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Iraqi Elections Fast Approaching; Does Shock Therapy Help Depression?

Aired January 26, 2005 - 14:30   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: Stories "Now in the News." Tragedy in California. At least ten people killed in a train crash in Glendale. Officials say that the Metrolink train hit a car deliberately parked on the tracks and then plowed into two other trains. Authorities say it was apparently a suicide attempt by a man who jumped out of the car before the train hit. Police arrested that suspect. We'll have more from the scene in about 30 minutes.
Disaster in the desert. A helicopter crash in western Iraq has killed 31 U.S. troops. Six others were killed in other incidents, making today the deadliest day for U.S. forces since the war began. The cause of the chopper crash is still under investigation, but officials say it could be weather related. 1,418 U.S. forces have died in Iraq since that war began.

Rice confirmed. Condoleezza Rice wins easy confirmation as secretary of state, despite a contentious debate and strong dissent from some Democrats. The Senate voted 85-13 to confirm Rice. She succeeds Colin Powell and becomes the first black woman to hold the job. Rice is expected to be sworn in tonight at the White House.

President Bush vows to take his plan to revamp Social Security directly to the American people. Many Democrats and some Republicans have rejected his proposal to allow individuals to put some funds into private accounts. The president says he'll travel the country after his State of the Union address to discuss that issue.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Just four days away now to the elections in Iraq. There are increasing safety concerns among female Iraqi voters and candidates. CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Balsam Hashimal Hilli (ph) has come back from 35 years in exile to run in Iraq's election. Workers are still fixing up the electricity and the plumbing in the home she uses as an office. Her walls are festooned with cheerful campaign posters. But this is how she has to campaign -- by phone.

BALSAM AL-HILLI, NATION PARTY CANDIDATE: Well, of course, because a lot of women don't walk alone in the street. They're afraid of being kidnapped, not because for political reasons, but also because for ransom. You know, people ask for money. So that's a very big problem. AMANPOUR: Election TV ads feature women and encourage them to participate and vote. Election organizers have mandated that 30 percent of the candidates must be women.

(on camera): The violence and political terrorism here have struck this election campaign hard. Neither the candidates nor the election workers can move around freely. They operate like underground cells, especially the women, who were targeted even before the campaign started.

(voice-over): Since the fall of Saddam, several women in Iraq's various transition governments have been assassinated. So have female engineers, university professors and school teachers. It has a chilling effect.

In the Shiite stronghold of Najaf, these six women announced to the press that they would be running in the elections. But Najaf is not as dangerous as Baghdad, where, like many female candidates, this one will not reveal her name or her face. All we can say is that she belongs to the main Shiite party, the United Iraqi Alliance. That's been attacked several times. She's afraid, but determined.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's my responsibility. I've got a responsibility of everyone. I am a woman. I should be involved in the political life.

AMANPOUR: Balsam is equally committed.

AL-HILLI: I came back because my roots are here and I want to come back to my roots. Even though I've lived for 35 years abroad, but to be honest, even when I dream, I always dreamt of the house I was born in.

AMANPOUR: It's not a normal election, they say. But they hope it'll be a start.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the U.S. State Department reports nearly 14 million Iraqis are registered to vote. Interestingly, the largest out of country group of registered Iraqi voters is in Iran, followed by Sweden, Britain and Germany. Only 23,915 Iraqis in the United States have registered. Voting in the United States will take place this Friday through Sunday in the same five cities where registrations were held.

Among those Iraqis in the U.S. who registered and plan to vote, Dr. Maha Alattar, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Maha, great to have you with us.

DR. MAHA ALATTAR, ASST. PROFESSOR, UNIV. OF N.C.: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: So describe the registration process. What did it look like? How did it feel? I'm sure you and your family were extremely excited.

ALATTAR: Sure. I have to say that I thank the people who put this together. It was very organized. My family and I went there. It was very smooth. There was a lot of security, which is something we appreciate very much. And we went in, we saw a lot of Iraqis registering to vote. And the whole process didn't take more than five minutes, I have to say. We just went in, we showed our identification card to prove that we were Iraqis, and then we took some pictures, and then we left. It was very smooth, actually.

