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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Bush Prepared to Talk About America Preparing for Potential War; FBI Aggressively Trying to Locate Iraqi Nationals in U.S. Legally, Illegally

Aired January 24, 2003 - 22:00 ET

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

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

AARON BROWN, HOST: And good evening again, everyone. We are waiting a bit. As you've been following the Laci Peterson story, you're aware that a press conference about police in Modesto is perhaps a minute or so away, and we'll take that live when we get it.
In the meantime, while we wait on that -- because we don't really know how long it's going to go -- let me get you caught up at least on some of the other things that are making news. And we'll take a quick whip around with our correspondents, beginning first at the White House.

The White House today again pressed its case against Iraq on the eve of a very important week. Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House tonight. Suzanne, start us off.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well the White House is very much aware of the meaning of every word and every picture. President Bush today this afternoon practicing his State of the Union address, going over it several times. Even practicing using the teleprompter. But a senior administration official said that the president, among other things, is prepared to talk about the fact that America is a nation that is preparing for a potential war.

BROWN: Suzanne, thank you. And with good fortune we'll get back to you pretty quickly here.

Other stories involving Iraq today. This one has to do with the FBI. Kelli Arena has been working on that. So, Kelli, a headline, please.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, in response to possible terrorist acts as a result of any war with Iraq, the FBI is aggressively trying to locate Iraqi nationals who are in the United States either legally or illegally.

BROWN: Kelli, thank you.

There was around here a funeral today for Faheem Williams of Newark, New Jersey. Jamie Colby was there for us. So Jamie, a headline from you.

JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New Jersey announces new child legislation called "Faheem's Law.". But why did it take the death of a 7-year-old to revamp the state's ailing child welfare system -- Aaron.

BROWN: Jamie, thank you.

And finally, to Modesto and David Mattingly, who has been working the Laci Peterson story and waits with us for the news conference. A day of developments. David, a headline from you.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Aaron. Her family makes an emotional appeal for her return, accuses her husband of being unfaithful. But it may be the Modesto police tonight who have the last word, at least in these late turn of events, in the case of Laci Peterson.

BROWN: OK. David, I need you to stand by here for a few moments. We are waiting now for the police in Modesto to come out and say whatever it is they are going to say today. And to be perfectly honest, we don't know what that is. We don't know if this is a major development or if this is just another chapter in a story that has gone on since just before Christmas, when Ms. Peterson, eight months pregnant, a little more than that at the time, disappeared.

But we do expect them to walk out at any moment. In fact, we expected them about a half-hour ago. So we expect it will start shortly. How long it will run, can't say. We'll find out.

As we wait on that -- and we will give you just a hint of where we may end up today, but this is one of those programs where it's not obviously written in stone -- a number of other stories that we've got in the program tonight. Our hopes from last night became a reality. Journalist Robert Pelton and two others have been released. And as time allows, we'll talk with Pelton about his days as a captive in the jungles of Colombia.

A four-letter word for one fed up sponsor, an Olympic sponsor, USOC. We'll take a look at the latest mess involving the U.S. Olympic Committee, and along the way talk with one of the country's best sportswriters, Selena Roberts (ph) of "The New York Times," who has been covering the story.

And greatest moments in Super Bowl history. The ones between the plays and the commercials. When we get to the end tonight, whenever that is, we'll take a look at some of the great Super Bowl commercials on this Super Bowl weekend out in San Diego, California, north of San Diego.

Way north of San Diego, in Modesto, though, our eyes are waiting for a press conference to begin. As we said, it was supposed to start at 10:00 Eastern Time. We're about three and a half minutes past that. So I guess we forge ahead until they come out.

And as we forge ahead, we deal with the reality of what the next week or so may bring, and it may bring clear signs of whether the nation is going to war. With the weekend to go before U.N. inspectors make their report, the president will talk to the country on Tuesday. There are a lot of words out there and a lot of deeds out there today that give a sense of where the country is. Wall Street took a dive. Smallpox vaccinations got underway. A troubling sign that. Reporters went into something of a frenzy when a U.N. inspector said Iraq would get a "B" for its cooperation with the inspectors. His bosses later retracted that statement. But today, every word, every picture, seemed to take on extra meaning ,and it's not likely to change any time soon.

We start off with Iraq tonight at the White House and CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): At the swearing in of his administration's new secretary of homeland security, President Bush pledges to carry out his most important job: protecting the American people.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've learned that vast oceans no longer protect us from the dangers of a new era. This government has a responsibility to confront the threat of terror wherever it is found.

MALVEAUX: The biggest threat the White house insists is Iraq. As the president approaches his decision whether to use military action to disarm Saddam, meetings with his advisors. Secretary of State Colin Powell works the allies, aiming to shore up support from Spain and others. U.S. General Tommy Franks, on the ground in Kuwait, consults with military allies.

The State Department, anticipating backlash from any possible military action, sends a cable alerting U.S. embassies to possible evacuations. All this as the administration continues to publicly build its case against Saddam.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: President Bush believes that Iraq's refusal to allow Iraqi scientists to submit to private interviews with U.N. inspectors is unacceptable. Under U.N. Resolution 1441, IRAQ has an obligation to comply.

MALVEAUX: As the date for weapons inspectors to report their findings fast approaches, the White House is still trying to convince some U.S. allies, most notably France, military action may be necessary. A senior administration official says, with the exception of Germany, the Bush administration is confident it can turn some around.

JOHN HILSMAN, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: If you're not involved in the war, you'll have a very small involvement in the peace. And so the French position is actually, despite the strident words at the moment, the one that might be turned.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Now this weekend President Bush will be working on his State of the Union address to be delivered on Tuesday. White House officials say that the president will not declare war against Iraq, but rather will be an opportunity to lay out a broad an detailed case against Saddam Hussein. That this is the last diplomatic phase with Iraq while the prospect for war is very real -- Aaron.

BROWN: Was there, Suzanne, reaction at the White House today when the inspector and the spokesman for the inspector said that Iraq would get a "B" in the area of cooperation?

MALVEAUX: The White House basically dismissed that. They're not paying attention to all of the minutia here. But the White House insisting very much so that the inspections will continue. They'll allow them to continue. That the process will go on until at least they have made the determination that it is no longer useful to do so, and they have the support of what they believe is a key coalition that if military force is necessary, and they decide that, that they will move forward.

BROWN: Is that essentially confirmation of an AP story I saw earlier today that the administration had decided that the deadline on the inspections could be extended?

MALVEAUX: The administration would say exactly the opposite, that they are not confirming that. I spoke with several administration officials who say that, look, we are not going to say whether or not it's going to be days or whether or not it's going to be weeks. Certainly not months.

But they say that, as they talk to allies, they will continue to do so. That those inspections will also play out as well. It's all in the language, Aaron. It's a diplomatic dance, and the White House doing it very abley at this point. But you can bet in the weeks ahead that we will know the answer to that question on military action.

