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Bush To Decide New Iraq War Policy; Interview with General Richard Cody; Blast of Winter Weather Blankets Denver

Aired December 20, 2006 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Don Lemon.

Need more troops? President Bush says he just might. Just ahead, General Richard Cody joins us for an exclusive interview on increasing the force.

PHILLIPS: Hard to tell from these pictures, but this is Denver. Where else is a major blizzard headed?

HOLMES: Plus, thousands still without power in Washington State. And too many people are risking their lives to keep warm. For one Seattle man the consequences are almost unbearable. That story this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Snowed in or soon will be. The Plains States are bracing for or buried under a fierce winter storm. Live pictures right now from our affiliate KUSA out of Denver.

Schools and interstates are closed in which of Colorado right now. Everybody's urged to stay indoors if at all possible. Denver could get as much as 30 inches of snow.

In Nebraska, the worry is freezing rain and sleet and what that could do to the 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.

HOLMES: Well, a lot of folks need to be asking Santa maybe for snow chains. We're going to check in now with our Reynolds Wolf, keeping an eye on all of this. You can call it a mess.

Oh, even taking the jacket off. Getting serious over there.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know. It's getting serious. No, I would not waste a present on snow chains. There's no way. Just get that because you're going to need it for much of the winter and much of the spring. It's an everyday kind of thing during the wintertime.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WOLF: Let's send it back to you.

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

And then for the chains and the tires, no, not a Christmas present.

WOLF: No.

HOLMES: They need them now. Don't wait on them. All right. Thank you, Reynolds.

Well, meanwhile, up to 12 people who died in last week's storm, half were poisoned by carbon monoxide. Four were from one family. Reporter Bernard Troy of our Seattle affiliate, KING, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANH TRAN, VICTIMS' SON AND BROTHER: I'm just thinking of like how much I miss my parents right now and how much I wish I told them I loved them and I hugged them.

BERNARD TROY, CORRESPONDENT, SEATTLE AFFILIATE KING (voice-over): Tonight, 19-year-old Canh Tran is still numb, standing in front of his family's Burrian (ph) home, he still cannot comprehend what happened inside. Still cannot believe that his dad, his mom and two of his siblings are gone, including his baby brother, John.

TRAN: He's only 14, you know. No 14-year-old should have to deal with that. So I was kind of thinking like why not me?

TROY: King County sheriff's deputies yesterday went to check on the Tran family after they hadn't been seen in a couple of days. Once inside, they found Canh Tran, his wife Dan (ph), and two sons dead. Authorities believed after the power went out late last week, the Trans' ran a generator inside the garage to keep warm and were overtaken by carbon monoxide fumes.

TRAN: I always assumed that they would call me back. But because the weekend they didn't call me back, I just assumed it was because of the electricity failures.

They were amazing people. My dad was such a hard worker, you know, a landscaper, businessman. My mom, one of the most kindest, loving people that I know, a devout catholic.

TROY: At the family's church in Boulevard Park, the pastor says the entire congregation is grieving.

FATHER ANTHONY TRAN, PASTOR, OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH: One of the losses for our people is, I think, is a big loss, jarring our community of faith.

TROY: Tonight, to keep going, Canh is relying on his faith and the values his parents instilled in him.

TRAN: Parents are strong people. And they hold together the family bonds. It's not necessarily what I'm going to do without them. But how I'm going to cherish them and make them proud and continue living for them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, because of what happened to the Tran family and others, "The Seattle Times" and our news outlets are spreading the word about what not to do if you lose power. "The Times" is printing warnings in six languages -- Vietnamese, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Somali and English.

And among the advice, don't use generators, gas or kerosene heaters, or burn charcoal in closed rooms. Also, install battery- powered carbon monoxide detectors in your home. And make sure your house is well ventilated.

PHILLIPS: President Bush is conceding, and we quote, "conditions are tough in Iraq." In a year-end news conference, he said he's considering sending more U.S. troops to Iraq temporarily. And he called for a bigger U.S. Army and Marine Corps permanently.

