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CNN Live Today

Iraqis Living Abroad Cast Their Ballots Today; Iraqi Government Tightens Security as Sunday's Election Nears

Aired January 28, 2005 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Iraq and the vote on Sunday is the underlying theme in so many ways today from the president, and now the new U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The vote in Iraq begins in 37 hours. It is 6:00 local time Friday evening in Baghdad. The polls open at 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning, which is 11:00 local time here on the East Coast on Saturday night. We will all wait to watch that now.

Condoleezza Rice, the ceremony is finished there now at the U.S. Department of State, as she signs her name.

Good to have you with us, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CO-ANCHOR: I know. It's very touching with her family behind her.

HEMMER: It's so true. Yes.

COSTELLO: And her friends from Birmingham, Alabama, the place where she was born. Very touching words from the president, too, about Condoleezza Rice.

HEMMER: And you can almost feel the momentum building now towards Sunday morning. Because everyone is anticipating what will happen. And how will we judge these elections to be a success. And that's what we all wait to hear.

COSTELLO: Well, you heard the president's remarks too in talking about the Iraqis with courage, the great courage to go to the polls even though they know that violence may be done to them.

HEMMER: Have a good weekend everybody. We've got to go. On a Friday morning, here's Daryn and Rick now at the CNN Center with more as our coverage continues.

Good morning, guys.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Good morning to you guys. Have a great weekend in New York City. Hope Soledad feels better as well.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: We're going to be concentrating, as you mentioned just moments ago, on Iraq. In fact, we're going to be talking to somebody who takes us inside the insurgency, to hopefully answer the question that a lot of people wonder, who are these people?

KAGAN: I know who these people are. Rick Sanchez, Daryn Kagan. Let's get started.

SANCHEZ: Starting today, Iraqis living abroad from the United States to Australia are casting their ballots. In fact, they've started already in Australia. Polls will not open in Iraq until Sunday, meaning there are now just two days left where the nationwide election gets under way. And while insurgents have declared war on the elections, those who take part, Iraqi leaders, are saying it will be a success.

Earlier today, the government announced that security forces have arrested two lead of the al Zarqawi terror network. The group has claimed responsibility for numerous car bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq.

Meanwhile, new threats are at work. Insurgents blanketed Baghdad neighborhoods with these white leaflets warning people against voting. The militants boasted that they have enough bullets and explosives to, quote, "wash Baghdad's streets with voters' blood."

As if to underlie the threat a car bomb detonated just outside an election center overnight. The vehicle slammed into a protective barrier. There were no casualties. A couple hours earlier though, a suicide car bomber targeted a nearby police station. That blast did kill four people. It wounded at least two others.

KAGAN: There are 14 different countries that are holding elections for Iraqis living abroad. They cover the globe from the Netherlands to the United Arab Emirates, to right here in the United States, Australia and France, and Jordan as well. In all 75 countries will have polling places set up. More than a quarter million Iraqis have registered for expatriate voting.

Voting has started in some of those countries including Iran. Of the 81,000 Iraqis there who are eligible to vote, a surprising 75 percent are registered. The very first votes of the election were cast in Australia. Some exiles even flew in from New Zealand to cast ballots. X-ray machines and metal detectors were set up as part of that nation's security.

Iraqis voting in London, expressed joy at Iraq's first free elections in a half-century. Some were singing, some were clapping. And at least one person aid his vote was to honor those killed by Saddam Hussein's regime.

SANCHEZ: Iraqis are also casting their votes right here in the United States. Beginning today and continuing through Sunday, some 26,000 expatriates can find polling places in places like: Los Angeles, and Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, Washington.

Earlier, we heard from elections officials in suburban D.C. on the voting that began just about two hours ago there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER BRYANT, OUT-OF-COUNTRY VOTING PROGRAM: In Iraq, certain number of people have been forced to leave because of their ethnicity, because of their political leanings. And the object of the exercise is to regularize and democratize the process in Iraq. so that if those people, among other things, if those people wish to return to their country, the conditions exist for them so to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: In fact, Brant says that voting officials at each American site also works with local authorities to assure a very visible level of security here.

