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Your World Today

Iranian Elections; 'Operation Spear'; E.U. in Crisis

Aired June 17, 2005 - 12:00   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.


ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Iran's election. Polling hours are extended in a presidential race too close to call.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: House arrest. A Pakistani woman gang- raped as punishment has been banned by her government from traveling to the U.S. to speak about her ordeal.

VERJEE: Downing Street Memo. U.S. politicians stage a quiet protest in Washington over a prewar intelligence statement.

CLANCY: And chew on this: Jeanne Moos on parties for pampered pets.

It is 10:30 at night in Tehran, noon in Washington. I'm Jim Clancy.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. A warm welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: Your window to the world on CNN International.

We're going to begin our report in Iran, where people are casting ballots this day in a presidential election that appears to be too close to call.

VERJEE: The government has extended voting by two hours to give people waiting in line a chance to take part.

CLANCY: We don't have any reports, official at least, yet, on the turnout. None of the seven candidates is really expected to get the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright.

VERJEE: That would mean a runoff between the two top vote- getters sometime next week.

Opinion polls put former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as the front-runner. Second place appears to be a contest between a reformist candidate and a former police chief who appeals to conservatives. All the candidates are appealing to the youth vote.

Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour joins us now from Tehran.

Christiane, is a runoff inevitable? CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, it's hard to say. Obviously, if the person with the most votes doesn't get the 50 percent plus one in order to win, then, yes, there will be a runoff.

Many people did predict that there would be one. And if there is one, it will be unprecedented in Iranian presidential elections.

Up until about 2:00 p.m. local time, which was several hours ago, the interior ministry said that there were 14 million votes counted. Now, that's out of a potential 48 million eligible votes, and by my rough calculations, that makes about 30 percent turnout at around 2:00 p.m.

It may be more now. We just don't know.

The poll stations that we visited were not overly crowded. In fact, quite the opposite. There were a couple of hours during the day when there were -- you know, there was quite a lot of activity. But for the most part, they were not overly crowded. And many people are telling us that, in fact, the turnout is considerably less than it was during the previous round of presidential elections.

Remember, eight years ago, there was a huge amount of excitement, a massive, overwhelming tournament that swept uniformist President Khatami to an unexpected landslide victory. Right now, what we're hearing informally is Hashemi Rafsanjani, as expected, has a slight lead. And we're being told that the -- that the reform candidate, Mostafa Moin, is probably in second place with Qalibaf, who is a former police chief, former revolutionary guard commander in potentially third place.

But we cannot give you that for sure. We simply don't have official results right now. These are mostly anecdotal and coming from the campaign headquarters themselves -- Zain.

VERJEE: Do Iranians expect any of the presidential hopefuls, Christiane, to be in a position to fix, if you will, relations with the United States?

AMANPOUR: Well, the majority of Iranians have already cast their vote on that issue. They want better relations with the external world, and they want ties restored with the United States.

People tell us that over and over again. And they told us that during the eight years of President Khatami as well. I think that's definitely something that's not even in question. They want that to happen.

One of the -- like we've been talking about, the front-line candidate here, the front-runner, Rafsanjani, told us in an interview that he also thought that it was time to have a new chapter in relations between Iran and the United States. So a lot of people are talking about that.

But for the most part, this election really is, I think, symbolized by a lot of political apathy and alienation, and by people really wanting to see at the least if they can get a better deal for themselves, better job, a better economy, more freedom, a little bit more fun in their -- in their personal lives. And that's what they're going for.

And every single candidate has cast himself as a reformist and a democrat, have all appealed to the young people. And this really is the legacy and the influence of Khatami that looms really large over this election, even though his presidency is considered a failed one by many disappointed and disillusioned Iranians who voted for reform -- Zain.

VERJEE: In Tehran, CNN's Chief International Correspondent, Christian Amanpour.

CLANCY: Now, the election, as Christiane was outlining there, could mean a return to more radical Islamist theocracy. It could be, as she said, another step towards political and social reform. Whatever the outcome, the results are very likely to reverberate far beyond the country's borders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY (voice-over): It is not only Iran's 68 million people who have a stake in Friday's vote and any runoff election. Given the power still in the hands of clerics who have barred most reformers from even running, life inside Iran is predicted to change little, no matter who emerges victorious. But the new president may influence how Iran deals with critical negotiations over the future of its nuclear enrichment program, a program critics say aims to develop nuclear weapons, despite official denials.

The elections come at a critical stage as Britain, France and Germany try to negotiate with Iran to end nuclear enrichment tests and procedures. There is also concern about how Iran is influencing the Shia Muslim majority in neighboring Iraq. Armed militants like those loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr have openly fought U.S. troops, while other troops, no less potent, have long-running ties across the border in Iran that are suspected of trying to steer Iraq toward an Islamic state. Such a move could thwart U.S. hopes Iraq will emerge as a pluralist democracy.

Iranian influence extends across the Middle East to Lebanon, where Tehran helps arm and train Hezbollah fighters. Again, Iranian influence among Lebanon's sizable Shia Muslim community and Hezbollah's involvement in terrorist activity causes concerns.

Iran openly backed Syrian's troop presence in Lebanon as thousands of Lebanese took to the streets earlier this year calling for Syrian troops to get out. Now, with Damascus forces across the border, Tehran is expected to dig in its heels and oppose disarming the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: It may all come down to just how much influence and power the presidency in Iran has, and, really, how much the new president will wield that power.

For more on the election day in Iran, you can log on to the international edition of our Web site. You can find it at cnn.com/international.

The U.S. Marines are on the move in western Iraq. Military officials say dozens of insurgents have been killed in the latest effort to wipe out strongholds near the Syrian border. CNN's Jane Arraf has been embedded with the U.S. Marines in Karabila. She will be joining us a little bit later.

VERJEE: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has held a rare meeting with a South Korean official. The meeting took place in Pyongyang with South Korea's unification minister, who was in the country as part of a celebration marking the fifth anniversary of the first and only North-South summit. Chung Dong-young called for a resolution to North Korea's nuclear ambitions and delivered a verbal message from South Korea's president.

Our Sohn Jie-Ae said the meeting sends a strong signal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The very symbolism of Kim Jong- il meeting someone, the unification minister from South Korea, seems to indicate that he's there to send a message of some sort, if not to show that he is there and willing to listen, if not just to send a message to both South Korea and the outside world. When he did have that summit with the South Korean president, Kim Jong-il -- Kim Dae- jung five years ago, it opened the floodgates for a number of reconciliation projects between South and North Korea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Chung is the first senior South Korean official to meet with the North Korean president in three years.

More turmoil in the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan. In advance of July elections, hundreds of supporters of the presidential candidate being kept off the ballot stormed government headquarters. Troops with riot shields tear gas drove them back. The election was called after the uprising two months ago that ousted Kyrgyzstan's previous president.

CLANCY: Well, U.S. Marines involved now in what is being called Operation Spear. It is aimed to interdict insurgents believed infiltrating from Syria into Iraq.

CNN's Jane Arraf has been following developments in that general area along the border between Iraq and Syria. She joins us now.

What has been happening there, Jane?

JANE ARRAF, CNN SR. BAGHDAD CORRESPONDENT: Jim, we're actually in the heart of the battle. We are in the city of Karabila, about five miles, 7 kilometers from the Syrian border. And this battle has been going on since morning.

