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Bush Backs Off from Comments on Iraq; More Troops Considered for War; Already Taxed Recruiters May Have to Boost Military; Defense Secretary Visits Iraq

Aired December 20, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Don Lemon.

PHILLIPS: For better or worse, Iraq is taking a toll on the U.S. military. So why does the president want more boots and bombs? General Richard Cody, the Army's second in charge, joins me live.

HOLMES: Also, whiteout in the Rockies. Denver is blasted with a blizzard. Now it's heading east. You're looking at a live picture there from Denver. All you can see is white. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf, he has the forecast.

PHILLIPS: From the traders to the top, Santa comes early to Wall Street. Susan Lisovicz talking big bonuses from the New York Stock Exchange.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The new year will bring a new Iraq strategy from President Bush, or so we're told to expect. Today, a year in review from the commander in chief. A news conference where the president conceded things haven't gone well in the war.

CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano was there -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At a time when this president is under immense political pressure to change course in Iraq, the president today was very careful to emphasize that he has not made a final decision when it comes to what to do next about Iraq. The president also being very careful not to reveal any hints about which way he might be leaning.

The president also tried to clarify an answer that he gave to "The Washington Post" yesterday during an interview when he was asked whether the U.S. was winning in Iraq. The president, in that interview, referred to a comment by the chairman of the joint chiefs, saying that the U.S. was neither winning nor losing.

Well, today, here is what the president had to say about what answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My comments -- the first comment was done in this spirit. I believe that we're going to win. I believe that -- by the way, if I didn't think that, I wouldn't have our troops there. That's what you've got to know. We're going to succeed.

My comments yesterday reflected the fact that we're not succeeding nearly as fast as I wanted when I said it at the time, and that conditions are tough in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: And looking back at this year-end news conference, the president acknowledged that 2006 has been a difficult year for both U.S. forces and the Iraqi people with the ongoing sectarian violence in Iraq.

The president also says that he is heading into this new year clear-eyed about the challenges in Iraq.

The president reiterated, as well, what he told "The Washington Post" yesterday, that he is also in favor of an increase in the overall size of the military, the Army and the Marines specifically -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elaine Quijano, at the White House. Thanks so much.

Want to take you over to Bellevue, Washington, real quickly, our affiliate, King TV, giving us a live picture here. This is what I can tell you. There's a reported gas line rupture here in Bellevue. Evacuations are taking place right now in Washington Square and the U.S. Bank Building there in Bellevue.

We're told that the line was ruptured at a construction site here. Emergency crews are on the scene. We'll try to get more information, bring it to you.

HOLMES: More boots on the ground. It's one of the options for Iraq President Bush is considering and many in the Pentagon and Congress are opposing. But the president says he has not made up his mind and says there would have to be a specific mission for any so- called surge in troops.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins me now with the details -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., officially, that's right. There is no proposal. Officially, there's no option. Officially, no one's made up their mind. But the reality is that both the president and the joint chiefs of staff are looking very closely at the notion of adding 30,000 troops to the mix in Iraq. That of course, would be accomplished by keeping some troops on the ground longer than their one-year tour of duty and sending some others early.

Even as the new secretary, Robert Gates, arrived in Iraq today. That was one of the key topics of conversation: should there be a surge in troops?

Now, the joint chiefs have made very clear behind the scenes that they would approve of that only if there was a specific mission for those troops.

So the question went to President Bush at that White House press conference today, if the chiefs are against a surge, would he overrule them? Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I believe that tough mission I've asked them to do is going to be accomplished. And that they're doing good work and necessary work. I want the Iraqis to understand that we believe that, if they stand up, step up and lead, and with our help they can accomplish the objective.

And I want the enemy to understand that this is a tough task, but they can't run us out of the Middle East. That they can't intimidate America. They think they can. They think it's just a matter of time before America grows weary and leaves; abandons the people of Iraq, for example. And that's not going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So, T.J., even as Mr. Gates continues his trip now Iraq, talking to commanders, talking to commanders back here at home, don't expect to see a decision on that idea of a surge in troops until maybe after the new year -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon. Thank you so much, Barbara.

