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Pakistan Crisis; Iowa Countdown

Aired December 29, 2007 - 17:00   ET

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

MALVEAUX: -- see today is really things that he was writing about some time ago. So some of it really is kind of just serendipitous if you will. And I asked him well what's his next move, is he going to take this on the road and he says, well of course, what is next after Iowa, New Hampshire. And that sister show is called "primary, primary." Isha?
SESAY: Oh my goodness. Suzanne Malveaux with a taste of "Caucus: The Musical." Many thanks, I think. Thanks Suzanne. From CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Isha Sesay. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now with Drew Griffin.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, Osama bin Laden and a possible new message for his followers. In Pakistan, chaos, conspiracy and accusations of a cover-up. Up next, the death of Benazir Bhutto. Is the government's story about how she died the real story? From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Drew Griffin. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Here is the latest on the crisis in Pakistan. Islamabad says at least 38 people have died in political violence there since the killing of Benazir Bhutto. Other accounts putting the number far higher. In major cities today, rioters set fire to factories, buildings and vehicles and battled government troops. Bhutto supporters reject the government's version of the cause of her death from a suicide attack on Thursday. A top aide who witnessed the killing says she clearly saw a bullet wound at the back of Bhutto's head.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF SHERRY REHMAN, BHUTTO AIDE: This is an offense to a grieving nation and family and friends because she was shot. I have seen the bullet wound at the back of her head where it went in, where it came out. To say that she was concussed from the sunroof is dangerous nonsense because they are absolving themselves of responsibility for providing her better security when we kept asking her to do so.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: And there are calls for an international investigation to set the record straight. But the government of Pakistan says it can handle that investigation itself. The White House calling on Pakistan today to investigate the matter thoroughly.

It was almost immediately after Bhutto's death Pakistan's government pointed the finger at an Islamic militant in Afghanistan linked to al Qaeda. That's being disputed as well. Now here's John Vause in the city of Pakistan's Karachi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baitullah Mehsud has long been camera shy, a militant Pakistani Taliban, he's the man Pakistani authorities say was behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Mehsud is the leader of one of many tribes the Musharraf government cut controversial peace deals with in an effort to end years of fighting in the troubled mountainous regions of northwest Pakistan, where the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters operate freely.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: It goes to the very murky nature of Pakistani politics. On the one hand, the Pakistani government is accusing Baitullah Mehsud of assassinating Benazir Bhutto yet on the other hand has identified the Mehsuds, the tribe that this guy is from as somebody that they are willing to work some kind of deal.

VAUSE: Pakistan's interior ministry says Mehsud was also behind the failed assassination attempt on Benazir Bhutto last October. But through a spokesman he denied ever trying to kill her saying, we don't strike women. And in the neighborhoods of Karachi where Benazir Bhutto supporters rioted in anger, many believe it was the Musharraf government, not the Taliban or al Qaeda, which is responsible for her death. The government is involved in this, and that's it, says this man. They are saying al Qaeda has done it, al Qaeda has done it. Al Qaeda has done nothing, says another. But to bolster their case, interior ministry officials here released a transcript but no audio of what they said was an intercepted telephone call between Mehsud and another militant. Were they our men, he asks. When the answer is yes, he allegedly replies, it was a tremendous effort. They were really brave boys who killed her.

BERGEN: It's quite convenient for the Pakistani government to pin the blame on their own Mehsud for this assassination. He is a very plausible candidate, no doubt. But they can very quickly point to him and say, case closed. So until they release the audiotape, I think there are still going to be continued questions about is this really the real deal.

VAUSE (on camera): Senior U.S. intelligence sources say they have information independent of the Pakistanis that Mehsud is a prime suspect, saying he has strong ties to Osama bin Laden and was fiercely anti-Bhutto. But adding he's not the only suspect. Regardless, that's unlikely to convince many Pakistanis. For them, Washington's word has even less credibility than their own beleaguered government. John Vause, CNN, Karachi.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: For the United States, the stakes in nuclear-armed Pakistan could hardly be higher. The Musharraf regime has its flaws but it's widely viewed as Washington's best worst option in a nation under threat from Islamists, including al Qaeda. With that part of the story, CNN's Ed Henry is in Crawford, Texas, where the president is as well. Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDEN: Well Drew, that's right. The White House has certainly been criticized by many around the world for perhaps sticking with President Pervez Musharraf too long. But the White House is trying to be careful to try and push Musharraf along towards free and fair elections. And also, keep him in power so that he can try and crack down on extremists. But it's certainly a very delicate diplomatic balancing act.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): Signing a condolence book at the Pakistani embassy in Washington, secretary of state Condoleezza Rice wrote Benazir Bhutto was a woman of courage and champion of democracy.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The way to honor her memory is to continue the democratic process in Pakistan so that democracy that she so hoped for can emerge.

