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Bush To Meet With Maliki; Al-Sadr Loyalists Leave Iraqi Government; Winter Storm; Politics & Power Plays; Secret CIA Prisons

Aired November 29, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM this morning and stay informed. Here's what's on the rundown.

President Bush heading to a summit with Iraq's leader. At the same time, a leaked White House memo questioning the prime minister's job skills.

COLLINS: Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi not yet on the job but critics claiming she's already making all the wrong moves.

HARRIS: And the police raid that left an elderly woman dead. Questions and contradictions remain in Atlanta this Wednesday, November 29th. You are in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: President Bush now in route to Jordan. His vision for Iraq increasingly in jeopardy. The critical meeting with Iraq's prime minister has two goals -- reigning in the violence and ratcheting up training for Iraqi forces. CNN's Ben Wedeman begins our coverage now live in Amman.

Ben, you know, we have heard quite a debate about bringing Syria and Iran into these type of discussions. What does King Abdullah bring to these discussions?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically King Abdullah, as the leader of Jordan, is very -- in close touch with Sunni leaders in Iraq. In fact, over the last few days, he has been holding intensive discussions with these Sunni leaders, trying to bring them on board, to convince them that the violence has to be reduced in Iraq in order for the stability of the country, but also to ensure a Sunni role in the government in Baghdad, which is increasingly dominated by Shiite elements. And so that's really what he brings to the table.

And he also represents the Sunni block within the Arab world. Or he's a member of it. In addition to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. All of these countries, very concerned about the situation in Iraq. And in a larger sense, in a wider sense, very concerned about the growing power of Iran in the region. And the United States and President Bush, obviously, want to bolster this group of Sunni countries as a way to counter the growing power of Iran.

Heidi. COLLINS: Well, Ben, curious to know, then, about this latest information that we've just gotten in here to CNN about Muqtada al- Sadr's Shiites and their decision to suspend their involvement in the Iraqi government. How do you think that will play out today as these meetings continue to happen?

WEDEMAN: Well, this is, obviously, going to complicate these meetings even before they begin. There are five members of Sadr's block who are ministers in Nuri al-Maliki's government. And, of course, Nuri al-Maliki himself is a Shiite. This is going to, in a sense, pull some of the carpet out from underneath Mr. Maliki when he meets with President Bush.

Now in addition to that complication, there's, of course, this memo from Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser to President Bush, in which he put some doubt or expressed some doubt about Prime Minister Maliki's ability to run the country. So as you see between that memo and the announcement from the Sadr block, that Prime Minister Maliki is already going to have a hard time convincing President Bush and the other members of his administration that he's really got a good handle on the situation as it is.

Heidi.

COLLINS: So all of that being said, Ben, what does the U.S. hope to get out of this meeting? We know that the discussions are going to be centered around the deteriorating security situation in Iraq. What more could come from this?

WEDEMAN: Well, as we heard several times from administration officials, they want to see the Iraqi army trained more, having more responsibility in trying to create security on the ground. They want Prime Minister Maliki to put pressure, to somehow disband or at least weaken the militias, which, in a sense, have already cut the country, cut Iraq into pieces. So they're going to try to bolster Prime Minister Maliki and provide him with the sort of support, political and logistical and military, to allow him to somehow bring the situation under control in Iraq.

But as we've heard from observers here in Jordan, there's a feeling that this effort is too little, too late. That this sort of hands on American involvement by President Bush in trying to stabilize the situation in Iraq is something, according to Jordanian observers, that should have been done three and a half years ago, right after Saddam Hussein was deposed. And we heard from Arab leaders in the lead-up to the American invasion of Iraq, that the real problem in Iraq was not fighting the Iraqi army of Saddam Hussein, it was the problems that would arise the day after Saddam Hussein fell.

So many people here feel it's just too little, too late. The situation in Iraq is out of control at this point.

Heidi.

COLLINS: The view from Amman, Jordan, our Ben Wedeman.

Ben, thank you.

HARRIS: His country is in turmoil. His capacity to govern there is certainly in doubt at this moment. A leaked memo raises questions about Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ahead of his meeting today with President Bush. The memo was first reported by "The New York Times" and confirmed by CNN. It was prepared by President Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley. The document says al- Maliki's intentions seem good, but the reality on the streets suggests, "Maliki is either ignorant of what is going on, misrepresenting his intentions, or that his capabilities are not yet sufficient to turn his good intentions into action." The document spells out steps that can be taken to strengthen al-Maliki's position.