When the Marines came in -- and they came in with about a thousand troops, including an Iraqi contingent -- they were met by gunfire, mortars, rockets. All this evidence that this is indeed a stronghold of foreign fighters, Jim. They believe there are at least 100 foreign fighters here still coming across through Syria and going on to the rest of the country to launch attacks.

They have come in here to find and, in most cases, kill those people, as well as make sure that this does not continue to be a safe haven for insurgents -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, tell us a little bit about the town. What has been its -- you know, its history? Has it been under the control of Iraqi police, or has it been another one of those border areas that hasn't been under anybody's control?

ARRAF: The really interesting thing, Jim, is that this part of the country is very, very different from Baghdad. Even though geographically not that far away, it couldn't -- there's a world of difference.

Police here have not been seen in a long, long time. There are very few cities in western Al Anbar and Anbar province in general where there is a functioning police force. They're simply too afraid, they're too intimidated by insurgents, or, in some cases, on the side of insurgents.

There are virtually no Iraqi forces. They're brought in, in this case, by the Marines. There is no government.

So it's part of what's been termed as the wild, wild west. And indeed it is. The only law and order there is, if there is any, is just brought here by the Marines.

And what we are seeing is a very intense battle, where they are using every weapon at their disposal. And there is a cost here. There are buildings that are being damaged, there are civilians who have fled the city. It's quite intense -- Jim.

CLANCY: Jane Arraf, as always, there on the front lines, right in the middle of the battle in Operation Spear going on at this hour along the border with Syria inside Iraq. We'll have more from Jane in the hours ahead.

Well, European Union leaders are meeting on the sidelines of their Brussels summit. They're trying to break a deadlock in the negotiations over the budget of the European Union.

This battle involves a $120 billion spending plan and it comes right on the heels of the EU's constitution crisis. Britain is refusing to bow to demands by other EU nations led by France to surrender its annual budget rebate. Britain says it's going to consider a change only, only if EU farm subsidies, which especially benefit France, are chopped back. Well, joining us with a little bit more on the deepening EU crisis, Gideon Rachman. He's the Brussels bureau chief for "The Economist."

Gideon, you look at the situation that is going on there. Is there really any hope that the EU ministers are going to be able to decide on this budget? Or must they?

GIDEON RACHMAN, "THE ECONOMIST": Well, they're still talking. And apparently, the chairman of the talks, the Luxembourg prime minister, made an emotional appeal over lunch and said, look, chaps, the EU is already in crisis, we've got to get a deal on this. And they then went off and had some meetings in hotels around town. They just started again.

But if you look at the formal positions of the two sides, it is very hard to see how they're going to reach an agreement. Both the French and the British are sounding pretty hard-lined. So I would guess there won't be a deal. But until they actually break up and tell us they failed, we can't say that for certain.

CLANCY: All right. That's on the budget. But it's all against the backdrop of a rejection of the EU constitution by the Netherlands, by France. Now Spain -- or Portugal saying it's not going to even hold the vote. Are there a lot of people saying we've got to slow down the whole notion of this united Europe?

RACHMAN: Yes, I think so. I mean, not the leaders. The leaders seem to be in a little bubble of their own, where they're saying, well, yes, there's been a setback in France and the Netherlands, but we'll continue with the process, maybe we'll delay it a little bit.

But I think that most observers are now pretty cynical about it. I don't really see how they can revive this constitution, because to enforce it, it has to be approved by all 25 countries. The Dutch foreign minister, for example, at this very summit said there's no way the Netherlands is going to vote again on the same treaty unamended.

And so I don't think that they can bring it into force. But they're reluctant to say that out clearly. So they're pretending sort of that they can revive it, but it's hard to see.

CLANCY: You know, back to the economics of it all -- and that's what the main thrust of this meeting is about -- Britain telling France, you give up your farm subsidies, we'll think about giving up some of our multibillion-dollar rebate from the European Union. These sides are pretty far apart. A lot of outsiders looking at this center of the debate and wondering, will those two sides ever give an inch?

RACHMAN: Well, they'll have to at some point, unless the EU really just fails to reach a budget. But there's a slightly artificial air of crisis here.

They're talking it up and saying, we've got to agree here and now. Actually, they know that they can stumble on for another year without a budget agreement. And I think because the two sides are very dug in, because they know that their deadline is slightly artificial, it's likely that they'll continue with this game of brinkmanship. But eventually they will have to split their differences.

CLANCY: Gideon, just very quickly, what effect is that having on all of the smaller countries that are just joining the EU?

RACHMAN: Well, they're very unhappy about it because they stand to be the big beneficiaries. Essentially, what the EU budget does is transfer large amounts of money from the richer members of the EU to the poorer members of the EU.

Now, the 10 new countries are, above all, poorer countries, and they can see this tantalizing prospect of billions of euros moving from western Europe to the east. But until the budget deal is signed and sealed, they won't get that money. So they're very anxious to get a deal and very frustrated that the French and British are still bickering.

CLANCY: All right. Gideon Rachman, of "The Economist." Our thanks to you for joining us live.

VERJEE: Just ahead, we're going to take a look at the headlines in the United States.

CLANCY: Also, presidential elections going on in Iran.

VERJEE: How much influence can an Iranian president really have? We'll bring you some analysis next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The sad thing about Iran is it's moving backwards, not forward. There are some places where the trend line is moving direct -- moving forward, and some places where the trend line is moving in the wrong direction. I think everyone would say that the Iranian system, political system, was more open a few years ago than it is now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of international news on CNN International.

And you just heard the U.S. secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, commenting on the Iranian presidential election. The U.S. has a long and complex relationship with Iran. To explore that and more, we go now to Hooshang Amirahmadi with Rutgers University. He's also the president of the American-Iranian Council.

Thanks so much for joining us.

HOOSHANG AMIRAHMADI, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Thank you. Condoleezza rice saying, look, Iran is going backwards, not forwards. U.S. President George W. Bush also saying that the elections are deeply flawed.

Are they right?

AMIRAHMADI: It is flawed. And the U-turn is not yet complete. But there is a return to backwards.

I think the system is flawed because the Guardian Council has to screen a small group of people whom they believe are loyal to the system, or practicing Muslims and so on. And therefore, a lot of people, a good number of Iranians, stay outside the process.

That includes myself, who was running for presidency and got disapproved by the council. And women are not running -- cannot run either.

VERJEE: OK. Guardian Council, unelected clerics that have veto power. So if that's the case, how much power does a president of Iran really have? How much can they influence?

AMIRAHMADI: Iran's power -- Iran's president's power really has to do with the power of the people. The power in Tehran or in Iran is in the streets. And unless and until a president is willing to use that power, it will not have the power to change significantly the system to make it more democratic than it is.

VERJEE: Why have they been unwilling to use it?

AMIRAHMADI: I think because most of the people that become president are very loyal to the system and they don't want to make any mistake or take any risk with the people. They're afraid that if they bring the people to the streets, they will not be able to return them home.

VERJEE: Whoever wins the presidential election in Iran, do you think that it will change Iran's stance toward nuclear negotiations, its relationship with the west, with the United States, even with events in Iraq?

AMIRAHMADI: Again, it all has to do who is elected and whether that person is willing to use the power of the people. Iranian people want normalization with the United States. They want a peaceful relation with the rest of the world.

