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The Diana Debate; Top Iraqi Leaders Blast Iraq Study Group Report; Reaching out to Iran?; Former Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet Dies; Beirut Protests; Spy's Widow Speaks; Trauma of War

Aired December 10, 2006 - 16:59   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.
You're in the NEWSROOM.

Straight ahead, new information about the night Princess Diana died. A newspaper report reveals U.S. surveillance teams were listening in.

Also, an ex-spy poisoned to death. Now his widow speaks out. Here who she says is to blame.

Plus, one complaint and the Christmas trees are coming down in Washington's Sea-Tac airport. Has it gone too far?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When is it going to be that we're going to take the wreath down? When is it going to be that holly comes down?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: First our top stories.

Controversial and notorious. The death of a former dictator, Augusto Pinochet. The one-time strongman who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990 is dead.

In frail health for years, the 91-year-old suffered a heart attack a week ago. Hospital officials say his lungs gave out.

Were they listening? And what did they hear? Questions raised by a report in a British newspaper, "The Observer," says U.S. intelligence was listening in on Princess Diana's phone calls on the night she died. CNN has the not independently confirmed the report, but we continue to verify it.

More on that straight ahead.

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching the waters near Cape Cod. They're looking for a woman who may have been washed overboard while on a ship traveling from Nova Scotia during a storm. The 25-year-old woman is the daughter of hockey hall-of-famer Bob Gainey.

The crew of the space shuttle Discovery has been a bit busy today. Their 12-day mission began last night with the first nighttime shuttle launch in four years. They spent the first part of their mission today checking the Discovery for damage. They'll dock with the International Space Station tomorrow.

The princess of Wales, her shocking death set in motion. A runaway train of blame and conspiracies. One that hasn't stopped for nearly 10 years. Well, the British media is adding a new slant on the much-theorized death of Diana.

Details from CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh now in London -- Alphonso.

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We're getting details, as you mentioned a little bit earlier on, from one newspaper, "The Observer," talking about how they believe -- or they're reporting that a report due to come out later on this week, one of its findings it may indicate that U.S. officials, at least U.S. intelligence agencies, may have been listening to Diana, princess of Wales' conversations in the final hours before her death.

Now, it's important to mention that we have not been able to independently verify this information. We did speak with a spokesman with one U.S. intelligence agency who strongly denies these reports. But as I mentioned a little bit earlier on, what's so interesting, what's going on this weekend, is that there are leaks of this official report, this official government report into events leading to the death and afterward of Diana, princess of Wales, in Paris.

Some of those leaks coming out tonight. For example, on one channel, the BBC is having a documentary this evening where they talk to various officials both here and in France talking about those details leading up to Diana's death, including the lead French investigator. This is what she told the BBC about the car crash that led to Diana's death in 1997.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): There was a horde of photographers following the couple, and they were very close to the Mercedes when the accident happened. Obviously this causes annoyance and stress.

But this is not the only explanation. The driver also lost control of the car. That's obvious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN MARSH: Now, she is referring to, of course, that Mercedes that was carrying Diana, along with her partner Dodi al-Fayed, as well as Henri Paul. That's who she is referring to, the driver.

Some of those other details, those leaks that are coming out now, it's expected that this official British report on the death of Diana will conclude that Henri Paul was three times over the French drunk driving limit, that Diana was not pregnant at the time of her death, and that there is no credibility to rumors that Diana was to marry her partner, Dodi al-Fayed. That part of this huge conspiracy, especially by Dodi al-Fayed's father, who believes the death of Diana was part of a plot to keep her from marrying an Egyptian Muslim, his son.

WHITFIELD: And Alphonso, any response from Dodi al-Fayed's family about the reports of the U.S. intelligence wiretapping or even from the royal family?

VAN MARSH: Well, what we're hearing this weekend, today from the al-Fayed family is -- we got a statement about this BBC documentary, again, going into some of those conclusions that may come out on Thursday by this official government report. And Mohammed al-Fayed is basically saying that the BBC has now been duped, for lack of a better term.

