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Obama and Hillary Vie for Coverage; Inside Nigeria' MEND; Putin Blasts U.S. Foreign Policy

Aired February 10, 2007 - 15:56   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In the face of war, we believe there can be peace. In the face of despair, we believe there can be hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Barack Obama officially joining the race for the White House.

Hello and welcome. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The first-term senator from the State of Illinois launched his campaign in Springfield, invoking the memory of Abraham Lincoln. Obama likened the task the nation faces today to some of the epic struggles of America's past. He spoke to supporters on a frigid day in the heartland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: A war with no end, a dependence on oil that threatens our future, schools where too many children aren't learning and families struggling paycheck to paycheck, despite working as hard as they can.

We know the challenges. We've heard them. We've talked about them for years. What stopped us from meeting these challenges is not the absence of sound policies and sensible plans, what stopped us is the failure of leadership.

The smallness of our politics, the ease with which we're distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our preference for scoring cheap political points instead of rolling up our sleeves and building a working consensus to tackle the big problems of America.

For the past six year, we've been told that our mounting debts don't matter. We've been told that the anxiety Americans feel about the rising health care costs and stagnant wages are an illusion. We've been told that climate change is a hoax. We've been told that tough talk and an ill-conceived war can replace diplomacy and strategy and foresight. And when all else fails, when Katrina happens or the death toll in Iraq mounts, we've been told that our crises are somebody else's fault.

We're distracted from our real failures and told to blame the other party or gay people or immigrants. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So from Springfield, it's then off to Iowa and then back to Illinois and Chicago and then New Hampshire. What does Obama bring to the table as a relative newbie to Washington? He's already among the Democratic frontrunners. Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is part of the best political team on television. She takes an insider's look at this candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He streaked into the political atmosphere like a meteor. Fiery. Dazzling.

OBAMA: We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states, and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states.

CROWLEY: Emil Jones, Barack Obama's friend and mentor, says the night before that convention speech, Jones was mistaken for an Alabama delegate because someone misread his Obama campaign button.

EMIL JONES, PRESIDENT, ILLINOIS STATE SENATE: After he gave that brilliant speech, the delegates at that convention were all over those persons from Illinois trying to get an Obama button.

CROWLEY: Name recognition is part of the troika of musts in presidential politics, along with the ability to raise money and a story to tell.

OBAMA: That's pretty good picture of me. Don't you think?

CROWLEY: He has one. Born in Hawaii, son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya, Obama writes in his autobiography of struggling with his identity as a teenager. "Pot had helped," he wrote, "and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it." He wrote that 11 years ago. It may hurt, or not.

ELLEN WARREN, CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Do I know of any skeletons now that are going to be problems? I don't think so, because he's immunized himself. He's immunized himself by writing a book about all the naughty things when he was young and naughty.

CROWLEY: He got it together, Colombia, Harvard Law, professor, community organizer, Illinois state senator, U.S. senator.

OBAMA: The time for waiting in Iraq is over.

CROWLEY: He opposes the war in Iraq and favors the Bush-backed immigration bill. He's against same-sex marriage, but supports civil unions. He favors universal health care.

REV. ALVIN LOVE, LILYDALE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: I've known Barack for 20 years and I'm not sure that I know whether he's a liberal or conservative. I really think sometimes it depends on the issue.

CROWLEY: Republicans describe Obama as a pragmatic left-of- center politician who works both sides of the aisle to get things done, sun-up past sun-down.

KIRK DILLARD (R), ILLINOIS STATE SENATOR: Senator Obama had the social skills that helped him as a legislator. In Springfield he played basketball, he played poker with a number of legislators from downstate Illinois after hours. He would have an occasional drink, he would smoke a cigarette, bum a cigarette from legislators.

CROWLEY: He spent eight years in state politics, the last two in national politics. It is, in the end, the biggest question on the Barack Obama bandwagon: Is that enough to be leader of the Western world?

OBAMA: I'm ready, let's go.

CROWLEY: Candy Crowley, CNN, Springfield, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So it is a pretty busy day for presidential pushes these days. At least four Republican hopefuls are out campaigning. Mitt Romney and Sam Brownback are both appearing at Michigan's GOP state convention. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is visiting South Carolina. And Rudy Giuliani gives the keynote address to California Republicans at their annual state convention.