HENRY: But moving forward will be easier said than done. Since the U.S. finds itself in a box after supporting President Pervez Musharraf at all costs. Despite questions about whether Pakistan has misused billions of dollars in U.S. aid intended to fight terror.

BUSH: He has been an absolute reliable partner in dealing with extremists and radicals.

HENRY: But with Musharraf's grip on his government slipping, the U.S. had recently turned to plan "b," a potential power-sharing pact between Bhutto and Musharraf. In the wake of Bhutto's assassination, the Bush policy is now in disarray. The White House searching for what you might call plan "c," finding someone who can unite a country teetering on the brink.

DANIEL MARKEY, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: And that's the key dynamic to watch right now. That will determine whether Musharraf and others within the country can move ahead.

HENRY: One option is former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The U.S. had kept its distance because of his connections to Islamist parties but is now taking another look. Another option could be for the U.S. to scrap the goal of democracy and let Musharraf focus on cracking down on extremists. Though U.S. officials insist they are committed to free and fair elections as early as next month. The least bad option may be the winner of those elections forming a partnership with Musharraf since the U.S. has little choice but to stick with him at this point.

KARL INDERFURTH, FORMER ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: I think that we ought to look at Musharraf as a continued presence there and hopefully he will reach out to other democratic leaders in Pakistan and they can form some form of coalition of moderation because that's the only way to deal with the extremists that are gaining strength in Pakistan today.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE) HENRY: Now those elections in Pakistan are scheduled to take place on January 8th of next year. That coincidentally is the same day that President Bush is planning to head to Israel on a mission to try to broker Mideast peace. Of course, the focus of that trip was supposed to be specifically Israeli-Palestinian peace, but now, obviously, the broader issue of stability in the Mideast has shot up to the top of the agenda. Drew?

GRIFFIN: Well said, Ed. Ed Henry in Crawford, Texas with the president. About 25 minutes from now, will Pakistan's turmoil have an impact on its nuclear arsenal. That of course the big question. And who is in charge of those missiles? We're going to talk with Gary Saymore, he is an expert on the region.

Released today online, a new purported message from al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. A 56-minute tape. It came out a couple of hours ago and is mainly directed toward Iraq's Sunni population. The speaker on that tape tells the Sunnis not to join tribal councils fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq. Also threatens Israel saying the jihad will expand to liberate Palestine. CNN cannot independently verify if the voice heard actually is bin Laden's.

Playing the waiting game in Colombia. The handover of three hostages held for years by leftist rebels apparently on standby for the moment. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez helped broker a deal to free the group, but an expected mission today did not happen. CNN's Karl Penhaul joins us live from Villavicencio, Colombia with the latest on that. Karl?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're not actually going to see me in the shot right now because things are a prolonged wait here at the airport at Villavicienco, have gone a little crazy. That's because international delegates, part of the team that President Hugo Chavez put together to oversee this hostage release have now touched down at the airstrip in Villavicienco. Now among them we have the former president of Argentina, Nestor Kirshna. We've got the Colombian senator Theadad Cortava(ph), she's been one of the women who has been brokering this deal. And for our U.S. audience, probably all equally important, we've got Oliver Stone here, the movie director. This really does go to show the thought that Chavez has put into brokering this hostage deal and also it must be said turning it into a media event because, obviously, part of this hostage deal, although, yes, a very worthy humanitarian mission to get three rebel- held hostages out of captivity after six years in the jungles in captivity. And also this is a chance for both President Chavez and the guerrillas to gain some political oxygen. Also the arrival at this delegation means that it could quite well be that tomorrow the operation for two helicopters to fly deep into the Colombian jungle and bring those three hostages back to safety could get under way. Drew?