He's not offering many details to support this other than to -- other than to dispute the claims that are brought forth in this BBC documentary. He firmly believes -- Mohammed al-Fayed firmly believes that his son and Princess Diana were in love, that perhaps that they would even get married some day, and this was part of an elaborate conspiracy, again, to keep the royal family from being associated with his -- again, an Egyptian Muslim. Too much of a scandal, in his mind, for the royal family here.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alphonso Van Marsh, thanks so much, from London.

An opinion on Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi leaders are voicing their own loud and very clear opinions these days.

Outgoing defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld told U.S. troops patience is the key to winning the war. Meantime, Iraq's president is sounding off about the Iraq Study Group report, calling it insulting to Iraqis. And on the street, more violence.

Here's CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the north of Baghdad, spiraling sectarian violence. Sunnis forced from their homes in apparent retaliation for a mortar attack on a nearby Shia neighborhood. The newly homeless Sunnis blame the Shia- dominated government for not coming to their aid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We asked the Iraqi army to come, but the army didn't interfere. And it seemed that there was a collusion between the Iraqi army and the militia.

ROBERTSON: Fears that are heightening divisions, polarizing political debate, just a week before a national reconciliation conference called by the prime minister.

OMAR ABDUL-SATTAR, SUNNI ISLAMIC PARTY (through translator): We will not participate in any future government unless we have a real share in security and political decisions.

ROBERTSON: And to this poisoned political atmosphere, a new shock: robust rejection of the Iraq Study Group's report by the country's Kurdish president.

JALAL TALABANI, IRAQI PRESIDENT: The Baker-Hamilton is not fair, is not just. And it contains some very dangerous articles which are undermining the sovereignty of Iraq.

ROBERTSON: At issue, the study group's proposal to ratchet up the number of U.S. military trainers embedded with the Iraqi army. The Kurds' other top leader, Massoud Barzani, also blasted the report, saying it's not compatible with reconciliation, criticizing recommendations that would put Kurdish oilfields under central government control.

Away from the political turmoil and sectarian violence, outgoing U.S. secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld slipped into the country under a veil of secrecy. A farewell tour of U.S. bases in the north, west and center of Iraq thanking soldiers and Marines. His message for the troops very personal, at times as much prophetic as reflective.

(on camera): Rumsfeld leaves at a time when Iraq has never looked so divided. A top Sunni leader, Tariq al-Hashimi, is due to meet with President Bush early this week. Inevitably, the plight of Iraq's Sunnis will likely dominate conversations at a time when the U.S. is pressuring Iraqis to overcome their differences and unite against extremists.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Restoring order to Iraq. Could Iran and Syria help? The Iraq Study Group believes that's a possibility and is urging the U.S. to reach out. But that's one piece of advice President Bush may choose to ignore.

Let's go live now to the White House and CNN correspondent Elaine Quijano -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And Fredricka, President Bush has not backed away from his insistence that Iran must verifiably suspend its uranium enrichment program before coming to the negotiating table. Nevertheless, that has not stopped members of the Iraq Study Group from trying to make the case for engaging Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO (voice over): The Iraq Study Group believes talking to Iran without preconditions is worth a shot to try to improve the situation in Iraq.

LEE HAMILTON, IRAQ STUDY GROUP: Syria and Iran have very great influence over events within Iraq. Particularly Iran, but also Syria. And I just don't think you can avoid that.

QUIJANO: That recommendation has unleashed a wave of blistering criticism from those who argue it would weaken what has been the U.S.' non-negotiable position, that Iran should not have nuclear weapons.

ELIOT COHEN, MILITARY HISTORIAN: One of the things profoundly unrealistic about the report is the idea that you are going to have a negotiation with Iran, where somehow the nuclear issue is put to one side and off the table and we're not going to deal with that. Well, I'm sure that's not the way the Iranians are going to approach it.

QUIJANO: Just this weekend, Iran's president said his country had begun installing 3,000 centrifuges in an expansion of its uranium enrichment. All along, Iran has insisted it's developing nuclear technology for peaceful energy purposes. But with a country awash in oil, the Bush administration and some lawmakers remain skeptical.

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: I think Iran is a serious problem. They continue to thumb their nose at the world and go forward in developing nuclear weapons capability.

QUIJANO: Yet the co-chair of the Iraq Study Group insists the panel isn't recommending the U.S. give Iran a pass.

