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Attack in Iran?; Amber Alert; Symbols of Survival

Aired January 17, 2005 - 13:59   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.


TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Does the United States have plans to attack Iran? The Pentagon responds to a published report. We're live on that story.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: With an inauguration just days away, his choice for secretary of state headed for a Senate grilling. And Iraq elections just days away as well. It's a big week for President Bush. We have a live report from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I heard was sirens, which was right behind me. And how he got out of the car and gone without the law seeing him, I have no idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: A couple accused of kidnapping their children at gunpoint from a foster care home. Authorities issue an Amber Alert.

NGUYEN: And look at this, a nail through the head. An x-ray reveals why a construction worker -- ouch is right -- is having a really bad toothache.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Miles O'Brien and Kyra Phillips are off. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

HARRIS: First, the war in Afghanistan, then an invasion of Iraq, and now Iran may be in the crosshairs. Journalist Seymour Hersh says President Bush may be considering an attack in the country soon. Hersh reports the administration has been conducting secret missions to learn about nuclear, chemical and missile sites for possible air strikes. He spoke with CNN's Heidi Collins earlier today on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEYMOUR HERSH, "THE NEW YORKER": The planning of this administration is -- is -- it includes not only right now by this -- by next summer, if all goes well, they are serious about expanding the war. And it doesn't matter that a lot of the people -- that I think the president, even in his "Washington Post" interview, which I found to be a remarkable one, said the people in Iran are waiting for us. The freedom loving people there are waiting for us to come.

They believe this. And I think, you know, it doesn't matter what I write. It doesn't matter what my sources tell me.

This is a president that's going to do what he wants to do. And the only -- the only thing we can hope is that these guys are right about the world waiting for America to come and remake the Middle East, and that Iran will go smoother than Iraq, because they're going to do it, I'm almost -- I'm pretty much convinced of it myself, and so are my sources.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: But back to your questions about the sources which you mentioned. Again, they are written as unnamed former senior intelligence officials.

How are you certain that they're telling you the truth? I mean, could this not possibly be some people who are sour grapes over the administration, not liking the direction the administration is going in?

HERSH: Oh, you've got to sort of stick with what I've been doing for the last three years and, you know, writing about -- when I wrote about Abu Ghraib the first time in May for "The New Yorker," the administration denounced it as just, I was throwing mud against the wall and seeing how much will stick. The fact is, the fact is that we are operating right now in and out of Iran. We are collecting intelligence.

Why are we working so hard on it? Because the last thing this administration wants to do is hit some targets in -- bomb some targets in Iran which will cause an enormous furor and not be right. We want to make sure we're not going to have another second WMD mistake, as we did in Iraq.

So there's -- they're paying an awful lot of attention and time. And I will tell you why people talk to me.

People on the inside are talking to me because, in this administration, you cannot tell them what they don't want to hear. In other words, as somebody said to me, you have to think -- you have to drink the Kool-Aid before you go to a meeting.

And so they're not open to anybody saying hitting Iran is not a good idea, it's 75 million people, a big army, it's not going to be -- as difficult as Iraq is, Iran is going to be much harder. You're not going to get an outpouring of pro-American sentiment when you hit it.

And yet there are people in the White House -- and we call them the neo-conservatives, some of the civilians who work in the Pentagon -- Wolfowitz is one, Doug Feith, his aide -- who really believe that when we do hit these targets it's going to lead to an incredible outcry of anti-mullah -- you know, a lot of people who don't like the religious leadership in Iran will rise up and we'll have a revolution there.

It's -- my friends, the people that talk to me, think it's loony, but they can't get their views in over the top. So they go outside to a journalist to tell the stories.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And people are also talking to our Barbara Starr. Let's get Pentagon reaction to the report from CNN's Barbara Starr.

And Barbara, the sources that you were talking to in the Pentagon are beating back this story with some pretty straightforward language.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are, Tony. Mr. Hersh, as we just saw on air, said he was "pretty much convinced" that this type of attack would happen. Sources we have spoken to are pretty much convinced it won't.

Let's walk through some of it because, indeed, while the U.S. military conducts planning around the world all the time -- and Iran certainly is a country of interest, its proximity to Iraq, its nuclear weapons program. Is there planning being conducted? Sure.

