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CNN Live Sunday

Interview with Sarah MacDonald; Clintons Delay Israel Trip, Visit Bombing Site In Amman

Aired November 13, 2005 - 18:00   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin. To our top story in just a moment. But first, these are the stories making news right now.
President Bush leaves tomorrow for a week-long trip to Asia. He will visit Japan, South Korea and China, and will finish the trip by becoming the first U.S. president to go to Mongolia.

Speaking out in Israel, Condoleezza Rice says there is hope for democracy in the Middle East. She is also visiting the West Bank to meet with the Palestinian president. And then move on to Jordan tomorrow.

Scenes of destruction in Iowa, tornadoes rip through the state yesterday killing at least one person. Dozens of homes have been leveled.

And this is our top story tonight. She planned to kill herself, and as many other people as she could: a woman involved in last week's suicide bombings in Jordan is telling her story. It is frightening, but illuminating. CNN's Brent Sadler is in Amman this evening right now.

Brent, so many were struck by the fact that this was a woman, a female suicide bomber.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed. It was the first time Jordan had been hit by suicide bombers. And certainly the revelation by the authorities that they picked up this would-be female suicide bomber has certainly sent shockwaves through the Jordanian capital. This is part of this woman suicide bomber's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER (voice-over): She is the human bomb that failed to explode. Saijida al Rashawi (ph), sent from Iraq to strike Jordan. A chilling display of the explosives, wired and taught by her husband to kill.

Handling the plastic-wrapped detonator she says malfunctioned. Calmly confessing to the camera how they prepared their double attack.

SAIJIDA AL RASHAWI (ph), ATTEMPTED BOMBING (through translator): There was a wedding at the hotel, with children, women and men inside. My husband detonated. I tried to explode, but it wouldn't. People fled running, and I left running with them. SADLER: Fleeing death and destruction here at Amman's Radisson Hotel.

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton inspects the blast sight with his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, sickened by the confession.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Why would such a person do this, at her age come in here and ruin these people's lives? What twisted logic and thinking did that? And we should go after it.

SADLER: The televised confession came as thousands of Jordanians took to the streets, expressing sorrow and solidarity after the attacks.

(on camera): The showing of that video, an attempt to strip away the legitimacy claimed by suicide bombers, that their attacks are justified in the name of Islam.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are sick people. I don't know what happened. The brainwash that they got from whoever it is.

SADLER (voice-over): But here, too, controversial opinions, shared by many Jordanians with Palestinian roots that will enrage Israelis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are subject to terrorism from Israel, from these kind of people like Zarqawi, from al Qaeda, we consider all these parties as a terrorist parties.

SADLER: Jordanians striving to reconcile extreme differences towards terrorism in society here while overcoming their sorrow for the victims.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER: Well, that televised confession will only represent part of the interrogation that Saijira al-Rashawi (ph) went through with Jordanian authorities. She was picked up just after dawn local time here in Jordan. They've extracted a lot of information from her. But they're going to want, Carol, to extract a lot more information about exactly who sent the team of bombers, precisely how they got in and perhaps most importantly of all, whether or not there is still an existing terror network here, and perhaps more bombers sleeping possibly ready to strike again.

LIN: Brent, what are they likely to do with her, though, once the questioning is over?

SADLER: Once the questioning is over, the officials here are telling me she will face charges. She will undergo court procedures. She will face trial under Jordanian law. And already, many of the people I've been speaking to have said that she should receive the harshest of punishments, which would be execution here.

LIN: Brent Sadler, thank you very much. Brent in Amman. Now, one question many are asking today is why this woman's confession was broadcast on television? Well, she appeared on Jordanian State TV. And by all appearances she was calm and straightforward as she spelled out her husband's deadly plans.

On "LATE EDITION" with Wolf Blitzer, Jordan's deputy prime minister told CNN that the people of his country needed to hear everything directly from her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARWAN MUASHER, JORDANIAN DEP. PRIME MINISTER: Well, Jordan has went through a lot in the last three days. And the Jordanian public wanted to know exactly what went on. We felt it would give the Jordanian public some relief to hear some details of the operation, which is why the confession was put on TV.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: So imagine what the scene was like after those bombings. Among the casualties of those suicide attacks, a prominent filmmaker. Moustapha Akkad was born in Syria, and he was buried there today. Akkad and his daughter both died in the Amman hotel explosions while in town for a wedding. Moustapha Akkad is best known in this country for producing the Halloween horror movie series. His daughter was 34 and he was 70.

