Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Deep Political Divisions in Iraq; Way Forward in Iraq Tops President Bush's Agenda This Week; Contract Killings Not Uncommon in Russia

Aired December 11, 2006 - 11:59   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes.

We're sitting in today for Tony Harris and Heidi Collins, who have the day off.

We are covering the events around the world in this edition -- extended edition of CNN NEWSROOM.

Here is what's on our rundown.

NGUYEN: Iraq's prime minister may be shown the door. That's right. There are reports of a behind-the-scenes power play and the out-front denials of that.

Plus, a long-awaited report on Princess Diana's death. Newspapers outline the findings, as well as this tidbit: Did the Secret Service bug Diana's phone?

HOLMES: And if you're search for the hot holiday toy has you throwing a fit like Elmo there, remember you can probably find that Playstation 3, but it is going to cost you some big bucks...

NGUYEN: Really?

HOLMES: ... this Monday, December 11th, in the NEWSROOM.

Iraq's unity government, you might want to take the "unity" out of that statement. And now unconfirmed reports a move is under way to replace Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is live with us now from Baghdad.

Hello, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, T.J.

Well, there have been -- there has been intense political debate. There are deep political divisions here at the moment. But the prime minister's office says right now they're not expecting him to be turfed out as prime minister.

They do say, however, that there is a coalition building here at the moment, a coalition in the government, a cross-sectarian coalition that wants to speed up the progress of change and the progress of trying to stabilize Iraq at the moment and end some of the sectarian violence. But they say even in that shake-up, even in that new grouping, the prime minister is still there.

But we have heard the prime minister's office talking about a cabinet reshuffle recently. But perhaps the most dangerous political movement in the country began two weeks ago, when the firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who supported the prime minister until now, withdrew his support, withdrew his parliamentarians from the government, and has allied himself with some other Sunni groups.

The description that senior politicians here give is that they're extremists and that they're trying to form in the government a more moderate, cross-sectarian bloc. But at the moment, the prime minister's party denying that in this new shuffle that could happen, that the prime minister will be ousted -- T.J.

HOLMES: And meanwhile, Nic, the Iraq Study Group report, we have seen it not get such a warm reception among many politicians here in the U.S. But the Iraqi president, he didn't mince words at all. He came right out and blasted this report.

Why?

ROBERTSON: Unfair, unjust and dangerous he called it. Now, we need to remember, I think, that the president of Iraq here is a Kurd. And what he goes on to describe, that by leaving so many U.S. military trainers embedded in the Iraqi army undermines the sovereignty of the army, undermines the sovereignty of Iraq. He does appear to be speaking here from a Kurdish perspective, because just a few days before, another Kurdish leader said that the new study group's report undermined the unity of Iraq because it was trying to take away rights -- oil rights from the Kurds in the north of the country and put them under central government control.

And this is really central to the Kurds at the moment. So perhaps what we're hearing here is opposition from the Kurdish sector. We have heard a warmer response from some Sunnis and some Shias.

But it really just speaks to the divisions within the country at the moment -- T.J.

HOLMES: Well, one more thing to ask about here. We hear about violence, we hear about all kinds of crime in Iraq. We don't hear that often reported out of there about a bank robbery.

Tell us about this one.

ROBERTSON: A bank robbery earlier this afternoon. A million dollars taken.

Gunmen going into the -- going into the bank just as it was -- there was a delivery truck with money outside. Taking the money from the truck, putting it inside their own vehicles and driving off. The police here are just stretched with kidnappings, with car bombings, with militias that are rampant within the city, death squads rampant within the city. And it's clear that they're not able to control the security of the city. And that counts for banking, too.

This was a private bank in Baghdad, just had a million dollars ripped off. And it seems that the police completely unable to stop it.

Again, all of this an indication of the problems that exist here right now -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Nic Robertson for us in Baghdad.

Nic, thank you so much.

Meanwhile, Iraq's Anbar Province has been a pretty big trouble spot. And the military says a Marine helicopter now has made an emergency landing there today.

