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CNN Live Saturday

Security In Iraq Extremely Tight On Eve Of Iraqi Elections; Bomb Explodes Near U.S. Embassy In Iraq

Aired January 29, 2005 - 12:00   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.


RUDI BAKHTIAR, ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. It is Noon in Atlanta, socked in by an ice storm here; 8:00 in the evening in Baghdad on the eve of a historic election, there.
Hello everyone, I'm Rudi Bakhtiar at CNN's global headquarters in for Fredricka Whitfield, today. Ahead this hour:

Lockdown: We're going to take you live to Baghdad where coalition and Iraqi forces ratchet up security measures with the start of voting just eleven how hours away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I consider it as an honor, a privilege and more than those, an obligation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIAR: That voting is taking place, not just in Iraq, but also here in America. We're going to go live to one of the polling places to check that out. Also, how is the election being covered by the world's Arab news media? We're going to talk with the Washington Bureau chief for the Arab new.

But first, the top stories in the news, right now. The southeast is slipping and sliding on ice, snow, and sleet. The worst is yet to come in the Carolinas. Power outages are expected there as ice builds up on trees and power lines. The storm is dumping up four inches of a wintry mix across the region.

The transportation hub of the South is moving, if at all, at a crawl. Around Atlanta, the storm closed sections of four different interstates. Three-hundred workers are trying to keep up by spreading salt and sand on roads and runways. Dozens of flights have been canceled. The advice from Georgia state police: Stay at home.

Well, it's not over yet for the Southeast. Our Rob Marciano joining us for a quick look at the weather. Rob, how ugly is it?

(WEATHER REPORT)

BAKHTIAR: An amazing day in Iraq: Throughout Iraq, security is tight on this eve, the eve of that country's first free elections in half of a century. Final preparations are underway at more that 30,000 polling stations set to open in less than 11 hours. CNN's Jeff Koinange is in Baghdad. Jeff, what can you tell us?

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rudi, the clock is ticking and security unprecedented across the city and across the country, as well. But, this didn't prevent a suicide bomber in the town of Khanaqin, that's about 60 miles northeast of Baquba, right close to the Iranian border. From walking up to the gates of a military base, detonating himself. Now in the ensuing commotion, a nearby improvised explosive device went off, and that killed eight people, wounded several others.

Here in Baghdad, officials tell us that insurgents fired on a police stations, wounding two Iraqi police officers, but not before making off with a stolen police car. Why is that significant? Well, on election day, only official cars will be allowed in and around polling stations. A stolen police car is not good news.

But, having said that, security in the city today, unprecedented. In the words of one Iraqi, "airtight." You could see U.S. and Iraqi soldiers on the streets in Humvees, in tanks, on foot patrol, and there were checkpoints just about on every block. They were stopping vehicles, checking, searching drivers, making sure nobody is going to derail a country's date with destiny. Now, just hours away, Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: Jeff, thank you very much. Our Jeff Koinange out of Baghdad.

Well, Iraq's elections mark a pivotal day not only for that country's people, but President Bush as well, and U.S. allies who sent troops into Iraq to oppose Saddam Hussein. CNN's Elaine Quijano joining us now from the White House.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Rudi. President Bush says the election is a turning point in Iraq's history, in his words, "A milestone in the advance of freedom."

Now, President Bush returned to the White House yesterday afternoon after speaking with congressional republicans at their retreat in West Virginia. This morning, though, the president devoted his entire weekly radio address to the Iraq election. In it he laid his view that this is just the beginning of a larger process, one the administration hopes will be a move to democracy in Iraq, the Middle East, and eventually worldwide. President Bush also outlined why he believes the election is important to Americans.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our nation has always been more secure when freedom is on the march. As hope and freedom spread, the appeal of terror and hate will fade. And there is not a democratic nation in our world that threatens the security of the United States.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, democrats are praising the Iraq election, saying it will be a great day for many people, but at the same time, they are repeating criticisms of President Bush's handling of Iraq, particularly in the post-war phase, talking about the disbanding of the Iraqi army and also saying more U.S. troops should have been put in place immediately after the war in order to help stabilize and secure the country. But, President Bush, in the past, has defended his policy, maintaining the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power.

Now, as for President Bush's schedule so far, aides say he had his usual briefings, that he also had a meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney, here at the White House. We understand he went on a bike ride. And we're told that on Iraq, he is keeping in close contact, Rudi with his national security adviser, his new national security adviser, Steve Hadley, who is giving him updates -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: All right. President Bush saying that it's the beginning of a larger process. Elaine Quijano at the White House, thank you.

For the second day, Iraqi ex-pats are flooding polls from Sydney, Australia all the way to Detroit, Michigan. More than 280,000 ex-pats in 14 different countries are registered to vote. Here in Berlin, early morning voters braved the cold. More than 26,000 Iraqis are registered in Germany. And turnout is (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

In Amman, Jordan, voters are showing up despite threats and calls for a boycott. More than 20,000 Iraqis are registered in Jordan. At least one man traveled from as far away from Cairo, Egypt, to cast his ballot.

An Iraqi expatriate voting in Michigan described it as the greatest day of his life. Polling places are set up in five U.S. cities and right now, we're going to check in with two of them.

Gary Nuremburg is in New Carrollton, Maryland, and Denise Belgrave is in Nashville, Tennessee.

Let's start in Maryland with you, Gary.

GARY NUREMBURG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Rudi. Homeland Security secretary, Tom Ridge, told CNN's Jeanne Meserve that the government has no specific or credible information that international or domestic terrorist groups are targeting voting sites in the United States. But clearly, they have the symbolic appeal to terrorists and security here is so intense that Iraqi voters are facing scrutiny unseen by Americans.

If they wanted to vote here in Maryland today, they were forced to stand in line in freezing temperatures. I'm told they were escorted one by one into a security tent where pockets and purses were emptied, where everyone had to be patted down and wanded before they were allowed to vote. And that was the most recent obstacle these Iraqi voters had to face.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NUREMBURG (voice-over): Voting here isn't easy. Iraqis, up and down the eastern seaboard, had to drive hundreds of miles to register and then make the return trip to vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's worth it, because this is a future of our country. This is a freedom of our peoples.

NUREMBURG: Some live in the United States because they feared Saddam's regime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they catch me, they will kill me, even at one minute. They don't let you stay alive for one minute.

NUREMBURG: Iraqis who lived under that tyranny for most of their lives brought their children today as they cast votes for their future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My daughter will be proud of me, that I'm voting for my country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NUREMBURG: Many of the voters, here today, did bring their children, because they wanted them to be part of this historic moment in Iraq's history. And though clearly, many people here were joyful at the opportunity to vote, it's important to remember that there are an estimated 240,000 Iraqis living in the United States who are eligible to vote and, as Rudi said, only 26,000 of them took the time and effort to register.

BAKHTIAR: Gary, it's so easy to see the pride in these people's eyes. Thank you very much. Gary Nuremberg in New Carrollton, Maryland.

Let's go to Denise Belgrave now. She's standing by in Nashville, Tennessee, at one of the other polling stations.

What can you tell us, Denise?

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rudi. Turnout has been steady here, pretty much all through the day. As we know, this is one of five stations across the United States. And the theme here, you hit it exactly right. It's really been about Iraqi pride. We've seen people coming with flags on their cars, both American flags as well as Iraqi flags. We also saw a bunch of people come in their traditional dress. And when we spoke to people, all of them expressed the same sentiment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, god bless America. Really. I'm so, so, so happy, really. Because this is the first time, I feel, I'm a human, really. This is the first time in my life. Never, really. I'm just -- I wish I cry, but...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for freedom. I come from Wichita, Kansas, 13 drive, not care about snow, not care about rain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELGRAVE: And weather really was a key factor for a lot of these people. Many of them drove all night and they drove through snow and they drove through rain in order to get here in order to cast their ballot. We heard a lot of really interesting personal stories. We met a man who was actually jailed by Saddam Hussein and tortured. We also met a 70-year-old man who is suffering from leukemia, came all the way from Missouri to cast his vote here -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: Well, if that doesn't attest to how big of a day it is, I don't know what does. Denise Belgrave is in Nashville, Tennessee. Thank you very much.

For expatriates voting today, some see it as a civic duty; others see it as a long sought after privilege. But for this Dr. Mandhi Abdullah, voting means shaping the future and also remembering the past. CNN's Allan Chernoff now, with that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Mandhi Abdullah remembers a joke about a man who once voted against Saddam Hussein, but then was so afraid that he asked the chief of elections to change his ballot.

DR. MANDHI ABDULLAH, IRAQI VOTER: Don't worry about it, we changed it already. So, that was the sort of democracy.

CHERNOFF: The sort of democracy that had his loved ones murdered and forced him, in 1993, to flee to the United States.

ABDULLAH: All Iraqi families suffered because of Saddam Hussein, no exception. Personally, I lost a cousin, I lost a brother. I lost a lot of friends (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

CHERNOFF: For the Abdullah family, bitter memories made the opportunity to vote in the Iraqi election even sweeter.

ABDULLAH: It's you civil duty to vote and it's a human privilege to vote.

