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Bush Acknowledges War Going Poorly; Another Russian Spy Poisoned?; Iraqis Fleeing Country; Arizona Man to be Charged for Serial Killings; NASA to Return to Night Launch; Astronaut Talks about Future of NASA

Aired December 07, 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 live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: And I'm Don Lemon.

PHILLIPS: Intrigue intensifies in the spy poisoning case. Now a key witness has radiation poisoning. We're live from Moscow.

LEMON: It is a heart wrenching story of a hero. James Kim's final journey to try to save his family.

PHILLIPS: Heading to heaven. I'm talking shuttle launch, mission to Mars and living on the moon. Astronaut Jeff Ashby joins us live.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: They are friends, they are allies, they are leaders of nations at war. President Bush today hosting British Prime Minister Tony Blair. A wide range of topics on their official agenda. But we all know what they'll talk about most.

Straight to Washington and CNN's White House correspondent, Ed Henry -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Don, that's right, a press conference that was dominated by, of course, the Iraq Study Group report that came out, blistering repudiation of the war that has become synonymous with Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair.

Mr. Bush asked first by an American reporter whether or not he will acknowledge that his approach in Iraq has failed. He gave us as close of an admission of mistakes as you'll get from this president, saying, quote, "I believe we need a new approach." And he said, as well, he would not accept all the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. He did say it does show a possible way ahead.

But then a British reporter pressed the president very directly: will you now admit the situation in Iraq is bad? Mr. Bush said it is bad. But then there was a follow-up in which this reporter basically said why did it take others to say that it was bad before you would acknowledge it? The president got quite emotional.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Make no mistake about it. I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to the families who die. I understand there's sectarian violence.

I also understand that we're hunting down al Qaeda on a regular basis and we're bringing them to justice.

I understand how hard our troops are working. I know how brave the men and women who wear the uniform are and, therefore, they'll have the full support of this government. I understand what long deployments mean to wives and husbands and mothers and fathers, particularly as we come into a holiday season. I understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: The president did heap some praise on this Iraq Study Group report. He really would not offer any specifics. And the bottom line is when he was pressed on the Iraq Study Group suggestion that most combat troops be brought home by early 2008, he really wouldn't answer that, except to say that he wants to bring them home as soon as possible but it depends, as he said over and over, on conditions on the ground.

And also, pressed on whether or not the U.S. should have direct talks with Iran and Syria, he really demurred on that, as well, Don.

LEMON: Ed Henry at the White House. Thanks you, sir.

PHILLIPS: We've got a developing story happening right now: more apparent poisoning cases involving former Russian spies. A report out of Moscow says that a former agent of the KGB has fallen into a coma. He's one of two former agents who met left month in London with the former Russian spy who suddenly fell ill and died weeks later.

For more on this story, let's get to CNN's Ryan Chilcote, who joins me live from Moscow.

Ryan, what do you know?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, again, we're getting all of this information from one source right now. We're getting it from the Russian news agency Interfax who, for its part, is saying that it is getting it from informed sources, that Dimitri Kovtun, as you said, one of the two Russians that met with the ex-spy, Alexander Litvinenko, in a London hotel shortly before Alexander Litvinenko fell ill, is himself now ill.

In fact, the Interfax news agency is reporting that he is in critical condition and that he is in a coma.

The sources that are talking to the Russian news agency Interfax say that he fell ill almost immediately after he finished up giving testimony as a witness to detectives from Scotland Yard and the Russian prosecutor's office. They say that almost immediately after that questioning today, he fell ill. He was admitted into the hospital. And that he is in critical condition right now in that hospital in a coma -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Have we heard anything more from President Putin? At the very beginning of this, he came forward and said, "Look, I wasn't involved in the poisoning of this former agent." Now we're see more people get sick, we're seeing more people affected. What's the stance?

CHILCOTE: We heard from President Putin very early on, you're exactly right, that -- that the Russian government had nothing to do with this. He called it nonsense. He said that people were trying to speculate that the Russian government had something to do with this for political gain.

We have not heard from the Russian president since then. We've heard from almost everyone down the hierarchy below him. We have heard from the Russian foreign minister.

We have heard from a spokesman from the Russian spy agency that Russia, they say, had absolutely nothing to do with the poisoning death of Alexander Litvinenko. They've been quite adamant about that. They've said that they believe those allegations are nonsense. Furthermore, they say that they had absolutely no reason to poison Mr. Litvinenko. They say he was basically an inconsequential, an insignificant defector who really didn't have that much of -- that much valuable information.

