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CNN Live Saturday

Donald Rumsfeld Traveled to Iraq for Christmas Eve; Internet Providers Cooperating with the NSA to Assist Intelligence; Many are Still Suffering from Last Year's Tsunami

Aired December 24, 2005 - 17:00   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: It shows the driver of Jordan's ambassador to Iraq. Jordan is demanding that the man be freed and is refusing to heed the militants' demands.
President Bush is letting his fingers do the walking to spread holiday cheer, that is. He called nine U.S. troops today. Eight men and one woman are deployed from Japan to the Persian Gulf. The president made the calls in recognition of their service to the nation.

To our top story now, your internet provider may be providing more than you could think, so could your phone company, the secret executive order President Bush signed in 2002, allowing the NSA to conduct domestic surveillance appears to have a broader reach than the White House has acknowledged. CNN's White House correspondent Dana Bash reports.

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DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The National Security Agency collects, traces, and analyzes a large amount of information with the help of U.S. telephone and internet companies, a source familiar with the program confirms to CNN. It's part of the president's secret directive in 2002 to monitor communication inside the U.S. with terror suspects abroad. The "New York Times," which first reported the story, says American telecommunications companies granted the NSA access to monitor, without a warrant, large volumes of internet and telephone communications flowing into and out of the United States.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I authorize the interception of international communications of people with known links to Al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations.

BASH: in acknowledging the NSA's domestic surveillance program, the president did not let on that the government is not just eavesdropping on conversations, but engaging in what intelligence and law enforcement experts called "data mining." Described to CNN by former officials familiar with the program as collecting and combing through large amounts of phone and internet traffic, who talked to whom, from where, and when, looking for patterns that point to terror suspects or plots.

GEORGE BAURIES, FMR. FBI AGENT: Two phones are talking 50 times a day, you've establish that there's some relationship between those two parties. You don't know the nature of it, you don't know whether it's criminal or non-criminal, but it furthers the investigative effort.

BASH: CNN was unable to confirm with any telecommunications companies whether they're cooperating with the government. The White House refused to confirm the "New York Times" report saying only, "This administration will continue to aggressively fight the war on terror and protect the American people, while at the same time uphold the civil liberties of the American people." Intelligence experts warn any public discussion of any highly classified activity is like revealing a battle plan too the enemy.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, FMR. DEPUTY CIA DIRECTOR: To talk about programs like this publicly, the terrorists will go to school on everything they can learn and they will tighten their communications and they will make the job of intercepting them, the job of finding out what they're doing, all the more difficult.

BASH: But civil liberties group say lecting and using such information, especially without a warrant, is a major violation of privacy.

LISA GRAVES, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: In the United States, no matter what the technology is, the American people have a right to privacy. They have a right to privacy with their communications when they sign up for telephone service or they sign up for internet service, they're not signing up for monitoring by the federal government.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And those civil liberties groups as well as most democrats and even some republicans still say that the president overstepped his bounds. They say the FISA court was set up to set up to give warrants, especially for things for things like this. And that the Congress passed and the president signed the Patriot Act intended to broaden what they can do in terms of surveillance and they still say that the president is going around this existing law -- Carol.

LIN: Well Dana, what guarantees -- what safeguards does the government offer the average citizen out there?

BASH: Well, you know, we heard from President Bush talking last week broadly about the program saying over and over that they do have a voluntary review process, but they do say it is strict. And I talked to one former official who was involved and is certainly knowledgeable about the program who insists that is actually true, that they have a 45-day review process, that from the top down, those who are involved in setting forth this program are very, very clear, as one official said, they set the bar very high to make sure that this isn't abused at all. But of course, as you can imagine that is not going to settle very well with people who bottom line, think that the president did not follow the law and really went around the law, perhaps even some who say he's breaking the law and this, as you know, is not the end of this. This is really just the beginning of this debate which will go into the next year.

LIN: More to come. Dana Bash, thank you very much. Well, another government monitoring program is coming to light. Its goal, to stop anyone from building a dirty bomb, but Muslim groups are criticizing its focus on muslim sites. CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve reports.

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JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: A dirty bomb in the hands of terrorists, one of the government's worst fears, and one of the prime targets is the nation's capital. According to several government officials since shortly after 9/11 the FBI supported by Energy Department nuclear emergency support teams has conducted radiation monitoring without warrants on more than 100 muslim sites in the national capitol area, as well as locations in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas and Seattle, including mosques, businesses and homes.