Let's get you now to Baghdad and to CNN correspondent Arwa Damon.

Arwa, big news out of Baghdad today. The lawmakers and cabinet ministers loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr suspending their participation in the government. Sort of parse this out for us and tell us what it really means.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, first off, now if you'll remember, that threat first came out late last week. Muqtada al-Sadr's political block saying that they would suspend their activities within the Iraqi government if the prime minister went ahead with that meeting with U.S. President Bush set to take place very shortly. They have made good on that threat, according to the head of the political block, Hasan Chenched (ph). The group has now suspended its activities from the government. They do hold at least 30 seats in parliament and control six ministers.

Now they are saying that, in addition to going ahead with that meeting, they're also saying that the Iraqi prime minister promised them that he would not be extending the U.N. mandate with regards to the multinational forces mission here in Iraq. That mandate did pass vote at the United Nations yesterday.

They are also hoping that this act is going to put pressure on the Iraqi government to meet a number of their demands. First and foremost being a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, as well as establishing security and restoring basic services.

But, really, Tony, this is an indication of how fragile Nuri al- Maliki's government really is. It appears to be crumbling from within. Remember, he owes his job to the support of Muqtada al-Sadr's block. Back at the time when the vote was going forward for who Iraq's prime minister was going to be, al-Maliki got it with a single vote. There was some kind of a back-door deal that was cut between Nuri al-Maliki and between Muqtada al-Sadr's political block at that time. Now, though, it appears that his main support base is falling apart.

Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Arwa, let me just pick up on a couple of things you mentioned there. Just this past weekend, this past weekend, with Wolf Blitzer, Iraq's national security adviser said, all of this -- they we're talking about now -- is political posturing. It is all the red herring. It is an empty threat. This is a very stable government. It has the support of three major communities and the three major parliamentary blocks in Iraq. It makes you wonder now, this from Iraq's national security adviser. It makes you wonder where the real power in that government lies.

DAMON: Well, Tony, and that's exactly what the Iraqi people want to know and a question they have been asking for quite sometime now. Who really is in control here? Who controls Iraq's streets?

They look around for the most part and they see that it is the militias that are controlling the streets. It's not the Iraqi security forces and it's not the U.S. military. They look to their government, which for the most part, if we look at what the national security adviser was saying, tries to put forward this face of national unity.

But really, Tony, the Iraqi people know what's going on. They hear the back door bickering that's happening. They realize that the country is fracturing. It's really not what a lot of people want, but it is the reality that is going on right here.

The Iraqi government is struggling to keep itself together. It is struggling even to put forward the facade that it is keeping itself together when, really, behind the scenes, it has every indication that it is falling apart.

Now lawmakers are trying to make amends. They are trying to hold meetings, national reconciliation meetings and conferences, to bring each other together. But as we heard from the prime minister in the last few days, he himself saying, let's be honest, the security situation here is a reflection of political disagreement. So the Iraqi government is also, at the same time, acknowledging, to a certain degree, that it is responsible for the security situation.

But really, Tony, it's a very complicated situation here.

HARRIS: Makes you wonder who the president is actually meeting. Is he meeting a man who can actually get something done in the country?

Arwa Damon for us in Baghdad.

Arwa, thank you.

A lot of ideas being placed on the table now as to what to do in Iraq. We will hear from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Peter Pace, at 1:45 Eastern Time this afternoon. Perhaps he will shed some light on reporting that suggests that a significant troop redeployment is being talked about within Iraq, moving troops from al Anbar province into Baghdad. Certainly questions on that, too. Peter Pace, 1:45 Eastern right here in the NEWSROOM.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters. COLLINS: Shoveling and shivering in the west. Snow, ice and freezing temperatures make for treacherous conditions in Colorado. Our Rob Marciano is live in Breckenridge. The sun just about thinking about coming up. 8:11 there now.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi? Hello?

COLLINS: Yes.

MARCIANO: Yes.

COLLINS: Yes, Rob, we have you. We see you.

MARCIANO: How you doing? Well, I heard you say sun coming up and I'm looking for it. It is brighter, but the sun is covered with clouds. It's been snowing all night and all morning long, that's for sure.

Winter storm warnings are up through at least noon local time, maybe longer than that. We've already seen upwards of 10 inches of snow here in Breckenridge. Down the road, in places like Aspen, they saw two feet of snow. So this has been a major dumping, no doubt about that.