(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. And 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 at the time, and that conditions are tough in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Mr. Bush is expected to unveil a new Iraq war strategy early in the New Year. More from the White House in just a moment.

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

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the secretary of defense spent his entire day listening to U.S. military commanders here as he sets out on the challenging task of forging the U.S.' new strategy for the Iraq war. Undoubtedly focusing in those talks with U.S. military generals on the central tactical issue of whether the U.S. draws down the number of combat troops it has here in the Iraq, in the Iraqi Capital, and starts focuses more on training Iraq security forces so they can take the lead. Or alternatively whether the United States ups the number of troops it has here in Iraq, and in particular in the capital.

It's something -- an idea that President Bush was talking about earlier today at that press conference. It is also something that the secretary of defense discussed with reporters earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We've discussed obvious things. We've discussed the possibility of a surge 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: As important as it may be, however, the secretary of defense is unlikely to hear a unified response, a unified opinion from the Iraqi government about whether there should be more American troops in Baghdad.

In fact, the government appears to be pretty split on this, as it is split on almost all issues. And it is split on sectarian lines.

The Iraqi prime minister told President Bush a couple weeks ago that he thought that Iraqi security forces could secure almost all of the Iraqi capital on its own. The Iraqi prime minister, a Shiite.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi vice president, a Sunni, just this weekend, told CNN that he thought that there should be more U.S. troops in the Iraqi Capital, that the -- that Iraq security forces weren't doing a good enough job, that they're Shiite dominated. And that he'd like to see more American troops.

So a lot of disunity. A lot of -- a lack of unity, if you will, among the Iraqi politicians on whether there should be more troops here in the Iraqi capital -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So the question is how do you make a decision, and who will make the decision, if you've got the Iraqis that are split, members of Congress, also the Bush administration? I mean, everybody's got to be on the same page for this or you can't move forward.

CHILCOTE: Everybody does have to be on the same page. And I think that's one of the reasons why we're seeing so much hesitation, so much consideration, such a noncommittal academic discussion about whether there should be a surge of U.S. troops in the Iraqi capital.

Let's face it, the capital is a dangerous place. This is ground zero for the sectarian war that is unfolding in Iraq. This is really the killing fields, if you will. Today, a perfect example, 76 bodies found in the Iraqi capital today. That may be the highest number since the spring.

And it is a dangerous place for U.S. troops as they try to keep the peace here as well. Two U.S. soldiers killed in the south of Iraq, both in IED attacks.

And there is a real concern that the refereeing some kind of sectarian violence here in the capital is a job that U.S. troops really are not trained to do. And if you just bring in more troops, there may be more U.S. casualties -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Ryan Chilcote live from Baghdad. Thanks, Ryan.

HOLMES: The New Year will bring a new strategy, a new Iraq strategy, from President Bush, at least we're told to expect. And today, a year-end review from the commander in chief. A news conference where the president conceded things have not gone well in the war. CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano was there.

Hello, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, T.J. Well, that's right, President Bush emphasized today that his deliberations over what to do next when it comes to his Iraq policy are still ongoing. And the president was very careful knowing full well that his words are not only be scrutinized here in the United States, but also overseas by Iraqi politicians.

The president very careful not to reveal any hints as to which direction he might be leaning. And one of the options, you just heard, is the idea of a temporary short-term surge of U.S. forces, particularly to help stabilize the situation in Baghdad.

Now, the president today was asked whether or not he would overrule his commanders on the ground if they opposed a so-called surge. He did not answer directly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: We have an obligation to ensure our military is capable of sustaining this war over the long haul and performing the many tasks that we ask of them. I'm inclined to believe that we need to increase in the permanent size of both the United States Army and the United States Marines. I've asked Secretary Gates to determine how such an increase could take place and report back to me as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: And actually, President Bush also saying in that news conference that, in fact, he values the opinion of his commanders on the ground, saying that it is very important. He called them bright, capable, smart people whose opinion matters to him a lot.

