the war outside President Bush's ranch. WROBLEWSKI: I understand Cindy Sheehan. I feel her loss. But I think there's a line that's drawn and at one point in time I think she crossed that line. HUNTINGTON: Lieutenant JT Wroblewski died in a fire fight outside Ramadi. But his father visits with him many mornings at a small memorial, where a poem is etched into a stone. "If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right to heaven and bring you home again." Sue Niederer says that's one thing that she and John Wroblewski completely agree on. Chris Huntington, CNN, New York (END VIDEO CLIP) Promo CALLAWAY: Teachers, your class has gotten a pretty good sense by now, of how opinions about the war differ. We'd like to know how your students feel about it. Find out how to let us know in today's free, online learning activity. Word to the Wise: CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS REPORTER: A Word to the Wise... asphyxiation: (n) suffocation; the condition of being deprived of oxygen Source: www.dictionary.com "Dusting" A Deadly Drug CALLAWAY: You've probably heard your parents or teachers warn you about drugs. Those include inhalants-- substances like glue or shoe polish, that people sniff or breathe in. A new government report has the numbers on pre-teens and teens, who have tried inhalants to get high. And as Deanna Morawski reports, experts warn the results can be disastrous-- even deadly. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DEANNA MORAWSKI, CNN STUDENT NEWS REPORTER: A new report by the national survey on drug use and health says half a million young people aged 12 to 17 started using inhalants in the past year - nearly two million in the past three years. Young people like Kyle Williams. Kyle had just celebrated his 14th birthday. A boy who loved computers, says his father, Cleveland police officer Jeff Williams. His wife is a nurse... The family dog... A police drug K-9. JEFF WILLIAMS, FATHER OF INHALANT VICTIM: I thought no drugs could get in my house. I soon found out every house has drugs. MORAWSKI: The drugs in his house -- everyday aerosol products. Jeff Williams was on patrol when his police dispatch radioed him. WILLIAMS: The sheriff's department was enroute to my house. That there was a child not breathing. He was dead. He had a straw in his mouth. Can of computer duster in between his legs. MORAWSKI: According to the report, most teen inhalant abusers are from white, middle or upper class families. Half are female. But all have easy access to cheap, legal, drugs. Among the most commonly abused inhalants... Glue, shoe polish, gasoline and spray paints. Items that may look harmless, but easily can lead to tragic consequences. LINDSEY, RECOVERING INHALANT USER: I didn't realize how serious it was and how it messed up it made me and how messed up it makes so many other people. I didn't realize you could die off of your first hit. MORAWSKI: In fact, the chemicals in household inhalants can cause a number of serious side effects, including seizures, asphyxiation, comas, heart failure, and brain damage. And since the "high" caused by inhalants is short-lived, many teen abusers use the chemicals over and over again, unaware of the increasing damage they're doing. It's estimated that more than a hundred kids die every year from using inhalants. So manufacturers are putting labels on some of their products warning that abusing them can kill... Hoping that teens like kyle will heed that warning... Before it's too late. For CNN Student News, I'm Deanna Morawski. (END VIDEO CLIP) Before We Go CALLAWAY: Before we go... The Landmark Tower once stood as Ft. Worth's tallest building. The 30-story structure came tumbling down to street level on Saturday. The implosion was planned as part of a downtown redevelopment plan. Thousands of people came to watch including one 15-year-old, who said it was "pretty cool." Goodbye CALLAWAY: And we're all done for the day! More stories are just around the corner on headline news-- I'm Catherine Callaway. 
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