JAMES BAKER, IRAQ STUDY GROUP: We are not suggesting broad-based one-on-one discussions on Iran about every subject we have between us. In fact, we say that the nuclear problem should be left in the United Nations Security Council.

QUIJANO: Still, even the incoming head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee concedes Iran isn't the answer.

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: Iran cannot solve our problem for us in Iraq. If we worked it out they could stop doing bad things, but they're not likely to be able to do good things that will fundamentally alter the circumstances in Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: As for the president's Iraq policy, this week he'll take part in briefings from officials at the State Department, the Pentagon, and via conference from military commanders on the ground in Iraq. Senior Bush aides say that an announcement on any changes to Iraq policy could come before Christmas -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Elaine, thanks so much.

And in the next half hour we'll talk to a retired general about Talabani's comments, among other things, as it relates to the Iraq Study Group.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're taught to go into combat. And when the tears come, they're not taught how to survive that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And the war in Iraq doesn't end for troops who served there even when they come home. One family shares their loss. And more on the death of Latin America's most controversial military dictator, why he faced charges of torture.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Some called Augusto Pinochet the greatest crook in Chile's history. The 91-year-old former dictator died today, a week after suffering a heart attack. Pinochet had connections all over the globe and considered former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher an ally.

Our Paula Hancocks reports on Pinochet's U.K. ties.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): What started as a brief pleasure trip to London ended with General Pinochet staying almost two years at her majesty's pleasure. Pinochet was arrested in London in October of 1998 on an arrest warrant by a Spanish judge. The charges were allegations of torture during his 17-year regime in Chile.

PROF. VICTOR BULMER-THOMAS, DIRECTOR, CHATHAM HOUSE: From the day he arrived he was controversial. First of all, people were astonished that he had been picked up by the British authorities in response to the Spanish request for extradition. And secondly, because so many top politicians piled in, either defending the decision to arrest him or arguing that he should not have been arrested.

HANCOCKS: The Pinochet case saw many unusual twists and turns in the British legal system. A law (ph) lord's ruling that Pinochet did not have immunity from prosecution was annulled after it was revealed that one of the lords had close ties to the human rights group Amnesty International.

A second hearing decided he could be extradited to stand trial in Spain. The home secretary at the time, Jack Straw, also faced pressure to allow Pinochet to return to Chile. He finally released him on medical grounds.

JACK STRAW, FMR. BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: This has been an unprecedented case. Both I and the courts have had to navigate in uncharted territory.

HANCOCKS: Pinochet had many high-profile supporters. The most vocal being Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During the Falklands War in 1982, Chile had given support to the British armed forces, and in particular the air force in their efforts to retake the islands. And Margaret Thatcher was eternally grateful to General Pinochet for that. And as far as she was concerned, that trumped all other arguments.

HANCOCKS: Public opinion was split. The anti-Pinochet clan fighting for him to stand trial in Spain held numerous demonstrations. During his nearly two decades in power, more than 3,000 people were either killed or disappeared.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Other news "Across America" now.

A popular Democrat makes his first trip to New Hampshire. Illinois senator Barack Obama, a potential presidential candidate, appeared at an event for state Democrats.

Another senator, Indiana's Evan Bayh, also made the trip to the Granite State.

We'll get details from the day's events beginning at 7:00 Eastern.

Authorities are still trying to confirm the cause of yesterday's explosions in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Three houses were destroyed but no one was seriously injured. One resident says a utilities employee was working on her gas meter just before the blast.

A new study points to tough sentencing laws as a reason the U.S. has the world's largest prison population. The International Center for Prison Studies says more than two million Americans were behind bars last year. China ranked second with 1.5 million.

Her husband mysteriously poisoned to death in London. A widow speaks out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARINA LITVINENKO, ALEXANDER LITVINENKO'S WIDOW: He was just a normal, very good person to work against organized crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What Marina Litvinenko wants you to know.

A 10th day of protests in Lebanon. Who's leading the revolt? And what the demonstrators want.

And later, the movies, the actors already generating some Oscar buzz. We'll talk about it.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Microloans to pull people out of poverty tops our news from around the world.

