Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Protesters Take to the Streets of Lebanon; Rumsfeld Called for Changes in Iraq Policy Right Before Resignation

Aired December 02, 2006 - 22:00   ET

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


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: News from around the world. Thousands of protestors take to the streets in Lebanon, trying to overthrow the government. Israel is keeping a close watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem is the Hezbollah wants to make Lebanon an Iranian Lebanon instead of a Lebanese Lebanon. And it's a tragedy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: A triple car bombing, a pre-dawn raid, and more deaths in Iraq. Tonight, news that former Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called for major changes just days before he resigned.

Talk about a birthday party, a week of parades and huge celebrations, but why was the guest of honor a no show?

Unbelievable. The whole world watched a team of 30 doctors separate twin Iraqi girls. The hardest part of the 18 hour surgery? The doctors answer may surprise you.

Good evening, I'm Carol Lin. And before I go any further, I have got to tell you that we watched that surgery on a live feed out of Saudi Arabia. That is the first time for many of us, not to mention well, one of the surgeons doing a play by play to the world, while his team worked behind me.

You are in the NEWSROOM, your connection to the world, the Web, and what's happening right now. That's just one of the big stories tonight. You've been busy today, so let's get you plugged in.

We are tracking a story that may prove something astounding, whether Donald Rumsfeld was actually a war critic. Word today of a classified White House memo written by Rumsfeld pushing for military policy change in Iraq. It is dated two days before he announced his resignation. We've got full details live from the Pentagon in just a minute.

In the meantime, we want to show you the bloodshed in Baghdad. More than 100 people are dead in a string of car bombings and shootings and ambushes and roadside explosions. Police also found more than 40 bodies throughout the city. All had been shot to death. No justice, no peace. More than 300 people, led by community activists, marched through the Queens borough of New York City on Saturday. They're not satisfied with the police department's explanation a week after officers shot dead an unarmed man outside a Queens nightclub.

And we don't know who will run for president in 2008, but we know who won't, former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle. His advisor tells CNN the South Dakota Democrat chose to pass after visits to battleground states. Daschle served 26 years in the U.S. Senate. He was defeated for reelection in 2004.

Well, the next chapter in the debate over Iraq begins on Wednesday. That is when the bipartisan Iraq study group presents its report to President Bush. And a range of options have been debated around Washington. Among them, deployment of more U.S. troops and the phased withdrawal of U.S. forces. Dividing Iraq among Sunnis, and Shias and Kurds has also been on the table. And of course, some have argued that the U.S. should simply stay the course.

Well, sources tell CNN the Iraq study group has reached a consensus at least on one point, a gradual U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, but with no specific timetable.

Now Republican Senator John McCain doesn't agree with that view. And he is making it clear he wants to be the man in charge. Here's what he had to say earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: My dear friends, could I just say this to you in utmost sincerity? I would very much like to be president of the United States. I will be -- make a final decision -- I would make a final decision after sitting down with my otherwise reluctant family over the holidays.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, Senator McCain has been at the forefront of the Iraq debate. And he's held the same opinion since the earliest days of U.S. involvement in that country. But is his view a realistic one? CNN's Tom Foreman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM (voice over): Relentlessly, unflinchingly, like a broken record, John McCain has beaten the drum on Iraq. In 2003 --

MCCAIN: The dirty little secret is, is we don't have enough troops. We need to enlarge the size of the Army and the Marine Corps.

FOREMAN: In 2004?

MCCAIN: We needed more troops, we need it very badly.

FOREMAN: 2005?

MCCAIN: We'd love to see more troops there.

FOREMAN: This year, too.

MCCAIN: I always said we needed more troops in Iraq.

FOREMAN: But how many? The Brookings Institution uses this formula based on historic attempts to stabilize places like Japan, Germany, and Bosnia after war. Assume it will take at least 15 troops to protect neighborhoods, stabilize services, and control crime for each 1,000 Iraqis. There are around 27 million Iraqis, which means you'll need about 400,000 American troops. People argue about the specific numbers.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: But certainly that's two to three times where we've been, which suggests the current presence, and previous presence, have been small by the standards of history and of successful operations.

