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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Three Dead in Tel Aviv Suicide Bombing; New Palestinian Prime Minister Pledges Fight Against Terror

Aired April 29, 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.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: We used to think that the guy with the toughest job in the Middle East was retired general Jay Garner. He, of course, is the American charged with bringing democracy and stability to Iraq.
But someone else is a close second. His name is Abu Mazen, and today he was confirmed as the first Palestinian prime minister. Just hours after saying, quote, "We reject terrorism by any party and in all forms," terror struck in Tel Aviv.

Abu Mazen has to fight to carve out a nation with the Israelis and, at the same time, fight the enemies of peace among his own people.

We're going to talk with the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. in just a moment.

But, of course, it is that terror attack in Tel Aviv that leads off the whip tonight.

Jerrold Kessel is there. Jerrold, the headline.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, three people killed by the suicide bomber, more than 50 wounded, several in critical condition or serious condition, in this latest terror outrage in an Israeli city, there on the Tel Aviv promenade right next to the beachfront.

And this, as you say, only hours after the new Palestinian prime minister, Abu Mazen, declared that terror was not acceptable to him. It was, indeed, morally reprehensible, he said, and he would seek to deal with it, Anderson.

COOPER: A lot more on that story in a moment.

The White House reacted swiftly to word of more terror in Israel.

CNN senior White House correspondent John King is on that for us. John, the headline.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, the White House saying this attack sadly as predictable as it is tragic. The Bush administration will press ahead in the days ahead with its road map for peace in the Middle East, but some senior officials believe Abu Mazen, that new Palestinian prime minister, is being tested. They view the bombing tonight perhaps as a signal to him. COOPER: And an ugly incident in Iraq, exactly the kind of thing the U.S. did not want to have happen.

Karl Penhaul is covering that story from Baghdad tonight. Karl, the headline.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, 15 Iraqi civilians killed, more than 50 others wounded, as U.S. soldiers opened fire on a group of demonstrators in central Iraq. They were marching to a school to call for the U.S. troops to leave that school, so that school classes could restart for the pupils and teachers in their neighborhood, Anderson.

COOPER: All right, we'll look into that.

Back to the U.S. now. A very big development in the case of a little boy lost, lost literally for years.

Gary Tuchman is following that story from Roseboro, North Carolina. Gary, the headline.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, two and a half years ago, a 4-year-old boy wandered out of his house and never came back, to the horror of his family. But tonight, he might -- and we emphasize might -- be in a foster home in Illinois, Anderson.

COOPER: It's hard to imagine. We'll be right back with that.

Also a lot coming else -- coming up on NEWSNIGHT. He risked his life to help save an American prisoner of war. Now the U.S. is offering more than thanks to the Iraqi lawyer known only as Mohammed. Kelli Arena has that for us tonight.

And the latest on SARS. There was celebration today in Toronto after a travel warning was lifted. But in China, SARS continues to infect, continues to kill. More from a summit in Bangkok of Asian leaders.

We start things off in Tel Aviv, tonight the scene of carnage at the end of a day that began with such great promise. So at the end of the day, there's a new Palestinian government in place, one that says it wants to end the violence. And then there's the violence.

We turn once again to CNN's Jerrold Kessel in Tel Aviv.

KESSEL: Anderson, this morning Abu Mazen was indeed throwing down the gauntlet to the Palestinian militant groups, and perhaps this was their throwing down the gauntlet back at him. Because just after 1:00 a.m. in the morning here, crowded time even on -- even at that late hour on the Tel Aviv promenade, the terror struck.

Suicide bomber walking up to the place behind me. That's Mike's Place, they call it, where they play live blues in the evening. And stopped by the security guard just outside. And that, perhaps, saved many lives, because it was a crowded blues evening that was inside Mike's Place. And there'll be a lot of those political implications to be drawn out of this attack, as we try to understand who might have carried it out, who might be throwing down that gauntlet. But then, of course, there is also the human element.

And we're joined here now by Elie Barel, who's the proprietor of the next-door bar, cafe bar, to the one that was hit tonight.

Hi, Elie.

ELIE BAREL, EYEWITNESS: Hello.

KESSEL: Tell us what happened.

BAREL: I was sitting with customers on the terrace of my place. Suddenly, one car of the police arrive (UNINTELLIGIBLE) front my place. When the police car arrive, the explosion happen. And I think it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the terrorist when he see the car policeman arrive, so he explodes.

And then I run with some workers of my place, and we try to help the people to come outside. There was everybody was panic, shouting, crying. And then all the security and the police come in this place.

KESSEL: It's not the first time that there's been such an attack right here. In fact, right near this bar, another terror suspect was caught, a bomber was caught red-handed.

BAREL: This is the second time...

KESSEL: Are you worried?

BAREL: ... that it's happened. The first time, we were lucky, the security from the embassy catch the first one without the bombing, right here in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) light. And then this time, it's happened.

KESSEL: You know, today the new Palestinian prime minister took over. He pledged he would act against terror. Do you have any hope that this may end the bombings?

BAREL: We have all the time hope, but we don't see anything change. The proof, it's again tonight. The proof, it's tonight again, young guys come to the nightclub to -- for a couple hours, and they lose his life. So how many chance we can give? How many? We don't know how many chance.

KESSEL: OK, thanks very much.

BAREL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

KESSEL: Eli Barel, one of the eyewitnesses...

BAREL: Thank you.

KESSEL: ... the proprietor of the next-door cafe to Mike's Place, which was hit tonight by the suicide bomber.

But still there is hope that perhaps something has changed with that new Palestinian government in place now. But there are clearly others who want to make sure nothing is going to change, Anderson.

COOPER: Jerrold, has any group publicly claimed credit, if that's the right word, for this attack?

KESSEL: No, we haven't had any claim of responsibility. Now, through the two and a half years of bombings, the -- periodically, the different militant groups do claim responsibility. But there are other occasions when they keep the investigators in the dark, and they don't claim responsibility.

Be very interesting to see if they come out and say openly that they are really challenging and replying to that gauntlet thrown down by Abu Mazen today. It will be very interesting to see in the next day or so whether there is a claim of responsibility.

But having said that, it should be said that the militant Islamic groups at least, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, say they don't accept this new government, and they will go on battling against Israel until the Israeli occupation is ended.

COOPER: All right. Jerrold Kessel, live in Tel Aviv. Thanks very much.

The U.S. has found that waiting for a peaceful moment to unveil a peace plan, well, simply means waiting forever, so the Bush administration says it isn't waiting any longer.

John King has the details.

KING: Anderson, this is hardly the first time a glimmer of hope in the Middle East quickly followed by deadly violence. As you noted, the Bush administration says it will go forward with its Middle East peace initiative. But tonight, officials here also saying they view this as an immediate test of Abu Mazen, the new Palestinian prime minister.

One senior official put it this way. He said, quote, "There's a good chance it was a signal to him. It is a reminder of how difficult the challenge going to be."

The official White House reaction came from the press secretary, Ari Fleischer, who told CNN, quote, "The White House condemns this homicide bombing in the strongest terms. This attack is obviously designed to harm the peace process. We will press forward with our efforts to get the parties back to the path to peace."

Now, that effort will begin intensely in the next 24 to 48 hours. The road map, the actual document, prepared in December, not published until now, will be delivered to the Palestinians and the Israelis, if not tomorrow, by Thursday at the latest.

Then Secretary of State Powell will travel to the region. Both he and President Bush also will make public statements urging the Palestinians and the Israelis to get back into a peace process.

White house officials say, of course, one demand in the road map immediately is that the Palestinians improve security, reform their security forces. That is one key demand that they will look to see Abu Mazen make immediately in the days ahead.

The White House is quite optimistic. They believe the Palestinians now have a leader committed to peace. Mr. Bush would not put this document out there until Yasser Arafat was shoved to the sidelines, if you will.

But again, White House officials tonight telling us this bombing immediately underscores the challenge. Abu Mazen has to have a partner in the United States. Many Palestinians are skeptical about that. He has to try to revive a process with Israel. Many Palestinians are outright opposed to that.

And many think the bombing tonight might have been a direct reaction to his speech earlier today in which Abu Mazen promised that terror would come to the end, Anderson.

COOPER: John, does it seem that White House officials really believe that Abu Mazen does have the power to stop these kind of bombings? So many in the administration had wanted Arafat sidelined. Do they think he is?

KING: On paper, he has the power. The White House says the test now is delivering and exercising that power. They like Abu Mazen here, they like his choice for a security chief. But they do understand that he faces immediate tests.

And they understand that he has a very strained relationship with Yasser Arafat. There was a power struggle about how much power the new prime minister would have. And so if Abu Mazen moves immediately to crack down on Hamas, to crack down on Islamic Jihad, the question, then, is, will Yasser Arafat and those close to him try to undermine the new Palestinian prime minister?

The Bush White House take on it is, is that Abu Mazen has no choice but to act, but they also understand the political situation could not be more delicate.

COOPER: That is certainly true. John King, thanks very much, at the White House.

The bombing, of course, made today's confirmation of Abu Mazen ring somewhat hollow, to say the least, which is perhaps what the bomber was trying to do. At the very least, it underscores the peril that goes with Abu Mazen's promise to his people today.

Here is CNN's Kelly Wallace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A show of hands ushers in the historic moment. By a vote of 51 to 18 in the Palestinian parliament, Mahmoud Abbas, widely known here as Abu Mazen, becomes the first ever prime minister and receives approval of his 24- member cabinet.

He is a man who has long argued the armed struggle against Israel has not helped the Palestinian cause. And in his first major speech, he says a political, not a military, solution is the only way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

ABU MAZEN, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We reject terrorism from any party and in all its forms.

WALLACE: The Palestinian prime minister also drew a line in the sand for radical Palestinian groups responsible for attacks against Israel. Weapons, he said, will only be allowed to protect Palestinian security.

MAZEN (through translator): Ending the disorder and chaos of arms with the threats that are imposed on the country will be one of our main tasks. And we will not be lenient at all.

WALLACE: But in a sign of the immense challenges Abu Mazen faces, radical Palestinian groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad say they will not disarm until the Israeli occupation comes to an end.

Another challenge, whether Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, whose reluctance to give up control to Abu Mazen led to a standoff last week, will try to assert power behind the scenes. On this day, the man who has been the center of Palestinian affairs for decades found himself turning the spotlight over to his longtime number two.

YASSIR ARAFAT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): ... call on you to grant confidence to the new cabinet led by my brother and my comrade, Abu Mazen.

WALLACE: Israelis say they are taking a wait-and-see approach.

RA'ANAN GISSIN, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: The extent to which he is going to perform those necessary steps in order to stop terrorism, in order to stop incitement, that is the critical thing. That is what we're waiting to see.

WALLACE (on camera): But the United States, European Union, U.N., and Russia, the group making up the so-called Mideast Quartet, is already taking steps, convening a meeting Tuesday evening, sources say, determining that the road map for Middle East peace could be presented to the Israelis and to the Palestinians in the next 24 to 36 hours.

(voice-over): But both sides are now asking this question, whether the road map will ultimately map the road to peace.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, Ramallah, on the West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, coming up on NEWSNIGHT, we're going to talk to Israel's ambassador to the U.S.

And we're also going to look at the story about trouble outside of Baghdad as U.S. troops fire on a crowd of Iraqis. We'll have the latest on the fight in Fallujah.

Also coming up, the Iraqi who helped save Private Jessica Lynch gets a new home in the U.S. and maybe even a new job.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: With us now in Washington at the end of a very trying day is Daniel Ayalon, Israel's ambassador to the United States.

Ambassador Ayalon, thanks for being with us.

AMB. DANIEL AYALON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Good evening.

COOPER: Earlier today, Abu Mazen said, quote, "We reject terrorism in all its forms." Hours later, a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv. Do you trust Abu Mazen?

AYALON: Well, the taste is in the pudding, Anderson. So far, he talks the talk. Now we'll see if he walks the walk. And he has a major challenge. And it's his first test. Now, if he rises up to the challenge, if he makes good on the commitments and the expectations, then we are on a road to negotiations and hopefully peace.

We are, in Israel, willing to make painful concessions, like we have done in the past. And when we had a true partner, like Sadat of Egypt, or late King Hussein of Jordan, we made peace.

This is what we expect from the Palestinians. The reason you hope, it's a positive step in the right direction. But we'll have to see how he acts. And he has -- must take concrete steps. It's not just a matter of statements that he makes. He has to really arrest, he has to dismantle the infrastructure of terror. He has to stop the incitement, which he can do right away. And this will be his test.

COOPER: There are those who say, though, he is obviously in a very delicate position. If he moves too quickly, makes too many arrests, he loses support among his own people. Are you sympathetic to that?

AYALON: Well, Anderson, how can you be sympathetic? How quickly do you have to move to stop the killing of innocent people, mainly children, like the three people who were killed today just going to have beer in a cafe? And 55 were injured. And we are not done with counting the toll.

How quickly do you have to move for that? There must be a clear stop and end to the terror. And it's within his power to do it.

COOPER: Let me ask you... AYALON: It's just a matter of political will to employ.

