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Insurgency Seems to be Going All Out to Derail the Election Process

Aired December 21, 2004 - 13:32   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A hostage ordeal ends for two French journalists held by Iraqi insurgents since august. The French Foreign Ministry confirms today the hostages were released, but won't comment on their condition or location. Coming up in a moment, CNN analyst Ken Pollack join us with more insight into the insurgency and its attempts to grad control of Iraq.
In Pennsylvania, a search ends in sadness. Early this morning, authorities found what's believed to be the body of a missing 9-year- old autistic boy. Logan Mitcheltree disappeared from his home on Saturday. The boy was discovered in a state forest about a mile and a half from his home. Searchers knew there was little chance the boy could have survived that bitter cold.

Yet another bitter pill for consumers to swallow. The FDA waves the yellow flag about Naproxen, sold over the counter under the brand name Aleve, saying it may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. That drug is the third painkiller in recent weeks to come under fire for possible links to cardiovascular problems.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A little more than a month to go before the Iraqi election. It seems the insurgency is going all out in a campaign to derail the process. Today, it was Mosul and a strike on a U.S. military dining hall. Time to hit at lunchtime. More than 20 killed. More than 60 wounded.

Middle East expert and CNN analyst Ken Pollack join us from the Saban Center at Brookings Institution, for more insight on this.

Beyond human casualty, the insurgents clearly hoping to deliver a mortal wound to the upcoming election. The question is, can they succeed.

Ken, good to have you with us.

KEN POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: Thank, Miles. Good to be here.

O'BRIEN: First of all, let's talk about security in general in Iraq and the security of these elections. There are many people out there who would suggest there aren't nearly enough American troops on the ground in order to ensure a fair election. Are you among them?

POLLACK: Yes, I absolutely am. I think that the problem we have in Iraq is a very simple one -- Iraq is too big, the population is too large, given the number of troops we have in-country. We've got a fundamental mismatch between resources. We've got a mission that requires a much greater troop commitment than we've got. We don't have the troops to make the country safe. That's hurting the chances for good elections, but also hurts us in every aspect because it is killing Iraqis, in a very literal sense. The Iraqis see this and they're deeply dismayed by the fact that they simply don't feel safe in their homes and their streets.

O'BRIEN: How many troops? How soon are they needed? And does the Pentagon have the manpower?

POLLACK: Well, in all honesty, the troops are needed immediately, and we could easily double the size of the force over there, or we'd need to double the size of the force over there. Any additional forces would be helpful. But we've got to think about this mismatch between resources and mission. We've either got to scale back the mission, be much more modest about what we're trying to accomplish, or we're going to have to find troops.

And as you point out, right now, the United States does not have a whole lot of troops more than we can send, especially not on a sustainable basis, not that can stay there for long periods of time. That's really the dilemma that we're in.

O'BRIEN: In a related issue is this notion of force protection. Here you have an open dining tent -- not open, but it's a tent that wasn't hardened, and there were many soldiers who were saying, you know what, this is an accident that was waiting to happen. And it sounds like a lot like the argument over armor in the Humvees, and yet these troops were at lunch, in a facility that was a sitting duck. What can be done about that issue? Is that an issue also of additional troops perhaps?

POLLACK: Well, I do think that it is definitely an issue of additional resources, and it gets at the same problem as the troop level issue, which is it's ultimately about what the United States expected to find when it went into Iraq. There was not an expectation that we would face this kind of resistance for Iraqis. And as a result, the U.S. military set itself up very quickly to try to get covered facilities for its troops set up as fast as it could.

The problem was, that sitting things up fast meant that you weren't necessarily protecting them. And I think that now, given the fact we have seen this insurgency really blossom over time, we're going to have to start thinking about how do we protect our troops better? More troops is definitely part of it, but a change in the mindset is really what's needed here.

O'BRIEN: Give me a sense about mind sets here. Why are mindsets slow to change? The handwriting has been on the wall for quite some time. And yet we don't see anything obvious from where we sit, which indicates the Pentagon really gets this.

