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Priest Accused by Mark Foley Responds; Violent Month in Iraq; Police Say Football Stadium Threats Bogus; Polls: Americans Unhappy with Congress

Aired October 19, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: And I'm Don Lemon.

Drugs, skinny-dipping and overnight trips. We now know his name, but do we know whether this priest really molested former congressman, Mark Foley? The priest speaks out.

PHILLIPS: A mistress and 911 call and a campaign in trouble. President Bush hoping to help a congressman embroiled in scandal. We're live from Pennsylvania.

LEMON: And our very own business guru Ali Velshi here in Atlanta. He's wrapped up his time with Alan Greenspan and is now here with us to talk hedge funds. Should you invest or not?

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

When scandals collide. The investigation into the lurid e-mails of a disgraced former congressman now leads to allegations of decades- old abuse at the hands of a priest. But here's what we know now.

Sources familiar with the Mark Foley investigation say Foley has reported being molested as a young teen by Father Anthony Mercieca. Another source confirms that Mercieca, who now lives on a Mediterranean island near Malta, worked at Sacred Heart Church in Lake Worth, Florida, in the 1960s. CNN has confirmed that Foley served as an altar boy at that church about that same period.

There's more on the story today in Sarasota's "Herald" -- "Herald-Tribune". CNN's Susan Candiotti is working that angle, and she joins us by phone from Sarasota.

What is the latest, Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, not only that, Don. The latest is that our "PAULA ZAHN" show producer -- one of our producers has spoken on the phone now with Father Mercieca, at his home. And he tells us that he was friends with the family. He used to have Christmas dinner with them, went to the movies, and he considered that he had a brotherly-type relationship with Mark Foley.

He told "PAULA ZAHN NOW" quote, "I don't know what it is that made him so mad after 40 years." He acknowledged to "PAULA ZAHN NOW" that they did, indeed, go swimming, naked, in the park or in the sauna, but as he put it, quote, "Molestation can be many things. It depends on how you take it."

Now, he went on to tell CNN affiliate WPTV in an interview, quote, "Once maybe I touched him, but it's not something you'd call any rape." He went on to say to both that television station, as well as the "Herald-Tribune" newspaper, quote, "Let bygones be bygones. He said to us at CNN, if I offended him, I am sorry."

But he appeared to be confused, according to our CNN producer for "PAULA ZAHN NOW" as to how he might have offended Mark Foley at that time when he was a teenager -- Don.

LEMON: And Susan, according to these newspaper reports, he does admit, at least according to the reports, that he had some problems possibly with alcoholism then?

CANDIOTTI: Well, he told the newspaper that -- and he acknowledged to our producer -- that he was, at one point, taking pills as a tranquilizer because, he told the newspaper, he had had a nervous breakdown at one point. And then he had mixed these tranquilizers with alcohol.

And so his memory was a little bit fuzzy, perhaps when one encounter might have taken place. So he had no direct memory of that, he said.

LEMON: All right. Susan Candiotti reporting by telephone from Sarasota, Florida. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: So what did you know? When did you know it? And most importantly, whom did you tell? Big questions for a former House clerk as he testifies about the Mark Foley page scandal before the House ethics panel. Sources say that Jeff Trandahl repeatedly raised red flags with GOP leaders.

CNN's Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill with more -- more.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, Jeff Trandahl has now been behind closed doors with the House Ethics Committee for about four hours, testifying. And he really is one of the most important witnesses that that panel is going to hear from. Why? Because as House clerk, he had direct authority over the pages.

Now, he has not said anything publicly at all about what he knew, but what he tells this committee will be critical in terms of what they're trying to find out, and that is, what Republican leaders knew about Mark Foley's conduct with pages.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): Last year, former House clerk Jeff Trandahl confronted Mark Foley about an e-mail with a former male page.

But sources familiar with Trandahl's version of events say he repeatedly raised red flags about Foley years earlier, long before GOP leaders say they knew about Foley's inappropriate conduct with pages.

Two sources close to Trandahl tell CNN that he had observed and was told about Foley's troubling behavior in the House cloak room and elsewhere and was actively monitoring Foley's interaction with pages.