ALEQ ABDULLAH, DAUGHTER: I'm excited that my parents are going to get the chance to vote, because, in the end, it's really my future. I'm going to be living in that country soon, I hope.

CHERNOFF: With that hope, the Abdullah's pack their bag and drove five hours to New Carrollton, Maryland, the closest polling station to their home in Queens, New York. And they did, what two years ago, would have seemed unthinkable.

ABDULLAH: We did it. It was great. I mean, you come in here, you cast your vote. You let your voice be heard back in your home. That's great!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's good that my father vote, because you can vote the good people in and the bad out.

CHERNOFF: Almost 24 hours later, they returned Abdullah's returned home, exhausted, but hopeful that their ballots will make a difference.

ABDULLAH: This is storm No. 1 one in the democracy. We have to achieve 100, so this is one. Maybe my kid or their kids, my grandkids, will enjoy the real democracy in Iraq.

CHERNOFF: Allan Chernoff, CNN New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR: Still ahead, securing Iraq: Checkpoints are manned as bridges are closed and the country hunkers down for its historic vote. But, what exactly are the Iraqis voting for? We're going to be taking a closer look at that. Also, we'll be taking a closer look at what Arabs across the region are saying about Iraq's elections. And then this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You fly high above the clouds, endless stretches of sand far below. It's only when you're right above Baghdad, you realize this is not a normal flight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIAR: CNN's Anderson Cooper taking us along on a nail-biting journey into Baghdad. CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIAR: There it is, folks. Ice is building up on trees and power lines across parts of the Southeast this hour. Freezing rain is the rule from Georgia all the way into the Carolinas. Here in Atlanta, ice forms a quarter inch thick coating some city streets. Very dangerous.

The storm shut down parts of interstate highways in the Atlanta metro area. Police report at least two fatal accidents may be linked to the treacherous driving conditions. And there are hundreds of flight cancellations at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. It's normally one of the nations busiest. Not today. Airport workers are battling freezing rain and ice as they attempt to keep runways open and planes deiced.

All right, let's check in with Rob Marciano at the CNN Weather Center with one eye out the window and another one on the computer data regarding that messy Southern winter storm.

Rob, how cold is it out there?

(WEATHER REPORT)

BAKHTIAR: All right, thanks Rob. Now, let's take a look at other stories making news across America.

The execution of an admitted serial killer has been put off until Monday in Connecticut. Michael Ross this spared this morning on word of a possible conflict of interest with his attorney. Ross admits killing eight women in the 1980s. If he's put to death, that will be New England's first execution since the 1960s.

One day before his trials on child molestation, Michael Jackson reportedly is planning to release a video statement on his Web site. Jackson's publicist says the singer will comment on leaks of grand jury testimony. His representatives say the clip has been cleared by the judge in the case.

And American actress Angelina Jolie is Switzerland's World Economic Forum she's tired of celebrities grandstanding for the poor, they need to know what they're talking about.

Yesterday, Sharon Stone got up from the audience, raising one millions of dollars in five minutes from business leaders to fight Malaria in Africa. Jolie has been a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Refugee Agency four years and says she says she gives one-third of her income to charity.

Comining up next, Iraqi security locks down on the country as voters prepare to head to the polls. We're going to be taking a closer look at what that entails when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIAR: Welcome back, everyone. In his radio address today, President Bush acknowledged Iraqis are risking their lives to establish democracy. He said America's mission there will continue after the elections to help establish security and train Iraq's police force.

Here to talk about the election and securing Iraq in the face of a violent insurgency is CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Major General Don Shepperd.

Thank you very much for joining us.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Pleasure, Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: Let's start off with security. A lot of stepped up security measures all throughout Iraq, especially at the polling stations.

SHEPPERD: Yeah, here's the idea: The Iraqis secure the polling place, the Americans are on call. Both of them have been conducting extensive offensive operations to interdict the insurgence part of this. There are over 300,000 security people, about 150,000 U.S. forces, the rest being Iraqis. The Iraqis are spotting, not all well trained, but it's going to be -- it's still going to be bloody in various places, no matter who's providing the security. BAKHTIAR: Another problem, I understand is going to be the actual voting. So much is unclear. Iraqis are confused. Let's talk about who is eligible to vote, first of all, there.

SHEPPERD: Yeah, first of all, anybody that's 18 years or older, that an Iraqi citizen or eligible for Iraqi citizenship is eligible to vote. There are about 14.5 million Iraqis themselves within Iraq that are eligible to vote and almost 260,000 expatriates. So it should be -- there's a large pool of people that are eligible to vote.

BAKHTIAR: One thing interestingly to me though, is that until recently, a lot of Iraqis didn't know that they're not voting for a president?

SHEPPERD: Yeah, it's confusing. They're voting for a 275-seat national assembly. There's 111 political parties, slates, if you will, that they are voting for. These are numbered, and there are symbols that have been advertised on televisions and by posters and this type of thing. But, they are voting for the slate.

Now, on this slate, there's over 7,000 candidates, on the this slate, but they don't see any of the names. Now, when this assembly is seated, they are seated on the percentage of the vote they get in the national assembly. If they get -- for instance if they get 20 percent of the vote, they get 20 percent of the seats in the national assembly. And then this national assembly, what they do is they select a president and two deputy presidents and they select the prime minister who appoints the ministers and that starts the process.

BAKHTIAR: How long will it be before we know the results of this election?

SHEPPERD: It's probably going to be at least a couple weeks before we know the results of this election. And then that sets off this national assembly, after they choose the officials, they write a constitution. That constitution should be done by August 15. By October 15, there's a national referendum to accept the constitution, and then there's a national election December '05 if this all goes well and together.

BAKHTIAR: General, how optimistic are you that the elections will go forward?

SHEPPERD: The elections, I'm positive, the elections will go forward. I am not optimistic, but I am hopeful we won't see too much violence and that there will be a large turnout, over 50 percent, more than the U.S. elections. So, I'm hopeful as opposed to optimistic.

BAKHTIAR: All right, General Don Shepperd, you're going to be joining us later to discuss more aspects of the voting in Iraq. Thank you again.

SHEPPERD: My pleasure.

BAKHTIAR: Well, coming up, a historic day for a remarkable Iraqi woman. We're going to introduce you to Vivian Shamoun when we come back. And later:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The plane turned sharply, spiraling downward, a corkscrew landing in order to avoid taking fire, though insurgents know the maneuver. Not everything goes as planned, however. Suddenly fighter jets appear underneath there's fighting at the airport. It's too dangerous to land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIAR: And dangerous conditions for Westerners covering the Iraqi elections. Anderson Cooper's first person account of entering Baghdad earlier this week a bit later on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIAR: Welcome back, everyone. Last weekend, it was the Northeast, but this weekend, a winter storm is dropping ice, snow, and sleet across a wide swath of the Southeast from the Alabama to Carolinas. CNN meteorologist, Rob Marciano, is going to give us the latest on the storm in about 10 minutes.

And, three Pakistani men suspected of having links to al-Qaeda have been arrested in Lahore. Then men, from a frontier province, are believed to have ties to the al-Qaeda leadership and are being questioned.

Also, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Perez is lobbying the European Union on behalf of the Palestinians. Perez is attending the World Economic Conference in Switzerland. He's urging the E.U. to build

RUDI BAKHTIER, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE SATURDAY: ...and are being questioned.

Also, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shamon Peres is lobbying the European Union on behalf of the Palestinians. Peres is attending the world economic conference in Switzerland. He's urging EU to build in factories in Palestinian industrial zones in order to help better secure an Israeli/Palestinian peace.

In less than 12 hours, voting is scheduled to begin in Iraq in the first of free elections in half a century there, but with insurgents threatening to target anyone who votes, security has been stepped up throughout the country. In Baghdad, all bridges but one leading to the city, are closed until Monday and vehicle traffic throughout Iraq will be restricted near polling sites.

Meanwhile, violence has escalated ahead of the elections. Eight people have been killed, seven wounded in two bombings at a U.S./Iraqi coordination facility in the Kurdish town of Khanaqin. The explosions killed three Iraqi soldiers at the joint coordination center there. Five Iraqi civilians were also killed.

For Iraqis living in other countries, polling places have been open since Friday. Here in the United States, voters in Maryland lined up Saturday to cast their votes in the historic election. Earlier, voters in Germany crowded polls to cast their ballots as well. Many Iraqis living in 12 other countries are also voting.

Let's go overseas now. The fighting in Iraq forced many Iraqis to leave for neighboring Syria where voting is under way. We're going to get a closer look at the situation unfolding there right now from CNN's Brent Sadler who's in Damascus and has one voter's story. Hello, Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Rudi. Thanks Rudi. More than 10,000 Iraqis living here in Syria have now cast their votes on this the second day of balloting in the capital Damascus. One of those voting today was a woman who worked as an administrator at the heart of U.S. endeavors in Baghdad, hoping to win the battle for democracy. She fled very recently to the Syrian capital. Here is her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER (voice-over): Vivian Shamoon prepares to vote a long way from home. An Iraqi Christian, marooned in Syria, but keeping her spirits high.

VIVIAN SHAMOON, IRAQI VOTER: I feel I can say anything free. So, I can do what I want. This is the freedom, which we look for.