Muhammad Yunus received this year's Nobel Peace Prize in Stockholm, Sweden. Yunus, of Bangladesh, was honored for pioneering microcredit to the poor. And outside Sudanese embassies around the world demonstrations to call attention to the continuing violence in Darfur. The global day of action is protesting the United Nations not sending peacekeepers to Darfur.

An assassination attempt in Gaza City today. The target, Said Siyam, the Palestinian interior minister. A ministry spokesman says gunmen opened fire on Siyam's convoy today. The minister was unhurt. And security forces are looking for a white car that may have been involved in the attempt.

Hundreds of thousands of chanting protesters swarmed the streets of Beirut again today. On one side, Hezbollah is demanding the resignation of Lebanon's prime minister, Fouad Siniora. On the other, a show of support for the government.

And watching it all, our Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): A powerful anti-government demonstration engulfs downtown Beirut. A protest called by an opposition alliance led by the Muslim Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Rivers of men, women and children, Muslims and Christians, pour through the streets. They flow in one direction, creating a sea of Lebanese flags on the doorstep of the western-backed government, hoping to wash that government away.

To the north of the capital, in the important Sunni Muslim city of Tripoli, there is another potent demonstration with a strorong political message supporting the government. A much smaller gathering, but no less meaningful in a country that is breaking into pieces.

In the capital, supporters of a Christian faction led by a general-turned-politician, Michel Aoun, were out in large numbers, siding with the massed ranks of Hezbollah and their Shiite allies, warning the government's days are numbered, threatening an escalation of unrest. "This will be the last time to meet here," warns Aoun. "The masses need and might expand into the government headquarters."

A government that has been vilified by Hezbollah for being led by a prime minister, Fouad Siniora, portrayed here as being too close to U.S. policy in the Middle East.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want his regime. He's an American agent and an Israeli agent.

SADLER (on camera): Even as this anti-government rally reached critical mass, pro-government supporters were agitating for more visible expressions of public backing for the embattled prime minister.

(voice over): In another part of the city political passions took a very different turn when Prime Minister Siniora addressed a ceremony by video link, commemorating the life of MP Jubran Twainy, an ally assassinated last year. One of a series of killings in Lebanon spanning two years, which many in this audience blame, but with no proof, on key Hezbollah ally Syria.

"It's time that powers that use assassination to terrorize and dominate," explains Siniora, "to realize that the Lebanese people insist on freedom, resist domination and sectarianism."

Government supporters claim the opposition is planning to mount a coup from the momentum of the street. Protests, with the start of counterprotests, that could plunge Lebanon into even greater, possibly violent, turmoil.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: What the wife of a former KGB agent says about the poisoning of her husband and her suspicions about the investigation.

One family's story of how they may have lost their son to post- traumatic stress after he came home from war.

And a retired general who met with the Shiite leader al-Hakim shares his thoughts on Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Saying good-bye and thanks. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld makes an unannounced visit to Iraq to meet with American troops stationed there. Rumsfeld formally steps down from his post next Monday.

Congress approves a $3 billion bill for veterans' benefits that includes a specific provision: remove the remains of a convicted killer from Arlington National Cemetery. The ashes of Vietnam vet Russell Wagner will be removed once President Bush signs a bill. Wagner was convicted of murdering two senior citizens back in 1994.

And have you seen this couple? A husband and wife traveling from South Carolina to New York are missing. Family members expected Wayne and Diane Guay (ph) to arrive Thursday. They haven't been heard from since Wednesday night.

According to the British newspaper "The Observer," a new government report found that U.S. intelligence was eavesdropping on Princess Diana's phone calls before her death. CNN has not independently confirmed this, but we continue to try to verify that story.

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet has died. He had been hospitalized for the past week after suffering a heart attack. Augusto Pinochet dead at the age of 91.

The poisoning death of former Soviet spy Alexander Litvinenko, a Hollywood whodunit come true. Now Litvinenko's widow is echoing what he said from his death bed; namely, follow the trail of radiation and it will lead you back to Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice over): Marina Litvinenko was a woman in love. The widow of former Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko is opening up to British media about how she watched her husband die a painful death from radiation poisoning and how, despite the pain, he still managed to tell her he loved her.