CNN is told Trandahl took his concerns to Kirk Fordham, Foley's former chief of staff, many times. Fordham testified under oath last week that he warned the House speaker's chief of staff three or four years ago about Foley's conduct, according to a source familiar with his version of events.

Among the many questions for Trandahl, what did he do about the early warnings? For example, Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe says he told Trandahl five or six years ago that Foley sent a former page an e-mail that made the young man uncomfortable.

Several former colleagues described Trandahl as a "by the book" guy who took his job overseeing 16-year-old pages very seriously. One source, saying he watched the teenagers closely and had, quote, "zero tolerance" for problems, expelling panels fling pages for drinking and smoking pot, no matter how senior a lawmaker the page's sponsor was.

Craig Shniderman is a longtime friend of Jeff Trandahl and says he's confident if Trandahl was aware of something improper, he would have reported it.

CRAIG SHNIDERMAN, FRIEND OF TRANDAHL: Jeff is a guy who always does the right thing. He lives by the truth. He lives by one truth. He's not a man that tells different stories to different peoples. He's not, probably what some people think of as the ultimate Washington guy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now, as Jeff Trandahl was going in to testify before the ethics committee this morning, we spoke to another one of Trandahl's very good friends, actually, a former Republican congressman, Steve Gunderson. And he told us, quote, "He's going to go in there today and be excruciatingly honest and blunt. Anything they ask him," former Congressman Gunderson said, "they will get the answer. He won't play games with them. Whoever knew" -- meaning whomever in the Republican leadership knew about this -- "the ethics committee will find out."

Now that is coming from, again, one of Jeff Trandahl's good friends.

And of course, again, Kyra, what they are trying to find out inside that room is just what Republican leaders knew, whether specifically the House speaker's office, and who in the House speaker's office knew about Mark Foley's behavior and how early.

PHILLIPS: So how important is Trandahl's testimony in connecting the dots in this scandal specifically?

BASH: Very important. Because he -- as I sort of mentioned, Jeff Trandahl is somebody who was really, really involved with the pages because it was his job. You know, there are a lot of people who sort of toil here on Capitol Hill who are quite anonymous but have very important jobs and are senior officials. Jeff Trandahl, as the House clerk, is one of them.

And from what we are told, he did really keep a close watch on these pages, these 16-year-old young men and women who spend all their time here on Capitol Hill, through the page program.

Now what we are told from many people who know Jeff Trandahl is that he's somebody who, as one person said, the consummate bureaucrat, somebody who definitely was a political appointee and served at the pleasure of Dennis Hastert, but also somebody who -- many people who know him couldn't imagine that he actually did witness and knew about some of Mark Foley's behavior and didn't tell senior leadership. And that's really, again, the crux of what they're trying to find out behind closed doors as we speak, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So who testifies next?

BASH: Another really big witness. The No. 2 Republican in the House, John Boehner. Now he's interesting because, you know, part of this story is the contradictory statements that we're getting from the top rank and file, the top ranks, I should say, of the Republican leadership.

John Boehner, the No. 2 in the House, has said that he found out about one inappropriate e-mail that Mark Foley has sent in the spring and that he talked to the House speaker about it. The House speaker says that didn't happen; he doesn't remember having that conversation.

That is one of the inconsistencies and contradictions, in the senior Republican leadership, that the House Ethics Committee is going to have to sort out.

PHILLIPS: Dana bash, on the Hill, thanks so much.

LEMON: Seventy-two American military deaths this month alone, half a million people too afraid to go home, and every day, another rundown of suicide bombing, executions, assassinations, sectarian violence.

U.S. army general calls the war in Iraq disheartening. Joining me now from Baghdad, CNN's Arwa Damon.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, hello.

That's right. It seems that the violence here is only spiraling out of control. The U.S. military suffering its heaviest casualties so far this month. At least 72 U.S. service people have been killed or died in this country. It is shaping up to be the deadliest month for U.S. forces here since the 2004 November offensive into Fallujah.

And attacks today took many Iraqi lives. At least 34 Iraqis were killed in attacks across the country. The most recent coming in Halas. That is north of the capital, Baghdad. It's predominantly Shia area there. A car bomb exploded just Istar (ph). That is the meal in which Muslims here break their daily fast. It happened in a busy market place. It is right now the shopping season here as Ramadan comes to an end. That attack claiming the lives of seven Iraqis.