POLLACK: Yes, you know, I wish I knew the answer to that. I think it's a great question. Some day, I think there are going to be a lot of historians who are going to be delving deeply into that.

But I think my suspicion is that at very senior levels of the administration, they recognize that if they did have to fundamentally change how they were thinking about Iraq, it would mean making some very tough political decisions. I mean, just think about how difficult politically it would be to greatly increase our troop commitment to Iraq. Think about how difficult it was for President Bush yesterday to admit that the insurgents are having a real impact on our forces and on the Iraqi people themselves. It's going to be very painful for the administration to admit that basically, you know what, we went into Iraq and we thought that this was all going to be easy, and it turns out it's going to be very hard, and we're going to have to fundamentally change how we've been fighting this war for the last 20 months.

O'BRIEN: Up until this point, the administration has told us by including Iraqis in this process of security more and more and by having elections, that's the tonic to solve all problems in Iraq, and out we go in a relatively short period of time thereafter. There are a few flaws in that argument, I'm afraid.

POLLACK: Yes, unfortunately, I think that's there's some very important gaps there. The first gap is while it's true that at some point in time it's going to be up to the Iraqis to handle this fight themselves, the problem is that, as the president admitted yesterday, the Iraqis are nowhere near being able to do so themselves. When you talk to the American generals, who are training them, they will tell you, it's going to take at least three years before the Iraqis are going to be able to handle that.

In the meantime, we've got to take care of the problem. And the other big gap in that analysis is that it completely leaves out what are the greatest problems for the Iraqi people themselves? The absence of security, their inability to get basic necessities like clean water and constant electricity and gasoline. And until those problems are solved, I think you're going to see a continued erosion of Iraqi political support for the reconstruction. And we've got to address both of those issues to have success.

O'BRIEN: All right, we'll leave it on those sobering thoughts. Thank you very much, Ken Pollack with the Sababn Center of Brookings, we appreciate your time -- Kyra.

POLLACK: Thank you, Miles, good to be here.

PHILLIPS: Now the CNN Security Watch. We start with the legal victory for government's anti-terror campaign. A federal appeals court is reinstating the indictments of seven Iranian exiles. They're accused of raising money for a terrorist group, and the government says members raised several hundred thousand dollars, soliciting donations at Los Angeles International Airport.

In Washington, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the first cases involving detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At issue, whether hundreds of detainees are being held lawfully. Arguments will be heard sometime next year with the decision expected by June.

The alleged mastermind of the Bali bombing is linked to the attack by a key witness in a courtroom in Jakarta, Indonesia. Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is accused running the southeast Asian arm of Al Qaeda. The Bali bombing killed 202 in the islands' resort area just two years ago.

Our "Security Watch" segment continues with a focus on homeland security at the U.S. border. CNN's Lisa Sylvester shows us how bureaucratic battles in Washington could be compromising border security.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are the last line of defense at the border, but some Customs and Border Protection agents say they are the ones who feel under attack. The problem: a lack of coordination, inadequate funding and low morale.

T.J. BONNER, NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL: You're not authorized to go out and chase or catch, and it just has a devastating impact on morale. People put up with that for a few months, and then they're looking around for another job. They're looking around for a real law-enforcement job.

SYLVESTER: The rank and file blame the dysfunction on a fractured system.

When the Department of Homeland Security was created, two organizations were assigned immigration, Customs and Border Protection to deal with issues along the border and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in charge of interior enforcement.

But a new report says the system does not work, calling it the equivalent of separating the beat cops from the detectives.

DAVID NEWMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: The Border Patrols and the Immigration Enforcement officials have to solve the same crimes, the crime of a person coming into the country illegally.

SYLVESTER: But bringing the two agencies together may be difficult, due to Washington politics.

JAMES CARAFANO, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: There's more guys and gals with badges in DHS than there are in the FBI, and so I do think there was some concern that people potentially see DHS as a kind of a law- enforcement competitor with the FBI, and so part of the answer to that was split them up into little boxes so they'll be less of a threat to us.