LITVINENKO: It was (INAUDIBLE) for all day what he could say -- "Marina, I love you so much." That is it. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Opening up to London's "Sunday Times" in a way she hasn't done before, the widow spoke about what she and her family went through when her husband fell ill last month.

LITVINENKO: Each day for like him was like 10 years. He became older, and how he looking. I didn't show him. I tried not to show him what I see. You know, it was very difficult.

WHITFIELD: Litvinenko, a vocal critic of the Kremlin himself, pointed a finger from his deathbed, saying Russian president Vladimir Putin was behind his poisoning. The Kremlin denies any involvement. Marina Litvinenko still wants to know who killed her husband.

Investigators have picked up traces of the radioactive substance Polonium-210 at a central London sushi bar where Litvinenko met with a friend on the day he became sick. British health authorities say they've also found the radioactive substance at a London hotel where several employees have also shown signs of exposure.

Investigators believe Dmitri Kovtun, a Russian colleague who met with Litvinenko at the Millennium Hotel bar, traveled to Germany afterwards. German authorities say they have picked up Kovtun's trace radiation trail in several places in Hamburg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): During the night from October 29th to October 30th, Dmitri Kovtun spent time in a building in the town of Hasalo (ph) in the Pineburg (ph) district. Contamination was discovered in that building, too.

WHITFIELD: There are conflicting reports as to Kovtun's current state of health.

With British investigators on the ground in Moscow, Russia's prosecutor general's office says it wants its own people working the case in London. Russian investigators may want to join British officials looking into guest records at the Millennium Hotel. Scotland Yard is hoping some of the hundred of people in the bar the day Litvinenko fell ill may be able to offer clues that could lead them to the former spy's killer or killers.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And now CNN has learned that two British police officers investigating the Litvinenko poisoning have now tested positive for Polonium-210.

At an obvious crossroads in Iraq. Which direction does the U.S. take now? In light of this week's report from the Iraq Study Group, we posed that very question to retired Army lieutenant general Daniel Christman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The Iraq Study Group spells out a retreat or a plan of retreat. Al-Hakim had this response when talking with Wolf Blitzer about U.S. withdrawal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL AZIZ HAKIM, IRAQI SHIITE LEADER: Of course, we would like to see the American forces withdrawal, the light forces withdrawal, as soon as possible. But this depends on the opinion of the military and security experts and the political experts in this to decide what is the right step for that and what is the timetable for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Is his response reflective of other Iraqis?

LT. GEN. DAN CHRISTMAN, U.S. ARMY (RET.): No, it's not. Al- Hakim gave me the same response as well, interestingly. Nicely nuanced.

But as we saw, Jalal Talabani, the president of Iraq, is very much opposed to this U.S. withdrawal that was -- that was certainly vectored, suggested by the Iraq Study Group. Talabani wants the U.S. to stay there, in great part because the U.S. is viewed as a very, very strong supporter of the Kurds. And further, the Iraq Study Group has suggested that this idea of autonomous regions, which is very much in Talabani's desire, is not recommended, is not part of the end game.

So, there are very different views here with respect to U.S. maintenance of their security forces by the various elements of the spectrum.

Fredricka, I think an awful lot of that dialogue by Iraq with its neighbors and its neighborhood is already under way. The quick answer to your question is, yes, there is obviously an important conduit that already exists based upon the training that al-Hakim and many of his family had with the Iranians.

The only concern I have got in this regard with the Iraq Study Group's suggestions is that it puts the U.S. in a very dominant position with respect to pushing this regional dialogue. The U.S. needs to make that dialogue an Iraqi dialogue. And here, I think, one of the reasons why Bush's meeting with al-Hakim was so important is that it really endorses that. That's a conduit that I think can be productive if it's done the right way with the U.S. in the background. WHITFIELD: Iraqi president Jalal Talabani is describing this Iraq Study Group report as dangerous, mostly because among the recommendations it talks about giving amnesty to some of the former Ba'athists, and that perhaps some of the former Ba'athists can be welcomed into this new government.

Is he making a strong point? Or is it what James Baker has said, which is the U.S. did too much of a de-Ba'athification?