And certainly, if you look at the defectors the Russian government says that are out there, people that are causing the Russian government harm, basically revealing important information that the Russian government would rather not get out, they're saying that Mr. Litvinenko, in comparison to them, was basically a nobody.

So they have been very, very consistent in denying any kind of link to Mr. Litvinenko's murder. And of course, they also maintain that they have been very, very cooperative with -- with the British authorities in making sure that the British authorities can conduct their investigation in the fashion that they see -- see right.

They've allowed those investigators to come here from Scotland Yard, they say, and they're doing their work. They're allowing them to carry out their work.

Albeit, of course, the Russian government has put some very important restrictions on the work of those investigators from Scotland Yard. The investigators from Scotland Yard are not allowed to independently ask any questions of the witnesses that they are talking to. Russian prosecutors have to be there at all times. They have to actually communicate the question to the witnesses.

The Russian government says it had nothing to do with Mr. Litvinenko's murder. It is now considering it a murder. They do classify what happened to Mr. Litvinenko, the ex-spy, as a murder. And they are being cooperative with this British investigation.

PHILLIPS: Ryan Chilcote, live from Moscow. Thanks, Ryan. We'll stay on it. LEMON: They said it would be a tough sell, and they were right. The two lead authors of the gloomy Iraq war report took their findings today to what may be one of their most skeptical audiences, the Senate Armed Services Committee. Now, while most members generally endorse the Iraq Study Group report, a senior senator made very clear just how much he does not.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (r), ARIZONA: I'd just would like to say it should alarm us and it's out of the scope of your study that 300 million people in America and with the responsibilities we have throughout the world that we don't have enough troops to surge in Iraq, which was your conclusion. And I do not believe it would require 100,000, but I won't waste the time of the committee.

But it's dispiriting to -- I think there's a disconnect between what you are recommending and the situation on the ground. I very much appreciate all your work.

SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: Thank you, senator McCain. I hope in the course of your dialogue here today you can touch once again on the involvement or noninvolvement of our troops in combat, relating to sectarian violence.

Speaking for myself, I think they should not be put in positions where if Iraqi troops decide to get involved directly in trying to fight against the Sunni or fight against the Shia, because of the senseless wanton killing for religious reasons. I do not think they're there for that purpose.

JAMES BAKER, CO-CHAIR, IRAQ STUDY GROUP: Senator Warner...

WARNER: Yes?

BAKER: Just one more thing with reference to Senator McCain's very, very valid point. We also call, Senator, for support of a short-term surge of forces for the mission in Baghdad, if U.S. commanders should suggest it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Former secretary of state, James Baker, a Republican, and former congressman, Lee Hamilton, a Democrat, co-chaired the group. The report specifically rejects the notion of adding troops to the Iraq deployment.

Every day, a new spike in Iraq violence. Bombings, shootings, kidnappings, unchecked with no end in sight. Proud, some say, stubborn Iraqi people used to feel that staying put was the best way to show their strength. It is that idea -- is it changing?

Let's go now to CNN's Ben Wedeman in Baghdad.

Ben, is it changing? BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is changing, Don. As we heard from that Iraq Study Group, which described the situation here as grave and deteriorating, now most Iraqis at this point would probably agree with that. And some have decided it's time to go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): You need a big bag and a strong back if you're packing up your life and leaving. At Baghdad's international airport, travelers arrive early for repeated checks and searches. And many have only bought one-way tickets.

(on camera) There was a time following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime when Iraqis were returning to this country. But now, with anarchy and violence a daily reality, many are leaving.

(voice-over) Businessman Laif Yasin (ph) says he's had enough. "Recently, there have been mortar attacks on our neighborhood," he says, "and mortars don't differentiate between civilians and fighters."

He's leaving with his mother, wife, sisters and their children, heading to Alexandria in Egypt where they have relatives. The family's planning to stay there for a year or more, depending on what happens in Baghdad.

With only $7,000 in his pocket, Laif (ph) is hoping he'll find a way to support his family.

Travel supposedly broadens the mind, but sometimes it can break your heart.

"It's hard," says Laif's (ph) mother Haifa. "I cried my heart out. It's not easy to leave your country. But we have no choice."