SYLVESTER: Critics say the bureaucracy jeopardizes national security, wasting opportunities, resources and time.

(on camera): The Heritage Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies both recommend restructuring the Department of Homeland Security, but a spokesperson for DHS says there are no discussions underway to bring the two agencies together. Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And our CNN "Security Watch" reports continue day and night. Be sure to join Judy Woodruff on "INSIDE POLITICS" at 3:30 Eastern, reporting on the fear factor. Do Americans fear another terrorist attack? She'll address it.

O'BRIEN: All right, a record-breaking bank day in Northern Ireland. Not easy to say. We'll tell you how the thieves managed to pull off their plot and get away with the loot, at least for now. Plus why one American boy became the target of violence after 9/11. His emotional tale is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: News around the world now. Despite Iran's pledge to freeze its nuclear program, diplomats say the country will continue preparing raw yellow-cake uranium, as it is known, for enrichment until the end of February. The process can be used to make nuclear weapons.

Belfast, Ireland, call it the snaring of the green. Thieves stole more than $39 million in what's being called the biggest heist in Northern Ireland history. Started Sunday, when the families of at least two senior bank execs were taken hostage in their homes. The gang waited until the bank closed Monday night, and then forced the employees to get them into the vault. Police didn't get wind of the robbery until nearly midnight, six hours after the safe was cracked and cleared. See the movie soon, I guess.

And in the West Bank, the official mourning period for Yasser Arafat has now ended. Speaking today at Arafat's old headquarters, PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas said he remains committed to a peace deal with Israel. Abbas is the front-runner in the January 9 elections to replace Arafat as the Palestinian authority president.

PHILLIPS: Back in this country, a story of discrimination, all because of a name, in the aftermath of September 11th. CNN's Brian Todd has the story of the boy named Osama.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We can't show you the boy's shoes, but try to put yourself in them. We can't show his face. Can't use his voice. Can't tell you where he goes to school, the specific area where he lives, or even the state where he lives. His parents are that concerned about potential retaliation. We can tell you the boy's first name. Osama. He can tell you, in a stranger's voice, what he's been through at age 11.

TRANSLATOR: You'd get pushed around and sometimes you'd have -- I'd have to ask a teacher a couple of times because it was severe. So -- and it was -- you know, it was bad. I felt bad. And it made me feel down and horrible.

TODD: This was a carefree kid, born to Muslim parents, with a name that was, until that day, simply different. TRANSLATOR: When I came home that day, I can still remember just saying, today was a good day. But then my mom said, didn't you hear that it's -- you know what happened? And I'm just asking what happened and she said -- she gave me the whole event and she told me what happened. And so I realized that my name was unique in this part of the world and what I was going to do.

TODD: What he didn't tell me and his parents did, is that he also had sand and rocks thrown at him and he endured what his mother called tremendous torture. It was enough to prompt his parents to consult their pediatrician about changing Osama's name.

TODD (on-camera): Did you want to change your name?

TRANSLATOR: Not really.

TODD: Why not?

TRANSLATOR: Probably because it's sort of special. Really, when you grow older, they won't remember back. I don't know how many, 20 years back. Because they don't -- if your name is Jack, they don't refer to you as Jack the Ripper.

TODD (voice-over): They did refer to him, he says, as a quote "towel-head." I asked this boy, only 8 years old on September 11th, his opinion of the United States and American children since that day.

TRANSLATOR: I'm not blaming anybody for that. I wouldn't be happy if I saw so many people die in my own country. I wouldn't be that happy. And I was born in America so I can understand their temper, too.