It's day three of Robert Gates' reign as defense secretary. And already, he's in Baghdad. As you saw, CNN's Ryan Chilcote joins me now with more on the unannounced visit and the reaction to the president's news conference.

Hey, Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Yes, the U.S. secretary of defense has been here for most of the day listening to his U.S. military commander hear as he moves forward in trying to forge the United States' new strategy for the war in Iraq.

Really, in talks focusing on one central, strategic issue: that is, does the United States draw down the number of troops it has here in a combat role, focusing more on training Iraqi troops so that they can take on the fight themselves? Or just the opposite: does the United States increase the number of troops it has here in Iraq, in particular, in the Iraqi capital.

That's a new idea that appears to be gaining some currency. It is also an idea that the defense secretary in his limited comments with reporters, discussed. Let's listen to what the secretary of defense had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We've discussed obvious things. We've discussed the possibility of a surge and the -- and the potential for what it might accomplish. I think it's very important in this case to hear, above all, from the Iraqis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHILCOTE: Yes, and as important as it may be, Kyra, the secretary of defense is unlikely to hear a unified position from the Iraqi government on whether the U.S. should send more troops into the Iraqi capital.

The Iraqi government appears to be split right down the middle on this issue, as it is on many issues. It appears to be split down sectarian lines.

The country's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, he says that U.S. troops don't need to be in the center of Baghdad at all. In fact, he says that they can withdraw to the suburbs and that Iraqis -- Iraq's own security forces can handle the very dire security situation here in the Iraqi capital.

Whereas the Iraqi vice president, who is a Sunni, says just the opposite. He's appealing to the United States to send in more troops. He says that Iraq security forces are not up to the task and that they need U.S. troops in here to protect Sunnis in the sectarian killings -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ryan Chilcote, live from Baghdad.

HOLMES: Snowed in or soon will be. The plains states are bracing for or buried under a fierce winter storm. Schools and interstates are closed in much of Colorado. You're looking at a live picture of a whiteout Denver there.

Everybody's urged to stay indoors if at all possible. Denver could get as much as 30 inches of snow.

Meanwhile, in Nebraska, the worries, freezing rain and sleet and what that could do to power lines.

Still powerless in western Washington. And a new storm could make matters worse. Utility crews from as far as Missouri are working overtime to restore electricity to 180,000 homes and businesses in the dark since Friday.

Forecasters say winds tonight could gust to 40 miles an hour, strong enough to topple more trees and bring down more power lines.

Reynolds Wolf, standing by in our weather center, watching this all for us. And I see you got a pretty colorful map there.

(WEATHER REPORT) REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All kinds of stuff we're dealing with today. Make sure you stay tuned; we'll give you the very latest.

HOLMES: Man, and a couple of lonely planes there around Denver.

WOLF: Just a few. Just a few. And I'm sure it's an interesting time inside the airport, as well.

HOLMES: Yes. All right. Reynolds, appreciate you. We'll see you soon.

PHILLIPS: When the weather becomes the news, you can become a CNN correspondent. If you see severe weather happening, just send us an i-report. Go to CNN.com and click on "i-report" or type in i- report@CNN.com on your cell phone. Then share your photos or your video with us.

HOLMES: Freezing rain falls on Mt. Hood, along with hopes for finding two missing climbers. Search teams are still on standby, though. We're still on the story here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: A sexual predator stalks the Houston area. Five known victims, but there may be others too embarrassed to come forward, because this rapist targets men. A former FBI special agent joins us next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Want to take you live to Bellevue, Washington, once again. These live pictures coming to us from King Television out of Seattle. We can tell you there's a gas line that ruptured here in a construction site, we're told. So now evacuations are taking place at Washington Square and the U.S. Bank Building right there in downtown Bellevue.

We're told that emergency crews are on the scene, and firefighters have now begun going floor by floor, taking readings for air quality to see what kind of effect the gases are having in the area.

So we'll continue to follow this. Gas line rupture in Bellevue, Washington. We'll bring you the latest.

HOLMES: Colin Powell's term is "broken." President Bush prefers "stressed." Both refer to a fighting force that's trying to secure Iraq and save Afghanistan and meet its many obligations elsewhere and still find time to train, rest and recover.