COOPER: ... Saeb Erekat, Palestinian negotiator, today after the bombing said that this, the bombing is an indication that the road map to peace must be implemented more than ever. Is it an indication of that to you, or is it an indication that the region is not ready for the road map to peace until these bombings stop?

AYALON: No, it's an indication that the -- not the talks. What counts is, you know, what you do. And it's high time for them to stop the terror. And it's within their power to do it. It's just a matter of political will. And there is no coexistence with terror organizations like Islamic Jihad or Hamas or al Qaeda or Hezbollah or all the rest of the Palestinian terror organizations.

It's a matter of political will. And you have to simply crush them and dismantle them. It may not be easy, but it's doable. And this is the first test of Abu Mazen. And we would very much like to embark on the road to peace, and we are very much supportive of the president's speech of 24th of June, with his vision for peace.

We are willing to make, as I mentioned, very painful concessions. But we cannot be in a situation whereby we talk during the day, and they kill us at night. This cannot be.

COOPER: Yes, part of the road map for peace, the concessions that you are expected to make, at least in this first round, stopping the seizure of Palestinian property, stopping some of the economic -- the travel restrictions, as well as the other economic restrictions on Palestinians.

Are you prepared to make those moves without a guarantee of stopping of bombing, stopping of terrorist attacks, or do you have to see movement on Abu Mazen's part before you are willing to make any moves?

AYALON: Well, Anderson, we have had a longtime policy of Prime Minister Sharon and his government of making a clear distinction between the population of the Palestinians, innocent populations, and the terrorists.

Sometimes you have to make some steps and stop the terror. It's not very easy. But to the extent possible, we are making -- trying to make the life as easy as possible. We have been transferring money to them, $25 million a day -- I mean, a month. And we would like to make as relief measures as possible, of course, without breaching security.

An event, this terrorist event of tonight, of course, doesn't help.

COOPER: All right. Ambassador Daniel Ayalon, appreciate you joining us tonight. I know it's been a very difficult and a very busy day for you. Appreciate it, taking the time.

AYALON: Thank you.

COOPER: Thank you.

Iraq now. Something terrible happened last night between demonstrators and members of the 82nd Airborne in a town west of Baghdad. That much we know. Beyond that, the facts are hotly disputed. For a fact, there was a demonstration. For a fact, there was gunfire. And for a fact, today there were funerals.

The story as we know it from CNN's Karl Penhaul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraqi families bury their relatives, killed when U.S. soldiers opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators outside a school in Fallujah. The wounded fill the hospital of this city just west of Baghdad.

This man, Muthanna Salim, says he was trying to close his front gate when gunfire erupted around the elementary school opposite his home.

"The Americans fired at me and cut my foot. My brother came out to carry me, but he was shot dead," he says. "My other brother took the car out to rescue me, but he was also wounded." His wife and mother were also wounded.

Some 250 protesters had marched on this school after dark Monday. Their demands, that U.S. troops camped out here should withdraw to allow pupils and teachers to return to class now that war is over.

Lessons were halted here when the war began. U.S. troops said the empty building provided an ideal base from which to police and secure the surrounding neighborhoods.

The demonstrators admit they threw rocks, but U.S. soldiers said some in the crowd opened fire first with Kalashnikov assault rifles.

SGT. SARGON MACKSUD, U.S. ARMY SNIPER SCOUT: I just shot at what I saw, and what I saw was targets, targets with weapons that were going to harm me. It's either them or me, and I took the shot, sir.

PENHAUL: The U.S. soldiers say they returned fire with sniper rifles, assault rifles, and machine guns.

This taxi was caught in the shooting. Neighboring houses were hit by heavy-caliber machine guns.

(on camera): U.S. Army commanders have announced there will be an investigation into the deaths. That's unlikely to calm tempers here in Fallujah or elsewhere in Iraq, where calls are growing for coalition forces to leave.

(voice-over): Angry residents staged impromptu protests at the deaths, chanting "No to America," "Murderers," and "Down with President Bush."

Raid al-Kateeb lost his cousin in the shootout. He says they weren't even taking part in the protest. "Since this whole matter started," he says, "it was clear that the Americans were a force of occupation."

As night fell, troops of the 82nd Airborne Division bowed to the locals' demands. They climbed aboard trucks and Humvees and pulled out.

No goodbyes, just jeers and insults from the crowd, leaving residents to take back their school to cries of "Allah akhbar (ph)," God is great.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: The International Committee of the Red Cross has confirmed to us that 15 Iraqi civilians died in that shooting. More than 50 others were wounded. Of course, as you see, the U.S. troops have removed the potential flashpoint by now withdrawing from that school. They've withdrawn to other points around the city of Fallujah.

But in many senses, the damage is already done. This incident seems sure to fuel the protests from those sectors of Iraqi society that are now calling on coalition forces to leave the country, saying that their job is done, and that now the Iraqi people should be left alone to decide their own future, Anderson.

COOPER: You know, Karl, we have heard so much about the rumor mill in Baghdad and really throughout Iraq. Has word of what happened in Fallujah reached Baghdad? And what are people saying about did?

PENHAUL: Yes, rumor has reached Baghdad. It's difficult at this stage to judge exactly what the mood is as a result of that. As you say, most people at this stage in Iraq, within Iraq, are getting their information from rumors. Those rumors, as you can imagine, are expanded and run like wildfire.

That's probably because the Iraqi media hasn't recovered after the war. There really is no national media service with a national coverage, and this is what allows rumors to run wild here, Anderson.

COOPER: And is there any U.S. investigation planned, or is the U.S. soldiers on the ground -- do they feel comfortable with what happened?

PENHAUL: The U.S. Army has said that, yes, there will be an investigation into the incident to see what's happened. The soldiers that I spoke to today obviously were not comfortable with the fact that civilians had died and had been wounded.

They were very convinced in their minds that they had done the right thing. They did seem convinced that some of the demonstrators had opened fire on them first with Kalishnikov assault rifles, and say that that's what motivated them to open fire, Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Karl Penhaul in Baghdad. Thanks very much. The Bush administration made Iraqi ties to al Qaeda, of course, a central point in its case for going to war in the first place. Some worried it was a stretch. But now the documents and a number of Iraqi leaders have fallen into American hands.

Well, the case is looking stronger. And tonight, interrogators have someone new to question.

Here is CNN's David Ensor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, let's go. Hey, guys, get up. Go that way, right there.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senior administration officials say U.S. forces in Iraq have captured a member of an al Qaeda-affiliated terror group operating in that country.

Sources say the individual, who they did not name, is a member of a group operating in the west of Baghdad under the leadership of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian believed by the U.S. to have been the mastermind of the assassination of American diplomat Laurence Foley in Amman last October, and to have plotted additional unconventional attacks.

Zarqawi was said to have received medical treatment, a leg amputation, in Baghdad in spring of 2002 after being injured in Afghanistan during the war.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some al Qaeda leaders who fled Afghanistan went to Iraq. These include one very senior al Qaeda leader, who received medical treatment in Baghdad this year, and who has been associated with planning for chemical and biological attacks.

ENSOR: At the United Nations in February, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the fact that Zarqawi's al Qaeda-affiliated group of what he called nearly two dozen extremists was allowed to operate in Baghdad was evidence of ties between al Qaeda and Iraq.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: These al Qaeda affiliates based in Baghdad now coordinate the movement of people, money, and supplies into and throughout Iraq for his network, and they've now been operating freely in the capital for more than eight months.

ENSOR: The capture comes just days after the U.S. got its hands on a former senior Iraqi intelligence officer, Farouk Hijazi, who, officials say, may have met with al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan in 1998, possibly including Osama bin Laden.

(on camera): Officials say they do not know yet whether the newly captured Zarqawi associate had any connections with the government of Iraq. That will be question number one, officials said, as the interrogation of the new prisoner gets under way. U.S. officials want to uncover the exact nature of the relationship between Saddam Hussein's regime and al Qaeda.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: A hero's story now. Until today, the highlight of it was the rescue and the return of Private Jessica Lynch. Well, now we can tell you about the Iraqi man who helped save her, who he is, and, more importantly, where he is.

CNN's Kelli Arena reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. officials say it was an act of sheer bravery that led U.S. forces to former POW Army Private Jessica Lynch. After spotting her in a hospital in Nasiriyah, an Iraqi lawyer known to the world only as Mohammed risked his life to get word to U.S. Marines. A hero in the United States, Mohammed feared for his life. He's seen here with his face obscured under U.S. protection in Iraq.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says Mohammed al-Rehaief is now in the United States with his wife and 6-year-old daughter. All have been granted asylum.

TOM RIDGE, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Everyone felt it appropriate, inasmuch as he liberated one of the liberators, you know, that we could not only send a signal to Iraq, but the rest of the world, that that is the very extraordinary thing to do, and America appreciates his courage.

ARENA: Not only has been offered asylum, but he's also been offered a job by a D.C. lobbying firm led by former House Republican leader Bob Livingston.

MOHAMMED AL-REHAIEF (on phone): Hello?

ROBERT LIVINGSTON, LOBBYIST (on phone): Hello. Mohammed, I've got the cameras right here, and I just wanted to make sure that you're going to stay down there for a while.

ARENA: Because there is still some concern for Mohammed's safety, his new friends are keeping him out of the spotlight and giving him time to adjust.

LIVINGSTON: This adjustment will entail English language training, although he speaks surprisingly good English, potential professional licensing arrangements, he is an attorney, and his wife is a nurse.

ARENA: Sources tell CNN Mohammed is also recovering from an eye injury sustained during Lynch's rescue and will undergo surgery soon.

(on camera): Lynch too is still recovering at an Army hospital in Washington. Mohammed has plans to soon reunite with the young woman that he risked his life for.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Still a lot to come on NEWSNIGHT. The latest headlines, and an update on SARS, as Asian nations meet to map a strategy to contain the virus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Still to come on NEWSNIGHT: the latest on SARS from U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We're going to be talking later on tonight about a summit meeting that's being held in Thailand to discuss the subject of sudden acute respiratory syndrome, SARS.

Now, clearly, leaders in that part of the world need to talk about SARS. On the other hand, what with jet planes and the global economy, Asia isn't as far from this country as it used to be. So how should Americans be reacting to all the talk about SARS?

We're joined now in Washington by the surgeon general of the United States, Dr. Richard Carmona.

Dr. Carmona, thanks very much for being with us here.

Is enough, in your opinion, being done to prevent the spread of SARS in the U.S.?

DR. RICHARD CARMONA, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Oh, absolutely. I think the public health response that the country has seen is unprecedented in history, in the amount of resources we brought to bear on this problem, as well the timeliness of the response.

COOPER: But do you think the country is really ready for SARS? And I ask that because, when you look at what happened in Toronto, they have a first-rate health care system. They have good hospitals. And yet, in the early days, this thing got away from them in some of the hospitals.

CARMONA: Yes, it did. They had some problems.

But, on the other hand, from the United States' standpoint, I think that we have dealt with this problem very effectively, and not only for the United States, but with all our partners internationally, to assist those countries that needed further assistance, that don't have the resources we have, as well as to share the information we had to protect the borders around us.

COOPER: The cases in the United States, how have most of those people been infected? CARMONA: Well, most of those people actually have been quite mild, as far as their infections go. And they have been infected much like with a common cold, so that there really has not been any serious concern about how -- if you will, how virulent this infection was in those people.

COOPER: But are the people here being -- they're not being quarantined, though. They're just being isolated.

CARMONA: Yes, we're not exercising any quarantine whatsoever. When we have people that are ill, they deal with their primary-care providers and receive instructions. People who may have been exposed, there are plenty of instructions that are given to them as to how to access the health care system immediately. And all of this has worked very effectively, without curtailing movement for anybody who is not affected.

COOPER: In the countries where SARS seems to have peaked, that WHO today said Singapore has been dealing with it effectively, as well as Vietnam, Hong Kong. They are using quarantine, though. Do you see a time when quarantine might be necessary here in the U.S.?

CARMONA: Well, certainly, we have that option when and if there is a very serious problem. But it's only as a last resort.

I think, right, now with the secretary's guidance and working with our partners, with my colleague Dr. Gerberding down at CDC, and the scientists that are looking at this, the best minds in our country have determined that that's not necessary.

COOPER: In a lot of Asian countries -- and I believe even in Canada now, or at least in Toronto -- they're considering installing infrared cameras at airports to screen passengers, almost unbeknownst to them, as they come off planes, looking for high fevers and the like. Is that something you think should be done here in the U.S.?

CARMONA: No, sir, I don't think so.

I think that the precautions that we have in place, that are largely educational measures, with people coming into the country and identifying those that might be at risk and having the proper information elicited from them, has worked quite well and has not impeded the travel or the economy unnecessarily.

COOPER: Do you think the media is blowing this out of proportion?

CARMONA: Well, I think the media plays a very important part here. I think it's important that we educate the public.

And it is really very difficult for me, as the surgeon general, and my secretary and Dr. Gerberding and others who are in leadership positions here to educate 280 million people quite rapidly. So the media plays a very valuable role in getting this information out to the public. COOPER: But you know how the media works. Often, these stories get played up over and over and over again all day long. Do you think the fear is outpacing the information?

CARMONA: Well, I think, in some instances, it has.