SADLER: Vivian, a (INAUDIBLE) Catholic, fled Iraq after waging her own courageous fight for freedom, stepping forward when the United States first administered Iraq, working in an office close to the top official at that time. Paul Bremer?

SHAMOON: Paul Bremer, yeah, working with the Americans. Oh, my God. I fear when I start to work with them, I'm living a different life. You know, I'm Iraqi. I have never seen Saddam, but I saw Colin Powell. When I saw him, oh, he is my friend.

SADLER: But they are friends she left far behind three months ago, resigning her communications job at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, her ID badge unexpired. The widowed mother, her daughters and son ran for their lives, luck running out.

SHAMOON: (INAUDIBLE) killing people was so close to my house. See, here, the windows are all broken. My son was here when the bombing happened. He was nearly to be killed.

SADLER: With treasured memories and glowing references, Vivian regrets being forced to give up an endeavor she believed in.

SHAMOON: I miss all that. Really, I miss all that. But this is the life. We have to survive for my family.

SADLER: Surviving in Syria for now, contemplating a better life in America, if the U.S. takes her. The election offers Iraqis hope, she says, but Vivian worries the shadow of Saddam Hussein is not erased.

SHAMOON: No, not yet. Not yet unless I will see the change in Baghdad.

SADLER: A change for good that Vivian and her fellow worshipers pray for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER: Well, we caught up with Vivian Shamoon a few hours ago when she went to one of the 10 polling stations here in the capital Damascus. She dropped her voting slip inside the box along with many other Iraqis. Afterwards, she told me she felt she had done her duty and had taken another small step to freedom. As far as who she chose for, well, she said that was her secret. Rudi?

BAKHTIER: All right. Brent Sadler in Baghdad. Thank you very much for that touching story.

Iraq's ballot is gripping news in the Arab world where it's being watched very carefully, whether it's with hope on cynicism. Barbara Ferguson is the Washington bureau chief of Arab news, the leading English language daily in the Middle East. Hello Barbara. Thank you so much for joining us.

BARBARA FERGUSON, ARAB NEWS: Thank you, Rudi.

BAKHTIER: Well, you're covering this. Tell us, how is the Arab world viewing these elections?

FERGUSON: There's a joke, you know, a joke in the Arab world right now that they hope that the American military didn't come all the way to Iraq just to establish a fundamentalist regime there.

BAKHTIER: So that's not a very optimistic outlook. FERGUSON: No, it isn't. It isn't and I think everybody is bracing themselves, especially the regimes, the Sunni regimes in the area, they're bracing themselves for the results and the possibility of a Shia majority being elected tomorrow.

BAKHTIER: So, you think whatever the results are that, these elections would not be deemed legitimate by the Arab world?

FERGUSON: No, I think -- I don't think that's a question because as you know, this is just a process. This is a transitional national assembly. It's a year-long process that will be -- that is going to put a government in place after one year after they elect their president, their vice president, they write their constitution. So, I think everybody is going to be watching very closely what happens during this year, especially the Shia - I'm sorry, the Sunni monarchies throughout the region, which are very concerned that the elections are going to upset balance of power between Shia and Sunni in the region.

BAKHTIER: Especially when we're not going to see - we're going to see and find out how many Sunnis are actually going to make it to the polls.

FERGUSON: Right. Right. And you know, another thing Rudi that I think is very interesting is that all of the surrounding countries have, with the exception of Iraq, have a Sunni majority and a Shia minority and they're very worried these monarchies that now the Shia, when they see what happens in Iraq, they're going to stand up and say that we want to have our rights too or maybe they're even going to sympathize with what's happening in Iraq and there could be a problem of turmoil in their own countries.

Another issue they're worried about is civil war and if you have the Sunni insurgents in Iraq working, for example, with the al Qaeda insurgents, for example, in Saudi Arabia, you do have Sunni al Qaeda insurgents. How is this going to affect the countries? Will Iraq become like an Afghanistan, where you'll have the Sunni fighters being trained there and then returning to their countries to cause turmoil?

BAKHTIER: What does the average Iraqi say? What does the average Iraqi want the outcome of this election to be?

FERGUSON: Boy, I wish I -- obviously, the average Iraqi does want to have peace. They do want -- the average Iraqi also wants to see the Americans leave. They want to be able to rule their own country. But, of course, you know, we're just bracing ourselves to see what happens tomorrow after the elections.

BAKHTIER: All right. Barbara Ferguson from Arab News. Thank you so much for joining us this evening.

FERGUSON: My pleasure. Thank you.

BAKHTIER: Still ahead, going into the danger zone. CNN's Anderson Cooper takes us along for this nerve wracking ride as he enters Baghdad. But first, it may not be the biggest winter storm this year, but it sure is making a mess in the southeast. A live report and the forecast coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIER: Last weekend, it was the northeast. This weekend, it's the southeast's turn. A winter storm has left parts of the region covered in a layer of ice, sleet and some higher elevations are seeing snow. The storm has caused numerous accidents already. At least two traffic deaths in Georgia are believed to be linked to the storm and there are increasing concerns that the ice that's falling could topple trees onto power lines leading to some massive power outages. Also, in Atlanta, travel in and out of Heartsfield (ph) Jackson airport has been severely affected as conditions have forced airlines to cancel dozens of flights today. Nicole Allhouse of CNN affiliate WAGA in Atlanta is at the airport and joins us now live. Nicole I imagine not much action there.

NICOLE ALLHOUSE, WAGA ATLANTA: Reporter: Not a lot at all Rudi. It's quite a mess here. We're here at Heartsfield-Jackson where 80 percent of their flights have been canceled. Now that means there's only a few left and those ones have been delayed. People are looking at delays anywhere from 40 minutes to eight hours. If we take a look at some video we just shot a few minutes ago, it's people just inside, sleeping, taking naps, doing anything they can to pass the time. The problem is not with planes coming in. Planes can come in just fine with 35 plows here to clear these runways.

The problem is planes going out. They just don't have enough deicing machines to handle this many aircraft at the airport. People say that they have missed weddings, cruises. It's really a true mess out here. Some people left to go find a hotel as where other people said they're just going to stay here and hope they can get on another flight. Now with so many cancellations and delays, some people say they are going to be stuck here, because their connecting flight was obviously let go, which means the next flight, for example, to Savannah Georgia, isn't until tomorrow. So people said, you know what, we're going to sleep in the airport tonight. There's plenty of food here. There's a bathroom. We'll use the facilities and we'll fly out tomorrow.

Now that's hoping this weather clears up. In the last few minutes, the rain and freezing rain has started to fall again. The airport is telling everybody, if you're coming to the airport today, flying in or out of Atlanta, of course, call your carrier first because, again, it's quite a mess. Cancellations and delays. For now we are live at Heartsfield-Jackson. Nicole Allhouse for FOX five news.

BAKHTIER: All right. Our thanks to Nicole for that report. Well, Rob Marciano is at the CNN weather center with the latest on the storm. Rob, it's not looking good, is it?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, I think we have at good five or six hours here at least in Atlanta to get through this and then that will continue to end up the I-85 corridor. But for now, it's still looking nasty with temperatures that are below freezing in north Georgia and parts of the Carolinas as well.

We are starting to see some warming conditions mostly along the coast line, places like Savannah and Charleston have seen temperatures rise above freezing, but where you get that wedge of cold air that slides to the east of the Appalachian mountains, that's still where it's sub freezing and not only just north Georgia and Atlanta, but really south of town also.

Here, we're starting to see some snows push up into parts of North Carolina but where you'll see the heaviest snows is really right along the Piedmont. Over top of the Appalachians, it is slightly warmer, but not quite warm enough to melt precip that's falling in places like Indianapolis and in through parts of Chicago. Chicago and D.C. will get a little bit of snow, but it shouldn't be all that bad. This storm should say south, it looks like, of New York and Boston, who have had their fair share of winter conditions. Daytime highs today, 34 in St. Louis, it'll be 34 in Chicago, 34 in New York, 32 degrees expected in Atlanta, Georgia. Winter storm warnings posted for north Georgia. This will probably be extended until 6:00 or 7:00 tonight and then ice storm warnings for parts of South Carolina, that will be ongoing until early tomorrow morning. Not the best weather if you're feeling sick. Red states where the flu activity is high according to the CDC.

Your cold and flu report, Texas, Minnesota, Kentucky, looking at New York and Vermont, Maryland also. Widespread snow reported there. The winter mess continues, Rudi. Again, here in Atlanta, probably another five, six hours and then it won't be until tomorrow morning, before things start to warm up. And even worse conditions I think if you go to like Columbia, South Carolina, up to the north in through western parts of North Carolina and that won't end until likely tomorrow afternoon. So southeast finally getting a winter storm and it's ugly in the form of ice. Back to you.

BAKHTIER: And you're going to be a busy man for a while, aren't you, Rob?

MARCIANO: Yes.

BAKHTIER: Thank you, Rob Marciano.

MARCIANO: See you.