Eighteen of the 21 people on board were injured. The aircraft is a Marine Super Stallion. It's the second so-called hard landing a Marine chopper has made in Anbar this month. The military says neither of those is believed to be the result of enemy action. The official cause is under investigation.

NGUYEN: The way forward in Iraq at the top of the president's agenda again this week. The president just wrapped up a strategy session with senior diplomats at the State Department. And later, another meeting in the Oval Office.

CNN's Elaine Quijano is with us now from the White House.

And Elaine, we just heard the president speak after that State Department meeting. Do you see any major changes?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, At this point, obviously the president was just looking to give some brief remarks there, updating people on what his briefing with State Department officials was all about. He said that it had to do with reconstruction teams and the challenges and tasks that are facing them.

But really, this is part of a larger effort this week by the White House. President Bush is consulting with a number of sources. And today it was the State Department this morning.

The president just a short time ago reiterating that the overall goal in Iraq remains the same, to see an Iraq that can one day govern itself, sustain itself, and be an ally in the war on terrorism. But as he weighs the various options and is preparing, we believe, to give a major policy speech about Iraq sometime perhaps in the next two weeks, or before Christmas, we heard the president emphasize that he is trying to take in information from a variety of sources.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am looking forward to continuing my deliberations with the military. There's no question we've got to make sure that the State Department and the Defense Department, the efforts and their recommendations are closely coordinated so that when I do speak to the American people, they will know that I have listened to all aspects of the government, and that the way forward is a way forward to achieve our objective to succeed in Iraq. And success is a country that governs, defends itself, that is a free society that serves as an ally on this war on terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: And the consultations will be continuing. This afternoon, in fact, the president will be meeting with a group of outside Iraq experts, about five people, historians, as well as former generals, in the Oval Office. And then tomorrow, briefings as well, including a video conference with top military commanders, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khaliilzad.

Interesting to note, the president getting involved in a very direct way as well with Iraq politics. He'll be sitting down with an Iraqi vice president, a Sunni, Tariq al-Hashimi, and this is coming on the heels of his meeting last week with a prominent Shia politician.

So the president's aides at this point, Betty, basically are stressing that there have been no final decisions made on any changes to Iraq policy just yet. Right now, the president is in listening mode. But, we are anticipating that perhaps there will be some changes announced in a speech before Christmas -- Betty.

NGUYEN: And as we wait for that, let's take a little moment here to talk about what the president just mentioned a little earlier. After meeting at the State Department, he said that they discussed the countries surrounding Iraq and their role in helping this country.

QUIJANO: Right.

NGUYEN: And he said, "We believe most of the countries understand and support a mainstream society," that that's in the best interest of Iraq.

Now, is that in any way referring to Iran?

QUIJANO: Yes, absolutely. Excellent point, Betty.

What we did not hear from the president by name, in fact, is calling out Iran and Syria. But clearly, a reference to those two countries.

Now, interesting to note, of course, the Iraq Study Group, in its recommendations, the 79 recommendations that it put forth last week, essentially said that perhaps engagement with Iran and Syria is what might help alleviate some of the difficulties in Iraq. But the president and even this morning, top Bush aides, saying that unless Iran verifiably suspend its uranium enrichment program, that it should not come to the negotiating table. But the president clearly, you're right, Betty, aiming that message squarely at Iran and Syria -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Elaine Quijano at the White House for us today.

Thank you, Elaine.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, Americans drawing their own conclusions about the Baker-Hamilton report and the Iraq war in general. "Newsweek" is out with a new poll showing 39 percent agree with the recommendations on Iraq, 20 percent disagree, and 26 percent said they never even heard of the Iraq Study Group.

And 62 percent believe the U.S. should set a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops. Twenty-one 21 percent think the U.S. is making progress in Iraq, 68 percent think the U.S. is losing ground.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan making the final major speech of his term today. And one report says the U.S. will be in his crosshairs.