But I think the way we deal with the fear factor is, we educate the public, so that they understand that they're really at no appreciable risk if they follow prudent public health precautions, such as just washing your hands and restricting travel to those areas where the disease is evident, that they can go about their life without having to worry about anything.

COOPER: And that's your message to people, just don't worry too much about it; just wash your hands?

CARMONA: Well, not just that. I don't want to oversimplify it.

But, certainly, you can go about your business as you would on a normal everyday basis. And you should not have to worry about that, because people who are being identified as being at risk, we are isolating them. People that are ill, of course, are being asked to shelter at home or in their -- in hospitals, if necessary, so that the public is generally not at risk every day in their activities.

COOPER: All right, Dr. Richard Carmona, Surgeon General, I appreciate you joining us.

CARMONA: Thanks very much.

COOPER: Thank you.

Well, ahead on NEWSNIGHT: the search for Buddy, the story of a boy who disappeared and the hope that he may have been found.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Coming up next on NEWSNIGHT: the search for Buddy and hope a DNA test can solve a two-year-old mystery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In cases of missing kids, the experts often say the first few hours and days are crucial. As time goes by, the chances of finding a child alive gets smaller and smaller.

That is why the case of Elizabeth Smart was so stunning, got so much attention, a young girl found after nine months. The family of Buddy Myers is hoping to beat the odds as well. He's been gone not for weeks or months, but years. And now there is a tantalizing lead: the possibility -- and we stress the word possibility -- that the little boy who disappeared in the South has reappeared in the Midwest.

Here is CNN's Gary Tuchman. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Donna Myers sits on a swing on her front porch talking on a phone that hasn't stopped ringing. Her little boy may have been found. Everyone she knows is calling.

DONNA MYERS, AUNT OF BUDDY: I got a feeling it's him, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up so high, just in case it's not.

TUCHMAN: Donna is the great aunt and was the guardian of 4-year- old Buddy Myers when he wandered out of this living room with his two dogs after she dosed off on the couch. The dogs came home, but Buddy never did.

MYERS: Thousands of searchers were out there looking for him. Then they had the helicopters and planes with the infrared -- and nothing.

TUCHMAN: That was in October 2000, now word that a boy in a foster home in the Chicago area might be Buddy.

This is the boy, who had been brought to a hospital in Evanston, Illinois, by a man claiming he was the father and saying his son needed to be evaluated for aggressive behavior. Hospital authorities were suspicious of the man and police ended up arresting him on an outstanding theft charge. But the man, identified as Ricky Quick, who lived in this Chicago apartment, vanished after being released on custody.

Authorities then called the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children, which matched the boy with a computer-enhanced image of what Buddy Myers would look like now, 2 1/2 years later. DNA tests are being conducted with Buddy's natural mother, who had given up custody because she was a minor when he was boy.

RAVEN MYERS, MOTHER OF BUDDY: I always thought somebody took him in for his own, for his -- for their own child. That's what I've been thinking. I never thought that he was dead.

TUCHMAN: Donna Myers wants someone to mention her three-legged dog to the boy in Illinois, one of the dogs Buddy was with when he disappeared. Certainly, if it is Buddy, he would remember his three- legged dog, Buck. But there has been no contact between Illinois's foster program and Donna Myers. So she just waits for the DNA results, which, to her dismay, could take four to six weeks.

D. MYERS: I feel bad because, I'll tell you, what if I wouldn't have fell asleep? But I felt like it was safe, because he was right in the same room with me. And I never dreamed something like this would happen and he'd wake up and go outside and somebody would take him.

TUCHMAN: His bed is still made. His toys are in place, all ready for Buddy's return.

(END VIDEOTAPE) TUCHMAN: Now, little Buddy Myers' real name is Tristen. But for most of his life, he's been known by his nickname. And it's been a very trying life, even before he disappeared.

He was raised by his mother's mother, his grandmother. But she developed a fatal illness. And that's how he ended up at this house, his grandmother's sister-in-law. And that's where he was for most of his life. His grandmother subsequently died after he disappeared.

Now, here's what we know about little Buddy, or some of what we know. He know he has blond hair. We know he has a scar on his neck. We know he has some speech difficulties and slightly delayed development -- the little boy in Chicago, all of the same characteristics. However, everyone is waiting for those DNA results.

Now, you may be wondering why four to six weeks. We know DNA can come in quicker than that. Authorities in Illinois are not telling us. However, authorities here in Sampson County, North Carolina, the sheriff's office, which has been communicating with the family here, says they all just want to be very careful -- Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Understandable. Gary Tuchman, thanks very much tonight.

We want to talk more about child abductions with someone you probably know. She's been writing about them and researching them for years, Jacquelyn Mitchard. Her novel, "The Deep End of the Ocean," is about one family's struggle after a child is kidnapped and then found years later. She's out with a new novel. "Twelve Times Blessed," it's called. And we are pleased that she joins us now.

Thanks for being with us.

JACQUELYN MITCHARD, AUTHOR, "THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN": Thanks for having me.

COOPER: There is something so appalling about these kind of stories and especially that, in our day and age, with the Internet and cell phones and our alleged interconnectedness, that a little boy can just disappear.

MITCHARD: But we really aren't as interconnected as we were a generation ago. Families are very mobile. Neighborhoods don't have -- aren't filled with mothers at home from work who are the eyes and ears of the neighborhood and know who every child belongs to and where each child belongs at a given time of day.

I think that if I were to have one of my children living a mile away from me, especially if her hair was dyed or his hair was dyed, I don't know those people. I've seen their houses, but I don't know what goes on inside of them. And I think that's true for many families.

COOPER: It's often said the worst thing for a parent is to outlive a child. You see this story and you hear about other stories like this. And you start to think, maybe that's not the worst thing. Maybe the worst thing is to not know what's happened to your child. What is the impact on families?

MITCHARD: Well, when I did the research for "The Deep End of the Ocean," I talked to many families who had a child. You know, stranger abduction is a very tiny, tiny...

COOPER: Right. Most are abducted by people they know.

MITCHARD: Right, a spouse who is angry or a relative who believes that he or she can raise the child better.

It's a tiny proportion. But when it happens, it creates a crisis in a family. And a crisis, by its definition, is something that's supposed to happen and be violent and shake people to their core and then end. In this kind of situation, it goes on. And, as a result, more than 75 percent of marriages in which a child is abducted, even if the parents later find out what happened to the child, end as a result of that.

COOPER: The family itself, in 70 some-odd percent, the family doesn't survive.

MITCHARD: It doesn't survive intact. And the siblings may suffer even more than the parents.

COOPER: Why is that?

MITCHARD: The parents certainly blame each other. But the siblings have -- and, of course, I'm only a story writer and a reporter. I'm not a psychologist.

But from what families have told me, kids may feel a certain amount of survivor guilt. Why didn't it happen to me or why did it happen to him? Or did I not love my little brother enough? Because often, kids really wish that their little brother might take a hike. But when it happens, it's so shattering to the kid's very core, that it's going to change the way he behaves for the rest of his life.

COOPER: And everyone focuses on the abduction and hopefully the recovery. But the story for the family -- and the reunion -- but the story does not end there.

MITCHARD: No. In fact, the harder part -- as Saint Teresa said, more tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered prayers. And the harder part for both the child, who may get a lot of treatment and attention, and the family, is putting their lives back together again after a reunion like this.

I mean, one of the most famous cases was in California with Steven Stayner, who was returned to his family I think after seven years of being lost. His family never recovered. His older brother, in fact, became a criminal, a murderer. And that's the worst- possible-case scenario. But there's always -- the child who is -- has been abducted, or so people tell me, often fares better than the child who is left behind, because they're the symptom-bearer. They're the ones who bear the grief for the whole family.

COOPER: It's just -- it's fascinating and tragic. And we appreciate you joining us.

MITCHARD: Thank you very much.

COOPER: Jacquelyn Mitchard, thank you. Appreciate it.

Well, still ahead on NEWSNIGHT: time for segment seven, a much lighter story, the town that couldn't lie.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: So, if you want to incur the wrath of New York City's mayor, just light up a cigarette these days in one of the city's restaurants. But if you want to get the mayor of Mount Sterling, Iowa, riled up, blowing smoke in his face won't really do it. Telling a tall tale, that's a different story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Welcome to Mount Sterling, Iowa, a hunting town of 40, not exactly world famous, but it's getting there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a lady from the BBC radio network in Europe would like to talk to you.

COOPER: Why all the interest? Mayor Hamlett wants Mount Sterling to become the first liar-free town in the world. He's fed up with people telling tales, you know, about how many mushrooms they picked or how big the deer was they shot. So he recently proposed an ordinance to ban lying in Mount Sterling, no big blatant lies, no little white ones, either. Imagine that, no lies. What would life in America be like without them?

First of all, what would politicians do?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD NIXON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am not a crook.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: After all, splitting hairs would not be allowed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And broken promises? Forget about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Read my lips: no new taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: It's not just politicians. CEOs might find complete disclosure difficult as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been instructed by my counsel...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not to testify.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Based upon my Fifth Amendment right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Afforded to me under the Constitution of the United States.

COOPER: Come to think of it, if lying were outlawed, what would be on TV?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you marry me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Real reality just can't compete.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "JOE MILLIONAIRE")

EVAN MARRIOTT: There is something really intriguing about her and I really want to keep her around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Without lies, there would be no scandals, no dramatic trials to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You say on your oath that you have not addressed any black person as a (EXPLETIVE DELETED)?

MARK FUHRMAN, LAPD: That's what I'm saying, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: No actor shenanigans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT DOWNEY JR., ACTOR: For once, I had kind of done all the work and I could honestly say that it was time to move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And what would psychics do?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You give a lot of money to this man. You laugh, but you know I'm telling you the truth, don't you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Would there be no paranormal, just plain old normal? Frankly, who wants that? So perhaps it's not surprising that, back in Mount Sterling, the townspeople and the city council are hesitant to embrace the new no-lying campaign.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you going to enforce it? And who's to say what's a lie and what's a story?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to go to Washington, D.C. They tell a lot bigger lies there.

COOPER: On this subject, at least, the residents of Mount Sterling seem to have no problem telling the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take the liars out of Mount Sterling and you're not going to have too many people left.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, still ahead on the extra bonus half-hour of NEWSNIGHT, we're going to take an in-depth look at SARS. We'll also have the latest on how Canada and Asian countries are trying to contain the illness -- a lot more ahead when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: Arthel, thanks very much. World leaders get together at summit meetings to talk about matters of war and peace, shifting alliances, failing economies -- but not this time.

What the leaders of eleven Asian nations are currently gathered to talk about in Thailand is another kind of worry altogether: SARS.

CNN's Tom Mintier is in Bangkok.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM MINTIER, CNN: It was the first time in Asian history for such a meeting. Ten Asian leaders plus the Chinese Premier and Hong Kong's Chief Executive.

On the agenda, a single issue: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.

At issue is how to keep it from spreading, and how to limit the damage to the region's economies, which rely heavily on tourism.

THAKSIN SHINAWATRA, THAI PRIME MINISTER: In the beginning, this type of disease is unknown, so we - we - rather do too much than too little. That's normal. MINTIER: Before the unusual summit, Thailand and China's leaders agreed to set up a fund of more than one million U.S. dollars to study SARS and other diseases of the region, and to pre-screen for SARS for travelers to both countries.

The Chinese may be the focal point of this meeting. Not only as one of Asian's largest trading partners, but potentially also the largest threat of SARS transmission to the region.

SHINAWATRA: The fear of SARS is worse than SARS itself. To reduce fear, we need to improve public awareness and understanding of the reality of SARS.

MINTIER: SARS has now spread to some 20 countries, but China has the most infections, more than 3,000, with more than 200 new cases already reported this week and nearly half of those in Beijing.

Nine nations have reported fatalities from SARS according to the world health Organization, or WHO.

That group has announced that the spread of SARS has been contained in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, and Canada, but continues to spread in China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That was CNN's Tom Mintier from Bangkok.

Now while the mood in Bangkok was somber, there was celebration in Canada, after the WHO dropped its travel warning on Toronto. Now comes the really hard work of winning back the confidence of the travelers themselves.

That story from Ravi Bachwal of CTV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. GRO HARLEM BRUNTLAND, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We will be lifting the travel advice UNINTELLIGIBLE effective tomorrow.

RAVI BACHWAL, CTV: The soothing balm of that decision has Canadians and their leaders breathing easier.

BRUNTLAND: It has been now twenty days since the last cases of UNINTELLIGIBLE and there are no new confirmed cases out of Toronto or Canada.

BACHWAL: Ontario officials pressed the WHO's top brass in Geneva with evidence that the SARS outbreak here is under control while other officials took the same message to the United States Senate.

The WHO says it wants more screening for passengers with SARS symptoms at Canada's airports.

And, Canadian officials say that's coming. The U.N. bodies' decision came on a day that started with breakfast for three men accused of not doing enough to lead Canada's largest city out of the SARS swamp.

The prime minister, the premier of Ontario, and Toronto's mayor discussed multimillion-dollar marketing programs designed to resurrect the city's image.