The U.S. plans for all sorts of military contingencies. But very senior officials we have spoken to in the last 48 hours have said, to their certain knowledge, there is no immediate planning, if you will, for any type of military strike against Iran at this point.

Now, a short time ago, the Pentagon did issue an official statement about the Hersh article coming in the name of Larry Di Rita, the spokesman for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. And in that statement, Mr. Di Rita said, "Mr. Hersh's article is so riddled with errors of fundamental fact that the credibility of his entire piece is destroyed." Di Rita going on to say that the piece had rumor, innuendo, and assertions about meetings that never happened, programs that do not exist, and statements by officials that were never made.

The statement by the Pentagon certainly does leave some areas undiscussed. It does not talk about Mr. Hersh's assertions that there are secret findings, secret directives that U.S. Special Forces now have the OK to operate in about 10 countries around the world to conduct unilateral operations. It does not address the type of precise planning that does go on by the U.S. military and the U.S. intelligence community.

But one really shouldn't expect the Pentagon to address that in a public format such as a press statement. It's not the kind of thing that they talk about.

But behind the scenes, Tony, here at the Pentagon, and across Washington, over the last 48 hours, an awful lot of statements by officials that this article needs to be taken with a grain of salt in terms of the immediacy that it talks about, in terms of the precise planning and heads up about any kind of military operation against Iran. Officials saying that nothing like that is in the works at this point -- Tony.

HARRIS: And just to put a very fine point on it, when Seymour Hersh mentions this timeline of this summer, that makes a lot of people -- a lot of people -- very nervous, which maybe explains why your sources at the Pentagon have come out so strongly today. STARR: Tony, there is something that makes U.S. military officials very concerned about all of this. And that is, as you say, the possibility for miscalculation, misinterpretation by any country out there.

They know full well that all of these articles are being read in Iran. They're being read in Damascus, in Syria. A lot of questions being raised about any action against Syria. And they are extremely concerned, they tell us, about any possible misinterpretation or miscalculation by the governments of Iran or Syria as they read these articles that they might take them for something that they are not. So make no mistake, an awful lot of concern at the very top levels of the U.S. military -- Tony.

HARRIS: Makes sense. Barbara Starr. Barbara, thank you.

NGUYEN: One of President Bush's closest advisers is taking the hot seat in Washington starting tomorrow. Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice is facing a Senate confirmation hearing.

Call it a job interview in front of millions of people. Questions about Iraq are expected to dominate the session. Democrats and a few Republicans plan to ask Rice about her role in advising President Bush before the war and its aftermath. Now, the hearing begins tomorrow morning at 9:00 Eastern. You'll want to tune into CNN for live coverage.

In the meantime, the parents of Army reservist Charles Graner are defending his role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. They say he believed he was saving lives.

Over the weekend, a military jury at Ft. Hood, Texas, sentenced Graner to 10 years in prison. He was convicted of abusing Iraqi prisoners. Graner's father tells CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" his son has no reason to regret his actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES GRANER, SR., CHARLES GRANER'S FATHER: To say he showed no signs of remorse, why should you show a sign of remorse for doing your job? And he firmly believed that he was doing his job.

His job -- you know, at first, as he said, he was -- he was a Christian who didn't believe in doing that. He was a correction officer who says, hey, this isn't right. But he believed that after listening and found out what he was doing.

He was doing a good job. He was saving people. American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: The jury also busted Graner down to private and ordered a dishonorable discharge.

HARRIS: Armed, dangerous and on the run. That's how police on both sides of the Tennessee-North Carolina border are describing James Canter and Alisha Ann Chambers. They've issued an Amber Alert.

The couple's accused of kidnapping their two children from a foster home and hitting the road. Angela Andreae from CNN affiliate WCYB has more on the chase.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANGELA ANDREAE, REPORTER, WCYB (voice-over): A chase in Johnson County, Tennessee, led police to their first encounter with the two since the abduction. Deputy Chris Dunn (ph) tried to pull them over for reckless driving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As I rounded the curve on 421 the vehicle nearly run me off the road.

ANDREAE (on camera): After a high-speed chase down Antioch Road, officer say the couple stopped their car here at the home of some longtime friends and then disappeared.

(voice-over): Authorities say 28-year-old James Canter, also known as James Brown, and 18-year-old Alisha Chambers took their children, 11-month-old Breanna and 2-year-old Paul, by gunpoint from a foster home in Watauga County. Those that know Canter say they're shocked by what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I've known him for years, since he was this small. But as far as I knew, I never dreamed anything like this.