Mr. Bush says he's inclined to call for a bigger active duty military, which would ease any number of burdens and pressures, except of course, on military recruiters, who have been fighting uphill battles already.

CNN's Dan Lothian takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush is saying out loud what some generals and others have been arguing for months. America needs a bigger military.

BUSH: I'm inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops, the Army and the Marines.

LOTHIAN: Hitting the mark will fall on the shoulders of recruiters like Sergeant Mack Wood.

SGT. MARK WOOD, U.S. ARMY: Hi, Matt. My name's Sergeant Wood. I'm with the Army.

LOTHIAN: He tracks down college student Matt Osworth (ph) in a suburb south of Boston.

WOOD: See if you'd like to sit down and maybe learn about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't right now. I'm packing for a trip.

LOTHIAN: The 18-year-old says he respects the Army, but he doesn't appear ready to make a move. Sergeant Wood promises to stay in touch.

WOOD: Matt, I'm going to give you a call soon.

LOTHIAN: He spreads his message on the street and on the phone.

WOOD: United States Army Sergeant Wood. How you doing?

LOTHIAN: But his pitch isn't always welcome.

WOOD: It's challenging because you talk to so many people, and you do get told no a lot.

LOTHIAN: Recruiters also face another challenge: convincing parents, who are reminded on almost a daily basis about the grim reality of war.

WOOD: Obviously, parents are protective of their child, their children. And there is a sense of hesitation.

LOTHIAN: Twenty-three-year-old Argenis Mendez just signed up for the Army, undeterred by the prospect of going to war.

ARGENIS MENDEZ, ARMY RECRUIT: We don't hope for it, but that's the way it goes. So backing down if -- if I would have been afraid of the war, I wouldn't have signed up for it.

LOTHIAN: To help convince young men and women enlist, Wood and other Army recruiters offer incentives, bonuses of up to $40,000 and more cash for college.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Message to Mahmoud. Will voters in Iran reject their president's conservative cronies? We're taking it to the streets of Tehran next in the NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: And a sexual predator stalks the Houston area. Five known victims, but there may be others. But hear why police think they may be too embarrassed to come forward. A former FBI special agent joins us in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's bonus time. And this year has been a good one -- a very good one -- for people who work on Wall Street, at least. It all adds up to an extraordinary amount of money. Susan Lisovicz has been crunching these huge numbers for us.

Hello, Susan.

(STOCK REPORT)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi there. My name's Sergeant First Class Beard (ph), and I'd like to send a greeting to all my kids and family members back in the states. To my daughters Yasmine (ph), Tiffany (ph), Cherish (ph), and my sons Malcolm (ph) and Jared (ph), along with my other family members in the United States. God bless and happy holidays and see you all soon. Cool?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes, in today for Don Lemon.

So you wanted a white Christmas in Denver? Got you covered. This is not your own personal snow globe you're looking at over there. You're looking at live pictures of a blizzard in action. Stick around for a fix on a front that could be headed in your direction.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Well, as surprise visits go, this one isn't shocking. It's certainly been no secret the Iraq war is job one for the new U.S. defense secretary, Robert Gates.

So today, day three of his term, Gates turned up in Baghdad, accompanied by joint chiefs chairman Peter Pace and also CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre. He's there, too.

We've got him on the phone. The only network reporter to be side by side with Gates as he takes this trip. Bring us up to date, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm sorry, Kyra, what did you say?

PHILLIPS: Bring us up to date, tell us about the trip.

MCINTYRE: OK. Of course, the main topic here is the question of whether or not they'll be a surge of 10,000 additional U.S. troops into Baghdad as part of a new option to maintain security here.

And, you know, Kyra, the old phrase, damned with faint praise? Well, you can sort of turn that on its ear and say that this proposal is being praised with thin damnation. That is to say that nobody thinks (UNINTELLIGIBLE), including the two top generals in the past who had not advocated it.

Said (UNINTELLIGIBLE) U.S. troops, General John Abizaid, General George Casey. Mostly they could see some value in a surge of troops, as long as it was linked to a military objective that was obtainable and that would help the overall strategic goal of getting the Iraqis to take control of the country.