And, while Ottawa was not willing to fork out money like it did for other disasters, the prime minister is waiving the waiting period for EI coverage for those affected by SARS and extended special coverage for part-time and self-employed health workers.

Ontario's premier says there's only one message now.

ERNIE EVES, ONTARIO PREMIER: As premier I have one message to the world. Come to Toronto, you're welcome here, we are open for business.

BACHWAL: Before the WHO's lifting of the Toronto advisory, the country's biggest airline launched "Canada Loves Toronto" discounts to encourage visits over the coming Victoria Day long weekend.

Special live theatre promotions are also in the works, and, the Toronto Bluejays have used a buck-a-ticket promotion to sell out Skydome.

The WHO says Toronto must remain vigilant about SARS, but, with the threat of community spread diminished, you're likely to see more of this and less of this.

Ravi Bachwal, Toronto.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well medical mysteries are a bit like crime stories, there's a lot of profiling that goes on and that is true in the mystery of SARS as well.

Investigators looking at who is getting it, where they live, what they do, are they connected to each other. And the profiles of some of the earliest victims in the southern - southern China - brought an intriguing clue.

An unusually high percentage of them were in the food business. Now at a place where food is a pretty inclusive term as judged by the tame standards of the West.

Here's CNN's Andrew Brown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW BROWN, CNN: In the spring of 1918, during the First World War, a new strain of influenza claimed its first victims.

Eventually the global death toll from what became known as Spanish Flu climbed to between 20 and 40 million. Some experts speculate the Spanish Flu pandemic actually originated in China and fear history may be repeating itself. Scientists believe SARS may also have originated in China and speculate the virus that causes it is somehow transmitted to humans from exotic animals, sold at markets like this one in the provincial capital of Guanjo (ph).

LO WING LOX, MEDICAL COUNCIL OF HONG KONG: They are speculations that it is because of the eating habits of some of the Guangdong people, they like to eat specialties animals, wild animals, because of that there is a market so people will go out to the countryside to catch this wild animal and when they - when they process the animal, when they slaughter the animal, when they caught the animal, these people would come into contact with the animal and their virus.'

BROWN: Even in Hong Kong, where the hygiene standards are much better than those in Mainland China, markets that sell live animals have been the source of some infections.

In 1997, H5N1 virus, Avian flu that had previously only been found in birds, infected 18 people, including workers at the local markets.

The virus, which originated in southern China, killed six people, and the government in Hong Kong, ordered a slaughter of all of the cities chickens to stop the spread of Avian flu.

On that occasion, official managed to limit the outbreak within Hong Kong. Unlike the SARS virus which has spread so far so fast.

Analysts' say what happens in a crowded market on one side of the world continues to pose a real threat to people thousands of kilometers away.

MICHAEL DEGOLYER, BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: Literally within less than 24 hours, within less than one day, you can take a person who is exposed to one of these - these - the petri dish market in Quanjo (ph) - and they can be standing in New York.

BROWN: Which means hunting down the origin of SARS and other contagious diseases has become a global priority.

Andrew Brown, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: When NEWSNIGHT continues in a moment with the story of homecomings from war that cannot be celebrated in the open. We're going to tell you why when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well today in Saudi Arabia Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the United States is going to move the vast majority of its forces out of the kingdom.

Not because they're not wanted, as the Pentagon is quick to point out, though some may disagree, but because they're no longer needed. That's what he says. Here's CNN's Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN: For the twelve years U.S. warplanes patrolled Iraq's no fly zones, the U.S. maintained an average of 20,000 troops in the Persian Gulf region at a cost of more than a billion dollars a year.

That included keeping at least one aircraft carrier in the Gulf at all times, and stashing equipment for a full Army division at forward bases in case Iraq moved against Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.

With Iraq now defeated, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told U.S. troops at the Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia their job is done.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Now that the Iraqi regime has changed, we're able to discontinue Operation Northern Watch and Operation Southern Watch and those forces will be able to be moved to other assignments and other requirements around the world.

MCINTYRE: The U.S. has already recalled from Turkey the planes that patrolled Iraq's northern no-fly zone and will bring back planes from Saudi Arabia that patrolled the south by the end of the summer.

The moves will lower the U.S. profile in two countries with anti- American sentiment, but won't necessarily lessen the U.S. footprint.

RUMSFELD: There are an awful lot of countries in the region where a lot of money has been spent in neighboring countries where we have excellent facilities, excellent cooperation, and its not as though we need additional bases out in that area.

MCINTYRE: With Turkey and Saudi Arabia out of the picture, the U.S. will rely more on Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, as well as an aircraft carrier in the Gulf, sources say.

And while Pentagon officials insist there are no plans for permanent bases in Iraq, the U.S. will have the use of the bases for the next two or three years at least.

In fact, some critics believe the U.S. won't ever give up its bases in Iraq.

PHYLLIS BENNIS, INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES: It helps to keep the threat on countries that may disagree with the U.S. like Syria, like Iran - it keeps pressure on Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies that are under enormous pressure at home to oppose at least some of what the United States is doing in the region.

MCINTYRE: Currently, there are 135,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, a number that will likely grow until other countries contribute peacekeepers or until Iraqi forces can take over. And keeping the peace is costing the U.S. two billion dollars a month by the Pentagon's own estimate. So, reducing by roughly 5,000 the number of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and saving maybe a billion or so in related costs pales in comparison to what the U.S. will keep in the region in the years to come. Any savings, one Pentagon official says, will be on the margins.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: The latest now in our series of still lifes from Iraq. Still photographers capturing images of a war and its aftermath.

Tonight, a look at one mission a few weeks back of the three six nine task force, part of the Army's Third Infantry Division. What they found on this mission was an enemy right under foot, literally land mines and a lot of them.

Jack Gruber shooting for "USA TODAY" captured the moment.

JACK GRUBER, USA TODAY: Everyone mounted up and started driving, and suddenly just a few kilometers from the airport right before dark they ran into this massive minefield that went for 1400 meters with countless number of mines on the road that had just appeared.

No one had seen them throw these mines down. So, it became a whole another mission just to clear the road. They went in, pushed them off to the side, got everybody through. Then they came back and picked them all up.

These guys, they were walking down the road just like they were picking strawberries and they dug a big hole and placed most of the mines into a hole and took 1800 pounds of C-4 and wrapped the C-4 around all these mines and then pushed everybody back and they detonated the C-4.

My name is Jack Gruber and I'm a photographer with "USA TODAY." Been over in Iraq for the last few weeks covering the conflict with Armored Task Force 369. They just moved downtown Baghdad to protect the Marines.

Their job was to get to Baghdad and take Baghdad. It's a tough transition. They aren't peacekeepers; they're soldiers that were basically told to go fight and fight it out hard and get your objective.

Once they did that, they were asked to go become peacekeepers. It's basically a call with all the names of the Iraqi dead from prior conflicts inscribed on the wall, all the way around this large underground pavilion. And, this task force has taken up occupancy there and it's where they've based their headquarters.

That picture is actually a soldier on Easter Sunday and this young man wasn't taking part in the Mass. He was there to drive someone after the service to another location, but the service began to sing "Amazing Grace," and this soldier started listening to the words and he was kind of overwhelmed by it.

People are just desperately doing whatever they can to get the attention of someone and get in the right place at the right time to finally get a job.

This is outside the Hall of Martyrs at a checkpoint. Civil Affairs were putting the word out that they needed to find people who they can provide jobs.

And, initially they were supposed to have six or seven of the locals come. Word got out and at 8 a.m. in the morning there's just loads of people standing out by the wire with papers, ID cards, employment cards, and the women made it through the wire and they're waiting to go up to the main area and they were flirting with a lot of these soldiers.

They're showing up with Bradley's, with tanks, but jumping off, getting out, walking up to these people that are poking out of their windows, their gates, coming out, unsure of what's going on. They call it setting up their neighborhoods.

Each company had a specific area, a grid, a neighborhood and their task was to go out into these neighborhoods and meet and greet people, get to know the community leaders, the people there, find their concerns, find their wishes, find anything that could be possibly beneficial for the people. They would offer everything, tea, food, whatever they had.

This one little boy was so excited. He went in and got a bottle of water and he had a little Garfield coffee mug and proudly walked up to each soldier who was on guard and offered them a little bit of water. He was just so happy, he was so proud of himself, and all the soldiers just made him feel so good and I really think that kid will forever have that etched into his mind.

COOPER: Jack Gruber, "USA TODAY."

Our next story deals with the kind of war - the kind of war wound -- I should say, that is beyond the reach of medicine. It doesn't involve bullets or shrapnel or poison gas.

The pain comes from fighting for other people's freedom while feeling less than free yourself.

African-Americans knew it when they returned from the Second World War. Now another time, another homecoming for the same old ache.

Here's CNN's Frank Buckley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: There is little that matches the emotion of a warrior's homecoming. But for gay and lesbian veterans of war, and their partners, it is a moment denied. "KEN," AIR FORCE NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER: I'd like to celebrate the victories, or our victory with the ones that I care about and the ones that I fought for.

"BRIAN," KEN'S PARTNER: You know the restraint it takes to not just run over and put your arms around somebody who's been - you know - in combat for all those months?

BUCKLEY: This couple spoke to us on the condition we wouldn't reveal their identities because Ken, as we are calling him, is still serving in the Air Force as a non-commissioned officer.

If his identity is revealed, he will be discharged from the Air Force under the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. But Ken is speaking to CNN because he believes the policy should change.

KEN: If I put my life on the line to go over there and defend freedom for another country, I need to do this for my comrades in arms right here in the United States.

BUCKLEY: While the family members of service men and women who are not gay receive support and benefits in wartime, same sex partners do not. And if Ken is killed in combat, Brian will not be entitled to the dignity of hearing it first from a military chaplain.

KEN: Unfortunately, if the unthinkable should happen, and I don't come home, my partner is going to find out by, probably, a CNN correspondent.

BUCKLEY: The issue is getting increased attention in gay- oriented publications like "The Advocate" and in mainstream newspapers like "The Los Angeles Times."

Some are hopeful that it will spark a new debate over don't ask, don't tell.

DIXON OSBURN, SERVICE MEMBERS DEFENSE NETWORK: Congress is farther behind on this issue than the American people are. And the American people would support Congress in repealing the policy. The question is whether or not there will be that political will.

BUCKLEY: The U.S. military would not be alone if it decided to allow openly gay and lesbian soldiers to serve.

Aaron Belkin, the director of U.C. Santa Barbara's Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military says the militaries of twenty-four other nations have done so, including the U.S.'s main coalition partner, the British.

AARON BELKIN, PROFESSOR, U.C. SANTA BARBARA: The fact that we're fighting right next to British service members who are openly gay and lesbian shows again that lifting of a gay ban does not undermine military performance.

BUCKLEY: For now, though, don't ask, don't tell is the law. And a Defense Department official tells CNN there are no plans to change or modify the policy.

Frank Buckley CNN Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, the day the laughter died, or should we say, the day the maker of the laugh track died? The story of the man who made us sound like we were laughing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: So you know how laughter is. You hear other people doing it; you start doing it, too. You sit there in the audience at a movie or a play, a gurgle starts, a chuckle, a guffaw, and next thing you know you're laughing as well.

It's like the wave at a ballgame. But, if you're all alone at home staring at the tube, how is the wave going to get started? Well, that's where Charles Roland Douglass came in. He died a few weeks ago at 93 while the war was taking up so much of our time that we didn't even have the chance to tip our hats to him.

And we should because Charles Roland Douglass may have made more people laugh that any other human being in history.

No, he wasn't a comedian; he was a comedian's best friend. Charles Roland Douglass, inventor of the laugh box. That's laff with two Fs. These things matter, you know.

No doubt you've heard it. We've all heard it since the early 1950s. When Douglass, then a CBS technician wired up the first machine. He was a pioneer.

Audiences may have loved Lucy, but even comic masters need help. Sweetening they call it. Generations of us have laughed along with the laugh box. That was the idea, anyway. Laugh and the world laughs with you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARCHIE BUNKER, ALL IN THE FAMILY: Let me tell you something, Mr. Stivich (ph), you are a meathead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Critics have said it's overused and there's little denying that. What producer can resist a machine that laughs even if the material isn't funny? No need to work the room if you know how to work the machine.

ROBERT DOUGLASS, SON: On the left side of the screen would be very small laughs and we're going over the top with very - you know - boisterous and explosive laughs. And to the right of the machine or the right of the keyboard would be longer laughs and end over applause and oohs and ahhs, tears, whistles, anything, you name it, that's how it works. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOMER SIMPSON, THE SIMPSON'S: Take that, ha, ha, ha.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: These days, the laugh track seems a little out of fashion. The cutting edge sitcoms wouldn't dare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey what's new, oh really, that's good, that's great, you guys really deserve it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: But plenty of shows still rely on Charles Douglass' gizmos. Fifty years of jumpstarting amusement is no small thing.

DOUGLASS: This was a great man and he'll live on. As a friend of mine wrote, said, that heaven was a little short of laughter so that's why they called Charles to come up there and sweeten it up.

COOPER: Thanks for the laughs, Mr. Douglass.

That's it for NEWSNIGHT. Aaron Brown will be back tomorrow night. Thanks for watching, goodnight.