And in the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a car bomb exploded close to a bank and an Iraqi army patrol. In that attack, at least eight Iraqis were killed, another 40 were wounded.

In Mosul, the violence there continued with a number of attacks across that city claiming the lives of seven Iraqis. One of those explosions happening outside of a university that happened to be close to a police station.

And in the capital, Baghdad, at least six Iraqis were killed in a string of attacks and the Iraqi emergency police saying that they found 31 more unidentified bodies, the country's latest victims of sectarian violence here.

The senior U.S. spokesperson for multinational forces here in Iraq, Major General William Caldwell, saying that this year the violence has only increased during this month of Ramadan, especially when compared to Ramadans past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: The violence is, indeed, disheartening. in Baghdad alone, we've seen a 20 percent increase in attacks during the first three weeks of Ramadan, as compared to the three weeks preceding Ramadan.

in Baghdad, Operation Together Forward has made a difference in the focus areas but has not met our overall expectations of sustaining a reduction in the levels of violence. We are working very closely with the government of Iraq to determine how to best refocus on our efforts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And so it appears that we may be seeing a change of strategy here in Iraq. All, of course, in an effort to bring an end to this violence, Don.

LEMON: Arwa, you mentioned that it's shopping season there because of Ramadan. How are people who are living there, citizens, how are they dealing with this upsurge in violence?

BASH: Well, Don, Iraqis have been living with this violence pretty much for the last 3 1/2 years. And as it increases, their fear increases as well. We're seeing people who are essentially paralyzed in their lives.

I mean, imagine living in a type of city where -- say you want to go out to the market, for example. As you just mentioned, it is shopping season right now. You want -- this is the Muslim equivalent of Christmas. You want to go out. You want to do your shopping for this holy season. You want to buy gifts for your children. But you know that if you leave your home and go to the market, it could be your last trip outside that door.

Iraqis live in a fear where every single step that takes them outside of their homes where, mind you, they only have relative security, they know that could be their last step outside. It could be the last time that they're seeing their families. Even when they are -- when they are in their home, it is only a relative measure of security.

We're seeing right now Iraqis living in an environment where they're receiving death threats to their very doorsteps. And that is what people here are coping with. And more and more you speak to Iraqis, you really realize especially in the capital, Baghdad, they are very much on the edge of despair -- Don.

LEMON: Arwa Damon in Baghdad. Thank you, Arwa.

PHILLIPS: Now the NFL threat and the FBI. A Milwaukee man was questioned today after a terror threat against football stadiums, specifically, an online posting that warned of attacks this Sunday. Authorities still believe the threat is bogus.

Joining us live from Milwaukee, CNN's Jonathan Freed -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Kyra.

I can tell you that law enforcement sources are telling CNN that a 20-year-old Milwaukee man has, indeed, been questioned by the FBI here, and he has been released.

Officials are still saying that they believe that this is not related to terrorism so far. They say that this individual who was questioned here is believed to be involved in this threat to some extent, involved in the posting of this threat against these stadiums on the Internet to some degree, and they're saying that the investigation will determine the extent of that. They are saying that charges could still be filed.

And although this individual has been released, they say that they know where he is. The way they got to him, Kyra, is that a friend of his apparently turned him in, so that they felt that he had something to do with this. And as a result of that, this 20-year-old man was questioned.

Now, the stadiums in question are in Miami, New York, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland and Cleveland. And we need to repeat that authorities are saying that they have not believed from the beginning that this threat is credible and that they're asking people to go about their daily business -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Once again no credibility to the stadium threats. Obviously, have to take every precaution, though, when these calls come through, or these letters. All right, Jonathan Freed...

FREED: Right, and what... PHILLIPS: Go ahead, I'm sorry.

FREED: It's OK. I guess the only thing that I can add is the nature of the threat. It involves a dirty bomb, which apparently would be delivered by truck.

And if people are unfamiliar with that, this is a conventional -- mix of a conventional explosive with some kind of radioactive material. By no means a nuclear explosion, but something that still can cause contamination and panic and that kind of damage.

But, again, authorities here keep reporting that they have not believed from the beginning that this is in any way a credible threat -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Got it, thanks, John.