Kaye Let's move on to suburban Detroit and the voting site there. Our Chris Lawrence is in Southgate, Michigan with the state that has the most Iraqis are registered to vote here in the U.S.

Chris, good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Turnout is not quite what a lot of people would have expected. But we're seeing it pick up a little bit more here at the polling center here. Seeing more Iraqis coming in to cast their vote. We can take you inside. You can take a look and see basically what it looks like. It will look very familiar to a lot of Americans who cast their vote in the November election.

There are about 14 polling places inside. Iraqis have been coming in, very, very excited about casting their vote. We've seen people break out into clapping after each of the votes has been cast. The actual voters are an interesting mix of people. Some recent immigrants to the United States who live their whole lives in Iraq. And other younger Iraqi-Americans who have never set foot in the country. But they're all equally excited about casting their vote in Iraq's first free election in nearly a half century.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is like a dream and the dream come true. I mean I'm so happy for that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like I'm doing something for my country. And we always say that distances of a thousand miles start with one step. And that's the biggest step we're doing right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: A lot of people feeling that way today. Feeling like they are making a moment in history here in casting their first vote in the Iraqi election, ironically right here in the United States -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Chris Lawrence joining us from Michigan. Thank you.

And please joining us for -- join us for a two-hour primetime event, Christiane Amanpour, Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn and Aaron Brown will host our "CNN SPECIAL REPORT, IRAQ VOTES." It gets under way at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4 Pacific right here on CNN. SANCHEZ: We have so much more on the Iraq elections coming your way in the next couple of hours. For example, General Don Shepperd is going to join us to talk about security in some of these polling places, who is in charge, how the voting process breaks down, and the resistance that voters may see.

KAGAN: And at 10:30, we go live to London where some voters have already cast their ballots.

SANCHEZ: also later, we're going to have more on the Marine helicopter crash, as a neighborhood suddenly has to face the grim reality of it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Rick Sanchez.

One religious group is fully backing the Iraqi election. But some parties linked to another are calling for a boycott. It's the image of the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani; it looks down from posters and flyers in Iraq.

The cleric has endorsed an alliance of majority Shiite candidates, as you might expect. But several leading Sunni parties say this is not the time for an election. They say the insurgency in Sunni dominated areas will keep their supporters from getting to the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOAYED AL ADHAMI, MEMBER, ISLAMIC CLERIC ASSN. (through translator): The elections will not take place properly or fairly. And they will not b accepted by everyone. The boycott is not because of the elections but because of the circumstances surrounding them. The Iraqi people are not ready for the elections. If five provinces do not participate in the elections are then these elections will not be complete. They are not valid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So if you analyze this, it is actually like a sudden flip-flop. Sunni Arabs make up only about 20 percent of Iraq's population. Despite that and despite being a minority, during Saddam Hussein's regime they were the ones in power. That may be about to change -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, here to talk about the security situation of Iraqi election issues, our military analyst General Don Shepperd.

General, good morning.

GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), U.S. AIR FORCE, MILITARY ANALYST: My pleasure, Daryn.

KAGAN: Well we're hearing about all these U.S. military going to the polling places helping to set them up. Even passing out the election pamphlets because it is not even safe for the campaigners to go out -- for the candidates themselves to go out by themselves.

What exactly is the U.S. military doing? And how much can they do to keep the polling place safe?

SHEPPERD: Yes. Well, first of all, we're flying in ballots and leaflets, this type of thing into the country. And distributing throughout the country, as we're going out on hunt and search operations for insurgents. We're encouraging people to vote, leaving them leaflets, this type of thing.

The thing we can't tell them is where the polling places are because that is going to be kept secret until tomorrow. We know it's going to be a lot of schools, but there will be other places as well. So they're encouraging people to vote. And they're making plans with the Iraqi security forces for exactly how they're going to protect these polling places.