Now, at 10:00 tonight, much more on the suicide bomber story, including my interview with our military intelligence analyst Ken Robinson. We are going to break down detail by detail the nature of those explosives, how she got in there, how the Jordanian officials tracked this woman and the culprits down. That's at 10:00 Eastern. A man who has information that nobody else has. So stay tuned.

Now, in Iowa, the Red Cross has set up a relief center for victims of yesterday's tornadoes. At least one person was killed, and dozens of homes were destroyed. Eric Hanson from our affiliate KCCI has the report from the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC HANSON, KCCI CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the hours before sunset, Woodward went from quiet small town to tornado victim.

DELLAS KEELING, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I saw all this debris swirling, and real quick tried to find a place to hide.

HANSON: The southeast corner of town they hit the deck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew it was headed right at us. I knew it.

HANSON: Mike Ramsey was watching TV.

MIKE RAMSEY, TORNADO SURVIVOR: And I looked off to the southwest and could see it coming across that field. And that's when I told my wife, I said, OK this is it. We've got to go to the basement now. HANSON: While cars were getting tossed and walls were getting crushed above the ground Mike and his family heard it pass overhead.

RAMSEY: Got huddled up in a corning, hang on to some pipes that were overhead. And rode it out.

HANSON: When he surfaced, he found trees snapped, buildings ripped apart, a nightmare scene playing right off his front deck.

RAMSEY: Well, it's destroyed pretty near the whole neighborhood. Right through here, all these houses are gone. My son lives right over across the street and you can see that house is no higher than ten feet high right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want everybody out of here!

HANSON: Within minutes rescue crews arrived, going door to door searching for some victims while trying to prevent more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gas leaks. If anybody's injured. If any of the power's still going.

HANSON: The realty building was destroyed. The Caseys got hit hard, too. So did dozens of homes. A corner of town turned upside down, debris everywhere and survival stories from everyone.

DOUG ZINNEL, TORNADO SURVIVOR: As it went over the house, they got pictures of it.

HANSON: Including Doug Zinnel, who thought he left the destruction behind.

ZINNEL: Well, we lived in Kinner, Louisiana just right south of the Lake Pontchartrain.

HANSON: Now just weeks after one disaster, another one. Second cleanup job that will start once the sun rises again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And already, another tornado warning, this time in Florida. Dave Hennen at the CNN weather center -- Dave.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: Now, coming up next on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, dramatic undercover images from North Korea's concentration camps. You'll see the starvation, the hardship and the deaths.

And what happens if terrorism comes to your town? Well, this was the scene of a drill in downtown Atlanta today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Well, you just saw it, tonight, "CNN PRESENTS" gives us a rare uncensored look at North Korea. "Undercover in the Secret State" shows dramatic, undercover video of life in that oppressive country. Now, here's a preview. But we want to warn you, some of the images are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK SESNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the past year, a movement of dissident filmmakers, some motivated by money, others by the desire for change, have used undercover cameras to expose a chilling picture of North Korea that's never been seen before. If they are caught filming, they will face prison or death.

Korean reporter Jung On Kim (ph) is searching for some of these dissident cameramen and for the rare images they've captured and smuggled out of the country. Images like these.

This is Yo Duk (ph), a concentration camp. Authorities deny it exists. The enscriptiong above the entrance says, "Give up your life for the sake of our dear leader, Kim Jong-il." Human Rights Watch estimates that there are 200,000 political prisoners inside North Korea. These men and women are ferrying buckets of their own waste for fertilizer.

On the city streets, another cameraman captured these images -- homeless and hungry children forced to fend for themselves steal from the markets. A pickpocket is caught and justice is carried out on the street.

This is rice donated by U.N.'s world food program. It should be rationed out directly to the people, but instead, it is sold for profit in the street market. Only the well-off can afford it, leaving the rest with nothing.