LEMON: The secretary of state on tour in Asia. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, can diplomacy defuse a standoff over North Korea's nukes? The latest from Seoul.

PHILLIPS: Plus, the ad wars. Both parties smothering your TVs with negative campaign commercials. But will they really make a difference on election day? We'll talk about it, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Nineteen days before an election, it's not what an incumbent wants to hear. A new CNN poll finds half of all Americans believe most members of Congress are corrupt.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an incredibly stormy campaign, where Republicans have been thunder-struck. Democrats are hoping to take advantage of not just Mark Foley but the months and months of corruption charges.

REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: There's a real sense around the country that what has been the people's House has become an auction House.

FRANKEN: Republicans are furiously trying to refocus the campaign.

REP. TOM REYNOLDS (R), NEW YORK: We are dealing with fierce contests fought by local personalities.

FRANKEN: In fact, the CNN/Opinion Research poll, released today, shows that of the issues the voters care about, Mark Foley and the other corruption charges show up behind the war in Iraq and terrorism and the economy and North Korea. And in the midst of this remarkable campaign fury, sit the political professionals who play a multimillion-dollar chess game as best they can. EVAN TRACEY, TNS MEDIA INTELLIGENCE: Money's going to matter probably an equal amount to issues. Money is what drives the issues. In other words, if you don't have the money to push a message, you're going to come up short on election day.

FRANKEN: President Bush and Vice President Cheney are on the road a lot these days, tries to whip up voter turnout. But a big question is whether they'll turn up Democrats or Republicans.

REYNOLDS: Make no mistake, we are on the offense.

VAN HOLLEN: As you look around the country you obviously see an expanding number of tight races.

FRANKEN: Democrats say that number has surged to about 60 competitive races. Republicans understandably place the figure much lower, about three dozen.

Either way, if the Democrats pick up 15, they take control of the House.

(on camera) This very well could be an election that cannot be described as too close to call, as much as it could too strange to call.

Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to the NEWSROOM. Thomas Roberts working details on a developing story out of Baltimore.

Hey, Thomas.

THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Kyra, good afternoon.

Yes, we're watching this story out of Baltimore. And it has to deal in Baltimore County with a private Catholic school there. Kids being evacuated because of a gas leak in the area.

Let's show you some of the video that we've gotten in here at CNN. This is from our affiliate WBAL.

You can see the kids from St. Clemens Lower School, they're all outside. There were reports of manhole explosions, the covers just blowing right off in the area. Fire crews are on the scene now, trying to figure it out exactly what it is, whether or not it could be some type of natural gas or acetone that's causing this to happen.

St. Clemens School roughly on the fringe of Baltimore County and Baltimore city. It's a residential and also kind of business-y area. But one of the larger grade schools in the area, Kyra.

I went to grade school, Catholic grade school, in Baltimore. There are like 474 kids that go to this school. So I can tell you a lot of kids are affected. Most likely, their parents are being called to tell them, come pick the kids up early.

But everybody is safe. No one is injured at this incident. But we'll work some more details, bring it to you when we get them.

PHILLIPS: Good deal. We'll keep our eyes on it. Thanks, Thomas.

LEMON: Past as prologue. A new twist on the Mark Foley page scandal as a Catholic priest acknowledges his inappropriate relationship with Foley many years ago. We've got all latest developments ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you've seen cloned animals. But would you eat one or drink their milk? The Food and Drug Administration says that food from clones is just as safe as food from non-clones. By January it expects to release a draft regulation for the sale of cloned animal products. And many consumer groups want special labels. No word when cloned food might start showing up in stores.

LEMON: More than 300 drugs, $4 a month. Wal-Mart says it's expanding its bargain basement generic drug program to 15 states. The program began in Florida two weeks ago. The new states are Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York...

PHILLIPS: Which state is not in there?

LEMON: ... North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Vermont. Maybe we should say what states aren't in there. It would be a lot shorter list.

PHILLIPS: There you go. It would be a shorter list.

LEMON: Yes, so hopefully, we have that information on our web site.

Let's go to the Dow now. Yesterday, the Dow topped the 12,000 mark for the first time, only to fall back again. So can the market continue its hot streak? It's a good question for everyone.

Susan Lisovicz joins us now from the New York Stock Exchange with some answers.