Increasingly, Iraqis, often the country's best and brightest, are rushing for the exits. According to U.N. figures, 2,000 Iraqis leave every day for Syria, 1,000 for Jordan, some by car, others by plane, with no idea when they'll be back again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: Now, Don, you mentioned the pride of the Iraqi people. And we found the people at the airport are proud. They say they put up with years of the tyranny of Saddam Hussein and now the situation, as it is.

But they said that they simply have no choice. They're worried about their families, their children. And they say they simply cannot stay any longer. They're going to have to become refugees somewhere else -- Don.

LEMON: So, Ben, so for the Iraqis who are staying, are some moving away from the sectarian violence?

WEDEMAN: Yes, well, in addition to those who are leaving the country, according to the United Nations, 1.4 million Iraqis have become what are called displaced persons. Those are people who move from one part of the country to another, where they feel safer. Usually, they're driven out in -- by ethnic cleansing and death squads. And according to the U.N., the number of people who moving within Iraq itself is at the rate for the moment of about 40,000 a month.

LEMON: Ben Wedeman in Baghdad, thank you so much for that.

PHILLIPS: He cruised to approval in the Senate. Now Robert Gates is just days away from taking over as defense secretary. Senators voted 95-2 in favor of Gates succeeding Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon. Gates will be sworn in on December 18.

The two no votes came from Republicans Rick Santorum and Jim Bunning. They both cited Gates' negative remarks about progress that the war in Iraq is making and his willingness to consider talks with Iran.

LEMON: In his last desperate hours, James Kim couldn't know how many people were pulling for him to make it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN ANDERSON, UNDERSHERIFF OF JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OREGON: At 12:03 hours today, the body of James Kim was located down in the Big Windy Creek.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And, today, there's no shortage of sadness over Kim's death. We'll share some poignant tributes ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Also straight ahead, all systems go if the weather will just cooperate. Astronaut Jeff Ashby joins us live to talk about the shuttle mission, a NASA base on the moon and new evidence about water on Mars. Trust us, we're always totally spacing out here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We've got some breaking news for you. Let's head to Carol Lin in the CNN NEWSROOM -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Don, we have the latest on the -- what's shaping up to be the largest criminal case in Phoenix, Arizona, history.

A man named Mark Goudeau who was arrested back in September for two sexual assaults is being more closely linked to a string of murders. They're adding, in addition to two sexual assault charges from back in September, nine homicide charges and 71 other criminal charges.

There was a case of a serial killer they'd nicknamed the Baseline Killer, and it is shaping up to be a huge case against this man. We heard a short time ago from Sheriff Jack Harris out there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JACK HARRIS, PHOENIX POLICE: That investigation has come to the point where today we are submitting 71 criminal charges to the county attorney for prosecution against Mark Goudeau.

Included in those 71 cases are nine homicides: eight homicides that occurred in Phoenix and one homicide that occurred in Tempe. Those were all of the cases, homicide cases, involved in this particular serial incident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Don, this is a big break for investigators, because back in September, they suspected that he may be charged with more crimes. They say they didn't have the evidence. So in the last three months they described this as a painstaking investigation in which they got 8,000 tips. They have, now, a report 15,000 pages long.

They wanted to be so careful so that this prosecution would end up with a conviction. Now they're saying, "We have the evidence. We need to go to trial on nine more homicides in this case."

The news conference is still ongoing. So if there's anything more to add on that, we'll bring it to you.

HARRIS: All right. Thank you very much for that, Carol.

PHILLIPS: T-minus question mark. NASA is looking to launch the Shuttle Discovery tonight, but low clouds could postpone the flight. It's been some time since a NASA night launch. Our Miles O'Brien tells us why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liftoff of Space Shuttle Endeavor, another building block for the foundation of the International Space Station.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It's been four years since a space shuttle lit the night sky at Cape Canaveral.

TOM FORD, NASA DEBRIS TEAM: NASA's definitely ready to return to night launch. We're going to be safe with this mission.

O'BRIEN: After Columbia, shuttle managers decided day-light launches were safer, better to be sure their network of cameras could spot any trouble.

Columbia was struck by a piece of falling foam during its last lunch in January 2003. The resulting hole in its heat shield caused the orbiter to disintegrate during re-entry, killing the crew of seven.

After the disaster, NASA spent $10 million upgrading the cameras and the computers to track a shuttle as it hurdles towards space.

FORD: We're watching this video and we see a piece of foam liberate from up -- near the ice (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ...