Iran is like a room locked with the key in the hands of the United States. The next president must be able to get this key and open the door.

Whether they can do it or not, it depends on how far the president can go to use the power of the people, vis-a-vis the system, actually, because the Iranian constitution gives the Iranian people a lot of power, but at the same time, it gives veto power to a single person who is not directly elected by the people, rather by an expert group. VERJEE: OK. You say the power really lies in the street. There are a lot of Iranian young people, though, looking toward the west, toward the United States, to influence real change in their country.

Do you think that that's realistic? Do you think that it's effective?

AMIRAHMADI: Well, the U.S. has tremendous leverage against Iran. I think what we need to do is to use the leverage in areas where we have used in the past for creating democracies.

For example, I'm against economic sanctions, but I am for political pressure, pressure to make the regime to open up a political process in the country, to observe human rights, to observe the rule of law and so on. So I think we need to put pressure selectively on the areas where we will be most successful, as opposed to where we have been putting pressure, like on economic side. I think I would take pressure from economic side and put increasingly that pressure on the political side...

VERJEE: OK. Some good perspective on Iran and its future. Hooshang Amirahmadi with Rutgers University. He's also the president of the American-Iranian Council. Thank you so much for joining us on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

AMIRAHMADI: And thank you for having me.

CLANCY: Well, we're going to take a short break, but we'll have the latest on the U.S. and European financial markets when we come back.

VERJEE: And a pressure growing on the White House to respond to that Downing Street Memo on Iraq.

CLANCY: More on the U.S. lawmaker leading the charge, asking for answers to a U.K. memo that suggests the U.S. fixed intelligence to support invading Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back. Let's take a look at some of the stories that are making news around the U.S. right now.

A U.S. staff sergeant in military custody in Kuwait, facing two charges of premeditated murder. Alberto Martinez, a supply specialist from the New York Army National Guard, is accused of killing two of his superior officers at a base in Iraq. Officials say Martinez may have used a hand grenade in the attack that killed Captain Phillip Esposito (ph) and 1st Lieutenant Louis Allen (ph) last week.

President Bush in Minnesota, launching a campaign to promote Medicare's new prescription drug benefit. Mr. Bush says he wants to ensure every senior citizen who is eligible signs up for the coverage, which begins in January. Critics say the option could be confusing to older people and that many may fail to apply for a special low-income subsidy. No serious damage reported in California after a strong earthquake struck Thursday night off the northern Californian coast. A magnitude 6.6 quake rattled the Pacific Ocean floor, this the fourth earthquake in California this week.

VERJEE: Let's check in now on what's moving the markets in the U.S. and in Europe. For that, over to New York and to Gerri Willis.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. I'm Jim Clancy.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. Here are some of the top stories we're following. Iranians voted on Friday in a tightly contested presidential election. The government extended voting time by two hours to give everyone waiting in line the chance to cast ballots. Seven candidates are competing to succeed president Mohammad Khatami. If no candidate captures a majority, the two top vote getters will face each other in a runoff.

A car bomb exploded near a Shia Muslim mosque in Baghdad, Sadr City neighborhood Friday. At least one person killed, eight others wounded. U.S. Marines say they have killed 30 suspected insurgents in the latest anti-insurgent offensive in Anbar province. A thousand U.S. troops and Iraqi soldiers trying to destroy insurgent safe havens along the Syrian border.

European Union leaders remain deadlocked in that Brussels summit, wrestling with sharp divisions over the new E.U. budget. Britain's European partners want to reduce or even scrap its annual rebate of E.U. funds, but Downing Street insists the multimillion euro cash-back makes up for the fact it gets relatively little in farm subsidies.

A Pakistani woman who survived a brutal rape three years ago appears to have borne the brunt of more injustice. Seen widely as a champion for human rights and an international symbol of courage, she was invited to speak in the United States, but her trip has been blocked.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: Like many women in rural Pakistan, Mukhtaran Mai could have killed herself or kept her mouth shut. Instead, this gutsy Pakistani village woman spoke out and told of how she was savagely gang raped, then forced to walk home naked in front of a jeering crowd. A tribal council ordered the gang rape, saying it was the only way to restore her family honor after allegations her brother had a relationship with a woman from a more powerful clan. Mai demanded justice. She testified in court against her alleged captors. Several were convicted, but most were later released after appeals.

MUKHTARAN MAI, RAPE VICTIM (through translator): It was the wrong decision, and I'm very upset. We will go to the supreme court to lodge an appeal. And my hope is that, God willing, I will have your support.

VERJEE: Mai continues to demand justice for hundreds of other women in Pakistan, who are gang raped every year. This week, things turned ugly. Mai was preparing to travel to the United States at the invitation of a Pakistani-American group to talk about the plight of women in her country. But the Pakistani government barred her from leaving. It's widely reported she was put under house arrest and had her phone cut off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were nervous that her speech or her meetings in U.S. is going to hurt Pakistan's interest.

VERJEE: Women's rights activists were lived.

IRSHAD MANJI, WOMEN'S ACTIVIST: That I am rather shocked by the depth of the lack of compassion in all of this. It seems to me that this is a woman who would underscore the power of courage in a country whose own president, President Musharraf, has said that we as Muslims need to be so unenlightened and so unhealthy. It seems to me that his government's actions have contradicted his own words.

VERJEE: A U.S. State Department official said Washington was dismayed. Pakistan was quick to respond with damage control. A Pakistani official announced a $200,000 crisis center would be built for women in her village. Mai was at the news conference, but said little. Her government adviser said Mai was not leaving the country because her mother was ill.

The Pakistani embassy in Washington said, Mrs. Mukhtaran is not under detention and she has no bar on her travelling abroad.

But the head of Pakistan's human rights commission tells CNN, the government is playing games.

ASMA JAHANGIR, PAKISTAN HUMAN RIGHT'S COMMISSION: Government restriction haven't been restricted (ph), but I believe that her passport has been taken away by the government, and she's not allowed to talk about it.

VERJEE: Without a passport, lifting the travel ban is meaningless. The invitation to speak in the U.S. still stands. But with her attackers free, Mai's biggest concern now is her personal safety. The government says it's committed to protecting her, but some are wondering whether it's more interested in protecting Pakistan's international image.

Zain Verjee, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: Mukhtaran Mai has built schools for girls and boys in her village with money she's received. She's even encouraged some of her attackers' children to come to her schools.

We're going to take a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that we were told one thing in America, but in London, they were planning a war all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Members of Congress pressure the United States president to come clean about the Downing Street memo on pre-war intelligence on Iraq.

Welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of international news on CNN International.

Last month a Democratic Congressman sent a letter to the White House, seeking answers about the so-called Downing Street memo. But the Bush administration hasn't responded. Brian Todd has more on the showdown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The story that's made its way from Tony Blair's office to George Bush's, the story the mainstream U.S. media was first blistered for underreporting, now seemingly won't go away.

Nearly three years after it was written, the so-called Downing Street memo on pre-war intelligence is spotlighted in the U.S. Congress, with one man leading the charge.

JOHN CONYERS, DEMOCRATIC HOUSE MEMBER: As many of us find it unacceptable for any administration, be it Democratic or Republican, to put our brave men and women in harm's way based on false information.