GRIFFIN: Karl, this looking more and more like a media event than ever. Now let's just refresh our viewers on what was supposed to happen actually yesterday. You go to this air strip with some helicopters and then those helicopters are given coordinates somewhere in the jungle to pick up these hostages, correct? PENHAUL: Exactly. And that's what we have been waiting for both yesterday and today. Those two helicopters did arrive. They did just fly in from Venezuela. They are marked with the international red cross insignia because it's a red cross mission, as such. And all day long, the pilots have been sitting on the runway waiting for some kind of communication from the guerrillas who will then pass across the coordinates of where these hostages are in some clearing in the jungle and then at that point, these helicopters will lift off. But, of course, the international team we are seeing arrive just now, a team of diplomats and former presidents, and as I say, the movie director Oliver Stone, these were part of a team that President Chavez has assembled to oversee the handover of the hostages ostensibly, but also of course it does seem like a political bid to internationalize the Colombian conflict and put international pressure on Colombian president (INAUDIBLE) to come to some deal with the FARC rebels for all of the hostages they are holding to be released. Because remember, three are set to be released in the coming hours or the coming days, but the government says that the FARC is currently holding 750 people hostage. Drew?

GRIFFIN: Karl Penhaul, we will stay on it, it looks like through the weekend, as we wait for those hostages to be released. Thank you for that. We'll stay updated on that.

So much at stake, so little time now. Five days and counting before Iowa finally votes. The tempers, the frenzy, the mad dash to the finish line. That's all next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Christmas over in Iowa. Republican presidential candidates jockeying for position. Well, it's more and more like a two-man race. It's between Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. The rest of the GO pack, well not giving up entirely. CNN's Dana Bash live in Des Moines with more. Dana, we heard a different type of tone from Huckabee today, that's for sure.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right Drew. First of all, he started out the day having to admit that he made a mistake. Remember yesterday, here in Iowa, he said something that sort of took us all by surprise. He was trying to relate what happened in Pakistan to the immigration problem, illegal immigration problem in this country. He said that he threw out this number, 660 illegal Pakistanis in the U.S. I asked him where he got that information. He sort of had trouble telling us and then they referred us back to a newspaper article written back in 2006. Today, Mike Huckabee essentially said that he made a mistake in giving that information. So it is certainly noteworthy in that it shows how this man, who came from behind, came from nowhere, and is now ahead is trying very, very hard to stay that way with just five days left. It's not easy. The way he changed his tone in addition to that today Drew is, this is a guy who I've been with him a lot who says over and over again that he is going to keep it positive. That that is how Iowans are going to reward him basically for staying positive. But he turned a little bit. He was trying to, he said, react to yet another ad against him from his chief rival here, Mitt Romney. It goes after Mike Huckabee on everything from immigration to spending to crime, to foreign policy. And the way Mike Huckabee went after Mitt Romney, he did it for the very first time by using his name. It was pretty tough. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he's being dishonest about my record and John McCain's and Rudy Giuliani's. And I think he's certainly being dishonest about his own record. When he says that he had the endorsement of the NRA, he did not. When he says he didn't raise taxes, in fact, there were $500 million of fees that were raised during his time. When he talks about my record or John McCain's, I mean, he's making up stuff.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: There you see he says he's making up stuff, but also in there, Drew, you heard Mike Huckabee also sort of going at or tweaking Mitt Romney for some of the things that he might have had problems with, like the fact that he said he was endorsed by the NRA but he really wasn't. So you are seeing a very different tone from Mike Huckabee. It's really unclear what is going to be -- how Iowa voters, Republicans who have liked what Mike Huckabee has been doing here by running what he called a positive campaign, how that's going to change. We are told that perhaps we are going to see a new ad from Mike Huckabee as early as Monday. Again, pretty tough on Mitt Romney. Drew?

GRIFFIN: He's either desperate or he smells blood in the water I guess. Either one of those. Also, a face showed up today in Iowa that we're not familiar with there. Rudy Giuliani. I thought he'd given up on Iowa.