Hey, Susan.

(STOCK REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right. See you in a little bit. Thanks, Susan.

Let's head straight to the newsroom now. Thomas Roberts working details on a developing story out of Florida this time around.

Thomas, what do you have? ROBERTS: Kyra, want to take everybody there and explain what's taking place. There's a 4-month-old baby has now been found safe and sound.

This baby was snatched roughly 24 hours ago from the baby- sitter's house. And here's how the story went down.

Yesterday, the mom of this little baby, the little 4-month-old you see there, Felisha Slater, was working her little girl to the baby-sitter's house. She was approached by an acquaintance, Kaneisha Black, who was asking a lot of questions about the child. Kaneisha Black, just 15 years old.

Well, she followed that mom to the baby-sitter's house, waited a little while, then went in, telling the baby-sitter that Felisha Slater wanted to release the baby to her. And then she took off with the child.

The mom, not realizing this until roughly about 5 p.m. yesterday afternoon, then notifying police. So overnight, there has been an extensive search for this woman you see, Kaneisha Black.

Reports were that this young woman is a runaway, also suffers from bipolar disorder. And it's also believed that family members say that she's not been taking her depression medication because of a death in the family.

But the baby was just found, safe and sound. Once again, the Broward County bus station in downtown Ft. Lauderdale is where WSVN is reporting that Kaniesha Black was found with the little baby, Mekai.

Again, the mom and the baby were waiting on -- to know if they'd be put back together but probably most likely by now they have. But this, Kyra, just happening moments ago, that they were able to track down Kaneisha Black with this baby. She has been detained. Most importantly, the baby is safe and sound.

PHILLIPS: Great. Thomas Roberts, thanks so much.

Well, he was in charge of House pages. Today, he's telling what he knew and who else knew about Congressman Mark Foley's conduct. We'll have that straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Applying pressure without appearing aggressive. Inviting talks but warning of severe consequences. It's all part of the diplomatic mine field facing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She's traveling through south Asia, solidifying support for U.N. sanctions against North Korea.

CNN's Zain Verjee is the only network correspondent traveling with her. She reports today's talks with all about regional unity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the U.S. is still willing to talk to North Korea. She says that North Korea has to give up its nuclear program and return to six-party talks.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We want to leave open the path of negotiation. We don't want the crisis to escalate. And the sooner that North Korea would choose to unconditionally come back to the table and take up the very good -- very good statement or very good agreement that is their framework agreement that is there as of September, it would be to the betterment of everyone.

VERJEE: She says that she's hoping that a senior Chinese official that's been dispatched to Pyongyang is going to be able to convince North Korea to do just that.

On the way over here, a senior administration official also added that that Chinese official is carrying a very strong message to Pyongyang. It's not clear exactly what that message is.

Secretary Rice also wants South Korea to implement the U.N. Security Council resolution that hit North Korea with sanctions. Specifically, also, she wants South Korea to carry out inspections of North Korean cargo ships coming in and out of the country that may be carrying nuclear materials.

Secretary Rice also said that she wasn't in South Korea to dictate to the South Koreans exactly what they needed to do. The question now, though, is, what will the South Koreans do? How tough will they be on North Korea? Will they squeeze North Korea hard?

One of the analysts we spoke to here said that South Korea would be nervous if North Korea was pushed too hard for fear that it may collapse and destabilize the region.

Zain Verjee, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Military first, everyone else last. North Korea devotes huge resources to war preparations in general, and nukes in particular, while millions of its people go hungry. Jean-Jacques Griasse is the director of the World Food Programme, and he's been to North Korea many times. He joins me today from New York. You've been there many times.

Tell me, sir, we have this perception that most North Koreans are poor. Is that so?

JEAN-JACQUES GRIASSE, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Very much so. North Koreans are poor. North Koreans have gone through extremely painful years for the last 10 years, I would say, in terms of serious unavailability of adequate foods to feed the entire population.

LEMON: So this is why you do what you do. Everyone there, I'm sure. Do they all need food staples? Do they all need supplies from groups like yours?

GRIASSE: A few years ago, two or three years ago, we were still feeding seven million North Koreans. We have a new program now which is much more limited in scope, but we still expect to reach 1.9 million North Koreans, mostly children, in primary schools, kindergartens, nurseries, as well as pregnant women...