TODD: John Conyers, ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is pestering the Bush administration for answers about the memo. And he called four known critics of the administration's war record to a meeting, including former ambassador Joe Wilson, who was at the center of the pre-war intelligence debate.

JOE WILSON, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR: It is increasingly clear that the intelligence and the facts were, indeed, being fixed around the policy and that we sent our troops to war under dubious pretenses.

TODD: Wilson's referring to a meeting between British Prime Minister Blair and his security team in July 2002, before the White House began making its public case for the Iraq War. Minutes of that meeting, first reported last month by the "Times of London" newspaper, were written by the head of British intelligence.

Quote: "Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." Contacted again by CNN, an official in Blair's office doesn't dispute reports of that meeting. But the prime minister and the president have responded to the charge of a preconceived plan for war.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER; The facts were not being fixed in any shape or form at all.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somebody said, well, you know, we had made up our mind to go -- to use military force to deal with Saddam. There's nothing farther from the truth.

TODD: But the White House still hasn't responded to a letter sent last month from Conyers seeking answers about the Downing Street memo. CNN questioned White House press secretary Scott McClellan.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is an individual who voted against the war in the first place and is simply trying to rehash old debates that have already been addressed.

TODD: Rehash or not, Conyers is pounding on the White House door, backed up by people like Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed last year in Baghdad.

CINDY SHEEHAN, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: The deceptions and betrayals that led to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq cost my family a price too dear to pay and almost too much to bear, the precious and young life of Casey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: CNN's Brian Todd reporting.

CLANCY: Well, pressure over the Downing Street memo, falling poll numbers, new calls for an Iraq exit strategy. Is the Bush administration suffering from a general malaise here?

Well, let's bring in senior political analyst Bill Schneider. Hi, Bill.

You look at the Downing Street memo. One side says this is old material gone over before. The Democrats say this is a smoking gun. Does it really matter?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think it does now, for the first time, really, because there's a lot of disillusionment over the war in Iraq. We're seeing very seriously falling poll numbers. Today's CBS News/"New York Times" poll shows only 37 percent of Americans approve of the way President Bush is handling the situation in Iraq. That is driven not primarily by the Downing Street memo revelations, but by the continuing casualties and the lack of any light at the end of the tunnel in Iraq.

Americans wonder how are we going to get out of there, what are we really achieving? The situation looks worse and worse. When the mood is that disillusioned and becoming more and more angry, then Americans begin to say how did we get into this in the first place and news about the Downing Street memo suddenly has an impact.

CLANCY: You know, a lot of people are raising the criticism that they don't see the clear strategy. Now, the Bush administration says there is a strategy and right now we think the best thing to do is stay the course. But with falling poll numbers like this, will there be pressure to chart a new course?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, there will be, and the reason is continuing American and Iraqi losses. Americans are willing to tolerate these tragic losses if they believe there is a plan, there is a victory strategy and there's a way out. So far, they don't see that. And unless they see that, the pressure is going to continue to mount.

CLANCY: How does President Bush -- how will he actively try to counter this?

SCHNEIDER: Well, what the White House is trying to embark on is a communications strategy, to try to explain to the American people what the victory plan is, what are the conditions under which we can get out. We'll see if that works, but he's going to have to do that in a very clear and compelling way.

CLANCY: All right, Bill. So, as everyone looks at the situation, the poll numbers being down over Iraq, have the Democrats really shown that they can take advantage of that? Is the Downing Street memo just a sign of that?

SCHNEIDER: Well, look, both Democrats and Republicans are beginning to go their own way. I think they're worried not just about the way the White House is going, but also the falling numbers for Congress. And what we're seeing is not just Democrats, but Republicans, beginning to say, look, we've got to get our own political cover here. We're on the ballot next year. The president is not. He can't run again. So on Social Security, on the economy, on energy and on Iraq, we're beginning to see Republicans part company with the White House, saying this White House can't offer us political cover anymore.

CLANCY: Senior political analyst Bill Schneider, calling it as it is. Bill, always appreciate you being with us.

SCHNEIDER: My pleasure.

VERJEE: Let's check some other stories making news now across the United States. Police in Aruba have arrested a fourth person in connection with the case of a missing U.S. teenager Natalee Holloway. Meanwhile, prosecutors have asked a judge on the Caribbean island to allow them to continue holding three other young men already in custody. No one has been charged in the case.

For Goodyear blimps, it's usually a case of up, up and away, but this one in Florida came crashing down on Thursday. An investigation into the crash is underway, but bad weather is thought to be responsible. The two people aboard the blimp at the time escaped without injury. In a more innocent age, Boston was known as Beantown. But that might change. A new U.S. government survey says the college towns of Boston and Boulder, Colorado, lead the U.S. in marijuana use. In Boston, home of such prestigious schools as Boston University and Northeastern and just a short hop from Harvard, more than 12 percent of those surveyed reported smoking pot over the last 30 days. In Boulder, the figure was more than 10 percent.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: So where does your pampered pooch go when a dog biscuit just isn't enough?

CLANCY: Well, after the break, we're going to take you for a look at the doggy party circuit, where canine consumers can peruse the pupper-ware.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Well, you of course know about those old tupperware parties where housewives hosted get-togethers and tried to sell plastic holders. What do you call them?

VERJEE: No, no. Well, tupperware apparently has given way to pupper-ware, house parties all about pets rather than plastics.

CLANCY: Our Jeanne Moos takes a look at what's new for the four- legged consumer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CORRESPONDENT: Does the idea of combining shopping with socializing leave you panting with excitement? Prepare for a pupper-ware party, the four-legged version of that blast from a past.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a Tupperware party and it's really fun.

MOOS: You want fun? Invite a dozen or so friends and their dogs to somebody's house, where a pet consultant demonstrates a table full of products.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have something called Stud Spritz.

MOOS: From dog cologne to pet breath mints...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will if you will.

MOOS: Actually, they weren't bad.

Or maybe your dog's dried, cracked paws could use a little paw balm -- and what does the hostess who volunteers her house get out of this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get a percentage.

MOOS: A percentage worth of free pet products. A pet consultant who goes from house to house gets a percentage of the sales.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I average probably about $200 for myself out of every party.

MOOS: And what did Bailey get? The product called the Tugginator. The Tugginator was designed for tugging, not chewing, so once Bailey destroyed it, they gave him an indestructible rubber bone.

Pets are encouraged to test products at pupper-ware parties. They're run by an outfit called Shure Pets. Shure Pets competition is another company called Petlane.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your carseat belt either goes through here...

MOOS: From dog seatbelts to the Thing-a-ma-jig, Petlane prides itself on stimulating products like the Bear Hug, with the pressure activated heartbeat to soothe your pet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You actually hear boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

MOOS: Instead of hugging his bear, Dylan here chewed, licked, and dragged it. Petlane invites owners but not dogs to its house "pawties" as it calls them, fearing dogs may fight. That was not the case at the Shure Pet party where Reagan conked out while Freddy and Bailey took turns catching popcorn -- popcorn for dogs.

The only problem with this pupper-ware party was the pupper-wear- and-tear on the brand new white rug, baptized with Paw Balm. Maybe they can used the medicated dog shampoo they're sniffing to shampoo the rug.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoops.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, Rye, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: More news straight ahead. I'm Zain Verjee.