But the reason that is significant, T.J., is because we've heard from this president time and time again that, when it comes to U.S. troop levels in Iraq in determining just how many to have there, that he, of course, does listen to his commanders on the ground.

So his language today seemed to back away, albeit, ever so slightly from that. And the president, as you know, expected to announce changes to his Iraq policy in the coming year -- T.J.

HOLMES: And Elaine, you talked about the language -- another part of the language, we're not winning, we're not losing. After not too long ago saying yes, the U.S. is winning. Talk about fine line here and how the president answered that today.

QUIJANO: It's a little bit confusing because basically when you look at what the president said in response to a "Washington Post" question yesterday -- he was interviewed by "The Post." He was asked is the United States winning in Iraq. And what the president did was say, "I think it's an interesting construct that the joint chiefs chairman, Peter Pace, General Peter Pace, has said that the United States is neither winning nor losing."

So the president, although he himself did not say I don't believe we're winning, I don't believe we're losing, he pointed to the chairman of the joint chief's statement.

And then, what he said today about that essentially is that I believe that we can win. Otherwise, we wouldn't have U.S. troops there. But this question of victory continues to be such an important one. Because as you know, the political pressure, of course, continues to mount on this president to change course when it comes to Iraq policy.

We're just a couple weeks away now, T.J., as you know, from when Democrats take control of Congress. There will be a lot of questions to be answered. And the president understands full well that, in fact, they are expecting to see some big changes. But making very clear today, he's trying to get input from a variety of sources, including his new defense secretary on the ground in Iraq, before he makes any kind of final decision -- T.J.

HOMES: Well, Elaine, glad we have you to decipher some of that confusing language for us. Thank you, Elaine.

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

HOLMES: And weather is once again the critical factor in the search for two men on Mt. Hood, weather and the unrelenting passage of time. An update ahead, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I'm inclined to believe that we need to increase in the permanent size of both the United States Army and the United States Marines. I've asked Secretary Gates to determine how such an increase could take place and report back to me as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, President Bush, as you heard. He wants a bigger Army and Marine Corps. And he may want a surge in troops for Iraq.

General Richard Cody is the U.S. Army's vice chief of staff, the man who makes sure the commander in chief has the soldiers that he needs. He joins us live from Washington in an exclusive interview this afternoon.

Sir, it's great to have you with us. And I guess your first reaction, I'm going to ask you if you can do this, but what -- do you think this is a good move first? Let me ask you that.

GEN. RICHARD CODY, ARMY VICE CHIEF OF STAFF: We've been -- I do think it's a good move. You know, after the first Gulf War, we downsized our army by about 40 percent in what people thought was the peace dividend.

And then when we started this war, we started it with an army of about 482,000 on the active side and a little bit more than a million people in the total Army, active Guard and reserve. We're now five years into this war at a very sustained level, and we've been growing the Army since 2004 on the active side and have actually grown it about 20,000 while we've been fighting this war.

And the truth of the matter is, every day since we started Operation Iraqi Freedom, it's taken about 600,000 soldiers, active Guard and reserve, to meet the military requirements, not just in Iraq and Afghanistan but certainly in the other 80 countries around the world where we have commitments. So I think it's a good thing, and it's something that we have been doing since 2004, growing the Army.

But -- and how have you been doing that? Because we've talked about the issues of the draft. We've been talking about burnout. We've been talking about post-traumatic stress. Are you going to need to get out there and recruit more to get more men and women to join these combat teams?

CODY: Well, one is we have increased our recruiting effort. In '06, this year, we exceeded our 80,000 goal. And for the total force, we recruited 175,000, and that speaks to this generation.

The fact that we've been at this war for over four years and we still have great young men and women from this country signing up, raising their right hand and basically saying America, you're at war. Send me.