BAKHTIER: How times have changed and how some well-known destinations have changed with them. When CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues, you're going to see just how much some places many of us know and love have changed over the years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIER: Check this out. Those were the pyramids many years ago. This is now. Interested in visiting tourist spots like the pyramids that were hot 100 years ago? "National Geographic Traveler" magazine can help you out and here now with us, is Keith Bellows from "National Geographic Traveler" magazine. Keith, thank you so much for joining us. KEITH BELLOWS, "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER" MAGAZINE: Hi there. My pleasure.

BAKHTIER: Well, start us off here. We're talking about a series of place that is look a lot different these days. Where do you want to start? Do you want to start with the pyramids or Niagara Falls?

BELLOW: Why not? We'll start with the pyramids if you've got it up there. One of the great things about this is it's a way to look at how travel has changed, how it hasn't changed and how it hasn't hasn't changed. Look at this. I mean here we have sort of debutantes of the time. This is about 1917 in front of the pyramids. That was then. Go to now and what you see is Cairo moving closer and closer to the pyramids. So they're still out there. They're still having fun and they're just a little bit closer than they were back then.

BAKHTIER: They're building them closer and closer, aren't they?

BELLOWS: Yeah.

BAKHTIER: And those pictures looked amazing from years and years ago. All right. Let's talk about Niagara Falls now and then.

BELLOWS: This is at the turn of the century. This is actually before 1900. You see the American falls back there. Boy! You can't see that like that now. There's buses, tourists. They're balustrades and everything else and of course you see these folks getting ready to sort of climb down to the Maid of the Mist in their yellow parkas and so forth. It's a lot more modern experience and certainly a lot more crowded; 14 million people come to see the Niagara Falls every year.

BAKHTIER: Something I'm noticing, is that the previous pictures are so simple and serene and then the new pictures are colorful and hyped up and busy.

BELLOWS: That's right.

BAKHTIER: How about Hong Kong? Has Hong Kong changed a lot in the past years?

BELLOWS: Hong Kong has changed. Look at this. This is sort of like that sort of wonderful noir thing that you think of when you see the movies. Come to Hong Kong now, it is one of the great urban, sort of polyglot cities, energetic, part of China now as we all know, soon probably to be eclipsed by mainland China, but it is energy personified, probably different than what you saw.

BAKHTIER: Probably very different and Capetown, one of the places that I am dying to visit. I have been to South Africa, never to Capetown. What was it like before? Is this is a picture from when?

BELLOWS: 1917. This is Capetown way before it was. There's Table mountain, which of course still dominates the horizon there and look what's happened in the intervening years. It's the sixth, fifth largest city in South Africa. Boy, it's energetic, exciting and of course it's filled in a little bit of the space at the foot of Table Mountain.

BAKHTIER: All right. How about Bejing, another place that I would love to visit.

BELLOWS: Beijing, the picture we have here, this is 1902. Man getting hair cut. You can still do that. In fact, the picture that we show which was shot much more recently, pretty much the same place, certainly the same thing. However, this is going to vanish very quickly. Beijing is probably the city that is changing most quickly in the world because they're getting ready for the Olympics. They're leveling whole city blocks to make way for the Olympics.

BAKHTIER: And what an Olympics it will be. Keith Bellows from "National Geographic Traveler" magazine. Thank you for joining us.

BELLOW: My pleasure.

BAKHTIER: We have this breaking news to tell you about. This just in from Reuters. A blast at a U.S. embassy in Baghdad's green zone. No word yet on the casualties. An embassy source has reported this to Reuters. Once again, a blast at U.S. embassy in Baghdad's green zone. CNN has confirmed this blast. This, of course, as we are just hours away now from one of the most historic moments in Iraqi history amid violence, confusion and threats of blood shed. Iraqis are going to head to the polls for the first time in 50 years to vote for their national assembly and its 18 provincial councils. We'll be right back with more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIER: We have breaking news right now out of Iraq. An explosion has occurred in the green zone in Baghdad near the U.S. embassy. Our Anderson Cooper is standing by live in Baghdad. Anderson, what can you tell us?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rudi, at this point there is very limited information but we do know that there has been some sort of explosion at the U.S. embassy in the green zone. This, of course, a heavily fortified area. Now it could be a mortar blast. It could be some sort of device that was brought in. At this point, we simply do not know what the situation is. But traffic into the green zone is extraordinarily limited.

Anyone even entering that zone has to go through a series of checkpoints that it can take even several hours, depending on how long the lines are. There are multiple physical checks of any person entering. Vehicles entering are extremely limited. It is very difficult for anyone who is not a U.S. government personnel or an Iraqi government official to get inside the green zone in a vehicle. So, at this point, the green zone certainly has been mortared in the past. All we know is that there has been some sort of an explosion at the U.S. embassy inside the green zone.

This, of course, comes some less than 24 hours before Iraqis go to the polls in this country's first historic election. There has been, of course, an escalation in violence over the last several days. A U.S. soldier was killed on Saturday as well as a number of Iraqi security personnel, insurgents having vowed to do whatever they could to try to stop the voting. They have been handing out leaflets in the past several weeks. In Baghdad alone in this last week, they handed out leaflets saying they would wash the streets in blood of anyone who dared to vote on Sunday.

The polls, however, open 7:00 am. We will see how many Iraqis turn out to vote in this country's first elections after Saddam Hussein has gone. Rudi?

BAKHTIER: Anderson, as you said, we're just hours away from one of the most historic moments in Iraqi history. This is coming amid violence, confusion over the balloting and the people who are running for election and threats of blood baths. What is the mood of the Iraqi people there?

COOPER: I think there's certainly a lot of anticipation. There is also certainly fear. It really depends on who you talk to. So much will depend on the security situation on Sunday. It is several hours now until then. It is nighttime here in Baghdad. I think a lot of people are going to sort of wake up Sunday morning, take a look outside their window, step outside their door and see what the situation is on their street.

I can tell you Baghdad and probably many places around the country, the security is extraordinarily tight right now. I mean, there is always tight security here in Baghdad, but the streets are virtually empty. There is a curfew in effect and there will be a curfew in effect for several days. There are virtually no cars on the streets of Baghdad, which is an extraordinary sight. Baghdad is a city prone to large traffic jams. The streets are empty. Cars cannot move around. There is not freedom of movement for people. So, they are doing everything they can to try to secure this city, at least. Whether the insurgents are able to strike and how big those strikes might be tomorrow is something a lot of Iraqis will be waiting to see, Rudi.

BAKHTIER: Anderson, you've had a chance to be embedded with some of the troops over the past week. Tell us, what's going to be the biggest challenge for U.S. forces there and Iraqi forces?

COOPER: Well, the last several days, U.S. forces have really focused on trying to secure these polling stations. There are hundreds of polling stations in Baghdad alone. And U.S. forces have been going around, checking up on Iraqi security forces, who are the ones who are actually physically at the polling stations. U.S. forces, at least according to plan, are not supposed to be within sight of the polling stations. They are sort of on the outer perimeter, the inner perimeter around the polling stations, Iraqi security forces, Iraqi National Guard troops, Iraqi police forces. And they have been deployed in great numbers.

I think U.S. forces, they are doing this job 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They have been doing it now for quite a long time. And night after night and day after day, they go on patrol. They're checking in with the Iraqi security forces and that is so much of the primary focus for the U.S. military right now, trying to get these Iraqi security forces on line, trying to get them trained as best they can and trying to make sure that they can carry out the very difficult job of trying to maintain security. That, of course, the number one issue for just about everyone here in Iraq, Iraqis and Americans, Rudi.

BAKHTIER: Of course, we're checking in with Anderson Cooper in Baghdad on an explosion that occurred Saturday near the U.S. embassy. Of course, no other details are immediately available.

Anderson, tell us about where you were when you heard the explosion. Put us in the mood of where you are. It's very dark out there. It's daytime here in the U.S. What can you tell us?

COOPER: Well, you know, you get used in Baghdad to hearing the sounds of explosions, hearing mortars, hearing improvised explosive devices going off. Often when you hear them, it's sort of a distant rumble or sometimes you hope it doesn't get too close. It gets too loud, sometimes the windows will shake with the sound or the sound of the impact. This particular blast, I didn't hear, though one can generally hear these things. You don't always hear where they're going off. But we have confirmed there has been some sort of an explosion, some sort of detonation at the embassy in the green zone. Again, we do not know. It could have been a mortar. Mortars are routinely fired into the green zone because insurgents know that is where U.S. military personnel are and where Iraqi government personnel are. It is a prime target for mortar blasts for insurgents trying to make some sort of a statement.

So at this point, it is not clear if it is just a mortar blast or actually someone having entered into the green zone. That has happened before. But, as I said, the security at the green zone is extraordinarily tight. And for someone to physically get in with some sort of device is a very difficult thing. I mean, literally, it is a number of checkpoints, physical searches, body scans and they take security very seriously there.

I can tell you, I have been through those checkpoints myself. They search you extraordinarily thoroughly. They search any item you have very thoroughly as well. So chances are, I mean, odds are there was some sort of a mortar, some sort of projectile that was fired into the green zone. But at this point, we simply don't know, Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: All right. Our Anderson Cooper reporting live from Baghdad.

Thank you, Anderson.

Of course, we're going to have more on this developing story for you. An explosion occurring near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in the heavily fortified green zone just minutes ago. We will bring you more details as we get them in.