I'm Jim Clancy. This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired June 17, 2005 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Iran's election. Polling hours are extended in a presidential race too close to call.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: House arrest. A Pakistani woman gang- raped as punishment has been banned by her government from traveling to the U.S. to speak about her ordeal.

VERJEE: Downing Street Memo. U.S. politicians stage a quiet protest in Washington over a prewar intelligence statement.

CLANCY: And chew on this: Jeanne Moos on parties for pampered pets.

It is 10:30 at night in Tehran, noon in Washington. I'm Jim Clancy.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. A warm welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: Your window to the world on CNN International.

We're going to begin our report in Iran, where people are casting ballots this day in a presidential election that appears to be too close to call.

VERJEE: The government has extended voting by two hours to give people waiting in line a chance to take part.

CLANCY: We don't have any reports, official at least, yet, on the turnout. None of the seven candidates is really expected to get the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright.

VERJEE: That would mean a runoff between the two top vote- getters sometime next week.

Opinion polls put former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as the front-runner. Second place appears to be a contest between a reformist candidate and a former police chief who appeals to conservatives. All the candidates are appealing to the youth vote.

Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour joins us now from Tehran.

Christiane, is a runoff inevitable? CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, it's hard to say. Obviously, if the person with the most votes doesn't get the 50 percent plus one in order to win, then, yes, there will be a runoff.

Many people did predict that there would be one. And if there is one, it will be unprecedented in Iranian presidential elections.

Up until about 2:00 p.m. local time, which was several hours ago, the interior ministry said that there were 14 million votes counted. Now, that's out of a potential 48 million eligible votes, and by my rough calculations, that makes about 30 percent turnout at around 2:00 p.m.

It may be more now. We just don't know.

The poll stations that we visited were not overly crowded. In fact, quite the opposite. There were a couple of hours during the day when there were -- you know, there was quite a lot of activity. But for the most part, they were not overly crowded. And many people are telling us that, in fact, the turnout is considerably less than it was during the previous round of presidential elections.

Remember, eight years ago, there was a huge amount of excitement, a massive, overwhelming tournament that swept uniformist President Khatami to an unexpected landslide victory. Right now, what we're hearing informally is Hashemi Rafsanjani, as expected, has a slight lead. And we're being told that the -- that the reform candidate, Mostafa Moin, is probably in second place with Qalibaf, who is a former police chief, former revolutionary guard commander in potentially third place.

But we cannot give you that for sure. We simply don't have official results right now. These are mostly anecdotal and coming from the campaign headquarters themselves -- Zain.

VERJEE: Do Iranians expect any of the presidential hopefuls, Christiane, to be in a position to fix, if you will, relations with the United States?

AMANPOUR: Well, the majority of Iranians have already cast their vote on that issue. They want better relations with the external world, and they want ties restored with the United States.

People tell us that over and over again. And they told us that during the eight years of President Khatami as well. I think that's definitely something that's not even in question. They want that to happen.

One of the -- like we've been talking about, the front-line candidate here, the front-runner, Rafsanjani, told us in an interview that he also thought that it was time to have a new chapter in relations between Iran and the United States. So a lot of people are talking about that.

But for the most part, this election really is, I think, symbolized by a lot of political apathy and alienation, and by people really wanting to see at the least if they can get a better deal for themselves, better job, a better economy, more freedom, a little bit more fun in their -- in their personal lives. And that's what they're going for.

And every single candidate has cast himself as a reformist and a democrat, have all appealed to the young people. And this really is the legacy and the influence of Khatami that looms really large over this election, even though his presidency is considered a failed one by many disappointed and disillusioned Iranians who voted for reform -- Zain.

VERJEE: In Tehran, CNN's Chief International Correspondent, Christian Amanpour.

CLANCY: Now, the election, as Christiane was outlining there, could mean a return to more radical Islamist theocracy. It could be, as she said, another step towards political and social reform. Whatever the outcome, the results are very likely to reverberate far beyond the country's borders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY (voice-over): It is not only Iran's 68 million people who have a stake in Friday's vote and any runoff election. Given the power still in the hands of clerics who have barred most reformers from even running, life inside Iran is predicted to change little, no matter who emerges victorious. But the new president may influence how Iran deals with critical negotiations over the future of its nuclear enrichment program, a program critics say aims to develop nuclear weapons, despite official denials.

The elections come at a critical stage as Britain, France and Germany try to negotiate with Iran to end nuclear enrichment tests and procedures. There is also concern about how Iran is influencing the Shia Muslim majority in neighboring Iraq. Armed militants like those loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr have openly fought U.S. troops, while other troops, no less potent, have long-running ties across the border in Iran that are suspected of trying to steer Iraq toward an Islamic state. Such a move could thwart U.S. hopes Iraq will emerge as a pluralist democracy.

Iranian influence extends across the Middle East to Lebanon, where Tehran helps arm and train Hezbollah fighters. Again, Iranian influence among Lebanon's sizable Shia Muslim community and Hezbollah's involvement in terrorist activity causes concerns.

Iran openly backed Syrian's troop presence in Lebanon as thousands of Lebanese took to the streets earlier this year calling for Syrian troops to get out. Now, with Damascus forces across the border, Tehran is expected to dig in its heels and oppose disarming the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: It may all come down to just how much influence and power the presidency in Iran has, and, really, how much the new president will wield that power.

For more on the election day in Iran, you can log on to the international edition of our Web site. You can find it at cnn.com/international.

The U.S. Marines are on the move in western Iraq. Military officials say dozens of insurgents have been killed in the latest effort to wipe out strongholds near the Syrian border. CNN's Jane Arraf has been embedded with the U.S. Marines in Karabila. She will be joining us a little bit later.

VERJEE: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has held a rare meeting with a South Korean official. The meeting took place in Pyongyang with South Korea's unification minister, who was in the country as part of a celebration marking the fifth anniversary of the first and only North-South summit. Chung Dong-young called for a resolution to North Korea's nuclear ambitions and delivered a verbal message from South Korea's president.

Our Sohn Jie-Ae said the meeting sends a strong signal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The very symbolism of Kim Jong- il meeting someone, the unification minister from South Korea, seems to indicate that he's there to send a message of some sort, if not to show that he is there and willing to listen, if not just to send a message to both South Korea and the outside world. When he did have that summit with the South Korean president, Kim Jong-il -- Kim Dae- jung five years ago, it opened the floodgates for a number of reconciliation projects between South and North Korea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Chung is the first senior South Korean official to meet with the North Korean president in three years.

More turmoil in the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan. In advance of July elections, hundreds of supporters of the presidential candidate being kept off the ballot stormed government headquarters. Troops with riot shields tear gas drove them back. The election was called after the uprising two months ago that ousted Kyrgyzstan's previous president.

CLANCY: Well, U.S. Marines involved now in what is being called Operation Spear. It is aimed to interdict insurgents believed infiltrating from Syria into Iraq.

CNN's Jane Arraf has been following developments in that general area along the border between Iraq and Syria. She joins us now.

What has been happening there, Jane?

JANE ARRAF, CNN SR. BAGHDAD CORRESPONDENT: Jim, we're actually in the heart of the battle. We are in the city of Karabila, about five miles, 7 kilometers from the Syrian border. And this battle has been going on since morning.