BASH: Well, he does have an organization here. You know, we're five days out from the caucuses, as we've been talking about. What you are seeing is even some of the candidates who really don't expect to do extraordinarily well here are coming back. They are making one last stop. They are making one last go of it, if you will. Thanking their supporters and having an event or two with some undecideds just to see if they can move the bar a little bit. That's exactly what Rudy Giuliani did today. He's actually here all day long. And at this event this morning, he really hit the theme that you'd expect him to hit, Drew. I lost count of how many times he used the word experience. Over and over again, he was hitting the idea that he is a leader. He is experienced. Of course, referred again to what happened in Pakistan about -- that being a lesson, just like a lesson from 9/11, as you can imagine. So that is really the theme he's trying to hit here. But as you know, Rudy Giuliani is somebody who is for abortion rights. He's a supporter of gay rights. That does not fly well here in a very socially conservative state. They know that, but he wanted to make one last go of it before the Iowa caucuses.

GRIFFIN: Dana, thank you. Not in Iowa today, Republican John McCain. He of course trails in the Iowa polls. But a tight race in New Hampshire where he's campaigning today, looking for gold in the granite state. Our Jim Acosta on the straight talk express route with McCain today. Jim, this is last weekend before Iowa, McCain's not there. What should we read into that?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Drew, John McCain, some polls show, is in a statistical dead heat with Mitt Romney. He is a strong second in other polls. Either way, that is a far cry from where John McCain was over the summer when the political establishment was reading him his last rights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): From political road kill to road warrior, John McCain's straight talk express is on a roll in New Hampshire in the live free or die state, McCain insists it isn't do or die time just yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this a must win for you?

JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's no such thing as do or die. We've been through that several times. But it's very important. New Hampshire is very important.

ACOSTA: With 10 days and counting until the state's primary, McCain is mounting a comeback at the expense of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Some polls show the two men neck and neck which may explain why they are both going for the jugular.

MCCAIN: He's made other attacks on other people who he has seen as moving up in the polls. And so I can view it some way as a form of flattery. And it's also hard to respond sometimes because the position he has today may not be the position he has tomorrow.

ACOSTA: The first shots were fired over the airwaves. Earlier this week, Romney released this ad accusing McCain of being soft on immigration and taxes. McCain responded with a spot that quoted the now infamous anti-endorsement in the "Concord Monitor" newspaper, which labeled Romney a phony. The Romney campaign accused the Arizona senator of getting personal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you, senator, saying that Mitt Romney is a phony?

MCCAIN: I'm saying that "The Concord Monitor" and the "Manchester Union Leader" words are, I think, news that people of New Hampshire pay attention to.

ACOSTA: This past summer, newspapers across the country had all but written McCain's political obituary. Much of his support had eroded over his backing of an immigration reform bill in Washington that some conservatives labeled amnesty for the undocumented.

MCCAIN: I would secure the borders first.

ACOSTA: McCain is vowing to secure the borders first but is urging compassion, promising at one rally to help a woman who called herself an illegal immigrant who is struggling to obtain legal status.

MCCAIN: But these people also are God's children. We are all created in God's image.

ACOSTA: Pollster Andy Smith says McCain is peaking at exactly the right time in a state where he knows how to win.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that he had this built up well of good will in the part of the voters in New Hampshire allowed him to kind of get through that tough patch.

ACOSTA: Smith notes negative campaigning has worked in the past in this state. So it's no surprise McCain is taking swipes at Romney's deep pockets.

MCCAIN: You can't buy an election in the state of New Hampshire.

ACOSTA: McCain may have to show voters he's willing to lock horns to win here again.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: As for that newspaper that ran that anti endorsement, today "The Concord Monitor" actually released its official pick and it was John McCain. All of this momentum, the campaign says, is helping his war chest. It is another sign of life for John McCain. The money is flowing again. Drew?

GRIFFIN: Jim, he showed some compassion for illegals in this country. He also talked about shutting down Guantanamo Bay. And I think he even talked about climate change there. Those are not generally Republican base nationwide issues. What was the story behind that?

ACOSTA: And he repeated his vow that under his administration there would be no torture whatsoever, which, in fact, did get an applause line. But you're right, this is not the red meat for the party faithful. So he is still taking some chances with his message. We're just going to have to see if the Republicans respond here.