New Hampshire, meet Hillary Clinton. The New York Democrat is making her first trip to the presidential proving ground since last month's announcement that she's running. CNN's Mary Snow is with the Clinton campaign in Concord.

Now is this conversational dialogue meet and greet over, or is it ongoing?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is over, Fredricka. And Senator Clinton, I don't know if you can see behind me the big crowd that is gathered around her. She has been signing books, taking photographs with the crowd, as people came up and asked her questions.

But she had a town hall style meeting here at Concord High School, where she fielded a number of questions on a wide-ranging subjects. But really the slogan here is "let the conversation begin." So many of the questions and concerns stressed by people here had to do with the war in Iraq, and some asking her about her vote to authorize the war. And certainly, Senator Clinton addressed the Iraq War, even before she started taking questions.

Here's some of what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: See this president is not inclined to change his mind, is he? And I'm afraid that no matter what we pass, no matter what steps we take, he's determined to pursue this course, which I think is the wrong course.

Now, if I had been president in 2003, I never would have started this war, and if it is not ended when I am president in 2009, I will end it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Now at this event, and at a similar town hall earlier today, Senator Clinton was asked if it was a mistake for her to vote for the war, to authorize the war, and she stopped short of saying that. But she did say that she did not vote for pre-emptive war, that the president said that he was going to go to the U.N. And she believed that the president misused his authority.

But certainly it is one of the dominant themes. She did get a very warm reception here, but some very tough questions. This is her first trip to New Hampshire since she announced that she was testing the waters for a presidential run. She will be here tomorrow as well, having another town hall but also going into people's homes to talk one-on-one about voters' concerns -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, Mary, you said a warm welcome, but at the same time some pretty tough questions. Was there a way of kind of gauging the audience there, whether it was kind of split right down the middle of people who were in great support of her, others who feel like they need to be convinced?

SNOW: Well, you know, one woman asked a question, saying she really wanted to know, she has a son who is expected to go to Iraq this spring, and she needed to come to terms with Senator Clinton's vote to authorize the war. And after hearing Senator Clinton, I caught up with that woman who said, you know, she was satisfied with Senator Clinton's answer and that she would throw her support behind her.

But it is a very mixed crowd. Other people here said that they really agreed with a number of domestic issues, such as health care, but that they were holding out their support. And of course, it's so early in this process, but certainly it was a mixed crowd in terms of people who are fans of hers, but not ready to support her as the Democratic nominee.

WHITFIELD: All right. Interesting. Mary Snow, thanks so much, in Concord, New Hampshire.

SNOW: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Well, it is cold in New Hampshire, but talk about cold, look at Upstate New York. And it's quite snowy. Our Reggie Aqui is in the thick of it all.

REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, when we heard that we were going to come to Mexico, this isn't exactly what we imagined. Ten feet of snow and it is getting worse every hour. A live report straight ahead. WHITFIELD: And in 10 minutes from now, we head into the heart of darkness. CNN's Jeff Koinange ventures into the treacherous waterways of the Niger Delta where men with guns make the rules.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking news "Across America" now, a deadly crash during a training exercise at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. One Marine was killed, 16 others wounded when a seven-ton truck overturned. Training has been suspended while the accident is investigated.

This was not your typical day at a beauty shop in suburban Boston. A plumbing van crashed through the front door of the Ultra Beauty Salon (ph) on Friday. Two men in the van and three people in the salon suffered minor injuries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did I hit you? Get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of here! What, what? Are you going to hit me? Are you going to hit me? Get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of here! You too! All right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Somebody's not happy there. Well, covering the news can get a little dicey. Check out this consumer reporter in Toronto on the right. He confronted an optician accused of some alleged shady dealings. The store owner, there on the left, began using profanity and scuffled with the reporter. He was arrested on assault charges -- the optician, that is.

Kentucky police are looking for a bandit with the taste for lace. Some $15,000 worth of Victoria's Secret lingerie was stolen from a warehouse near the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport. So now they're looking for a 24-year-old suspect who was snitched on by his ex-girlfriend. I guess she didn't like what he had selected.

Well, residents in the snow-bound Northeast are enjoying a bit of sunshine today, but it is not enough to get rid of all that snow has that has fallen all week long. And more snow squalls are on the way. CNN's Reggie Aqui is weathering such a storm in Upstate New York -- Reggie.