FOREMAN: The problem, according to many critics, is that America just doesn't have enough troops to double the current force of around 140,000 in Iraq. At best, they say, 20,000 or 30,000 troops might be available and might be able to stabilize Baghdad.

SEN. JACK REED, (D-RI): A third of our brigades in the United States are reporting non-deployable because of personnel and equipment shortages. So, the prospect of a magic bullet with just more troops, I don't think is there.

FOREMAN (on camera): There has been talk of a new draft, but most politicians here are running away from that idea. Even if a draft were approved immediately, it would take longer than year for more young Americans to be rounded up, trained, and sent to Iraq.

(Voice over): Despite all of that, many who are studying the war say more troops might still help, if they could simply contain some of the violence, encourage Iraqis to take on more of the burden.

O'HANLON: If Iraqi security forces were performing better, for example, we might not need to have this debate over American numbers.

FOREMAN: For now, however, the debate and the war keep marching on. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Shimon Peres talks all about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIMON PERES, VICE PREMIER, ISRAEL: The Iranian people themselves are ignorant about what's happening to their country. There's a censorship. They're not being told the real story. I think the outside world should let them know what's happening to them. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: The vice premier of Israel slamming Iran and Hezbollah next.

And Americans working hard, yet earning very little money. There's an anniversary tonight many people won't celebrate.

Plus, doctor, what do you think was the hardest part of this operation?

After working 18 hours to surgically separate twin girls, the lead surgeon tells me his biggest hurdle. And it's not what you expect.

All right, now it's your turn to choose the news. Is there a particular story that you want to hear more about? E-mail us at weekends@CNN.com or send us your video or web cam suggestion at CNN.com/exchange. And we're going to get you the answer within the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: We always like to see what you're clicking on at CNN.com, so here are the most popular. A head scratcher there on the West coast. A family of four from California vanishes during a visit to Oregon. It's been a week since anyone saw James and Kati Kim and their two daughters, two young daughters there.

And flip-flop on the stand. A teenager who once confessed to hacking his stepfather to death changes his story. And wait till you hear who he blames for the murder.

And enough of the snow already. They're sick of shoveling in the Great Lakes. And it's not even officially winter yet. See those stories, videos, photos and blogs day or night at CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: They're saying "Beirut is free, Siniora out." Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese filling the streets of the capital insisting that Lebanon's prime minister resign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a government that -- not all of the Lebanese have participated in it. This is the most corrupt government that Lebanon ever had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: The protesters believe Lebanon's leaders get too much support from the West, in particular the United States. Sunday will be the third straight day of angry rallies in Beirut.

Now Lebanon's neighbor to the south is certainly watching events unfold in Beirut. But Israeli suspicion extends throughout the Middle East. A short time ago, I spoke with Israel's vice prime minister and Nobel peace laureate, Shimon Peres. He believes united action against Iran is top priority now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PERES: The only strengths of Iran is the weakness of the international community. I mean, would the international community agree to have one policy, a joint one, and the coalition and tell Iran stop it, Iran would stop. I'm talking about the nuclear problem. But also I'm talking about the Iranian intervention in terror.

Iran today is the center of terror of all other places. They train. They finance. They finance the Hezbollah. They finance the Hamas. They're really troublemakers all over the places.

More and more the international focus is on Iran and its hand in funding, in weaponizing groups like Hezbollah that may have the Lebanese prime minister's black up against the wall and then supporting the Shiite militias in Iraq. That does not sound like a weak nation to me.

PERES: I believe that the united policy, vis-a-vis Iran, would save war for Iran and would save terror for the rest of us.

LIN: Do you believe that the United States should have direct talks with the Iranian government?

PERES: I'm not sure that you can have with them talks, because they are already (INAUDIBLE) and they feel themselves holy. And their holiness begins with an end. I'm not so sure that you can reason with them, because when you look at all the declaration coming from their leaders, it lacks reason. It lacks facts. It lacks honesty.