We're going to take a short break. We'll be back after this.

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


Aired January 29, 2005 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RUDI BAKHTIAR, ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. It is Noon in Atlanta, socked in by an ice storm here; 8:00 in the evening in Baghdad on the eve of a historic election, there.
Hello everyone, I'm Rudi Bakhtiar at CNN's global headquarters in for Fredricka Whitfield, today. Ahead this hour:

Lockdown: We're going to take you live to Baghdad where coalition and Iraqi forces ratchet up security measures with the start of voting just eleven how hours away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I consider it as an honor, a privilege and more than those, an obligation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIAR: That voting is taking place, not just in Iraq, but also here in America. We're going to go live to one of the polling places to check that out. Also, how is the election being covered by the world's Arab news media? We're going to talk with the Washington Bureau chief for the Arab new.

But first, the top stories in the news, right now. The southeast is slipping and sliding on ice, snow, and sleet. The worst is yet to come in the Carolinas. Power outages are expected there as ice builds up on trees and power lines. The storm is dumping up four inches of a wintry mix across the region.

The transportation hub of the South is moving, if at all, at a crawl. Around Atlanta, the storm closed sections of four different interstates. Three-hundred workers are trying to keep up by spreading salt and sand on roads and runways. Dozens of flights have been canceled. The advice from Georgia state police: Stay at home.

Well, it's not over yet for the Southeast. Our Rob Marciano joining us for a quick look at the weather. Rob, how ugly is it?

(WEATHER REPORT)

BAKHTIAR: An amazing day in Iraq: Throughout Iraq, security is tight on this eve, the eve of that country's first free elections in half of a century. Final preparations are underway at more that 30,000 polling stations set to open in less than 11 hours. CNN's Jeff Koinange is in Baghdad. Jeff, what can you tell us?

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rudi, the clock is ticking and security unprecedented across the city and across the country, as well. But, this didn't prevent a suicide bomber in the town of Khanaqin, that's about 60 miles northeast of Baquba, right close to the Iranian border. From walking up to the gates of a military base, detonating himself. Now in the ensuing commotion, a nearby improvised explosive device went off, and that killed eight people, wounded several others.

Here in Baghdad, officials tell us that insurgents fired on a police stations, wounding two Iraqi police officers, but not before making off with a stolen police car. Why is that significant? Well, on election day, only official cars will be allowed in and around polling stations. A stolen police car is not good news.

But, having said that, security in the city today, unprecedented. In the words of one Iraqi, "airtight." You could see U.S. and Iraqi soldiers on the streets in Humvees, in tanks, on foot patrol, and there were checkpoints just about on every block. They were stopping vehicles, checking, searching drivers, making sure nobody is going to derail a country's date with destiny. Now, just hours away, Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: Jeff, thank you very much. Our Jeff Koinange out of Baghdad.

Well, Iraq's elections mark a pivotal day not only for that country's people, but President Bush as well, and U.S. allies who sent troops into Iraq to oppose Saddam Hussein. CNN's Elaine Quijano joining us now from the White House.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Rudi. President Bush says the election is a turning point in Iraq's history, in his words, "A milestone in the advance of freedom."

Now, President Bush returned to the White House yesterday afternoon after speaking with congressional republicans at their retreat in West Virginia. This morning, though, the president devoted his entire weekly radio address to the Iraq election. In it he laid his view that this is just the beginning of a larger process, one the administration hopes will be a move to democracy in Iraq, the Middle East, and eventually worldwide. President Bush also outlined why he believes the election is important to Americans.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our nation has always been more secure when freedom is on the march. As hope and freedom spread, the appeal of terror and hate will fade. And there is not a democratic nation in our world that threatens the security of the United States.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, democrats are praising the Iraq election, saying it will be a great day for many people, but at the same time, they are repeating criticisms of President Bush's handling of Iraq, particularly in the post-war phase, talking about the disbanding of the Iraqi army and also saying more U.S. troops should have been put in place immediately after the war in order to help stabilize and secure the country. But, President Bush, in the past, has defended his policy, maintaining the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power.

Now, as for President Bush's schedule so far, aides say he had his usual briefings, that he also had a meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney, here at the White House. We understand he went on a bike ride. And we're told that on Iraq, he is keeping in close contact, Rudi with his national security adviser, his new national security adviser, Steve Hadley, who is giving him updates -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: All right. President Bush saying that it's the beginning of a larger process. Elaine Quijano at the White House, thank you.

For the second day, Iraqi ex-pats are flooding polls from Sydney, Australia all the way to Detroit, Michigan. More than 280,000 ex-pats in 14 different countries are registered to vote. Here in Berlin, early morning voters braved the cold. More than 26,000 Iraqis are registered in Germany. And turnout is (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

In Amman, Jordan, voters are showing up despite threats and calls for a boycott. More than 20,000 Iraqis are registered in Jordan. At least one man traveled from as far away from Cairo, Egypt, to cast his ballot.

An Iraqi expatriate voting in Michigan described it as the greatest day of his life. Polling places are set up in five U.S. cities and right now, we're going to check in with two of them.

Gary Nuremburg is in New Carrollton, Maryland, and Denise Belgrave is in Nashville, Tennessee.

Let's start in Maryland with you, Gary.

GARY NUREMBURG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Rudi. Homeland Security secretary, Tom Ridge, told CNN's Jeanne Meserve that the government has no specific or credible information that international or domestic terrorist groups are targeting voting sites in the United States. But clearly, they have the symbolic appeal to terrorists and security here is so intense that Iraqi voters are facing scrutiny unseen by Americans.

If they wanted to vote here in Maryland today, they were forced to stand in line in freezing temperatures. I'm told they were escorted one by one into a security tent where pockets and purses were emptied, where everyone had to be patted down and wanded before they were allowed to vote. And that was the most recent obstacle these Iraqi voters had to face.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NUREMBURG (voice-over): Voting here isn't easy. Iraqis, up and down the eastern seaboard, had to drive hundreds of miles to register and then make the return trip to vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's worth it, because this is a future of our country. This is a freedom of our peoples.

NUREMBURG: Some live in the United States because they feared Saddam's regime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they catch me, they will kill me, even at one minute. They don't let you stay alive for one minute.

NUREMBURG: Iraqis who lived under that tyranny for most of their lives brought their children today as they cast votes for their future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My daughter will be proud of me, that I'm voting for my country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NUREMBURG: Many of the voters, here today, did bring their children, because they wanted them to be part of this historic moment in Iraq's history. And though clearly, many people here were joyful at the opportunity to vote, it's important to remember that there are an estimated 240,000 Iraqis living in the United States who are eligible to vote and, as Rudi said, only 26,000 of them took the time and effort to register.

BAKHTIAR: Gary, it's so easy to see the pride in these people's eyes. Thank you very much. Gary Nuremberg in New Carrollton, Maryland.

Let's go to Denise Belgrave now. She's standing by in Nashville, Tennessee, at one of the other polling stations.

What can you tell us, Denise?

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rudi. Turnout has been steady here, pretty much all through the day. As we know, this is one of five stations across the United States. And the theme here, you hit it exactly right. It's really been about Iraqi pride. We've seen people coming with flags on their cars, both American flags as well as Iraqi flags. We also saw a bunch of people come in their traditional dress. And when we spoke to people, all of them expressed the same sentiment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, god bless America. Really. I'm so, so, so happy, really. Because this is the first time, I feel, I'm a human, really. This is the first time in my life. Never, really. I'm just -- I wish I cry, but...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for freedom. I come from Wichita, Kansas, 13 drive, not care about snow, not care about rain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELGRAVE: And weather really was a key factor for a lot of these people. Many of them drove all night and they drove through snow and they drove through rain in order to get here in order to cast their ballot. We heard a lot of really interesting personal stories. We met a man who was actually jailed by Saddam Hussein and tortured. We also met a 70-year-old man who is suffering from leukemia, came all the way from Missouri to cast his vote here -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: Well, if that doesn't attest to how big of a day it is, I don't know what does. Denise Belgrave is in Nashville, Tennessee. Thank you very much.

For expatriates voting today, some see it as a civic duty; others see it as a long sought after privilege. But for this Dr. Mandhi Abdullah, voting means shaping the future and also remembering the past. CNN's Allan Chernoff now, with that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Mandhi Abdullah remembers a joke about a man who once voted against Saddam Hussein, but then was so afraid that he asked the chief of elections to change his ballot.

DR. MANDHI ABDULLAH, IRAQI VOTER: Don't worry about it, we changed it already. So, that was the sort of democracy.

CHERNOFF: The sort of democracy that had his loved ones murdered and forced him, in 1993, to flee to the United States.

ABDULLAH: All Iraqi families suffered because of Saddam Hussein, no exception. Personally, I lost a cousin, I lost a brother. I lost a lot of friends (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

CHERNOFF: For the Abdullah family, bitter memories made the opportunity to vote in the Iraqi election even sweeter.

ABDULLAH: It's you civil duty to vote and it's a human privilege to vote.

ALEQ ABDULLAH, DAUGHTER: I'm excited that my parents are going to get the chance to vote, because, in the end, it's really my future. I'm going to be living in that country soon, I hope.