This woman is lying in the street dead. North Korean refugees say it's a common sight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: "CNN PRESENTS: Undercover in the Secret State." It airs tonight at 8:00 Eastern.

Now, people risk their lives to capture that North Korean video. Sarah MacDonald is the documentary filmmaker, director and producer. And she joins me now from London with more on this fascinating project.

Sarah, it just can't be said enough that these images are utterly heart breaking and shocking. The government has denied these images, that these things are happening in the country. How did you get this project?

SARAH MACDONALD, FILM PRODUCER: I was actually employed as the director to take it on board once they had established that the footage was beginning to come out. The production company that I worked for, Hard Cash, made an award-winning documentary seven years ago called "Children of the Secret State," where they exposed the beginnings of the famine that killed 2 million people in North Korea during the '90s.

So then again, these images began to come out through dissidents. And again, the famine is coming. So I was asked to take it on board and put it together. And it was an extraordinary project.

LIN: How did you get the footage? How did these people get their footage out of the country?

MACDONALD: The people -- there are a number of them. We're not too sure exactly how organized the movement is. One of the dissidents, the people that we were working with the undercover filmers we worked with who is now in hiding in Thailand, he claims that he was with a much larger organization.

But some of the others that we were working with, they were literally working by themselves for their own beliefs to try and open the eyes of both the outside world and the people inside North Korea.

LIN: And I think, Sarah, one of the most haunting images was this videotape of a public execution. How is it that that photographer happened to be there at that time and not be detected?

MACDONALD: Well, from what we heard, it is, again, through this organization called Freedom Youth Link that we have no way of verifying this, because, of course, we can't work inside North Korea and we can't phone anybody inside North Korea and ask them. But the people we've spoken to, they claim the orders came down from the leaders of the organization to get a camera to capture a public execution.

And what we have to realize is that public executions are very common in North Korea. Children are always brought out from school, locals are forced to go and watch them on a fairly regular basis. And so when we were responding with shock and horror at these pictures coming out to us, they laughed, really, and said why does this surprise you? You know, it's just an every day event for them.

LIN: Well, because the government lies about these activities, denies that these concentration camps exist or that people are starving on the streets.

So, Sarah, what is your impression now of what daily life must be like inside North Korea?

MACDONALD: It is the most bizarre place. And when I was asked to do the project, my only conscious thoughts of North Korea obviously, all around the nuclear issue and the six-party talks going on at the moment. When you actually get there, and we got to the border with China, we didn't need to or want to go inside North Korea, because the North Koreans, they corral journalists, they only allow you to see the images that they want to present. Whereas we had the real people inside, you know, bringing us real footage.

And while the execution footage is horrific, it was for the mundanity of some of the other pictures that they captured, the getting on the train and seeing the guard beating up the woman for not having the right papers. Just people waiting outside the trains. Sometimes that mundanity is actually more shocking than the most shocking images of people being publicly executed.

What we noticed is that people -- absolutely, that's right -- but people are beginning to starve again. People were coming across the river. They risked their lives, you know -- you just cannot believe that there are guards, we saw them, they will shoot you if they catch you crossing the river or else they'll imprison you where you will face death anyway. These people come across the river because they're desperate. And they see that they can earn some money in China and then take it back to their families. And the regime has now kicked out...

LIN: Sarah, the just -- I know that the story will be told tonight at 8:00 eastern on "CNN PRESENTS." And I want to thank you so much for the courage of these dissidents. And the project itself, I think it will be very enlightening for people. People need to know that this is going on.

MACDONALD: Good. I hope so.

lin: Sarah MacDonald, thank you.

MACDONALD: Thank you.

LIN: Still ahead on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, how child molesters may actually shape the next elections. Carlos Watson has an interesting angle with his "Fresh Take."

And a final farewell to a man who really loved what he did for himself, and for America.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Every week we like to bring you the more personal stories from the front line. And today we are going to introduce you to Master Sergeant Randall Arnold. You know, he retired recently. And he holds a unique place in history. He is the last active duty marine to serve in Vietnam. Gary Nurenberg has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over); They played the Marine Corps hymn when Master Sergeant Randall Arnold retired. They gave him awards...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Signed George Bush, commander-in-chief.