FBI officials say there is no nuclear or radiation monitoring program that is specifically targeting Muslims, and while not confirming the existence of the program, they say all investigations and operations conducted by the FBI are intelligence driven and predicated on specific information about potential criminal acts or terrorist threats and are conducted in strict conformance with federal law. The council on American Islamic relations called the developments disturbing.

NIHAD AWAD, COUN. ON AMER.-ISLAMIC REL.: We would like to see evidence or even, you know, small pieces of evidence that causes the government to be concerned about the Muslim community. The Muslim community had no link with 9/11, had no link to terrorism. This is the most peaceful minority that you have and it's being targeted.

MESERVE: Government officials say search warrants or court orders are not needed because the monitoring is done outside, from areas authorities consider public property like parking lots.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well meanwhile, the FBI is denying its keeping tabs on political activist groups. But the ACLU says records it obtained show the FBI monitors and keeps files on PETA and Greenpeace. It's criticizing the bureau for going after those groups instead of the terrorists. The FBI counters it investigates only when there's a threat of a crime or violence. It says a number of domestic groups fit that profile.

Moving now on to Iraq, where Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld spent Christmas eve with the U.S. troops. And he offered praise and a pep talk and plenty of emotion. CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad.

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ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld wrapping up a three-day trip to Iraq that included one night in Amman, Jordan. This morning the secretary serving an early Christmas Eve dinners to troops in the northern city of Mosul. He also spoke to the troops there, saying that victory and winning this war is within the grasp of the U.S. troops and the Iraqis stand on the side, he said, of freedom. Also in a rare moment of public emotion Donald Rumsfeld speaking about his own impressions of these U.S. troops.

DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I've lived a long life, and as I think about it, it's hard to think of anything I've ever done that is as important, or as -- gives me as much pleasure as working with each of you, doing what you're doing. You do it so well.

RAMAN: The secretary spent last night in the capital. Here he met with U.S. troops, he also dined with Iraq's political leadership as they seek to form a government by early next year. Secretary Rumsfeld also had a briefing on improvised explosive devices, those IEDs remain the biggest killer of U.S. forces in Iraq. He also spoke with top intelligence officers on how to gather better intel on the insurgency.

Now the headline of this trip, of course, came yesterday when Secretary Rumsfeld announced the president's decision to downsize the number of battalions in Iraq going into next year from 17 to 15, which means some 7,000 U.S. troops will not be coming to Iraq in early 2006, half of them staying in the U.S., half of them in Kuwait. It brings to below 138,000, the number of troops, by early next year. The number had been the baseline of troops throughout 2005. The secretary said any further reduction of U.S. troops would depend on the situation on the ground, that being the success of the Iraq's security forces to take over more control of the country and also how quickly and effectively Iraq's government forms early next year.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Christmas in Afghanistan? We are going to take you to Kabul where U.S. soldiers are trying to share the spirit of Christmas with some of the needy, straight ahead.

And, Christmas is a little bit brighter on the Gulf Coast, thanks to the kindness of strangers. You're going to go to the hard-hit Pearlington, Mississippi region where Santa's helpers have been very busy.

And a little later, thousands of people in south Asia are still struggling to recover from the tsunami. We are going to take a close look at what has been done so far.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Italian soldiers are getting into the Christmas spirit in Afghanistan. The soldiers celebrated Christmas Eve in Kabul today, with carols and hot chocolate and Italian Christmas cake called "panettone." They also sent well wishes back home and to Italian soldiers serving all over the world.

Now, of course, Afghanistan is a mostly Muslim country, but several U.S. soldiers spending a Christmas away from their families in the states are spreading holiday cheer there and they went to an orphanage in Kabul. CNN's Becky Diamond reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEPUTY SHERIFF TIM WATKINS, NATIONAL GUARD: We're going to start a tug-of-war with the boys to keep them occupied until we finish giving gifts to the girls. I mean, they don't share Christmas here, but we know what it means.

BECKY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Afghanistan is 7,600 miles from Tim Watkins' hometown, but for this National Guard soldier, Christmas in Kabul is not that different from Thomasville, Georgia.

WATKINS: At Christmastime we'd give to the needy, so I'm doing what I would be doing back there, except I'm doing it over here.