LEMON: What are you giving them? What kinds of thins do they need?

GRIASSE: Essentially, we are providing them with cereals, with oil and with blended food. Essentially, also, we provide most of it through biscuits and fortified noodles, fortified biscuits and fortified noodles, which are prepared in some eight factories that we are still working with.

LEMON: I'm not sure this is out of your bailiwick, but do you think the sanctions -- who obviously, I guess, you think they will affect the people who are living there most? I don't want to put words in your mouth.

GRIASSE: The sanctions will obviously affect -- the sanctions will not necessarily affect the victims that we are assisting, because there is nothing in the U.N. resolution that goes against humanitarian assistance being provided to North Korea.

However, the atmosphere is not particularly good for donors today to be forcibly coming out with additional contributions to North Korea. We regret that. We think that the progress we have made over the number of years in improving the nutritional situation of children should not be reduced now and those people have nothing to do basically with the nuclear issue should not be the first victims of the world unhappiness.

LEMON: Let's talk about North Korea. Take us inside. As we started this interview, we said you had been there many times. How many freedom did you have to travel around? And tell us about the average North Korean. How much freedom do they have to travel?

GRIASSE: Obviously, when you go for an official visit for a week or so, you insist on visiting some of the beneficial institutions, which we have programs. And therefore, you do travel fairly easily throughout the country. A few years ago, we would travel to -- anything close to 200 counties. So in other words, a large majority of the counties where we had operations. Today because of significantly decreased resources, the amount of counties we can travel is presently 30, hopefully, soon, 50, again. That is, of course, not the whole of Korea. We have -- our capacity to travel has been reduced. And our policy is continuing to be -- that we provide food only where we have access. So less access means less food.

LEMON: When you talk about North Korea, most people think about Kim Jong-Il, and some of the comedy shows, late-night shows, he's been made a mockery of, said to be a loose cannon, and even reported in the American press that way. Is that so? And it appears that he is revered there by North Korean people. GRIASSE: He certainly is revered, and so was his father. Most Koreans today have, for 60 years or so, lived with him and his father as being the only authority, the only leader that they look up to.

LEMON: But are we getting the right perception of him? Is he really the madman or the crazy man that he is made out to be here in the U.S.?

GRIASSE: He is certainly a person that is difficult to understand and whose ideas and next moves are difficult to understand. We ourselves, in the World Food Programme, have of course been focusing on their reaction to our willingness to deliver food to the beneficiaries. And there you deal with his vice ministers who, on the whole, are much more predictable, so to speak.

LEMON: All right, Jean-Jacques Griasse, thank you very much, from the World Food Programme, we thank you for joining us today on the CNN NEWSROOM.

GRIASSE: My pleasure. Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Coming up next, in the gun sights of Iraqi insurgents. American troops targeted, a disturbing view from the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Almost 2,800 American troops have been killed in the war in Iraq. They're only numbers and names to people whose business it is to deal in such terms, but not to their buddies, their commanding officers and certainly not to their friends and families. We owe them a lot, not the least of which is a clear and honest accounting of what they're up against and what the enemy wants. To do any less, to sugar coat it, we think dishonors their sacrifice.

So today, you'll see how some Americans in Iraq die. Sniper attacks have been videotaped by the insurgents and the tape made available to CNN. It's disturbing to watch and the decision to run it has not been taken lightly. This story, as shocking as you may find it, is one that we believe needs to be told.

It's reported by CNN's Michael Ware.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A sniper is watching these American soldiers. You're looking at the unobstructed view from the sniper team's vehicle. And they are waiting for their moment as the soldiers mingle with Iraqi civilians.

"People are around them," warns the sniper's spotter, who seems to be operating the video camera. "Want me to find another place?" "No, no," comes the reply. "Give me a moment."

And then the soldier falls forward. You hear the sniper's vehicle start. And they slip away. American casualties this month are tracking at near-record numbers. This video is a glimpse to an enduring feature of this war. Ground commanders say it is a growing and deadly tactic, insurgent sniper teams.

U.S. military intelligence tells CNN it suspects some of these teams are trained abroad. They make an intimidating weapon.