NURENBERG: ...gave him a lump in his throat, and the flag he has served since he enlisted at the height of the Vietnam War.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You stepped up to the plate when it wasn't popular.

NURENBERG: Stepped up after a friend tried to stop him from walking into a Marine Corps recruiting station in 1969. SGT. RANDALL ARNOLD, RETIRED MARINE: And I said, yes, I am. And he said, no, you're not. So we started tustling right there on the street.

NURENBERG: He won, enlisted, went to boot camp.

ARNOLD: I know of at least three of them that are dead.

NURENBERG: And went to Vietnam in 1970, couldn't understand the anger when he came home.

ARNOLD: I had on my uniform. And, you know, people looked at me like I was an alien. And I'm thinking, what did I do?

NURENBERG: He did his time, got his honorable discharged, joined the reserve, but when he saw Marines in jeopardy in Beirut...

ARNOLD: I missed it. So I called a friend of mine and I said, hey, what's the chances of me getting back on active duty.

NURENBERG: The chances were good. He re-upped.

ARNOLD: I never really left the corps, because the corps never really left me.

NURENBERG: A 33-year-old who wanted in on the action.

ARNOLD: I'm the thing that stand between Communism and the rest of the world. It wasn't that. It was purely selfish. It was for -- it was for the adventure of it.

This is where it stops. This is where reality hits home.

NURENBERG: Cleaning out his desk this summer, finally leaving was tough. And watching images of Marines in Iraq is tough.

ARNOLD: I know what the boys are up against. You know, I understand. And I still kind of wish I was there with them on occasion.

NURENBERG: He's in college now at age 55, working on a double major and runs uniformed security at a federal office. The last enlisted Marine on active duty to have served in Vietnam is learning how to be a civilian with time for family.

ARNOLD: All those years that I was deployed overseas, I realy missed them terribly. You know, although I still had my bicycle with me, it wasn't the same as not having my daughter with me. Her -- and her my son, my wife, they are the cornerstone of my life.

NURENBERG: But when that Marine Corps Hymn plays...

ARNOLD: I'll still get that old familiar lump in my throat and get thatl ittle sting in the eye. That just doesn't go away.

NURENBERG: Gary Nurenberg, CNN in Stafford, Virginia. (END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: We wish him well.

Now, is Iran growing a nuclear threat? Well, will the fallout from Iraq's missing weapons of mass destruction hurt the U.S. government's efforts to sound the alarm?

And life on the front lines in Iraq, it's a constant search for a hidden enemy. We're going to take you along as U.S. troops confront that threat. You are watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcome back. I'm Carol Lin. Here's a quick look at what's happening right now in the news.

Take a look at these pictures. People in at least ten Iowa towns are cleaning up from yesterday's tornadoes. The twisters destroyed dozens of homes and killed one woman.

Bill and Hillary Clinton interrupted a trip to Israel to visit one of the bombed hotels in Amman today. They offered their condolences to Jordanians and vowed that terrorism will be defeated.

Now, speaking in Israel, Condoleezza Rice says she knows it won't be easy to bring about democratic change in the Middle East, but she said the longing for such change is deep. Tomorow, Condoleezza Rice will be in Jordan.

Now, President Bush leaves tomorrow for a week-long trip to Asia. He is going to attend a trade summit in South Korea and will also visit Japan and China. He'll finish the trip by becoming the first U.S. president to go to Mongolia.

Now, the Bush administration suspects Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon. But it's facing a harder sell in part because of Iraq. Here's CNN's Elaine Quijano.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the Bush administration aggressively defends against Democrats' charges that it manipulated prewar Iraq intelligence ...

GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: It is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began.

QUIJANO: "The New York Times" reports the U.S. is quietly working to convince its allies that Iran is aiming to develop nuclear weapons.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS, (R) INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I think that should be a real concern to every American, and for that matter, everybody in the world. QUIJANO: According to the report, in July U.S. officials presented documents they said came from a stolen laptop computer to officials with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. American officials, the article says, won't go into detail about where the laptop came from, citing the need to protect their source. Those officials will reportedly only say they obtained it in mid-2004 from a long-time contact in Iran.