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

Prime Minister Pledges Fight Against Terror>

Aired April 29, 2003 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: We used to think that the guy with the toughest job in the Middle East was retired general Jay Garner. He, of course, is the American charged with bringing democracy and stability to Iraq.
But someone else is a close second. His name is Abu Mazen, and today he was confirmed as the first Palestinian prime minister. Just hours after saying, quote, "We reject terrorism by any party and in all forms," terror struck in Tel Aviv.

Abu Mazen has to fight to carve out a nation with the Israelis and, at the same time, fight the enemies of peace among his own people.

We're going to talk with the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. in just a moment.

But, of course, it is that terror attack in Tel Aviv that leads off the whip tonight.

Jerrold Kessel is there. Jerrold, the headline.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, three people killed by the suicide bomber, more than 50 wounded, several in critical condition or serious condition, in this latest terror outrage in an Israeli city, there on the Tel Aviv promenade right next to the beachfront.

And this, as you say, only hours after the new Palestinian prime minister, Abu Mazen, declared that terror was not acceptable to him. It was, indeed, morally reprehensible, he said, and he would seek to deal with it, Anderson.

COOPER: A lot more on that story in a moment.

The White House reacted swiftly to word of more terror in Israel.

CNN senior White House correspondent John King is on that for us. John, the headline.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, the White House saying this attack sadly as predictable as it is tragic. The Bush administration will press ahead in the days ahead with its road map for peace in the Middle East, but some senior officials believe Abu Mazen, that new Palestinian prime minister, is being tested. They view the bombing tonight perhaps as a signal to him. COOPER: And an ugly incident in Iraq, exactly the kind of thing the U.S. did not want to have happen.

Karl Penhaul is covering that story from Baghdad tonight. Karl, the headline.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, 15 Iraqi civilians killed, more than 50 others wounded, as U.S. soldiers opened fire on a group of demonstrators in central Iraq. They were marching to a school to call for the U.S. troops to leave that school, so that school classes could restart for the pupils and teachers in their neighborhood, Anderson.

COOPER: All right, we'll look into that.

Back to the U.S. now. A very big development in the case of a little boy lost, lost literally for years.

Gary Tuchman is following that story from Roseboro, North Carolina. Gary, the headline.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, two and a half years ago, a 4-year-old boy wandered out of his house and never came back, to the horror of his family. But tonight, he might -- and we emphasize might -- be in a foster home in Illinois, Anderson.

COOPER: It's hard to imagine. We'll be right back with that.

Also a lot coming else -- coming up on NEWSNIGHT. He risked his life to help save an American prisoner of war. Now the U.S. is offering more than thanks to the Iraqi lawyer known only as Mohammed. Kelli Arena has that for us tonight.

And the latest on SARS. There was celebration today in Toronto after a travel warning was lifted. But in China, SARS continues to infect, continues to kill. More from a summit in Bangkok of Asian leaders.

We start things off in Tel Aviv, tonight the scene of carnage at the end of a day that began with such great promise. So at the end of the day, there's a new Palestinian government in place, one that says it wants to end the violence. And then there's the violence.

We turn once again to CNN's Jerrold Kessel in Tel Aviv.

KESSEL: Anderson, this morning Abu Mazen was indeed throwing down the gauntlet to the Palestinian militant groups, and perhaps this was their throwing down the gauntlet back at him. Because just after 1:00 a.m. in the morning here, crowded time even on -- even at that late hour on the Tel Aviv promenade, the terror struck.

Suicide bomber walking up to the place behind me. That's Mike's Place, they call it, where they play live blues in the evening. And stopped by the security guard just outside. And that, perhaps, saved many lives, because it was a crowded blues evening that was inside Mike's Place. And there'll be a lot of those political implications to be drawn out of this attack, as we try to understand who might have carried it out, who might be throwing down that gauntlet. But then, of course, there is also the human element.

And we're joined here now by Elie Barel, who's the proprietor of the next-door bar, cafe bar, to the one that was hit tonight.

Hi, Elie.

ELIE BAREL, EYEWITNESS: Hello.

KESSEL: Tell us what happened.

BAREL: I was sitting with customers on the terrace of my place. Suddenly, one car of the police arrive (UNINTELLIGIBLE) front my place. When the police car arrive, the explosion happen. And I think it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the terrorist when he see the car policeman arrive, so he explodes.

And then I run with some workers of my place, and we try to help the people to come outside. There was everybody was panic, shouting, crying. And then all the security and the police come in this place.

KESSEL: It's not the first time that there's been such an attack right here. In fact, right near this bar, another terror suspect was caught, a bomber was caught red-handed.

BAREL: This is the second time...

KESSEL: Are you worried?

BAREL: ... that it's happened. The first time, we were lucky, the security from the embassy catch the first one without the bombing, right here in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) light. And then this time, it's happened.

KESSEL: You know, today the new Palestinian prime minister took over. He pledged he would act against terror. Do you have any hope that this may end the bombings?

BAREL: We have all the time hope, but we don't see anything change. The proof, it's again tonight. The proof, it's tonight again, young guys come to the nightclub to -- for a couple hours, and they lose his life. So how many chance we can give? How many? We don't know how many chance.

KESSEL: OK, thanks very much.

BAREL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

KESSEL: Eli Barel, one of the eyewitnesses...

BAREL: Thank you.

KESSEL: ... the proprietor of the next-door cafe to Mike's Place, which was hit tonight by the suicide bomber.

But still there is hope that perhaps something has changed with that new Palestinian government in place now. But there are clearly others who want to make sure nothing is going to change, Anderson.

COOPER: Jerrold, has any group publicly claimed credit, if that's the right word, for this attack?

KESSEL: No, we haven't had any claim of responsibility. Now, through the two and a half years of bombings, the -- periodically, the different militant groups do claim responsibility. But there are other occasions when they keep the investigators in the dark, and they don't claim responsibility.

Be very interesting to see if they come out and say openly that they are really challenging and replying to that gauntlet thrown down by Abu Mazen today. It will be very interesting to see in the next day or so whether there is a claim of responsibility.

But having said that, it should be said that the militant Islamic groups at least, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, say they don't accept this new government, and they will go on battling against Israel until the Israeli occupation is ended.

COOPER: All right. Jerrold Kessel, live in Tel Aviv. Thanks very much.

The U.S. has found that waiting for a peaceful moment to unveil a peace plan, well, simply means waiting forever, so the Bush administration says it isn't waiting any longer.

John King has the details.

KING: Anderson, this is hardly the first time a glimmer of hope in the Middle East quickly followed by deadly violence. As you noted, the Bush administration says it will go forward with its Middle East peace initiative. But tonight, officials here also saying they view this as an immediate test of Abu Mazen, the new Palestinian prime minister.

One senior official put it this way. He said, quote, "There's a good chance it was a signal to him. It is a reminder of how difficult the challenge going to be."

The official White House reaction came from the press secretary, Ari Fleischer, who told CNN, quote, "The White House condemns this homicide bombing in the strongest terms. This attack is obviously designed to harm the peace process. We will press forward with our efforts to get the parties back to the path to peace."

Now, that effort will begin intensely in the next 24 to 48 hours. The road map, the actual document, prepared in December, not published until now, will be delivered to the Palestinians and the Israelis, if not tomorrow, by Thursday at the latest.

Then Secretary of State Powell will travel to the region. Both he and President Bush also will make public statements urging the Palestinians and the Israelis to get back into a peace process.

White house officials say, of course, one demand in the road map immediately is that the Palestinians improve security, reform their security forces. That is one key demand that they will look to see Abu Mazen make immediately in the days ahead.

The White House is quite optimistic. They believe the Palestinians now have a leader committed to peace. Mr. Bush would not put this document out there until Yasser Arafat was shoved to the sidelines, if you will.

But again, White House officials tonight telling us this bombing immediately underscores the challenge. Abu Mazen has to have a partner in the United States. Many Palestinians are skeptical about that. He has to try to revive a process with Israel. Many Palestinians are outright opposed to that.

And many think the bombing tonight might have been a direct reaction to his speech earlier today in which Abu Mazen promised that terror would come to the end, Anderson.

COOPER: John, does it seem that White House officials really believe that Abu Mazen does have the power to stop these kind of bombings? So many in the administration had wanted Arafat sidelined. Do they think he is?

KING: On paper, he has the power. The White House says the test now is delivering and exercising that power. They like Abu Mazen here, they like his choice for a security chief. But they do understand that he faces immediate tests.

And they understand that he has a very strained relationship with Yasser Arafat. There was a power struggle about how much power the new prime minister would have. And so if Abu Mazen moves immediately to crack down on Hamas, to crack down on Islamic Jihad, the question, then, is, will Yasser Arafat and those close to him try to undermine the new Palestinian prime minister?

The Bush White House take on it is, is that Abu Mazen has no choice but to act, but they also understand the political situation could not be more delicate.

COOPER: That is certainly true. John King, thanks very much, at the White House.

The bombing, of course, made today's confirmation of Abu Mazen ring somewhat hollow, to say the least, which is perhaps what the bomber was trying to do. At the very least, it underscores the peril that goes with Abu Mazen's promise to his people today.

Here is CNN's Kelly Wallace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A show of hands ushers in the historic moment. By a vote of 51 to 18 in the Palestinian parliament, Mahmoud Abbas, widely known here as Abu Mazen, becomes the first ever prime minister and receives approval of his 24- member cabinet.

He is a man who has long argued the armed struggle against Israel has not helped the Palestinian cause. And in his first major speech, he says a political, not a military, solution is the only way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

ABU MAZEN, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We reject terrorism from any party and in all its forms.

WALLACE: The Palestinian prime minister also drew a line in the sand for radical Palestinian groups responsible for attacks against Israel. Weapons, he said, will only be allowed to protect Palestinian security.

MAZEN (through translator): Ending the disorder and chaos of arms with the threats that are imposed on the country will be one of our main tasks. And we will not be lenient at all.

WALLACE: But in a sign of the immense challenges Abu Mazen faces, radical Palestinian groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad say they will not disarm until the Israeli occupation comes to an end.

Another challenge, whether Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, whose reluctance to give up control to Abu Mazen led to a standoff last week, will try to assert power behind the scenes. On this day, the man who has been the center of Palestinian affairs for decades found himself turning the spotlight over to his longtime number two.

YASSIR ARAFAT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): ... call on you to grant confidence to the new cabinet led by my brother and my comrade, Abu Mazen.

WALLACE: Israelis say they are taking a wait-and-see approach.

RA'ANAN GISSIN, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: The extent to which he is going to perform those necessary steps in order to stop terrorism, in order to stop incitement, that is the critical thing. That is what we're waiting to see.

WALLACE (on camera): But the United States, European Union, U.N., and Russia, the group making up the so-called Mideast Quartet, is already taking steps, convening a meeting Tuesday evening, sources say, determining that the road map for Middle East peace could be presented to the Israelis and to the Palestinians in the next 24 to 36 hours.

(voice-over): But both sides are now asking this question, whether the road map will ultimately map the road to peace.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, Ramallah, on the West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, coming up on NEWSNIGHT, we're going to talk to Israel's ambassador to the U.S.

And we're also going to look at the story about trouble outside of Baghdad as U.S. troops fire on a crowd of Iraqis. We'll have the latest on the fight in Fallujah.

Also coming up, the Iraqi who helped save Private Jessica Lynch gets a new home in the U.S. and maybe even a new job.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: With us now in Washington at the end of a very trying day is Daniel Ayalon, Israel's ambassador to the United States.

Ambassador Ayalon, thanks for being with us.

AMB. DANIEL AYALON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Good evening.

COOPER: Earlier today, Abu Mazen said, quote, "We reject terrorism in all its forms." Hours later, a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv. Do you trust Abu Mazen?

AYALON: Well, the taste is in the pudding, Anderson. So far, he talks the talk. Now we'll see if he walks the walk. And he has a major challenge. And it's his first test. Now, if he rises up to the challenge, if he makes good on the commitments and the expectations, then we are on a road to negotiations and hopefully peace.

We are, in Israel, willing to make painful concessions, like we have done in the past. And when we had a true partner, like Sadat of Egypt, or late King Hussein of Jordan, we made peace.

This is what we expect from the Palestinians. The reason you hope, it's a positive step in the right direction. But we'll have to see how he acts. And he has -- must take concrete steps. It's not just a matter of statements that he makes. He has to really arrest, he has to dismantle the infrastructure of terror. He has to stop the incitement, which he can do right away. And this will be his test.

COOPER: There are those who say, though, he is obviously in a very delicate position. If he moves too quickly, makes too many arrests, he loses support among his own people. Are you sympathetic to that?

AYALON: Well, Anderson, how can you be sympathetic? How quickly do you have to move to stop the killing of innocent people, mainly children, like the three people who were killed today just going to have beer in a cafe? And 55 were injured. And we are not done with counting the toll.

How quickly do you have to move for that? There must be a clear stop and end to the terror. And it's within his power to do it.

COOPER: Let me ask you... AYALON: It's just a matter of political will to employ.