The reason to keep a polling place secret is pretty obvious. Because you don't want the insurgents to get a leg up on you and to be able to set up any kind of problems. And yet, if people don't know where they're supposed to vote, it's kind of like what's the point of the whole thing?

SHEPPERD: Yes. They'll know how too. This country works on word of mouth. And there will be loudspeaker announcements, et cetera tomorrow. They'll know where to vote. But the main thing is they've got to have the plans with the Iraqi forces to protect the people.

Think of polling places in America. We drive to the poll places. There are long lines outside. You go into the polling place, you have to make sure that you're registered to vote. All that takes time. Then have you to vote, and in the case of Iraq, on a ballot you've not seen with names you don't recognize. It's going to take time. It's going to be lots of backups to attack.

KAGAN: So that's a lot of people sitting in one place not moving, which is a very tempting target.

SHEPPERD: Indeed. And what the Iraqis have done is made very careful preparations for this. How to keep people strung out so you don't have 300 all in one place for a suicide bomber to attack. The Iraqis themselves are going to protect those polling places. The Americans are going to be on outside on-call to respond if needed and to keep obvious insurgents from closing to those polling places.

KAGAN: Another topic coming up yesterday. Senator Ted Kennedy saying the minute these elections are over, let's pull out 12,000 troops. And lets get everybody else out as soon as possible. President Bush, giving an interview, saying well, he's not going to make that commitment. He says that U.S. troops will stay as long as the people in power in Iraq want them to stay. When are the troops coming home?

SHEPPERD: Well, some of that probably will happen. Look, the Iraqis want us to leave. They don't want us as occupiers...

KAGAN: When you say the Iraqis, you mean the people.

SHEPPERD: The people. They don't want somebody occupying their country. That's very healthy. We don't want to be there. And so you got both sides wanting us to get out. And we're going to be able to find a solution.

I predict that after these elections there will be some rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces in secure areas; for instance, the Kurdish areas of the north, the Shiia areas of the south. And then in '05, there will be more withdrawals. And in '06 even more after that. But you can't do that until the Iraqis say that they can provide their own security. And they are not ready yet. But as soon as an Iraqi government asks us to leave, we'll be out very quickly is my opinion.

KAGAN: All right. We'll be watching it. General Shepperd, thank you.

SANCHEZ: We'll also be telling you about a sense of duty on the ground in Iraq. And still to come, one 18-year-old Iraqi officer talking about his dangerous job in Basra. He talks about the concerns and why he's dedicated to the cause.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. You work for more than just a paycheck, don't you? Chances are your company offers some benefits. Some you know about, some you may not.

CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis has the "Top Five Tips" for taking full advantage of those perks. And we begin with something called -- we all love this, don't we, freebies.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes. You love free things, don't you Rick? Tip No. 1, you got to love the freebies, Happy Friday.

If you're working for a decent sized employer, the chances are they probably offer their employees something free. Retailers typically offer discounts to their employees. Check out the charitable contributions that might be matched to your favorite school or other charitable organization. Other free things you might get, travel discounts, maybe even help with your gym membership. You got to check it out. You got to talk to H.R. because some of this stuff they don't advertise a lot.

SANCHEZ: Also, we hear about this pretax system that a lot of companies set up. How does that work?

WILLIS: Well, you may set up a flexible spending account at the end of the year last year. Here's what you need to know now. Some of these are use it or lose it. If you don't use the dollars, you lose the money at the end of the year. So you want to make sure now that you're keeping all of your receipts for these FSA's, as they're called.

Now, one thing to keep in mind, there are all kinds of FSA's. You can save on health care costs. You can save on dependent care. You can save on transportation. You need to know what your company offers and make sure you're organized enough to have everything in order, so at tend of the year you can get all your money.

SANCHEZ: Speaking of health care. Insurance is such a big deal for so many families. How do you make the most out of your company's insurance policy and be able to benefit, for example, people in your family?