The computer documents reportedly included simulations and accounts of experiments, all presented as proof of Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. CNN contacted the CIA, which declined to comment. One senior U.S. official confirmed the Vienna briefing, but would not give more detail due to its classified nature.

And a senior European diplomat says the U.S. has been showing its European allies photos and evidence being described as Iran pursuing a compact nuclear warhead. The objective? To give a quote, "big warning about Iran's suspected weaponization program."

DAVID ALBRIGHT, FORMER UN WEAPONS INSPECTOR: We don't know, was this information developed by people in the missile program who wanted to study, how do you put a nuclear warhead on a missile? Or were they just ordered to do it by higher ups as part of a step-by-step nuclear program? We just don't know the answer.

QUIJANO: Iran denies the allegations and has always insisted it wants nuclear technology for peaceful energy purposes. But the U.S. believes images like this tell a different story. This is believed to be an Iranian nuclear research center before inspectors were allowed access. And here, it is believed, is the image after inspectors were allowed in, buildings and topsoil gone.

Even critics of the Bush administration agree Iran poses a danger. But they say in light of Iraq, convincing others of that now may be more difficult.

SEN. CARL LEVIN, (D) MI: We had such unreliable intelligence produced by this administration, it now has made it difficult for people to accept intelligence assessments at their face value. And that's very dangerous.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO (on camera): And on that point, National Security Adviser Steven Hadley said today on LATE EDITION that intelligence reforms are now being implemented, and the U.S. is still able to implement its policies. Meantime, as for the White House itself, it will not comment on intelligence matters, but a spokesman says it's well known the United States has serious concerns about Iran's nuclear capability and says that is why the U.S. is working with the European Union and the international community toward a resolution. Carol?

LIN: Elaine, thank you very much.

Well, we are going to turn now to Iraq. Where two U.S. Marines and a soldier died this weekend. Meantime, U.S. and Iraqi forces are completing their search for insurgents in Operation Steel Curtain.

CNN producer Arwa Damon is embedded with the U.S. forces and files this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's the IED?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here. Right here. Around the corner.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the deadliest of insurgent weapons, the improvised explosive device.

LT. PAUL HAAGENSON, USMC: Today's battlefield is one of almost fighting an enemy who wasn't there.

DAMON: But one that has proven deadly, hidden in dust and grime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Half my squad got through and then it went off. We need to clear out of this alley so they can get freakin' people in and out of here.

DAMON: A marine is killed when he steps on a pressure plate IED, an Iraqi army soldier is wounded.

(on camera): No matter how quiet the streets may seem, it is more often than not a deceptive calm. A few moments ago, the harsh reality of the dangers that lie in wait as marines and Iraqi army soldiers push their way through Karabila.

(voice-over): As first platoon gets up and gets ready for yet another morning of pushing through the city. They discover in the house they spent the night in, more unexploded ordinance.

The men tread carefully and somberly. The memories fresh. But they keep going.

HAAGENSON: It's our fighting spirit as marines. If someone gives us a challenge, our instinct is to push back harder. That's just the way the marines do it. We meet resistance head-on.

CPL ANTHONY HILL, USMC: It doesn't take much, two or three pounds can set these off. They'll bury it just below the surface where you can barely see them.

STAFF SERGEANT PETE KARR, USMC: Finding caches left and right. And I would say a very significant amount of ordnance and improvised weaponss system.

DAMON: A crude enemy that hides in the shadows and blends into the background. When spotted, marines employ high-tech solutions.

CORPMANS BRANDON ATTWOOD, U.S. MARINE CORPS (?): Great robot. Kind of like -- wide tracks are kind of like a tank. It's got an arm that articulates forward and back, wrist up and down. It's got a little claw on it. The camera sits on it. It basically just allows us to remotely review what we're dealing with.

DAMON (on camera): No one is entirely sure what that massive explosion just was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you need? What's up? Who's hit?

DAMON: Five marines are wounded.

It was pressure plate IED originally intended for a vehicle running across the road with the explosive was hidden in that hole.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a little confusing. You don't know where they're coming from. Basically, it's kind of sneaky. I mean, just be walking down the street and, boom, people are hurt.