So I believe we can continue to grow the Army. It's not just an army, building an all-volunteer force and recruiting. It really has to be an effort by all of America because this is, at the end, about defending this great country.

PHILLIPS: Well, and, you know, it takes a certain kind of training to be able to go into Iraq and fight this insurgency, this sort of irregular warfare. I hope that I'm using the proper terms.

And a lot of these men and women are there for a year. They come back, maybe only have 12 to 13 months, and then they're having to go back over there. Do you have enough time to train them for this type of warfare, and are they meeting those needs?

CODY: Well, you hit on two issues. Let me take the first one. The counterinsurgency, irregular warfare, we have adjusted our training out at our national training center and our other training bases all during this war since 2003.

And so we're increased our language training, our cultural training, counter-improvised explosive tactics, techniques, and procedures. And so we are doing that.

The problem is that because of what you just said where units come back after 12 months and have about 12 to 13 months back in the states, they are only training on that portion of the military spectrum of warfare, the counterinsurgency.

And this country needs to have a strategic reserve above and beyond just fighting counterinsurgency so that we can also fight full spectrum if something else happens in this world.

PHILLIPS: But that reserve is in trouble right now. I've even talked with commanders on the ground. Men that are under you and are trying to provide for the demands that you require. And they're saying, look, these brigade combat teams, they're hollowing out. We just don't have the ability to do what we have to do to fight this insurgency.

CODY: What we have, you can be assured, my son's one of those. He just came back from his third combat tour. He joined the Army in 2000. He's had three combat tours and is now in that 12 to 13-month reset, getting ready to go back to combat.

What we do, when we'd reset the unit, when it comes back, is we have to reset the equipment as well as reset the soldiers. And what we do is make sure that before they deploy, we have them fully manned, fully trained, fully equipped and best led.

And so during that 12 to 13-month period back at continental United States, there will be times, because of the demands above and beyond the brigade combat teams in Iraq, the training teams and others as well as schools, a unit may not have 100 percent of their personnel.

But before we get them to the training base for their train-up to go back to Iraq or Afghanistan, we fully man them, get them fully equipped and then send them back. The problem is, that's all we're able to generate right now because of the size of the army. And that's why we have to grow it so that we can have a strategic reserve ready to counter any other threats in this world.

PHILLIPS: General, let me ask you a bit of a personal question. A new CNN poll shows that 67 percent of Americans now oppose this war in Iraq. Now, I know your reputation -- it's incredible within the Army and among other generals and admirals in the military.

With a 67 percent number, just looking at that, and Americans against this war right now, how do you look at your men and women and say, trust me, believe me, we've got to do this and we got to keep it up?

CODY: One of the things that I have been amazed about -- I came into this Army during the Vietnam War -- what amazes me about this generation of soldiers is their patience, their understanding of how critical this global war on terrorism, and the fact that our reenlistment rates and our recruiting has been above 100 percent tells me they understand it.

You know, we have a slogan now of Army strong. But I will tell you, it can't be just Army strong, it's going to have to be America strong as we fight this global war on terrorism. It's going to take patience. It's going to take commitment. And not just by our soldiers who are out on the front lines, but it's going to take the commitment of this entire nation because this will be a long struggle, and it won't be just Iraq or Afghanistan.

PHILLIPS: Sir, will you stay with me just for a couple minutes so we can take a quick break? I have a few more questions for you.

CODY: Sure.

PHILLIPS: General, thanks. Suicide rates for U.S. troops in Iraq doubled last year from the year before. We're going to talk with General Cody about that and we're going to find out whether he thinks the U.S. is winning this war in Iraq right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Taking another live look at Denver here, whiteout conditions there in Denver, as you can see. Traffic moving pretty slow or non-existent at all in a lot of places.