LIN: So what are the options? I mean, the United Nations has already imposed sanctions on Iran. You met with the U.N. Secretary- General just yesterday. Was this part of your discussion? What are some solutions that you're putting out there?

PERES: I think that the United Nations are not united on that subject. I mean, there is still a gap between American position, the European position.

The Europeans are right, but they're late. Historically, they're always a little bit late. They were late in the case of Stalin and in the case of Hitler. And now they now be again late. Would the Americans, the Europeans, and the Russians agree to have a common policy, I think it would immediately make Iran return to a normal size.

LIN: But if you -- with Israel's dissatisfaction with the U.N.'s response to Iran's meddling in the region, do you see ever Israel taking unilateral action against Iran?

PERES: No, I think Iran is a poll -- for the world. Israel shouldn't monopolize it. Israel has her own problems and bounds, which is sufficient for one country.

I think Iran is a danger to the rest of the world, to the future of the world, because if Iran will make the Middle East nuclear, finally nuclear weapons may wander over to the hands of irresponsible terrorists.

LIN: So I have to ask you about the status in the Middle East with the Palestinians. We saw that the prime minister had made an offering this past week to reduce the number of checkpoints, to try to return money that it had frozen from the Palestinian authority, to talk about prisoner release. What are the specific conditions for these concessions to the Palestinians? Are you saying that there should be peace talks scheduled with the Palestinians?

PERES: The answer is yes. One thing was achieved. And that is a cease-fire. I hope it will hold on in the future. But the Palestinian supposed to relieve the captured soldier that they have taken as a hostage.

And then immediately, our prime minister will meet with the president of the Palestinian authority, Mr. Abbas. And apparently one of the first subjects will be the release of prisoners. And the prime minister has already announced that we're going to release quite a number of them, unprecedented. And then we can talk about all the other subjects.

LIN: Shimon Peres, I could talk to you all evening long about the Middle East.

PERES: I would be delighted.

LIN: But such a pleasure to have you. Thank you for bringing us up to date.

PERES: Thank you, thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: In the meantime, we bring you back to the fight for Iraq. It is not working well enough and not working fast enough. That is a widely held position by opponents of the war, but it surprised even us when we heard who feels that way now.

On the line from Washington, CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre. Jamie, of course we're talking about this "New York times" reporting that Donald Rumsfeld actually had acknowledged that the war was not going well and that there was an alternative plan. What do you know about this?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's very interesting. "The New York Times" has obtained a memo that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld wrote on December 3rd. Actually wrote it on November 6. And -- nearly a month ago. And it reflects what he and the president said at the time that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld stepped down. Both of them were quoted as saying, in Rumsfeld's words, "that things were not going well enough or fast enough in Iraq."

But what the memo shows is that Rumsfeld in early November, had a pretty good idea about what was going wrong in Iraq and had a pretty good grasp of what it was the U.S. might have to do.

He lists a couple of suggestions, what he calls above the line and below the line suggestions. Above the line being ones that he thinks might be worth pursuing. And that includes increasing U.S. trainers and to aggressively beef up the Iraqi forces. And also, he talks about conducting an accelerated drawdown of U.S. bases. He's not necessarily talking about forces, but the number of bases to lower the profile of U.S. troops in Iraq.

This is a memo that he sent to the president back before he stepped down, one day before the midterm congressional elections and just two days before he resigned.

So that's where the language came from that we heard from both President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld about things aren't going well enough or fast enough in Iraq before Rumsfeld stepped down.

It's very interesting, because it shows that far from being in a state of denial, as some critics say, Rumsfeld seemed to have a pretty clear-eyed view that things weren't going well, and lays out a series of options to deal with it, including some ones that he doesn't recommend, but says might be worth considering, nevertheless, such as withdrawing U.S. forces from very vulnerable positions, modest drawbacks of troops.