When the Marines came in -- and they came in with about a thousand troops, including an Iraqi contingent -- they were met by gunfire, mortars, rockets. All this evidence that this is indeed a stronghold of foreign fighters, Jim. They believe there are at least 100 foreign fighters here still coming across through Syria and going on to the rest of the country to launch attacks.

They have come in here to find and, in most cases, kill those people, as well as make sure that this does not continue to be a safe haven for insurgents -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, tell us a little bit about the town. What has been its -- you know, its history? Has it been under the control of Iraqi police, or has it been another one of those border areas that hasn't been under anybody's control?

ARRAF: The really interesting thing, Jim, is that this part of the country is very, very different from Baghdad. Even though geographically not that far away, it couldn't -- there's a world of difference.

Police here have not been seen in a long, long time. There are very few cities in western Al Anbar and Anbar province in general where there is a functioning police force. They're simply too afraid, they're too intimidated by insurgents, or, in some cases, on the side of insurgents.

There are virtually no Iraqi forces. They're brought in, in this case, by the Marines. There is no government.

So it's part of what's been termed as the wild, wild west. And indeed it is. The only law and order there is, if there is any, is just brought here by the Marines.

And what we are seeing is a very intense battle, where they are using every weapon at their disposal. And there is a cost here. There are buildings that are being damaged, there are civilians who have fled the city. It's quite intense -- Jim.

CLANCY: Jane Arraf, as always, there on the front lines, right in the middle of the battle in Operation Spear going on at this hour along the border with Syria inside Iraq. We'll have more from Jane in the hours ahead.

Well, European Union leaders are meeting on the sidelines of their Brussels summit. They're trying to break a deadlock in the negotiations over the budget of the European Union.

This battle involves a $120 billion spending plan and it comes right on the heels of the EU's constitution crisis. Britain is refusing to bow to demands by other EU nations led by France to surrender its annual budget rebate. Britain says it's going to consider a change only, only if EU farm subsidies, which especially benefit France, are chopped back. Well, joining us with a little bit more on the deepening EU crisis, Gideon Rachman. He's the Brussels bureau chief for "The Economist."

Gideon, you look at the situation that is going on there. Is there really any hope that the EU ministers are going to be able to decide on this budget? Or must they?

GIDEON RACHMAN, "THE ECONOMIST": Well, they're still talking. And apparently, the chairman of the talks, the Luxembourg prime minister, made an emotional appeal over lunch and said, look, chaps, the EU is already in crisis, we've got to get a deal on this. And they then went off and had some meetings in hotels around town. They just started again.

But if you look at the formal positions of the two sides, it is very hard to see how they're going to reach an agreement. Both the French and the British are sounding pretty hard-lined. So I would guess there won't be a deal. But until they actually break up and tell us they failed, we can't say that for certain.

CLANCY: All right. That's on the budget. But it's all against the backdrop of a rejection of the EU constitution by the Netherlands, by France. Now Spain -- or Portugal saying it's not going to even hold the vote. Are there a lot of people saying we've got to slow down the whole notion of this united Europe?

RACHMAN: Yes, I think so. I mean, not the leaders. The leaders seem to be in a little bubble of their own, where they're saying, well, yes, there's been a setback in France and the Netherlands, but we'll continue with the process, maybe we'll delay it a little bit.

But I think that most observers are now pretty cynical about it. I don't really see how they can revive this constitution, because to enforce it, it has to be approved by all 25 countries. The Dutch foreign minister, for example, at this very summit said there's no way the Netherlands is going to vote again on the same treaty unamended.

And so I don't think that they can bring it into force. But they're reluctant to say that out clearly. So they're pretending sort of that they can revive it, but it's hard to see.

CLANCY: You know, back to the economics of it all -- and that's what the main thrust of this meeting is about -- Britain telling France, you give up your farm subsidies, we'll think about giving up some of our multibillion-dollar rebate from the European Union. These sides are pretty far apart. A lot of outsiders looking at this center of the debate and wondering, will those two sides ever give an inch?

RACHMAN: Well, they'll have to at some point, unless the EU really just fails to reach a budget. But there's a slightly artificial air of crisis here.

They're talking it up and saying, we've got to agree here and now. Actually, they know that they can stumble on for another year without a budget agreement. And I think because the two sides are very dug in, because they know that their deadline is slightly artificial, it's likely that they'll continue with this game of brinkmanship. But eventually they will have to split their differences.

CLANCY: Gideon, just very quickly, what effect is that having on all of the smaller countries that are just joining the EU?

RACHMAN: Well, they're very unhappy about it because they stand to be the big beneficiaries. Essentially, what the EU budget does is transfer large amounts of money from the richer members of the EU to the poorer members of the EU.

Now, the 10 new countries are, above all, poorer countries, and they can see this tantalizing prospect of billions of euros moving from western Europe to the east. But until the budget deal is signed and sealed, they won't get that money. So they're very anxious to get a deal and very frustrated that the French and British are still bickering.

CLANCY: All right. Gideon Rachman, of "The Economist." Our thanks to you for joining us live.

VERJEE: Just ahead, we're going to take a look at the headlines in the United States.

CLANCY: Also, presidential elections going on in Iran.

VERJEE: How much influence can an Iranian president really have? We'll bring you some analysis next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The sad thing about Iran is it's moving backwards, not forward. There are some places where the trend line is moving direct -- moving forward, and some places where the trend line is moving in the wrong direction. I think everyone would say that the Iranian system, political system, was more open a few years ago than it is now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of international news on CNN International.

And you just heard the U.S. secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, commenting on the Iranian presidential election. The U.S. has a long and complex relationship with Iran. To explore that and more, we go now to Hooshang Amirahmadi with Rutgers University. He's also the president of the American-Iranian Council.

Thanks so much for joining us.

HOOSHANG AMIRAHMADI, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Thank you. Condoleezza rice saying, look, Iran is going backwards, not forwards. U.S. President George W. Bush also saying that the elections are deeply flawed.

Are they right?

AMIRAHMADI: It is flawed. And the U-turn is not yet complete. But there is a return to backwards.

I think the system is flawed because the Guardian Council has to screen a small group of people whom they believe are loyal to the system, or practicing Muslims and so on. And therefore, a lot of people, a good number of Iranians, stay outside the process.

That includes myself, who was running for presidency and got disapproved by the council. And women are not running -- cannot run either.

VERJEE: OK. Guardian Council, unelected clerics that have veto power. So if that's the case, how much power does a president of Iran really have? How much can they influence?

AMIRAHMADI: Iran's power -- Iran's president's power really has to do with the power of the people. The power in Tehran or in Iran is in the streets. And unless and until a president is willing to use that power, it will not have the power to change significantly the system to make it more democratic than it is.

VERJEE: Why have they been unwilling to use it?

AMIRAHMADI: I think because most of the people that become president are very loyal to the system and they don't want to make any mistake or take any risk with the people. They're afraid that if they bring the people to the streets, they will not be able to return them home.

VERJEE: Whoever wins the presidential election in Iran, do you think that it will change Iran's stance toward nuclear negotiations, its relationship with the west, with the United States, even with events in Iraq?

AMIRAHMADI: Again, it all has to do who is elected and whether that person is willing to use the power of the people. Iranian people want normalization with the United States. They want a peaceful relation with the rest of the world.