CHERNOFF: With that hope, the Abdullah's pack their bag and drove five hours to New Carrollton, Maryland, the closest polling station to their home in Queens, New York. And they did, what two years ago, would have seemed unthinkable.

ABDULLAH: We did it. It was great. I mean, you come in here, you cast your vote. You let your voice be heard back in your home. That's great!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's good that my father vote, because you can vote the good people in and the bad out.

CHERNOFF: Almost 24 hours later, they returned Abdullah's returned home, exhausted, but hopeful that their ballots will make a difference.

ABDULLAH: This is storm No. 1 one in the democracy. We have to achieve 100, so this is one. Maybe my kid or their kids, my grandkids, will enjoy the real democracy in Iraq.

CHERNOFF: Allan Chernoff, CNN New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR: Still ahead, securing Iraq: Checkpoints are manned as bridges are closed and the country hunkers down for its historic vote. But, what exactly are the Iraqis voting for? We're going to be taking a closer look at that. Also, we'll be taking a closer look at what Arabs across the region are saying about Iraq's elections. And then this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You fly high above the clouds, endless stretches of sand far below. It's only when you're right above Baghdad, you realize this is not a normal flight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIAR: CNN's Anderson Cooper taking us along on a nail-biting journey into Baghdad. CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIAR: There it is, folks. Ice is building up on trees and power lines across parts of the Southeast this hour. Freezing rain is the rule from Georgia all the way into the Carolinas. Here in Atlanta, ice forms a quarter inch thick coating some city streets. Very dangerous.

The storm shut down parts of interstate highways in the Atlanta metro area. Police report at least two fatal accidents may be linked to the treacherous driving conditions. And there are hundreds of flight cancellations at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. It's normally one of the nations busiest. Not today. Airport workers are battling freezing rain and ice as they attempt to keep runways open and planes deiced.

All right, let's check in with Rob Marciano at the CNN Weather Center with one eye out the window and another one on the computer data regarding that messy Southern winter storm.

Rob, how cold is it out there?

(WEATHER REPORT)

BAKHTIAR: All right, thanks Rob. Now, let's take a look at other stories making news across America.

The execution of an admitted serial killer has been put off until Monday in Connecticut. Michael Ross this spared this morning on word of a possible conflict of interest with his attorney. Ross admits killing eight women in the 1980s. If he's put to death, that will be New England's first execution since the 1960s.

One day before his trials on child molestation, Michael Jackson reportedly is planning to release a video statement on his Web site. Jackson's publicist says the singer will comment on leaks of grand jury testimony. His representatives say the clip has been cleared by the judge in the case.

And American actress Angelina Jolie is Switzerland's World Economic Forum she's tired of celebrities grandstanding for the poor, they need to know what they're talking about.

Yesterday, Sharon Stone got up from the audience, raising one millions of dollars in five minutes from business leaders to fight Malaria in Africa. Jolie has been a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Refugee Agency four years and says she says she gives one-third of her income to charity.

Comining up next, Iraqi security locks down on the country as voters prepare to head to the polls. We're going to be taking a closer look at what that entails when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIAR: Welcome back, everyone. In his radio address today, President Bush acknowledged Iraqis are risking their lives to establish democracy. He said America's mission there will continue after the elections to help establish security and train Iraq's police force.

Here to talk about the election and securing Iraq in the face of a violent insurgency is CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Major General Don Shepperd.

Thank you very much for joining us.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Pleasure, Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: Let's start off with security. A lot of stepped up security measures all throughout Iraq, especially at the polling stations.

SHEPPERD: Yeah, here's the idea: The Iraqis secure the polling place, the Americans are on call. Both of them have been conducting extensive offensive operations to interdict the insurgence part of this. There are over 300,000 security people, about 150,000 U.S. forces, the rest being Iraqis. The Iraqis are spotting, not all well trained, but it's going to be -- it's still going to be bloody in various places, no matter who's providing the security. BAKHTIAR: Another problem, I understand is going to be the actual voting. So much is unclear. Iraqis are confused. Let's talk about who is eligible to vote, first of all, there.

SHEPPERD: Yeah, first of all, anybody that's 18 years or older, that an Iraqi citizen or eligible for Iraqi citizenship is eligible to vote. There are about 14.5 million Iraqis themselves within Iraq that are eligible to vote and almost 260,000 expatriates. So it should be -- there's a large pool of people that are eligible to vote.

BAKHTIAR: One thing interestingly to me though, is that until recently, a lot of Iraqis didn't know that they're not voting for a president?

SHEPPERD: Yeah, it's confusing. They're voting for a 275-seat national assembly. There's 111 political parties, slates, if you will, that they are voting for. These are numbered, and there are symbols that have been advertised on televisions and by posters and this type of thing. But, they are voting for the slate.

Now, on this slate, there's over 7,000 candidates, on the this slate, but they don't see any of the names. Now, when this assembly is seated, they are seated on the percentage of the vote they get in the national assembly. If they get -- for instance if they get 20 percent of the vote, they get 20 percent of the seats in the national assembly. And then this national assembly, what they do is they select a president and two deputy presidents and they select the prime minister who appoints the ministers and that starts the process.

BAKHTIAR: How long will it be before we know the results of this election?

SHEPPERD: It's probably going to be at least a couple weeks before we know the results of this election. And then that sets off this national assembly, after they choose the officials, they write a constitution. That constitution should be done by August 15. By October 15, there's a national referendum to accept the constitution, and then there's a national election December '05 if this all goes well and together.

BAKHTIAR: General, how optimistic are you that the elections will go forward?

SHEPPERD: The elections, I'm positive, the elections will go forward. I am not optimistic, but I am hopeful we won't see too much violence and that there will be a large turnout, over 50 percent, more than the U.S. elections. So, I'm hopeful as opposed to optimistic.

BAKHTIAR: All right, General Don Shepperd, you're going to be joining us later to discuss more aspects of the voting in Iraq. Thank you again.

SHEPPERD: My pleasure.

BAKHTIAR: Well, coming up, a historic day for a remarkable Iraqi woman. We're going to introduce you to Vivian Shamoun when we come back. And later:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The plane turned sharply, spiraling downward, a corkscrew landing in order to avoid taking fire, though insurgents know the maneuver. Not everything goes as planned, however. Suddenly fighter jets appear underneath there's fighting at the airport. It's too dangerous to land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIAR: And dangerous conditions for Westerners covering the Iraqi elections. Anderson Cooper's first person account of entering Baghdad earlier this week a bit later on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIAR: Welcome back, everyone. Last weekend, it was the Northeast, but this weekend, a winter storm is dropping ice, snow, and sleet across a wide swath of the Southeast from the Alabama to Carolinas. CNN meteorologist, Rob Marciano, is going to give us the latest on the storm in about 10 minutes.

And, three Pakistani men suspected of having links to al-Qaeda have been arrested in Lahore. Then men, from a frontier province, are believed to have ties to the al-Qaeda leadership and are being questioned.

Also, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Perez is lobbying the European Union on behalf of the Palestinians. Perez is attending the World Economic Conference in Switzerland. He's urging the E.U. to build

RUDI BAKHTIER, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE SATURDAY: ...and are being questioned.

Also, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shamon Peres is lobbying the European Union on behalf of the Palestinians. Peres is attending the world economic conference in Switzerland. He's urging EU to build in factories in Palestinian industrial zones in order to help better secure an Israeli/Palestinian peace.

In less than 12 hours, voting is scheduled to begin in Iraq in the first of free elections in half a century there, but with insurgents threatening to target anyone who votes, security has been stepped up throughout the country. In Baghdad, all bridges but one leading to the city, are closed until Monday and vehicle traffic throughout Iraq will be restricted near polling sites.

Meanwhile, violence has escalated ahead of the elections. Eight people have been killed, seven wounded in two bombings at a U.S./Iraqi coordination facility in the Kurdish town of Khanaqin. The explosions killed three Iraqi soldiers at the joint coordination center there. Five Iraqi civilians were also killed.

For Iraqis living in other countries, polling places have been open since Friday. Here in the United States, voters in Maryland lined up Saturday to cast their votes in the historic election. Earlier, voters in Germany crowded polls to cast their ballots as well. Many Iraqis living in 12 other countries are also voting.

Let's go overseas now. The fighting in Iraq forced many Iraqis to leave for neighboring Syria where voting is under way. We're going to get a closer look at the situation unfolding there right now from CNN's Brent Sadler who's in Damascus and has one voter's story. Hello, Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Rudi. Thanks Rudi. More than 10,000 Iraqis living here in Syria have now cast their votes on this the second day of balloting in the capital Damascus. One of those voting today was a woman who worked as an administrator at the heart of U.S. endeavors in Baghdad, hoping to win the battle for democracy. She fled very recently to the Syrian capital. Here is her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER (voice-over): Vivian Shamoon prepares to vote a long way from home. An Iraqi Christian, marooned in Syria, but keeping her spirits high.

VIVIAN SHAMOON, IRAQI VOTER: I feel I can say anything free. So, I can do what I want. This is the freedom, which we look for.