But he says whatever they do, they ought to announce the new approach and say that they're doing it on a trial basis. And he argues that that will give the U.S. the ability to readjust if they have to in the future.

LIN: Jamie, in short - and I have to ask you this question. In short, is there anything in this memo and the timing of it that indicates it had anything to do with Rumsfeld's resignation?

MCINTYRE: Well, it's hard to say because that, of course, was the decision of the president. And it's not clear whether at the time he wrote this memo that Rumsfeld knew that his job was essentially in jeopardy, if he knew that he was on his way out, and how surprised he was when President Bush would have informed him that they've decided to, you know, bring some fresh eyes, as President Bush said, in the form of Bob Gates, who they're bringing in now.

So this just shows that just before Rumsfeld was essentially asked to step down, to retire, that he had provided the president with, again, a pretty sobering assessment of how things were not going very well in Iraq, along with some options that the president might want to pursue.

LIN: Right.

MCINTYRE: So it's just a very interesting insight. And of course, then the question you have to ask is why is this memo leaked now? Was it an attempt by somebody who wanted to make Rumsfeld look bad?

LIN: Well...

MCINTYRE: Or is it a possibility that it was somebody who wanted to make Rumsfeld look good to show that he knew what was going on?

LIN: ...and isn't this the second time that Donald Rumsfeld has overshadowed the man who is up at bat to replace him? I mean, Gates' confirmation hearings start on Tuesday.

MCINTYRE: Well, you know -- and, again, it's really hard to know the motivations for leaks like this. But it reminds me of the other famous memo of Rumsfeld that was leaked, the so-called long, hard, swathe memo, in which once again in a private memo, Rumsfeld seemed to be giving a much more sober assessment than he was admitting in public about how things were going in Iraq. And again, at that time, that memo was sort of spun to show that he was - that he had a good idea of what was going on.

LIN: All right.

MCINTYRE: So it's a very interesting memo, because it's in Rumsfeld's words.

LIN: Yes.

MCINTYRE: And "The New York Times" has basically gotten the whole text of the memo.

LIN: And the timing of it. All right, Jamie McIntyre, senior Pentagon correspondent. Thank you.

MCINTYRE: Thank you.

LIN: In the meantime, strange calls made by an alleged kidnapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's wild, because he carried on a conversation with nobody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Now police hope those phone calls lead them to a baby snatcher.

And two sisters spending their first night separated. The amazing story of their surgical separation and the doctors behind it still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Now to stories making news across America tonight. Fort Myers, Florida, police can hear their suspect's voice. They just don't know where she is. A woman who allegedly kidnapped a newborn left a message on a business voicemail. She apparently pretended to ask the baby's mother for directions, and then borrowed the cell phone as a distraction and made a phony phone call before grabbing the baby and taking off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got to remember that when she -- when she pulled this off, she had a baby seat in the car and she had a diaper bag in the car and she didn't have a child in the car. So she was prepared to do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: In Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, police say a man arrested in a serial killer investigation is cooperating tonight. Ronald Dominique is charged with killing two men in the late 1990s. Police are trying to find out if he's connected to the deaths of 20 other men. Many of the victims were poor. Forensic evidence led to Dominique's arrest at a homeless shelter yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This afternoon we had several homeless guys and transients, men that was standing outside for the meal at 5:00. They were actually clapping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Thousands more people are sitting in dark, cold houses tonight. A winter storm has moved East from the Midwest, knocking out power from Tennessee to New York. Utility crews are still trying to restore power to thousands of Midwest customers as temperatures fall below freezing. The storm is blamed for at least 13 deaths.

And soon, big brother will be watching every move L.A. Police make. "The L.A. Times" reports for the first time, the department is installing dashboard cameras to patrol cars beginning next week. The announcement comes on the same day African-American leaders reviewed by standard videos of police using force to capture suspects. Well, the LAPD says that the cameras will be used to better track how arrests are conducted.