Annan has chosen the Truman Presidential Museum and Library for the address. He's expected to blast the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq and prisoner abuses. Annan believes the U.S. has a special responsibility to the world as a superpower and has failed to deliver.

His term ends December 31st. Portions of the Annan address live this hour.

NGUYEN: A rarity in Iran: protests. News agencies report a group of students from a band (ph) group briefly interrupted a speech by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, booing and chanting, "Death to the dictator!" It's reported the president kept his cool and finished the speech.

Now, Iran's state-run newspaper picked up the story but gave the impression the students were not referring to Mr. Ahmadinejad as a dictator

Back here in the states, let's get a look at the weather outside.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Well, is there something missing in a soldier's basic training?

(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)

HOLMES: Parents seek answers after a family tragedy. That is ahead in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Well, she died in this crumpled Mercedes that you see here. Now, nearly a decade later, conspiracy theories may finally be crushed as well

The Diana report here in the NEWSROOM.

And the radio activity spreads. The plot thickens. Plus, a poisoned spy's widow is leveling allegations.

We have the latest here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, Discovery. And a special good morning to you, Sunny. You need to rise and shine because today is the day you say, good-bye, shuttle, and hello, station.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. An oldie but a goody. We're hoping to hear some music here for the shuttle Discovery astronauts.

They're ready if a busy day here. It includes an afternoon rendezvous with the International Space Station But before that happens, the shuttle will roll over and sit -- no, it will roll over so the space station crew can get a few photos of the heat dial from the shuttle's underbelly. They're checking for any possible damage from the launch.

The wake-up song is actually...

NGUYEN: In case you were wondering -- and we were too.

HOLMES: It was "Beep! Beep!" I don't know if you all know this one from Louis Prima.

NGUYEN: Do you want to sing that for us?

HOLMES: It was played for astronaut Sunny Williams. No, we're going to have it later. So I don't want to ruin the song

NGUYEN: Oh, nice.

HOLMES: I don't want to ruin it.

NGUYEN: Nice save.

HOLMES: She's going to spend her next six months aboard the space station. So, hey, she deserves a good song.

NGUYEN: Yes, she does. Well, here is a good mystery for you. The web of intrigue surrounding the death of former spy Alexander Litvinenko, it spreads to Germany. And his widow, she is breaking her silence.

Marina Litvinenko blames the Kremlin for her husband's death. She talked to "The Sunday Times" about her husband's reaction when he started feeling sick. Experts later determined he had radiation poisoning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARINA LITVINENKO, FMR. SPY'S WIDOW: He said, "Marina, I feel like people poisoned chemical (INAUDIBLE)." You know, because when they started, they got some symptoms. But, of course, I told him, "Sasha, it's unbelievable. I can't -- I can't believe what happened."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: In Germany now, Hamburg police are following a trail of radiation left behind by another former spy, Dmitry Kovtun. Police say Kovtun was there before flying to London to meet with Litvinenko. That's key there.

Now, they consider Kovtun a possible perpetrator in this. He is reported to be recovering from radiation exposure in Moscow.

HOLMES: A culture of killing in Russia. A bloody trail of contract hits.

Former spy Alexander Litvinenko just one of the many victims. He believed his outspoken criticism of the Putin government made him a target.

CNN's Matthew Chance with the story

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They can silence the harshest critics or clear the way for a lucrative business deal. Contract killing in Russia is an all-too-common too. This, a police sting operation to stop one of them.

Police video is used in evidence to convict would-be assassins. This suspect was arrested with a pistol fitted with a silencer. Prosecutors say as many as 5,000 killings are carried out to order against Russia every year.

Investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya was one high-profile target, gunned down outside her Moscow apartment. Now her family struggles to understand their loss and why these kinds of murders are so common here.