So you can see there's a little momentum building there. But Robert Gates was careful not to show his hand which way he's leaning. He's got to come back and make a recommendation to the president.

One reporter suggested that maybe he's the swing vote in this question of to surge or not to surge. President Bush will be making that decision. But you can see right now all the focus is on whether or not they should bring in those additional troops, whether that might buy them some breathing room and give the Maliki government time to gain that power sharing agreement and settle some of these other problems with the militias that they have up to this point not been able to do it. Tomorrow, by the way, Gates (INAUDIBLE) will meet with al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders (INAUDIBLE) and Gates said he's very interested to hear what the Iraqis think of this idea and what views they think (ph) of a surge and if they could really put it to good use before he makes any recommendations.

Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. That's our Jamie McIntyre there, obviously speaking to us by cell phone. Kind of hard to make out what he's saying. But the gist is, he's there side by side with Secretary Gate. The only network reporter actually traveling with him as he makes his surprise visit to Baghdad, meeting with military commanders on what's next for Iraq. Amid all of this, the talk with the -- we're hearing from the president and the administration about more troops being sent in to the region. Part of this new strategy in Iraq.

Well, could a surge in troops actually help turn the corner in Iraq? That's one of the issues that we're going to discuss with General Richard Cody. That's the Army's vice chief of staff. He's going to join us at 2:00 p.m. Eastern right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. HOLMES: Well, we turn to some of this weather going on now and in the plain states you're one of two things right now. You're either snowed in or you soon will be. Folks are bracing for, and some are even already buried under, a fierce winter storm. Certainly not alone. Denver could get as much as 30 inches of snow. We want to check in now with reporter Melissa Mollet of CNN affiliate KDBR.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA MOLLET, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right down here, then you can see how much accumulation we've got since this morning. Things were completely bare this morning. There was nothing out here. Now I guess we've got between three and four inches. Kind of depending on where you walk.

This here, a little sidewalk area, median area, on the bridge at Evans right over I-25. We have had several plows coming through here all morning. I would say five or six plows have made their way through. People are going slowly because it is really nasty. You've got that mix of mag (ph) chloride and that de-icer stuff, that ice cutter, trying to make things a little bit better and that is what you're seeing. The stuff that looks dirty is that ice cutter.

Now if we kind of whip around here to the other side, you can look there. That is I-25. The southbound lanes here at Evans. Things are picking up a little bit more from what we saw earlier. People still going slow. Being very, very careful because the roads are very slippery. You can slip and side incredibly easy.

Now city and CDOT crews, of course, were out overnight to try and keep these roads drivable. They're doing everything they can, including putting down that mag chloride and that de-icer. And they tell us that the chemical that they put down should last for between two and three days. So hopefully they will continue to work as we go into the weekend. And, you know, melt things maybe just a little bit, make the drive a little better.

If you can prevent going out today, I would definitely do it. If you can, you know, maybe take a day off from work. Obviously lots of those schools are closed because it is really nasty. It's windy. You have to stay warm. And the roads, again, not very good. We don't need to look at it right now, because we've shown you all morning, but I-25, looking there, heading south, you can't even see people's tail lights at this point. It's looking like a whiteout right now. People sliding all over the place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: We're going to turn now to our Reynolds Wolf in the Weather Center.

And, you know, a white Christmas sounds fantastic, doesn't it. But then somebody tells you you're going to get 30 inches of snow and, come on.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. I mean it sounds fantastic if you're going to be inside next to the fireplace, you know, enjoying some eggnog. But when you're outside and you have to go to work or go any place in those kinds of conditions, it's just not fun.

These are live images right here, T.J., from KWGN in Denver, Colorado. You can just see the - I guess this would have to be on an overpass where you see the sign showing eastbound and westbound I-70 and it is virtually whiteout conditions in some spots. This place not quite that bad. But definitely blizzard warnings all across the Denver/Metro area and they're going to be dealing with that.

And here's the reason why. This is the big rain and snowmaker. Rain on one side of the system, back in the central plains. But over here in Denver, this is where the snow is coming down and they're expecting quite a bit of it. In fact, our computer models indicate we could see maybe one, perhaps two feet of snow could fall. Some places approaching three feet of snow as we get into Friday morning. So it's going to be a messy, messy time to say the very least.