Now celebrities and causes, they go hand in hand from Sharon Stone and Ashley Judd, to supermodel Iman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need from (INAUDIBLE) to Angelina to help us through this. You know, I don't care what it comes from. At least I really want somebody to help us to stop the dying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Celebrity status for a good cause, raising awareness about AIDS in Africa.

Plus, the whole world watched 30 doctors separate two baby girls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We write the plan on the operating room to ensure that everybody follows the plan as written.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: My chat with the lead surgeon in eight minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice crisscrossing the globe as the diplomatic sands shift in Iraq and in Washington, D.C. The top U.S. diplomat lands a nomination as "TIME" magazine's person of the year.

ROMESH RATNESAR, WORLD EDITOR, TIME: Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State, I think, has emerged as the pivotal figure in the Bush administration's national security team. The Secretary of State, she's come into her own. And she's developed a level of influence within the administration that I think only the vice president possibly can match.

Her main accomplishment is sort of shifting the rhetoric of the administration's foreign policy away from this kind of unilateral unilateralist "with us or against us" approach that we saw in the first term. And we could see next year or the year after Condoleezza Rice really being thrust to the forefront as the U.S. tries to deal both with managing some kind of withdrawal from Iraq and also dealing with the threats from Iran and North Korea.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Demonstrators in Beirut spending a second night on the streets within earshot of the Lebanese prime minister's office. A growing pro-Syria opposition movement aims to push the elected government out, saying the Lebanese people are not represented.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The parliament chose a majority of politicians, not the majority of the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: He's Latin America's biggest critic of U.S. foreign policy. Hugo Chavez looks headed for another term as Venezuela's president. The election is tomorrow. Chavez has formed close ties with both Cuba and Iran. He's even called President Bush the devil, among other things. Opposition leaders warn of potential vote tampering, but election monitors will be on duty.

Now Chavez ally Fidel Castro was a no show today in Havana. A parade in his honor went ahead as planned. It marked the 50th anniversary of Castro's rise to power in Cuba. There's growing speculation about his health to be sure. He hasn't made a public appearance since he had intestinal surgery four months ago. And call it a reminder that life isn't always perfect, even when you live on the beach in Malibu. A water main break caused this sinkhole on the Pacific Coast highway. Traffic is down to one lane in each direction. Repairs could take days.

Two little girls conjoined twins, surrounded by war and linked to each other from birth. They were born in Baghdad's Sadr City with little chance of survival. Then Saudi Arabia's king Abdullah heard about them and they were flown to Riyadh for treatment. A little while ago after 18 hours of surgery, doctors separated them.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoon joins me by phone with an update on their condition. Mohammed, how are they doing?

MOHAMMED JAMJOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hello, Carol. The twins are doing remarkably well. They're now in pediatric intensive care unit, where they'll stay about one or two weeks. And after that, they'll be in the hospital for about three to four months at which point then they can go.

LIN: You know, it's remarkable just the history behind this surgery. And then you see the dynamic there, these two little girls who are Shiite. The surgeons, who are Sunni. Reporters asked the doctors what they thought this surgery symbolized. What did they say?

JAMJOON: Oh, absolutely. One of the things about this surgery is that it got a lot of media attention in this part of the world. The girls were born. The mother made an appeal to the media. A lot of different surgical teams from across the world vied to try to work on them. They decided to come to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Abdullah.

And it was really basically a humanitarian gesture. And they were trying to reach out across different ethnic lines and national lines. And they brought them here. And the story really gained a lot of momentum.

LIN: And these little girls, we're looking at video of them, Mohammed. They are just adorable. And I'm wondering what the prognosis for them is going to be.

JAMJOON: The prognosis is good. When the girls arrived to Riyadh, they faced a lot of obstacles. They were already malnourished. They had to gain weight before they could be operated upon.

First they had to be assessed by the surgical team to see if they could actually have the surgery. They decided that they could, but they were underweight.

They thought that it would take about two to three months for them to gain the necessary amount of weight in order to be operated upon.