WILLIS: Exactly. We say get the family pack. Here's what's going on out there. A lot of people are in that sandwich generation where they're taking care of their kids; they're also taking care of their parents. And there's a way now that some companies are allowing you to do that, helping you along by offering long-term care insurance at prices you could not afford on your own. So you want to check that out.

If you're just starting out and you have young kids, your most important commodity may be time, not money. You might want to ask to be able to work just part-time or flexible hours. Keep that in mind. And I mentioned flexible spending accounts earlier. These dependent care accounts can be used to take care of your kids, or your mom and dad.

SANCHEZ: What if you don't have kids but you want a promotion, you want a raise. You're not qualified for it. Can you go to school and see if you can get yourself to that point?

WILLIS: You'd be surprised at the number of companies out there who will actually pay tuition for you or a portion of your tuition. And even if they don't have an established program, you could ask for help. So makes sense to go to your employer, go to H.R. and see what they can do. Because they may match you on education for your job, or if you want to do something that's unrelated to your job, they may help you there, too.

SANCHEZ: I saw the note that you sent us on your last item. You say, "Take the money and run." What do you mean by that?

WILLIS: We couldn't do this segment without talking about 401k's, retirement saving. If you don't participate in your plan, you are leaving money on the table. Because the employer is going to match part of your contribution, it is essential that you participate in this. The earlier the better.

And if you're an employee under 50, you can contribute up to $14,000 a year right now. Over 50, $18,000. It's no small thing. You want to make sure you take advantage of it -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Gerri Willis, our personal financial editor. We thank you so much for bringing us that information, as usual.

WILLIS: You're welcome. Have a good weekend. SANCHEZ: All right. You too -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Iraqis in the United Kingdom are already casting their ballots. Robin Oakley tells us about that that.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN'S EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Great scenes of emotion and joy among the Iraqi expatriates voting in London. The early turnout was low, but those who have voted have hung around to pick up on the atmosphere. Really relishing their chance to practice democracy.

I'm Robin Oakley in London.

KAGAN: Robin, we'll be back with you in a moment.

Also, a walking target. Meet an 18-year-old Iraqi policeman who simply is trying to survive. And he's doing it one day at a time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired January 28, 2005 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Iraq and the vote on Sunday is the underlying theme in so many ways today from the president, and now the new U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The vote in Iraq begins in 37 hours. It is 6:00 local time Friday evening in Baghdad. The polls open at 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning, which is 11:00 local time here on the East Coast on Saturday night. We will all wait to watch that now.

Condoleezza Rice, the ceremony is finished there now at the U.S. Department of State, as she signs her name.

Good to have you with us, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CO-ANCHOR: I know. It's very touching with her family behind her.

HEMMER: It's so true. Yes.

COSTELLO: And her friends from Birmingham, Alabama, the place where she was born. Very touching words from the president, too, about Condoleezza Rice.

HEMMER: And you can almost feel the momentum building now towards Sunday morning. Because everyone is anticipating what will happen. And how will we judge these elections to be a success. And that's what we all wait to hear.

COSTELLO: Well, you heard the president's remarks too in talking about the Iraqis with courage, the great courage to go to the polls even though they know that violence may be done to them.

HEMMER: Have a good weekend everybody. We've got to go. On a Friday morning, here's Daryn and Rick now at the CNN Center with more as our coverage continues.

Good morning, guys.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Good morning to you guys. Have a great weekend in New York City. Hope Soledad feels better as well.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: We're going to be concentrating, as you mentioned just moments ago, on Iraq. In fact, we're going to be talking to somebody who takes us inside the insurgency, to hopefully answer the question that a lot of people wonder, who are these people?

KAGAN: I know who these people are. Rick Sanchez, Daryn Kagan. Let's get started.

SANCHEZ: Starting today, Iraqis living abroad from the United States to Australia are casting their ballots. In fact, they've started already in Australia. Polls will not open in Iraq until Sunday, meaning there are now just two days left where the nationwide election gets under way. And while insurgents have declared war on the elections, those who take part, Iraqi leaders, are saying it will be a success.