AQUI: And, Fredricka, we're actually in a different place right now than we were the last time I talked to you. We are in Mexico -- Mexico, New York. Quite a bit different than what I thought of when I thought of Mexico, that's for sure.

Just look at how high the snow is, compared to how high I am. I'm 6'4", so we're talking about some pretty high snow drifts here. Still after a week now of these folks being just bombarded by this lake effect snow, every day this is what happens and this has been going on for a few hours today. They did have a little bit of a break earlier today. They had blue skies actually this morning. We thought, oh, OK, well, we've gotten through the worst of it. But I'm not sure that we have. You know, just to give you an indication of how much snow they have, it's about somewhere between seven feet and 10 feet total, which is an incredible amount by anyone's standards, even the standards of the folks who live here, who are used to all this.

We're told that in a winter -- a full winter, they maybe will get 150 inches on average. Some places already have 100 inches in just a week. So even these die-hard folks who are used to really the worst that winter has to offer weren't really prepared for this.

They're doing their best. They're clearing the roads as fast as they can, but I have to tell you, this afternoon, it was treacherous getting through these streets. You have to give credit to these people though, because hey know how to deal with it. So far, no major injuries or accidents to report in this county. And we're talking about not a single death in Oswego County, which is where we are.

So these folks are definitely getting through it all. I don't know how they're doing it, because this is rough stuff for people like us, who aren't used to it -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Right. Well, it definitely seems like old hat to them because just behind you a moment ago you had folks driving and still now, like, no problem. In most other places when you get snow like that, folks would stay inside, they wouldn't get on the road.

AQUI: Freak out, yes.

WHITFIELD: Impressive. All right. Reggie Aqui, thanks so much.

AQUI: We actually -- we talked to some people who were on some of the snowshoes going through and just skiing through the snow.

WHITFIELD: That's the way to go.

AQUI: They're loving it.

WHITFIELD: I love that. All right. Thanks so much, Reggie. Maybe next live shot you'll be in snowshoes, too.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: So they say they're like Robin Hood, but instead of riding horses and shooting arrows, these not-so-merry men travel in speed boats and they fire machine guns as well. In about five minutes you'll meet the militants of the Niger Delta.

And later, blasting the White House, Russia's president says shame on the U.S. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Valentine's Day fast approaching, check the calendar. So how is that relationship going anyway?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One night when we were in bed, he got a phone call in the middle of the night, and he gets up, and starts leaving. I go, where are you going? And he goes, oh, I have to check on this job. And I go, in the middle of the night?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Yes. We're not talking about checking on one of their eight children. What was going on? We'll hear from her husband on "Why He Cheated." That's at 10:00 p.m. Eastern here in the NEWSROOM. "Marriage Meltdown" an amazing hour you don't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So the next story is about the oil that heats your home, the gas that runs your car, and how it's tied to a desperately poor part of Africa. It's called the Niger Delta. A rebel leader invited us to come to this very violent place.

So our Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange journeyed right into the heart of all of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A treasure lies beneath these brackish waters: billions of barrels of oil. So much that Nigeria produces about 10 percent of the oil brought into the U.S. So if this oil is interrupted or stopped, it is all but certain to cause a disastrous recession in the U.S.

But, where there are vast riches in Africa, there is also something else, bloodshed. But to see for ourselves what is happening in the Delta, we first needed permission from a mysterious rebel leader named Jomo, who communicates via e-mail, and whose heavily- armed and fierce men are fighting for control of the Delta and the oil.

Jomo agreed to have us come by, but he wrote: "There is a snag, I don't do audio or video interviews.

Days later we were on a speed boat to meet the phantom Jomo. We were an hour-and-a-half upriver from the Delta town of Warri when suddenly out of nowhere masked gunmen in powerful speedboats surrounded us, shooting over our heads and demanding to know who we are.

Their weapons, impressive, small machine guns, a boat-mounted .50 caliber, and grenade launchers, far more firepower than I'd ever seen in the Delta. Simply put, in their black outfits and black ski masks, these guys were terrifying. And that's exactly what they've become, Nigeria's worst nightmare. They call themselves the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND. Their goal, they insist, is to "MEND" what they say is the unequal distribution of the vast wealth reaped from Nigeria's oil bonanza.