BROWN: Suzanne, I think you're right on that one. Thank you very much. Suzanne Malveaux outside the White House tonight.

The words of an expert on Iraq caught our eye today. If cornered, he said, Saddam Hussein is likely to exercise the Samson option. In other words, bringing the temple down around himself, possibly unleashing chemical or biological weapons to do it. American and British forces take this possibility seriously. They're planning for it.

They're planning as well to capture Iraq's oil field early in the battle to keep Saddam from torching them. No doubt the planners are planning for a lot more than that besides. But precautions are not. The possibility still exists for things to get very ugly on the road to Baghdad, and it's the possibility the Iraqis are playing up tonight. Here's CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Appearing on his own TV channel, the Iraqi leader's elder son, Uday Saddam Hussein, had a stark warning for the United States.

UDAY SADDAM HUSSEIN, SON (through translator): If they come, what they cried about on September 11, and what they saw as a big thing, will seem like a picnic to them, a real picnic. They will be hurt and they will pay an unimaginable price.

ROBERTSON: Also on television, a message to the Iraqis from their spiritual guides. During Friday prayers in one of Baghdad's main mosques, carried live on TV, the religious leader warns the faithful not to trust the inspectors. Across town at the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) mosque, another (UNINTELLIGIBLE) echos the same anger, explaining how U.N. experts violated his mosque by inspecting it.

U.N. officials say inspectors only came to visit. However, the message from the mosque not to tolerate the U.N. appears to have found a receptive audience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody or every Muslim person will stand against Israel and Americans because it's impossible that inspectors are to enter into the mosque because they're (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ROBERTSON: Disappointment, however, that neighboring Islamic nations fail to rally behind Iraq at a meeting in Turkey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why now they are asking Iraq to behave? Iraq have done every possible thing.

ROBERTSON: For most here, the hope rising tensions do not lead to war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want not war with America and war any. I want to...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The press conference in Modesto in the Laci Peterson case is about to begin. That's what's going on in the lower left-hand corner. Now the full screen. And we'll go there now.

(INTERRUPTED BY BREAKING NEWS)

BROWN: That's Chief Roy Wasden of the Modesto Police Department. There's a little sparring going on with reporters pretty clearly. The kinds of questions that reporters would like answers to, the status of the investigation, whatever sense the police in Modesto have about Laci Peterson's husband, Scott. Obviously now even more so, I guess, the focus of reporters' questions, not necessarily the focus of the police investigation.

We don't know that. In any case, lots of questions asked there, none answered. And so the relevant moment remains this rather dramatic and somewhat painful appearance of 28-year-old Amber Frey, who says that she met Scott Peterson on the 20th of November. That would be just a bit more than a month before Mr. Peterson's wife disappeared. That she was told he was unmarried, that they had a romantic relationship. Then she paused and expressed her sorrow to Ms. Peterson's family. David Mattingly has been covering the story for us, and David is outside. I gather that's the police station, the city hall in Modesto, David?

MATTINGLY: That's right, Aaron. And what a day it's been. It was painful earlier today to watch Laci Peterson's family as they went before the cameras clearly struggling with a month's worth of emotion as they appealed directly to whoever may have taken Laci Peterson from them, and they pleaded for her safe return.

In fact, the family still very much holding out hope for her safe return. But the most powerful moment of the day belonged to Laci's older brother, who claimed that Scott was having an affair and then said that he wonders what else Scott may be hiding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENT ROCHA, LACI PETERSON'S BROTHER: Since Scott is no longer communicating with anyone in Laci's family, and because we have so many questions that he has not answered, I am no longer supporting him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And Scott is having trouble finding support here in Modesto at the moment, because the girlfriend has now been produced by the police. Again, her name Amber Frey, telling us that Scott did not tell her that he was married and that she apologized to the family for whatever pain this may have caused -- Aaron.

BROWN: I don't know if we can hear any of that again for people who may have joined us late, but as this young woman did, she's been the subject of much talk out there in Modesto. And reporters tracked her down, as reporters will do, and that caused her to again contact police and come forward. And here's a bit of what she had to say a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREY: I met Scott Peterson November 20, 2002. I was introduced to him. I was told he was unmarried. Scott told me he was not married. We did have a romantic relationship. When I discovered he was involved in the disappearance -- the Laci Peterson disappearance case, I immediately contacted the Modesto Police Department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Modesto police officials say that Ms. Frey has been cleared of any possible involvement in Ms. Peterson's disappearance. And she asked, understandably, to be left alone to raise her 2-year- old child and to live her life. And we hope that will happen. David, don't know.

MATTINGLY: That's right, Aaron. Probably the most important question tonight was pointed at the police department. They were asked are they any closer to solving this mystery, are they any closer to finding Laci Peterson? The police chief, all he could say was, I hope so.

This still a missing person case and not a murder case. Everyone still holding out hope that Laci will be found.

BROWN: Yes, they are. It is one of those stories, one of those cases that captures a broad audience for a lot of reasons. People have a lot of interest in it. David, nice work. I know it's been a little hectic out there. Thank you, David Mattingly in Modesto.

So another chapter in this story has been written. It doesn't tell us a whole lot about the investigation or the possibilities, but it does fill in some of the blanks in the case that now has been going on since just before Christmas in Modesto, California.

Ahead on NEWNIGHT, what the FBI has to do with the possibility of war in Iraq. We'll pick up on that. And later, Robert Pelton out of the jungle of Colombia. Will talk about his days in captivity and his first moments of freedom. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: All right. Back to Iraq and a couple stories that brought a chill today. The State Department warned all Americans living abroad to be prepared to be evacuated. A senior official not denying that the possibility of war triggered this most unusual worldwide advisory.

Also today, we learned the FBI is trying to get a handle on Iraqis who are living in the United States; living here legally or otherwise. For more on this, we go to Washington and CNN's Kelli Arena -- Kelli, good to see you tonight.

ARENA: Hi there, Aaron. Well the FBI is very busy trying to locate and interview as many as 50,000 Iraqis currently living here in the United States. Now, officials say that agents are searching for everything from potential terrorist cells to individuals who may be able to provide information that would be helpful if the U.S. goes to war with Iraq: for example, someone who may have a relative that's still in Iraq who may be able to contact people that are interested in defecting or providing information to the U.S. military.

Now, agents have been interviewing Iraqis in their homes, at work, in mosques. But it is a very delicate balancing act. They need cooperation from these communities. And when FBI agents come sniffing around, especially these days, Aaron, law enforcement sources say that people tend to clam up, especially if they're here illegally.

Now, separately, sources say that there are as many as 600 to 1,000 individuals under constant surveillance here in the United States, some of them Iraqi, but definitely not all of them. And these people, sources say, may be capable of doing harm to the United States. So, that is what's going on, at least on the domestic front, as we approach a possible war, Aaron.