COOPER: ... Saeb Erekat, Palestinian negotiator, today after the bombing said that this, the bombing is an indication that the road map to peace must be implemented more than ever. Is it an indication of that to you, or is it an indication that the region is not ready for the road map to peace until these bombings stop?

AYALON: No, it's an indication that the -- not the talks. What counts is, you know, what you do. And it's high time for them to stop the terror. And it's within their power to do it. It's just a matter of political will. And there is no coexistence with terror organizations like Islamic Jihad or Hamas or al Qaeda or Hezbollah or all the rest of the Palestinian terror organizations.

It's a matter of political will. And you have to simply crush them and dismantle them. It may not be easy, but it's doable. And this is the first test of Abu Mazen. And we would very much like to embark on the road to peace, and we are very much supportive of the president's speech of 24th of June, with his vision for peace.

We are willing to make, as I mentioned, very painful concessions. But we cannot be in a situation whereby we talk during the day, and they kill us at night. This cannot be.

COOPER: Yes, part of the road map for peace, the concessions that you are expected to make, at least in this first round, stopping the seizure of Palestinian property, stopping some of the economic -- the travel restrictions, as well as the other economic restrictions on Palestinians.

Are you prepared to make those moves without a guarantee of stopping of bombing, stopping of terrorist attacks, or do you have to see movement on Abu Mazen's part before you are willing to make any moves?

AYALON: Well, Anderson, we have had a longtime policy of Prime Minister Sharon and his government of making a clear distinction between the population of the Palestinians, innocent populations, and the terrorists.

Sometimes you have to make some steps and stop the terror. It's not very easy. But to the extent possible, we are making -- trying to make the life as easy as possible. We have been transferring money to them, $25 million a day -- I mean, a month. And we would like to make as relief measures as possible, of course, without breaching security.

An event, this terrorist event of tonight, of course, doesn't help.

COOPER: All right. Ambassador Daniel Ayalon, appreciate you joining us tonight. I know it's been a very difficult and a very busy day for you. Appreciate it, taking the time.

AYALON: Thank you.

COOPER: Thank you.

Iraq now. Something terrible happened last night between demonstrators and members of the 82nd Airborne in a town west of Baghdad. That much we know. Beyond that, the facts are hotly disputed. For a fact, there was a demonstration. For a fact, there was gunfire. And for a fact, today there were funerals.

The story as we know it from CNN's Karl Penhaul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraqi families bury their relatives, killed when U.S. soldiers opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators outside a school in Fallujah. The wounded fill the hospital of this city just west of Baghdad.

This man, Muthanna Salim, says he was trying to close his front gate when gunfire erupted around the elementary school opposite his home.

"The Americans fired at me and cut my foot. My brother came out to carry me, but he was shot dead," he says. "My other brother took the car out to rescue me, but he was also wounded." His wife and mother were also wounded.

Some 250 protesters had marched on this school after dark Monday. Their demands, that U.S. troops camped out here should withdraw to allow pupils and teachers to return to class now that war is over.

Lessons were halted here when the war began. U.S. troops said the empty building provided an ideal base from which to police and secure the surrounding neighborhoods.

The demonstrators admit they threw rocks, but U.S. soldiers said some in the crowd opened fire first with Kalashnikov assault rifles.

SGT. SARGON MACKSUD, U.S. ARMY SNIPER SCOUT: I just shot at what I saw, and what I saw was targets, targets with weapons that were going to harm me. It's either them or me, and I took the shot, sir.

PENHAUL: The U.S. soldiers say they returned fire with sniper rifles, assault rifles, and machine guns.

This taxi was caught in the shooting. Neighboring houses were hit by heavy-caliber machine guns.

(on camera): U.S. Army commanders have announced there will be an investigation into the deaths. That's unlikely to calm tempers here in Fallujah or elsewhere in Iraq, where calls are growing for coalition forces to leave.

(voice-over): Angry residents staged impromptu protests at the deaths, chanting "No to America," "Murderers," and "Down with President Bush."

Raid al-Kateeb lost his cousin in the shootout. He says they weren't even taking part in the protest. "Since this whole matter started," he says, "it was clear that the Americans were a force of occupation."

As night fell, troops of the 82nd Airborne Division bowed to the locals' demands. They climbed aboard trucks and Humvees and pulled out.

No goodbyes, just jeers and insults from the crowd, leaving residents to take back their school to cries of "Allah akhbar (ph)," God is great.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: The International Committee of the Red Cross has confirmed to us that 15 Iraqi civilians died in that shooting. More than 50 others were wounded. Of course, as you see, the U.S. troops have removed the potential flashpoint by now withdrawing from that school. They've withdrawn to other points around the city of Fallujah.

But in many senses, the damage is already done. This incident seems sure to fuel the protests from those sectors of Iraqi society that are now calling on coalition forces to leave the country, saying that their job is done, and that now the Iraqi people should be left alone to decide their own future, Anderson.

COOPER: You know, Karl, we have heard so much about the rumor mill in Baghdad and really throughout Iraq. Has word of what happened in Fallujah reached Baghdad? And what are people saying about did?

PENHAUL: Yes, rumor has reached Baghdad. It's difficult at this stage to judge exactly what the mood is as a result of that. As you say, most people at this stage in Iraq, within Iraq, are getting their information from rumors. Those rumors, as you can imagine, are expanded and run like wildfire.

That's probably because the Iraqi media hasn't recovered after the war. There really is no national media service with a national coverage, and this is what allows rumors to run wild here, Anderson.

COOPER: And is there any U.S. investigation planned, or is the U.S. soldiers on the ground -- do they feel comfortable with what happened?

PENHAUL: The U.S. Army has said that, yes, there will be an investigation into the incident to see what's happened. The soldiers that I spoke to today obviously were not comfortable with the fact that civilians had died and had been wounded.

They were very convinced in their minds that they had done the right thing. They did seem convinced that some of the demonstrators had opened fire on them first with Kalishnikov assault rifles, and say that that's what motivated them to open fire, Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Karl Penhaul in Baghdad. Thanks very much. The Bush administration made Iraqi ties to al Qaeda, of course, a central point in its case for going to war in the first place. Some worried it was a stretch. But now the documents and a number of Iraqi leaders have fallen into American hands.

Well, the case is looking stronger. And tonight, interrogators have someone new to question.

Here is CNN's David Ensor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, let's go. Hey, guys, get up. Go that way, right there.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senior administration officials say U.S. forces in Iraq have captured a member of an al Qaeda-affiliated terror group operating in that country.

Sources say the individual, who they did not name, is a member of a group operating in the west of Baghdad under the leadership of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian believed by the U.S. to have been the mastermind of the assassination of American diplomat Laurence Foley in Amman last October, and to have plotted additional unconventional attacks.

Zarqawi was said to have received medical treatment, a leg amputation, in Baghdad in spring of 2002 after being injured in Afghanistan during the war.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some al Qaeda leaders who fled Afghanistan went to Iraq. These include one very senior al Qaeda leader, who received medical treatment in Baghdad this year, and who has been associated with planning for chemical and biological attacks.

ENSOR: At the United Nations in February, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the fact that Zarqawi's al Qaeda-affiliated group of what he called nearly two dozen extremists was allowed to operate in Baghdad was evidence of ties between al Qaeda and Iraq.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: These al Qaeda affiliates based in Baghdad now coordinate the movement of people, money, and supplies into and throughout Iraq for his network, and they've now been operating freely in the capital for more than eight months.

ENSOR: The capture comes just days after the U.S. got its hands on a former senior Iraqi intelligence officer, Farouk Hijazi, who, officials say, may have met with al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan in 1998, possibly including Osama bin Laden.

(on camera): Officials say they do not know yet whether the newly captured Zarqawi associate had any connections with the government of Iraq. That will be question number one, officials said, as the interrogation of the new prisoner gets under way. U.S. officials want to uncover the exact nature of the relationship between Saddam Hussein's regime and al Qaeda.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: A hero's story now. Until today, the highlight of it was the rescue and the return of Private Jessica Lynch. Well, now we can tell you about the Iraqi man who helped save her, who he is, and, more importantly, where he is.

CNN's Kelli Arena reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. officials say it was an act of sheer bravery that led U.S. forces to former POW Army Private Jessica Lynch. After spotting her in a hospital in Nasiriyah, an Iraqi lawyer known to the world only as Mohammed risked his life to get word to U.S. Marines. A hero in the United States, Mohammed feared for his life. He's seen here with his face obscured under U.S. protection in Iraq.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says Mohammed al-Rehaief is now in the United States with his wife and 6-year-old daughter. All have been granted asylum.

TOM RIDGE, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Everyone felt it appropriate, inasmuch as he liberated one of the liberators, you know, that we could not only send a signal to Iraq, but the rest of the world, that that is the very extraordinary thing to do, and America appreciates his courage.

ARENA: Not only has been offered asylum, but he's also been offered a job by a D.C. lobbying firm led by former House Republican leader Bob Livingston.

MOHAMMED AL-REHAIEF (on phone): Hello?

ROBERT LIVINGSTON, LOBBYIST (on phone): Hello. Mohammed, I've got the cameras right here, and I just wanted to make sure that you're going to stay down there for a while.

ARENA: Because there is still some concern for Mohammed's safety, his new friends are keeping him out of the spotlight and giving him time to adjust.

LIVINGSTON: This adjustment will entail English language training, although he speaks surprisingly good English, potential professional licensing arrangements, he is an attorney, and his wife is a nurse.

ARENA: Sources tell CNN Mohammed is also recovering from an eye injury sustained during Lynch's rescue and will undergo surgery soon.

(on camera): Lynch too is still recovering at an Army hospital in Washington. Mohammed has plans to soon reunite with the young woman that he risked his life for.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Still a lot to come on NEWSNIGHT. The latest headlines, and an update on SARS, as Asian nations meet to map a strategy to contain the virus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Still to come on NEWSNIGHT: the latest on SARS from U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We're going to be talking later on tonight about a summit meeting that's being held in Thailand to discuss the subject of sudden acute respiratory syndrome, SARS.

Now, clearly, leaders in that part of the world need to talk about SARS. On the other hand, what with jet planes and the global economy, Asia isn't as far from this country as it used to be. So how should Americans be reacting to all the talk about SARS?

We're joined now in Washington by the surgeon general of the United States, Dr. Richard Carmona.

Dr. Carmona, thanks very much for being with us here.

Is enough, in your opinion, being done to prevent the spread of SARS in the U.S.?

DR. RICHARD CARMONA, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Oh, absolutely. I think the public health response that the country has seen is unprecedented in history, in the amount of resources we brought to bear on this problem, as well the timeliness of the response.

COOPER: But do you think the country is really ready for SARS? And I ask that because, when you look at what happened in Toronto, they have a first-rate health care system. They have good hospitals. And yet, in the early days, this thing got away from them in some of the hospitals.

CARMONA: Yes, it did. They had some problems.

But, on the other hand, from the United States' standpoint, I think that we have dealt with this problem very effectively, and not only for the United States, but with all our partners internationally, to assist those countries that needed further assistance, that don't have the resources we have, as well as to share the information we had to protect the borders around us.

COOPER: The cases in the United States, how have most of those people been infected? CARMONA: Well, most of those people actually have been quite mild, as far as their infections go. And they have been infected much like with a common cold, so that there really has not been any serious concern about how -- if you will, how virulent this infection was in those people.

COOPER: But are the people here being -- they're not being quarantined, though. They're just being isolated.

CARMONA: Yes, we're not exercising any quarantine whatsoever. When we have people that are ill, they deal with their primary-care providers and receive instructions. People who may have been exposed, there are plenty of instructions that are given to them as to how to access the health care system immediately. And all of this has worked very effectively, without curtailing movement for anybody who is not affected.

COOPER: In the countries where SARS seems to have peaked, that WHO today said Singapore has been dealing with it effectively, as well as Vietnam, Hong Kong. They are using quarantine, though. Do you see a time when quarantine might be necessary here in the U.S.?

CARMONA: Well, certainly, we have that option when and if there is a very serious problem. But it's only as a last resort.

I think, right, now with the secretary's guidance and working with our partners, with my colleague Dr. Gerberding down at CDC, and the scientists that are looking at this, the best minds in our country have determined that that's not necessary.

COOPER: In a lot of Asian countries -- and I believe even in Canada now, or at least in Toronto -- they're considering installing infrared cameras at airports to screen passengers, almost unbeknownst to them, as they come off planes, looking for high fevers and the like. Is that something you think should be done here in the U.S.?

CARMONA: No, sir, I don't think so.

I think that the precautions that we have in place, that are largely educational measures, with people coming into the country and identifying those that might be at risk and having the proper information elicited from them, has worked quite well and has not impeded the travel or the economy unnecessarily.

COOPER: Do you think the media is blowing this out of proportion?

CARMONA: Well, I think the media plays a very important part here. I think it's important that we educate the public.

And it is really very difficult for me, as the surgeon general, and my secretary and Dr. Gerberding and others who are in leadership positions here to educate 280 million people quite rapidly. So the media plays a very valuable role in getting this information out to the public. COOPER: But you know how the media works. Often, these stories get played up over and over and over again all day long. Do you think the fear is outpacing the information?

CARMONA: Well, I think, in some instances, it has.