GEN. DAVID GRANGE, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Am I next? What about my buddy? You are looking constantly. Your head is on a swivel they say, you know, in windows, doors, looking in cars, rooftops.

It's a very effective weapon. And that's why our own military uses them extensively. The best counter of a sniper is another sniper team on your own side.

WARE: CNN obtained the graphic tape through the intermediaries from the Islamic Army of Iraq, one of the most active insurgent organizations in the country. It is titled "Latest Sniper Operations in Baghdad."

Accents, license plates and street signs seem to indicate the sniper attacks, in fact, occurred here in the capital. A careful review of the entire video by CNN technicians found no evidence the images had been electronically manipulated.

The tape documents 10 incidents, all of which appear recent. But there's no way to confirm precisely when or where the attacks took place or which U.S. units were involved or what happened to the targeted soldiers. The tape comes as the Islamic army calls to renew talks with the United States, and as Islamist Internet postings caller for a PR campaign aimed at influencing the American public.

The images are markedly different from insurgent sniper videos on the Internet. On this one, we hear the voices the snipers selecting American targets.

Here, the spotter warns the shooter he only sees Iraqis until he's sure he's identified an American. "I'll read you his name."

We wanted to ask the U.S. military about the insurgent sniper tactics, but no one was made available to CNN in Washington or Baghdad. Officials refused to discuss the sniper operations and related casualties, citing the safety of U.S. troops. Though they acknowledge the menace is real.

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: That's something we always stay very vigilant about. We take extreme precautions against that, and we watch it very closely.

It's always a real threat. No matter where you go, any kind of combat operation you are going to be on, you are always looking for IEDs. You are looking for VBIDs (ph). You're looking for snipers.

WARE: As to a recent increase of the threat...

CALDWELL: I would not talk about that for operational reasons.

WARE: The insurgents' methods vary. The Islamic army video follows a team firing from a vehicle. Precisely the kind of team Lieutenant Richardson's men encountered in the city of Ramadi.

(on camera): So the insurgents do have accurate sniper fire.

1ST. LIEUTENANT JASON RICHARDSON, U.S. ARMY: Roger. Yes, to what I've observed, two very good shots that were definitely more than 300 meters away. And aimed to kill.

WARE: So that's a trained sniper?

RICHARDSON: Hooa.

WARE: Probably working in a team with an observer.

RICHARDSON: Yes. One of the attacks -- you know, the locals, they talk to us about what they see. And they said that a car pull up, a guy get out of the back seat -- get out of the front seat, climb into the back seat, and move a panel from off his car, and aim from the car to our rooftop position, which unfortunately resulted in the death of one marine who was on the rooftop.

WARE (voice over): Retired Brigadier General David Grange served as a ranger and a green beret before joining CNN as a military analyst.

GRANGE: Well, you learn the tactics and techniques and procedures that the enemy snipers use. And then you come up with your own techniques to counter that to negate their effect. And then how you move in the field, dispersal, and then, again, alertness and number of people in different -- different patrols, there's ways that you work on this.

WARE: And the implication in this insurgent video is that the deaths will continue.

GRANGE: You only need a few guys to have a tremendous effect. Just like the improvised explosive device, the same thing. Or a suicide bomber. You get a lot of payback for just deploying a few resources. So it's very effective.

WARE: "Wait, wait. He fell down. God is great," says one of the teams as they disappear -- until it's time for the next strike in Iraq's sniper war.

Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And Michael Ware, among the top correspondents reporting for CNN and "ANDERSON COOPER 360." "A.C. 360" weeknights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

LEMON: U.S. Congressman Don Sherwood admits having an affair with a younger woman.

PHILLIPS: So why is President Bush campaigning for his re- election? We're going to tell you why.

LEMON: Plus, the ad wars. Both parties are something -- or smothering, rather -- your TVs with negative campaign commercials. But will they make a difference in the battle for control of Congress? That story's straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: Let's head straight to the newsroom now. Thomas Roberts with a developing story -- Thomas.

THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Don, big capture to talk about this afternoon for authorities in Ohio, somebody that's actually on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. His name is John W. Parsons, and he is wanted for murder of an Ohio police officer. And here's how everything went down.