BROWN: If you know, when the FBI contacts people who are here illegally and seeks their cooperation, are they told that they'll get a pass from immigration or not, if they cooperate?

ARENA: Not always. Not always. It really is done on a case-by- case basis.

Sources have said that, in some cases, the threat of deportation does make people cooperate in some instances. But headquarters has sent out a very clear message, Aaron. They have said: Look, we're looking from cooperation from these communities. Do not go out there and use a heavy-handed approach. Do not go out there and intimidate. People can come forward voluntarily. We want them to come forward voluntarily. So, let's not go out there and smash people with this. We want to make sure that we get cooperation now and in the months ahead, when it's going to be really crucial.

BROWN: And just as perhaps a matter of common sense, while it's certainly possible -- I don't know if it's likely, but it's certainly possible there are Iraqi bad guys in the United States. One would think that most of the Iraqis who found their way to the United States were desperately trying to get out of Iraq, because it's not a very pleasant place to be, necessarily.

ARENA: That's right.

BROWN: And they're more happy to be here, legal or otherwise.

ARENA: That's right. That's right.

And FBI officials do point out that the majority of Iraqi nationals living here, they have absolutely no evidence to support that they're here to do any harm. But they are very concerned about possible terrorist cells that may have been sent here after the first Gulf War by Saddam Hussein, waiting to be ignited, waiting to be put into action.

Now, I have to underscore, Aaron, that officials say that they have absolutely no evidence of any Iraqi cells or any terrorist cells in general that they've been able to locate. But it is a concern. And they want to get as much information, intelligence-wise and military operation-wise, as they can.

BROWN: Thank you, Kelli Arena -- and one more sign of how the country is preparing at least for the very real possibility that war could come.

Thank you, Kelli Arena.

Coming up on NEWSNIGHT: a week spent a captive in the midst of a war, a different war. There's Journalist Robert Pelton on his kidnapping in the jungles of Colombia and his release as well.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: And as NEWSNIGHT continues: a week in captivity in the jungles of Colombia, all in a day's work -- well, not really -- for journalist Robert Pelton.

He joins us live to talk about the experience after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: When the list of most underreported stories of the last few years is written, it is safe to say the war in Colombia will be near the top of it. There are a lot of reasons for this, but among them, this one does stand out. In Colombia, reporting the story can get you killed. Lives are cheap, the lives of journalists especially so.

Eight Colombian reporters were killed last year. Two stringers for the "L.A. Times" are being held tonight by left-wing rebels. Yesterday, reporter Robert Pelton, Mark Wedeven, and Megan Smaker were released after being kidnapped over the weekend. Mr. Pelton and Ms. Smaker join us now from Colombia.

It is good to see you both alive and well.

Robert, give me the Cliff Notes version of what happened. Wrong place, wrong time?

ROBERT PELTON, HELD HOSTAGE: Well, right place, right time, but not if you're a tourist.

My goal was to really explore the Darien Gap, which is a place that's not frequented that much. And we happened to run into a group of about 150 Autodefensas or right-wing paramilitaries that were heading up into Panama. And we walked into an ambush. I think there was one fatality that hasn't been confirmed yet. But we were basically taken captive and then slowly, over a 10-day period, helped along our way to our final exit point in Colombia.

BROWN: When you were taken, did you know right away who they were and how you were going to handle them or did you have to figure it out?

PELTON: Well, it's an extraordinary story, because there were three Cuna Indians that were ahead of us that were attacked by them. We heard the gunfire.

The team, the three of us, and a guy, made the conscious decision to go in that ambush rather than be chased or found later. They had identified themselves as members of the FARC, a left-wing group, which was quite unusual, because they looked like paramilitaries. And I believed them to be paramilitaries. They kept this deception up for almost 10 days, until the second to the last day, when we were released.

They said they pardoned us for some of the comments we made about paramilitaries, but all is not as it seems in Colombia.

BROWN: Megan, how afraid were you? MEGAN SMAKER, HELD HOSTAGE: I don't think I would use the word afraid. It was tense moments at times. But, all in all, it was an adventure, to say the least.

BROWN: I know we have -- this is remarkable, but, in your case, Robert, not surprising. We have some pictures that you took along the way. And we're going to roll those. And you might tell us what it is we're seeing.

PELTON: All right.

Basically, I brought my video camera with me, a still camera. And it's one way I gain trust with the armed groups, is just to sort of create an interface. That's Mark and Megan hiking. We did a lot of walking on very, very grueling trails. We also did a lot of sitting. The rebels seemed to eat a lot. They fed us up to five times a day.

And it gets pretty tedious. But on the nice things, we were in prime rain forest. And it was a beautiful, beautiful experience to be out there where few people have ever been. It's not a nice experience, hiking, though. And sometimes we walked up to five to eight hours, sometimes at night. Most of the times, we had blisters. Some of us had foot rot. Others of us were tired. It was very grueling at times, because the paramilitaries were trying to avoid being detected.

BROWN: Can you just -- can you give me a sense of how long into this when at least you began to feel everything was likely to be OK? These things can turn on a dime. But was it hours, days, minutes? What was it?

PELTON: Well, in the very beginning, I think everybody was a little tense, because we had come into a firefight. Somebody had been killed. It took about a day and a half for us to start realizing that they weren't going to take us out and shoot us.

They did take our guide from us and went to a town called Paya, where, apparently, a number of people were killed by this paramilitary group. As we got to know our captors, we relaxed. But don't forget, they were playing that deception game. They wanted us to believe they were left-wing guerrillas, instead of right-wing paramilitaries.

Eventually, by the second-to-last day, we thought we were home free, until they revealed that they were actually paramilitaries. And when we thought we were going to released, we were still taken to an abandoned place to meet with one of their leaders, who explained to us why we were detained. And basically, he said that we were helped along, because the idea of us walking through this area without a heavy armed guard would be not a good idea.

BROWN: And why were you detained?

PELTON: Well, you live in a bubble when you're a captive, obviously, didn't hear news. What I was told was that there was an active operation going on and they had to get 150 people out of the jungle, so that, when we came out of the jungle and the rest of the world knew that this operation was occurring, there couldn't be any retaliation.

The other thing that was very, very strange, is that the ACU of the paramilitaries wanted to communicate to us that they're the new Autodefensas, which means they're sort of a softer, gentler form of a right-wing death squad. It sounds really bizarre. We can go over that. But, basically, I learned a lot about this group and we're healthy and safe. And we're alive.

BROWN: Well, come home and come home safely, both of you. And we'll talk about it some more here. We're glad it worked out. Thank you.

Megan and Robert Pelton, thank you very much as well. Thank you.

PELTON: Thanks, Aaron.

BROWN: Still to come on the program on this Friday night: saying goodbye to Faheem Williams, the state of New Jersey vowing to prevent future cases of such abuse.