ANDREAE: Brian (ph) was home when the couple abandoned their car in his driveway, but says he hasn't seen them since.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is a convicted felon. We know that they had firearms. We found two firearms in the vehicle they abandoned yesterday. I would not be surprised if they did not have firearms with them currently.

ANDREAE: Watauga County authorities believe family may have picked them up. They do not know if the children were with them at the time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we do have concerns for the safety of the children.

ANDREAE: Watauga County authorities say the children were taken from their parents in March after the discovery of a meth lab in their home.

In Watauga County, North Carolina, I'm Angela Andreae, News Center 5.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: News "Across America" now. Resuming the search. Rescue teams are back on the mountain near Park City, Utah, today. This weekend they recovered the body of a 27-year-old snowboarder from Friday's avalanche. Crews are searching for four others believed buried in that massive snow slide.

Well, a construction worker tough as nails, literally. Doctors say Patrick Lawler is a lucky guy. No doubt. Look at this.

A backfiring nail gun shot a four-inch nail into his skull. The Colorado man felt pain for nearly a week, but thought it was just a toothache. That was until x-rays revealed the problem. The nail plunged more than an inch into his brain, barely missing his right eye. But he is expected to recover.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK LAWLER, NAIL GUN SHOT NAIL INTO SKULL: Yes, I always consider myself lucky, you know. You don't shoot yourself in the face every day with a nail and have it not do anything. And it definitely makes one think about a profession change, you know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Clemency for a civil rights pioneer. We want to talk about that right now.

Louisiana's governor is signing a pardon today for Betty Claiborne. In 1963, Claiborne was arrested for trying to integrate a public swimming pool in Baton Rouge. She's now a prison chaplain.

HARRIS: A number of events nationwide are honoring the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. today. A parade was held in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, his home town. Earlier, a commemorative service was held at nearby Ebenezer Baptist Church. King preached there for eight years until his assassination. His son asked the public to remember his father's legacy and keep up the fight for a better America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN LUTHER KING III, KING'S SON: In commemorating the holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., we are called with increasing urgency to eradicate what he identified as the triple evils: poverty, racism, violence, which are all forms of violence. My father said, "We as a nation must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-centered society."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: President Bush is expected to attend services honoring King at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington at 4:00 Eastern. That's about two hours from now, just under. CNN will bring you his remarks live.

And King's moving and inspirational "I have a dream" speech will be aired on a special "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN" beginning at 10:00 Eastern tonight. For those of you who have never heard it or just want to hear it again, tune in. Described as emotional, powerful and unforgettable. It is definitely must-see TV.

NGUYEN: Without a doubt.

Well, big plans and tight security. President Bush's inauguration just days away. We will show you how the city is planning for a big party and the tightest security ever.

Also, will tight security be enough to ensure a legitimate election in Iraq? A former adviser to the coalition provisional government says probably not. We'll ask him why ahead on LIVE FROM.

And god and the tsunami. Why people on this stretch of Indonesian coastline are finding reasons to believe amid the ruins.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The tsunami that hit Indonesia left behind devastation. But in Banda Aceh, it also left symbols of survival. The powerful waves did not destroy mosques and churches. And some see it as divine intervention. CNN's Atika Shubert has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid the devastation, all along the coast you see them, black minarets standing tall in a muddied wasteland, silver domes gleaming in the opened air. Aceh's mosques left untouched by this disaster. Often the only buildings left standing.

In a land of devout religion, particularly Islam, these have become much more than places of worship. Some are famous, Aceh's great mosque still white in a sea of debris and death, an iconic image of Aceh's will to survive.

Some serve as shelters, makeshift homes, a place for survivors to get food, clean water, clothing and information. Others stand empty, the faithful killed or missing, a lonely reminder of what once was.

(on camera): Just meters from the ocean, this mosque should not have survived. Yet here it is. Was it simply better built? Did the high arcs and the pillars divide the water allowing the giant wave to simply pass through? Or is it as many Acehianese believe, something else?

(voice-over): The Lagoey (ph) Mosque is small. It used to serve 600 villagers in this seaside community. Only 200 survived, every single home destroyed. The mosque still stands, barely.