Iran is like a room locked with the key in the hands of the United States. The next president must be able to get this key and open the door.

Whether they can do it or not, it depends on how far the president can go to use the power of the people, vis-a-vis the system, actually, because the Iranian constitution gives the Iranian people a lot of power, but at the same time, it gives veto power to a single person who is not directly elected by the people, rather by an expert group. VERJEE: OK. You say the power really lies in the street. There are a lot of Iranian young people, though, looking toward the west, toward the United States, to influence real change in their country.

Do you think that that's realistic? Do you think that it's effective?

AMIRAHMADI: Well, the U.S. has tremendous leverage against Iran. I think what we need to do is to use the leverage in areas where we have used in the past for creating democracies.

For example, I'm against economic sanctions, but I am for political pressure, pressure to make the regime to open up a political process in the country, to observe human rights, to observe the rule of law and so on. So I think we need to put pressure selectively on the areas where we will be most successful, as opposed to where we have been putting pressure, like on economic side. I think I would take pressure from economic side and put increasingly that pressure on the political side...

VERJEE: OK. Some good perspective on Iran and its future. Hooshang Amirahmadi with Rutgers University. He's also the president of the American-Iranian Council. Thank you so much for joining us on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

AMIRAHMADI: And thank you for having me.

CLANCY: Well, we're going to take a short break, but we'll have the latest on the U.S. and European financial markets when we come back.

VERJEE: And a pressure growing on the White House to respond to that Downing Street Memo on Iraq.

CLANCY: More on the U.S. lawmaker leading the charge, asking for answers to a U.K. memo that suggests the U.S. fixed intelligence to support invading Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back. Let's take a look at some of the stories that are making news around the U.S. right now.

A U.S. staff sergeant in military custody in Kuwait, facing two charges of premeditated murder. Alberto Martinez, a supply specialist from the New York Army National Guard, is accused of killing two of his superior officers at a base in Iraq. Officials say Martinez may have used a hand grenade in the attack that killed Captain Phillip Esposito (ph) and 1st Lieutenant Louis Allen (ph) last week.

President Bush in Minnesota, launching a campaign to promote Medicare's new prescription drug benefit. Mr. Bush says he wants to ensure every senior citizen who is eligible signs up for the coverage, which begins in January. Critics say the option could be confusing to older people and that many may fail to apply for a special low-income subsidy. No serious damage reported in California after a strong earthquake struck Thursday night off the northern Californian coast. A magnitude 6.6 quake rattled the Pacific Ocean floor, this the fourth earthquake in California this week.

VERJEE: Let's check in now on what's moving the markets in the U.S. and in Europe. For that, over to New York and to Gerri Willis.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. I'm Jim Clancy.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. Here are some of the top stories we're following. Iranians voted on Friday in a tightly contested presidential election. The government extended voting time by two hours to give everyone waiting in line the chance to cast ballots. Seven candidates are competing to succeed president Mohammad Khatami. If no candidate captures a majority, the two top vote getters will face each other in a runoff.

A car bomb exploded near a Shia Muslim mosque in Baghdad, Sadr City neighborhood Friday. At least one person killed, eight others wounded. U.S. Marines say they have killed 30 suspected insurgents in the latest anti-insurgent offensive in Anbar province. A thousand U.S. troops and Iraqi soldiers trying to destroy insurgent safe havens along the Syrian border.

European Union leaders remain deadlocked in that Brussels summit, wrestling with sharp divisions over the new E.U. budget. Britain's European partners want to reduce or even scrap its annual rebate of E.U. funds, but Downing Street insists the multimillion euro cash-back makes up for the fact it gets relatively little in farm subsidies.

A Pakistani woman who survived a brutal rape three years ago appears to have borne the brunt of more injustice. Seen widely as a champion for human rights and an international symbol of courage, she was invited to speak in the United States, but her trip has been blocked.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: Like many women in rural Pakistan, Mukhtaran Mai could have killed herself or kept her mouth shut. Instead, this gutsy Pakistani village woman spoke out and told of how she was savagely gang raped, then forced to walk home naked in front of a jeering crowd. A tribal council ordered the gang rape, saying it was the only way to restore her family honor after allegations her brother had a relationship with a woman from a more powerful clan. Mai demanded justice. She testified in court against her alleged captors. Several were convicted, but most were later released after appeals.

MUKHTARAN MAI, RAPE VICTIM (through translator): It was the wrong decision, and I'm very upset. We will go to the supreme court to lodge an appeal. And my hope is that, God willing, I will have your support.

VERJEE: Mai continues to demand justice for hundreds of other women in Pakistan, who are gang raped every year. This week, things turned ugly. Mai was preparing to travel to the United States at the invitation of a Pakistani-American group to talk about the plight of women in her country. But the Pakistani government barred her from leaving. It's widely reported she was put under house arrest and had her phone cut off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were nervous that her speech or her meetings in U.S. is going to hurt Pakistan's interest.

VERJEE: Women's rights activists were lived.

IRSHAD MANJI, WOMEN'S ACTIVIST: That I am rather shocked by the depth of the lack of compassion in all of this. It seems to me that this is a woman who would underscore the power of courage in a country whose own president, President Musharraf, has said that we as Muslims need to be so unenlightened and so unhealthy. It seems to me that his government's actions have contradicted his own words.

VERJEE: A U.S. State Department official said Washington was dismayed. Pakistan was quick to respond with damage control. A Pakistani official announced a $200,000 crisis center would be built for women in her village. Mai was at the news conference, but said little. Her government adviser said Mai was not leaving the country because her mother was ill.

The Pakistani embassy in Washington said, Mrs. Mukhtaran is not under detention and she has no bar on her travelling abroad.

But the head of Pakistan's human rights commission tells CNN, the government is playing games.

ASMA JAHANGIR, PAKISTAN HUMAN RIGHT'S COMMISSION: Government restriction haven't been restricted (ph), but I believe that her passport has been taken away by the government, and she's not allowed to talk about it.

VERJEE: Without a passport, lifting the travel ban is meaningless. The invitation to speak in the U.S. still stands. But with her attackers free, Mai's biggest concern now is her personal safety. The government says it's committed to protecting her, but some are wondering whether it's more interested in protecting Pakistan's international image.

Zain Verjee, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: Mukhtaran Mai has built schools for girls and boys in her village with money she's received. She's even encouraged some of her attackers' children to come to her schools.

We're going to take a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that we were told one thing in America, but in London, they were planning a war all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Members of Congress pressure the United States president to come clean about the Downing Street memo on pre-war intelligence on Iraq.

Welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of international news on CNN International.

Last month a Democratic Congressman sent a letter to the White House, seeking answers about the so-called Downing Street memo. But the Bush administration hasn't responded. Brian Todd has more on the showdown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The story that's made its way from Tony Blair's office to George Bush's, the story the mainstream U.S. media was first blistered for underreporting, now seemingly won't go away.

Nearly three years after it was written, the so-called Downing Street memo on pre-war intelligence is spotlighted in the U.S. Congress, with one man leading the charge.

JOHN CONYERS, DEMOCRATIC HOUSE MEMBER: As many of us find it unacceptable for any administration, be it Democratic or Republican, to put our brave men and women in harm's way based on false information.