These murky waters contain some of the richest oil deposits, and ironically, some of the poorest people in the world.

The rebels say they are like Robin Hood. And it's a matter of taking back the oil money from corrupt politicians, a corrupt military and the oil companies, and giving it to the people who live here.

Recently, the rebels have ratcheted up. They are kidnapping expatriate workers who have come to work here. The number of hostages is growing quickly. As for the Nigerian military, when they come down to the hostile swamps of the Delta, they are easy prey for the rebels who kill them indiscriminately.

Oil facilities here are also favorite targets. Explosions have sharply cut the flow, a drop from 3 million barrels of sweet crude a day, down to 2 million.

But for us, there seemed to be a dangerous misunderstanding. The rebel leader Jomo had invited us here, but these men in the black ski masks were suspicious, and angry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many times do you come here with your cameras on and didn't do anything? We don't want you guys to come here again.

KOINANGE: But we weren't about to leave so easily. We asked about Jomo, but they insisted he doesn't talk to anyone, especially journalists. But to prove how serious they are, they offered to take us to one of their hideouts to show us something no Western journalist has seen.

Another hour winding through the mangrove swamps and we arrive at a scene I never thought possible in Nigeria. Men put on a show for us, men in black, dancing and chanting themselves into a trance. Some point their guns menacingly at us. Others tried to intimidate us, and yet, we still had no idea who was in command here.

No sign at all of our host Jomo. And there's no way we could have ever guessed what they wanted us to see next.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: That was Jeff Koinange. And coming up in part two, the rebels showed Jeff they do mean business.

And then, Daniel Pearl's last days. CNN's Christiane Amanpour takes us inside the story of his murder.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Half past the hour, "Now in the News," it's official. He's running. Senator Barack Obama formally announces his bid for the presidency today in the Illinois capital of Springfield. If elected, not only would he become the nation's first African-American president, but also the first U.S. president born in Hawaii.

In Iraq, a changing of the guard. General David Petraeus took the reins as head of the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq. Petraeus says his mission is extremely challenging but not impossible. He succeeds outgoing General George Casey who awaits his confirmation Thursday as Army chief of staff.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the military has evidence of Iranian involvement in Iraq's sectarian strife. Gates says serial numbers and markings on weaponry seized in Iraq point toward Tehran. U.S. officials say they may detail Iraq's Iranian connection tomorrow in a planned press conference.

And there's lake effect snow. Then there's the extreme off Lake Ontario. Triple-digit snowfalls. Folks in New York's Oswego County are trying to dig out from 100 inches-plus of white stuff that has fallen this week alone. More snow is forecast, another two feet could fall by Monday.

And now we return to the Niger Delta in Nigeria, where a battle is under way for control of a treasure: billions of barrels of oil, a good chunk of it ending up right here in the U.S. Militants are demanding a piece of the pie. Their group, called MEND, compares itself to Robin Hood, insisting oil revenues should be given to the people, not the Nigerian government or oil companies.

CNN's Jeff Koinange met these masked men during a terrifying trip deep in the heart of the Niger Delta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOINANGE (voice-over): Like Robin Hood and his men, hiding in the dense woods, the MEND fighters had found safety in the unmarked islands hidden among the swamps of the Delta. So of course, there is no way to check on their claim. MEND tells us these are but a handful of 200,000 fighters they have throughout these waterways, an area about twice the size of Maryland. But they could prove their willingness for audacious crimes.

(on camera): Just to show us how confident these MEND militants are, they brought us here, deep in the heart of the Niger Delta to show us their latest hostages, 24 Filipino sailors.

(voice-over): It was a brazen raid at sea. The largest number of hostages kidnapped at once. The armed rebels' speedboats surrounded the workers' ship at sea and they have now been held captive for nearly a month.

MEND insists no harm will come to the hostages. This is about intimidation, a demonstration of MEND's power. It's also about ransom. As for these dazed and confused sailors, imagine what they must be thinking when they see this menacing dance of madness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are all OK here, but only we want to be free, yes. We want to be released.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a family. And we need to communicate with them, but our communication is closed.

KOINANGE: But did it ever come to this? Who is coordinating these attacks? After much discussion, the rebels did agree to take us to their leader, but only under one condition. Because of his superstitions, we could only interview him in the water, out in the middle of the swamps.