CHRISTMAN: No, I think Talabani really is driven, Fredricka, for the most part by this fear of, A, a precipitous U.S. withdrawal and, B, the fact that the Iraq Study Group did not endorse autonomous regions within Iraq. And indeed, as the report began to describe in the early part of the report, the various leaders within the Iraq political establishment.

It described Talabani as a Kurd who is the most vocal in favoring autonomous regions. That's not something the Iraq Study Group recommended. For that reason, I think primarily he views this as dangerous.

WHITFIELD: General Dan Christman, thanks so much for your time.

CHRISTMAN: Thanks, Fredricka.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, many troops returning from Iraq are suffering from it. The Pentagon says it's launching an investigation into its treatment of soldiers with mental health issues. But for one young man it's all coming just too late.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON COOPER: How are you doing, mate? It's your brother coming to you from Fort Knox, Kentucky.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Twenty- one-year-old Jason Cooper, fresh off boot camp, ready to leave for Iraq with the Iowa Army Reserve, and full of life.

TERRI JONES, JASON COOPER'S: He had a fast car. He loved to do tricks off the diving board.

ED COOPER, JASON COOPER'S FATHER: He always made you smile. He made you laugh. He was my best friend.

COHEN: But when Jason came home in March 2005, he wasn't the Jason his family remembered.

JONES: You could tell he was lost in his thoughts. And you could be talking to him and you would have to kind of, "Jason, hey."

COHEN: And at night, the nightmares set in. Jason couldn't sleep.

E. COOPER: And he'd just knock on my door and wake me up. I'd tell him to come in. We'd sit there and talk.

COHEN: It seemed as if the terror of Iraq still consumed him. The family hoped Jason would get help. He said, "Next week." But three months after Jason returned home from Iraq, Ed got a call from the police on his way home from work.

E. COOPER: They told me I needed to get to my residence immediately. And they wouldn't tell me why.

COHEN: Ed wasn't allowed inside his home, shielded from his son, who had hanged himself in the basement.

E. COOPER: It was hard to believe what they had told me. I just -- I just needed to see if I could help him.

T. COOPER: And I failed him. A lot of people failed him at that point.

E. COOPER: This is Jason's room. It's pretty much the way it was since he was here last.

COHEN: Ed won't change Jason's bedroom, and he is just now able to go back down in the basement. A year and a half after his suicide, Jason's parents believe their son suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, brought on by his time in Iraq. Still, Jason's father doesn't blame the military for his death.

E. COOPER: I think they are all doing a wonderful job over there. We didn't ask for this. It's just unfortunate wars have to come up. And -- and unfortunately, people lose lives.

COHEN: But Terri has made a public statement of her own, flying the flag upside down.

T. COOPER: Soldiers are in distress. They're taught to be tough. They're taught to go into combat. And when the tears come, they're not taught how to survive that.

COHEN: Ed wants his son to know he finally put the pool in the backyard, the one Jason always wanted.

E. COOPER: I'm waiting to see him go off the diving board. Some times at night I'm just waiting to hear a splash, hoping it will be him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And tonight, "CNN PRESENTS: Combat Hospital." Go beyond the sanitized headlines to the frantic fight to save wounded troops, tonight on CNN, 8:00 Eastern.

Well, how about this? Is your favorite movie of the year...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Rick Sanchez here with a preview of what's ahead in the NEWSROOM. And speaking of blood diamonds, at least the movie which Tom says is not going to get the nod, you are going to be talking about that?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you know, I'm not here to critique the movie.

WHITFIELD: In a way.

SANCHEZ: But from a news...

WHITFIELD: The subject.

SANCHEZ: Right. The subject is certainly newsworthy when you consider most Americans don't know when they buy a diamond where it comes from, what it means, and what real blood was shed as a result of that.

So we're going to be looking into that. And we're also going to be looking at 10:00 into Barack Obama. Is he or isn't he, is the question. And today, guess where he was? New Hampshire.

WHITFIELD: Yes. A pivotal state.

SANCHEZ: What does that tell you?

WHITFIELD: Yes. It tells us a lot. But he wasn't alone up there.

SANCHEZ: No, but...

WHITFIELD: Evan Bayh was there, too, but all eyes are on this guy.