In the last two days, survivors have returned. Living off of relief aid, they used donated clothes to clean the floor, dresses and skirts. When everything else is destroyed, the village head explains, they need a place to pray.

All the houses of God were saved, he tells us, seeing the mosque still standing amid all of this destruction only increases my faith and I think everyone else here feels the same.

The reasons why these mosques survived, hardly matters anymore. Their standing pillars have become the foundation for a new life in Aceh.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Japan today is remembering an earthquake that left thousands of people dead in one city. That story tops our look at news "Around the World" today.

The Japanese marked the tenth anniversary of the earthquake that hit the port city of Kobe. Mourners lit candles, said prayers and had a moment of silence. Now, that Kobe quake killed nearly 6,500 people in 1995. A survivor today recalled the disaster as "terrifying."

A president under protest in your honor Russia. Demonstrators blame President Vladimir Putin for cuts in their welfare benefits. Massive weekend protests have spilled over into the new week. And today President Putin promised a moderate increase in pensions. He blamed federal and regional officials for their failure to properly implement the social reform.

And in Antarctica, scientists are watching and waiting to see if a giant iceberg about 100 miles long and a glacier collide in the Antarctic. It was predicted to happen today.

Look at this video. Now, if that happens, scientists say it could free up sea lanes (ph) to a U.S. station in the area.

HARRIS: OK.

Politics, power and parties. They're all ready to converge on Washington in just a few days.

NGUYEN: Ahead on LIVE FROM, how hotels are putting on the glitz for inauguration guests to the tune of $150,000 for a four-day stay.

HARRIS: And just ahead, will your computer replace your telephone? If you haven't heard of something called voiceover Internet protocol, you will soon. We'll show you how it works.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. Americans looking to cut the cord on phone landlines may need to look no further than their home computer.

NGUYEN: That's what they say. A new system called VoIP -- that is short for voiceover Internet protocol, could be the key, Tony. But it is not without hang-ups, of course. Our Ali Velshi explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN COHEN, VOIP USER: Do you know that I'm calling you from my computer?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Banking consultant Allen Cohen is on the phone all the time. He says Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP for short, saves him more than $1,000 a year, compared to using a traditional landline phone. COHEN: It's got lots of neat features in terms of being able to forward calls to my cell phone, to my computer. So I never miss important calls.

VELSHI: Cohen is one of more than a million VoIP users with millions more to come over the next few years. To use it, you need a high-speed Internet connections. You make and receive calls using a regular phone.

The people you call and those who call you don't need any special equipment and generally won't be able to tell the difference.

BRIAN CLARK, TECH ENTHUSIASTS NETWORK: Voice Over IP, or Internet protocol, is just a way, another way for you to communicate that basically uses the Internet instead of regular phone lines. So you can commute indicate via your high-speed broadband service.

VELSHI: For a flat fee, VoIP allows you to make unlimited local and long distance phone calls. Overseas calls do cost more but probably not as much as you're used to paying.

A full-service package includes caller ID, voice mail, call waiting and other features. It ranges in cost but tops out at 40 bucks a month, in addition to what you pay for your broadband connection.

And wherever Allen is, his VoIP number is, too. It's as simple as plugging in, and Allen got to choose his area code. You can be in St. Louis with a Beverly Hills number.

It's not all good, though. If your Internet service goes down, your VoIP will stop working, too. "Consumer Reports" recommends keeping a basic landline connection if you get VoIP until all the bugs are worked out.

Their biggest concern: if the power goes out, you're out of luck, though at least one provider is offering a 16-hour battery backup system.

For those like Cohen, the downsides are worth it.

COHEN: As the consumer, I'm empowered.

VELSHI: Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: VoIP.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Well, I'll figure it out once they figure out all the bugs, right?

NGUYEN: Yes. You don't want the bugs in your VoIP. HARRIS: Buying time.

NGUYEN: All right. Moving on, Iraqis around the world and right here in the U.S. are registering to vote in the upcoming election.