PHILLIPS: Well, Maha, tell me -- let's get personal here a little bit. And tell me how it made you feel just being there and having the chance to register. I know you were born in Baghdad.

ALATTAR: Yes.

PHILLIPS: You actually were a target of Saddam's regime because of your Persian background and also the fact that you are Shia. When you and your parents were talking, your family was talking, what were you saying? I mean, could you even believe that this was happening?

ALATTAR: Sure. No, I didn't believe it was happening. If you came to me and told me this was going to happen to me or to my family, that we were going to have a chance to vote a couple of years ago, it would have been a very hard thing to take. It's really an honor. And it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially coming from that part of the world, to be able to have your voice on the table, to be counted, especially having come from such an oppressive regime, something that has really massacred hundreds of thousands of people.

And so this is a testament to those who fought against the regime and also for those who now, whose voices were oppressed for so long, including my family, have now a chance to come in and be counted and be represented in this process. The way I felt about it is it's really -- it's a really remarkable, almost surrealistic feeling. It's a comfort and a pleasure at the same time.

PHILLIPS: Maha, do you still have family there in Iraq? And if so, are they going to vote? Are they nervous? Are they scared? Do they feel like they've been intimidated by the insurgency?

ALATTAR: Yes, they have been intimidated, and they are scared, but they are determined to vote. And this is very much how a lot of Iraqis feel. They feel that the only way for them to stand up and voice their opposition to the terrorism that's been going on is to have this peaceful process, a process that's not any different from, let's say, Martin Luther King or Gandhi, where you actually fight back through some sort of a peaceful opposition by voicing your opinion and through providing a process, a first-step process, for a pluralistic democracy.

PHILLIPS: I can just imagine the conversation that you and your students get into, knowing that you were born in Baghdad. Do they ask you a lot of questions? Do they talk about the war? Does it frustrate some and encourage others? ALATTAR: Actually, all the people I've talked to here at the campus or hospital are very much curious and interested to see what sort of a process this is going to be. Remember, a lot of what people have seen over the past two years was a lot of bombing and terrorism, a lot of negative coverage.

And now for the first time, we have some step towards a democratic process. This is a very optimistic process, and a lot of people are curious. And they want to know for me, what is it like? Who are you going to elect? How are you going to elect? What is the new government going to look like? And so I do answer a lot of their questions, and they're very appreciative.

PHILLIPS: You're here in the States. You know what democracy is like. You've got family there in Iraq. And there's been a lot of criticism about this war, when you see soldiers dying on a daily basis and you see the insurgency growing. You still, deep in your heart, feel that the way this went about, is it justified?

ALATTAR: Yes, indeed. What I want to tell everybody is to remember that what happened in Iraq was a genocide. There was ethnic cleansing. It was not much different from the genocides that happened in Europe or in Africa. And it's really hard for me to take it that the world would just stay silent when so many hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were slaughtered at the hands of the Baathist regime. So for me and my family and hundreds of other thousands of people who were tortured or whose families were killed, yes, it's justified.

This is a tough fight. This is not something that's going to change over a few months or even a few years. It's going to take a long time. Remember, the Saddam regime was one of the most oppressive in the region. It will take a few years to change that. It takes a few years to change the mentality of the people. Having said that, that doesn't mean that a lot of people are not ready for it. In fact, if you look at how people have embraced and responded to the democratic process, there's a lot of enthusiasm. People can't wait to vote.

They've done a very good job at putting this process in place so that people can go vote and they're -- the candidacy, the whole process went very well. But the -- a lot of people question this war, and I understand that, especially when you have a lot of soldiers die. And that's very sad. And also, remember, a lot of Iraqis were killed, tens of thousands were killed.