TODD: John Conyers, ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is pestering the Bush administration for answers about the memo. And he called four known critics of the administration's war record to a meeting, including former ambassador Joe Wilson, who was at the center of the pre-war intelligence debate.

JOE WILSON, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR: It is increasingly clear that the intelligence and the facts were, indeed, being fixed around the policy and that we sent our troops to war under dubious pretenses.

TODD: Wilson's referring to a meeting between British Prime Minister Blair and his security team in July 2002, before the White House began making its public case for the Iraq War. Minutes of that meeting, first reported last month by the "Times of London" newspaper, were written by the head of British intelligence.

Quote: "Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." Contacted again by CNN, an official in Blair's office doesn't dispute reports of that meeting. But the prime minister and the president have responded to the charge of a preconceived plan for war.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER; The facts were not being fixed in any shape or form at all.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somebody said, well, you know, we had made up our mind to go -- to use military force to deal with Saddam. There's nothing farther from the truth.

TODD: But the White House still hasn't responded to a letter sent last month from Conyers seeking answers about the Downing Street memo. CNN questioned White House press secretary Scott McClellan.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is an individual who voted against the war in the first place and is simply trying to rehash old debates that have already been addressed.

TODD: Rehash or not, Conyers is pounding on the White House door, backed up by people like Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed last year in Baghdad.

CINDY SHEEHAN, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: The deceptions and betrayals that led to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq cost my family a price too dear to pay and almost too much to bear, the precious and young life of Casey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: CNN's Brian Todd reporting.

CLANCY: Well, pressure over the Downing Street memo, falling poll numbers, new calls for an Iraq exit strategy. Is the Bush administration suffering from a general malaise here?

Well, let's bring in senior political analyst Bill Schneider. Hi, Bill.

You look at the Downing Street memo. One side says this is old material gone over before. The Democrats say this is a smoking gun. Does it really matter?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think it does now, for the first time, really, because there's a lot of disillusionment over the war in Iraq. We're seeing very seriously falling poll numbers. Today's CBS News/"New York Times" poll shows only 37 percent of Americans approve of the way President Bush is handling the situation in Iraq. That is driven not primarily by the Downing Street memo revelations, but by the continuing casualties and the lack of any light at the end of the tunnel in Iraq.

Americans wonder how are we going to get out of there, what are we really achieving? The situation looks worse and worse. When the mood is that disillusioned and becoming more and more angry, then Americans begin to say how did we get into this in the first place and news about the Downing Street memo suddenly has an impact.

CLANCY: You know, a lot of people are raising the criticism that they don't see the clear strategy. Now, the Bush administration says there is a strategy and right now we think the best thing to do is stay the course. But with falling poll numbers like this, will there be pressure to chart a new course?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, there will be, and the reason is continuing American and Iraqi losses. Americans are willing to tolerate these tragic losses if they believe there is a plan, there is a victory strategy and there's a way out. So far, they don't see that. And unless they see that, the pressure is going to continue to mount.

CLANCY: How does President Bush -- how will he actively try to counter this?

SCHNEIDER: Well, what the White House is trying to embark on is a communications strategy, to try to explain to the American people what the victory plan is, what are the conditions under which we can get out. We'll see if that works, but he's going to have to do that in a very clear and compelling way.

CLANCY: All right, Bill. So, as everyone looks at the situation, the poll numbers being down over Iraq, have the Democrats really shown that they can take advantage of that? Is the Downing Street memo just a sign of that?

SCHNEIDER: Well, look, both Democrats and Republicans are beginning to go their own way. I think they're worried not just about the way the White House is going, but also the falling numbers for Congress. And what we're seeing is not just Democrats, but Republicans, beginning to say, look, we've got to get our own political cover here. We're on the ballot next year. The president is not. He can't run again. So on Social Security, on the economy, on energy and on Iraq, we're beginning to see Republicans part company with the White House, saying this White House can't offer us political cover anymore.

CLANCY: Senior political analyst Bill Schneider, calling it as it is. Bill, always appreciate you being with us.

SCHNEIDER: My pleasure.

VERJEE: Let's check some other stories making news now across the United States. Police in Aruba have arrested a fourth person in connection with the case of a missing U.S. teenager Natalee Holloway. Meanwhile, prosecutors have asked a judge on the Caribbean island to allow them to continue holding three other young men already in custody. No one has been charged in the case.

For Goodyear blimps, it's usually a case of up, up and away, but this one in Florida came crashing down on Thursday. An investigation into the crash is underway, but bad weather is thought to be responsible. The two people aboard the blimp at the time escaped without injury. In a more innocent age, Boston was known as Beantown. But that might change. A new U.S. government survey says the college towns of Boston and Boulder, Colorado, lead the U.S. in marijuana use. In Boston, home of such prestigious schools as Boston University and Northeastern and just a short hop from Harvard, more than 12 percent of those surveyed reported smoking pot over the last 30 days. In Boulder, the figure was more than 10 percent.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: So where does your pampered pooch go when a dog biscuit just isn't enough?

CLANCY: Well, after the break, we're going to take you for a look at the doggy party circuit, where canine consumers can peruse the pupper-ware.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Well, you of course know about those old tupperware parties where housewives hosted get-togethers and tried to sell plastic holders. What do you call them?

VERJEE: No, no. Well, tupperware apparently has given way to pupper-ware, house parties all about pets rather than plastics.

CLANCY: Our Jeanne Moos takes a look at what's new for the four- legged consumer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CORRESPONDENT: Does the idea of combining shopping with socializing leave you panting with excitement? Prepare for a pupper-ware party, the four-legged version of that blast from a past.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a Tupperware party and it's really fun.

MOOS: You want fun? Invite a dozen or so friends and their dogs to somebody's house, where a pet consultant demonstrates a table full of products.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have something called Stud Spritz.

MOOS: From dog cologne to pet breath mints...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will if you will.

MOOS: Actually, they weren't bad.

Or maybe your dog's dried, cracked paws could use a little paw balm -- and what does the hostess who volunteers her house get out of this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get a percentage.

MOOS: A percentage worth of free pet products. A pet consultant who goes from house to house gets a percentage of the sales.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I average probably about $200 for myself out of every party.

MOOS: And what did Bailey get? The product called the Tugginator. The Tugginator was designed for tugging, not chewing, so once Bailey destroyed it, they gave him an indestructible rubber bone.

Pets are encouraged to test products at pupper-ware parties. They're run by an outfit called Shure Pets. Shure Pets competition is another company called Petlane.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your carseat belt either goes through here...

MOOS: From dog seatbelts to the Thing-a-ma-jig, Petlane prides itself on stimulating products like the Bear Hug, with the pressure activated heartbeat to soothe your pet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You actually hear boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

MOOS: Instead of hugging his bear, Dylan here chewed, licked, and dragged it. Petlane invites owners but not dogs to its house "pawties" as it calls them, fearing dogs may fight. That was not the case at the Shure Pet party where Reagan conked out while Freddy and Bailey took turns catching popcorn -- popcorn for dogs.

The only problem with this pupper-ware party was the pupper-wear- and-tear on the brand new white rug, baptized with Paw Balm. Maybe they can used the medicated dog shampoo they're sniffing to shampoo the rug.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoops.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, Rye, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: More news straight ahead. I'm Zain Verjee.

I'm Jim Clancy. This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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