DAMON (voice-over): Fighting, a silent but deadly enemy. Fighting to find "it" before "it" finds them. Arwa Damon, CNN, Karabila, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, the scenes that you saw there are really playing a part in the latest poll on President Bush. And that is changing the future strategy of people who want to be elected to office. A strategy that is going to surprise you.

We have a fresh take from CNN's Carlos Watson after a quick break. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Tuesday's elections were a big setback for the Republicans. The president is diving in the public opinion polls. And those running for election in the future are grabbing strategies straight from the headlines. Natalie Holloway's name may be in a few campaign speeches down the road.

Carlos Watson has a fresh take on what's going to happen next. Carlos, great to see you.

CARLOS WATSON, CNN ANALYST: Carol, good to see you.

LIN: I can't believe that somebody would invoke Natalee Holloway's name just to get elected to office. How did that work?

CARLOS: Don't be surprised, Carol. Remember the TV show "Law and Order" says ripped from today's headlines and they create television. Well, you'll see politicians do that, whether it's Natalee Holloway, whether it's Jessica Lunsford, the nine year old girl who was kidnapped and murdered in Florida allegedly by a sexual predator.

And you're starting to see this issue come up, whether it's arnold Schwarzenegger bringing it up in California. Whether it's Hillary Clinton's opponent or potential opponent, Janine Piro (ph) in next year's Senate campaign or Katherine Harris in Florida. In almost a dozen different states, this is becoming a big issue. Mainly by Republicans, but even a few Democrats like Martin O'Malley in Baltimore, Maryland, beginning to raise it as well.

LIN: What are they saying?

WATSON: They're saying we need stricter laws. A minimum of 25 year sentence. Or the GPS systems that we use in our cars sometimes to track, they're saying we want to be able to track sexual predators by having those around their arms, in the way that Florida now does. And some in Britain, by the way, are going further and say we should implant chips into the bodies of sexual predators in able to track them more closely.

LIN: That is it ever worked? This strategy?

WATSON: We don't know yet. It's fairly early. We know, Carol, through research over the last 20 or 30 years in a couple of studies that have come out, that there do seem to be a class of people who repeatedly offend, and who treatment so far doesn't seem to have been effective.

And so that's leading some people to argue for some fairly, so far, controversial methods, including what's called civil confinement. So even once your term is over, as a criminal, once your penalty is up, they're saying, still keep that person in a mental hospital.

LIN: Right. Because people believe, some people believe that child molesters cannot be cured.

WATSON: Very heated rhetoric, by the way. You'll hear that in '06.

LIN: You bet. All right. Carlos. I want to share a couple of new polls that have come out. "Newsweek" is stating in this question, do you think the phrase, honest and ethical, describes President Bush? Forty two percent said yes. But that's down from 50 percent. That poll taken just a few weeks ago. A little more than a month ago, actually.

In another poll here, where the question was asked, do you think Dick Cheney deliberately manipulated war intelligence to build support for the war, essentially, well 52 percent say yes, 33 percent say no. What do you think President Bush needs to do to dig himself out of this hole? People are losing confidence in the administration.

WATSON: Well, at the heart of all that, not only are things like the CIA leak scandal, but fundamentally, Carol, it's Iraq. Not only how we got into the war but how we're doing now. And at least for Republicans and independents, in order for the president to win them back, he not only needs a political solution, in other words, attacking Democrats he saw this past week in a major speech, but also there'd be new policy solutions.

Do we change what the definition of success is in Iraq, for example, and say we'll begin to leave Iraq in major numbers even before there's stability. That's part of the conversation you're starting to hear. And number two, what do we do in terms of troops. Do we need more, like John McCain says? Do we need less like a former Reagan Pentagon official suggests? Who can end up being President Bush's biggest help in resolving this over the next six months? Carol, someone you wouldn't expect.

LIN: Who is that?

WATSON: Kofi Annan. Secretary-general of the UN.

LIN: From the United Nations? After all that President Bush has said about that organization?

WATSON: Watch this, Carol, over the next six months. Remember, if it happens, you heard it here first. Kofi Annan may end up being his good cop, if you will. In terms of getting help, resolving differences between the Sunni and the Shia. Also, frankly, in terms of getting help from other nations and making potentially a military transition.