We wondered, were we finally going to meet the mysterious Jomo?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you here?

KOINANGE (on camera): We are here to find out about the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. Who are you? What do you want? What's your struggle?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is a struggle, a movement for the liberation of the Niger Delta. The most devastated and most threatened region in the world.

KOINANGE: Is your fight against the oil multinationals, or against the Nigerian government or against them all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our fight is against everybody -- every institution that don't want the people of the Niger Delta to have their fair share of the (INAUDIBLE). Any person that is either by knowingly or unknowingly has connived or either conspired with the Nigerian state to deny the people of the Niger Delta their fair share of the (INAUDIBLE).

KOINANGE: And how far are you willing to go, sir? How far is MEND willing to go to accomplish your goals?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: MEND has come to stay and that there is no force in the universe that will stop MEND in achieving these demands.

KOINANGE: What do you tell people working in the oil companies right now? Do you tell them to leave Nigeria?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are telling all expatriates to leave Nigeria, not only the Niger Delta, leave Nigeria. We will take lives. We will destroy lives. We will crumble the economy mercilessly.

KOINANGE (voice-over): And with that, the interview suddenly ends. The men feel vulnerable here in the open. We were escorted out and into open waters, but as we're about to take off, one of the masked men issues yet another threat to the Nigerian government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they don't listen, well, maybe Nigeria will go into pieces. We don't know how many pieces it will go into, but the federal government will not be peace except to listen to us. KOINANGE: As for Jomo, we never did get to meet the man who invited us here, or perhaps we did, and he just wouldn't reveal himself.

But when we got home, we did get another message from the e- mailer calling him Jomo. In this one, he complained the hostages we saw were not kidnapped by his group MEND, and that our report would be misleading.

We have no doubt those kidnapers were MEND militants, and we have no idea why their leader would now distance himself from that. But the Delta is full of mystery and magic, and bloodshed.

Jeff Koinange, CNN, in the Niger Delta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And the Nigerian government was sharply critical of Jeff Koinange's reporting out of the Delta region. In a statement, Nigeria's minister of information and communication called the report offensive, unethical and subversive.

His statement continued, quote: "The report utterly disregards the most elementary principle of journalism because no government official was interviewed."

It goes on to say: "The report sends the wrong signals to the international community about the state of affairs in the country, creates unnecessary panic, fosters the feeling of insecurity," and it continues to say, "advances an outdated thesis of neglect of the Niger Delta and portrays Nigeria as a country in perpetual crisis."

The statement goes on to say that "it also glorifies criminality and undermines global efforts as eliminating terrorism." That statement coming from the Nigerian government, from the Ministry of Information and Communication.

CNN is working on a response to the Nigerian minister's letter. We can tell you that CNN made considerable efforts to obtain comment on the story from both the Nigerian navy and the Nigerian president's office. No one from the government was made available to CNN.

So blasting Washington now? Russia's president launches a scathing verbal assault on the Bush administration, accusing it of making the world a more dangerous place. This comes as the U.S. tries to lay out evidence against Iran. Details now from CNN's Jamie McIntyre at an international conference in Germany.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Vladimir Putin kicked off the Munich conference with what U.S. Senator John McCain later called the most aggressive speech from a Russian leader since the end of the Cold War.

Putin's in-your-face charge, what he called the United States illegitimate, unilateral military actions, have backfired, he claimed, frightening countries into seeking weapons of mass destruction to protect themselves.

PRES. VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIA (through translator): One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way, and this is very dangerous. It leads to a situation where nobody feels secure.

MCINTYRE: Putin didn't refer to Iran's nuclear ambitions. And Iran, through its chief nuclear negotiator, repeated the claim that its nuclear program is peaceful and transparent.

ALI LARIJANI, IRANIAN NUCLEAR NEGOTIATOR (through translator): We are completing a course, which is not heeden (ph) to no one. Our activities are all under the IAEA, and we are committed to the nonproliferation treaty.

MCINTYRE: Meanwhile, the United States continues to claim it has evidence linking Iran with weapons used against U.S. forces in Iraq, in particular, sophisticated EFPs, or explosively-formed penetrators, shaped charges with the ability to pierce the thickest armor.