HARRIS: But there's still a lot of concern about whether Iraqis actually in Iraq will feel safe enough to vote on election day. We'll talk about security concerns straight ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My little boy has been traumatized and hurt, and nobody cares!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And a bitter custody fight over a 3-year-old boy raises questions about the rights of adoptive and birth parents. We'll talk about it with a lawyer. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired January 17, 2005 - 13:59   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Does the United States have plans to attack Iran? The Pentagon responds to a published report. We're live on that story.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: With an inauguration just days away, his choice for secretary of state headed for a Senate grilling. And Iraq elections just days away as well. It's a big week for President Bush. We have a live report from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I heard was sirens, which was right behind me. And how he got out of the car and gone without the law seeing him, I have no idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: A couple accused of kidnapping their children at gunpoint from a foster care home. Authorities issue an Amber Alert.

NGUYEN: And look at this, a nail through the head. An x-ray reveals why a construction worker -- ouch is right -- is having a really bad toothache.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Miles O'Brien and Kyra Phillips are off. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

HARRIS: First, the war in Afghanistan, then an invasion of Iraq, and now Iran may be in the crosshairs. Journalist Seymour Hersh says President Bush may be considering an attack in the country soon. Hersh reports the administration has been conducting secret missions to learn about nuclear, chemical and missile sites for possible air strikes. He spoke with CNN's Heidi Collins earlier today on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEYMOUR HERSH, "THE NEW YORKER": The planning of this administration is -- is -- it includes not only right now by this -- by next summer, if all goes well, they are serious about expanding the war. And it doesn't matter that a lot of the people -- that I think the president, even in his "Washington Post" interview, which I found to be a remarkable one, said the people in Iran are waiting for us. The freedom loving people there are waiting for us to come.

They believe this. And I think, you know, it doesn't matter what I write. It doesn't matter what my sources tell me.

This is a president that's going to do what he wants to do. And the only -- the only thing we can hope is that these guys are right about the world waiting for America to come and remake the Middle East, and that Iran will go smoother than Iraq, because they're going to do it, I'm almost -- I'm pretty much convinced of it myself, and so are my sources.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: But back to your questions about the sources which you mentioned. Again, they are written as unnamed former senior intelligence officials.

How are you certain that they're telling you the truth? I mean, could this not possibly be some people who are sour grapes over the administration, not liking the direction the administration is going in?

HERSH: Oh, you've got to sort of stick with what I've been doing for the last three years and, you know, writing about -- when I wrote about Abu Ghraib the first time in May for "The New Yorker," the administration denounced it as just, I was throwing mud against the wall and seeing how much will stick. The fact is, the fact is that we are operating right now in and out of Iran. We are collecting intelligence.

Why are we working so hard on it? Because the last thing this administration wants to do is hit some targets in -- bomb some targets in Iran which will cause an enormous furor and not be right. We want to make sure we're not going to have another second WMD mistake, as we did in Iraq.

So there's -- they're paying an awful lot of attention and time. And I will tell you why people talk to me.

People on the inside are talking to me because, in this administration, you cannot tell them what they don't want to hear. In other words, as somebody said to me, you have to think -- you have to drink the Kool-Aid before you go to a meeting.

And so they're not open to anybody saying hitting Iran is not a good idea, it's 75 million people, a big army, it's not going to be -- as difficult as Iraq is, Iran is going to be much harder. You're not going to get an outpouring of pro-American sentiment when you hit it.

And yet there are people in the White House -- and we call them the neo-conservatives, some of the civilians who work in the Pentagon -- Wolfowitz is one, Doug Feith, his aide -- who really believe that when we do hit these targets it's going to lead to an incredible outcry of anti-mullah -- you know, a lot of people who don't like the religious leadership in Iran will rise up and we'll have a revolution there.

It's -- my friends, the people that talk to me, think it's loony, but they can't get their views in over the top. So they go outside to a journalist to tell the stories.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And people are also talking to our Barbara Starr. Let's get Pentagon reaction to the report from CNN's Barbara Starr.

And Barbara, the sources that you were talking to in the Pentagon are beating back this story with some pretty straightforward language.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are, Tony. Mr. Hersh, as we just saw on air, said he was "pretty much convinced" that this type of attack would happen. Sources we have spoken to are pretty much convinced it won't.

Let's walk through some of it because, indeed, while the U.S. military conducts planning around the world all the time -- and Iran certainly is a country of interest, its proximity to Iraq, its nuclear weapons program. Is there planning being conducted? Sure.

The U.S. plans for all sorts of military contingencies. But very senior officials we have spoken to in the last 48 hours have said, to their certain knowledge, there is no immediate planning, if you will, for any type of military strike against Iran at this point.