GRIFFIN: All right, Jim Acosta. He is on the campaign trail there in New Hampshire.

Well, holiday travel hung up as a winter storm grounds many passengers at just the wrong time. Hundreds of flights canceled in Chicago over the past 24 hours. We're going to take a look at what's happening right now. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Wheels up once again. Air travel in the Midwest returning to normal after yesterday's big snowstorm that left homebound holiday travelers in the lurch. Only a couple dozen flights at Chicago O'Hare were canceled today compared to 300 flights scrapped Friday. Lots of snow in Wisconsin, too. Take a look. Not enough salt for those slick roads. Officials in Madison say there's been so many storms this year, salt mines can't keep up. Here's what they're asking road crews to just sprinkle a little bit of it on the roads. It's the opposite problem in eastern Tennessee. Ski slopes there want snow but rain and warm temperatures keep melting that man-made mush. The resort in Gatlinburg closing during what should be one of the busiest times of the year.

(WEATHER REPORT)

GRIFFIN: While Pakistan tries to restore calm after Benazir Bhutto's death, the international community wants to make sure the country's nuclear arsenal is safe amidst the turmoil there. We're going to have an in-depth look coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DREW, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Unrest and uncertainty in Pakistan after the death of Benazir Bhutto. First, the investigation. The Pakistani government insists it does not need the international community's help with the probe. It says clues to Bhutto's death are in the Pakistan region of Waziristan, a stronghold of terrorist militants. The government there saying, quote, "Scotland Yard cannot investigate there."

President Pervez Musharraf ordering security chiefs to stop violent protests. Some troops have been given the OK to shoot rioters and looters. About 40 people have been killed in the unrest and hundreds of cars and buildings set on fire.

All the different explanations for Bhutto's death are fuelling a slew of conspiracy theories. CNN's Josh Levs taking a closer look at that.

Josh?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Everybody has an opinion. Right? Everybody has something. What happened is, in the wake of all of this, with all the different explanations coming from the government, we, at CNN, started hearing from people all over the world who say they are absolutely convinced there is some kind of cover-up, some kind of secrecy. There's a purposeful reason for all the different explanations.

I want to give you a sense of some of the frustration that people are writing to us about. This is people from all over the world.

Take a look at this first quote here. This is from cnn.com.

This is from a blogger going by Concerned Indian. "The Pakistan government's change in its statement regarding the cause of Benazir's death is testimony to the lying and double-game policy that Musharraf has been playing since he took over."

Let's go to this next one from Jason, another blogger. "It is atrocious the amount of speculation and misinformation that surrounds this tragic event. Surely, the medical professionals that tended to Mrs. Bhutto know exactly how she died. It's unfortunate the rest of the world may never know the truth." I want to flip things around a little bit. Someone we heard from here actually is more supportive of the government and frustrated with others. This is Ali. "It is disgusting to see a perfectly logical explanation by the government being dismissed by a third-rate political worker."

Now, Drew, any major story you hear from people different opinions, right? But this time, what's so significant is that this frustration is something that the Pakistani government has to deal with.

Right now we're talking about a big part of the story. Because they provided these different explanations within the first 36 hours, the Pakistani government has to face these people all over the world who are saying we don't know the truth. We have no idea what's going on. Really massive frustration. They are all convinced there's some kind of conspiracy to cover up what happened.

DREW: What also seems frustrating is there doesn't seem to be any end to the theories because there's no investigation into -- there's going to be no exhuming of the body. We're not seeing any x- rays of this head. We haven't really talked to the doctors in detail. It seems like the answer is there and that could be fuelling the frustration that no one is seeking the answers.

LEVS: Keep in mind, this isn't something that happened in a dark room somewhere. This happened in the middle of a big public event with all these people around. The people expressing frustration are how can all these people be there with no proof of what happened unless someone came along and tried to hide it?

It's perfectly conceivable the government kept trying to figure out what happened, finally figured it out and this is what it was, hitting her head on the sunroof latch. It's one option.

You're right. We don't have the evidence to back it up. We, at CNN, want to provide answers and facts and we cannot do that. Now people are feeling like all they can do is pick whom to believe. That's tough during the mourning period especially.