TODD: He says things have gotten better in recent months. But his parents are, again, worried. Osama's entering middle school next year. But their child may be more resilient than even they know. Asked what he wants to be when he gets older, this targeted, shadowed 11-year-old says he's not sure. He just wants to make the world a better place.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: A check of the financial markets is next, plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does feel like Christmas. I guess if you plan it, it doesn't really make any difference, you know, the smells are the same, and the kids are excited, and the 4-year-old is like, "Santa's coming tomorrow!"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: How one American family did not let their father's deployment ruin their Christmas. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: As many of us prepare to celebrate Christmas, we must take note, of course, of the thousands of American servicemen and women who will be spending the holidays overseas. Now one military family that will be spending Christmas apart had a good idea. They dropped the calendar -- they celebrated early.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LT. COL. CURTIS MATTISON, 319 SIGNAL BATTALION COMMANDER: Only 10 percent of the unit will be able to be home for Christmas. That means when I'm going to over 500 people I'm in command that are going to be over there, and that's where I need to be, is I need to be with them. You know, it's kind of part of a brotherhood.

Daddy's working. I know.

It's been about 26 years, I guess more or less my entire adult life have been in the service in some way, shape or form. I get a sense of trying to make the world a better place for my children. We have six kids in our family, so that's something that I consider really worthwhile to do.

You want me to pick him up?

ANNELENA MATTISON, COMMANDER'S WIFE: Come here. I know. You want daddy.

It's hard not to have your spouse there. I have to make all the decisions. I can't discuss it with him, and I just get tired of having to be the one in charge all the time. That's why we're having Christmas early, because it wouldn't be the same if we waited until the 25th. It would just be too weird not to have him here.

Come on Jesus.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Come on Jesus.

A. MATTISON: Be our guest.

It does feel like Christmas. If you plan it, it doesn't really make any difference. You know, the smells are the same. The kids are excited. The 4-year-old is like Santa's coming tomorrow!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello there!

C. MATTISON: I'm leaving in a couple of days. You recognize the precious moments for what they are. I've already missed already missed a lot of them. I'll never see that first step from the three babies. I'll never hear the first words.

Hear my little girl go ooh over a tea set.

The kids especially are going to be different people by the time I come back, so I really want to kind soak up as much as you can.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Christmas can be any day you want. Santa will make a special delivery. You know, there's a good Christmas tradition in a small European town that owes its origins to a group of GIs from World War II. Still to come, how an American soldier has spent decades proving there really is a St. Nick.

LIVE FROM's hour of power begins after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired December 21, 2004 - 13:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A hostage ordeal ends for two French journalists held by Iraqi insurgents since august. The French Foreign Ministry confirms today the hostages were released, but won't comment on their condition or location. Coming up in a moment, CNN analyst Ken Pollack join us with more insight into the insurgency and its attempts to grad control of Iraq.
In Pennsylvania, a search ends in sadness. Early this morning, authorities found what's believed to be the body of a missing 9-year- old autistic boy. Logan Mitcheltree disappeared from his home on Saturday. The boy was discovered in a state forest about a mile and a half from his home. Searchers knew there was little chance the boy could have survived that bitter cold.

Yet another bitter pill for consumers to swallow. The FDA waves the yellow flag about Naproxen, sold over the counter under the brand name Aleve, saying it may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. That drug is the third painkiller in recent weeks to come under fire for possible links to cardiovascular problems.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A little more than a month to go before the Iraqi election. It seems the insurgency is going all out in a campaign to derail the process. Today, it was Mosul and a strike on a U.S. military dining hall. Time to hit at lunchtime. More than 20 killed. More than 60 wounded.

Middle East expert and CNN analyst Ken Pollack join us from the Saban Center at Brookings Institution, for more insight on this.

Beyond human casualty, the insurgents clearly hoping to deliver a mortal wound to the upcoming election. The question is, can they succeed.

Ken, good to have you with us.

KEN POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: Thank, Miles. Good to be here.

O'BRIEN: First of all, let's talk about security in general in Iraq and the security of these elections. There are many people out there who would suggest there aren't nearly enough American troops on the ground in order to ensure a fair election. Are you among them?

POLLACK: Yes, I absolutely am. I think that the problem we have in Iraq is a very simple one -- Iraq is too big, the population is too large, given the number of troops we have in-country. We've got a fundamental mismatch between resources. We've got a mission that requires a much greater troop commitment than we've got. We don't have the troops to make the country safe. That's hurting the chances for good elections, but also hurts us in every aspect because it is killing Iraqis, in a very literal sense. The Iraqis see this and they're deeply dismayed by the fact that they simply don't feel safe in their homes and their streets.