But I think the way we deal with the fear factor is, we educate the public, so that they understand that they're really at no appreciable risk if they follow prudent public health precautions, such as just washing your hands and restricting travel to those areas where the disease is evident, that they can go about their life without having to worry about anything.

COOPER: And that's your message to people, just don't worry too much about it; just wash your hands?

CARMONA: Well, not just that. I don't want to oversimplify it.

But, certainly, you can go about your business as you would on a normal everyday basis. And you should not have to worry about that, because people who are being identified as being at risk, we are isolating them. People that are ill, of course, are being asked to shelter at home or in their -- in hospitals, if necessary, so that the public is generally not at risk every day in their activities.

COOPER: All right, Dr. Richard Carmona, Surgeon General, I appreciate you joining us.

CARMONA: Thanks very much.

COOPER: Thank you.

Well, ahead on NEWSNIGHT: the search for Buddy, the story of a boy who disappeared and the hope that he may have been found.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Coming up next on NEWSNIGHT: the search for Buddy and hope a DNA test can solve a two-year-old mystery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In cases of missing kids, the experts often say the first few hours and days are crucial. As time goes by, the chances of finding a child alive gets smaller and smaller.

That is why the case of Elizabeth Smart was so stunning, got so much attention, a young girl found after nine months. The family of Buddy Myers is hoping to beat the odds as well. He's been gone not for weeks or months, but years. And now there is a tantalizing lead: the possibility -- and we stress the word possibility -- that the little boy who disappeared in the South has reappeared in the Midwest.

Here is CNN's Gary Tuchman. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Donna Myers sits on a swing on her front porch talking on a phone that hasn't stopped ringing. Her little boy may have been found. Everyone she knows is calling.

DONNA MYERS, AUNT OF BUDDY: I got a feeling it's him, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up so high, just in case it's not.

TUCHMAN: Donna is the great aunt and was the guardian of 4-year- old Buddy Myers when he wandered out of this living room with his two dogs after she dosed off on the couch. The dogs came home, but Buddy never did.

MYERS: Thousands of searchers were out there looking for him. Then they had the helicopters and planes with the infrared -- and nothing.

TUCHMAN: That was in October 2000, now word that a boy in a foster home in the Chicago area might be Buddy.

This is the boy, who had been brought to a hospital in Evanston, Illinois, by a man claiming he was the father and saying his son needed to be evaluated for aggressive behavior. Hospital authorities were suspicious of the man and police ended up arresting him on an outstanding theft charge. But the man, identified as Ricky Quick, who lived in this Chicago apartment, vanished after being released on custody.

Authorities then called the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children, which matched the boy with a computer-enhanced image of what Buddy Myers would look like now, 2 1/2 years later. DNA tests are being conducted with Buddy's natural mother, who had given up custody because she was a minor when he was boy.

RAVEN MYERS, MOTHER OF BUDDY: I always thought somebody took him in for his own, for his -- for their own child. That's what I've been thinking. I never thought that he was dead.

TUCHMAN: Donna Myers wants someone to mention her three-legged dog to the boy in Illinois, one of the dogs Buddy was with when he disappeared. Certainly, if it is Buddy, he would remember his three- legged dog, Buck. But there has been no contact between Illinois's foster program and Donna Myers. So she just waits for the DNA results, which, to her dismay, could take four to six weeks.

D. MYERS: I feel bad because, I'll tell you, what if I wouldn't have fell asleep? But I felt like it was safe, because he was right in the same room with me. And I never dreamed something like this would happen and he'd wake up and go outside and somebody would take him.

TUCHMAN: His bed is still made. His toys are in place, all ready for Buddy's return.

(END VIDEOTAPE) TUCHMAN: Now, little Buddy Myers' real name is Tristen. But for most of his life, he's been known by his nickname. And it's been a very trying life, even before he disappeared.

He was raised by his mother's mother, his grandmother. But she developed a fatal illness. And that's how he ended up at this house, his grandmother's sister-in-law. And that's where he was for most of his life. His grandmother subsequently died after he disappeared.

Now, here's what we know about little Buddy, or some of what we know. He know he has blond hair. We know he has a scar on his neck. We know he has some speech difficulties and slightly delayed development -- the little boy in Chicago, all of the same characteristics. However, everyone is waiting for those DNA results.

Now, you may be wondering why four to six weeks. We know DNA can come in quicker than that. Authorities in Illinois are not telling us. However, authorities here in Sampson County, North Carolina, the sheriff's office, which has been communicating with the family here, says they all just want to be very careful -- Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Understandable. Gary Tuchman, thanks very much tonight.

We want to talk more about child abductions with someone you probably know. She's been writing about them and researching them for years, Jacquelyn Mitchard. Her novel, "The Deep End of the Ocean," is about one family's struggle after a child is kidnapped and then found years later. She's out with a new novel. "Twelve Times Blessed," it's called. And we are pleased that she joins us now.

Thanks for being with us.

JACQUELYN MITCHARD, AUTHOR, "THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN": Thanks for having me.

COOPER: There is something so appalling about these kind of stories and especially that, in our day and age, with the Internet and cell phones and our alleged interconnectedness, that a little boy can just disappear.

MITCHARD: But we really aren't as interconnected as we were a generation ago. Families are very mobile. Neighborhoods don't have -- aren't filled with mothers at home from work who are the eyes and ears of the neighborhood and know who every child belongs to and where each child belongs at a given time of day.

I think that if I were to have one of my children living a mile away from me, especially if her hair was dyed or his hair was dyed, I don't know those people. I've seen their houses, but I don't know what goes on inside of them. And I think that's true for many families.

COOPER: It's often said the worst thing for a parent is to outlive a child. You see this story and you hear about other stories like this. And you start to think, maybe that's not the worst thing. Maybe the worst thing is to not know what's happened to your child. What is the impact on families?

MITCHARD: Well, when I did the research for "The Deep End of the Ocean," I talked to many families who had a child. You know, stranger abduction is a very tiny, tiny...

COOPER: Right. Most are abducted by people they know.

MITCHARD: Right, a spouse who is angry or a relative who believes that he or she can raise the child better.

It's a tiny proportion. But when it happens, it creates a crisis in a family. And a crisis, by its definition, is something that's supposed to happen and be violent and shake people to their core and then end. In this kind of situation, it goes on. And, as a result, more than 75 percent of marriages in which a child is abducted, even if the parents later find out what happened to the child, end as a result of that.

COOPER: The family itself, in 70 some-odd percent, the family doesn't survive.

MITCHARD: It doesn't survive intact. And the siblings may suffer even more than the parents.

COOPER: Why is that?

MITCHARD: The parents certainly blame each other. But the siblings have -- and, of course, I'm only a story writer and a reporter. I'm not a psychologist.

But from what families have told me, kids may feel a certain amount of survivor guilt. Why didn't it happen to me or why did it happen to him? Or did I not love my little brother enough? Because often, kids really wish that their little brother might take a hike. But when it happens, it's so shattering to the kid's very core, that it's going to change the way he behaves for the rest of his life.

COOPER: And everyone focuses on the abduction and hopefully the recovery. But the story for the family -- and the reunion -- but the story does not end there.

MITCHARD: No. In fact, the harder part -- as Saint Teresa said, more tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered prayers. And the harder part for both the child, who may get a lot of treatment and attention, and the family, is putting their lives back together again after a reunion like this.

I mean, one of the most famous cases was in California with Steven Stayner, who was returned to his family I think after seven years of being lost. His family never recovered. His older brother, in fact, became a criminal, a murderer. And that's the worst- possible-case scenario. But there's always -- the child who is -- has been abducted, or so people tell me, often fares better than the child who is left behind, because they're the symptom-bearer. They're the ones who bear the grief for the whole family.

COOPER: It's just -- it's fascinating and tragic. And we appreciate you joining us.

MITCHARD: Thank you very much.

COOPER: Jacquelyn Mitchard, thank you. Appreciate it.

Well, still ahead on NEWSNIGHT: time for segment seven, a much lighter story, the town that couldn't lie.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: So, if you want to incur the wrath of New York City's mayor, just light up a cigarette these days in one of the city's restaurants. But if you want to get the mayor of Mount Sterling, Iowa, riled up, blowing smoke in his face won't really do it. Telling a tall tale, that's a different story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Welcome to Mount Sterling, Iowa, a hunting town of 40, not exactly world famous, but it's getting there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a lady from the BBC radio network in Europe would like to talk to you.

COOPER: Why all the interest? Mayor Hamlett wants Mount Sterling to become the first liar-free town in the world. He's fed up with people telling tales, you know, about how many mushrooms they picked or how big the deer was they shot. So he recently proposed an ordinance to ban lying in Mount Sterling, no big blatant lies, no little white ones, either. Imagine that, no lies. What would life in America be like without them?

First of all, what would politicians do?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD NIXON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am not a crook.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: After all, splitting hairs would not be allowed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And broken promises? Forget about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Read my lips: no new taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: It's not just politicians. CEOs might find complete disclosure difficult as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been instructed by my counsel...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not to testify.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Based upon my Fifth Amendment right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Afforded to me under the Constitution of the United States.

COOPER: Come to think of it, if lying were outlawed, what would be on TV?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you marry me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Real reality just can't compete.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "JOE MILLIONAIRE")

EVAN MARRIOTT: There is something really intriguing about her and I really want to keep her around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Without lies, there would be no scandals, no dramatic trials to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You say on your oath that you have not addressed any black person as a (EXPLETIVE DELETED)?

MARK FUHRMAN, LAPD: That's what I'm saying, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: No actor shenanigans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT DOWNEY JR., ACTOR: For once, I had kind of done all the work and I could honestly say that it was time to move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And what would psychics do?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You give a lot of money to this man. You laugh, but you know I'm telling you the truth, don't you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Would there be no paranormal, just plain old normal? Frankly, who wants that? So perhaps it's not surprising that, back in Mount Sterling, the townspeople and the city council are hesitant to embrace the new no-lying campaign.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you going to enforce it? And who's to say what's a lie and what's a story?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to go to Washington, D.C. They tell a lot bigger lies there.

COOPER: On this subject, at least, the residents of Mount Sterling seem to have no problem telling the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take the liars out of Mount Sterling and you're not going to have too many people left.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, still ahead on the extra bonus half-hour of NEWSNIGHT, we're going to take an in-depth look at SARS. We'll also have the latest on how Canada and Asian countries are trying to contain the illness -- a lot more ahead when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: Arthel, thanks very much. World leaders get together at summit meetings to talk about matters of war and peace, shifting alliances, failing economies -- but not this time.

What the leaders of eleven Asian nations are currently gathered to talk about in Thailand is another kind of worry altogether: SARS.

CNN's Tom Mintier is in Bangkok.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM MINTIER, CNN: It was the first time in Asian history for such a meeting. Ten Asian leaders plus the Chinese Premier and Hong Kong's Chief Executive.

On the agenda, a single issue: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.

At issue is how to keep it from spreading, and how to limit the damage to the region's economies, which rely heavily on tourism.

THAKSIN SHINAWATRA, THAI PRIME MINISTER: In the beginning, this type of disease is unknown, so we - we - rather do too much than too little. That's normal. MINTIER: Before the unusual summit, Thailand and China's leaders agreed to set up a fund of more than one million U.S. dollars to study SARS and other diseases of the region, and to pre-screen for SARS for travelers to both countries.

The Chinese may be the focal point of this meeting. Not only as one of Asian's largest trading partners, but potentially also the largest threat of SARS transmission to the region.

SHINAWATRA: The fear of SARS is worse than SARS itself. To reduce fear, we need to improve public awareness and understanding of the reality of SARS.

MINTIER: SARS has now spread to some 20 countries, but China has the most infections, more than 3,000, with more than 200 new cases already reported this week and nearly half of those in Beijing.

Nine nations have reported fatalities from SARS according to the world health Organization, or WHO.

That group has announced that the spread of SARS has been contained in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, and Canada, but continues to spread in China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That was CNN's Tom Mintier from Bangkok.

Now while the mood in Bangkok was somber, there was celebration in Canada, after the WHO dropped its travel warning on Toronto. Now comes the really hard work of winning back the confidence of the travelers themselves.

That story from Ravi Bachwal of CTV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. GRO HARLEM BRUNTLAND, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We will be lifting the travel advice UNINTELLIGIBLE effective tomorrow.

RAVI BACHWAL, CTV: The soothing balm of that decision has Canadians and their leaders breathing easier.

BRUNTLAND: It has been now twenty days since the last cases of UNINTELLIGIBLE and there are no new confirmed cases out of Toronto or Canada.

BACHWAL: Ontario officials pressed the WHO's top brass in Geneva with evidence that the SARS outbreak here is under control while other officials took the same message to the United States Senate.

The WHO says it wants more screening for passengers with SARS symptoms at Canada's airports.

And, Canadian officials say that's coming. The U.N. bodies' decision came on a day that started with breakfast for three men accused of not doing enough to lead Canada's largest city out of the SARS swamp.

The prime minister, the premier of Ontario, and Toronto's mayor discussed multimillion-dollar marketing programs designed to resurrect the city's image.