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The sophistication of the technology, I think that there are some serial numbers, there may be some markings on some of the projectile fragments that we found. I'm just, frankly, not specifically certain myself of the details, but I understand there is pretty good evidence tying these EFPs to the Iranians.

COLIN POWELL, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: Now, let me add one other fact...

MCINTYRE: But Iran, well aware of the flawed intelligence cited in the lead up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, is trying to cast this in evidence the same light.

JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: The problem is that the United States has decided on a policy and is trying to find, or fabricate evidence if it cannot find one, and I believe it hasn't been able to find any evidence in order to substantiate and corroborate that policy.

MCINTYRE: Privately, U.S. officials concede the soon-to-be released evidence, while convincing, is not ironclad. One problem, while serial numbers may show weapons are of Iranian origin, that doesn't rule out the possibility they could have come from the black market.

It's also uncertain how many Iranian weapons have been used in attacks against U.S. troops since most of Iran's sympathy lie with Shia militia who are battling rival Sunni groups.

TRITA PARSI, PRES., IRANIAN-AMERICAN COUNCIL: The Iranians are close to the Shiites, but it is the Sunni insurgents that have killed the vast majority of American soldiers. MCINTYRE (on camera): The debate at this informal security conference underscores a key problem the U.S. has even with its closest allies, credibility. Whether it's Iran's nuclear ambitions or allegations it's arming Iraqi insurgents, the rest of the world is increasingly unconvinced by what the U.S. claims is convincing evidence.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Munich.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, North Korea, Iran, Syria, just a few of the nations headed by all powerful men. But who has one magazine's list as the world's worst dictator?

And he spent his life chasing the story until one story caught him. The tragic murder of Daniel Pearl. You're in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Stun grenades and teargas fired at a holy site in Jerusalem. Israeli police ordered Friday's raid after Muslim worshippers flew rocks at them. Some Muslims are upset with an Israeli renovation project at what Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary, and Jews call the Temple Mount. Today, there were only minor protests.

Iran says it has installed surveillance cameras at a key nuclear facility to comply with U.N. demands. The move comes a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency suspended about half of its aid projects in Iran.

North Korea nuclear talks possibly inching closer to a deal. The U.S. envoy there says negotiators are down to one sticking point about aid to Pyongyang. He didn't elaborate but said he is hopeful an agreement will be reached in a day or two.

Despite that apparent nuclear progress, North Korea's Kim Jong-Il has just made a repeat appearance on a short list of the world's worst dictators. The list was put together by Parade Magazine's David Wallechinsky. He's been compiling the worst dictator list for the past four years and joins us live from Los Angeles with the 2007 edition.

Good to see you.

DAVID WALLECHINSKY, PARADE MAGAZINE: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right. So define worst. Does this mean the most powerful of dictators or the worst at their jobs?

WALLECHINSKY: It's a little of both. I combined both the abuse of human rights what, we take for granted in the United States, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to choose your own leaders, just general freedom of expression, which I combine that with just how much power a dictator has in his country. WHITFIELD: All right. And just so people know, there are 70 dictators out there -- or 70 countries led by these dictators. And you narrowed it down to the 10 worst. So we're going to focus on your top three of the 10 worst.

WALLECHINSKY: OK.

WHITFIELD: Number three, out of Iran, and it's not who many people might think, it's not Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but instead the ayatollah. Why?

WALLECHINSKY: Yes. I don't believe that people understand that in Iran -- the way the Iranian system works, the president really doesn't have much power. For example, President Ahmadinejad has no power over the nuclear program of Iran, no power over the military. And if he and the legislature pass a law, it still doesn't become law.

Because above the elected government of Iran is the 12-man Guardian Council of religious leaders headed by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. And he is the one who really calls the shots.

So when you hear people talking about Ahmadinejad, he's really a diversion from the real power structure in Iran.

WHITFIELD: Ah, because he's the outspoken one. It's Khamenei then who has been there since '89, is the powerful one that you think people need to be paying more attention to.

WALLECHINSKY: Right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk about number two, North Korea, Kim Jong-Il. Why is he so easy to pick on?

WALLECHINSKY: Well, he's easy to pick on, first of all, he has an interesting personality, he is kind of an odd person. But he's definitely a wily leader. He's not crazy like a lot of people say. And the reason I put him as number two is that he has such extreme control over his population.