Now, a short time ago, the Pentagon did issue an official statement about the Hersh article coming in the name of Larry Di Rita, the spokesman for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. And in that statement, Mr. Di Rita said, "Mr. Hersh's article is so riddled with errors of fundamental fact that the credibility of his entire piece is destroyed." Di Rita going on to say that the piece had rumor, innuendo, and assertions about meetings that never happened, programs that do not exist, and statements by officials that were never made.

The statement by the Pentagon certainly does leave some areas undiscussed. It does not talk about Mr. Hersh's assertions that there are secret findings, secret directives that U.S. Special Forces now have the OK to operate in about 10 countries around the world to conduct unilateral operations. It does not address the type of precise planning that does go on by the U.S. military and the U.S. intelligence community.

But one really shouldn't expect the Pentagon to address that in a public format such as a press statement. It's not the kind of thing that they talk about.

But behind the scenes, Tony, here at the Pentagon, and across Washington, over the last 48 hours, an awful lot of statements by officials that this article needs to be taken with a grain of salt in terms of the immediacy that it talks about, in terms of the precise planning and heads up about any kind of military operation against Iran. Officials saying that nothing like that is in the works at this point -- Tony.

HARRIS: And just to put a very fine point on it, when Seymour Hersh mentions this timeline of this summer, that makes a lot of people -- a lot of people -- very nervous, which maybe explains why your sources at the Pentagon have come out so strongly today. STARR: Tony, there is something that makes U.S. military officials very concerned about all of this. And that is, as you say, the possibility for miscalculation, misinterpretation by any country out there.

They know full well that all of these articles are being read in Iran. They're being read in Damascus, in Syria. A lot of questions being raised about any action against Syria. And they are extremely concerned, they tell us, about any possible misinterpretation or miscalculation by the governments of Iran or Syria as they read these articles that they might take them for something that they are not. So make no mistake, an awful lot of concern at the very top levels of the U.S. military -- Tony.

HARRIS: Makes sense. Barbara Starr. Barbara, thank you.

NGUYEN: One of President Bush's closest advisers is taking the hot seat in Washington starting tomorrow. Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice is facing a Senate confirmation hearing.

Call it a job interview in front of millions of people. Questions about Iraq are expected to dominate the session. Democrats and a few Republicans plan to ask Rice about her role in advising President Bush before the war and its aftermath. Now, the hearing begins tomorrow morning at 9:00 Eastern. You'll want to tune into CNN for live coverage.

In the meantime, the parents of Army reservist Charles Graner are defending his role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. They say he believed he was saving lives.

Over the weekend, a military jury at Ft. Hood, Texas, sentenced Graner to 10 years in prison. He was convicted of abusing Iraqi prisoners. Graner's father tells CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" his son has no reason to regret his actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES GRANER, SR., CHARLES GRANER'S FATHER: To say he showed no signs of remorse, why should you show a sign of remorse for doing your job? And he firmly believed that he was doing his job.

His job -- you know, at first, as he said, he was -- he was a Christian who didn't believe in doing that. He was a correction officer who says, hey, this isn't right. But he believed that after listening and found out what he was doing.

He was doing a good job. He was saving people. American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: The jury also busted Graner down to private and ordered a dishonorable discharge.

HARRIS: Armed, dangerous and on the run. That's how police on both sides of the Tennessee-North Carolina border are describing James Canter and Alisha Ann Chambers. They've issued an Amber Alert.

The couple's accused of kidnapping their two children from a foster home and hitting the road. Angela Andreae from CNN affiliate WCYB has more on the chase.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANGELA ANDREAE, REPORTER, WCYB (voice-over): A chase in Johnson County, Tennessee, led police to their first encounter with the two since the abduction. Deputy Chris Dunn (ph) tried to pull them over for reckless driving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As I rounded the curve on 421 the vehicle nearly run me off the road.

ANDREAE (on camera): After a high-speed chase down Antioch Road, officer say the couple stopped their car here at the home of some longtime friends and then disappeared.

(voice-over): Authorities say 28-year-old James Canter, also known as James Brown, and 18-year-old Alisha Chambers took their children, 11-month-old Breanna and 2-year-old Paul, by gunpoint from a foster home in Watauga County. Those that know Canter say they're shocked by what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I've known him for years, since he was this small. But as far as I knew, I never dreamed anything like this.