DIAMOND: This deputy sheriff has been here since July helping to train the Afghan army. He and a small group from the 53rd Brigade, a Florida National Guard unit, collected gifts from American citizens to distribute to Kabul's neediest children.

SGT. PIA DE LA CRUZ, FLORIDA NATIONAL GUARD: It just makes me feel like, yeah, it's Christmas. Now I feel it, you know? And my kids back home telling me mommy, I can't wait until I open my presents and this one is like, the kids are just so happy to get, you know, all these things.

DIAMOND: The girls are getting items they never received under the Taliban. And the boys are playing games that weren't allowed back then. The 450 kids at Abdul Hamun (ph) Orphanage certainly appreciate the attention, their parents either dead or too poor to care for them.

WATKINS: I love the children of Afghanistan.

DIAMOND: Eleven-year-old Nazir doesn't know if his father is alive or dead. He disappeared under Taliban rule and his mother died four years ago. He says Sergeant Watkins' visit makes him very happy.

WATKINS: Would you like to come to America?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

DIAMOND: And the sergeant has a son of his own.

WATKINS: Christmastime everyone wants to be home, but I know my country needs me here. I'm glad to be here. And I hope we make a difference while we're here. If I have to sacrifice one Christmas away from home, then it's well worth it.

DIAMOND: The spirit of American Christmas travels with its soldiers, however far from home.

Becky Diamond, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Looks like everybody's a winner there. The gift of hope, straight ahead we're going to show you how some try to share the holiday spirit with the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

And later, the story of Baby Nor and the soldiers fighting to save her life.

From Atlanta, you're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

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LIN (voice-over): Stories across America now. This Siberian husky is safe and sound after a harrowing rescue. The dog was found shivering and literally frozen to a set of train tracks in Wisconsin. Animal control was called and after a few painful tugs, the dog was free within minutes of an approaching train. The dog has been named "Ice Train," though he probably should be named "Lucky." Right now he's at the Chippewa County Humane Society for anyone interested in taking him.

And freezing weather is causing more problems in Idaho. An ice jam on the Payette River has flooded parts of Horseshoe Bend, the concern is if the ice suddenly moves or shifts downstream, it could damage bridges, homes or well pumps. Boise County officials are urging people to prepare if an evacuation is ordered.

And is this an image of Jesus or just a burnt-out cooking pan? A cook at the Stadium Club Restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida, says he went to the empty pan and saw Jesus staring back at him. The kitchen staffers say they won't be using that pan anymore.

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LIN: All right, Jesus or not, it is Christmas Eve. I don't know, maybe there's a miracle happening out there, Monica. What do you think?

MONICA MCNEAL, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It did look kind of creepy. I think I'd use that...

LIN: Some nose.

MCNEAL: I might get a Brillo pad and, you know, take to work with that pan.

LIN: Might be painful.

MCNEAL: Exactly.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: All right, looks good. Thanks, Monica.

Well, for many, too many, it's going to be a very hard Christmas on the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina left thousands of people with nothing, even hope is in short supply. And it's taking the kindness of strangers to bring the Christmas spirit. CNN's Soledad O'Brien reported for "American Morning."

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SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Deep in a Mississippi pine forest...

LISA AUTRY, PEARLINGTON, MS RESIDENT: A kitties died in there.

O'BRIEN: ...little Lisa Autry and her neighbors still call the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina their home for the holidays.

LINDA SWANSON, LISA'S MOTHER: It's been miserable, we are not planning anything at all for Christmas or any of the holidays.

O'BRIEN: The shrimpers have no boats and the muddy Pearl River is choked with sewage. The Christmas bear limp with dirt. Five people sleep in this chilly one-bedroom FEMA trailer. Lisa bunks on a kitchen shelf.

AUTRY: This is where I sleep and that's where my brother sleeps.

O'BRIEN: The Christmas stockings are empty and talk of the holidays in Pearlington, Mississippi, brings a rush of tears.

LINDA MARTIN, LISA'S GRANDMOTHER: This is about all we can live on is hope (ph).

O'BRIEN: But a few volunteers are determined to bring hope to this little town, people who fear pearlington will be overshadowed by the plight of New Orleans, folks who believe relief work shouldn't just be left to big government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Glad to be part of it.