SADLER: Vivian, a (INAUDIBLE) Catholic, fled Iraq after waging her own courageous fight for freedom, stepping forward when the United States first administered Iraq, working in an office close to the top official at that time. Paul Bremer?

SHAMOON: Paul Bremer, yeah, working with the Americans. Oh, my God. I fear when I start to work with them, I'm living a different life. You know, I'm Iraqi. I have never seen Saddam, but I saw Colin Powell. When I saw him, oh, he is my friend.

SADLER: But they are friends she left far behind three months ago, resigning her communications job at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, her ID badge unexpired. The widowed mother, her daughters and son ran for their lives, luck running out.

SHAMOON: (INAUDIBLE) killing people was so close to my house. See, here, the windows are all broken. My son was here when the bombing happened. He was nearly to be killed.

SADLER: With treasured memories and glowing references, Vivian regrets being forced to give up an endeavor she believed in.

SHAMOON: I miss all that. Really, I miss all that. But this is the life. We have to survive for my family.

SADLER: Surviving in Syria for now, contemplating a better life in America, if the U.S. takes her. The election offers Iraqis hope, she says, but Vivian worries the shadow of Saddam Hussein is not erased.

SHAMOON: No, not yet. Not yet unless I will see the change in Baghdad.

SADLER: A change for good that Vivian and her fellow worshipers pray for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER: Well, we caught up with Vivian Shamoon a few hours ago when she went to one of the 10 polling stations here in the capital Damascus. She dropped her voting slip inside the box along with many other Iraqis. Afterwards, she told me she felt she had done her duty and had taken another small step to freedom. As far as who she chose for, well, she said that was her secret. Rudi?

BAKHTIER: All right. Brent Sadler in Baghdad. Thank you very much for that touching story.

Iraq's ballot is gripping news in the Arab world where it's being watched very carefully, whether it's with hope on cynicism. Barbara Ferguson is the Washington bureau chief of Arab news, the leading English language daily in the Middle East. Hello Barbara. Thank you so much for joining us.

BARBARA FERGUSON, ARAB NEWS: Thank you, Rudi.

BAKHTIER: Well, you're covering this. Tell us, how is the Arab world viewing these elections?

FERGUSON: There's a joke, you know, a joke in the Arab world right now that they hope that the American military didn't come all the way to Iraq just to establish a fundamentalist regime there.

BAKHTIER: So that's not a very optimistic outlook. FERGUSON: No, it isn't. It isn't and I think everybody is bracing themselves, especially the regimes, the Sunni regimes in the area, they're bracing themselves for the results and the possibility of a Shia majority being elected tomorrow.

BAKHTIER: So, you think whatever the results are that, these elections would not be deemed legitimate by the Arab world?

FERGUSON: No, I think -- I don't think that's a question because as you know, this is just a process. This is a transitional national assembly. It's a year-long process that will be -- that is going to put a government in place after one year after they elect their president, their vice president, they write their constitution. So, I think everybody is going to be watching very closely what happens during this year, especially the Shia - I'm sorry, the Sunni monarchies throughout the region, which are very concerned that the elections are going to upset balance of power between Shia and Sunni in the region.

BAKHTIER: Especially when we're not going to see - we're going to see and find out how many Sunnis are actually going to make it to the polls.

FERGUSON: Right. Right. And you know, another thing Rudi that I think is very interesting is that all of the surrounding countries have, with the exception of Iraq, have a Sunni majority and a Shia minority and they're very worried these monarchies that now the Shia, when they see what happens in Iraq, they're going to stand up and say that we want to have our rights too or maybe they're even going to sympathize with what's happening in Iraq and there could be a problem of turmoil in their own countries.

Another issue they're worried about is civil war and if you have the Sunni insurgents in Iraq working, for example, with the al Qaeda insurgents, for example, in Saudi Arabia, you do have Sunni al Qaeda insurgents. How is this going to affect the countries? Will Iraq become like an Afghanistan, where you'll have the Sunni fighters being trained there and then returning to their countries to cause turmoil?

BAKHTIER: What does the average Iraqi say? What does the average Iraqi want the outcome of this election to be?

FERGUSON: Boy, I wish I -- obviously, the average Iraqi does want to have peace. They do want -- the average Iraqi also wants to see the Americans leave. They want to be able to rule their own country. But, of course, you know, we're just bracing ourselves to see what happens tomorrow after the elections.

BAKHTIER: All right. Barbara Ferguson from Arab News. Thank you so much for joining us this evening.

FERGUSON: My pleasure. Thank you.

BAKHTIER: Still ahead, going into the danger zone. CNN's Anderson Cooper takes us along for this nerve wracking ride as he enters Baghdad. But first, it may not be the biggest winter storm this year, but it sure is making a mess in the southeast. A live report and the forecast coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIER: Last weekend, it was the northeast. This weekend, it's the southeast's turn. A winter storm has left parts of the region covered in a layer of ice, sleet and some higher elevations are seeing snow. The storm has caused numerous accidents already. At least two traffic deaths in Georgia are believed to be linked to the storm and there are increasing concerns that the ice that's falling could topple trees onto power lines leading to some massive power outages. Also, in Atlanta, travel in and out of Heartsfield (ph) Jackson airport has been severely affected as conditions have forced airlines to cancel dozens of flights today. Nicole Allhouse of CNN affiliate WAGA in Atlanta is at the airport and joins us now live. Nicole I imagine not much action there.

NICOLE ALLHOUSE, WAGA ATLANTA: Reporter: Not a lot at all Rudi. It's quite a mess here. We're here at Heartsfield-Jackson where 80 percent of their flights have been canceled. Now that means there's only a few left and those ones have been delayed. People are looking at delays anywhere from 40 minutes to eight hours. If we take a look at some video we just shot a few minutes ago, it's people just inside, sleeping, taking naps, doing anything they can to pass the time. The problem is not with planes coming in. Planes can come in just fine with 35 plows here to clear these runways.

The problem is planes going out. They just don't have enough deicing machines to handle this many aircraft at the airport. People say that they have missed weddings, cruises. It's really a true mess out here. Some people left to go find a hotel as where other people said they're just going to stay here and hope they can get on another flight. Now with so many cancellations and delays, some people say they are going to be stuck here, because their connecting flight was obviously let go, which means the next flight, for example, to Savannah Georgia, isn't until tomorrow. So people said, you know what, we're going to sleep in the airport tonight. There's plenty of food here. There's a bathroom. We'll use the facilities and we'll fly out tomorrow.

Now that's hoping this weather clears up. In the last few minutes, the rain and freezing rain has started to fall again. The airport is telling everybody, if you're coming to the airport today, flying in or out of Atlanta, of course, call your carrier first because, again, it's quite a mess. Cancellations and delays. For now we are live at Heartsfield-Jackson. Nicole Allhouse for FOX five news.

BAKHTIER: All right. Our thanks to Nicole for that report. Well, Rob Marciano is at the CNN weather center with the latest on the storm. Rob, it's not looking good, is it?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, I think we have at good five or six hours here at least in Atlanta to get through this and then that will continue to end up the I-85 corridor. But for now, it's still looking nasty with temperatures that are below freezing in north Georgia and parts of the Carolinas as well.

We are starting to see some warming conditions mostly along the coast line, places like Savannah and Charleston have seen temperatures rise above freezing, but where you get that wedge of cold air that slides to the east of the Appalachian mountains, that's still where it's sub freezing and not only just north Georgia and Atlanta, but really south of town also.

Here, we're starting to see some snows push up into parts of North Carolina but where you'll see the heaviest snows is really right along the Piedmont. Over top of the Appalachians, it is slightly warmer, but not quite warm enough to melt precip that's falling in places like Indianapolis and in through parts of Chicago. Chicago and D.C. will get a little bit of snow, but it shouldn't be all that bad. This storm should say south, it looks like, of New York and Boston, who have had their fair share of winter conditions. Daytime highs today, 34 in St. Louis, it'll be 34 in Chicago, 34 in New York, 32 degrees expected in Atlanta, Georgia. Winter storm warnings posted for north Georgia. This will probably be extended until 6:00 or 7:00 tonight and then ice storm warnings for parts of South Carolina, that will be ongoing until early tomorrow morning. Not the best weather if you're feeling sick. Red states where the flu activity is high according to the CDC.

Your cold and flu report, Texas, Minnesota, Kentucky, looking at New York and Vermont, Maryland also. Widespread snow reported there. The winter mess continues, Rudi. Again, here in Atlanta, probably another five, six hours and then it won't be until tomorrow morning, before things start to warm up. And even worse conditions I think if you go to like Columbia, South Carolina, up to the north in through western parts of North Carolina and that won't end until likely tomorrow afternoon. So southeast finally getting a winter storm and it's ugly in the form of ice. Back to you.

BAKHTIER: And you're going to be a busy man for a while, aren't you, Rob?

MARCIANO: Yes.

BAKHTIER: Thank you, Rob Marciano.

MARCIANO: See you.

BAKHTIER: How times have changed and how some well-known destinations have changed with them. When CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues, you're going to see just how much some places many of us know and love have changed over the years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIER: Check this out. Those were the pyramids many years ago. This is now. Interested in visiting tourist spots like the pyramids that were hot 100 years ago? "National Geographic Traveler" magazine can help you out and here now with us, is Keith Bellows from "National Geographic Traveler" magazine. Keith, thank you so much for joining us. KEITH BELLOWS, "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER" MAGAZINE: Hi there. My pleasure.