SANCHEZ: With a bunch of other people who were saying they're not going to decide yet whether they're running or not.

WHITFIELD: Right. Meantime, speaking of traveling, you just back from snowy Colorado.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And what we did is we focused on the idea of what it's like to stay in extreme conditions and try and survive. And I went the whole night without sleep trying to survive in the snow.

Tonight, part two of that segment which we ran yesterday, which should be quite interesting, looking at, how do you stay in your car, how do you go underground and all that. So...

WHITFIELD: Yes, but it's one thing to plan it. Another to have to, you know, kick in those survival techniques and you didn't make any measures for it.

SANCHEZ: You learn a lot. No, no, you learn a lot. And there's some good stuff here for people. What's difficult for me was coming back after not sleeping the night before and then having my 5-year-old and our 7-year-old jump in our bed last night. So now that's two nights in a row without any sleep.

WHITFIELD: That's what you call TMI. That's too much information, Rick. But we appreciate it.

SANCHEZ: It's called being a dad.

WHITFIELD: I know. It's lovely, isn't it?

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much.

WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot.

All right. Why Christmas trees are coming down, or at least at one airport. You wouldn't believe why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A squabble over Christmas trees is angering a whole lot of people at Seattle's Sea-Tac airport. The trees were taken down after a rabbi threatened a lawsuit.

Kim Holcomb with our affiliate KING in Seattle has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIM HOLCOMB, REPORTER, KING (voice over): It is the busiest time of year at Sea-Tac for one reason...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're here.

HOLCOMB: ... thousands home for the holidays. But the very purpose of the rush in symbolic evergreen is no longer visible inside the terminal. A giant Christmas tree and other small ones removed overnight after airport officials say one person complained.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think sometimes the vocal minority dominates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of sad that we have to do that now, it seems, to try to please everybody.

HOLCOMB: Airport officials say this was no simple complaint. A rabbi threatened to file a lawsuit if the court didn't allow him to hold a public menorah lighting next to the trees. The port commission decided the best course of action was to simply take them down.

TERI-ANN BETANCOURT, SEA-TAC PUBLIC AFFAIRS MANAGER: You know, our focus is on customer service, on getting our passengers through the airport. And we thought if we can take the trees down and avoid litigation -- because we don't want to litigate with the -- with this individual. We would like to come to some resolution, but that's going to take some thoughtful discussion. And we would like to have time to have that thoughtful discussion.

HOLCOMB: A response to one traveler sending an unintended message to many more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, to take away the Christmas tree to me, you know, is just saying that Christmas doesn't count.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When is it going it be that we're going to take the wreath down? When is it going to be that holly comes down?

HOLCOMB: Many of those are still up, strung behind airlines and rental counters. And long-time employees of Sea-Tac say they will remain, with the prospect of even more.

JIM, SEA-TAC EMPLOYEE: They're probably going to bring in their own solution tomorrow, to demonstrate, I suppose, and they're going to bring in their own Christmas trees.

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WHITFIELD: And the rabbi says getting the Christmas trees removed was not what he intended.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI ELAZAR BOGOMILSKY, HOST, "SHMOOZE RADIO": We understand there is a certain aspect to the trees that adds to the spirit and the feeling of the holiday. And by no means did we want to remove that wonderful feeling and spirit that so many people look forward to, especially coming from travelling from abroad. You know, it's a great way of being welcomed home with your tree.

And we thought basically on the same notion it would be a very nice way of welcoming those that care for the menorah and connect with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now the rabbi's lawyer says many worry that the decision to take down the trees has the Jewish community being portrayed as the grinch.

Well, if you're sending Christmas presents to soldiers overseas, you'd better get moving. The post office says tomorrow, Monday, is the deadline for getting mail to loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq if you want it to arrive by Christmas.

Well, time now to check in with CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider, where it is feeling like Christmas in a whole lot of places. And I'm talking weather-wise.

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WHITFIELD: Still so much more ahead on CNN. Up next, "LOU DOBBS THIS WEEK." He's demanding answers. Seven days a week, Lou discusses the topics that affect your life at 6:00 Eastern. And a check of the headlines in about three minutes from now. Then, "LOU DOBBS THIS WEEK."

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