DREW: Josh, thanks.

LEVS: You're welcome.

DREW: Thanks to all the viewers who have written in.

How safe is Pakistan's nuclear arsenal during all this turmoil? It's one of the most troubling issues for the U.S. right now.

CNN's Tom Foreman has been looking into the details of that arsenal. He talked with CNN's Don Lemon about what he found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Really, the Pentagon will officially say they feel like it's OK. But secretly, they are concerned, with good reason.

Let's take a look at the map and get a sense of what we're talking about here. This is Pakistan where they have about 60 nuclear weapons as far as we know. The fuel for them was first developed up in this region up here. Then there was a test down here back in the late '90s. That really confirmed that they had them. About 60 weapons there.

They're consider, however, to be kept somewhere around the country in secret locations. We don't know where. We have no idea where they are. They are also believed to be kept in disassembled form. The warheads, the ignition systems, the thing that would make these war heads erupt, and the delivery systems, the missiles they might launch, are all allegedly kept in secret locations and that heightens the security.

But here's the big issue about this that people have to be concerned about. That is how secure are they with the military there? That's what everybody is asking right now with the country in turmoil -- Don?

DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: And, Tom, how will Benazir Bhutto's assassination affect the region? There's been much speculation about that. But how will it in your estimation, affect the region and also the U.S.?

FOREMAN: That, as you know is really up for -- up for grabs right now. Here's the real issue when you look at it. If you look at Afghanistan and Pakistan, but then you look at the overlay of the Pashtun tribal region -- this is important. We don't think this way in this country so much, but this is important to the identity of folks in this area, how they see themselves. Many will identify more with the boundaries of this Pashtunistan, in effect, than they will with Afghanistan or Pakistan.

Guess what? This is the area right in here where there's been an awful lot of free-throwing operation for al Qaeda and the Taliban, people who would like to establish an Isalmists government.

The important part of this is it overlaps here in Afghanistan with about 26,000 American troops who are operating over there. So when you look at this area, you have to ask how much influence do they have right in here with the government and all of the forces that might be in here. How many people do they have inside the military? There is concern there may be some. The question is, are they high enough to get them in contact with these nukes?

We do know that, based on airplane delivery systems or on missile delivery systems or, for that matter, someone simply smuggling across the border in a vehicle, that all of Afghanistan would potentially be a target if the nukes fell into the wrong hands there. And that's really the important thing here is keeping it in context.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DREW: We'll have much more about the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DREW: We continue to look at the political instability in Pakistan and what concerns us, if any, it raises about the country's nuclear arsenal.

Here to weigh in, an expert on that, Gary Samore with the Counsel on Foreign Relations in New York, a nuclear proliferation expert in the Middle East and Asia.

Dr. Samore, thanks for joining us. I want to drill down on the issue of who controls these weapons in Pakistan. We are told it's the army that has these missiles in their control and the army is the most stable organization in that country. Is that true?

GARY SAMORE, COUNSEL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Yes. The army has a special, a very elite force that guards the nuclear weapons. And, according to Pakistani officials, the officers and the men involved in the actual task have been very carefully vetted to make sure that there aren't people who have sympathies with Muslim fundamentalists. Of course, we don't have direct access to the personnel list. So we don't have any independent way of checking to be sure that the claims of the Pakistani government are accurate.

DREW: So at what possible point, assuming we're not there yet does or would the army actually lose control? Could the army retain autonomy over these missiles while the whole country goes to hell?

SAMORE: I think it would become increasingly difficult. I don't see any real immediate danger because the political violence and the riots we're seeing right now are not directed against nuclear facilities or even the army.

But if the government is not able to restore law and order and in the longer term come up with some formula for trying to achieve political stability, then I think the risk becomes greater. Certainly if there was general anarchy or if the army is forced to act in the street to try to restore political order and then it splinters, then I think the risk of the army losing control becomes much greater.

DREW: The missiles themselves in Tom Foreman's piece all pointed at India. Is that correct?

SAMORE: India is the target for Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. That's always been the case that the Pakistani nuclear weapons are really intended primarily as a deterrent against India.

DREW: So if things truly did fall apart, would it be India that would make the first move towards trying to take control or get some kind of grasp on those weapons?