"How are those things possible in Russia?" her son Iliya (ph) asks. "It is terrible and strange that those things are happening more often here than in other countries." A fierce critic of the Kremlin and Russia's war with Chechnya, her killing bolstered Russia's position as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists to work. So many others have died before her, like U.S. journalist Paul Klebnikov, editor of the Russian edition of "Forbes" magazine, shot dead in Moscow in 2004. He often wrote about corruption in Russia, and his family believes that's why he was killed.

(on camera): One grim statistic of Vladimir Putin's Russia is that in the six years since he became president, more than 13 journalists have been killed, like Anna Politkovskaya and Paul Klebnikov, apparently for their work. Despite official pledges to find those responsible, most of the crimes remain unsolved. And it's not just journalists in Russia who are under threat.

(voice over): Former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko believed he was poisoned in London last month because of his outspoken Kremlin criticism. The Kremlin denies involvement.

Andrei Koslov (ph) was the deputy chairman of Russia's Central Bank, trying to reform the country's murky financial system, shot dead earlier this year after a football match . And in the Russian far east, a popular opposition politician was gunned down amid an election run-off. Police say the assassin used an assault rifle fitted with a silencer.

On Russian television, crime shows feed of public fascination with the murderous phenomenon. Former detective-turned-TV-host Sergei Advienko has been tracking contract killing for decades. In Putin's Russia, he says, criminal gangs, disgruntled individuals, or in some cases even corrupt officials have been involved.

SERGEI ADVIENKO, HOST, "DEADLY DANGEROUS": Public officials are looking for money, they're looking for sort of not for doing their job properly, but using their positions to gain money for their personal needs. And definitely, people of that sort of psychology or that sort of way of thinking, they would never hesitate to solve any sort of problem by contracting a person to kill somebody.

CHANCE: It's that perception of official involvement that has become a hot political issue in Russia. The Russian president has vowed to solve the crimes.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): When such gory crimes take place, it is quite understandable that they attract people's attention. However, I should tell you that the number of contract killings is declining. It is the duty of the state to bring to an end any investigations of this kind. This concerns both the murders of members of the press and the crimes in the economic sector.

CHANCE: But Russia's culture of killings, be it politicians, businessmen, or journalists, may have a devastating impact. Human rights workers say, for one, it sends a clear and chilling message about freedom of speech here. ALEXEI SIMONOV, GLASNOST DEFENSE FOUNDATION: People do understand that to survive, they have to be loyal. To make their media work, they have to be loyal to want is said by those who pay money for that. And as soon as you are not loyal, you might be driven out of your -- of your editorial.

CHANCE: There are still many Russians prepared to speak out, to oppose the powerful despite the risks. But with every killing, every act of intimidation, they become fewer.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Back here in the states, a search for a missing couple from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Up and down the East Coast they are searching.

Wayne and Diane Guay (ph), they disappeared on their drive to New York to visit their children for the holidays. Now, they were supposed to arrive Thursday night, but they never showed up. Their kids are extremely worried, as you can imagine. Calls to their cell phone went straight to voicemail and state troopers are not reporting any accidents on the couple's planned route.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, on the road, but is he ready to run? We catch up with Senator Barack Obama in the first president primary state.

All that buzz coming up in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Plus, Annan and America. The departing U.N. secretary- general says good-bye. Some critics say good riddance, here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Paris Hilton's sidekick, Nicole Richie -- all right, where do you think this story is going?

NGUYEN: I know where it's going.

HOLMES: All right. Yes, she got busted. The L.A County Sheriff's Department report does not, however, say why.

NGUYEN: Now, that's interesting

HOLMES: Very. But, you know, there's a Web site out there, TMZ.com, reporting Richie was driving in the wrong direction on the freeway under the influence of marijuana and prescription drugs.

She did make bail after five hours in custody. And according to the arrest report, this daughter of singer Lionel Richie, she weighed in at 85 pounds.

There have, of course, you may have heard, been concerns about her dramatic weight loss this year.

NGUYEN: Well, there may not be a word of English spoken in the entire movie, but "Apocalypto" is still translating into success for Mel Gibson. The film raking in a little more than $14 million over the weekend. It's Gibson's first film since his anti-Semitic tirade last summer.