But not many places in the world change from being very oppressive, from the standpoint of their government, to being Democratic in a matter of months. I mean, look at the French Revolution. Look at the French where they are today. Even Europe. Europe didn't just happen overnight, the way it is today. Even this country, you had to fight for your rights, including women.

And what we're doing right now is we're in baby steps. These are baby steps that we're taking towards some sort of a pluralistic democracy, and it's not just any democracy. And it is unique in the Middle East. So it will take a lot of effort. And what I ask everybody is to be patient. And it will provide a secure area in the Middle East, hopefully, that will, you know...

PHILLIPS: Make a difference.

ALATTAR: ... make a difference for a lot of people in that part of the world.

PHILLIPS: You should be running for office. Dr. Maha Alattar, M.D., also assistant professor at Chapel Hill. Thanks so much for your time.

ALATTAR: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: A pleasure.

As Iraqis struggle to hold elections amid that fierce insurgency that Maha even talked about, CNN does give viewers an up-close look at life in the war-torn country. We invite to you watch "CNN PRESENTS" special edition "Under Fire: Stories from the New Iraq." It premieres this Thursday night at 10 Eastern.

Well, it's a controversial medical procedure that most of us have only seen depicted in the movies.

O'BRIEN: But some people say it saved their lives. More on the medical merits and the drawbacks of electroshock therapy.

Later on the program, when British police take a bite out of crime, they end up alienating a core constituency. You can see the hint there, lower right. You don't want to miss this cautionary tale about the dangers of driving under the influence of fruit.

Fruit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Drug treatment is helping many sufferers of depression, but it doesn't work for everyone. Another kind of treatment is for many the last bolt of hope, if you will. Others would like it banned, however.

CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman's report could be disturbing to many viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A life spent in misery.

DAVID SCHAAT, ECT PATIENT: I'm bipolar, so I have manic depression.

TUCHMAN: David Schaat has considered killing himself. He's now in a Utah hospital as a last resort about to undergo a psychiatric procedure that has long carried a stigma. It's best known as electroshock therapy. Electrically shocking the brain to produce a seizure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready?

TUCHMAN: A procedure many only know from it's portrayal by Jack Nicholson in the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

DR. LOWRY BUSHNELL, UNIV. OF UTAH, NEUROPYSCHIATRIC INSTITUTE: It's understandable to see why people might think that this is a bit like the Frankenstein monster in the castle on the hill. We have an image problem, but the reality is not that at all.

TUCHMAN: This is the reality say the doctors treating David Schaat.

BUSHNELL: This will be the stimulation itself, and his face will flinch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it's proving the direct muscle stimulation in the face.

BUSHNELL: Now he's having a seizure.

TUCHMAN: The seizure lasts just over 30 seconds. Anesthesia stops David from convulsing anything like Jack Nicholson. Doctors aren't exactly sure why the treatment, also called electroconvulsive therapy or ECT works, but...

BUSHNELL: It seems as though the closest thing it is is the equivalent of rebooting the brain's operating system.

CHERYL SHERMAN, ETC PATIENT: I've been on medication for years and it just doesn't work.

TUCHMAN: Cheryl Sherman is also undergoing ECT.

BUSHNELL: She's having her seizure at this point.

TUCHMAN: The Wyoming resident says she once bought a machete to end a life she felt was no longer worth living.

BUSHNELL: ECT is done on over 100,000 people a year in the United States. Many, many of those people would not survive without it, and those that did, most would have tragic lives.

TUCHMAN: Leonard Roy Frank doesn't buy any of it. He was forced to undergo ECT 42 years ago when the shock was harsher. He says years of his memory were completely erased.

LEONARD ROY FRANK, FORMER ECT PATIENT: This is an effective way of destroying personality, destroying consciousness, stripping consciousness.

TUCHMAN (on camera): State legislators throughout the country, including here in Utah, have received proposals asking for electroconvulsive therapy to be banned. Bills have been passed imposing some limitations. But so far, no state has declared ECT as illegal.

(voice-over): Cheryl Sherman says she has some minor memory loss, but feels better than she can ever remember.