This is a country that has absolutely no access to the outside world. Kim Jong-Il himself has -- you know, watches satellite television and knows what's going on, but everybody else in the entire North Korean population is divided into loyalty groups based on the family's status more than 50 years ago.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

WALLECHINSKY: And if you're in the hostile group, you can't even live in the capital of Pyongyang.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And interesting you used the word "axis," because here, number two and number three are part of the "axis of evil" that President Bush had termed for them.

WALLECHINSKY: Yes, that's true. But I would say that even though I put Iran as number three, I think it would be a terrible mistake to bomb Iran, because you're talking with Iran, a country where it would be safe to say that two-thirds of the population opposes their government, and if you start -- a foreign government bombs you, you're just going to silence that opposition. They're going to be forced to support their government.

WHITFIELD: All right. Number one in the continent of Africa, Sudan's Omar al-Bashir.

WALLECHINSKY: Yes, sometimes Sudan makes the news of what's going on in Darfur -- the Darfur region, where hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, and displaced. It's really a tragic human rights disaster there. What's bizarre to me is that there's very little coverage of Bashir himself.

The dictator -- and he's the one who is calling the shots, he's the one who is making the decisions, and I think that the media tends to almost give him a free ride because he's not a very interesting person.

WHITFIELD: And he's the one who is being blamed for helping to give power to the Janjaweed and arms even.

WALLECHINSKY: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Because that has been the accusation.

WALLECHINSKY: And in fact, yes, the Janjaweed militia are the ones who do a lot of the killing. And this is a tactic that Bashir used in the south of Sudan a few years ago, which is that he arms and trains a militia so he can say that the government itself isn't doing the killing.

WHITFIELD: OK. David Wallechinsky of Parade Magazine, very fascinating list. And just for those who are curious, number 10 came out of Syria, Bashar al-Assad. But of course, the complete list, you'll have to pick up Parade Magazine. Thanks so much.

WALLECHINSKY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still much more ahead here in the NEWSROOM. Rick Sanchez here to give us an idea of what.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I've got my tie on for you this time.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's right. Because we're talking love or not really. Marriages falling apart, depressing.

SANCHEZ: We're going to get to that in a minute. I'm going to do two teases for you. First, the 5:00 newscast, and what we're going to talk about there. And then we're going to be talking a little bit about the 10:00 as well.

First let's talk about the 5:00, and that's civilian contractors. Remember, it was Dwight D. Eisenhower who said beware of military industry. And I think what he was saying was that this idea that contractors end up doing the work of soldiers is one that maybe all Americans need to be looking at. How many are over there? What are they doing? Do they answer to the U.S. or do they answer to their bosses? Are they taking the place of soldiers? Should they be doing some of the work?

Big story in The New York Times this week about the State Department, and some complaints that some State Department officials don't want to go over there, so they're having the soldiers do the job instead at the embassy in Iraq.

So these are big issues that America is going to have to deal with. And we're going to deal with it at 5:00, talking about these contractors all over Iraq.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And there are a lot of them.

SANCHEZ: And then...

WHITFIELD: And then there's love in the air, or not. That should be the title, "love in the air, or not."

SANCHEZ: I knew you were going to go there. Now you've got a wonderful marriage. You talk about your husband all the time.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Do you have a secret, what keeps it stable, what makes it work?

WHITFIELD: Let's see here, well, besides just loving each other, knowing each other, respecting one another's individuality, communication, shall I go on with the list?

SANCHEZ: You should start writing a book. And I'll get back to you in a minute. That's exactly what we're going to be talking about. We're going to be talking to people about this, especially experts as well. And we're also going to tell the story of a couple who is brave enough tonight, who essentially share their story with us, and it's...

WHITFIELD: Courageous.

SANCHEZ: It's very courageous because it's about cheating, folks. He did something he wishes he hadn't done. He tells us -- he takes us through it from beginning -- in fact, here's a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband and I, we have eight children and we've been married for 18 years. And she sat there in her car kind of taunting me and smiling, and saying, so? What are you going to do? You know, and I said, I want to you stay away from my husband.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This is what ends marriages. And we're going to tell you how this one turns out from beginning to end. They usually don't turn out real good. That's a hint, OK?

WHITFIELD: But, you know, underscore courageous for really putting their stuff out there, I mean. And it's instructive, too, it's for many people to learn, and they talk about the lessons learned, right?