ANDREAE: Brian (ph) was home when the couple abandoned their car in his driveway, but says he hasn't seen them since.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is a convicted felon. We know that they had firearms. We found two firearms in the vehicle they abandoned yesterday. I would not be surprised if they did not have firearms with them currently.

ANDREAE: Watauga County authorities believe family may have picked them up. They do not know if the children were with them at the time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we do have concerns for the safety of the children.

ANDREAE: Watauga County authorities say the children were taken from their parents in March after the discovery of a meth lab in their home.

In Watauga County, North Carolina, I'm Angela Andreae, News Center 5.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: News "Across America" now. Resuming the search. Rescue teams are back on the mountain near Park City, Utah, today. This weekend they recovered the body of a 27-year-old snowboarder from Friday's avalanche. Crews are searching for four others believed buried in that massive snow slide.

Well, a construction worker tough as nails, literally. Doctors say Patrick Lawler is a lucky guy. No doubt. Look at this.

A backfiring nail gun shot a four-inch nail into his skull. The Colorado man felt pain for nearly a week, but thought it was just a toothache. That was until x-rays revealed the problem. The nail plunged more than an inch into his brain, barely missing his right eye. But he is expected to recover.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK LAWLER, NAIL GUN SHOT NAIL INTO SKULL: Yes, I always consider myself lucky, you know. You don't shoot yourself in the face every day with a nail and have it not do anything. And it definitely makes one think about a profession change, you know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Clemency for a civil rights pioneer. We want to talk about that right now.

Louisiana's governor is signing a pardon today for Betty Claiborne. In 1963, Claiborne was arrested for trying to integrate a public swimming pool in Baton Rouge. She's now a prison chaplain.

HARRIS: A number of events nationwide are honoring the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. today. A parade was held in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, his home town. Earlier, a commemorative service was held at nearby Ebenezer Baptist Church. King preached there for eight years until his assassination. His son asked the public to remember his father's legacy and keep up the fight for a better America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN LUTHER KING III, KING'S SON: In commemorating the holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., we are called with increasing urgency to eradicate what he identified as the triple evils: poverty, racism, violence, which are all forms of violence. My father said, "We as a nation must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-centered society."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: President Bush is expected to attend services honoring King at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington at 4:00 Eastern. That's about two hours from now, just under. CNN will bring you his remarks live.

And King's moving and inspirational "I have a dream" speech will be aired on a special "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN" beginning at 10:00 Eastern tonight. For those of you who have never heard it or just want to hear it again, tune in. Described as emotional, powerful and unforgettable. It is definitely must-see TV.

NGUYEN: Without a doubt.

Well, big plans and tight security. President Bush's inauguration just days away. We will show you how the city is planning for a big party and the tightest security ever.

Also, will tight security be enough to ensure a legitimate election in Iraq? A former adviser to the coalition provisional government says probably not. We'll ask him why ahead on LIVE FROM.

And god and the tsunami. Why people on this stretch of Indonesian coastline are finding reasons to believe amid the ruins.

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HARRIS: The tsunami that hit Indonesia left behind devastation. But in Banda Aceh, it also left symbols of survival. The powerful waves did not destroy mosques and churches. And some see it as divine intervention. CNN's Atika Shubert has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid the devastation, all along the coast you see them, black minarets standing tall in a muddied wasteland, silver domes gleaming in the opened air. Aceh's mosques left untouched by this disaster. Often the only buildings left standing.

In a land of devout religion, particularly Islam, these have become much more than places of worship. Some are famous, Aceh's great mosque still white in a sea of debris and death, an iconic image of Aceh's will to survive.

Some serve as shelters, makeshift homes, a place for survivors to get food, clean water, clothing and information. Others stand empty, the faithful killed or missing, a lonely reminder of what once was.

(on camera): Just meters from the ocean, this mosque should not have survived. Yet here it is. Was it simply better built? Did the high arcs and the pillars divide the water allowing the giant wave to simply pass through? Or is it as many Acehianese believe, something else?

(voice-over): The Lagoey (ph) Mosque is small. It used to serve 600 villagers in this seaside community. Only 200 survived, every single home destroyed. The mosque still stands, barely.