HOLMES: Conspiracy claims, they've been running rampant in the decade since Prince Diana's death. And now a new report on the car crash may shed light.

CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh is in London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The British press is apparently getting an early peek at a highly-anticipated report commissioned by Britain's royal coroner to look into the circumstances before and after the crash that killed Diana, princess of Whales, in 1997.

British newspapers and television reporting over the weekend and into this week, some leaks from the report. We understand that that report, when it is released on Thursday, will reach some conclusions, including that Diana was not pregnant at the time of the crash when she died, that she was not planning to marry Dodi al-Fayed, her partner, and that Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes that was carrying Diana and Dodi Fayed at the time of their death, well, that he was three times over the French drunk driving limit.

Now, that report, expected to be made official and released on Thursday, is expected to be taken into evidence as part of preliminary hearings into an inquest about Diana's death. That inquest, which is expected to be public, is slated to begin early next year.

Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, outside Buckingham Palace, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Are you paying through the nose? You might be to see that sparkle in a child's eye. Yes, this year's hot toys at sky-high prices.

So, who is cashing in? Well, find out in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: At this hour, President Bush getting input as he plots the way forward in Iraq. The issue is dominating the president's agenda this week.

Today, two strategy sessions. The president met this morning with State Department diplomats to review some of his options.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm looking forward to continuing my deliberations with the military. There's no question we have to make sure that the State Department and Defense Department, their efforts and recommendations are closely coordinated, so that when I do speak to the American people, they will know I have listened to all aspects of government, and that the way forward is the way forward achieve our objective, to succeed in Iraq. And success is a country that governs, defends itself. That is a free society that serves as an ally in this war on terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And later this afternoon, President Bush meets with historians and former generals in the Oval Office.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is blasting the Iraq Study Group's recommendations, calling them unfair and a violation of Iraq's sovereignty. He's not happy with the recommendation to allow members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party back to take part in the military and police units.

Call it ready to rip. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is delivering the last major speech of his term this hour. Reports say he is going to blast the Bush administration, ending a decade-long tenure marked by a strained relationship with the U.S.

And seniors Richard Roth reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: I, Kofi Annan, solemnly swear...

RICHARD ROTH, SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kofi Annan was America's candidate to become secretary-general of the United Nations. Ten years later, some in the Bush administration can't wait until he leaves office. The U.S. ambassador, himself on his way out, was asked his sense of the Annan-America years.

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: I'll pass.

ROTH: There were quarrels during the Clinton years over finances, with veteran Senator Jesse Helms. But Annan's relationship with Washington became downright frosty during the Bush years, as the more conservative wing of the Republican Party roared to power.

ADAM LEBOR, "TIMES OF LONDON": You know, dealing with America is the most difficult thing, I think, for Kofi Annan because, firstly, within the administration, and especially within the Republican Party, there's a lot of visceral anti-U.N. feeling. People really don't like the U.N. They don't quite understand what it is.

ROTH: Much of the strain is due to Iraq. The secretary-general sharply opposed the United States invasion and was described as "depressed" after U.N. efforts to head off the conflict were ignored. Annan called it an illegal war. DAVID MALONE, FORMER U.N. CANADIAN AMBASSADOR: I think Kofi Annan felt very strongly this division amongst the great powers and when after the deadlock in the Security Council on the Iraq in 2003, the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad was blown up and a number of people he knew and valued were killed, I think he did take it very personally.

ROTH: Then there was another Iraq related debacle -- the oil for food scandal. The program's director was accused of misconduct and Annan's son was implicated.

SEN. NORM COLEMAN (R), MINNESOTA: I've called for Annan's resignation. I called for it early on.

ROTH: But the Bush administration didn't lower the boom on Annan, since U.N. countries themselves, including the U.S. had looked the other way as Saddam Hussein reaped millions of dollars in kickbacks. There were at least six different U.S. Congressional investigations of Oil For Food. Annan stressed cooperation.