Earlier today, the government announced that security forces have arrested two lead of the al Zarqawi terror network. The group has claimed responsibility for numerous car bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq.

Meanwhile, new threats are at work. Insurgents blanketed Baghdad neighborhoods with these white leaflets warning people against voting. The militants boasted that they have enough bullets and explosives to, quote, "wash Baghdad's streets with voters' blood."

As if to underlie the threat a car bomb detonated just outside an election center overnight. The vehicle slammed into a protective barrier. There were no casualties. A couple hours earlier though, a suicide car bomber targeted a nearby police station. That blast did kill four people. It wounded at least two others.

KAGAN: There are 14 different countries that are holding elections for Iraqis living abroad. They cover the globe from the Netherlands to the United Arab Emirates, to right here in the United States, Australia and France, and Jordan as well. In all 75 countries will have polling places set up. More than a quarter million Iraqis have registered for expatriate voting.

Voting has started in some of those countries including Iran. Of the 81,000 Iraqis there who are eligible to vote, a surprising 75 percent are registered. The very first votes of the election were cast in Australia. Some exiles even flew in from New Zealand to cast ballots. X-ray machines and metal detectors were set up as part of that nation's security.

Iraqis voting in London, expressed joy at Iraq's first free elections in a half-century. Some were singing, some were clapping. And at least one person aid his vote was to honor those killed by Saddam Hussein's regime.

SANCHEZ: Iraqis are also casting their votes right here in the United States. Beginning today and continuing through Sunday, some 26,000 expatriates can find polling places in places like: Los Angeles, and Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, Washington.

Earlier, we heard from elections officials in suburban D.C. on the voting that began just about two hours ago there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER BRYANT, OUT-OF-COUNTRY VOTING PROGRAM: In Iraq, certain number of people have been forced to leave because of their ethnicity, because of their political leanings. And the object of the exercise is to regularize and democratize the process in Iraq. so that if those people, among other things, if those people wish to return to their country, the conditions exist for them so to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: In fact, Brant says that voting officials at each American site also works with local authorities to assure a very visible level of security here.

Kaye Let's move on to suburban Detroit and the voting site there. Our Chris Lawrence is in Southgate, Michigan with the state that has the most Iraqis are registered to vote here in the U.S.

Chris, good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Turnout is not quite what a lot of people would have expected. But we're seeing it pick up a little bit more here at the polling center here. Seeing more Iraqis coming in to cast their vote. We can take you inside. You can take a look and see basically what it looks like. It will look very familiar to a lot of Americans who cast their vote in the November election.

There are about 14 polling places inside. Iraqis have been coming in, very, very excited about casting their vote. We've seen people break out into clapping after each of the votes has been cast. The actual voters are an interesting mix of people. Some recent immigrants to the United States who live their whole lives in Iraq. And other younger Iraqi-Americans who have never set foot in the country. But they're all equally excited about casting their vote in Iraq's first free election in nearly a half century.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is like a dream and the dream come true. I mean I'm so happy for that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like I'm doing something for my country. And we always say that distances of a thousand miles start with one step. And that's the biggest step we're doing right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: A lot of people feeling that way today. Feeling like they are making a moment in history here in casting their first vote in the Iraqi election, ironically right here in the United States -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Chris Lawrence joining us from Michigan. Thank you.

And please joining us for -- join us for a two-hour primetime event, Christiane Amanpour, Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn and Aaron Brown will host our "CNN SPECIAL REPORT, IRAQ VOTES." It gets under way at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4 Pacific right here on CNN. SANCHEZ: We have so much more on the Iraq elections coming your way in the next couple of hours. For example, General Don Shepperd is going to join us to talk about security in some of these polling places, who is in charge, how the voting process breaks down, and the resistance that voters may see.

KAGAN: And at 10:30, we go live to London where some voters have already cast their ballots.

SANCHEZ: also later, we're going to have more on the Marine helicopter crash, as a neighborhood suddenly has to face the grim reality of it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Rick Sanchez.

