we've been talking to barbara starr on the phone and some of his friends. right now we have his classmate from high school on the phone. and the last time you spoke is with him, you saw him was 1990 months before his plane went down. what do you make of the news this morning? >> it's relief that we finally have closure. and, of course, we would've hoped that they found him, but, you know, it's great relief for him, especially his family. >> he has two children, correct? >> yes, a son and a daughter. >> are you in contact with them? have you been in contact with them this morning at all? >> no, no. >> what can you tell us? what do you remember about scott from high school? >> he was a loyal friend. loyal classmate, and a loyal family man and loyal to his country. >> you say you feel relief this morning. we spoke with another friend earlier who spoke a little bit about frustration that this whole thing lasted 18 years, changes in classifications, his status through the years, was he perhaps a prisoner of saddam hussein, was he missing in action? and we finall

our barbara starr at the pentagon has more for us. barbara get us caught up on what the latest is why we think now this story might finally be able be put to rest and maybe his family can get some peace. barbara, go ahead. >> reporter: this is just an extraordinary story. news breaking very early today that the armed forces institute of pathology has now positively, positively 18 years later identified the remains of captain michael scott spiker, shot down in his f-18 over west central iraq on january 17, 1991. the first gulf war, some 18 years ago. they had looked for his remains ever since then. there had been so many reports. there had been rumors, legends, that he had been alive when his jet impacted the ground but he might have actually even been held in captivity by saddam hussein's regime. we now know that that was not true. information in early july was given to the u.s. military by an iraqi citizen who said he knew of two other iraqi citizens who remembered seeing an american jet hit the desert ground back on that night and th

barbara starr has our look at broken government. )%)%)%)%)%)%)% >>> in our look at broken government. he served his country, but did his country serve him? why would an american soldier be sent back to the battlefield with an injured brain? not once, not twice, but several times. we're bringing you the story because he may not be the only one who received this kind of treatment. for him it had the worst of consequences. here's cnn's pentagon correspondent barbara starr. >> reporter: heartbroken family and friends gather for the funeral of lieutenant colonial ray reves, a soldier whose invisible wounds finally became too much for him to bear. the 53-year-old soldier had dedicated his career to rebuilding war-torn countries, but war tore his own life apart. earlier this year ray made a difficult journey to capitol hill. >> i didn't choose to get blown up. >> reporter: remember those words. ray had served several tours of duty, mainly in iraq and afghanistan, and had been in repeated bomb attacks. the blast waves of each incident causing injury to his brain. yet, he kept getting sent bac

barbara starr is live at the pentagon. this comes at a crucial time for afghanistan. >>> one week from today, afghanistan holds presidential elections. the taliban are vowing to disrupt the elections. the u.s. is doing everything it can to make sure the elections are secure. u.s. troops, as you say, marines now in the fight in the city of dahaneh. some of the video we're showing our viewers is really extraordinary. this video, some taken at night by the associated press as they moved through the area with the marines. casualties in southern afghanistan have been heavy in recent weeks as the extra u.s. troops have moved in. president obama, of course, sending the 21,000 additional troops to afghanistan. over the next several days very intense to make sure those elections do come off and free and fair as much as possible in afghanistan and that the taliban don't disrupt them. kiran. >> we heard from general mcchrystal about the challenges there, the taliban having the upper hand. we hear about the battles. will we see more u

barbara starr has this report. >> reporter: the final resting place for senator edward kennedy will be by these trees on the sloping green hill close to the grave of his brothers john and robert. arlington superintendent, jack metzler, showed us the sight. >> the senator will be buried here. >> and it will be a closed funeral, invited guests only. senator kennedy will receive military honors. >> reporter: military staff already working at the burial site but this area will close early saturday while the grave is prepared. it was just in the last few weeks that this site was selected. it's an area that senator edward kennedy knew well. >> he was here all the time. he would come on the anniversaries of the death, on the births, if he was available. he would just come. sometimes he would announce himself. sometimes he would be up here doing maintenance and we would find him up here. if he came to funerals of one of the soldiers from, let's say, his state, he would also, before he left the cemetery, always stop and have a prayer or a quiet visit here. sometimes he would stand five minutes