ANNAN: The U.S. needs the U.N. and the U.N. needs the U.S. and we need to find a way of working together.

JAMES TRAUB, AUTHOR, "THE BEST INTENTIONS": There's going to be the temptation to not do that. There's going to be the temptation to basically get up on your hind legs and tell Washington or whomever to come off it. It turns out that that you can't do that in this job.

ROTH: So Annan's deputy secretary-general did it for both of them, criticizing U.S. foreign policy and select U.S. media outlets that they felt targeted the U.N.

MARK MALLOCH BROWN, DEPUTY U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Much of the public discourse that reaches the U.S. outland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors, such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.

BOLTON: Secretary-General Kofi Annan, we think, has to personally and publicly repudiate this speech at the earliest possible opportunity.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

NGUYEN: No kumbaya, but, Richard Roth, let me ask you this. We're expecting Annan to blast the U.S. in this speech today. What specifically are you expecting to see?

ROTH: Well, I don't know if it's fair to say it's going to be a complete blast, though one newspaper reported it that way. As is typical with the secretary-general of the United Nations, the speech is part criticism, lecture, a little bit of scolding and advice, and a world perspective, and a plea to the United States and the Bush administration to work within the international community in this state, in this speech. The secretary-general is going to say at the Truman Library in Missouri, where Annan is about to address the group, that the fact is that states can no longer confront global challenges alone, and when America appears to abandons its own ideals and objectives, its friends abroad are naturally troubled and confused. The secretary-general will be coming on after some opening remarks -- Betty.

And we'll be watching that and bring that to you throughout the day. Richard Roth, thank you.

HOLMES: Well, if it looks like a candidate and walks like a candidate, might it be a candidate? Well, Senator Barack Obama sure is looking and sounding like he's running for president these days, and a lot of people are listening.

CNN's John King reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL): Sorry, guys, I didn't mean to cause this fuss.

KING (voice over): Of course, he did. First impressions are important in politics. The more fuss, the better. Barack Obama, meet New Hampshire.

OBAMA: How are you? Good see you?

KING: New Hampshire, meet Barack Obama. A crowd of 1,500 at a sold out state Democratic Party fundraiser, on a Sunday afternoon.

OBAMA: I am telling you, New Hampshire, America is ready to turn the page. America is ready for a new set of challenges. This is our time, a new generation. That is preparing to lead.

KING: Earlier, 900 people at a book signing that had to be moved to a big conference room.

He is, without a doubt, the hottest commodity in American politics. Never mind that he's just 45 years old, and was elected to the Senate only two years ago.

AL BORQUE, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: We're so tired of the standard- type politicians that we've been used to for so long. It was very exciting, as far as I was concerned. Hope he runs.

KING: Whatever his decision, Democrats here and across the country are buzzing about the Obama effect.

Senator Hillary Clinton is accelerating her campaign planning. Other hopefuls, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, also in New Hampshire this weekend --

SEN. EVAN BAYH, (D-IN): Good to see you again. How have you been?

KING: -- can only hope experience matters as much as star power when it really counts a year from now. BAYH: Would it be nice to be a celebrity and have untold millions? Of course it would. But I think we'll have enough. You know, it's a lot like the story of David and Goliath, David did OK.

KING: New Hampshire holds the first presidential primary. Senator Obama's first visit came after three trips to the kickoff caucus state, Iowa. Top aids are quietly building a campaign team. And there's encouragement galore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eventually getting active for Obama?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.

KING: A final decision, due early next year.

OBAMA: I am suspicious of hype. I'm still running things through the traps.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And here is a look at where Senator Barack Obama stands on the issues. He opposes the war in Iraq and supports the phased redeployment of U.S. troops.

Now he previously called for a U.S. troop withdrawal by the end of this year. He's changed that, saying he would meet with U.S. commanders to establish a timetable. Obama is against same-sex marriage, but supports civil unions, and on taxes, he supports eliminating the so-called marriage penalty and extending the child-tax credit.