And, while Ottawa was not willing to fork out money like it did for other disasters, the prime minister is waiving the waiting period for EI coverage for those affected by SARS and extended special coverage for part-time and self-employed health workers.

Ontario's premier says there's only one message now.

ERNIE EVES, ONTARIO PREMIER: As premier I have one message to the world. Come to Toronto, you're welcome here, we are open for business.

BACHWAL: Before the WHO's lifting of the Toronto advisory, the country's biggest airline launched "Canada Loves Toronto" discounts to encourage visits over the coming Victoria Day long weekend.

Special live theatre promotions are also in the works, and, the Toronto Bluejays have used a buck-a-ticket promotion to sell out Skydome.

The WHO says Toronto must remain vigilant about SARS, but, with the threat of community spread diminished, you're likely to see more of this and less of this.

Ravi Bachwal, Toronto.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well medical mysteries are a bit like crime stories, there's a lot of profiling that goes on and that is true in the mystery of SARS as well.

Investigators looking at who is getting it, where they live, what they do, are they connected to each other. And the profiles of some of the earliest victims in the southern - southern China - brought an intriguing clue.

An unusually high percentage of them were in the food business. Now at a place where food is a pretty inclusive term as judged by the tame standards of the West.

Here's CNN's Andrew Brown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW BROWN, CNN: In the spring of 1918, during the First World War, a new strain of influenza claimed its first victims.

Eventually the global death toll from what became known as Spanish Flu climbed to between 20 and 40 million. Some experts speculate the Spanish Flu pandemic actually originated in China and fear history may be repeating itself. Scientists believe SARS may also have originated in China and speculate the virus that causes it is somehow transmitted to humans from exotic animals, sold at markets like this one in the provincial capital of Guanjo (ph).

LO WING LOX, MEDICAL COUNCIL OF HONG KONG: They are speculations that it is because of the eating habits of some of the Guangdong people, they like to eat specialties animals, wild animals, because of that there is a market so people will go out to the countryside to catch this wild animal and when they - when they process the animal, when they slaughter the animal, when they caught the animal, these people would come into contact with the animal and their virus.'

BROWN: Even in Hong Kong, where the hygiene standards are much better than those in Mainland China, markets that sell live animals have been the source of some infections.

In 1997, H5N1 virus, Avian flu that had previously only been found in birds, infected 18 people, including workers at the local markets.

The virus, which originated in southern China, killed six people, and the government in Hong Kong, ordered a slaughter of all of the cities chickens to stop the spread of Avian flu.

On that occasion, official managed to limit the outbreak within Hong Kong. Unlike the SARS virus which has spread so far so fast.

Analysts' say what happens in a crowded market on one side of the world continues to pose a real threat to people thousands of kilometers away.

MICHAEL DEGOLYER, BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: Literally within less than 24 hours, within less than one day, you can take a person who is exposed to one of these - these - the petri dish market in Quanjo (ph) - and they can be standing in New York.

BROWN: Which means hunting down the origin of SARS and other contagious diseases has become a global priority.

Andrew Brown, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: When NEWSNIGHT continues in a moment with the story of homecomings from war that cannot be celebrated in the open. We're going to tell you why when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well today in Saudi Arabia Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the United States is going to move the vast majority of its forces out of the kingdom.

Not because they're not wanted, as the Pentagon is quick to point out, though some may disagree, but because they're no longer needed. That's what he says. Here's CNN's Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN: For the twelve years U.S. warplanes patrolled Iraq's no fly zones, the U.S. maintained an average of 20,000 troops in the Persian Gulf region at a cost of more than a billion dollars a year.

That included keeping at least one aircraft carrier in the Gulf at all times, and stashing equipment for a full Army division at forward bases in case Iraq moved against Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.

With Iraq now defeated, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told U.S. troops at the Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia their job is done.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Now that the Iraqi regime has changed, we're able to discontinue Operation Northern Watch and Operation Southern Watch and those forces will be able to be moved to other assignments and other requirements around the world.

MCINTYRE: The U.S. has already recalled from Turkey the planes that patrolled Iraq's northern no-fly zone and will bring back planes from Saudi Arabia that patrolled the south by the end of the summer.

The moves will lower the U.S. profile in two countries with anti- American sentiment, but won't necessarily lessen the U.S. footprint.

RUMSFELD: There are an awful lot of countries in the region where a lot of money has been spent in neighboring countries where we have excellent facilities, excellent cooperation, and its not as though we need additional bases out in that area.

MCINTYRE: With Turkey and Saudi Arabia out of the picture, the U.S. will rely more on Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, as well as an aircraft carrier in the Gulf, sources say.

And while Pentagon officials insist there are no plans for permanent bases in Iraq, the U.S. will have the use of the bases for the next two or three years at least.

In fact, some critics believe the U.S. won't ever give up its bases in Iraq.

PHYLLIS BENNIS, INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES: It helps to keep the threat on countries that may disagree with the U.S. like Syria, like Iran - it keeps pressure on Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies that are under enormous pressure at home to oppose at least some of what the United States is doing in the region.

MCINTYRE: Currently, there are 135,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, a number that will likely grow until other countries contribute peacekeepers or until Iraqi forces can take over. And keeping the peace is costing the U.S. two billion dollars a month by the Pentagon's own estimate. So, reducing by roughly 5,000 the number of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and saving maybe a billion or so in related costs pales in comparison to what the U.S. will keep in the region in the years to come. Any savings, one Pentagon official says, will be on the margins.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: The latest now in our series of still lifes from Iraq. Still photographers capturing images of a war and its aftermath.

Tonight, a look at one mission a few weeks back of the three six nine task force, part of the Army's Third Infantry Division. What they found on this mission was an enemy right under foot, literally land mines and a lot of them.

Jack Gruber shooting for "USA TODAY" captured the moment.

JACK GRUBER, USA TODAY: Everyone mounted up and started driving, and suddenly just a few kilometers from the airport right before dark they ran into this massive minefield that went for 1400 meters with countless number of mines on the road that had just appeared.

No one had seen them throw these mines down. So, it became a whole another mission just to clear the road. They went in, pushed them off to the side, got everybody through. Then they came back and picked them all up.

These guys, they were walking down the road just like they were picking strawberries and they dug a big hole and placed most of the mines into a hole and took 1800 pounds of C-4 and wrapped the C-4 around all these mines and then pushed everybody back and they detonated the C-4.

My name is Jack Gruber and I'm a photographer with "USA TODAY." Been over in Iraq for the last few weeks covering the conflict with Armored Task Force 369. They just moved downtown Baghdad to protect the Marines.

Their job was to get to Baghdad and take Baghdad. It's a tough transition. They aren't peacekeepers; they're soldiers that were basically told to go fight and fight it out hard and get your objective.

Once they did that, they were asked to go become peacekeepers. It's basically a call with all the names of the Iraqi dead from prior conflicts inscribed on the wall, all the way around this large underground pavilion. And, this task force has taken up occupancy there and it's where they've based their headquarters.

That picture is actually a soldier on Easter Sunday and this young man wasn't taking part in the Mass. He was there to drive someone after the service to another location, but the service began to sing "Amazing Grace," and this soldier started listening to the words and he was kind of overwhelmed by it.

People are just desperately doing whatever they can to get the attention of someone and get in the right place at the right time to finally get a job.

This is outside the Hall of Martyrs at a checkpoint. Civil Affairs were putting the word out that they needed to find people who they can provide jobs.

And, initially they were supposed to have six or seven of the locals come. Word got out and at 8 a.m. in the morning there's just loads of people standing out by the wire with papers, ID cards, employment cards, and the women made it through the wire and they're waiting to go up to the main area and they were flirting with a lot of these soldiers.

They're showing up with Bradley's, with tanks, but jumping off, getting out, walking up to these people that are poking out of their windows, their gates, coming out, unsure of what's going on. They call it setting up their neighborhoods.

Each company had a specific area, a grid, a neighborhood and their task was to go out into these neighborhoods and meet and greet people, get to know the community leaders, the people there, find their concerns, find their wishes, find anything that could be possibly beneficial for the people. They would offer everything, tea, food, whatever they had.

This one little boy was so excited. He went in and got a bottle of water and he had a little Garfield coffee mug and proudly walked up to each soldier who was on guard and offered them a little bit of water. He was just so happy, he was so proud of himself, and all the soldiers just made him feel so good and I really think that kid will forever have that etched into his mind.

COOPER: Jack Gruber, "USA TODAY."

Our next story deals with the kind of war - the kind of war wound -- I should say, that is beyond the reach of medicine. It doesn't involve bullets or shrapnel or poison gas.

The pain comes from fighting for other people's freedom while feeling less than free yourself.

African-Americans knew it when they returned from the Second World War. Now another time, another homecoming for the same old ache.

Here's CNN's Frank Buckley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: There is little that matches the emotion of a warrior's homecoming. But for gay and lesbian veterans of war, and their partners, it is a moment denied. "KEN," AIR FORCE NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER: I'd like to celebrate the victories, or our victory with the ones that I care about and the ones that I fought for.

"BRIAN," KEN'S PARTNER: You know the restraint it takes to not just run over and put your arms around somebody who's been - you know - in combat for all those months?

BUCKLEY: This couple spoke to us on the condition we wouldn't reveal their identities because Ken, as we are calling him, is still serving in the Air Force as a non-commissioned officer.

If his identity is revealed, he will be discharged from the Air Force under the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. But Ken is speaking to CNN because he believes the policy should change.

KEN: If I put my life on the line to go over there and defend freedom for another country, I need to do this for my comrades in arms right here in the United States.

BUCKLEY: While the family members of service men and women who are not gay receive support and benefits in wartime, same sex partners do not. And if Ken is killed in combat, Brian will not be entitled to the dignity of hearing it first from a military chaplain.

KEN: Unfortunately, if the unthinkable should happen, and I don't come home, my partner is going to find out by, probably, a CNN correspondent.

BUCKLEY: The issue is getting increased attention in gay- oriented publications like "The Advocate" and in mainstream newspapers like "The Los Angeles Times."

Some are hopeful that it will spark a new debate over don't ask, don't tell.

DIXON OSBURN, SERVICE MEMBERS DEFENSE NETWORK: Congress is farther behind on this issue than the American people are. And the American people would support Congress in repealing the policy. The question is whether or not there will be that political will.

BUCKLEY: The U.S. military would not be alone if it decided to allow openly gay and lesbian soldiers to serve.

Aaron Belkin, the director of U.C. Santa Barbara's Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military says the militaries of twenty-four other nations have done so, including the U.S.'s main coalition partner, the British.

AARON BELKIN, PROFESSOR, U.C. SANTA BARBARA: The fact that we're fighting right next to British service members who are openly gay and lesbian shows again that lifting of a gay ban does not undermine military performance.

BUCKLEY: For now, though, don't ask, don't tell is the law. And a Defense Department official tells CNN there are no plans to change or modify the policy.

Frank Buckley CNN Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, the day the laughter died, or should we say, the day the maker of the laugh track died? The story of the man who made us sound like we were laughing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: So you know how laughter is. You hear other people doing it; you start doing it, too. You sit there in the audience at a movie or a play, a gurgle starts, a chuckle, a guffaw, and next thing you know you're laughing as well.

It's like the wave at a ballgame. But, if you're all alone at home staring at the tube, how is the wave going to get started? Well, that's where Charles Roland Douglass came in. He died a few weeks ago at 93 while the war was taking up so much of our time that we didn't even have the chance to tip our hats to him.

And we should because Charles Roland Douglass may have made more people laugh that any other human being in history.

No, he wasn't a comedian; he was a comedian's best friend. Charles Roland Douglass, inventor of the laugh box. That's laff with two Fs. These things matter, you know.

No doubt you've heard it. We've all heard it since the early 1950s. When Douglass, then a CBS technician wired up the first machine. He was a pioneer.

Audiences may have loved Lucy, but even comic masters need help. Sweetening they call it. Generations of us have laughed along with the laugh box. That was the idea, anyway. Laugh and the world laughs with you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARCHIE BUNKER, ALL IN THE FAMILY: Let me tell you something, Mr. Stivich (ph), you are a meathead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Critics have said it's overused and there's little denying that. What producer can resist a machine that laughs even if the material isn't funny? No need to work the room if you know how to work the machine.

ROBERT DOUGLASS, SON: On the left side of the screen would be very small laughs and we're going over the top with very - you know - boisterous and explosive laughs. And to the right of the machine or the right of the keyboard would be longer laughs and end over applause and oohs and ahhs, tears, whistles, anything, you name it, that's how it works. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOMER SIMPSON, THE SIMPSON'S: Take that, ha, ha, ha.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: These days, the laugh track seems a little out of fashion. The cutting edge sitcoms wouldn't dare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey what's new, oh really, that's good, that's great, you guys really deserve it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: But plenty of shows still rely on Charles Douglass' gizmos. Fifty years of jumpstarting amusement is no small thing.

DOUGLASS: This was a great man and he'll live on. As a friend of mine wrote, said, that heaven was a little short of laughter so that's why they called Charles to come up there and sweeten it up.

COOPER: Thanks for the laughs, Mr. Douglass.

That's it for NEWSNIGHT. Aaron Brown will be back tomorrow night. Thanks for watching, goodnight.

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