of course, over the years, the iraq war, they did not. >> that was barbara starr earlier. captain speicher's family can now find some cloche be sure but for hundreds of families, the wait continues. joanne shirley heads an organization that fights for the rights of families of missing troops and pows. her brother was shot down over vietnam. that was 37 years ago. his body has never been found. she now leads this organization, national league of p.o.w./m.i.a. families. good to see you, ms. shirley. >> thank you. >> all right a couple of things here. we spoke with senator ben nelson earlier who said he and others helped keep the investigation alive so that 18 years later, the remains would be found and identified. for you it has been 37 years, give me union who had how you are able to relate to this family that closure still hasn't come for you? >> there's always hope. i think what -- the capabilities we have now and what our government has achieved, the national league of families has really pushed for the technology, the personnel, the capabilities to get into these sites,

here's cnn pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. >> ft.enning, georgia. >> reporter: laurie emers served with the 84th airborne division in afghanistan in 2003. but after getting hurt in a truck accident there and retiring in 2005, she faced a new battle. she's still trying to get the department of veterans affairs to settle her disability claims. >> but i think they're doing the best they can. but sometimes they don't know where your file is. they can't tell you where you are in the process. and so you're in limbo. >> reporter: when va secretary eric shinseki was nominated by president barack obama, he told congress it was a priority to reduce the number of backlogged claims. today, some 400,000 cases are still pending. >> if you were to walk into one of our rooms where adjudication or decisions are being made about disability for veterans, you would see individuals sitting at a desk with stacks of paper that go up halfway to the ceiling. >> reporter: the flood of claims keeps coming, and they're growing more complex wish issues like trau

our barbara starr is tracking that for us this morning. le who warned if the u.s. pulled the forces out of the iraqi cities, it may be something of a free for all. and those warnings seem to be coming to fruition here. >> there is a lot of concern to test that problem, john. of course, for the u.s. to rethink its strategy to change the game plan now, that would require under the agreement with both countries for the iraqis to ask for help. as you say, the tough u.s. commander, the top general in charge of training iraqi forces says he believes that wednesday attack was a lapse in security and he is frustrated about how much needs to be done. he spoke about it yesterday. >>> clearly there was a lapse of security or this would not have happened. providing security in this country is a never-ending commitment. you are never good enough. do we anticipate more attacks in the future? i think there are going to be some bad days ahead. i don't know if, in fact, how many bad days there will be. >> grim words. so what happens now, john? well, the ira

cnn pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, with more. >> reporter: up close with marines on the front lines. >> it's good to get out here on the offense. >> reporter: part of "operation eastern resolve two" the second push this summer into the dangerous and lucrative center of afghanistan's drug trade. 400 u.s. marines and afghan troops dropped from helicopters to take the town. the first time u.s. troops have entered the strategic city. >> it's one of the key towns in the area. all of the smaller towns that are economically dependent on dahaneh. this is where the bazaar is. >> reporter: they are part of the extra troops president obama ordered up earlier this year. their immediate mission? break the taliban's hold on the city and free residents to vote in next week's election. >> all right. it's to the right of the wall right there. >> reporter: the taliban have called for a boycott and threatened to ruin the election, which the u.s. concedes is a challenge. >> holding an election in a wartime situation is always difficult, but a government needs legitimacy. and this election was cal

barbara starr is tracking the story from the pentagon this morning. ite a surprise. >> it is. it's something out of the hollywood movie ifs you think about it. this story appear in "the new york times" earlier today. it's getting a lot of attention. we have now spoken with a source directly familiar with the program who confirms to cnn that, yes, indeed, at one point, the cia had hired blackwater to undertake this program. as we are understanding it, blackwater is no longer involved. this is back in 2004. it was a program the cia started that involved training, surveillance, and, indeed, with the aim of targeted killing of top al qaeda officials. now black wawater's involvement ended a couple of years ago, we're told. but other contractors, other entities were involved. leon panetta, the director of the cia, cancelled the program, actually, earlier this year once he learned about it and learned that congress had never been notified about the full scope of the program. he cut it all out. it was moving in to what we are told is a more operational phase a