O'BRIEN: Tom Ford leads the imaging team at the Kennedy Space Center. In the first three flights after Columbia, the system has proved its worth, documenting a large piece of foam that, fortunately, fell harmlessly on the first flight and then much more encouraging pictures on the next two missions, after engineers remove a troublesome piece of the insulation.

MARK POLANSKY, DISCOVERY COMMANDER: I don't see anybody in the program going and saying, the tank is fixed, the tank if fixed, what a wonderful thing. On the contrary, they are quietly encouraged, but you know that you could have a problem on the next tank or the tank after that or the one after that. You just don't know for sure.

O'BRIEN: Shuttle launches to the space station are closely synchronized to the orbit of the station. There's only one five- minute window a day. If NASA waited for daylight every time, the agency would not be able to fly the 15 or so station missions it has slated before the shuttle fleet retires in 2010.

In the darkness, NASA will rely more heavily on radar.

TONY GRIFFITH, NASA DEBRIS PROJECT MANAGER: It's very similar to a radar gun that a police officer would use to track the speed on the highway. And it is a device that is very accurate for measuring those speed differentials that you would expect to see with the debris slowing down very rapidly.

O'BRIEN: There are three radar sites, two on ships off the coast and one at the cape. The radar images may not seem like much to the untrained eyes, but experts say they can spot falling debris in pitch darkness all the way to space.

And NASA is quick to point out the cameras are just part of the picture. Once in orbit, Discovery's crew will conduct a thorough inspection of the heat shield at the start and the end of the mission.

WILLIAM OEFELEIN, DISCOVERY PILOT: The real big advantage by the daylight launch is making the design safer for folks behind it. Because what's happening as these cameras are going during your launch is happening. You can't do anything about that. But you can certainly do something about that for the next several flights.

O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Can you just imagine having a job that launches you into the night sky? Captain Jeff Ashby knows. He was the pilot aboard Space Shuttle Columbia when it blasted off on a clear July night in 1999.

Since then, Astronaut Ashby has traveled more than 11 million miles, flown 436 orbits around the earth and logged more than 600 hours in space, and he's on duty for tonight's launch.

Great to see you, Jeff.

CAPT. JEFF ASHBY, NASA: Good to see you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So that night launch you did back in 1999, you did that specifically because your mom, Liz, requested the night launch, right?

ASHBY: You know, my family has watched all three launches. And after seeing a night and a day launch, for my third one, they requested a night launch. But of course, I have nothing to do with it. It's all about the rotation of the earth.

PHILLIPS: And let's talk about that. Of course your mom thought it was more spectacular to watch a night launch. It is pretty cool. You can see from the pictures, it's amazing to see, and especially when you're right there at the launch pad.

But just talk about the significance of the night launch and the interesting part about the physics and how that determines the launch time.

ASHBY: Well, space station orbits the earth, much like a hula- hoop would encircle the globe. So only twice a day does any point on the earth, in this case, the launch flight in Florida, does it pass underneath that hoop and give us an opportunity to launch. And we can only take advantage of one of those. So one five-minute window each day, depending -- dependent upon the plane of rotation of the space station and the -- and the rotation of the earth.

PHILLIPS: And Jeff...

ASHBY: Something I can't control.

PHILLIPS: Understandably. The shuttle mission, though, the ultimate goal here is to get to Mars, right? Explain the link.

ASHBY: Well, if you look at mankind and our opportunities for the species to survive long term, you realize there are a number of threats to our existence on earth. There is a motivation, I think in all of us, to extend our species, and in order to survive long term, we'll have to travel out to other planets. Mars is the next obvious goal beyond our earth/moon system.

PHILLIPS: And a lot of critics say, hey, we're not ready to go to Mars. What do you think about that?

ASHBY: Well, actually, the critics fall in a number of different places. Some say we're not ready. Others say that we should go today. I believe, as NASA does, that it's prudent to go back to the moon and learn and develop our technology and our knowledge before we try and attempt the long journey out to Mars.

PHILLIPS: And let's talk about -- you mentioned the moon. And now this talk about actually having a moon base. Why? Why this talk? And why these plans now? And actually -- I know there are pictures that exist. I know we have those, to kind of give us an idea of what it would look like.

ASHBY: Yes. The moon is a very fascinating place. And we've only just touched the research that can be done on the moon to learn more about our earth and more about living on other planets.

To me, the most important part about going back to the moon and building a base is to learn to live off the land, something we will have to do if we want to sustain human beings on Mars for any length of time. We've got to learn to live from the soil and the atmosphere that's there.