You want to see something really interesting? Let me show you something interesting and show you where some people are smiling. People are smiling in this airplane right here. This is our flight tracker. And this is United Airlines 1422. It is headed from Denver, going to Orlando, Florida, where it is 77 degrees and skies are going to be partly cloudy.

Denver Airport, as you can imagine, is a very busy airport. Not too busy today. On a normal day you would see a bunch of indicators around this on our flight tracker showing you a lot of traffic. Not the case. But flights are managing to take off, which is actually an incredible feat considering how strong the winds are.

Winds coming in from the north, up near Greely (ph), back into downtown Denver, as well as Denver International around 20. At times 30 miles per hour. In higher mountain passes, the wind is gusting up to 40 miles per hour. And keep in mind, much of the snow that's falling is really, really light powder. So we're talking about -- again, about the possibility of one to two feet. Some places approaching 30 inches of snowfall.

Think about with the wind how some of that is really going to pile up in some places. Our reporter earlier out live along I-25 mentioned that if you don't have to go out today, by all mean, don't. And that might be the rule of thumb, not just for today, but for tomorrow as well.

The latest we have from a real-time road and weather travel information site. Take a look at this. This is right on Ii-20. Here's I-70. These are travel times. I know you really can't see them from home, but just take it from me, cars are moving up and down these thoroughfares around 20 miles per hour. Some places I did the 12 miles per hour. It is a messy, messy time. If you can, avoid it.

The storm is going to be around, again, as I mentioned, through Friday morning. And then possibly bringing heavy rainfall to parts of the Southeast, as well as the Mid-Atlantic states. We're going to talk about that coming up. But right now, all eyes are on Denver. Back to you.

HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, thank you so much, sir.

WOLF: You bet.

HOLMES: And, of course, when the weather becomes the news, as it is right now and often does, you can become a CNN correspondent. You see severe weather happening, send us an i-report. Go to cnn.com, click on "i-report." or type i-report at cnn.com on your cell phone and please share your photos and video with us.

PHILLIPS: The weather forcing rescuers to turn back, but that doesn't mean they're giving up on the search for two climbers still somewhere in Oregon's Mount Hood. CNN's Rob Marciano has some developments from Hood River, Oregon.

Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, earlier this morning there was some freezing rain falling in the area and searchers thought today was not going to be a day where they could either get to the mountain by foot or by plane. But that precip, at least for now, has stopped, even though this storm is approaching from the west.

Just a few moments ago, we were told the sheriff and leader of the rescue effort, who's also a pilot, took off in his fixed wing aircraft to take a look around the mountain before this next storm comes through. Yesterday, visibility was great. They were doing some search via air. He also took family members up in the airplane so that for the first time they could get a close-up look at the mountain and what climbers were up against and where their loved ones may very well be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE WAMPLER, HOOD RIVER COUNTY, OREGON: Two members of Brian and Jerry's families got to go up with us and look around. And at the same time, we were up there, we did a little searching. And, you know, it just gave them an opportunity to see where all this is going on up close and, you know, see what we're going through, see what they went through, and, you know, I think they felt that. And, in a way it was good, but, you know, it was pretty emotional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Friends of family members have flown to this area from all across the country for support and also to help in the search efforts. Yesterday, when the weather was good, some of those family members were up snowshoeing at the lower elevations but -- in sites of where they think the climbers would be. And they noticed some discoloration in the snow. And for that reason, rescuers are gearing up, we're told, this morning, to potentially launch a ground effort before this storm comes in, to go to those areas where friends of family saw this discoloration of the snow. So that may very well happen within the coming hours. In the meantime, Kyra, winter storm warnings are posted. Freezing rain is expected to increase below 6,000 feet. Heavy snow in excess of a foot above that elevation. And winds potentially gusting over 60 miles an hour at the higher tops of Mount Hood. So they're, once again, racing against the clock but it looks like a small window here this morning where they could maybe push for a quick and hopefully successful search.

Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Real quickly to Rob. The discoloration of snow. Tell me why that would be something they'd pay attention to.