betty. >> barbara starr, thank you, barbara. i want to get back to the president and today's speech. many want to know about u.s. plans in iraq and afghanistan. senior white house correspondent ed henry is at the annual convention in phoenix. so ed, what do the veterans want to hear today? >> reporter: some say they do want to hear about health care, especially whether or not the reform will harm medicare. but they also clearly want more details about the effort in afghanistan, how long we're going to be there, what is the mission? it's a very, very emotional issue for them. four american vets, two voted for the president, two for john mccain, but they share a brotherhood and a feeling that many americans do not appreciate the sacrifice of u.s. troops dying in two wars. a feeling so painful it brings one of these men to tears. >> i know that they are tough, i know they're strong. i have a hard feeling for those that are over there. but i'm a marine, and i will stand up for our chief of staff and our soldiers everywhere they go.

let's bring in pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, how are the u.s.is election? >> suzanne, i have to tell you, as the voting begins, within hours now, u.s. troops are at the ready. what we are learning is that there are about 300,000 both u.s., nato and afghan security forces, on high alert for the election. just like we saw in iraq, however, it is the afghan forces that will be right at the polling places. the u.s. troops will hang back a little bit, if you will, and they will be ready to move in very quickly, via helicopter or ground vehicles, if trouble breaks out. but the real hope is that doesn't happen. there's about 6,500 polling stations across the country, 15 million afghans going to the polls, but going to the polls under the threat of taliban violence. there's a lot of tension there. >> i know white house officials are watching this very closely as well as the state department. what are they housed invested in the outcome of this election, the obama administration? >> well, this is president obama's top priority in the war right now is to

let's check with cnn's pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, i suspect most people have heard of the firm that was hired. >> most people have, indeed, drew. that name keeps coming back blackwater. . the private security contractor firm that became so controversial for its work in iraq and it has a lot of intelligence work around the world. here's what we know. a source very familiar with the program confirms to cnn that blackwater was hired by the cia back in 2004 for this program that involved training, surveillance and, yes, indeed, the ultimate goal of targeted killing of top al qaeda leaders. now, what we also know is that at some point blackwater was no longer involved in the program, but the program went on. it ebbed and flowed through varusious phases and earlier this year it was moving towards what is described as the next phase. essentially becoming operational. it was at that point that cia director leon panetta, under president obama, canceled the program for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is it hadn't been noti

for more on the burial, barbara starr. >> it will be a u.s. military aircraft that will bring senator kennedy back to washington for the final time we are told. arlington officials have been in contact with the kennedy family over the last several weeks. the arrangements are this. they have agreed on a site about 100 feet from the final resting place of sen. robert kennedy, on the hillside, on the same hillside where both robert kennedy and president kennedy are buried. perhaps the most famous hillside in washington. this is a place where, as you can see, the eternal flame at president kennedy's grave site that attracts thousands of visitors every year. people from all over the worldcom here. on saturday, this funeral, of course, will be under very secure circumstances. it is interesting that they picked a saturday. arlington right now sadly is a very busy place. they hold about 30 funerals a day, not just for those fallen in iraq and afghanistan but many of the world war ii and korean generation are dying off. they don't really want to. they

our pog correspondent barbara starr has been working on this story. earlier, she spoke with tj holmes. >> at this point bharkts pentagon is telling us is they were acting on information provided by an iraqi citizen or -- in early july and that led the u.s. marines who were stationed in el anbar province out in western iraq to go to a location in the desert which was believed to be a crash site of captain speicher's jet. the iraqi citizen said that he knew of two iraqi citizens who recall an american jet impacting the desert and the remains of the pilot being buried there by the bed wins. so when you ask, tj was -- how much they followed up, every time they got a hint, every time they got a report. you know, once the iraq war started in 2003, there had been a lot of hope, actually i with the military that, you know, that would open upper rack and that they would find him. and of to courcourse, over the f the iraq war this he did not. >> much more on that story including the latest of the family at the top of the hour. >>> the fate of three american hik