PHILLIPS: So once that base is constructed, what exactly do astronauts do? Tell me what a day in the life of would be like.

ASHBY: You know, I think it will be very interesting, Kyra. I think there will be a number of different tasks. Of course, the spacewalks will be very special, as they go out and do geology and look for water, ice, in the shadows and the craters and things like that.

But also, inside, they'll be working with and testing equipment that is used to, for instance, to recycle the water you have or develop the power you have or continue construction of the facility that you have there. Growing plants is something we need to learn to do, for instance so we'll have food.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. Now it would be probably near the South Pole, right? And so that would give continuous sunlight, which helps with the power issue?

ASHBY: You know, there are places at the poles that offer near continuous sunlight. And right now, NASA's looking at one near the south pole that appears very promising. This would be the prime real estate on Mars if you wanted to use solar power.

In addition, the polar regions are regions that are totally unexplored on the moon right now. All the Apollo missions went to the more equatorial regions, and that's because of the nature of the spacecraft they had. Our new lunar spacecraft will have the ability to get to the polar regions.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Now I know I've got to let you go, because you've got to get to Cheyenne Mountain to get ready for the shuttle launch. Hopefully, that will happen.

But I do want to ask you, or at least tell our viewers, because I love this story. And as we're talking about this moon base and the significance of going to the moon, take us back to that moment when you were washing dishes as a kid. I mean that was -- that day was very special for you, wasn't it?

ASHBY: Yes, it was. It was here in Colorado. I was 15 years old. It was in the evening. And I watched Neil Armstrong descend the steps of the lunar module Eagle and dreamed one day of going back to the moon.

I won't make it. But today, as I live in Colorado and I watched, this morning, the moon come down over Pike's Peak, and I thought to myself how would it change us in this world if there was a light on the moon, if there was a light or evidence of humans on the moon? How would that change the way we think about ourselves and think about the future? And it was neat to consider that probability.

PHILLIPS: Isn't that mind-boggling? To think you were 15 you saw this actual moment, Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, putting that flag down, and now here you are having flown 436 orbits around the earth, and you're talking to me on CNN about a moon base. Did you ever imagine?

ASHBY: You know, I didn't ever imagine. And not only that, but our signal's going through a satellite, controlled by Air Force -- well, monitored by Air Force space command, where I work now.

It all -- space is so important to us now and space exploration. The future is just full of excitement and opportunity and challenges. It just -- it's so wonderful to be able to sit here and have the freedom to think about all the things that could come.

PHILLIPS: Well, we can't wait to -- well, hopefully, the launch will happen. We'll be following it, of course, and taking live coverage. You'll be there, helping with the whole operation. Captain Jeff Ashby, always great to talk to you.

ASHBY: Thank you, Kyra. It's a pleasure.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, we're keeping a close eye on the developments at Kennedy Space Center for tonight's launch.

Coming up in the NEWSROOM, a live update from our John Zarrella. And the Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to lift off tonight at 9:35 Eastern. We're going to keep checking in with Ashby to see if that does happen. Because whenever it does happen, CNN will there be with live coverage.

LEMON: Funeral for an ex-spy. Alexander Litvinenko is laid to rest as British police officially acknowledge what he maintained until his dying breath. It's a case of murder. And now a key witness in the case has fallen ill in Moscow. The plot thickens, next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, we're hearing today not only how Washington lawmakers are reacting to the Iraq Study Group's Report, but also European leaders, the Germans and the French. They're generally in favor of proposals to change course in Iraq. But how is the news resonating in Baghdad? Ahmad Al-Rikaby is -- he knows. He founded Iraq's first independent talk radio station, and has the pulse of the people.

Ahmad, welcome.

AHMAD AL-RIKABY, FOUNDER, DIJLA RADIO: Thank you.

LEMON: First of all, how are they reacting? How is this going over with everyday Iraqis?

AL-RIKABY: Well, the majority of our listeners, and I believe that this reflects also the majority of the ordinary Iraqis, are very pessimistic that this report will see the light and that those recommendations will ever be realized.

However, I mean, you will find different opinions when it comes to the different points suggested in the report. There are those who believe that the idea of strengthening the control of the borders is a very good thing. There are those who welcome the mix of the police with the Army forces. There are many welcomed points.