MARCIANO: Well, they're just looking for any inconsistencies. Anything that doesn't look like rockfall, icefall or snowfall. Anything that may say, hey, a human was here. What exactly that discoloration is, what it might specifically be, we haven't been told. But it was enough of a sighting, enough of a lead, for the leaders of this rescue effort to say, hey, listen, let's gear up, let's go check this out because the weather's only going to get worse.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll keep following it.

Rob Marciano, thanks.

Stranded on a mountain? Well, it's the gear that could save your life. High-tech devices that experts say every climber should have. Straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: And a sexual predator stalks the Houston area. Five known victims, but there may be others too embarrassed to come forward because this rapist targets men. A former FBI special agent join us next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: One rape victim after another. Five in all. All are men. This is happening in and around Houston. Most recently, November 30th. Police are hoping DNA tests point them toward a suspect, but so far nothing. The rapist is described as a young, clean-shaven African-American, armed with a gun. He attacks his victims in or near their homes. All the victims have been white in their late teens to early 20s. Police fear there might be more victims out there ashamed to come forward.

Police know two things for sure. The attacker's bold and he chooses his victims carefully. Don Clark once ran the FBI's Houston field offices. And in cases like this, we turn to him for insight and we do it once again on this case.

Sir, good to see you. You don't hear about this type of case that often, a serial rapist who targets men. How common is it?

DON CLARK, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, I have to tell you, T.J., from New York to hear in Texas and other place, this is my first encounter having seen a case like this to this magnitude. I mean we're talking about at least five. And we don't know how many. I spoke to the FBI earlier today and talked to them because they're involved in this investigation. And they're all somewhat perplexed because the evidence that they are finding, even the DNA evidence, they haven't found anybody to match it to. So it's a tough case for them.

HOLMES: So how likely is it that we -- we're talking about five victims. That's plenty right there. But how likely is it that there are more and they are more reluctant to come forward because they're young men and they're ashamed of it?

CLARK: Well, I think the police feel that there are more out there. As to how many, nobody's going to venture a number there. But you're right, five is way more than it should be because it shouldn't be any. But the bottom line is, that it's likely are some more victims out there. And what's going to help solve these cases, if some of those victims may come about. Because some of those victims, T.J., it's very likely may have a pretty good idea or even know who this person is.

HOLMES: Would it be tougher to profile a male serial rapist who is raping other males because, like you said, the cases like this aren't that common. Is it tougher to profile?

CLARK: Well, I talked to some of my profile buddies again, and, of course, something like this, where you don't get a lot of practice in it, they don't really know the characteristics. But they do have some things that they mentioned, such as domination, possibly racism here and possibly a sexual predator. So when you start to put those things together and you may be able to come up with a profile as to who this person may be.

HOLMES: And you spoke about domination there. In other cases where it's a man raping a woman, usually physically he can overpower a woman. In cases like this, he's going after 18-year-old, 19-year-old, 20-year-old males, they can be young, strong guys. So how carefully is this person having to choose their victims?

CLARK: Well, you make a good point, T.J. They've got to be very careful because I would suggest -- and I have no information to this -- but I would suggest that most of these victims are somewhat slight. And this guy, obviously, thinks he's pretty strong. But I think he stalks the people and he really figures out their weaknesses before he attacks. I don't think he just drives along the streets in a neighborhood and says, OK, I'm going to hit this house. I think he knows exactly where he's going and that he can probably win that battle.

HOLMES: And another component here is that he reportedly has been robbing some of the victims as well. Why do that? If the point is the sexual assault, why go about robbing them as well? Why is that necessary?

CLARK: Well, I think that's just part of the whole criminal makeup because, obviously, there's a criminal mind there. But, you know, that may be a good thing in terms of trying to solve this because I understand ATM cards may be missing, laptop computers may be missing. You've got to do something with that to try to generate money from it and that may be something that could help them solve this case.

HOLMES: And without the DNA as well, don't know exactly what's going to happen with that. But there's no seeming connection to all of the victims right now. I assume that's making it a lot tougher. There's no pattern here.