O'BRIEN: Like these firefighters from Kenyon, California.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Pearlington.

O'BRIEN: For B.J. Lee, the medical student from Stanford.

B.J. LEE, MEDICAL STUDENT: It's a big effort and there's so much bureaucracy involved, sometimes it's easier to just drive down than like waiting for a call.

O'BRIEN: Steve Horn came from Carbondale, Colorado.

STEVE HORN, RELIEF WORKER: I don't like to work for organizations because generally your feet are kind of stuck in the mud.

O'BRIEN: Angela Cole, a New York nurse, has launched her personal relief mission.

ANGELA COLE, NURSE: I was down here when they needed food and water and ice. You can't make that kind of connect with somebody in a situation that is so dire and then just say I did my part and walk way.

O'BRIEN: Dashing through the snow, she brought home pictures to her colleagues at Life Brands, a medical advertising agency and then shipped back supplies.

COLE: My concern was, there wouldn't be a Christmas. That it would be just another day, just another time of year and it would be too quiet and too dark and too dismal.

O'BRIEN: She found Susan and Reggie Libran (ph) from Unam (ph), Georgia who sent aid by truck load and 600 pound Christmas tree.

ISAIAH OLIVER, PEARLINGTON RESIDENT: It make me feel good because that let me know people care.

O'BRIEN: So they strung up the lights, unloaded the presents.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A heater to keep warm in the FEMA trailer.

O'BRIEN: And filled their shell of a church.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know it's Christmas, but I don't have the spirit. I just have -- I'm working on it.

O'BRIEN: Mama Sams the 88-year-old town elder offered a prayer.

MAMMA SAMS, PEARLINGTON RESIDENT: They have fed us, they have clothed us, they have give us shelter and we want to thank the good lord for them.

O'BRIEN: Thankful new friends have not forgot Pearlington.

Soledad O'Brien, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And let it not be said that Katrina canceled Christmas in the hard-hit town of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The town erected a tree on what remains of its main thoroughfare. Folks now living in government donated trailers have gotten with the spirit of the holidays, too. And this week volunteers came together to give a gift to the children of Bay St. Louis, a new playground.

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DERRELL HAMMOND, CEO, KABOOM: This is about rekindling hope and what radiates out from here is that they can be an architect of their own dreams. They have big plans for what can happen here, but it's only going to happen if we in the community inside and outside take responsibility for giving everybody an opportunity.

MAYOR EDDIE FAVRE, BAY, ST. LOUIS MISSISSIPPI: We keep saying as long as we're that much today than yesterday, at least we're going in the right direction. And it is. People still have hope. I mean, this is another good example of the faith that the people have and the attitude, you know. We're not crying about anything and complaining, just doing what needs to be done and we're going to make it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Still, thousands of Gulf Coast residents are spending the holidays far from the places they still consider home. CNN's Allen Chernoff caught up with some in New York to see if the Christmas spirit followed them all the way there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four hotel walls near York's Kennedy airport, home for the holidays, this is not. But Sharon Carew and her 5-year-old son, Devante (ph), formerly of New Orleans, find themselves here on this post-Katrina Christmas.

CHERNOFF (on camera): What your plans for Christmas?

SHARON CAREW, KATRINA EVACUEE: Hang out in the hotel. I'm just going to hang around the lobby and probably -- I'm not sure, take my son -- I have no plans, honestly. We were invited a couple places, but I don't want to go. It's not home. At Christmas, you need to be home.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): This is Sharon's home in the Genteelly (ph) neighborhood of New Orleans, ruined, as was her business, a cleaning service.

(on camera): What would you normally be doing?

CAREW: Dropping presents off to friends and families, nursing homes. My position, at this time of the year, was to give to the needy. Being a receiver in life, it's so hard for me to accept things from people, because I was always being a giver. So it seems like -- it makes me feel less than who I am.

CHERNOFF: Sharon Carew arrived here at the Radisson Hotel on September 8. For three and a half months, these hallways have been home. FEMA has been paying the hotel bill, but it's committed to do so only until January 7.

(voice-over): Meanwhile, Sharon and 58 other families in that hotel have been waiting for FEMA rental assistance checks so they can get a place of their own in New York. The check just arrived for Esther Clarke. She also has been living since September at the hotel with her four children and two nieces.