HOLMES: All right, all you folks got your Christmas trees up just yet? Well, some people did, but they're coming down already. Why? Christmas is a long ways away? Why are we taking trees down? We're going to try to explain this to you, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, it's a holiday season, right? So, can't we all just get along? Maybe not.

HOLMES: That's too bad around the holiday time. In Seattle, airport Christmas trees are coming down.

NGUYEN: I can't believe it.

HOLMES: They're no longer on display. But the man whose complaint got this whole thing started says he's not a grinch. CNN's Joshua Levs has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSHUA LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM (voice over): Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Christmas time imagery, but the trees have been taken down. It started with this rabbi's complaint, but this is not what he wanted. RABBI ELAZAR BOGOMILSKY, HOST, "SHMOOZE RADIO": The Jewish community at-large is offended by the removal of the Christmas trees.

LEVS: What he wanted was for something to be placed alongside one of the trees, a Menorah. He says the Hanukkah symbol, as seen in other public displays, represents triumph of freedom over oppression.

BOGOMILSKY: It's not just a message for Judaism, it's a message of hope for everyone.

LEVS: But he didn't just ask, he threatened a lawsuit. And the commission that oversees the airport says there was no time to reach a resolution.

PATTI DAVIS: Frankly, we are faced with the choice of either spending unknown amounts of the public's dollars and countless hours of litigation, or trying to figure out how to accommodate all these cultures all at once, when we were underway trying to bring half a million people through the SEA-TAC airport, in the busiest possible season.

LEVS: So the trees came down and tempers went up.

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To take away the Christmas tree, to me, is just saying Christmas doesn't count, when it's an aspect of Christmas.

LEVS: Airport employees are angry, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody has been outraged enough that they're going to bring in their own solution tomorrow and to demonstrate, I suppose, and bring their own Christmas trees and we're going to display them at the ticket counters.

LEVS (on camera): And the rabbi says he wants the Christmas trees back up, too. So why doesn't the airport just put the trees back up, add a Menorah, and everybody goes home happy?

Well, the commission that runs the airport says the concern is that if they represent Hanukkah, they will have to be concerned about representing all cultures that may have holidays this time of year. And they say that at this point there just isn't enough time to take care of everybody.

Joshua Levs, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: All right. Forget the tree. It's about the things underneath the tree, right?

HOLMES: No, Betty, that's not right.

NGUYEN: I'm just saying, there are those little ones out there who want that -- yes, the PS3. You want to see the sparkle in the child's eye. That'll get it.

HOLMES: You'll get it in my eye if you get me one of those for Christmas. But then there's of course, this year's hot, toy with the high, price. So, who is cashing in on some of these things? That is ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. I just wanted you to see the guy on the left there taking off.

NGUYEN: We'll show it again.

HOLMES: We'll so it again for sure. But, this is what happened. Smokestack at a phosphate plant in Florida came crashing down this morning. Wasn't really an easy thing to do. They had to chip away at it for quite a while before it finally fell over.

NGUYEN: They had to chip away at it. Who does that?

HOLMES: I don't -- maybe that is the professional way...

NGUYEN: The traditional method of taking down a ...

HOLMES: The chosen safety way to do it.

NGUYEN: I would have thought dynamite. But OK, this works, too.

HOLMES: It did work. But you saw some of the workers there.

NGUYEN: Running for their lives.

HOLMES: Had to take off. The plant closed up shop more than two years ago because of financial issues and a lawsuit accusing the company of pollution.

NGUYEN: Well, Christmas is not cheap, oh, no. Especially if you want the top toys under that tree. And that's led to sort of a black market for Christmas dreams. CNN's Kyung Lah has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's the yearly chase, getting the hot holiday toy. This year's most prized holiday gift, Playstation 3.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go!

LAH: If you snag one or, in Robey Joyce's case -- three, it can mean a big payoff.

ROBEY JOYCE, SELLER: Money, money, money.