Well, it actually ended up taking about nine -- more than nine months, that plus the fact they kept getting different types of infections. It's really been a long road for these girls. And today was a real sense of relief by everybody who's been involved in this process, the fact that they had the surgery and the fact that it just went so remarkably well.

LIN: Now Mohammed, I'm just wondering, as you were covering this story, what struck you?

JAMJOON: Well, it was amazing to see these girls. They were so full of personality. When we went there, I don't think we thought that we would get as much access to them as we could and interact with them as much as we could, and the family.

And they were just -- they were just so pleasant to be around. And the mother and the father, Haidra and Majda, who have really had a tough road as well, and their son, Ali, basically saying how happy they were to be there.

Today, it was very interesting, because there was a rollercoaster of emotions. I kept speaking to the father throughout the day. At the beginning of the day, he was playing with his girls before they were rolled into surgery by the middle - and he was relaxed.

By the middle of the day, he was saying that he was fatigued. He hadn't slept the day before, hadn't been able to because he was so nervous.

By the end of the night when everything went so well, he was overjoyed. He was coming out and kissing the doctors on the cheeks and shaking everybody's hands and just saying how happy he was. So it's really been a very emotional story.

LIN: Oh, Mohammed, thank you so much. In fact, we're going to hear more now from one of the surgeons. Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabia was the chief surgeon for the delicate operation. And I spoke with him a short time ago. I started by asking him what part of today's surgery was the most difficult.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABDULLAH AL-RABIA, DR., CHIEF SURGEON: Many, many areas were difficult, but I would say the liver and bowel separation and filleting the small shared limb were the most critical stages of this operation.

LIN: Do you ever get nervous? Were you ever scared?

AL-RABIA: Well, with the presence of the media, I get scared.

LIN: I know, because this was so unusual. We were watching the entire operation on a live feed. And you turning around and talking to the cameras while the team worked behind you. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that.

AL-RABIA: Well, Carol, I think -- you make people a bit nervous.

LIN: I don't mean to. AL-RABIA: But also, you are pleasant enough that we are confident.

LIN: Well, I'll tell you, 30 -- what, 30 different doctors with different specialties working on -- in this operation? Is that true?

AL-RABIA: That's true. With a planned arrangement so that we have also to maintain who comes in the room and who leaves the room, so that we avoid traffic in the room.

LIN: Yes, because that is an enormous number of people working on these girls. How do you coordinate everybody?

AL-RABIA: Well, Carol, we plan ahead of time. We meet several meetings before the operation. Also, we meet two days before the operation. We do rehearsal to ensure that everybody knows what his job is. And also, we write the plan on the operating room to ensure that everybody follows the plan as written.

LIN: Got to be meticulous. So what do you think is going to be the biggest challenges ahead for the twin girls?

AL-RABIA: The biggest challenges, as I mentioned, we have to be careful with the infection, with the wound care. That's for the early phase. And then the rehabilitation will be another challenge because we have to do a lot of rehabilitation, physical therapy, and then putting an artificial leg for them in the future.

LIN: But imagine, you know, the possibility of a normal life for these two girls. You've given them the gift and a miracle. Dr. Al Rabia, congratulations again to you and your team. Good work. Get some sleep.

AL-RABIA: Thank you and thank you for your viewers. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Yes, Dr. Al-Rabia told me that he's not going to be sleeping tonight. All that adrenaline, he is so pumped up. And there's still so much work in monitoring the two little girls. He said he'll sleep tomorrow and perhaps only for about four hours. A lot of work ahead for the family and those girls.

Now stuck on the road or stuck at home, a winter blast hits hard.

And this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a woman and it's a mother dead of infection when you hear that there are children that who are dying by that kind of numbers, it is -- it's a call for action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Her mission on the catwalk transformed into building a clinic. Supermodel Iman takes up the fight against AIDS. Find out why it hits her so close to home.

You're right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: That's the kind of severe weather that folks have been having to deal with in parts of the country. And I can imagine, Jacqui Jeras, the calls to the insurance companies come Monday morning.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I'm sure they're in there definitely. And you could even have some more. The snow melts down, we may have some more car accidents. There's a lot of black ice out there in some of the area streets, the kind of stuff that you don't see but you sure can slide on.