ESTHER CLARKE, KATRINA EVACUEE: I'm ready to go. Ready to go. It's been a long, stressful -- I'm going to tell you, it's been stressful.

CHERNOFF: With the assistance of Help USA, a nonprofit group that coordinates housing for the needy, Esther has found a home nearby and plans to move the family in next week. While Sharon hopes that she too, will have a home in New York where she and her son can celebrate next Christmas.

Alan chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And another disaster to remember from 2005. The tsunami, the anniversary is just two days away. What did billions of dollars pledged do to make their life better? I'm going to talk with the director of the Mercy Corps in Indonesia.

And the heart-breaking story of a little baby girl in Iraq and the incredible efforts of some U.S. soldiers to save her life, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL LIN, ANCHOR, CNN: Welcome back. I'm Carol Lin. And here's what's going on right now. CNN confirms that government eavesdropping without court orders may be more extensive than previously reported. Two former officials with knowledge of the program confirm that large amounts of data are being collected by the National Security Agency with the help of telecommunications companies. The officials say the government is looking for patterns in an effort to thwart terrorism.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld spreads holiday cheer in Iraq. Rumsfeld today brightened the mess hall in Mosul. And in a speech to U.S. troops, he said the United States will prevail in its mission to rebuild that country.

Another American soldier has died in Iraq. The military says the soldier died today of wounds suffered in a rocket-propelled grenade attack. The soldier was assigned to the 205th military intelligence brigade. The attack occurred during a patrol in northern Iraq.

The day after Christmas is a holiday for many. A time for reflection for others. Monday marks one year since a powerful earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that wiped out entire villages in south Asia. CNN's Atika Shubert revisits one of the most devastated areas still struggling to recover.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Aceh is a broken land. More than 130,000 dead, more than 30,000 still missing and half a million homeless. More than $7 billion has been pledged to rebuild its shores. One year on is the Indonesian province finally on the road to recovery. This is Aceh's biggest reconstruction project, rebuilding more than 250 kilometers, or about 155 miles of road washed out to sea by the tsunami. It will become the link between rural areas and markets in the city, but it could take years to complete. We traveled down here to talk to communities alongside the road and ask them how the reconstruction process is really going. Construction has yet to start for the moment, the two-lane road is sometimes paved, sometimes not. More than 100 bridges need to be replaced. Building crews struggle to get through in the monsoon season. Ships deposited inland by the tsunami rust on the roadside. Tent villages are common, as are homes cobbled together from tsunami scrap wood. In one such village we find Zacharias. The tsunami swept away his home, wife and two young daughters. He calls them his pocket family.

ZACHARIAS (though translator): I only have photos left, he says. I keep them in my pocket and carry them wherever I go. SHUBERT: This has been his home for a year now. Sleeping in a bed salvaged from the wood of destroyed homes. He says new houses will be built nearby, but he doesn't know when.

ZACHARIAS: (through translator) If you ask me, I think it's taking far too long, he says. I'd like to say I'll be moving into a new house this month like they told me, but I'd be lying. I also can't say that they are not building us homes because they say they are.

SHUBERT: There are many houses under construction, just not enough. More than 100,000 are need, only 20,000 have been built. Fewer than 20 percent of those displaced are in permanent homes. The rest remain in flimsy, temporary shelters. Aid officials say the situation is improving. But more work needs to be done.

ERIC MORRIS, UNITED NATIONS: Maybe a few months ago, the common question from the tsunami survivors is, where is my home? That's still the basic question. But now you're getting the same question, what can I do to take care of my family?

SHUBERT: This road was also an economic lifeline for communities here. In this village, more than half were killed, mostly women and children. The husbands and older brothers left behind are eager to work and forget their losses, but the broken road cannot provide jobs anymore.

ZACHARIAS (Through translator): It takes all afternoon just to get into the city to look for work now, not including the money for transportation, Zacharias says. With a home and some startup money, I would just as happy to learn to become a fisherman.

Even fishermen have newly donated boats, but only rusty salvaged engines to work with. Life in Aceh seems to consist of living off the scraps the tsunami left behind.