You know, it's a catch-22 with all things weather. With this one, here in Breckenridge and on main street, they've got the Christmas decorations up. Nothing like a Christmas tree fully decorated with a little bit of snow on top of it. It's just a beautiful sight. So people are enjoying that and they're enjoying the fresh snow.

But it is a cold snow. This is a storm that started in the Pacific Northwest, bringing snow to Seattle. For this time of year, to see that much snow in Seattle, you know it's a cold air mass. Then it went to Idaho, in through Utah and now in through Wyoming and Colorado in the form of snow and bitterly cold.

Temperatures have dropped four degrees in the last hour. Now we're back down to 1 degree. We were climbing a little bit, now we're dropping. So it's only getting colder here in Colorado and that's going to be the ongoing theme as we go into the plains. You're the next to get it.

Unfortunately, the roads have been awfully bad. There are two fatal accidents. One taking the lives of four people in a minivan along with 10 other immigrants we're told, yesterday.

And then this morning, we had a report on I-25 south of Denver, where a pickup truck rolled over. Three people were involved in that and there was one fatality. That's one of at least six other accidents on that treacherous stretch of roadway. If you're try to get up and over the mountains, you need at least chains and/or four wheel drive to do so, otherwise you're going to be slipping and sliding. They might not even let you over the hill.

Still snowing here. Another five to 10 inches possible over the higher elevations and on the Continental Divide east side, we'll see even more than that. And down in the low land, at least for Denver, they're going to see snow throughout much of the day today as well. And then this whole thing, this whole mess, Heidi and Tony, slides off to the east. And everybody will get a piece of at least the cold air. Not everybody's going to see the snow. Places like Kansas City, like St. Louis and Chicago, all of which have been in the 60s the past several days, will see temperatures plummet by 20, 30, in some cases 40 degrees, within a 24 to 48 hour period. So things will get interesting east of here as well.

Guys.

COLLINS: Yes, we're east of you, so I guess we are in for a rude awakening.

All right, Rob Marciano, thanks for that.

Reynolds Wolf is now in the Weather Center to talk more about this.

Reynolds, really unusual for Colorado to be that cold. You can get that much snow without it getting that cold there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Pelosi's latest move. Who she won't pick to head a powerful House committee. What it means for your security. That's in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And your home, your biggest investment. Whether you're buying or selling, big changes. It could have a big impact on the bottom line. We'll add it up for you.

HARRIS: And Snoop Dogg. He raps for Jay Leno, then police make a move. What's going on here? Find out in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A Democrat passed over for a powerful post. It's politics and power plays as the party tries to get its house in order. The story from congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Even as he left the capitol, moments after learning he would not be the next chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Alcee Hastings was still making his case, highlighting his seniority on this powerful and prestigious committee as proof he was the most qualified candidate.

REP. ALCEE HASTINGS, (D) FLORIDA: Try seven years.

KOPPEL: But despite his seven years service, Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi told Hastings during their hour-long meeting he would not get the job. Hastings' supporters accuse critics of undermining his candidacy by highlighting a decades-old allegation that he tried to extort a $150,000 bribe when he was a federal judge, even though a jury acquitted him. Still, despite that acquittal, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Hastings in 1988 and the Senate removed him from the bench.

Hastings and his friends lobbied hard for him to win the post. On Tuesday, his former lawyer made another pitch in an opinion column in "The Washington Post." Not one to mince words, Hastings said he was "obviously disappointed" by Pelosi's decision, but that "our nation's national security is far more important than my professional security." And in a parting shot at his critics, Hastings ended his statement with a defiant zinger. "Sorry, haters," he wrote, "God is not finished with me yet."

Perhaps surprisingly, the congressional black caucus, of which Hastings is a member, and which has been among his biggest supporters, even writing a letter to Pelosi on his behalf, did not criticize Pelosi's decision. Instead, its chairman said that Hastings would have made an outstanding intelligence chairman and that they hoped that he will at some point in our nation's history.

As to who will be the next chairman, Pelosi isn't saying. But a Democratic aide says she hasn't made a decision yet but will do so in the very near future.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Ah, the power plays. The committee assignments. It all sounds very inside politic. Joining us to help bring the story home, CNN special correspondent and former Washington bureau chief Frank Sesno.

Frank, good to see you, as always.

FRANK SESNO, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Tony.

HARRIS: Thanks for your time.

SESNO: You bet.