SAMORE: What makes the situation particularly dangerous is that no outside power, India or the U.S. or any other country, is really capable of stepping in and taking over control of Pakistan's nuclear weapon. As your reporter said, there are at least perhaps half a dozen or more nuclear weapons scattered around the country in secret locations heavily guarded. And it really wouldn't be possible. It's not practical for an outside power to step in and take control of those weapons.

DREW: We have to wrap, but a yes or no question. Are you concerned at this point about these weapons, Dr. Samore?

SAMORE: I'm not concerned in the near term. But we have to watch in the coming days and weeks to see whether stability is restored. If we see the army being forced to act against the people and the army fails to carry out that task and there's a spread of anarchy, then I think the risk becomes much greater.

DREW: Gary Samore, thank you for coming in this hour.

SAMORE: Thank you.

DREW: Next hour, a CSI look at the Bhutto assassination. Who is behind her death and could there be some kind of cover-up going on. We'll ask an expert on that.

And new questions about the tiger enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo and what may have prompted that awful Christmas day attack near Seattle. An update straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DREW: Just in to the "NEWSROOM," we've learned the two survivors of the tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo have left the hospital. The zoo plans to reopen on January 3rd. The investigation into the death of a teen killed by a Siberian tiger is still wide open, though, and begs many questions.

Here's our Dan Simon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): San Francisco police are still trying to figure out just what happened inside the zoo. The mystery is only deepening.

The brother of the two surviving victims declined to provide any details of the attack.

UNIDENTIFIED BROTHER OF TIGER ATTACK VICTIMS: I just visited them in the hospital. My brothers are doing fine. They are in stable condition and they'll be released in two to three days. And whenever they come out, they can make a statement.

SIMON: The brothers have made statements to police, but haven't been entirely forthcoming, police sources told the "San Francisco Chronicle."

The father of carols Sousa Jr., the 17-year-old who died, said he wants answers.

CARLOS SOUSA SR., FATHER OF VICTIM: I want to ask, did you do this? Did you do that? What happened? I'm hearing all this stuff on the media. I mean, I want to know the facts. I simply want to know what's going on.

SIMON: Authorities are investigating whether somebody taunted the tiger that night by jumping over a barrier to keep the public away from the animals. Police say they found a footprint on top of a railing.

HEATHER FONG, CHIEF, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE: We have obtained photographs of that shoe print and we also have all three pairs of shoes from the victims and our forensics analysis will allow us to determine if any of those shoes match the print that is on there.

SIMON: Even if there was taunting, the tiger still had to escape its enclosure. Zoo officials acknowledge that the enclosure's protective wall is shorter than previously thought. Turns out the wall is just 12.5 feet high. Industry standards say it should be about 16 feet high.

(on camera): However, that's just a recommended height, not an official requirement. Each exhibit is looked at in its entirety to determine if it's safe. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums never issued any red flags, but it's clear that the shorter wall would have made it considerably easier for the tiger to get out.

MANUEL MOLLINEDO, SAN FRANCISCO ZOO DIRECTOR: I think the tiger -- well, if she grabbed on to something, it could have been a ledge. She had to have jumped. How she was able to jump that high is amazing to me, but, you know, it's an exotic animal.

SIMON (voice-over): But just why the tiger suddenly lashed out remains unknown.

Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DREW: Conspiracies and corruption charges aside, Benazir Bhutto was a symbol of hope to many Muslim women. Ahead, you'll hear from some of the women who revered and admired her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DREW: In today's "Tech Effect" segment, downloads for the devout, Italian Catholics who travel with symbols of saints for protection. Now they have a high-tech alternative.

Here's CNN's Rome bureau chief, Alessio Vinci.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN NEWS ROME BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Many people in Italy don't leave home without it, keeping them handy during church visits, or hanging them in their businesses. They are the santini, or little saints. Religious images reproduced on small cards devout Catholic turn to for a quick prayer, protection and inspiration.

BARBARA LABATE, ENTREPRENEUR: My mother used to put -- to hide, actually, holy cards in my luggage when I was about to leave from Sicily.

VINCI: After all, you can find...