senator kennedy was a veteran. >> barbara starr with the news that senator kennedy will be buried not away from his two brothers, bobby kennedy, john f. kennedy at arlington national cemetery. no date yet announced for that burial. thank you, barbara, very much. >>> senator kennedy was the last surviving brother of an american political dynasty. he was diagnosed with brain cancer in may of last year. the family issued this statement after he lost his battle with the disease. edward m. kennedy -- the husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle we loved so deeply, died late tuesday night at home in hyannis port. we've lost the irreplaceable center of our family. deborah feyerick is with us there, the mood must be somber even as they celebrate his life. >> reporter: it is. we've seen a number of people coming by, children on their bicycles. we saw patrick kennedy who is a congressman from rhode island returning to his father's home. he spent the majority there yesterday along his father's bed along with other family members praying with his dad, almost all day, according to a revere

barbara starr, cnn, los angeles. >>> join us this week on cnn's "american morning" as veterans of the wars come back from the battlefields only to fight the war at home. all this week on cnn's "american morning." >>> veterans and health care issues collided today at a town hall hosted by pennsylvania senator arlen specter, and veterans affairs secretary eric shinseki. the latter, by the way, we invited to appear on this program many, many times, with no success. alongside specter in philadelphia, the secretary of's message came down to seven words. we're working as fast as we can. >> it's not just a matter of taking 131,000 homeless veterans off the streets. we have to go after education. we have to go after drugs -- jobs, we have to go after substance abuse, we have to go after mental health issues, and unless we're solving and attacking all of those things, homelessness is just -- continues to be the end state. so we have to do all of that. >> many our town halls are taking place across the country today. besides pennsylvania, we're watching florida, virginia and texas, and when i s

cnn's barbara starr reports. >> reporter: the final resting place for senator edward kennedy will bese trees on the sloping green hill close to the graves of his brothers, john and robert. arlington superintendent jack metsler showed us the site. the senator will be laid to rest here. >> yes. >> reporter: his family? >> his family will be here and approximately 200 people will attend the service and closed funeral, invited guests only. senator kennedy will receive military honors. >> reporter: sem tar staff are already working at the burial site, but this area will close early saturday while the grave is prepared. it was just in the last few weeks that this site was selected. it's an area senator edward kennedy knew well. >> senator kennedy was here all the time. he came on the anniversaries of the deaths, he would come on the anniversaries of the births, if he was available, he would just come. sometimes he would announce himself and other times we would be up here doing maintenance and we'd find him up here. if he came to funerals of one of the soldiers from his state he would, alw

barbara starr at the pentagon for us. you. >> sure. >>> they are moms and dads, just like you and me, and they are sharing the tragedy of loss. the terrible killing spree going on among young people. our don lemon talks with them about chicago's deadly streets. people think that honda is always the most fuel efficient choice. well, this chevy cobalt xfe has better highway mileage than a comparable honda civic. this chevy traverse has better mileage than honda pilot. the all-new chevy equinox has better mileage than honda cr-v. and chevy malibu has better mileage than accord. however, honda does make something that we just can't compete with. it's self-propelled. there's never been more reasons to look at chevy. ies who need assistance getting around their homes. there is a medicare benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little to no cost to you. stay tuned for this important medicare benefit information and free scooter guarantee. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your mobi

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> afghanistan and beyond. if you want to really understand what's going on in the muslim world, wash "generation islam" tonight at 9:00 eastern. >>> if you are hungry, one airline is hoping you will belly up to the buffet. you don't need to get a clean plate. makes you wonder. are we seeing a new standard here? >>> let's go over that deal for jetblue airline. $599 flat fee for one month and you can go anywhere that jetblue goes. 56 destinations. you have to buy the pass by august 21. you can book your trips up to three days before takeoff. the window for travel is september 8th to october 8th. stop right there. we don't want to make this a commercial for jetblue obviously. we do want to know what this deal is going to do to the airline industry. is this going to be a new model, the airline version of unlimited local and long distance. peter greenberg is a travel expert. enlighten us. >> here is the problem. the airlines looking at their advanced bookings for september and october. it is day after labor day, se