But at the same time, the Iraqis have heard many good suggestions before. They have heard many good recommendations before. But what they haven't seen is those reports put in practice. So it doesn't matter, really, how many good reports you bring or how many bad reports. People are not going to take them seriously unless they see the effect of those reports.

LEMON: Unless they see the effects. But do they think -- and you kind of touched on this. Do they think that anything will change because of this report or it's just more talk and more to come in a long line?

AL-RIKABY: Well, the majority don't think this, at least if I'm talking about our listeners. The majority don't think that this report will bring any change. As I mentioned, they don't think that this report will see the light.

However, there are those who believe, and this is minority, that because the Republicans failed in Iraq, the Democrats, the Democratic Party in the United States, is very keen on bringing different results in Iraq. So this might bring something to Iraq.

LEMON: What about the idea of troop withdrawal over time? And, also again, sanctions on the Iraqi people? Because I would imagine, and you can tell me if I'm wrong, that many feel that they didn't want this war anyway. But the idea of sanctions. First, I want you to listen to one of the Iraq Study Group members talking about the idea of sanctions and Iraqis taking the lead on security themselves. And then we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE EAGLEBURGER, IRAQ STUDY GROUP MEMBER: A serious part of the problem in Iraq right now that so much affects us is their inability to govern themselves, to do so many of the things that any normal government would do.

And if they're reluctant to take these issues on, then there has to be some way to lever them into doing it. And that's what this report in effect says, is that, you know, if they don't perform on these milestones, for example, there is going to have to be some cost to that for the Iraqis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Your response?

AL-RIKABY: Well, definitely, I mean, most Iraqis or all Iraqis don't want to have foreign forces in their country. But you won't find one single opinion in Iraq on this issue. I mean, how to see the end of the foreign forces' presence in Iraq. We don't have one Iraqi opinion, and, of course it depends on who you are asking.

If you ask this question in northern Iraq, in the Kurdish part of the country, you will have an answer very, very different from the answer you will get when you go to places like Anbar or Ramadi. In those areas, they want to see an immediate withdrawal of the American forces from Iraq.

Actually, some people who made comments today on the Baker/Hamilton report, especially from the insurgency, the Sunni insurgency, said that this report will only strengthen the U.S. presence in Iraq. And this is not good.

In Ramadi, people wants to see an end for this as soon as possible. In an Iraqi Kurdistan, they will be happy to see them stay for another 5 to 10 years. And in the south we have divided opinions. But I believe the majority of Iraqis fear that if the U.S. forces withdraw from Iraq today, we will have a big, large-scale civil war. I believe that we have civil war already in Iraq. But the bloodshed will be much bigger.

LEMON; Yes, and we've got to run, but I want to know -- I would imagine, as this report was going, we were talking about this report yesterday, there was violence happening as we were talking about it. I would imagine most Iraqis just want things to get back to normal if there is a normal. At least the violence to be scaled back.

AL-RIKABY: Well, this is the dream of all Iraqis now, to get back to normal, to feel like they are living like normal human beings. In our radio station, since the start in 2004, I've heard people complaining every day about the lack of electricity, the lack of proper water. I don't hear this anymore. People are not complaining about electricity anymore. Not because it's got better, not because they have proper electricity now. But because the security situation became so bad that all other issues are forgotten at the moment. And safety and security is the main concern for most Iraqis today.

So anybody, whether it's Baker, or Hamilton, President Bush or any of his opposition in the United States, bring a solution for the Iraqis, those people will be treated like heroes. Anyone who brings a solution for the Iraqi people for the security problem in Iraq will be treated like a hero in Iraq. So if this report brings really a solution for the Iraqis, they will probably print it in gold.

LEMON: Ahmad al-Rikaby, thanks for joining us today here on the CNN NEWSROOM. And you can get more on CNN.com. Read the full Iraq Study Group report and interact with others on the direction the U.S. should take in Iraq and get more at CNN.com, where you're in control.

PHILLIPS: The dark side of diamonds. Jewelers worried Hollywood might cut into their profits with Leonardo DiCaprio's new movie "Blood Diamond."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Diamonds are usually hot in December with the holidays and engagements coming around. But a new movie opening tomorrow about a ruthless smuggler who sells blood diamonds is putting a chill in the diamond industry. CNN's Ali Velshi is here to rap...

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Love your DJing Kyra. And that's exactly what it is.

PHILLIPS: That's Sucker MC-Otis.