CLARK: Well there are no real patterns there. But just in and of itself, the nationality of the people that's being involved here and what he's actually doing to them, it's starting to give them a seam that they can start to connect these things together. So I think that law enforcement has a lot more than -- certainly than it's putting out there to try to lead themselves to this guy.

HOLMES: All right, Don Clark. Again, once ran the FBI Houston field office. We always turn to you on cases like this, sir. Thank you so much for helping us on this strange case. Hope they get this one solved. Thanks for being here.

CLARK: You bet. Thank you, T.J.

PHILLIPS: They've certainly got their differences. But the president of Iran and President Bush now have something in common. Both leaders have come out on the short end of local elections seen as referenda on their leadership. CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Tehran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): In a stinging defeat for Iran's president, his hard-line conservative allies look set to lose big in city council elections held nationwide. Their dominance of Iranian politics since 2003 suddenly in jeopardy, with majority power, at the local level anyway, shifting to moderates and reformists.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (through translator): No moderates voted the last time, so Ahmadinejad won with beautiful slogans. But he has done little to change the situation at home. This time we voted and the gains for those who don't support the president made a difference.

RAMAN: So why the defeat? Ahmadinejad was a virtual unknown a year and a half ago but stunned the world when he won a landslide victory on his promises to create jobs and bring down Iran's soaring inflation. But many voters here say he hasn't delivered. Instead, Iranians and the world see a leader focused on winning regional dominance. Ahmadinejad has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories. Openly working to dethrone the U.S. as a dominant player in the Middle East. Many Iranians want some of that money spent at home. And even though they've sent that message now, the president so far happen seemed to notice. This morning, giving the world a familiar warning.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN'S PRESIDENT, (through translator): If countries insist on preventing Iran from using nuclear technology by imposing sanctions, the Iranian nation will consider that as hostility and will change its behavior in return.

RAMAN: For the moment, Ahmadinejad can afford to be indifferent. City councils don't directly affect the president. But his defeat at the local level could mean trouble in the 2008 parliamentary elections and in his own re-election in 2009.

Those who know him say Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is unlikely for any reason to change who he's become, a man eager to defy the west, eager to incite Israel and eager to become the region's most powerful leader, even if his people want something else.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: New threats on tape from al Qaeda's number two. Ayman al-Zawahiri's comments come in a video statement first seen on al Jazeera. He warns the U.S. is negotiating with the wrong people in its efforts to secure Iraq. He also has harsh words for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, calling him America's man in Palestine. He also says holy war, not elections, will lead Palestinians to freedom.

PHILLIPS: Last we checked, a truce in Gaza seemed to be holding more or less, but it's still a far cry from peace. Our Ben Wedeman has this update.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The cease-fire went into effect at 11:00 p.m. and does, until now, seem to be holding relatively well. There was one major incident overnight in which two members of Palestinian preventive security, who are loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, were killed in an ambush by, it's believed, Hamas gunmen. Five others were wounded in that attack. This morning there was a funeral for those two dead police members. More clashes during that funeral.

But by and large, life does seem to be going back to normal. People are out on the streets. Stores are open. Schools, however, are still closed, given that several children were wounded in the cross fire in gun battles between Hamas and Fatah. We are still hearing talk that there are negotiates between the two factions on trying to work out their problems, trying to maintain the calm and possibly to discuss the formation of a national unity government.

But essentially the problems are that sparked this latest outbreak of fighting are still there. Mahmoud Abbas is still insisting on holding these early parliamentary and presidential elections. Hamas still says they will not let them go ahead. So even though it's more calm on the streets than it has been recently, the political deadlock continues.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The president talks troop expansion, but it's up to General Richard Cody to figure out how to fill new boots on the ground. Up next in the NEWSROOM, the general joins us to talk about that challenge.

PHILLIPS: And more on the blast of winter weather blanketing Denver and beyond. Live pictures from the mile-high city. The news keeps coming. We'll keep bring it to you. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

And a programing reminder. CNN tonight, the challenge, struggles and revolution that became Christianity. CNN Present "After Jesus: The First Christmas." Don't miss the premiere tonight at 7.

Plus, get more on that special at cnn.com. View behind the scenes video and pictures, track the Christianity time line and see how researchers say Jesus actually looked.

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