(on camera): Does it scare you that you feel so good?

SHERMAN: It's kind of unnerving, because you expect the other shoe to drop and have it all go to hell on you.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): This is also strange territory for the Schaat family.

SCHAAT: It's brought a lot of new emotions, a lot of euphoric feelings, happy feelings that I'm not used to having.

TUCHMAN: The treatment does not come with a lifetime guarantee. It does come for many, though, with a great deal of hope.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Salt Lake City, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: CNN's Anderson Cooper continues our examination of depression tonight at 7:00 Eastern. Tonight, Anderson will break the silence about depression during pregnancy.

PHILLIPS: More LIVE FROM straight ahead.

O'BRIEN: Snowy slopes and hot names. It can mean only one thing.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. U2 hits the road, P. Diddy goes behind the scenes, and things are seating up at the Sundance Film Festival. I'll have the details when CNN's LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: While Kevin Costner is wowing them on the screen at Sundance, P. Diddy gives his regards to Broadway and U2 is experiencing vertigo on purpose. Let's get all the details from CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles. All right. You've got the scoop. What's the deal?

VARGAS: All right. Here's the deal. Well, he may not have been a heavy hitter at yesterday's Oscar nominations, but Kevin Costner is hitting a home run at Sundance Film Festival. His new movie "The Upside of Anger" is all the buzz at the Utah film fest. Costner plays an alcoholic ex-baseball star who tries to romance a neighbor with her own set of problems.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE UPSIDE OF ANGER")

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What can I say? I have four girls. One that hates me, two or three that are leaning that way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You look perfect. Your face is big and plump. Oh, I could just eat you up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My face is plump?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, god. No, I didn't mean plump.

KEVIN COSTNER, ACTOR: You still looking for love?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: Joan Allen co-stars in the comedy, written and directed by Mike Binder (ph). The Sundance charmer is set to open in theaters in March.

And listen to this. P. Diddy is heading back to Broadway. Well, sort of. He starred in Broadway's "Raisin in the Sun" to somewhat mixed reviews. But that's not stopping Sean "P. Diddy" Combs from getting back into the theater business. Reports out of the Britain say the hip-hop mogul should and could be a surprise bidder for part of a theater group owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Lloyd Webber's office confirmed that they had received an inquiry, but added that the process was in its formative stages and no decisions had been made. We called P. Diddy's publicist a short time ago, and they said they would neither confirm nor deny it.

Well, here's one thing that can be confirmed. U2 fans can start to celebrate. The band is kicking off its 2005 Vertigo tour. 16 North American dates are on top for the first leg of the tour, which opens and begins in San Diego on March 28th. The quartet will play 13 North American cities, including Phoenix, Seattle and New York before moving on to Europe.

U2 will return, though, to North America for another 30-day leg in the fall. And here's the coolest part of it all. The band's manager says that like their last tour, the cheapest seats will be the ones on the floor level. That's kind of cool, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Can you spare some tickets?

VARGAS: You know, giving back to the fans.

PHILLIPS: Yes. There you go. All right. Sibila Vargas, thanks so much.

O'BRIEN: All right. A human rights group is blasting the meat industry for hazardous working conditions.

David Haffenreffer joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange for that report -- David.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Interesting story, here, guys. A human rights group not only blasting the meat industry for hazardous working conditions, it's also accusing companies of preventing workers from reporting injuries. In a 175 page report, the private group Human Rights Watch says high production speeds and poor training at meat processing plants put workers at risk. Companies under scrutiny include Tyson foods, Smithfield Foods and Nebraska Beef.

In response, the meat industry says many of the reports's allegations are either false or based on old information. The report recommends new federal and state laws to slow down production at meat- packing plants. It also recommends establishing new ergonomic standards to reduce injuries and new laws, as well, to protect immigrant workers -- Kyra and Miles.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Paying a high price in Iraq, as U.S. forces experience their deadliest day yet in that country. We go live to the Pentagon for an update on the chopper crash that killed 31 marines.