From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Next on NEWSNIGHT: One of the lost boys of Newark, New Jersey, is laid to rest after a short and sad life.

A short break and we're right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: It's often said that funerals are meant to be a celebration of a life that was lived, which brings us to a very painful question: How do you celebrate the life of Faheem Williams?

Life for this little 7-year-old meant being neglected and beaten and ultimately starved, stuffed into a box and left for dead. So, no, today's funeral was not a celebration. It was a chance to mourn, to mourn for a life that might have been, one free of abuse and filled with promise.

Once again, here's CNN's Jamie Colby.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Teddy bears and prayers surround the small white casket holding Faheem Williams' battered and emaciated body.

CLARENCE JACKSON, FAMILY MEMBER: He's a star. You understand what I'm saying? He's a star in the sky.

COLBY: Police still don't know how long Faheem's body had been stashed in his cousin, Sherry Murphy's basement. His two brothers were found alive, but starved and beaten under her watch.

SANDRA OSBORN, DYFS CASEWORKER: I had to leave just to compose myself, get myself composed, prior to even going back in to interview the children, because it was just horrendous. I had never seen anything, never experienced anything like that before.

COLBY: At a viewing Thursday, stunned family members pled for the public's understanding.

GERALDINE WILLIAMS HOWARD, FAMILY MEMBER: We have been portrayed as the bad people in this thing. And I'm really upset about it.

COLBY: But two relatives, Murphy and her 16-year-old son, as well as family friend Joe Reese, are all in jail on charges of mistreating the boys. And the boy's mother, released from a hospital after a car accident to attend her son's wake and funeral, has also hired an attorney.

(on camera): More than 500 people paid their respects to Faheem, the young boy who became known more in his death than in his short, tragic life. And New Jersey political officials and child welfare workers say they will especially remember Faheem. They've already passed legislation in his name that they say will better protect New Jersey's children.

WILLIAM PAYNE (D), NEW JERSEY ASSEMBLYMAN: The case cannot be closed until a caseworker sees the child face to face.

COLBY (voice-over): Child welfare officials in charge of the boys prematurely closed their case, despite years of reported abuse.

SEN. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D), NEW JERSEY: The fact that this has gotten such attention suggests to me that maybe this poor young life will have left a mission behind.

COLBY: And that's provided at least some comfort to his family.

JACKSON: He made a law. He's somebody right now. He died nobody, but now he is somebody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLBY: In addition to the ban on closing cases, Faheem's law calls for more extensive reporting by courts and schools on the whereabouts of kids and parents already in the child welfare system.

That provision alone might have saved Faheem. It would have mandated that caseworkers stay in contact with the boys when their mother was incarcerated and they went to live with their cousin, now charged with their abuse -- Aaron.

BROWN: Thanks, Jamie. Thank you very much.

A few other stories to quickly fit in before we go to break, beginning with the latest from that attack earlier this week in Kuwait, which left one American dead and one wounded: David Caraway, the one hurt in the ambush, was released from the hospital today. Caraway said he feels great and does not remember a thing.

On to smallpox vaccine in the state of Connecticut, where health care workers today were the first to receive voluntary smallpox vaccinations as part of the nationwide program. They'd be the first to treat patients in a bioterrorist attack.

In Texas today, a videotape was released in the case of a woman accused of murdering her husband by running him over in her Mercedes. The tape was actually shot by the private eye the woman, Clara Harris, had hired to spy on her husband, who was having an affair. Following all of this, the jury has to decide whether this was calculated murder or a crime of passion.

And, yes, it snowed today in spots in Florida. The citrus growers say they escaped major damage from the deep freeze. As one farmer put it today: We flirted with it. We stepped on the edge, but we're fine -- a little warmer there tomorrow.

Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT: Super Bowl highlights, no, not the game, the ads, the best ads of all time.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: That's Qualcomm field -- it will always be Jack Murphy Stadium to me -- in San Diego, California, where, Sunday night, a little after 6:00, the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay tee it up for Super Bowl 30-something.

Anyway, you probably remember exactly where you were, who you were with, what dip you were eating when you watched that unforgettable Super Bowl game play out. It was magic, wasn't it, pure magic, the 1989 Bud Bowl, the epic matchup between those animated little Bud bottles, with those cute little helmets, and their bitter rival, Bud Light. Oh, yes, the game wasn't bad either, as San Francisco edged out Cincinnati 20-16.

We know that, for a lot of you, watching the commercials is the other reason to watch the Super Bowl. But for some of you -- more than we thought -- it's the only reason.

Here's Jeff Greenfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST (voice-over): 1984, one of the most memorable Super Bowls of them all -- no, not the game. Sure, the L.A. Raiders beat the Washington Redskins, but this was the greatest moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, APPLE AD)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We shall prevail.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GREENFIELD: The 1984 commercial from Apple where a brave freedom fighter battles the Orwellian conformity of IBM. It only ran that one time, but it became a symbol, the first memorable Super Bowl ad.

Or how about 1992? Maybe you don't remember that the Washington redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

LARRY BIRD, NBA PLAYER: Off the glass.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: But you know about this off-the-wall one-on-one contest: Michael Jordan vs. Larry Bird. Sure you do.

And 1995? For the football faithful, it was the San Francisco 49ers over the San Diego Chargers. For the rest of us, it was the debut of the Budweiser frogs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, BUDWEISER AD)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Bud.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Weis.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Er.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: At an estimated cost of $2 million for 30 seconds, with an audience of 100 million to 130 million, making a splash on the biggest TV event of the year has become as heated a battle as any on- field matchup you will find at Super Bowl 37 -- pardon me -- Super Bowl XXXVII.

And viewers know it. According to one recent survey, 40 percent of Super Bowl viewers tune in just to watch the ads. Over the years, they've seen Bud Light develop a whole category of ads: love gone wrong, from Cedric the Entertainer's fall from Barry White smooth to Three Stooges klutzy, to the wife whose satin sheets provide an unexpected rush for her amorous husband. They've seen Pepsi spoof its Coke competitor with this glimpse through a security camera and offer this unsettling view of what might happen if a young boy's thirst for the product went too far.

The ads even help us measure changing time. Back in 2000, at the height of dot-com mania, almost every other ad on the Super Bowl seemed to be touting some high-flying startup. They even bragged about their excesses. Today, many of those companies are just a memory. And last year, the memory of 9/11 produced a rare somber moment in this tribute to New York City.

(on-camera): So, where might this fascination with the Super Bowl commercials lead? Well, maybe, in the not-too-distant future, the game itself will be a mere afterthought, played not in some huge arena, but on a high school football field like this, while all but the most faithful say: Free Super Bowl tickets, you say? What? You want me to leave home and miss the ads? No thank you.

Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Low-carbohydrate beer, that's the big one this year.

Good to have you with us. Hope you have a warm weekend wherever you are. And we'll see you again on Monday from Washington, if everything works right.