HARRIS: You know, what does all of this really matter to me at home? I've got a mortgage to pay. I've got kids to get to school. I'm worried about their grades. This that and the other. Why should I care about this committee appointment?

SESNO: Well, pay your mortgage first and get your kids to school.

HARRIS: Thank you. Thank you.

SESNO: Do do that.

HARRIS: OK.

SESNO: Why does this matter? There's a whole bunch at stake here. You know, this is a relentless town. This is a power politics town and Nancy Pelosi is the new kid on the block, the new speaker of the House and she's got to put her imprint on things.

What's at stake? Her leadership. The unity of the party. How the Intelligence Committee is going to be managed. And we all know how much in the news and in the middle of events the nation's intelligence capabilities and assertions have been in recent years. And really the direction, the tone, the tenor, the projection of the Democratic Party that's in charge. So a lot is at stake.

HARRIS: Yes, but, Frank, hasn't she been pretty even-handed? She has ticked off members of the congressional black caucus with this decision. She has ticked off supporters of Steny Hoyer with her decision to back Murtha, her guy. I mean hasn't she been even-handed? And isn't that a mark of leadership?

SESNO: Some might say she's been even-handed. Some might say she's been ham-handed. That she came in and she put her chips on with Murtha. Murtha wasn't going to make it. Murtha had his own ethical issues. Murtha then failed and it shows that she bet on the wrong horse. You don't want to bet on the wrong horse when you're trying to assert your leadership may in this town say.

This is a tough town, you know. This is a town where people say it's not enough to succeed, your friends have to fail. So, you know, there's not a lot of running room for her.

HARRIS: Frank, how about this? The Murtha play was a loyalty play. Giving credit to Murtha -- they've got years together and history. But giving credit to Murtha and supporting him for what he did in changing the discussion about Iraq in this country. A loyalty play.

SESNO: You know, maybe. And that's, again, where you have the connect and disconnect between the "inside the beltway" playing and the "outside the beltway" playing. The intelligence committee really matters. And one of the things that has irritated Pelosi and a lot of liberals in the Democratic Party is that Jane Harman, who was the ranking Democrat there and who could step into this -- the most visible Democrat could step into this, was not tough enough on the administration, was not tough enough on Bush on issues of weapons of mass destruction, in the national security agency wiretapping -- or eavesdropping, rather.

So the question really is, what is the direction of that intelligence committee, what is the direction of this party, as events in Iraq, which you've been reporting all morning, seem to be shifting under their feet.

HARRIS: And we'll get back to that in just a moment. But one more question about Alcee Hastings and this decision. Wasn't the concern really -- and let's not be polite about this. Wasn't the real concern that because of his past problems, he was not the man to head up this very important and -- you rightly state that this very important, sensitive, key committee, at this particular time, or any particular time, but . . . SESNO: Well, partly that, Tony. Partly goes to the issue that Andrea Koppel touched on in her piece, and that's the question of his own credibility and allegations of corruption. Look, the Democrats, Pelosi chief among them, ran against the Republicans this past election season on charges that the Republicans had corrupted the Congress. That they behaved unethically and unacceptably.

And Murtha, we talked about him a moment ago, had his own ethical issue, his own ethical cloud. Hastings was impeached as a judge. You want him in there? Is that the projection you want to send about what the Democratic Party's all about after you run against the Republicans and issues of corruption?

HARRIS: Hey, Frank, I have to ask you quickly, and I'm sorry to do this to you. We've only got a minute or so. But the Stephen Hadley memo and the deep concerns it raised within this administration about the ability of the al-Maliki government moving forward.

SESNO: Devastating. Just devastating. You know, I've been hearing from people in the administration for quite sometime now real worry that Maliki just isn't strong enough, isn't tough enough, doesn't really control enough to do what needs to be done to bring order there. The Hadley memo comes out and says he's either incompetent or he's lying or he's misled or something.

And the question then becomes, who is the government and what is it doing? A lot of people here in Washington are now concerned that the discussion has now so shifted to how does the United States get out, who's to blame, and that the Iraqis are to blame, that this starts to set the stage for something that is, you know, pointing fingers.

HARRIS: So, Frank, who is the president meeting? Is he meeting a figurehead? Is he meeting an empty suit here in Amman?