One religious group is fully backing the Iraqi election. But some parties linked to another are calling for a boycott. It's the image of the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani; it looks down from posters and flyers in Iraq.

The cleric has endorsed an alliance of majority Shiite candidates, as you might expect. But several leading Sunni parties say this is not the time for an election. They say the insurgency in Sunni dominated areas will keep their supporters from getting to the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOAYED AL ADHAMI, MEMBER, ISLAMIC CLERIC ASSN. (through translator): The elections will not take place properly or fairly. And they will not b accepted by everyone. The boycott is not because of the elections but because of the circumstances surrounding them. The Iraqi people are not ready for the elections. If five provinces do not participate in the elections are then these elections will not be complete. They are not valid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So if you analyze this, it is actually like a sudden flip-flop. Sunni Arabs make up only about 20 percent of Iraq's population. Despite that and despite being a minority, during Saddam Hussein's regime they were the ones in power. That may be about to change -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, here to talk about the security situation of Iraqi election issues, our military analyst General Don Shepperd.

General, good morning.

GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), U.S. AIR FORCE, MILITARY ANALYST: My pleasure, Daryn.

KAGAN: Well we're hearing about all these U.S. military going to the polling places helping to set them up. Even passing out the election pamphlets because it is not even safe for the campaigners to go out -- for the candidates themselves to go out by themselves.

What exactly is the U.S. military doing? And how much can they do to keep the polling place safe?

SHEPPERD: Yes. Well, first of all, we're flying in ballots and leaflets, this type of thing into the country. And distributing throughout the country, as we're going out on hunt and search operations for insurgents. We're encouraging people to vote, leaving them leaflets, this type of thing.

The thing we can't tell them is where the polling places are because that is going to be kept secret until tomorrow. We know it's going to be a lot of schools, but there will be other places as well. So they're encouraging people to vote. And they're making plans with the Iraqi security forces for exactly how they're going to protect these polling places.

The reason to keep a polling place secret is pretty obvious. Because you don't want the insurgents to get a leg up on you and to be able to set up any kind of problems. And yet, if people don't know where they're supposed to vote, it's kind of like what's the point of the whole thing?

SHEPPERD: Yes. They'll know how too. This country works on word of mouth. And there will be loudspeaker announcements, et cetera tomorrow. They'll know where to vote. But the main thing is they've got to have the plans with the Iraqi forces to protect the people.

Think of polling places in America. We drive to the poll places. There are long lines outside. You go into the polling place, you have to make sure that you're registered to vote. All that takes time. Then have you to vote, and in the case of Iraq, on a ballot you've not seen with names you don't recognize. It's going to take time. It's going to be lots of backups to attack.

KAGAN: So that's a lot of people sitting in one place not moving, which is a very tempting target.

SHEPPERD: Indeed. And what the Iraqis have done is made very careful preparations for this. How to keep people strung out so you don't have 300 all in one place for a suicide bomber to attack. The Iraqis themselves are going to protect those polling places. The Americans are going to be on outside on-call to respond if needed and to keep obvious insurgents from closing to those polling places.

KAGAN: Another topic coming up yesterday. Senator Ted Kennedy saying the minute these elections are over, let's pull out 12,000 troops. And lets get everybody else out as soon as possible. President Bush, giving an interview, saying well, he's not going to make that commitment. He says that U.S. troops will stay as long as the people in power in Iraq want them to stay. When are the troops coming home?

SHEPPERD: Well, some of that probably will happen. Look, the Iraqis want us to leave. They don't want us as occupiers...

KAGAN: When you say the Iraqis, you mean the people.

SHEPPERD: The people. They don't want somebody occupying their country. That's very healthy. We don't want to be there. And so you got both sides wanting us to get out. And we're going to be able to find a solution.

I predict that after these elections there will be some rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces in secure areas; for instance, the Kurdish areas of the north, the Shiia areas of the south. And then in '05, there will be more withdrawals. And in '06 even more after that. But you can't do that until the Iraqis say that they can provide their own security. And they are not ready yet. But as soon as an Iraqi government asks us to leave, we'll be out very quickly is my opinion.