LAH: Joyce waited two days in Chicago's frigid temperatures, camping out like numerous other gamers. Retail price, $599.99. And on craigslist...

JOYCE: $1,125, I think it was. And the other one for $1,000. I think I made two kids happy for Christmas since they're going to be getting their Playstation 3. So I'm not an entirely bad person.

LAH: Jay Marasigan was lucky enough to get the PS3, paying $300 more than retail. And that, he says, is a deal.

(on camera): But that's $300 over what it sells for in the stores.

JAY MARASIGAN, BUYER: It is, but you can't get them in the stores.

LAH (voice over): This is the black market for toys, the Nintendo Wii, the PS3, and, of course, the Tickle Me Elmo TMX.

(on camera): It's basic economics. Stores have a limited supply, demand is high, especially with Christmas right around the corner. And people are willing to pay more.

SCOTT KRUGMAN, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: They're looking to online auctions, and they're paying ridiculous amounts of money.

LAH: Do you feel like the Grinch at all?

JOYCE: A little bit.

LAH (voice over): Robey Joyce is a recent immigrant from South Africa and has learned a lot about the American economy.

JOYCE: It's a very interesting system. There's definitely hundreds of way to make money.

LAH: As far as feeling like Scrooge, making money off someone else's holiday desperation...

JOYCE: I do, a little bit. But not so much when I go to Mexico. So...

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, Annan and America. The departing U.N. Secretary- General is saying good-bye. Here's a live look at his speech right now at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library. We'll have some of that a little bit later today right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, you have a holiday package for a loved one serving in the military overseas, you better get on it. Because the Postal Service says you will have to get it in the mail today if you want them to get it by Christmas. However, the deadline for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan specifically passed last week.

NGUYEN: Let's talk now about those changed by war. A young soldier returns home, but he is still unable to leave Iraq behind.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has the story.

JASON COOPER, U.S. SOLDIER: How are you doing? It's your brother coming to you from Ft. Knox, Kentucky.

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

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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'd have to kind of -- Jas, hey?

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just knock on my door and wake me up. Tell him to come in, sit there and talk.

COHEN: It seemed as if the terror of Iraq still consumed him. The family hoped he 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He 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 had hanged himself in the basement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was hard to believe what they told me. I just needed to see if I could help him.

JONES: I had failed. A lot of people failed him at that point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Jason's room. It's pretty much the way it was when he was here last.

COHEN: Ed won't change Jason's bedroom and he's 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. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they're all doing a wonderful job over there. We didn't ask for this, it's just unfortunate wars have to come up. And unfortunately people lose lives.

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

JONES: Soldiers are in distress, are taught to be tough, are 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wait to see him go off the diving board. Sometimes at night, I'm just waiting to hear a splash. Hoping it'll be him.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: We want to get you live to Missouri and outgoing U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan making one of his last addresses, his last major speech before leaving office, December 31st. We'll listen in here.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: ... but that lead can only be maintained if America remains true to its principles, including in the struggle against terrorism. When it appears to abandon its own ideals and objectives, its friends abroad are naturally troubled and confused.

And states need to play by the rules towards each other. As well as towards their own citizens. That can sometimes be inconvenient, but ultimately, what matters is not inconvenience, it is doing the right thing.

No state can make its own actions legitimate in the eyes of others. When power, especially military force, is used, the world will consider it legitimate only when convinced that it is used and is being used for the right purpose. For broadly shared aims in accordance with broadly accepted norms.

No community anywhere suffers from too much rule of law. Many do suffer from too little. And the international community is among them. This must change. The U.S. has given the world an example of democracy in which everyone, including the most powerful, is subject to legal restraint.

This current moment of world supremacy gives it a priceless opportunity to entrench the same principles at the global level. As Harry Truman said, "We all have to recognize no matter how great our strength,, that we must deny ourselves the license to do always as we please."

My fourth lesson, closely related to the last one, is that governments must be accountable for their actions in the international arena as well as in the domestic one.

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