SESNO: That seems to be what the Hadley memo asks as well. And what Bush said the other day -- I wrote his comment down. He said, "my question to him will be, what do we need to do to succeed. What is your strategy in dealing with the sectarian violence?" So they're leaning on Maliki. But the question is, is there anything there to lean on? And are events on the ground shifting so quickly, Tony, that Maliki, Bush, you know, all the kings horses and all the kings men can't put this Humpty Dumpty together again. That's a very, very serious, very serious question.

HARRIS: Well put. Let's leave it there. Frank Sesno.

As always, good to see you, my friend.

SESNO: Likewise.

COLLINS: Questioning the police. A community looks for answers after a deadly drug raid. We'll have that story for you in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Secret CIA prisons. A report this morning says they were no secret to almost a dozen European governments. CNN's Paula Newton joining us now live from London.

Paula, what's this all about?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's an issue that's been nagging at Europe for a while. When they started to find out about what they're called, these secret CIA flights that the U.S. was operating into Europe, they were concerned. They were wondering what their government's reaction, you know, would be to this and why they didn't tell anyone about it in their respective governments.

But we go through the flights, they were over 1,200 of them. Germany had 336. The United Kingdom, 170. Portugal, 91. We've got Spain with 98. Italy with 46. Ireland as well Kyra, 147. And Ireland, a place like Ireland, this has been highly controversial.

This really has ceased to be an issue since President Bush admitted that secret prisons, CIA prisons, exist. He said that in September. He said they're no longer in use right now, but refused to rule out whether or not they would be used again.

Here in Europe, the issue is which governments knew this was going on, when did they know it and why didn't they tell anyone? Most of the governments have been saying, look, for national security reasons, they won't say. An adviser to Condoleezza Rice says the report put out by the European parliament on these secret prisons and secret flights is hysterical, saying, look, you're making it sound like we were using these prisons or these transit flights for criminal behavior.

In fact, we were using them, most cases, for things like refueling stops and, in the majority of the cases, there were no prisoners on board. Interesting, two countries have been singled out, Poland and Romania, for having what they call these black sites, these secret prisons. No one is sure if they're still up and running. The U.S. says there's no longer detainees in them. But whether or not they're just sitting there, ready to go, is another question -- Kyra.

COLLINS: Paula, we know that this report is actually calling on some of these governments to go ahead and launch their own inquiries as to whether or not there were human rights violations. Is that something that's likely to happen?

NEWTON: In some countries, sure. Depending on the political situation, how much pressure can be brought to bear. But don't forget that in a lot of the countries, they're just going to say it's for national security reasons. We refuse to divulge these kinds of details.

I think the United States has shown in the past they have no interest in some of the details to be made public at all. They will bring pressure to bear on these countries to make sure that whatever happened is kept quiet. But, the investigation did come up with flight logs and different details of dates and what was done. I think the concern now is whether or not these secret prisons still exist and how much was known about these secret prisons when this was going on -- mainly in the years 2003 and 2004.

COLLINS: All right, Paula Newton, live from London this morning. Thank you, Paula.

HARRIS: A deadly frat house fire in St. Louis. Authorities say at least one person died in a blaze at the Pi Kappa Alpha house on the campus of the University of Missouri, St. Louis. The fire broke out before dawn today.

The body of 25-year-old Brian Shitler was found on the second floor of the brick house. He lived there with two other people. No one else was hurt and no word on what caused the blaze.

The first funerals today for victims of a deadly group home fire in Anderson, Missouri. Ten people died. Investigators now say they found no sign of arson in the early morning fire on Monday. Authorities plan a news conference at the top of the hour. Complete details in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Smiles for the cameras. Behind the scenes, tough calls on war. The American and Iraqi leaders holding a strategy summit today. A preview of it, in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: An Iraq war veteran makes a stop at an army medical center. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, a tour of duty for CNN's Warrior One.

COLLINS: In Iraq, yet another division and the so-called unity government faces another test. At the center, anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Lawmakers and cabinet ministers loyal to the militia leader are suspending participation in the Iraqi government. They're protesting today's heating between President Bush and Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Meanwhile, al-Maliki is already in Amman, Jordan, for that gathering. He and President Bush will discuss the escalating sectarian violence in Iraq and the training of Iraqi troops to take the lead in securing the country. President Bush has said he will not withdraw U.S. troops until, quote, the mission is complete.

HARRIS: His country is in turmoil. His capacity to fix the situation is in doubt. A leaked memo raises questions about Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, ahead of his meeting today with President Bush. The memo was first reported by the "New York Times" and confirmed by CNN. It was prepared by President Bush's national security adviser Stephen Hadley.