Until then, I'm Aaron Brown in New York. Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.

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

Potential War; FBI Aggressively Trying to Locate Iraqi Nationals in U.S. Legally, Illegally>

Aired January 24, 2003 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, HOST: And good evening again, everyone. We are waiting a bit. As you've been following the Laci Peterson story, you're aware that a press conference about police in Modesto is perhaps a minute or so away, and we'll take that live when we get it.
In the meantime, while we wait on that -- because we don't really know how long it's going to go -- let me get you caught up at least on some of the other things that are making news. And we'll take a quick whip around with our correspondents, beginning first at the White House.

The White House today again pressed its case against Iraq on the eve of a very important week. Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House tonight. Suzanne, start us off.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well the White House is very much aware of the meaning of every word and every picture. President Bush today this afternoon practicing his State of the Union address, going over it several times. Even practicing using the teleprompter. But a senior administration official said that the president, among other things, is prepared to talk about the fact that America is a nation that is preparing for a potential war.

BROWN: Suzanne, thank you. And with good fortune we'll get back to you pretty quickly here.

Other stories involving Iraq today. This one has to do with the FBI. Kelli Arena has been working on that. So, Kelli, a headline, please.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, in response to possible terrorist acts as a result of any war with Iraq, the FBI is aggressively trying to locate Iraqi nationals who are in the United States either legally or illegally.

BROWN: Kelli, thank you.

There was around here a funeral today for Faheem Williams of Newark, New Jersey. Jamie Colby was there for us. So Jamie, a headline from you.

JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New Jersey announces new child legislation called "Faheem's Law.". But why did it take the death of a 7-year-old to revamp the state's ailing child welfare system -- Aaron.

BROWN: Jamie, thank you.

And finally, to Modesto and David Mattingly, who has been working the Laci Peterson story and waits with us for the news conference. A day of developments. David, a headline from you.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Aaron. Her family makes an emotional appeal for her return, accuses her husband of being unfaithful. But it may be the Modesto police tonight who have the last word, at least in these late turn of events, in the case of Laci Peterson.

BROWN: OK. David, I need you to stand by here for a few moments. We are waiting now for the police in Modesto to come out and say whatever it is they are going to say today. And to be perfectly honest, we don't know what that is. We don't know if this is a major development or if this is just another chapter in a story that has gone on since just before Christmas, when Ms. Peterson, eight months pregnant, a little more than that at the time, disappeared.

But we do expect them to walk out at any moment. In fact, we expected them about a half-hour ago. So we expect it will start shortly. How long it will run, can't say. We'll find out.

As we wait on that -- and we will give you just a hint of where we may end up today, but this is one of those programs where it's not obviously written in stone -- a number of other stories that we've got in the program tonight. Our hopes from last night became a reality. Journalist Robert Pelton and two others have been released. And as time allows, we'll talk with Pelton about his days as a captive in the jungles of Colombia.

A four-letter word for one fed up sponsor, an Olympic sponsor, USOC. We'll take a look at the latest mess involving the U.S. Olympic Committee, and along the way talk with one of the country's best sportswriters, Selena Roberts (ph) of "The New York Times," who has been covering the story.

And greatest moments in Super Bowl history. The ones between the plays and the commercials. When we get to the end tonight, whenever that is, we'll take a look at some of the great Super Bowl commercials on this Super Bowl weekend out in San Diego, California, north of San Diego.

Way north of San Diego, in Modesto, though, our eyes are waiting for a press conference to begin. As we said, it was supposed to start at 10:00 Eastern Time. We're about three and a half minutes past that. So I guess we forge ahead until they come out.

And as we forge ahead, we deal with the reality of what the next week or so may bring, and it may bring clear signs of whether the nation is going to war. With the weekend to go before U.N. inspectors make their report, the president will talk to the country on Tuesday. There are a lot of words out there and a lot of deeds out there today that give a sense of where the country is. Wall Street took a dive. Smallpox vaccinations got underway. A troubling sign that. Reporters went into something of a frenzy when a U.N. inspector said Iraq would get a "B" for its cooperation with the inspectors. His bosses later retracted that statement. But today, every word, every picture, seemed to take on extra meaning ,and it's not likely to change any time soon.

We start off with Iraq tonight at the White House and CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): At the swearing in of his administration's new secretary of homeland security, President Bush pledges to carry out his most important job: protecting the American people.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've learned that vast oceans no longer protect us from the dangers of a new era. This government has a responsibility to confront the threat of terror wherever it is found.

MALVEAUX: The biggest threat the White house insists is Iraq. As the president approaches his decision whether to use military action to disarm Saddam, meetings with his advisors. Secretary of State Colin Powell works the allies, aiming to shore up support from Spain and others. U.S. General Tommy Franks, on the ground in Kuwait, consults with military allies.

The State Department, anticipating backlash from any possible military action, sends a cable alerting U.S. embassies to possible evacuations. All this as the administration continues to publicly build its case against Saddam.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: President Bush believes that Iraq's refusal to allow Iraqi scientists to submit to private interviews with U.N. inspectors is unacceptable. Under U.N. Resolution 1441, IRAQ has an obligation to comply.

MALVEAUX: As the date for weapons inspectors to report their findings fast approaches, the White House is still trying to convince some U.S. allies, most notably France, military action may be necessary. A senior administration official says, with the exception of Germany, the Bush administration is confident it can turn some around.

JOHN HILSMAN, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: If you're not involved in the war, you'll have a very small involvement in the peace. And so the French position is actually, despite the strident words at the moment, the one that might be turned.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Now this weekend President Bush will be working on his State of the Union address to be delivered on Tuesday. White House officials say that the president will not declare war against Iraq, but rather will be an opportunity to lay out a broad an detailed case against Saddam Hussein. That this is the last diplomatic phase with Iraq while the prospect for war is very real -- Aaron.

BROWN: Was there, Suzanne, reaction at the White House today when the inspector and the spokesman for the inspector said that Iraq would get a "B" in the area of cooperation?

MALVEAUX: The White House basically dismissed that. They're not paying attention to all of the minutia here. But the White House insisting very much so that the inspections will continue. They'll allow them to continue. That the process will go on until at least they have made the determination that it is no longer useful to do so, and they have the support of what they believe is a key coalition that if military force is necessary, and they decide that, that they will move forward.

BROWN: Is that essentially confirmation of an AP story I saw earlier today that the administration had decided that the deadline on the inspections could be extended?

MALVEAUX: The administration would say exactly the opposite, that they are not confirming that. I spoke with several administration officials who say that, look, we are not going to say whether or not it's going to be days or whether or not it's going to be weeks. Certainly not months.

But they say that, as they talk to allies, they will continue to do so. That those inspections will also play out as well. It's all in the language, Aaron. It's a diplomatic dance, and the White House doing it very abley at this point. But you can bet in the weeks ahead that we will know the answer to that question on military action.