LIN: You know what, Carlos, I want to be a fly on that wall when that conversation happens.

WATSON: Interesting conversation.

LIN: Thank you so much. Carlos Watson, always with a fresh take.

WATSON: Very good to see you.

LIN: Well there was a scary sight on the streets of Atlanta this morning. Fortunately, the threat was phony, but the benefits to homeland security could be very real.

(COMMERCIAL BREKA)

LIN: In news across America, NASCAR driver Kurt Busch has been suspended after Arizona police ticketed him on reckless driving charges. No, not on the track, by the way. The bad boy of NASCAR reportedly called the officers wimps.

In Milwaukee, the pilot pulled from this small plane is going to be okay. The single-engine plane was entangled in wires for two hours. And also in Milwaukee, two teenage girls were struck and killed by an Amtrak train. The police do not know why the girls were walking on the tracks.

These pictures are pretty scary, and that's why it's pretty good that transit authorities in Atlanta were just staging a terror response drill this morning. Outside of downtown bus and train station. The explosions, the gunfire and the sirens were created by a production company to put first responders through a realistic drill. And boy, was it real.

But we want to warn you, the scenes we're about to show you are very dramatic. They do look real, but don't worry, they are simulated. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MITCHELL, JPM PRODUCTIONS.COM MALE: We are known as the masters of disasters.

More realistic that you can get in your training, the better the training will actually be.

The aspects as far as the disaster is just kind of what's happened in the real world. And how the response may actually be.

Everything becomes pretty much as we've seen it. I've been a paramedic for over 25 years. We've seen a lot of analysis.

And looking at how different types of trauma, to actually get the makeup to look the way we want it to look. So we feel we're fooling the doctors, EMTs and firefighters. And that's kind of our applause about the whole thing. Also, if they kind of get a little bit queasy, that's like a stand-up ovation.

CAPT. BYRON KENNEDY, ATLANTA F.D.: First responders can get a tremendous amount of information from this. It's actual practical hands-on experience that's irreplaceable, actually.

JOSELYN BUTLER BAKER, ATLANTA MARTA: It's part of our preparedness. It helps us ensure that we know we have the resources in place, and the capacity we need to respond quickly. And as safely as possible should an incident like this occur.

KENNEDY: It went very well. This was a full-scale event. There were no major kinks that I noticed from my area at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

All right. Can you extend your fertility window? Next, we're going to look at ways those who want to be parents can try to overcome the ticking of their biological clock. That goes for you guys, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Now, to the fountain of youth. If you want to have it all, but don't want to have children until later, then we have a guest for you. Joining me from Seattle is Dr. Michael Soules. He has served as president of two major national organizations for reproductive medicine. Doctor Soules, good to have you. A lot of interest in this segment.

DR. MICHAEL SOULES, ENDOCRINOLOGIST: Thank you.

LIN: I know you don't want to give women false hope, but there are things that they can do to at least keep their fertility viable and healthy, right? Their reproductive ability. What are the worst things that women do to hurt that in their daily lives? SOULES: Well, women need to watch their weight. Women that are extremes of weight, underweight, extremely underweight or extremely overweight, they can disrupt their menstrual cycles and be infertile because of that.

LIN: And just that alone. Any think else? Eating habits? Other habits?

SOULES: Well, smoking is another one. Smoking actually shortens a woman's reproductive life span. Her menopause will be about two years earlier if she smokes.

LIN: Just smoking.

SOULES: And that tells us that her ovarian function has been decreased.

LIN: Now we know women are only born with -- they're born with all the eggs they're ever going to have. Is there any ...

SOULES: Correct.

LIN: Is there a magic pill or a magic bullet or advice that you can give women that might enable them to keep those eggs longer, or at least slow down ovulation so the eggs don't get used up before you really want them?

SOULES: Carol, that's a great idea, but it doesn't work. The eggs are used up over time, no matter what the woman's age. If she's pregnant, if she's on birth control pills, the egg loss is still going on. So it's unfortunate. The march of biologic time is what it is. So age is the factor after age 30.

LIN: After age 30?

SOULES: Correct.

LIN: Thirty? Not 35?