KAGAN: All right. We'll be watching it. General Shepperd, thank you.

SANCHEZ: We'll also be telling you about a sense of duty on the ground in Iraq. And still to come, one 18-year-old Iraqi officer talking about his dangerous job in Basra. He talks about the concerns and why he's dedicated to the cause.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. You work for more than just a paycheck, don't you? Chances are your company offers some benefits. Some you know about, some you may not.

CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis has the "Top Five Tips" for taking full advantage of those perks. And we begin with something called -- we all love this, don't we, freebies.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes. You love free things, don't you Rick? Tip No. 1, you got to love the freebies, Happy Friday.

If you're working for a decent sized employer, the chances are they probably offer their employees something free. Retailers typically offer discounts to their employees. Check out the charitable contributions that might be matched to your favorite school or other charitable organization. Other free things you might get, travel discounts, maybe even help with your gym membership. You got to check it out. You got to talk to H.R. because some of this stuff they don't advertise a lot.

SANCHEZ: Also, we hear about this pretax system that a lot of companies set up. How does that work?

WILLIS: Well, you may set up a flexible spending account at the end of the year last year. Here's what you need to know now. Some of these are use it or lose it. If you don't use the dollars, you lose the money at the end of the year. So you want to make sure now that you're keeping all of your receipts for these FSA's, as they're called.

Now, one thing to keep in mind, there are all kinds of FSA's. You can save on health care costs. You can save on dependent care. You can save on transportation. You need to know what your company offers and make sure you're organized enough to have everything in order, so at tend of the year you can get all your money.

SANCHEZ: Speaking of health care. Insurance is such a big deal for so many families. How do you make the most out of your company's insurance policy and be able to benefit, for example, people in your family?

WILLIS: Exactly. We say get the family pack. Here's what's going on out there. A lot of people are in that sandwich generation where they're taking care of their kids; they're also taking care of their parents. And there's a way now that some companies are allowing you to do that, helping you along by offering long-term care insurance at prices you could not afford on your own. So you want to check that out.

If you're just starting out and you have young kids, your most important commodity may be time, not money. You might want to ask to be able to work just part-time or flexible hours. Keep that in mind. And I mentioned flexible spending accounts earlier. These dependent care accounts can be used to take care of your kids, or your mom and dad.

SANCHEZ: What if you don't have kids but you want a promotion, you want a raise. You're not qualified for it. Can you go to school and see if you can get yourself to that point?

WILLIS: You'd be surprised at the number of companies out there who will actually pay tuition for you or a portion of your tuition. And even if they don't have an established program, you could ask for help. So makes sense to go to your employer, go to H.R. and see what they can do. Because they may match you on education for your job, or if you want to do something that's unrelated to your job, they may help you there, too.

SANCHEZ: I saw the note that you sent us on your last item. You say, "Take the money and run." What do you mean by that?

WILLIS: We couldn't do this segment without talking about 401k's, retirement saving. If you don't participate in your plan, you are leaving money on the table. Because the employer is going to match part of your contribution, it is essential that you participate in this. The earlier the better.

And if you're an employee under 50, you can contribute up to $14,000 a year right now. Over 50, $18,000. It's no small thing. You want to make sure you take advantage of it -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Gerri Willis, our personal financial editor. We thank you so much for bringing us that information, as usual.

WILLIS: You're welcome. Have a good weekend. SANCHEZ: All right. You too -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Iraqis in the United Kingdom are already casting their ballots. Robin Oakley tells us about that that.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN'S EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Great scenes of emotion and joy among the Iraqi expatriates voting in London. The early turnout was low, but those who have voted have hung around to pick up on the atmosphere. Really relishing their chance to practice democracy.

I'm Robin Oakley in London.

KAGAN: Robin, we'll be back with you in a moment.

Also, a walking target. Meet an 18-year-old Iraqi policeman who simply is trying to survive. And he's doing it one day at a time.

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