SANCHEZ: And you know what we do, we're going to show their story, talk to the experts, break it down so we all can learn from it, all of us who are trying to keep good dedicated, committed relationships. And we do the best we can but it's an effort. It's not easy sometimes.

And then we want to you tell us what Fred just told us. We want your opinion as to what you think is a secret to a viable marriage, to keeping your marriage intact and making it work. And call us. We'll be giving you the number throughout the night.

WHITFIELD: Just in time for Valentine's Day on Wednesday.

SANCHEZ: Perfect timing.

WHITFIELD: I love it.

SANCHEZ: Good to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Good to see you too.

OK. So how about this. This man right here, you remember him. He spent his career reporting on Muslim life, but an encounter with an Islamic militant ended his own. The gripping story behind the murder of Daniel Pearl next in the NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Does it seem like it has been five years since American journalist Daniel Pearl became a victim of the war on terror? Well it has. Pearl was snatched off the streets of Karachi, Pakistan, and murdered. A two-hour documentary, created and produced for HBO and airing on CNN this weekend also profiles British-born terrorist Omar Sheikh.

This segment, narrated by CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, focuses on the days just before Pearl disappeared.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Richard Reid, a British national, was detained by the security authorities in the United States this morning.

Reid was overpowered by flight attendants and passengers as he tried to detonate explosives hidden in his shoes.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Following up on the Reid story, Daniel Pearl begins looking for a religious leader called Sheikh Gilani.

MARIANE PEARL, WIDOW OF DAVID PEARL: It was possible that this man was Richard Reid's spiritual leader.

BERNARD LEVY, AUTHOR, "WHO KILLED DANIEL PEARL?": This Mr. Gilani, the biggest number of his followers are not in Pakistan in general, but are in America.

AMANPOUR: To reach Gilani, Pearl turns back to a Khalid Khawaja, who is a known Gilani disciple.

KHALID KHAWAJA, POLITICAL ANALYST: I said, he will not be available. Sorry. He was just requesting to me again and again. I said, look, Daniel, when I'm telling you something, just listen to it. He is not willing to come for an interview.

AMANPOUR: But Daniel Pearl is determined to get an interview with the Sheikh Gilani, whom he suspects of running al Qaeda's hawallah, a grassroots method for transferring money without bank records that may have helped fund the September 11th attacks.

KHAWAJA: He kept on calling me the whole day after every one hour. I said, Daniel, don't call me. I'll call you whenever I'm free.

I called him at about 9:00. I said, OK, if you can come now to my office, you're welcome. He said, can I come in one-and-a-half hour? I said, no, I will sleep then.

So next day he again called me in the morning, he said, can I come now? I said, sorry, I'm busy now. This was the last call I received.

JOHN BUSSEY, PEARL'S FOREIGN EDITOR, WSJ: In the process of poking around and spreading the net for folks who might know Gilani, he spread the net pretty widely and went into the jihadi community to see if there was anyone there.

A fellow named Bashir (ph) came to his attention.

AMANPOUR: It seems like a breakthrough.

PEARL: A meeting occurred in Rawalpindi, in the hotel. And Danny interviewed this person, you know, supposedly a disciple of Sheikh Gilani.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bashir, he doesn't have a beard, he's wearing jeans. He's looking completely non-threatening. He's looking like the last thing from a jihadi that anyone would suspect.

AMANPOUR: Although a cautious reporter, Daniel Pearl has no inkling that Bashir is actually Omar Sheikh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And get more from Christiane Amanpour on the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl, the two-hour special event, "The Journalist and the Jihadi" airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern tonight and tomorrow night, only on CNN.

Anna Nicole Smith is gone, but the controversy surrounding her child is still unresolved. We'll have the latest details on this developing story next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So we're following a developing story out of the Bahamas. It all involves the intensifying dispute over Anna Nicole Smith's baby girl. CNN's Rusty Dornin is following the story out of the Bahamas. And we'll have the latest details from her in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, meantime -- and there he is, Rick Sanchez will be taking us into the next hour of the NEWSROOM.

SANCHEZ: I've been here all of this time.

WHITFIELD: Sorry about that. You know, time goes like this, I'm like, where's the hour? Over.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right.

SANCHEZ: As usual.

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