O'BRIEN: How many troops? How soon are they needed? And does the Pentagon have the manpower?

POLLACK: Well, in all honesty, the troops are needed immediately, and we could easily double the size of the force over there, or we'd need to double the size of the force over there. Any additional forces would be helpful. But we've got to think about this mismatch between resources and mission. We've either got to scale back the mission, be much more modest about what we're trying to accomplish, or we're going to have to find troops.

And as you point out, right now, the United States does not have a whole lot of troops more than we can send, especially not on a sustainable basis, not that can stay there for long periods of time. That's really the dilemma that we're in.

O'BRIEN: In a related issue is this notion of force protection. Here you have an open dining tent -- not open, but it's a tent that wasn't hardened, and there were many soldiers who were saying, you know what, this is an accident that was waiting to happen. And it sounds like a lot like the argument over armor in the Humvees, and yet these troops were at lunch, in a facility that was a sitting duck. What can be done about that issue? Is that an issue also of additional troops perhaps?

POLLACK: Well, I do think that it is definitely an issue of additional resources, and it gets at the same problem as the troop level issue, which is it's ultimately about what the United States expected to find when it went into Iraq. There was not an expectation that we would face this kind of resistance for Iraqis. And as a result, the U.S. military set itself up very quickly to try to get covered facilities for its troops set up as fast as it could.

The problem was, that sitting things up fast meant that you weren't necessarily protecting them. And I think that now, given the fact we have seen this insurgency really blossom over time, we're going to have to start thinking about how do we protect our troops better? More troops is definitely part of it, but a change in the mindset is really what's needed here.

O'BRIEN: Give me a sense about mind sets here. Why are mindsets slow to change? The handwriting has been on the wall for quite some time. And yet we don't see anything obvious from where we sit, which indicates the Pentagon really gets this.

POLLACK: Yes, you know, I wish I knew the answer to that. I think it's a great question. Some day, I think there are going to be a lot of historians who are going to be delving deeply into that.

But I think my suspicion is that at very senior levels of the administration, they recognize that if they did have to fundamentally change how they were thinking about Iraq, it would mean making some very tough political decisions. I mean, just think about how difficult politically it would be to greatly increase our troop commitment to Iraq. Think about how difficult it was for President Bush yesterday to admit that the insurgents are having a real impact on our forces and on the Iraqi people themselves. It's going to be very painful for the administration to admit that basically, you know what, we went into Iraq and we thought that this was all going to be easy, and it turns out it's going to be very hard, and we're going to have to fundamentally change how we've been fighting this war for the last 20 months.

O'BRIEN: Up until this point, the administration has told us by including Iraqis in this process of security more and more and by having elections, that's the tonic to solve all problems in Iraq, and out we go in a relatively short period of time thereafter. There are a few flaws in that argument, I'm afraid.

POLLACK: Yes, unfortunately, I think that's there's some very important gaps there. The first gap is while it's true that at some point in time it's going to be up to the Iraqis to handle this fight themselves, the problem is that, as the president admitted yesterday, the Iraqis are nowhere near being able to do so themselves. When you talk to the American generals, who are training them, they will tell you, it's going to take at least three years before the Iraqis are going to be able to handle that.

In the meantime, we've got to take care of the problem. And the other big gap in that analysis is that it completely leaves out what are the greatest problems for the Iraqi people themselves? The absence of security, their inability to get basic necessities like clean water and constant electricity and gasoline. And until those problems are solved, I think you're going to see a continued erosion of Iraqi political support for the reconstruction. And we've got to address both of those issues to have success.

O'BRIEN: All right, we'll leave it on those sobering thoughts. Thank you very much, Ken Pollack with the Sababn Center of Brookings, we appreciate your time -- Kyra.

POLLACK: Thank you, Miles, good to be here.