Expecting maybe up to 30 inches of snow there. We're keeping an eye on this. A lot of schools and interstates are closed there. We're going to talk coming up in just a few minutes of somebody who was actually stuck in some of that traffic on one of the interstates where they're having a ton of problems and we're also going to be checking in with our Reynolds Wolf. So stick around for that.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's get back with General Richard Cody, vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army. We've been talking about a number of issues with him. As the president came forward today, talked about increasing troops in Iraq right now, changing the strategy in Iraq.

And sir, I told you I wanted to look at a very disturbing statistic, and that is these new numbers that came out talking about the suicide rate among soldiers in Iraq doubled in the last year as compared to the year before.

When you talk about increasing that time that troops are in country and having them go back into country and you look at those statistics, how do you deal with that?

CODY: Well, it is hard. Each one of these is a tragedy, a tragedy for the soldiers they serve with, more importantly, a tragedy for their families.

What we've been doing the last three years -- actually, about almost four years now -- we have increased the number of combat stress teams that we put down range. These are our doctors and professionals that can train and look for any type of signs.

We're doing a reintegration across the Army when the units come back. We spend time, two weeks with the soldiers and with the family members. We're training our leaders before they deploy to look for these things. It's a 12-month deployment. And a very tough, a very nasty type of war. With IEDs and the complexity of this urban fight.

And so we are trying to train -- we are training our leaders. We're training our soldiers. But more importantly, we're letting everybody know, come forward if you have a problem. And so I was just at Walter Reed here not too long ago where a soldier had PTSD.

What heartened me was his openness. And when I asked him, were you afraid to come forward? He said, no, general. He said, I knew my leaders cared about me. And he was there being treated. What also heartened me was to see some of his platoon coming back and visiting with him.

And so it's something that we have to deal with. It's something that we have to train more to. But it also talks to the stress on this force right now.

Another reason why we need to recognize that each one of these soldiers of this generation, this all-volunteer force, how precious they are, and what we need to do is build more depth so that we don't have these back-to-back deployments inside 12 months, inside two years, so that we can allow them to reset themselves and then return to combat in a two-year cycle versus one year in and 13 months out.

PHILLIPS: Sir, we talk about the suicide rate. You mentioned Walter Reed. You've been there. You've been able to see these men and women firsthand and see what kind of injuries they sustain. I also know that you have been to far too many funerals, and you've had to look these families in the eyes and hand them that flag.

Now, you fought in Vietnam. You are now a leading man in this war in Iraq. Are you concerned one day that you're going to be thinking about Vietnam and thinking about this war and wonder what was the purpose?

CODY: I don't think so. In fact, I -- this war is entirely different than what we had in the '60s and '70s. This is a global war. Right now the focus is on Iraq and Afghanistan where we freed 50 million people from two bad regimes, but it is a global war.

The nature of this war is certainly different. And the nature of this enemy is certainly different. And it's a war that we'll be successful with, but not one that people will see at the -- at someday where people are going to sit on either side of a table and sign a peace accord. That's not the nature of this.

It's going to require strength of purpose. It's going to require a strong military. It's going to require a strong American support for us to be able to be successful in this. But this is entirely different. And our soldiers understand it, and they know it's going to take patience, and they know it is a different type of fight. But they also know that this country got attacked on 9/11 and as one soldier told me when I reenlisted him in the combat zone, I asked him, I said, son, why are you reenlisting? You could go home to your family and see your first child born. He looked me right in the eye and he said, General, don't you get it? These people attacked our country. They killed our citizens. Every fight from now on has to be an away game. This is a different fight.

PHILLIPS: Final question, sir. Now the talk of two carrier groups coming into the Persian Gulf, more marines, more members of the Army coming into Iraq, possibly the plan to take large chunks of the insurgency out quickly by the air on the ground -- does that sound like a good game plan, take out as much as of the insurgency as you can, get out, bring the troops home and tell the Iraqis, you're in charge?

CODY: I'm going to leave those type of strategic developments and plans to the two generals that are over there that have been fighting this war, and they're very, very capable, General John Abizaid and General George Casey, who are, at this moment, meeting with our new secretary of defense.