SOULES: Thirty to 35 they're losing a little bit of their fertility. And we're not too worried about age 30 to 35. 35 to 40, the curve gets steeper. And after 40, it's pretty low.

LIN: What if you had been pregnant -- say you're trying to get pregnant in your 30s, but you were pregnant in your 20s. Maybe you lost a child or maybe there was an abortion. But you actually -- your body biologically experienced a pregnancy. Does it make more likely that you're going to conceive later?

SOULES: That's a yes-and-no answer. The reproductive system worked back then, but age can still catch up to you, the weight problems, an infection and so on. So, yes, in general, it's a good sign, but I wouldn't rely on it too much for reassurance.

LIN: How do you explain some women who naturally conceive in their early 40s? Because it does happen. SOULES: Oh, those are the women we don't see -- there's a lot of women in their 40s trying to get pregnant. Those are the women who are going to have their menopause late. But there are women that are menopausal in their early 40s. And so the average age of menopause is 50. So the women that are at 50, that are going to be menopausal at 50 or less, they're going to have fertility problems in their 40s.

LIN: All right. Well ...

SOULES: At least half the population.

LIN: See, Dr. Soules, I was trying to at least end on an up note. Because there are eyewitnesses in this news room with very late parenting. And it happened naturally.

SOULES: Oh, no, it does. Congratulations. But we see all the 40-year-olds that are having trouble getting pregnant.

LIN: I understand. All right. Well, it's better early than never. I guess is a lesson in that. Dr. Soules, thank you very much.

SOULES: Yeah, thank you.

LIN: Well, has the Big Apple gone a little bit country? Up next, some surprising sounds can be heard among New York skyscrapers these days.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: For years it was associated with the south. But now it seems country music has headed north. And it's taking New York City by storm. Next Tuesday, the Big Apple will host the Country Music Awards for the first time in the event's history. CNN's Jennifer Westhoven has a look at country in the city.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a Friday night hootenanny at hanks. The beer is flowing, toes are tapping, a country music band plays its heart out. The surprise? It's in Brooklyn, New York City. The last major American market with no country radio station, and a place where a cowboy sings alone in Times Square. Even the musicians say it's not always easy.

ERIN BRUEGGEMANN, COUNTRY MUSICIAN: They give me dirty looks. Oh, then I'm not interested in you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They groan like, oh, my god, we've got to go to listen to a country band and then they wind up dancing all night.

WESTHOVEN: But while some city slickers act too cool for country, they're hiding something. Turns out, New York City is the number two market for country music it turns out. Now, like a small- town girl headed for the big city, Nashville has come to New York with the biggest stars blanketing the town and bringing its biggest party of the year. The Country Music Awards will be at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, the first time in 40 years it's left its Nashville home.

All that high style, trading boots for blaniks (ph) has critics calling it Nash Vegas.

Don't tell that to rising country star and former Army Ranger, Keni Thomas.

KENI THOMAS, COUNTRY MUSICIAN: America isn't always just Central Park and Times Square. America is the Wal-Marts and bowling alleys and the NASCAR tracks of the world. I know you've got some of them here in New York. We're going to find them. We're going to root them out. We're going to start hearing some yeehaws going on.

WESTHOVEN: He thinks it's high time to start hearing country music earned a place in New York's heart. And these New Yorkers agree.

BRUEGGEMANN: Me, five years ago, would have brushed it aside. But it's -- I mean, this is my genre. This is what I'm supposed to be doing.

It's authentic and real. That's what New Yorkers look for.

WESTHOVEN: Jennifer Westhoven, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: There you go.

All right. Much more ahead. An Iraqi woman admits to trying to become a suicide bomber in Jordan. What does her confession and capture mean for the hunt for the most wanted man in Iraq. Abu Musab al Zarqawi. That story when CNN LIVE SUNDAY continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: She wanted to end her life as a suicide bomber. What stopped her? We're going to have the latest from Amman, Jordan.

He helped lead the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq before the war. For the first time tonight the general is speaking out about what he saw.

And one death, dozens of homes destroyed. Tonight, an Iowa community is picking up the pieces from nature's destructive force. We're going to go live. It's November 13th and you're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

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