PHILLIPS: Now the CNN Security Watch. We start with the legal victory for government's anti-terror campaign. A federal appeals court is reinstating the indictments of seven Iranian exiles. They're accused of raising money for a terrorist group, and the government says members raised several hundred thousand dollars, soliciting donations at Los Angeles International Airport.

In Washington, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the first cases involving detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At issue, whether hundreds of detainees are being held lawfully. Arguments will be heard sometime next year with the decision expected by June.

The alleged mastermind of the Bali bombing is linked to the attack by a key witness in a courtroom in Jakarta, Indonesia. Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is accused running the southeast Asian arm of Al Qaeda. The Bali bombing killed 202 in the islands' resort area just two years ago.

Our "Security Watch" segment continues with a focus on homeland security at the U.S. border. CNN's Lisa Sylvester shows us how bureaucratic battles in Washington could be compromising border security.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are the last line of defense at the border, but some Customs and Border Protection agents say they are the ones who feel under attack. The problem: a lack of coordination, inadequate funding and low morale.

T.J. BONNER, NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL: You're not authorized to go out and chase or catch, and it just has a devastating impact on morale. People put up with that for a few months, and then they're looking around for another job. They're looking around for a real law-enforcement job.

SYLVESTER: The rank and file blame the dysfunction on a fractured system.

When the Department of Homeland Security was created, two organizations were assigned immigration, Customs and Border Protection to deal with issues along the border and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in charge of interior enforcement.

But a new report says the system does not work, calling it the equivalent of separating the beat cops from the detectives.

DAVID NEWMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: The Border Patrols and the Immigration Enforcement officials have to solve the same crimes, the crime of a person coming into the country illegally.

SYLVESTER: But bringing the two agencies together may be difficult, due to Washington politics.

JAMES CARAFANO, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: There's more guys and gals with badges in DHS than there are in the FBI, and so I do think there was some concern that people potentially see DHS as a kind of a law- enforcement competitor with the FBI, and so part of the answer to that was split them up into little boxes so they'll be less of a threat to us.

SYLVESTER: Critics say the bureaucracy jeopardizes national security, wasting opportunities, resources and time.

(on camera): The Heritage Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies both recommend restructuring the Department of Homeland Security, but a spokesperson for DHS says there are no discussions underway to bring the two agencies together. Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And our CNN "Security Watch" reports continue day and night. Be sure to join Judy Woodruff on "INSIDE POLITICS" at 3:30 Eastern, reporting on the fear factor. Do Americans fear another terrorist attack? She'll address it.

O'BRIEN: All right, a record-breaking bank day in Northern Ireland. Not easy to say. We'll tell you how the thieves managed to pull off their plot and get away with the loot, at least for now. Plus why one American boy became the target of violence after 9/11. His emotional tale is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: News around the world now. Despite Iran's pledge to freeze its nuclear program, diplomats say the country will continue preparing raw yellow-cake uranium, as it is known, for enrichment until the end of February. The process can be used to make nuclear weapons.

Belfast, Ireland, call it the snaring of the green. Thieves stole more than $39 million in what's being called the biggest heist in Northern Ireland history. Started Sunday, when the families of at least two senior bank execs were taken hostage in their homes. The gang waited until the bank closed Monday night, and then forced the employees to get them into the vault. Police didn't get wind of the robbery until nearly midnight, six hours after the safe was cracked and cleared. See the movie soon, I guess.

And in the West Bank, the official mourning period for Yasser Arafat has now ended. Speaking today at Arafat's old headquarters, PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas said he remains committed to a peace deal with Israel. Abbas is the front-runner in the January 9 elections to replace Arafat as the Palestinian authority president.

PHILLIPS: Back in this country, a story of discrimination, all because of a name, in the aftermath of September 11th. CNN's Brian Todd has the story of the boy named Osama.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We can't show you the boy's shoes, but try to put yourself in them. We can't show his face. Can't use his voice. Can't tell you where he goes to school, the specific area where he lives, or even the state where he lives. His parents are that concerned about potential retaliation. We can tell you the boy's first name. Osama. He can tell you, in a stranger's voice, what he's been through at age 11.