>> barbara starr in l.a. for us. thank you.story that is. >>> he lost his grandmother in the past year. now president obama is invoking the loss to make his case for health care reform. we're going to get the latest on what's going on. he's getting personal on what he wants. >>> plus, john u. and the berkeley campus. his presence there sparking controversy. >>> let's get back to health care reform, the president of the united states invoking the death of his own grandmother to counter the so-called death panel critiques. let's talk about that and more. joining us, democratic strategist and cnn political contributor donna brazile and republican strategist john feehery, president of the feehery group in washington. i'll play a clip of what the president said over the weekend when he was hammering the insurance companies. you could see it was a personal mat we are him, as well. >> i just lost my grandmother last year. i know what it's like to watch somebody you love who's aging deteriorate and have to struggle with that. so, the n

our pentagon correspondent barbara starr is joining us now from the arlington cemetery. what's going to happen? >> reporter: we came here to arlington today and given an extraordinary opportunity to see some of the final arrangements now being made. we can tell you some of the pictures we saw of some of the chairs being laid out for the family members who will attend the service. these chairs being laid out exactly at senator kennedy's final resting place. we spoke to the arlington superintendent, jack metsler, who has some remarkable memories of meeting senator kennedy many times here. >> senator kennedy was here all time. he came on the anniversaries of the deaths. he would come on the anniversaries of the births. if he was available. he would just come. sometimes he would announce himself. other times we would just be up here doing maintenance and we'd find him up here. if he came to funerals of one of the soldiers from his state, he would also, before he left the cemetery, always stop and have a prayer or a quiet visit here. sometimes he would spend five minutes. oth

barbara starr joins us live from the pentagon. barba barbara, is this violence changing the strategy at all? >> even if the u.s. wanted to change its military strategy in iraq now, it has to get the agreement of the iraqi government of maliki. under that bilateral agreement signed between the two governments for any u.s. troops to be put back into a combat role on iraq's city streets, the iraqis would have to make the request. and it seems very problematic that maliki would do that because he would be confessing at this point to his own people that his security forces have failed. but top u.s. commanders say that wednesday's attacks that arwa just outlined that have had such a brutal impact on the civilian population that these attacks were a security lapse by the iraqis. that they need more training, they're very fragile, and they do need help. so it's a bit of a problem right now. there's a lot of frustration on the part of u.s. commanders that the iraqis let this happen essentially. that this terrible event was allowed to occur.

cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr joins us now live. what can you tell us about this assessment? >> well, good morning to you, betty. mcchrystal, the new commander in afghanistan, getting set to report back to the president about the state of the war in afghanistan. a big strategic assessment, that's what they call it is underway and is to be delivered to washington soon after next thursday's presidential elections in afghanistan. the big question on the table. will all of this result in even more u.s. troops going to afghanistan to fight that war? defense secretary robert gates spoke about it just yesterday. >> general mcchrystal is assessing the security situation in the context of the president's goals and strategy. and will submit his assessment to us and to nato sometime between the afghan election and early september. that assessment will not include specific recommendations or requests for more forces. however, we've made clear to general mcchrystal he is free to ask what he needs to complete the important mission he has been giv

barbara starr is at the pentagon.ut suicide and ptsd and doing something about it. >> reporter: absolutely. not just learning how to fight in war but learning how to come home. with suicide rates, drug use, alcohol use, all on the rise compounded by post-traumatic stress. the army has gun a new program to teach mental strength to the young troops. now, everybody will attend classes in what they call mental resi resilience, learning how to survive life's problems. life sometimes deals you a rotten hand and you have to go on and learn to live with it. the power of positive thinking. what we found most extraordinary when we set out to do this story is the woman leading the program. her name is brigadier rhonda core number. she was held as a pow, molested, two broken arms, a gunshot wound. talk about being tough, rhonda cornum is one tough, army general. she is trying to teach the rest of the troops to be the same. >> i apologize, barbara. we have to go over to chad. apparently, there is an earthquake that's happened in a