BROWN: Suzanne, I think you're right on that one. Thank you very much. Suzanne Malveaux outside the White House tonight.

The words of an expert on Iraq caught our eye today. If cornered, he said, Saddam Hussein is likely to exercise the Samson option. In other words, bringing the temple down around himself, possibly unleashing chemical or biological weapons to do it. American and British forces take this possibility seriously. They're planning for it.

They're planning as well to capture Iraq's oil field early in the battle to keep Saddam from torching them. No doubt the planners are planning for a lot more than that besides. But precautions are not. The possibility still exists for things to get very ugly on the road to Baghdad, and it's the possibility the Iraqis are playing up tonight. Here's CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Appearing on his own TV channel, the Iraqi leader's elder son, Uday Saddam Hussein, had a stark warning for the United States.

UDAY SADDAM HUSSEIN, SON (through translator): If they come, what they cried about on September 11, and what they saw as a big thing, will seem like a picnic to them, a real picnic. They will be hurt and they will pay an unimaginable price.

ROBERTSON: Also on television, a message to the Iraqis from their spiritual guides. During Friday prayers in one of Baghdad's main mosques, carried live on TV, the religious leader warns the faithful not to trust the inspectors. Across town at the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) mosque, another (UNINTELLIGIBLE) echos the same anger, explaining how U.N. experts violated his mosque by inspecting it.

U.N. officials say inspectors only came to visit. However, the message from the mosque not to tolerate the U.N. appears to have found a receptive audience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody or every Muslim person will stand against Israel and Americans because it's impossible that inspectors are to enter into the mosque because they're (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ROBERTSON: Disappointment, however, that neighboring Islamic nations fail to rally behind Iraq at a meeting in Turkey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why now they are asking Iraq to behave? Iraq have done every possible thing.

ROBERTSON: For most here, the hope rising tensions do not lead to war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want not war with America and war any. I want to...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The press conference in Modesto in the Laci Peterson case is about to begin. That's what's going on in the lower left-hand corner. Now the full screen. And we'll go there now.

(INTERRUPTED BY BREAKING NEWS)

BROWN: That's Chief Roy Wasden of the Modesto Police Department. There's a little sparring going on with reporters pretty clearly. The kinds of questions that reporters would like answers to, the status of the investigation, whatever sense the police in Modesto have about Laci Peterson's husband, Scott. Obviously now even more so, I guess, the focus of reporters' questions, not necessarily the focus of the police investigation.

We don't know that. In any case, lots of questions asked there, none answered. And so the relevant moment remains this rather dramatic and somewhat painful appearance of 28-year-old Amber Frey, who says that she met Scott Peterson on the 20th of November. That would be just a bit more than a month before Mr. Peterson's wife disappeared. That she was told he was unmarried, that they had a romantic relationship. Then she paused and expressed her sorrow to Ms. Peterson's family. David Mattingly has been covering the story for us, and David is outside. I gather that's the police station, the city hall in Modesto, David?

MATTINGLY: That's right, Aaron. And what a day it's been. It was painful earlier today to watch Laci Peterson's family as they went before the cameras clearly struggling with a month's worth of emotion as they appealed directly to whoever may have taken Laci Peterson from them, and they pleaded for her safe return.

In fact, the family still very much holding out hope for her safe return. But the most powerful moment of the day belonged to Laci's older brother, who claimed that Scott was having an affair and then said that he wonders what else Scott may be hiding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENT ROCHA, LACI PETERSON'S BROTHER: Since Scott is no longer communicating with anyone in Laci's family, and because we have so many questions that he has not answered, I am no longer supporting him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And Scott is having trouble finding support here in Modesto at the moment, because the girlfriend has now been produced by the police. Again, her name Amber Frey, telling us that Scott did not tell her that he was married and that she apologized to the family for whatever pain this may have caused -- Aaron.

BROWN: I don't know if we can hear any of that again for people who may have joined us late, but as this young woman did, she's been the subject of much talk out there in Modesto. And reporters tracked her down, as reporters will do, and that caused her to again contact police and come forward. And here's a bit of what she had to say a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREY: I met Scott Peterson November 20, 2002. I was introduced to him. I was told he was unmarried. Scott told me he was not married. We did have a romantic relationship. When I discovered he was involved in the disappearance -- the Laci Peterson disappearance case, I immediately contacted the Modesto Police Department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Modesto police officials say that Ms. Frey has been cleared of any possible involvement in Ms. Peterson's disappearance. And she asked, understandably, to be left alone to raise her 2-year- old child and to live her life. And we hope that will happen. David, don't know.

MATTINGLY: That's right, Aaron. Probably the most important question tonight was pointed at the police department. They were asked are they any closer to solving this mystery, are they any closer to finding Laci Peterson? The police chief, all he could say was, I hope so.

This still a missing person case and not a murder case. Everyone still holding out hope that Laci will be found.

BROWN: Yes, they are. It is one of those stories, one of those cases that captures a broad audience for a lot of reasons. People have a lot of interest in it. David, nice work. I know it's been a little hectic out there. Thank you, David Mattingly in Modesto.

So another chapter in this story has been written. It doesn't tell us a whole lot about the investigation or the possibilities, but it does fill in some of the blanks in the case that now has been going on since just before Christmas in Modesto, California.

Ahead on NEWNIGHT, what the FBI has to do with the possibility of war in Iraq. We'll pick up on that. And later, Robert Pelton out of the jungle of Colombia. Will talk about his days in captivity and his first moments of freedom. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: All right. Back to Iraq and a couple stories that brought a chill today. The State Department warned all Americans living abroad to be prepared to be evacuated. A senior official not denying that the possibility of war triggered this most unusual worldwide advisory.

Also today, we learned the FBI is trying to get a handle on Iraqis who are living in the United States; living here legally or otherwise. For more on this, we go to Washington and CNN's Kelli Arena -- Kelli, good to see you tonight.

ARENA: Hi there, Aaron. Well the FBI is very busy trying to locate and interview as many as 50,000 Iraqis currently living here in the United States. Now, officials say that agents are searching for everything from potential terrorist cells to individuals who may be able to provide information that would be helpful if the U.S. goes to war with Iraq: for example, someone who may have a relative that's still in Iraq who may be able to contact people that are interested in defecting or providing information to the U.S. military.

Now, agents have been interviewing Iraqis in their homes, at work, in mosques. But it is a very delicate balancing act. They need cooperation from these communities. And when FBI agents come sniffing around, especially these days, Aaron, law enforcement sources say that people tend to clam up, especially if they're here illegally.

Now, separately, sources say that there are as many as 600 to 1,000 individuals under constant surveillance here in the United States, some of them Iraqi, but definitely not all of them. And these people, sources say, may be capable of doing harm to the United States. So, that is what's going on, at least on the domestic front, as we approach a possible war, Aaron.