John W. Parsons escaped in July from the Chillicothe jail that he was being held in. A year prior, in April, he was actually accused of shooting a police officer -- an off-duty police officer -- a man named Larry Cox who was 44 years old, and he was off duty. And he actually joined in the chase of Parsons. Parsons was accused of also robbing a bank. Then this chase ensued and that's when Cox got shot.

Parsons, though, was being held in a Chillicothe jail, but then he somehow got out in July and apparently they thought he had been hiding in the woods nearby in town. There had been some clues that investigators had. Well, for over three months, he remained in these wooded areas of town, and just now authorities have brought him back in. So big news coming out of Chillicothe, Ohio, today.

And we do expect a news conference this afternoon from the local police department there, Don, so hopefully we'll get more information to figure out exactly how they were able to track him down now, over three months later.

LEMON: All right, Thomas Roberts, we look forward to that. Thank you very much for that, sir.

Bad vibes on Capitol Hill. Half of Americans believe most members of Congress are corrupt. That's up 12 percentage points since January. The CNN poll from Opinion Research Corporation shows 43 percent don't believe most representatives are corrupt.

Now, second, job approval, pretty negative for both parties. Fifty-four percent disprove of how Democrats are doing their job. For Republicans the figure jumps to 61 percent. The poll was taken last weekend, more than 1,000 Americans expressing their opinions in the sampling.

PHILLIPS: Well, we can't pinpoint the day or the race or even the years, but at some point in U.S. politics, negative campaigning became simply campaigning, except when a candidate is struggling less than a month before an election, at which point things get really nasty.

CNN's John King found some cases in point.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three weeks out, the sharper rhetoric tells you Republican incumbent Jim Talent knows he could be a former senator come January.

SEN. JIM TALENT (R), MISSOURI: I don't know if you know all this about my opponent but, you know, she had property she didn't pay taxes on three years in a row. This is an auditor.

KING: Tough stuff, yet tame compared to the negative shift the TV ad war is taking as the midterm campaign enters crunch time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But, as Jackson County prosecutor, McCaskill violated ethical standards and misled a special prosecutor investigating drug use by her employees.

KING: Over the line, in the eyes of one watchdog group.

BROOKS JACKSON, ANNENBERG PUBLIC POLICY CENTER: Some of those quotes in the Talent ads really are not the words of the newspaper. They're words of people being quoted by the newspaper, McCaskill critics. That's a misrepresentation, and really out of bounds.

KING: McCaskill suggests the negative tone will backfire.

CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI SENATE CANDIDATE: They're character attacks. They're unfair. They're distorted.

KING: Not that her ads are so gentle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Votes 11 times against increasing the minimum wage, but takes six congressional pay raises. What kind of a person does this, then tells us he's changing Washington?

KING: Missouri's Senate race is hardly unique. The Mark Foley scandal is a weapon in an Indiana House race.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... where Sodrel took thousands from congressional leaders who were embroiled in a revolting scandal and alleged cover-up.

KING: And consider this from Republican Senate challenger Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen carefully to Bob Menendez's top lieutenant pressuring a doctor in a Menendez kickback scheme.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only reason I stuck my nose into this Ruiz thing is because Menendez asked me, you know, to -- to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kickback schemes, federal criminal probes, that's what you get with Bob Menendez. KING: The high stakes, with control of both the House and Senate up for grabs, translate into record spending: just since Labor Day, six weeks ago, nearly $80 million in ad spending on House races, and more than $107 million for the TV war in Senate campaigns.

JACKSON: The worst of them are the misleading ads, the ones that are false or twisted or out of context. And we're seeing a lot of that from both sides.

KING (on camera): With less than three weeks to Election Day, and tens of millions of dollars yet to be spent, look for the TV ads to get, shall we say, even less polite. Voters complain every cycle about the negative tone, but ask a campaign consultant and they'll say this. They use negative ads because they work.

John King, CNN, Kansas City, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, John King is part of the best political team on television. Of course, that's right here on CNN. Don't forget, CNN's election special "BROKEN GOVERNMENT," hosted by CNN's Jack Cafferty. That's at 7:00 Eastern right here.

LEMON: Zero security, rocketing death toll, a climate of fear.

PHILLIPS: Would you call that disheartening? The U.S. Army does. A report from the Pentagon straight ahead.

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