TRANSLATOR: You'd get pushed around and sometimes you'd have -- I'd have to ask a teacher a couple of times because it was severe. So -- and it was -- you know, it was bad. I felt bad. And it made me feel down and horrible.

TODD: This was a carefree kid, born to Muslim parents, with a name that was, until that day, simply different. TRANSLATOR: When I came home that day, I can still remember just saying, today was a good day. But then my mom said, didn't you hear that it's -- you know what happened? And I'm just asking what happened and she said -- she gave me the whole event and she told me what happened. And so I realized that my name was unique in this part of the world and what I was going to do.

TODD: What he didn't tell me and his parents did, is that he also had sand and rocks thrown at him and he endured what his mother called tremendous torture. It was enough to prompt his parents to consult their pediatrician about changing Osama's name.

TODD (on-camera): Did you want to change your name?

TRANSLATOR: Not really.

TODD: Why not?

TRANSLATOR: Probably because it's sort of special. Really, when you grow older, they won't remember back. I don't know how many, 20 years back. Because they don't -- if your name is Jack, they don't refer to you as Jack the Ripper.

TODD (voice-over): They did refer to him, he says, as a quote "towel-head." I asked this boy, only 8 years old on September 11th, his opinion of the United States and American children since that day.

TRANSLATOR: I'm not blaming anybody for that. I wouldn't be happy if I saw so many people die in my own country. I wouldn't be that happy. And I was born in America so I can understand their temper, too.

TODD: He says things have gotten better in recent months. But his parents are, again, worried. Osama's entering middle school next year. But their child may be more resilient than even they know. Asked what he wants to be when he gets older, this targeted, shadowed 11-year-old says he's not sure. He just wants to make the world a better place.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: A check of the financial markets is next, plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does feel like Christmas. I guess if you plan it, it doesn't really make any difference, you know, the smells are the same, and the kids are excited, and the 4-year-old is like, "Santa's coming tomorrow!"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: How one American family did not let their father's deployment ruin their Christmas. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: As many of us prepare to celebrate Christmas, we must take note, of course, of the thousands of American servicemen and women who will be spending the holidays overseas. Now one military family that will be spending Christmas apart had a good idea. They dropped the calendar -- they celebrated early.

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LT. COL. CURTIS MATTISON, 319 SIGNAL BATTALION COMMANDER: Only 10 percent of the unit will be able to be home for Christmas. That means when I'm going to over 500 people I'm in command that are going to be over there, and that's where I need to be, is I need to be with them. You know, it's kind of part of a brotherhood.

Daddy's working. I know.

It's been about 26 years, I guess more or less my entire adult life have been in the service in some way, shape or form. I get a sense of trying to make the world a better place for my children. We have six kids in our family, so that's something that I consider really worthwhile to do.

You want me to pick him up?

ANNELENA MATTISON, COMMANDER'S WIFE: Come here. I know. You want daddy.

It's hard not to have your spouse there. I have to make all the decisions. I can't discuss it with him, and I just get tired of having to be the one in charge all the time. That's why we're having Christmas early, because it wouldn't be the same if we waited until the 25th. It would just be too weird not to have him here.

Come on Jesus.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Come on Jesus.

A. MATTISON: Be our guest.

It does feel like Christmas. If you plan it, it doesn't really make any difference. You know, the smells are the same. The kids are excited. The 4-year-old is like Santa's coming tomorrow!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello there!

C. MATTISON: I'm leaving in a couple of days. You recognize the precious moments for what they are. I've already missed already missed a lot of them. I'll never see that first step from the three babies. I'll never hear the first words.

Hear my little girl go ooh over a tea set.

The kids especially are going to be different people by the time I come back, so I really want to kind soak up as much as you can.

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O'BRIEN: Christmas can be any day you want. Santa will make a special delivery. You know, there's a good Christmas tradition in a small European town that owes its origins to a group of GIs from World War II. Still to come, how an American soldier has spent decades proving there really is a St. Nick.

LIVE FROM's hour of power begins after this.

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