The document says al-Maliki's intentions seem good but the reality on the streets suggest that, "Maliki is either ignorant of what is going on, misrepresenting his intentions, or that his capabilities are not yet sufficient to turn his good intentions into action." The document spells out steps that can be taken to strengthen al-Maliki's position.

Also in Iraq, reports of shifting assignments for U.S. troops. ABC News has reported the Pentagon may pull out U.S. forces from the violence plagued Anbar province. They would then be moved into Baghdad to help security the capital. There are now about 30,000 U.S. troops in Anbar, the deadliest province for U.S. forces. Most of those deployed in that region are U.S. Marines.

COLLINS: Pope Benedict in Turkey, reaching out to Muslims, orthodox Christians and Catholics. CNN's Alessio Vinci covering today's papal mass.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is just a brief stopover for Pope Benedict here in Turkey on his way to Istanbul to meet with the world's leader of the Orthodox Christians. Here, however, it is a significant place which became an important center for Christianity in the early years after Jesus' death.

Legend has it this is where the Virgin Mary spent her last years in life and there is a Mary sanctuary. This is where the pope celebrated mass earlier today, amid, again, extremely tight security. The place is not very big at all. But it was swarming with heavily armed policemen. This site is visited every year by hundreds of thousands of people, both Christians and Muslims, who also revere Mary, but so far, only a few hundred people have been able to attend the pope's mass that took place in an intimate atmosphere, the smallest attendance, perhaps in recent memory, of a papal mass.

During the homily, the pope, again, perhaps aware of the sensitivity of this trip, avoiding any potential flash points, in particular, the one that minority religions in this country, though not oppressed, are under some pressure and on occasion, suffer some harassment. So he encouraged the small community of Christians to pursue their faith. And he mentioned the name of an Italian Catholic priest who was killed earlier this year here in Turkey by a gunman, a Muslim gunman, who later said he was enraged by the cartoons that appeared at the beginning in the Danish press portraying the Prophet Mohammad.

But nevertheless, the pope is here in Turkey with a message of brotherhood and dialogue and the pope's surprise move to basically back Turkey's bid to enter the European Union and his message of brotherhood and reconciliation is being interpreted here in the streets of Turkey as a positive move, especially after the pope made his controversial remarks in Germany, linking Islam with violence.

The pope's positive message also welcomed by the Turkish press as one main newspaper here in this country put it this morning -- it is a beautiful start.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, with the pope in Turkey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Questioning the police. A community looks for answers after a deadly drug raid. That story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: More questions, very few concrete answers. A community wants to know why was an elderly woman shot and killed in a police raid? CNN's Rusty Dornin has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kathryn Johnston was buried today. One week after she was shot dead in a police raid. As family and friends mourned her, they were still asking, who's lying about what happened that day?

We know this much. When police burst through Johnston's door, she fired a gun, injuring officers. They returned fire, killing her. But why did police raid the home of an elderly woman? they had told a judge an informant had bought drugs at the house earlier that same day so they were granted a search warrant. But that informant says no way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never went in the house. The police can't say I went in the house.

DORNIN: And there are more contradictions and questions. he day after Johnston was killed, assistant police chief Alan Dreher, suggested it was an officer who bought drugs at that address.

ALLEN DREHER, ATLANTA ASSISTANT POLICE CHIEF: An undercover went through, purchased narcotics.

DORNIN: Six days after the shooting, Atlanta's police chief says it was not an officer after all.

RICHARD PENNINGTON, CHIEF OF ATLANTA POLICE: Our narcotics officers sent a confidential informant into a house. That person purchased drugs.

DORNIN: Dreher had also spoken of another suspect.

DREHER: There was an individual that was arrested at an earlier incident, not related to this particular address right here.

DORNIN: Another search warrant, issued after Johnston was killed, states another suspect was taken into custody inside the residence. So who was it?

PENNINGTON: I can't comment on that right now.

DORNIN: And why was there a no knock warrant issued, allowing police to enter the house without warning? Narcotics officers had claimed in the affidavit, their informant had warned there were surveillance cameras at Johnston's house. But now police refuse to say whether they found any cameras. All seven narcotics officers in the unit had been placed on paid leave. PENNINGTON: Officers are say one thing. The confidential informant is saying something else. We don't know that -- that's why I have asked for independent review.