Now thanks to this Sicilian entrepreneur, the faithful can download the holy images directly on their cell phones. It is as easy as sending a text message. For three euros, or about $4.50, you can even subscribe to a service that will send you a saint of your choosing once a week.

(on camera): Isn't there a risk of turning something holy into something commercial?

LABATE: Well, it's not that commercial if you consider that there are thousands of shops that actually sell holy objects and icons. And so it's like any other shop. You buy what you want.

VINCI (voice-over): Right now, the saintly cell phone images are only available in Italy and in the U.S.

LABATE: We are also offering St. Patrick for the Irish community in the states. We are offering the Virgin of Guadeloupe for the Mexican community. We are going to offer St. George from England, St. Andrew of Scotland. So we are like adding more and more saints.

VINCI: Not everyone, though, feels cell phones and saints are a match made in heaven.

If we keep on going like this, he says, the next thing you know, they will offer you the Holy Communion via text message.

But Father John Wauck sees nothing unholy about a saint, digital or otherwise.

FATHER JOHN WAUCK, HOLY CROSS UNIVERSITY: If I were to put a picture of a saint on the wall in my office, you know, and today my office happens to be a Blackberry, what's wrong with that?

VINCI: Alessio Vinci, CNN, at the Vatican.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DREW: Benazir Bhutto was the first woman to lead a Muslim country. She was an inspiration to many. But her rule was dogged by allegations of corruption.

CNN's Kara Finnstrom looks at her complicated legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. MAJJIDA AHMED, BHUTTO FAMILY FRIEND: I still can't believe this person that was so larger than life is gone.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Majjida Ahmed practices medicine in California. She says her husband has known Benazir Bhutto's husband since childhood. And she last saw the slain leader several months ago.

AHMED: It's like a hole in your heart. And it just bleeds.

FINNSTROM: Dr. Ahmed knew the private side of the world leader with movie star status who was struggling to balance her public role with that of wife and mother.

AHMED: She loved to talk about her children. She made sure their homework was done. This was a side of this woman that very few people knew.

FINNSTROM: What the world did see was Bhutto's championing of women's causes on world platforms.

BENAZIR BHUTTO, FORMER PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER & OPPOSITION LEADER: Our election has given women all over the Muslim world the moral strength to declare that it is socially correct for a woman to work and for a woman to be a mother.

FINNSTROM: Bhutto said her father, a former prime minister himself, encouraged her to set aside the traditional Muslim views of a woman's role. She did just that, attending Harvard and Oxford, serving as prime minister twice, promoting democracy. And despite an attempted assassination in October, pursuing a return to power.

BHUTTO: They don't believe in women governing nations. So they will try to plot against me. But these are risks that must be taken. I am prepared to take them.

AHMED: She gave the women of Pakistan their identity. That is her final legacy. That we have the ability, if we try, we will succeed.

FINNSTROM: But Bhutto's legacy for women is as complex as Bhutto herself.

EDINA LEKOVIC, ISLAMIC CENTER OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: I look at her as a flawed figure. I think that she was a huge symbol in terms of being the first Muslim woman head of state in the modern times. And that's extremely powerful to me. But at the same time, she had an extremely checkered past as many politicians do, and she was surrounded by corruption allegations.

FINNSTROM: Allegations that included using her office for profit and laundering money. Bhutto denied them.

Muslim-American women at this mosque in L.A. honored their leader. In spite of what many also consider a failure that in the face of opposition, she failed to enact real changes for Pakistani women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't understand.

FINNSTROM: These members are the youngest generation of Muslim- American women, they want empowerment everywhere. Their hope that Bhutto will empower other women to step forward.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought those (inaudible) that a person in a Muslim country that was doing other things.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: America hasn't had a female president yet.

FINNSTROM: Kara Finnstrom, for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DREW: This is the "CNN NEWSROOM." So much for being nice. Two leading candidates for president get personal as nearly everyone vying for the White House is crisscrossing Iowa.

Three generations of a family, including two young children, gunned down on Christmas Eve. And today, we're learning horrifying new details of that slaughter.

Killed by a bullet, shrapnel or was it now a blow to the head? Conspiracy theories swirling around Benazir Bhutto's assassination.

You are in the "CNN NEWSROOM."

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