BROWN: If you know, when the FBI contacts people who are here illegally and seeks their cooperation, are they told that they'll get a pass from immigration or not, if they cooperate?

ARENA: Not always. Not always. It really is done on a case-by- case basis.

Sources have said that, in some cases, the threat of deportation does make people cooperate in some instances. But headquarters has sent out a very clear message, Aaron. They have said: Look, we're looking from cooperation from these communities. Do not go out there and use a heavy-handed approach. Do not go out there and intimidate. People can come forward voluntarily. We want them to come forward voluntarily. So, let's not go out there and smash people with this. We want to make sure that we get cooperation now and in the months ahead, when it's going to be really crucial.

BROWN: And just as perhaps a matter of common sense, while it's certainly possible -- I don't know if it's likely, but it's certainly possible there are Iraqi bad guys in the United States. One would think that most of the Iraqis who found their way to the United States were desperately trying to get out of Iraq, because it's not a very pleasant place to be, necessarily.

ARENA: That's right.

BROWN: And they're more happy to be here, legal or otherwise.

ARENA: That's right. That's right.

And FBI officials do point out that the majority of Iraqi nationals living here, they have absolutely no evidence to support that they're here to do any harm. But they are very concerned about possible terrorist cells that may have been sent here after the first Gulf War by Saddam Hussein, waiting to be ignited, waiting to be put into action.

Now, I have to underscore, Aaron, that officials say that they have absolutely no evidence of any Iraqi cells or any terrorist cells in general that they've been able to locate. But it is a concern. And they want to get as much information, intelligence-wise and military operation-wise, as they can.

BROWN: Thank you, Kelli Arena -- and one more sign of how the country is preparing at least for the very real possibility that war could come.

Thank you, Kelli Arena.

Coming up on NEWSNIGHT: a week spent a captive in the midst of a war, a different war. There's Journalist Robert Pelton on his kidnapping in the jungles of Colombia and his release as well.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: And as NEWSNIGHT continues: a week in captivity in the jungles of Colombia, all in a day's work -- well, not really -- for journalist Robert Pelton.

He joins us live to talk about the experience after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: When the list of most underreported stories of the last few years is written, it is safe to say the war in Colombia will be near the top of it. There are a lot of reasons for this, but among them, this one does stand out. In Colombia, reporting the story can get you killed. Lives are cheap, the lives of journalists especially so.

Eight Colombian reporters were killed last year. Two stringers for the "L.A. Times" are being held tonight by left-wing rebels. Yesterday, reporter Robert Pelton, Mark Wedeven, and Megan Smaker were released after being kidnapped over the weekend. Mr. Pelton and Ms. Smaker join us now from Colombia.

It is good to see you both alive and well.

Robert, give me the Cliff Notes version of what happened. Wrong place, wrong time?

ROBERT PELTON, HELD HOSTAGE: Well, right place, right time, but not if you're a tourist.

My goal was to really explore the Darien Gap, which is a place that's not frequented that much. And we happened to run into a group of about 150 Autodefensas or right-wing paramilitaries that were heading up into Panama. And we walked into an ambush. I think there was one fatality that hasn't been confirmed yet. But we were basically taken captive and then slowly, over a 10-day period, helped along our way to our final exit point in Colombia.

BROWN: When you were taken, did you know right away who they were and how you were going to handle them or did you have to figure it out?

PELTON: Well, it's an extraordinary story, because there were three Cuna Indians that were ahead of us that were attacked by them. We heard the gunfire.

The team, the three of us, and a guy, made the conscious decision to go in that ambush rather than be chased or found later. They had identified themselves as members of the FARC, a left-wing group, which was quite unusual, because they looked like paramilitaries. And I believed them to be paramilitaries. They kept this deception up for almost 10 days, until the second to the last day, when we were released.

They said they pardoned us for some of the comments we made about paramilitaries, but all is not as it seems in Colombia.

BROWN: Megan, how afraid were you? MEGAN SMAKER, HELD HOSTAGE: I don't think I would use the word afraid. It was tense moments at times. But, all in all, it was an adventure, to say the least.

BROWN: I know we have -- this is remarkable, but, in your case, Robert, not surprising. We have some pictures that you took along the way. And we're going to roll those. And you might tell us what it is we're seeing.

PELTON: All right.

Basically, I brought my video camera with me, a still camera. And it's one way I gain trust with the armed groups, is just to sort of create an interface. That's Mark and Megan hiking. We did a lot of walking on very, very grueling trails. We also did a lot of sitting. The rebels seemed to eat a lot. They fed us up to five times a day.

And it gets pretty tedious. But on the nice things, we were in prime rain forest. And it was a beautiful, beautiful experience to be out there where few people have ever been. It's not a nice experience, hiking, though. And sometimes we walked up to five to eight hours, sometimes at night. Most of the times, we had blisters. Some of us had foot rot. Others of us were tired. It was very grueling at times, because the paramilitaries were trying to avoid being detected.

BROWN: Can you just -- can you give me a sense of how long into this when at least you began to feel everything was likely to be OK? These things can turn on a dime. But was it hours, days, minutes? What was it?

PELTON: Well, in the very beginning, I think everybody was a little tense, because we had come into a firefight. Somebody had been killed. It took about a day and a half for us to start realizing that they weren't going to take us out and shoot us.

They did take our guide from us and went to a town called Paya, where, apparently, a number of people were killed by this paramilitary group. As we got to know our captors, we relaxed. But don't forget, they were playing that deception game. They wanted us to believe they were left-wing guerrillas, instead of right-wing paramilitaries.

Eventually, by the second-to-last day, we thought we were home free, until they revealed that they were actually paramilitaries. And when we thought we were going to released, we were still taken to an abandoned place to meet with one of their leaders, who explained to us why we were detained. And basically, he said that we were helped along, because the idea of us walking through this area without a heavy armed guard would be not a good idea.

BROWN: And why were you detained?

PELTON: Well, you live in a bubble when you're a captive, obviously, didn't hear news. What I was told was that there was an active operation going on and they had to get 150 people out of the jungle, so that, when we came out of the jungle and the rest of the world knew that this operation was occurring, there couldn't be any retaliation.

The other thing that was very, very strange, is that the ACU of the paramilitaries wanted to communicate to us that they're the new Autodefensas, which means they're sort of a softer, gentler form of a right-wing death squad. It sounds really bizarre. We can go over that. But, basically, I learned a lot about this group and we're healthy and safe. And we're alive.

BROWN: Well, come home and come home safely, both of you. And we'll talk about it some more here. We're glad it worked out. Thank you.

Megan and Robert Pelton, thank you very much as well. Thank you.

PELTON: Thanks, Aaron.

BROWN: Still to come on the program on this Friday night: saying goodbye to Faheem Williams, the state of New Jersey vowing to prevent future cases of such abuse.

From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Next on NEWSNIGHT: One of the lost boys of Newark, New Jersey, is laid to rest after a short and sad life.