VELSHI: Popular culture -- all the news in the world couldn't get this message across as effectively as this movie might get it across. You know for DeBeers and companies like that that have worked for decades to convince a bunch of suckers to spend two months salary on an engagement ring -- this is not the message they want a bunch of guys listening to. Take a look at this.

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VELSHI (voice-over): You may think it's been there forever, but it hasn't. De Beers flagship store on New York's Fifth Avenue opened just over a year ago. So why does the name sound so familiar? Maybe because for most of the 20th century, De Beers was diamonds.

No other industry has been so dominated by one company, one brand, for so long. De Beers was the only place most diamond dealers could buy the rough stones to cut, polish and sell to jewelers around the world. With a virtual monopoly, De Beers controlled how much it sold and how much it charged.

ROSALIND KAINYAH, DIR., DE BEERS GROUP PUBLIC AFFAIRS: If you're the only man in a village who sells bottled water, then I guess you set the prices because you're the only man in the village who sells the bottled water.

VELSHI: De Beers isn't the only man in the village anymore. Diamond prices are now driven by real supply and demand. But a relentless marketing campaign by De Beers turned a diamond into definitive proof of a young man's devotion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A diamond is forever. De Beers.

MATTHEW HART, AUTHOR, "DIAMOND": The diamond is the hardest natural substance in the world. It, in that sense, is more or less eternal. And De Beers managed to conflate these diamond qualities with the idea of eternal love.

VELSHI: That created demand for value in small packages. And while De Beers didn't intend it, diamonds became the currency of choice for warlords who needed to buy arms.

HART: A great big jet would land on this dirt strip, off would come a tank, on would go the diamonds.

VELSHI: In places like Angola, conflict diamonds were mined from rivers, often using forced or slave labor. De Beers says it never knowingly traded in those stones.

KAINYAH: De Beers was never involved in conflict or blood diamonds.

VELSHI: Conflict diamonds have prolonged a number of civil wars in Africa. By 2002, public pressure on governments and on the diamond industry led to the establishment of the Kimberley Process. It's a certification of sorts, a passport for rough diamonds.

The World Diamond Council says conflict diamonds now account for less than one percent of the trade, and it's concerned that the movie "Blood Diamond" could dull the stone's luster.

JENNIFER CONNELLY, ACTRESS, "BLOOD DIAMOND": People back home wouldn't buy a ring if they knew it cost someone else their hand.

VELSHI: Set in Sierra Leone in the late '90s, "Blood Diamond" is a fictionalized account of the very real role that conflict diamonds played in that country's civil war. The diamond industry is bracing for some impact from the movie. They just hope it doesn't last forever.

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VELSHI: And, Kyra, the movie comes out tomorrow night. We'll have to see what happens with -- the industry now says that, you know, after consulting with or after looking at what's going to go into this movie, they think it's fair that attention has been brought to the problem but they insist it's not going on very much anymore. And that's not actually the case. There's still some blood diamonds out there.

PHILLIPS: Well, in your piece, you said that De Beers says it never knowingly traded in conflict diamonds. What exactly does that mean?

VELSHI: Well, until the year 2000, De Beers was buying diamonds on the open market in Africa. They had no way of knowing where those diamonds came from, because when you buy them, you buy the rough stone. There's no identification, there's no serial number, there's no way to trace that.

And they were buying diamonds from sources that they couldn't verify, so it's quite possible some of those diamonds are out there in stores for people to buy today. Tomorrow, I'm going to be looking at ways that you can guarantee or the an least, you know, take pains to find out the diamond you are going to buy...

PHILLIPS: Are conflict free?

VELSHI: ... are conflict free, because, as you know, whenever I do these stories on diamonds, Kyra, there are a lot of people who prefer I don't go hating on the diamond.

PHILLIPS: That is true. One of your favorite gems, as you are ours.

VELSHI: Thank you, Kyra. Good to see you again.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Ali Velshi. Great to see you.

VELSHI: OK.

LEMON: And how is this for a twisted scenario? A rogue tornado rips through London. Get Auntie Em on the line and meet us back here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: Just 30 seconds -- that is all it took for a freak tornado to do all this in a northwest London suburb. The twister ripped one side off a house and peeled the roofs off dozens more. With all the debris flying around, one man said it was, quote, "just like the 'Wizard of Oz.'" At least six people were injured, one seriously.

PHILLIPS: In his last desperate hours, James Kim couldn't know how many people were pulling for him to make it. And today, there's no shortage of sadness over his death. We'll share some poignant tributes ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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