ZACHARIAS (through translator): "I look for tsunami scrap all day because I can't sit still," Zacharias says. "I have no family. So I go into the fields looking for wood to build a house, and try to remember my wife and children." For Zacharias, like so many others, the road to recovery is far too long. Atika Shubert, CNN, on Aceh's west coast road.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Thousands of volunteers have lived in south Asia to help rebuild and get people working again. Craig Redmand, is Mercy Corps country director for Indonesia. He joins me on the telephone right now from Bali. Merry Christmas, Craig.

CRIAG REDMAND, MERCY CORPS COUNTRY DIRECTOR FOR INDOESIA: Merry Christmas to you.

LIN: What is the biggest change you have seen in the last year?

REDMOND: I think the biggest change that we've seen in Aceh is the connection now between people and their businesses and their access to resources, so they can get their businesses restarted again. There's lots of evidence of entrepreneurs getting back to work and people able to pick up and rebuild their lives.

LIN: And Craig, there's a peace dividend there, too, right? Because this is the region where the rebels were fighting but now the Indonesian troops are starting to withdraw, and in a sense the people of Aceh have more opportunity now to rebuild?

REDMOND: Exactly. We draw a direct correlation between the ability of people to get back to work and the opportunity for peace to be maintained there. As long as people are busy, as long as people are being productive, there's much less chance that we'll see conflict flaring up again.

LIN: What about places to live? Do people have housing?

REDMOND: Yeah, housing continues to be an issue. A lot of houses have been built. But a lot more houses need to be built. But what we're doing now is looking at doing village by village these plans, so that communities have an opportunity to plan for themselves where they want their houses, where they want the infrastructure to go, how they'll tap into the road that's being built. This is a very important process.

LIN: Is that a problem in terms of who gets what piece of land?

REDMOND: It is. And in fact, we're now using satellite imagery to look at where houses were before, and what piece of property belonged to whom. This is a very complex process for sure.

LIN: But Craig, you know, we hear of tens of millions of dollars in aid money going to the rebuilding effort. Is that money being spent wisely? Because I would think with that amount of money, entire cities would be rebuilt by now.

REDMOND: Well, if you consider the impact on the infrastructure, not only water, electricity, all that, but also transport, which means that the bricks that you need in order to do the reconstruction, the timber that you need, safe, legal timber that you need to do the reconstruction, all the materials, all of that has to be rebuilt as well. So it's been a slow process. But I think we're getting there.

LIN: You've been there now for a year, living in the region?

REDMOND: Yes.

LIN: I'm wondering, Craig, on this holiday season if there's a story that will stand out in your mind for the years to come?

REDMOND: For me, it's the example of a village called Lapison (ph) which is not far from Bonda Aceh, down the south coast there. That's a village that was devastated by the tsunami. They came in; the tsunami came in and deposited all kinds of rubble, all over the fields. One of the first things that happened there was we went in with cash for work and community members, and they cleared off those fields and everybody was worried about salinity in the soil. But they went ahead and plowed it up and replanted anyway. And now if you go there, you see these incredibly lush, green fields that are ready to be harvested next week. So they're going to have their first harvest of rice. And for us, this is really a sign of hope and possibility there in Aceh.

Craig, on this Christmas Eve, it sounds like you're talking about a miracle.

REDMOND: Sounds like it to me, too.

LIN: All right. Craig Redmond, you have a great holiday season. You're doing good work out there. We appreciate it very much.

REDMOND: Thank you very much. Happy holidays.

LIN: Happy holidays.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: In our world wrap tonight, live pictures of the midnight mass in Bethlehem. Crowds are filling the streets of the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ. There has been less violence between the Israelis and Palestinians this year. Imposing the separation barrier and the entrance, though, to the West Bank town reminds us that the conflict is still unresolved.

And will he go by George? Prince Charles' office is dismissing a newspaper report that claimed Charles was considering changing his name to George VII when he becomes a king. A spokeswoman for the prince called the report idle speculation.

And good news in Germany. Literally. The best selling "Bild" newspaper did something special for its Christmas edition. The paper finds a positive angle to every story it covers. Stories about strikes ending and jobs being created or share prices going up. It's a big change from its normal tabloid fare on crime, greed and corruption.

Some Georgian National Guard troops are on a mission of their own. They are trying to save an Iraqi baby from certain death if she does not receive immediate medical treatment. As CNN Aneesh Raman reports, it's a complicated mission that comes with its share of risks.

ANEESH RAMAN, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: It could be any night for these U.S. troops loading up to go to war, rapidly securing each location, but this night is unlike the others.