BAKHTIER: Well, start us off here. We're talking about a series of place that is look a lot different these days. Where do you want to start? Do you want to start with the pyramids or Niagara Falls?

BELLOW: Why not? We'll start with the pyramids if you've got it up there. One of the great things about this is it's a way to look at how travel has changed, how it hasn't changed and how it hasn't hasn't changed. Look at this. I mean here we have sort of debutantes of the time. This is about 1917 in front of the pyramids. That was then. Go to now and what you see is Cairo moving closer and closer to the pyramids. So they're still out there. They're still having fun and they're just a little bit closer than they were back then.

BAKHTIER: They're building them closer and closer, aren't they?

BELLOWS: Yeah.

BAKHTIER: And those pictures looked amazing from years and years ago. All right. Let's talk about Niagara Falls now and then.

BELLOWS: This is at the turn of the century. This is actually before 1900. You see the American falls back there. Boy! You can't see that like that now. There's buses, tourists. They're balustrades and everything else and of course you see these folks getting ready to sort of climb down to the Maid of the Mist in their yellow parkas and so forth. It's a lot more modern experience and certainly a lot more crowded; 14 million people come to see the Niagara Falls every year.

BAKHTIER: Something I'm noticing, is that the previous pictures are so simple and serene and then the new pictures are colorful and hyped up and busy.

BELLOWS: That's right.

BAKHTIER: How about Hong Kong? Has Hong Kong changed a lot in the past years?

BELLOWS: Hong Kong has changed. Look at this. This is sort of like that sort of wonderful noir thing that you think of when you see the movies. Come to Hong Kong now, it is one of the great urban, sort of polyglot cities, energetic, part of China now as we all know, soon probably to be eclipsed by mainland China, but it is energy personified, probably different than what you saw.

BAKHTIER: Probably very different and Capetown, one of the places that I am dying to visit. I have been to South Africa, never to Capetown. What was it like before? Is this is a picture from when?

BELLOWS: 1917. This is Capetown way before it was. There's Table mountain, which of course still dominates the horizon there and look what's happened in the intervening years. It's the sixth, fifth largest city in South Africa. Boy, it's energetic, exciting and of course it's filled in a little bit of the space at the foot of Table Mountain.

BAKHTIER: All right. How about Bejing, another place that I would love to visit.

BELLOWS: Beijing, the picture we have here, this is 1902. Man getting hair cut. You can still do that. In fact, the picture that we show which was shot much more recently, pretty much the same place, certainly the same thing. However, this is going to vanish very quickly. Beijing is probably the city that is changing most quickly in the world because they're getting ready for the Olympics. They're leveling whole city blocks to make way for the Olympics.

BAKHTIER: And what an Olympics it will be. Keith Bellows from "National Geographic Traveler" magazine. Thank you for joining us.

BELLOW: My pleasure.

BAKHTIER: We have this breaking news to tell you about. This just in from Reuters. A blast at a U.S. embassy in Baghdad's green zone. No word yet on the casualties. An embassy source has reported this to Reuters. Once again, a blast at U.S. embassy in Baghdad's green zone. CNN has confirmed this blast. This, of course, as we are just hours away now from one of the most historic moments in Iraqi history amid violence, confusion and threats of blood shed. Iraqis are going to head to the polls for the first time in 50 years to vote for their national assembly and its 18 provincial councils. We'll be right back with more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIER: We have breaking news right now out of Iraq. An explosion has occurred in the green zone in Baghdad near the U.S. embassy. Our Anderson Cooper is standing by live in Baghdad. Anderson, what can you tell us?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rudi, at this point there is very limited information but we do know that there has been some sort of explosion at the U.S. embassy in the green zone. This, of course, a heavily fortified area. Now it could be a mortar blast. It could be some sort of device that was brought in. At this point, we simply do not know what the situation is. But traffic into the green zone is extraordinarily limited.

Anyone even entering that zone has to go through a series of checkpoints that it can take even several hours, depending on how long the lines are. There are multiple physical checks of any person entering. Vehicles entering are extremely limited. It is very difficult for anyone who is not a U.S. government personnel or an Iraqi government official to get inside the green zone in a vehicle. So, at this point, the green zone certainly has been mortared in the past. All we know is that there has been some sort of an explosion at the U.S. embassy inside the green zone.

This, of course, comes some less than 24 hours before Iraqis go to the polls in this country's first historic election. There has been, of course, an escalation in violence over the last several days. A U.S. soldier was killed on Saturday as well as a number of Iraqi security personnel, insurgents having vowed to do whatever they could to try to stop the voting. They have been handing out leaflets in the past several weeks. In Baghdad alone in this last week, they handed out leaflets saying they would wash the streets in blood of anyone who dared to vote on Sunday.

The polls, however, open 7:00 am. We will see how many Iraqis turn out to vote in this country's first elections after Saddam Hussein has gone. Rudi?

BAKHTIER: Anderson, as you said, we're just hours away from one of the most historic moments in Iraqi history. This is coming amid violence, confusion over the balloting and the people who are running for election and threats of blood baths. What is the mood of the Iraqi people there?

COOPER: I think there's certainly a lot of anticipation. There is also certainly fear. It really depends on who you talk to. So much will depend on the security situation on Sunday. It is several hours now until then. It is nighttime here in Baghdad. I think a lot of people are going to sort of wake up Sunday morning, take a look outside their window, step outside their door and see what the situation is on their street.

I can tell you Baghdad and probably many places around the country, the security is extraordinarily tight right now. I mean, there is always tight security here in Baghdad, but the streets are virtually empty. There is a curfew in effect and there will be a curfew in effect for several days. There are virtually no cars on the streets of Baghdad, which is an extraordinary sight. Baghdad is a city prone to large traffic jams. The streets are empty. Cars cannot move around. There is not freedom of movement for people. So, they are doing everything they can to try to secure this city, at least. Whether the insurgents are able to strike and how big those strikes might be tomorrow is something a lot of Iraqis will be waiting to see, Rudi.

BAKHTIER: Anderson, you've had a chance to be embedded with some of the troops over the past week. Tell us, what's going to be the biggest challenge for U.S. forces there and Iraqi forces?

COOPER: Well, the last several days, U.S. forces have really focused on trying to secure these polling stations. There are hundreds of polling stations in Baghdad alone. And U.S. forces have been going around, checking up on Iraqi security forces, who are the ones who are actually physically at the polling stations. U.S. forces, at least according to plan, are not supposed to be within sight of the polling stations. They are sort of on the outer perimeter, the inner perimeter around the polling stations, Iraqi security forces, Iraqi National Guard troops, Iraqi police forces. And they have been deployed in great numbers.

I think U.S. forces, they are doing this job 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They have been doing it now for quite a long time. And night after night and day after day, they go on patrol. They're checking in with the Iraqi security forces and that is so much of the primary focus for the U.S. military right now, trying to get these Iraqi security forces on line, trying to get them trained as best they can and trying to make sure that they can carry out the very difficult job of trying to maintain security. That, of course, the number one issue for just about everyone here in Iraq, Iraqis and Americans, Rudi.

BAKHTIER: Of course, we're checking in with Anderson Cooper in Baghdad on an explosion that occurred Saturday near the U.S. embassy. Of course, no other details are immediately available.

Anderson, tell us about where you were when you heard the explosion. Put us in the mood of where you are. It's very dark out there. It's daytime here in the U.S. What can you tell us?

COOPER: Well, you know, you get used in Baghdad to hearing the sounds of explosions, hearing mortars, hearing improvised explosive devices going off. Often when you hear them, it's sort of a distant rumble or sometimes you hope it doesn't get too close. It gets too loud, sometimes the windows will shake with the sound or the sound of the impact. This particular blast, I didn't hear, though one can generally hear these things. You don't always hear where they're going off. But we have confirmed there has been some sort of an explosion, some sort of detonation at the embassy in the green zone. Again, we do not know. It could have been a mortar. Mortars are routinely fired into the green zone because insurgents know that is where U.S. military personnel are and where Iraqi government personnel are. It is a prime target for mortar blasts for insurgents trying to make some sort of a statement.

So at this point, it is not clear if it is just a mortar blast or actually someone having entered into the green zone. That has happened before. But, as I said, the security at the green zone is extraordinarily tight. And for someone to physically get in with some sort of device is a very difficult thing. I mean, literally, it is a number of checkpoints, physical searches, body scans and they take security very seriously there.

I can tell you, I have been through those checkpoints myself. They search you extraordinarily thoroughly. They search any item you have very thoroughly as well. So chances are, I mean, odds are there was some sort of a mortar, some sort of projectile that was fired into the green zone. But at this point, we simply don't know, Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: All right. Our Anderson Cooper reporting live from Baghdad.

Thank you, Anderson.

Of course, we're going to have more on this developing story for you. An explosion occurring near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in the heavily fortified green zone just minutes ago. We will bring you more details as we get them in.

We're going to take a short break. We'll be back after this.

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