They'll bring those forward. The president and the secretary of defense, I'm sure, will have a conversation, and then it will be the job of the chief of staff of the Army, myself and the secretary of the Army to make sure that we can continue the pace as well as build the strategic reserve.

But I think it's too early to comment on what type of strategy is going to come out of the discussions with the leaders we have on the ground.

PHILLIPS: Well, let me ask you this. Let me ask you this. Biggest mistake in 2006, what needs to happen in 2007?

CODY: I think in 2007 we need to continue to grow capacity in this force. I think we need to continue to increase the level of cultural training that we're doing, increase the readiness of the force back here for other contingencies.

And then I think, over time, what's happening in Iraq, as General Casey and the forces we have over there build up Iraqi capacity and coalition capacity, I think it's going to take time and patience, but I think we're going to be very successful.

PHILLIPS: General Richard Cody, appreciate your time today, sir.

CODY: OK, thank you.

HOLMES: And when we come back, more on this blast of winter weather blanketing Denver and beyond. A live picture here from the mile-high city. We'll talk with a woman who's actually stuck in that snowy traffic. You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

Also, we're going to talk about being stranded on a mountain. It's the gear that could save your life, high-tech devices the experts say every climber should have. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, we've been telling you about this crazy weather that's happening. We've been showing you those live pictures from Denver as well. They're expecting possibly 30 inches of snow. And somebody we've been checking in with, Denver reporter Melissa Mollet from KDVR. She's still out in it.

Melissa, how are things?

MELISSA MOLLET, KDVR REPORTER: Oh, T.J., things are very, very cold, as you can probably imagine.

But this is what a blizzard warning looks like. You can see we've got about five inches right here where we are in the city of Denver. And, you know, they're expecting 10 to 20 inches in the city by tomorrow morning, up to three feet in the foothills and kind of surprisingly, not as much in the mountains.

The snow is going to continue, though, for the next 24 hours. We've got 35 mile an hour wind gusts, which make things even more lovely. And these cold temperatures over the past few days that we've been seeing are really helping the snow stick and accumulate.

Now, as far as roads go, they're pretty bad, to be honest with you. There is one section of I-25 heading south into New Mexico that is completely shut down now because of these poor conditions.

And as far as travel goes, if you're trying to get out of Denver or heading into Denver, you should know that United has canceled all of its flights in and out of DIA as of 2:00 Mountain time today. And Frontier Airlines now considering some cancellations as well. You know they've got 95 percent of their flights have been canceled, but everything is not canceled like United is doing.

HOLMES: My goodness. You all got a mess going there. I kind of want to keep talking to you, but I feel sorry for you a little bit so, Melissa, we're going to let you go.

MOLLET: All right, thanks, T.J.

HOLMES: You take care there.

MOLLET: Thank you.

HOLMES: We're going to head over to Reynolds Wolf now who's in the Weather Center.

I thought you might have your sleeves rolled up by now, you were coming out with the jacket, loosened the tie. I know you've got a lot of stuff you're keeping an eye on, Reynolds.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WOLF: We actually have a viewer who is tuning in right here. It is Lynn Laszewski. We're lucky enough to have her on the phone. Lynn, can you hear me?

LYNN LASZEWSKI, WEATHER VICTIM: Yes, I can.

WOLF: Lynn, how are you doing?

LASZEWSKI: I'm moving finally.

WOLF: You are moving? You are moving?

LASZEWSKI: Yes, I've got ...

WOLF: Tell us about your day. I understand you've been stuck there for quite awhile on the roadway. How has it been for you?

LASZEWSKI: Well, I left work at 11:00, and it's now 12:40. And I was stuck for about an hour and a half.

WOLF: Was there an accident? Could you really tell the reason why you had stopped? Any reason for it, do you think, other than obviously the snow?

LASZEWSKI: There was a couple of semi trailers that couldn't move anymore, so they were just in the middle of the road. And then I did finally get by two semis, a city bus, and about five cars that were just completely stopped. So everybody had to just snake their way past them.