RAMAN: This night they are here to save a little girl's life. Her name is Noor, just three months old, born with a debilitating illness, Spina bifida. The Iraqi doctors in this poor Baghdad neighborhood gave Noor just 45 days to live. But then hope came from an unexpected source and at an unexpected time. ANTHONY FOURNIER, CAPTAIN, U.S. ARMY: We originally came across the baby actually in a raid. We actually detained her uncle for a few days. But while we were in the house doing the raid, we saw the baby, and that all started.

RAMAN: Told of Noor's condition, told she needed emergency care as soon as possible to have any hope of surviving, care just not available in Iraq, Captain Anthony Fournier and his troops took on Noor's cause. They quickly arranged free flights to the U.S. for her and her family, and the free medical care Noor so desperately needs, in the soldiers' hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. In a war riddled with complexities, for Captain Fournier and his men this is blissfully basic.

FOURNIER: We can see, we're definitely making a difference here, at least in this one child's life. Where a lot of times when we're out there patrolling, doing raids, the rest of the people, the more violent times of it, we just needed an outlet like this.

ARCHER CLAYTON FORD, STAFF SARGEANT: U.S. ARMY: We do our jobs here as infantry soldiers because we have to. That's our job, and that's what we're asked to do. And we're happy to do it. But this is something that we want to do. This is something that we feel that we can give back to the country.

RAMAN: Noor and her family still need visas and passports. But Georgia's Senator Saxby Chambliss said that should happen in a day or two. There is an urgency to all this, and it's not just Noor's fragile health. Her family fears the revenge of insurgents. Off camera, Noor's grandfather draws his finger across his throat asking us not to reveal their identities. He and the soldiers know the dangers for his granddaughter are real, but so is the hope for everyone.

CAPTAIN THOMAS JARRETT, MENTAL HEALTH OFFICER: A lot of these guys have been out there a long time, and shot at, blown up, been out here. And to actually directly intervene and help a young child especially to see the family, how much it means to them, I think it's probably a great definition of hearts and minds.

RAMAN: In a corner a family member with prayer beads, their faith now in these U.S. troops, who in this holiday season are doing all they can to save a little girl named Noor. Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LIN: Well, just released from a German prison, a man involved in the murder of marine diver Robert Stethem in 1985. Washington vows to get him. Straight ahead on "CNN Live Saturday." >

And we're going to pay a visit to an Army mom on a mission. Christmas gifts for her son and about 1,000 U.S. other troops in Afghanistan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LIN: The U.S. government is vowing to seek justice against a lone hijacker tried and convicted for killing a U.S. Navy diver. 20 years ago, Robert Stethem was tortured and killed on board a hijacked plane in Beirut. Last week, the Lebanese hijacker was quietly set free. Stetham's family is outraged and wants answers. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has the story and reaction.

BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT, CNN: June 1985, it was all on television. TWA flight 847 was headed from Athens to Rome when it was seized by terrorists and forced to land at Beirut International Airport. The hijackers singled out 23-year-old U.S. Navy diver Robert Dean Stetham, after seeing his military I.D. He was tied up, beaten beyond recognition, shot in the head. His body then tossed onto the tarmac. Last week, one of the hijackers, Mohammed Ali Hamadi (ph) was released from a German jail after 19 years and allowed to fly to Lebanon. U.S. Officials are furious, and want Hamadi (ph) to face trial now in the U.S.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: I can assure anybody who's listening, including Mr. Hamadi (ph), is that we will track him down, find him and bring him to justice in the United States for what he's done.

STARR: On the "SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer, Stetham's brother said they are furious the U.S. government did not move to stop the release of Robert's killer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH STETHEM, MURDERED DIVER'S BROTHER: Totally disgusted at the German government, and at the United States government for allowing this to have happened and not doing something about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: At the highest levels, the Pentagon making it clear it has not forgotten a young sailor tortured and executed 20 years ago. The chief of naval operations Admiral Mike Mullen issued this extraordinary statement saying, "Navy sailors, including me, still regard Robert Dean Stethem as the uncompromising, unflinching hero he was". Stetham's brothers recall Robert's courage and humor in the moments before he died.