eulogy and later that day, kennedy's final trip -- and that will be to his final resting place -- barbara starr has been telling us about this live from the pentagon for the past two days. he will make his way to arlington national cemetery in virginia. >>> as soon as the procession begins, we will take it live. meanwhile, we'll move on to other news. >>> forecasters are now saying tropical storm danny could be hitting new england this weekend as mourners gather for senator ted kennedy's funeral services and by then it's expected to be a hurricane. and chad myers has been tracking danny for us at the cnn weather center for a couple days now. how's it looking, chad? >> we just got a new airplane to fly into it. the hurricane hunter aircrafts fly through the storms all the time, especially if they're going to try to take a run to the u.s. the storm has wobbled to the west, to the west, by probably 60 or 70 miles. you think, okay, let it go to the west. the problem is all of the computer models thought it was here when they ran this morning. so, if this storm actually went up here and then turned

barbara starr got some exclusive access as they practiced for tomorrow's ceremony. s they tell her what this honor means to them. barbara? >> reporter: well, wolf, these young troops are, indeed, making their final preparations to honor senator edward kennedy. cnn was given the extraordinary opportunity to watch these young troops practice out of the public eye the precision and dignity of folding the american flag for the burial of senator edward kennedy. all are honored to be chosen for this duty, but for one, this moment in history is intensely personal. >> my mom was pregnant with me, i come from a very poor family, and she didn't have the money to get the medical care that she needed. she wrote senator kennedy a letter and he made sure that she got the care that she needed, so it's a really big honor for me to be able to do this. >> reporter: these troops will carry the kas kelt to the grave site and in a tradition hundreds of years old hold the flag over the grave and then meticulously fold it into a triangle. marine corporal john smur helped carry president re

live to our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. she has the story for ussome the u.s.tary prepared for what is going to happen over the next 48 to 72 hours as these elections go forward? >> reporter: commanders say u.s. forces, nato forces and afghan forces are prepared that more than a quarter of a million troops will be on duty thursday for afghanistan's presidential election. getting ready for afghanistan's presidential elections, donkeys carrying ballot boxes into villages for thursday's voting. nato commanders are vowing to fill the backup for police and army units that will provide the main security on election day. 300,000 nato and afghan troops will be on duty. >> be prepared to provide overwatch capability and also ready ground forces if we need to move to where any security incident might arise. >> reporter: but the taliban are trying to make good on their promise to disrupt the elections, even as campaigning has intensified. with just two days to go, a suicide car bomb killed ten and wounded more than 50 on the jalalabad road a major thoroughfare in kabul. a

barbara starr is tracking developments from the pentagon. give us a reality check.says it's still going to take a few years, you've got to wonder what's going to happen next? what's going to happen in those few years. the next thing up to watch for, of course, is the big assessment report. that's what they call it, about the strategy in afghanistan. is it working or not. secretary gates talked about that. a. >> general mccrystal is assessing and will submit the assessment to us and to nato before the afghan election. that assessment will not include specific recommendations or more requests for forces. we made clear to general mcchrystal he's free to ask whatever he needs to complete the important mission he's been given. >> gates has long been very antsy about the notion of putting more combat forces in afghanistan. he wants to hold a lid on that. here's the reality, john. look at the specifics we're about to show everyone. this is the latest statistic on the number of ieds those roadside bombs being laid in afghanistan. you can see there. they have just skyrocket

our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr begins our week long series with a report on homeless veterans. she's live in philadelphia this morning. serious problem, barbara. >> reporter: absolutely, john, we're here in downtown philadelphia where a town hall with veterans is about to get underway. veterans are going to ask a lot of tough questions about their benefits, about education, housing, health care, but what we are finding is very sadly some veterans from the wars in iraq and afghanistan are already homeless. >> you know what kind of -- forget about everything, you know, helps me stay calm. >> reporter: a calm, far from his combat tour of duty in iraq. he served as a marine during the 2003 invasion. >> we have apricots up here. >> reporter: he now says he came home from war with post traumatic stress. he wound up in jail for possession of drugs and when he was released he had nowhere to go. he came here to new directions, a recovery center for addicted and homeless veterans. and he found john, a scottish-born vietnam veteran who started the program after he served nine years in pr