WOLF: Now, Lynn, you are no stranger to winter weather. I understand you're originally from Wisconsin. So you've dealt with winter-like conditions, you've dealt with the ice, you've dealt with the snow. How does this compare with other things you've experienced?

LASZEWSKI: This is much more exciting.

WOLF: Exciting?

LASZEWSKI: It's really coming down sideways, which Wisconsin likes to fall straight down.

WOLF: Yes, Wisconsin, it's a little bit different there than it is in up in the mountains, no question about it. Well, drive safely. Both hands on the wheel. And we'll get back in touch with you. Thank you so much for your time.

LASZEWSKI: All right. Thank you.

WOLF: Have a great holiday.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Freezing rain falls on Mt. Hood along with hopes for finding two missing climbers. Search teams still on standby, and we're still on the story from the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Storm warnings are posted for the Pacific Northwest, Mt. Hood included, but rescuers are hoping to launch one more ground search for two missing climbers before the weather turns. They believe Brian Hall and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke may be in one area high up on the mountain. Late yesterday, leaders of the search gave the climbers' families their first look at that site.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE WAMPLER, HOOD ROVER 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 and see what they went through. And, you know, I think they felt that. In a way, it was good, but, you know, it's pretty emotional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The two missing men set out 12 days ago with fellow climber Kelly James. Search teams found James's body on Sunday. An autopsy is now under way.

HOLMES Could the right tools have made the difference? Experts know of some high-tech devices that no modern mountain climber should set out without.

CNN's Carol Costello with this show and tell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the search grows more desperate, uneasy questions keep popping up. Could the climbers have saved themselves if only? Did the thrill of the climb override the need for life-saving equipment?

(on camera): Is it sort of like riding a roller coaster? It's that sense of danger that makes it even more exciting?

WILLIAM BAER, CLIMBING EXPERT: Yes, absolutely, but it's also in your control. I mean, the errors that happen often times are human errors. In this situation, I think it was just one of those things, you know. It was unpreventable.

COSTELLO (voice-over): William Baer teaches people to climb inside and out. He blames a sudden change in the weather for the tragedy on Mt. Hood. Kelly James, Brian Hall, Jerry "Nikko" Cooke seemed to have everything they needed -- pick axes, bedding, food, rope, maps, and a cell phone and decades of experience between them. But other climbers say they should have had one more thing, easily available life-saving technology.

MITCH JACKSON, TENTS & TRAILS: It's never not necessary.

COSTELLO: Mitch Jackson, an avid climber who works at a sporting good store, Tents & Trails in Manhattan, says that necessary thing would be an avalanche tracker. Example, a jacket with a transmitter in the sleeve.

JACKSON: They can use radar now with this. And this will reflect back the signal similar to what a bat does when it's looking for bugs. It will send out a signal and what it bounces back, it knows there is something there.

COSTELLO: There are other impressive devices as well, avalanche beacons worn on the outside of your coast, sending off signals down to 35 meters, so if you're buried beneath the snow, pinpointing you becomes easier.

(on camera): Wow. That is awesome.

JACKSON: And there it is. I am .1 meters away.

COSTELLO: As far as we know, the two missing climbers did not carry one of these devices with them. They did have a cell phone, which is how they located Kelly James. A positive, but it could not pinpoint his location exactly. And when it was found near his body, it was wet and unoperational.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And you can watch more of Carol Costello's reports as she joins Wolf Blitzer every day in "THE SITUATION ROOM" starting at 4:00 p.m. Eastern and then again for the live primetime edition at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

PHILLIPS: And a programming reminder -- CNN tonight -- the challenges, struggles. and revolution that came with Christianity. "CNN Presents: After Jesus, the first Christians." Don't miss the premiere tonight 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Plus get more on the special at CNN.com, new behind the scenes video and pictures. You can even track the Christianity time line and see how researchers describe what Jesus may have looked like.

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