We've got some great I-report pictures coming in. This one is coming from Jack Barry from Columbia, Missouri. Take a look at this. It takes you a second to figure out what it is. But yes, that is a car covered up in the snow. Jack is a University of Missouri student, and maybe in the journalism school there. Hey, Jack Barry, not a bad TV name.

This is the doorway from his apartment complex there. And if you look real close, you can kind of see the outline of the indentations on the door.

And there's Jack himself with his ruler in hand measuring all of that snow. And boy, did they have a lot of snow in Columbia In fact, anywhere between 15 and 18 inches was reported across the area.

Want to go ahead and show you some other snowfall totals that we've had from this storm. One of the biggest numbers I could find, Snowbird, Utah out there in the mountains 28 inches. We had about 15.5 in Columbia proper. 14 inches in Rockford, Illinois. Well, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 10.1 inches. Some heavier amounts up in Waukesha. And Amarillo, Texas had over eight inches of snow. Yes, eight inches of snow in Texas.

And that snow has moved out now, but the cold air has moved in and taken its place. So it's going to take quite a while to melt it. And while it's been very cold all day today, even colder air coming in tonight. So tomorrow's high temperatures are going to be even lower than what they were for today.

Windchill advisories in effect across much of North Dakota. Feels like 18 below right now in Bismarck. We'll be feeling between 20 and 30 below in the coldest hours late tonight and early tomorrow morning.

It feels like 5 below in Minneapolis, 7 above in Milwaukee and Chicago. St. Louis, where still many people are without power here. Feels like 24 degrees. Overnight temperatures there will be down in the upper teens to lower 20s. Single digits in the upper Midwest. And there you see that cold air in place for tomorrow. Only 32 degrees in Kansas City. Our storm system has dropped way down to the south and east, but we're watching for a low to redevelop here late Sunday. And that could track into the Northeast. We'll be watching places like Boston and Providence and maybe Long Island for a handful of inches of snow on Monday. Carol?

LIN: All right, it's not even winter yet, Jacqui. Really?

JERAS: Really.

LIN: OK.

JERAS: Not technically.

LIN: All right, thanks very much.

Now here's where you get to choose the news. We heard from Soeren Petersen, who would like the latest on the political power grabbing happening in Fiji. Well, Soeren, here's what we know so far.

It is definitely not a stable time in Fiji's history, as it looks like the military is poised to take control of that island nation. The commander of Fiji's armed forces says he is now in charge after a year long power struggle with elected leaders. We'll wait and see if that's really indeed the case.

Now keep in mind news emerges slowly from the South Pacific. Australia is sending navy ships close by in case they have to evacuate Australian citizens. Now if the military does take over, it will be the fourth coup in Fiji in 20 years. Soeren, thanks for writing in.

All right, you might want to ask these days what can you buy for a buck? A cup of joe? Candy bar? Soda? Supermodel Iman wants you to use it to save a life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IMAN, SUPERMODEL: It takes literally $1 a day to, you know, to really do this kind of a turnaround.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: She is off the catwalk, headed to Africa. Still to come, my candid conversation with Iman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Well, more than a million people in the U.S. have HIV or AIDS. That pales in comparison to the situation worldwide. 40 million people around the world are living with HIV. 25 million people, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, have died from AIDS since the first case was reported in 1981.

And the World Health Organization says only 24 percent of people with AIDS are getting the treatment they need. Supermodel Iman has teamed up with her friends in a new "I Am African" campaign to help raise awareness of the disease and raise funds for medicine. Iman plans to build an AIDS clinic in South Africa with the funds.

Well, I spoke with her yesterday on World AIDS Day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Iman, I would like to touch first on how AIDS awareness and AIDS fundraising became so near and dear to your heart. Why is this so close to you?

IMAN, MODEL: I personally think this is what's going to define our generation in our lifetime, because it will be what we have done or have not done about this issue.