A short break and we're right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: It's often said that funerals are meant to be a celebration of a life that was lived, which brings us to a very painful question: How do you celebrate the life of Faheem Williams?

Life for this little 7-year-old meant being neglected and beaten and ultimately starved, stuffed into a box and left for dead. So, no, today's funeral was not a celebration. It was a chance to mourn, to mourn for a life that might have been, one free of abuse and filled with promise.

Once again, here's CNN's Jamie Colby.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Teddy bears and prayers surround the small white casket holding Faheem Williams' battered and emaciated body.

CLARENCE JACKSON, FAMILY MEMBER: He's a star. You understand what I'm saying? He's a star in the sky.

COLBY: Police still don't know how long Faheem's body had been stashed in his cousin, Sherry Murphy's basement. His two brothers were found alive, but starved and beaten under her watch.

SANDRA OSBORN, DYFS CASEWORKER: I had to leave just to compose myself, get myself composed, prior to even going back in to interview the children, because it was just horrendous. I had never seen anything, never experienced anything like that before.

COLBY: At a viewing Thursday, stunned family members pled for the public's understanding.

GERALDINE WILLIAMS HOWARD, FAMILY MEMBER: We have been portrayed as the bad people in this thing. And I'm really upset about it.

COLBY: But two relatives, Murphy and her 16-year-old son, as well as family friend Joe Reese, are all in jail on charges of mistreating the boys. And the boy's mother, released from a hospital after a car accident to attend her son's wake and funeral, has also hired an attorney.

(on camera): More than 500 people paid their respects to Faheem, the young boy who became known more in his death than in his short, tragic life. And New Jersey political officials and child welfare workers say they will especially remember Faheem. They've already passed legislation in his name that they say will better protect New Jersey's children.

WILLIAM PAYNE (D), NEW JERSEY ASSEMBLYMAN: The case cannot be closed until a caseworker sees the child face to face.

COLBY (voice-over): Child welfare officials in charge of the boys prematurely closed their case, despite years of reported abuse.

SEN. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D), NEW JERSEY: The fact that this has gotten such attention suggests to me that maybe this poor young life will have left a mission behind.

COLBY: And that's provided at least some comfort to his family.

JACKSON: He made a law. He's somebody right now. He died nobody, but now he is somebody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLBY: In addition to the ban on closing cases, Faheem's law calls for more extensive reporting by courts and schools on the whereabouts of kids and parents already in the child welfare system.

That provision alone might have saved Faheem. It would have mandated that caseworkers stay in contact with the boys when their mother was incarcerated and they went to live with their cousin, now charged with their abuse -- Aaron.

BROWN: Thanks, Jamie. Thank you very much.

A few other stories to quickly fit in before we go to break, beginning with the latest from that attack earlier this week in Kuwait, which left one American dead and one wounded: David Caraway, the one hurt in the ambush, was released from the hospital today. Caraway said he feels great and does not remember a thing.

On to smallpox vaccine in the state of Connecticut, where health care workers today were the first to receive voluntary smallpox vaccinations as part of the nationwide program. They'd be the first to treat patients in a bioterrorist attack.

In Texas today, a videotape was released in the case of a woman accused of murdering her husband by running him over in her Mercedes. The tape was actually shot by the private eye the woman, Clara Harris, had hired to spy on her husband, who was having an affair. Following all of this, the jury has to decide whether this was calculated murder or a crime of passion.

And, yes, it snowed today in spots in Florida. The citrus growers say they escaped major damage from the deep freeze. As one farmer put it today: We flirted with it. We stepped on the edge, but we're fine -- a little warmer there tomorrow.

Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT: Super Bowl highlights, no, not the game, the ads, the best ads of all time.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: That's Qualcomm field -- it will always be Jack Murphy Stadium to me -- in San Diego, California, where, Sunday night, a little after 6:00, the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay tee it up for Super Bowl 30-something.

Anyway, you probably remember exactly where you were, who you were with, what dip you were eating when you watched that unforgettable Super Bowl game play out. It was magic, wasn't it, pure magic, the 1989 Bud Bowl, the epic matchup between those animated little Bud bottles, with those cute little helmets, and their bitter rival, Bud Light. Oh, yes, the game wasn't bad either, as San Francisco edged out Cincinnati 20-16.

We know that, for a lot of you, watching the commercials is the other reason to watch the Super Bowl. But for some of you -- more than we thought -- it's the only reason.

Here's Jeff Greenfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST (voice-over): 1984, one of the most memorable Super Bowls of them all -- no, not the game. Sure, the L.A. Raiders beat the Washington Redskins, but this was the greatest moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, APPLE AD)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We shall prevail.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GREENFIELD: The 1984 commercial from Apple where a brave freedom fighter battles the Orwellian conformity of IBM. It only ran that one time, but it became a symbol, the first memorable Super Bowl ad.

Or how about 1992? Maybe you don't remember that the Washington redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

LARRY BIRD, NBA PLAYER: Off the glass.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: But you know about this off-the-wall one-on-one contest: Michael Jordan vs. Larry Bird. Sure you do.

And 1995? For the football faithful, it was the San Francisco 49ers over the San Diego Chargers. For the rest of us, it was the debut of the Budweiser frogs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, BUDWEISER AD)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Bud.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Weis.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Er.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: At an estimated cost of $2 million for 30 seconds, with an audience of 100 million to 130 million, making a splash on the biggest TV event of the year has become as heated a battle as any on- field matchup you will find at Super Bowl 37 -- pardon me -- Super Bowl XXXVII.

And viewers know it. According to one recent survey, 40 percent of Super Bowl viewers tune in just to watch the ads. Over the years, they've seen Bud Light develop a whole category of ads: love gone wrong, from Cedric the Entertainer's fall from Barry White smooth to Three Stooges klutzy, to the wife whose satin sheets provide an unexpected rush for her amorous husband. They've seen Pepsi spoof its Coke competitor with this glimpse through a security camera and offer this unsettling view of what might happen if a young boy's thirst for the product went too far.

The ads even help us measure changing time. Back in 2000, at the height of dot-com mania, almost every other ad on the Super Bowl seemed to be touting some high-flying startup. They even bragged about their excesses. Today, many of those companies are just a memory. And last year, the memory of 9/11 produced a rare somber moment in this tribute to New York City.

(on-camera): So, where might this fascination with the Super Bowl commercials lead? Well, maybe, in the not-too-distant future, the game itself will be a mere afterthought, played not in some huge arena, but on a high school football field like this, while all but the most faithful say: Free Super Bowl tickets, you say? What? You want me to leave home and miss the ads? No thank you.

Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Low-carbohydrate beer, that's the big one this year.

Good to have you with us. Hope you have a warm weekend wherever you are. And we'll see you again on Monday from Washington, if everything works right.

Until then, I'm Aaron Brown in New York. Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.

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