DORNIN: A review directed by the FBI and Georgia state investigators. Outside Kathryn Johnston's funeral, many expressed distrust of the police.

RENIE LAMB, FAMILY FRIEND: From the very beginning, I knew Miss Johnston wasn't a part of this. I feel bad we can't trust the police to do the right thing.

DORNIN: But also confusion.

JOANNA TREDWICK, FAMILY FRIEND: If there is an informant that's coming out now, I hope that he's telling the truth. I really do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: We can't stop talking about this story. Rusty Dornin joining us now in the NEWSROOM.

DORNIN: So puzzling.

HARRIS: So many questions and that piece does a wonderful job of laying out all of the questions that have yet to be answered. All right, let me have you if you would -- this kind of thing happens in the black community. And the reaction is, one of anger and disappointment.

But let's -- I want to focus on disappointment. There are people in this community who are absolutely disappointed because they need to be able to trust the police. Something like this happens. And trust is destroyed, correct?

DORNIN: That's right. And even Mayor Shirley Franklin came out last night, said it's one of the worst things that has happened to the city in recent years. People are angry. They kept coming up to the podium, saying, look, we've had so many of these cops break down our doors, with no signed warrants, that sort of thing. So it's definitely hitting a chord in the community.

HARRIS: Talk to us Rusty about the no knock warrant. This is the first I've even heard of this. It is connected to this case. I understand it is in place in Georgia, obviously, and that it is a pretty broad policy.

DORNIN: Well there are reasons that officers feel they have to use it. That is for the safety of the officers that are going up to serve the warrant. And also if they feel perhaps evidence might be destroyed if the suspects know they're coming up to the door.

Now in this particular warrant, they claimed that the informant told them that there were surveillance cameras in the house that might have spotted the officers coming up to the door. So that would have been a safety issue. HARRIS: Yes.

DORNIN: So that's why they use the no knock warrant. Chief pennington is saying they are going to review the no knock warrant very carefully after this case.

HARRIS: Well, Rusty, how about reviewing the use of informants? I mean this is an informant -- a lot of the problems here seem to stem from what was done, how the informant was handled, and the information the informant reportedly gave police.

DORNIN: Well, informants, as you know are usually -- have some kind of criminal background. That's why they use them, because they have access to that type of community and that sort of thing.

HARRIS: Right.

DORNIN: But in this case if you look at the warrant, it strictly goes on the statements of the informant, the policy of the department is to watch an informant, or watch someone make the buy ...

HARRIS: Good point.

DORNIN: But the warrant doesn't really make it clear. They say they searched the informant before he went into the house and the informant interacted with the person at the house. They described the house. Because a lot of the issues are, was it the wrong house?

HARRIS: Yes.

DORNIN: It's a very different-looking house from any other house in the neighborhood. There's a handicap ramp which is another issue that is cited in the warrant. Why didn't police know an elderly woman lived there? That's another question that is coming up.

HARRIS: And the FBI's involved.

DORNIN: That's right. They called them in after ...

HARRIS: Atlanta police did?

DORNIN: The Atlanta police called them in. The chief said he had worked in New Orleans and Washington. He was familiar with police misconduct. He didn't want to take any chances and he wanted to call federal authorities in right away.

HARRIS: Rusty, thanks for your work on this story. And we know you will be following the updates. Thank you Rusty, appreciate it.

COLLINS: Your home, your biggest investment. Whether you're buying or selling, big changes that could have a big impact on the bottom line. We'll add it up, right here in the NEWSROOM..

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. Employees at a major pharmaceutical company may be reaching for some of its pain relievers today after word of a major downsizing there. I'll have details when NEWSROOM returns. You're watch CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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HARRIS: Have you been following this story today, Snoop Dogg, the rapper guy, collared. Police arrested Snoop Doggy Dogg last night shortly after this performance on the tonight show. Calvin Broadus is his name, and he's facing arraignment on gun and drug possession charges. He's also accused of having a secret compartment in his car. Police say this arrest is part of an ongoing investigation stemming from another arrest. That one in late October. Also for alleged gun and drug possession.

COLLINS: Sold over 17 million records, that guy.

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

COLLINS: Smiles for the cameras. Behind the scenes, tough calls on war. The American and Iraqi leader holding a strategy summit today, a preview of that meeting in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Heavy snow, plunging temperatures, Denver to St. Louis, near record warmth turning to Arctic cold today. Watching the thermometer in the NEWSROOM. It's hot in here.

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