And of course, as you all know, that I am an African. And it's the continent that I love and adore that's being ravaged on a daily basis. And our children -- the children, the children are really dying.

LIN: Iman, it may come as a surprise to some people because of your "Keep a Child Alive" initiative which provides funding for drug treatment for kids with AIDS, that so little exists for these children, so few treatment options. And yet, what you say, what, a dollar a day could actually provide for a child what they need?

IMAN: Absolutely. Pediatric AIDS is one of those really places that actually when it's detected early and the treatment is done quite early, the children are being able to be turned around within two years.

So it's really key, detection -- early detection and really taking care of the children at that early stage. And yes, it takes literally one dollar a day to, you know, to really do this kind of a turnaround. Yes.

LIN: And when you say turnaround, you don't mean cure, do you?

IMAN: Well, as we all know, there is no cure for AIDS.

LIN: Right.

IMAN: No, we're talking about treatment. What's happening in the West and what's been happening in the West quite for a long time now is that people have been on this cocktail of drugs that have altered their lives immensely. As we all know, like somebody like Magic Johnson, who has been living with AIDS for 20 years...

LIN: Remarkable.

IMAN: ...and looks very, very healthy. So the thing is, that's what we would like to provide to people in Africa who are living, you know, with the infection of HIV is that to have to be able to live a healthy and happy and long life as long as they are on these drugs. LIN: Iman, how do you account, though, for the spread of AIDS in Africa? When you talk about 40 million people, it's astounding.

IMAN: AIDS has not peaked. And so, we have been concentrating so many years in prevention, prevention. And of course prevention is key. But at the same time, as we all know, even in the West, prevention hasn't worked out that well.

LIN: The "I Am African" campaign, it has been provocative, to say the least. And you got some of the top names to participate. But when you look at these images, they are dramatic, they are stark. And in some cases, with Gwyneth Paltrow's involvement, they are controversial in having her dressed up in the tribal painting of her face. What do you make of that?

IMAN: The thing it is is people have lost the point of it. The campaign was supposed to be thought provoking. I came up with the idea.

And the thing is that I wanted for all of us to be reminded that we have this shared African DNA. It's in all of us. We are all Africans, whether you believe in us or whether you believe in that point or not.

But the thing it is, one thing in Africa -- and I'm talking as an African now. One thing in Africa is the celebration of tribal makeup. So what I really wanted to show is some kind of a tribal makeup that goes through the theme of the campaign. It wasn't necessarily to say that one person is an African now. But we do all have an African DNA that we all share.

LIN: When you take a look at the celebrities that are now involved in the campaigns, you know, Ashley Judd, India.Arie, Sharon Stone, what do you make of using celebrity for a particular cause? Does it serve the celebrity or does it serve the cause more?

IMAN: I'm really not interested in that question at all because I'll tell you why.

LIN: All right.

IMAN: Because it's not an interest to me why one person...

LIN: You don't care what the motivation is.

IMAN: I don't really care. The motivation, whatever the motivation is. But the key issue is that somebody is doing something about something, because I really would like -- would hate to see people who are complacent and not do anything about anything.

But the thing, also, is very important for us all to understand, we have become a celebrity conscious society. We are force fed on a daily basis, whether we like it or not, about what celebrities wear, eat, don't eat or whatever.

So if a celebrity does something that actually makes a difference in one way or the other, I really do not understand how -- why they should be criticized.

And I will say this also to the journalists. At least these celebrities are doing something. What have the journalists done for us? Not really much.

LIN: Well, you know, what? Getting the word out, Iman. A terrific cause. Thank you very much for joining us.

IMAN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: All right, up for bid on Iman's website is an opportunity to co-name her AIDS clinic along with singer Alicia Keys. So to make your bid, you can go to www.charityfolks.com. Other items are being auctioned off as well.

A check of the hour's headlines after the break. And then stay tuned for "CNN Presents: Where Have All the Parents Gone?" CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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