In the last two days, survivors have returned. Living off of relief aid, they used donated clothes to clean the floor, dresses and skirts. When everything else is destroyed, the village head explains, they need a place to pray.

All the houses of God were saved, he tells us, seeing the mosque still standing amid all of this destruction only increases my faith and I think everyone else here feels the same.

The reasons why these mosques survived, hardly matters anymore. Their standing pillars have become the foundation for a new life in Aceh.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Japan today is remembering an earthquake that left thousands of people dead in one city. That story tops our look at news "Around the World" today.

The Japanese marked the tenth anniversary of the earthquake that hit the port city of Kobe. Mourners lit candles, said prayers and had a moment of silence. Now, that Kobe quake killed nearly 6,500 people in 1995. A survivor today recalled the disaster as "terrifying."

A president under protest in your honor Russia. Demonstrators blame President Vladimir Putin for cuts in their welfare benefits. Massive weekend protests have spilled over into the new week. And today President Putin promised a moderate increase in pensions. He blamed federal and regional officials for their failure to properly implement the social reform.

And in Antarctica, scientists are watching and waiting to see if a giant iceberg about 100 miles long and a glacier collide in the Antarctic. It was predicted to happen today.

Look at this video. Now, if that happens, scientists say it could free up sea lanes (ph) to a U.S. station in the area.

HARRIS: OK.

Politics, power and parties. They're all ready to converge on Washington in just a few days.

NGUYEN: Ahead on LIVE FROM, how hotels are putting on the glitz for inauguration guests to the tune of $150,000 for a four-day stay.

HARRIS: And just ahead, will your computer replace your telephone? If you haven't heard of something called voiceover Internet protocol, you will soon. We'll show you how it works.

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HARRIS: OK. Americans looking to cut the cord on phone landlines may need to look no further than their home computer.

NGUYEN: That's what they say. A new system called VoIP -- that is short for voiceover Internet protocol, could be the key, Tony. But it is not without hang-ups, of course. Our Ali Velshi explains.

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ALLEN COHEN, VOIP USER: Do you know that I'm calling you from my computer?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Banking consultant Allen Cohen is on the phone all the time. He says Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP for short, saves him more than $1,000 a year, compared to using a traditional landline phone. COHEN: It's got lots of neat features in terms of being able to forward calls to my cell phone, to my computer. So I never miss important calls.

VELSHI: Cohen is one of more than a million VoIP users with millions more to come over the next few years. To use it, you need a high-speed Internet connections. You make and receive calls using a regular phone.

The people you call and those who call you don't need any special equipment and generally won't be able to tell the difference.

BRIAN CLARK, TECH ENTHUSIASTS NETWORK: Voice Over IP, or Internet protocol, is just a way, another way for you to communicate that basically uses the Internet instead of regular phone lines. So you can commute indicate via your high-speed broadband service.

VELSHI: For a flat fee, VoIP allows you to make unlimited local and long distance phone calls. Overseas calls do cost more but probably not as much as you're used to paying.

A full-service package includes caller ID, voice mail, call waiting and other features. It ranges in cost but tops out at 40 bucks a month, in addition to what you pay for your broadband connection.

And wherever Allen is, his VoIP number is, too. It's as simple as plugging in, and Allen got to choose his area code. You can be in St. Louis with a Beverly Hills number.

It's not all good, though. If your Internet service goes down, your VoIP will stop working, too. "Consumer Reports" recommends keeping a basic landline connection if you get VoIP until all the bugs are worked out.

Their biggest concern: if the power goes out, you're out of luck, though at least one provider is offering a 16-hour battery backup system.

For those like Cohen, the downsides are worth it.

COHEN: As the consumer, I'm empowered.

VELSHI: Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: VoIP.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Well, I'll figure it out once they figure out all the bugs, right?

NGUYEN: Yes. You don't want the bugs in your VoIP. HARRIS: Buying time.

NGUYEN: All right. Moving on, Iraqis around the world and right here in the U.S. are registering to vote in the upcoming election.

HARRIS: But there's still a lot of concern about whether Iraqis actually in Iraq will feel safe enough to vote on election day. We'll talk about security concerns straight ahead.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My little boy has been traumatized and hurt, and nobody cares!

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NGUYEN: And a bitter custody fight over a 3-year-old boy raises questions about the rights of adoptive and birth parents. We'll talk about it with a lawyer. That's ahead.

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