STETHEM: After one of the beatings he suffered on the plane as a good example, they sat him down next to a 16-year-old Australian girl and she was trying to take care of him the best she could. He saw she was upset. He started cracking jokes with her to try and get her at ease. At the same time he recognized that he was only one of his group that didn't have a wife and kids. And he told her, if any one of us is to die, it should be me.

STARR: There is no extradition treaty with Lebanon. U.S. officials privately acknowledge they doubt diplomatic pressure will work, and have no expectation that Hamadi (ph) will be returned to the U.S. for trial anytime soon. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon. (END VIDEO TAPE)

LIN: Well, coming up, naughty or nice in 2005, we are going to have the ultimate celebrity list for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Santa knows if you've been bad or good, and so do we. In a "CNN USA" today Gallup poll 72 percent put Paris Hilton at the top of the naughty celebrities list. Last year's naughtiest celeb Britney Spears comes in second. Respondents were split on Martha Stewart and Tom Cruise. Now Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's relationship grabbed headlines and raised eyebrows, but folks don't seem to hold that against them. Way up there on the nice list are Pitt's ex, Jennifer Aniston, and Oprah Winfrey. Hey, any one who gives away cars on a talk show can't be all that bad.

LIN: This year, Christmas is coming to some U.S. troops in Afghanistan. And it's all because of one mom who is one of those people who is one of those people who will not be denied. She's from Culpepper, Virginia. CNN's Gary Nuremberg reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAT JACOBS, MILITARY MOM: This is company "a" Scott's company. And it starts at company headquarters and has the first platoon, second platoon, third platoon. It's also got a weapons and mortar section.

GARRY NUREMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Army mom Pat Jacobs knows about military sacrifice.

JACOBS: My father. My oldest brother. Nick's brother. We've been in most of the conflicts since way back when. There's been a Jacobs of some branch of the family in there somewhere.

NUREMBERG: Her parents said it would never happen again that everyone would be home at the same time.

JACOBS: And it never did. Because this one was killed.

NUREMBERG: So she knows the risks faced by her 29-year-old son Scott, serving in Task Force Fury and has been sending him care packages stuffed with things like the soap and socks and treats you can't find in the caves of Afghanistan.

JACOB: I found out that he had buddies that maybe are not getting what they need.

NUREMBERG: Scott would e-mail his mother passing on requests from his friends.

JACOB: So-and-so needs some socks, so-and-so needs some eye drops, so-and so need some need gummy bears. So we started, you know, doing this. And it was more and more. The care packages were going out every week. And then it dawned on me, hey; these guys aren't going to get Christmas.

NUREMBERG: So, Pat left donation jars at businesses and in her home town Culpepper, Virginia and turned Scott's bedroom into something of a Santa's workshop, stuffing Christmas packages for packages for more than 1,000 troops.

JACOBS: And this is from me. This is from mama. Every box has a stocking. And then you top it off with the American flag pin that they can put on something else later. Each shoebox has a Christmas card to one of their heroes. That's what they all say. We decided that the smaller the pay, the bigger the box. So this is a captain's box. Okay? But this is a private's box, because he gets a whole lot less money.

NUREMBERG: Big box or little box --

JACOBS: I hope they feel real happy. I hope they realize people love them. And I hope they realize that we care about them. They're going to have a Christmas. They're going to have a Christmas. They might have to eat MRES, but they're going to have a Christmas.

NUREMBERG: Gary Nuremberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Midnight Christmas mass has just begun at the Vatican. So we're going to take you there live right now. You're looking at live pictures of St. Peter's Square. This will be Pope Benedict XVI's first Christmas service as a pontiff.

More of CNN LIVE SATURDAY right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: This is CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Carol Lin.

Straight ahead this hour, domestic spying. Tonight, secret surveillance that may be more widespread than the White House acknowledged.

And also the holiday rush is on. Millions trying to get home for the holidays. The retailers hope they do some last minute shopping.

And Christmas in Vatican City. Live pictures tonight as thousands gather for Pope Benedict's first midnight mass.

But first, the hour's headlines.

Kidnapped in Iraq. And shown today on television. A Jordanian citizen says his captors demand that Jordan cut ties with the new Iraqi government.

The U.S. military will prevail in Iraq. That's Rumsfeld's message to American troops in Mosul today -- his second straight Christmas Eve visit to Iraq. And the number of shopping days until Christmas. Zero. Coast to coast the last minute desperation gift-wrap is in full effect. And how many times have you

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