O'BRIEN: We'll also have the latest from Glendale, California, where a man faces homicide charges now. Police say he deliberately parked his car in the path of an oncoming train, causing that deadly collision. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: "Now in the News." President Bush gave the first news conference of his second term this morning. He offered condolences to the families of dozens of American troops killed in Iraq today, the single deadliest day of the war for U.S. forces since it began. But Mr. Bush insisted America will complete the mission in Iraq.

PHILLIPS: Condoleezza Rice will be sworn in as secretary of state tonight. She'll be on the job at the State Department tomorrow. The full Senate voted 85-13 to confirm her earlier today. 12 Democrats and one independent, Senator James Jeffords of Vermont, voted no.

O'BRIEN: Israel has resumed diplomatic ties with the Palestinians two weeks after it suspended them. Representatives from both sides met today to hammer out details of a possible summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian authority, President Mahmoud Abbas. A U.S. envoy to the region calls it a very promising moment.

PHILLIPS: A successful walk in space for the crew of the International Space Station. For more than five hours, the two-member crew ventured out of the station to set up a robotics experiment. It inspected vents on an oxygen generator that has been on the blink.

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


Aired January 26, 2005 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Stories "Now in the News." Tragedy in California. At least ten people killed in a train crash in Glendale. Officials say that the Metrolink train hit a car deliberately parked on the tracks and then plowed into two other trains. Authorities say it was apparently a suicide attempt by a man who jumped out of the car before the train hit. Police arrested that suspect. We'll have more from the scene in about 30 minutes.
Disaster in the desert. A helicopter crash in western Iraq has killed 31 U.S. troops. Six others were killed in other incidents, making today the deadliest day for U.S. forces since the war began. The cause of the chopper crash is still under investigation, but officials say it could be weather related. 1,418 U.S. forces have died in Iraq since that war began.

Rice confirmed. Condoleezza Rice wins easy confirmation as secretary of state, despite a contentious debate and strong dissent from some Democrats. The Senate voted 85-13 to confirm Rice. She succeeds Colin Powell and becomes the first black woman to hold the job. Rice is expected to be sworn in tonight at the White House.

President Bush vows to take his plan to revamp Social Security directly to the American people. Many Democrats and some Republicans have rejected his proposal to allow individuals to put some funds into private accounts. The president says he'll travel the country after his State of the Union address to discuss that issue.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Just four days away now to the elections in Iraq. There are increasing safety concerns among female Iraqi voters and candidates. CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Balsam Hashimal Hilli (ph) has come back from 35 years in exile to run in Iraq's election. Workers are still fixing up the electricity and the plumbing in the home she uses as an office. Her walls are festooned with cheerful campaign posters. But this is how she has to campaign -- by phone.

BALSAM AL-HILLI, NATION PARTY CANDIDATE: Well, of course, because a lot of women don't walk alone in the street. They're afraid of being kidnapped, not because for political reasons, but also because for ransom. You know, people ask for money. So that's a very big problem. AMANPOUR: Election TV ads feature women and encourage them to participate and vote. Election organizers have mandated that 30 percent of the candidates must be women.

(on camera): The violence and political terrorism here have struck this election campaign hard. Neither the candidates nor the election workers can move around freely. They operate like underground cells, especially the women, who were targeted even before the campaign started.

(voice-over): Since the fall of Saddam, several women in Iraq's various transition governments have been assassinated. So have female engineers, university professors and school teachers. It has a chilling effect.

In the Shiite stronghold of Najaf, these six women announced to the press that they would be running in the elections. But Najaf is not as dangerous as Baghdad, where, like many female candidates, this one will not reveal her name or her face. All we can say is that she belongs to the main Shiite party, the United Iraqi Alliance. That's been attacked several times. She's afraid, but determined.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's my responsibility. I've got a responsibility of everyone. I am a woman. I should be involved in the political life.

AMANPOUR: Balsam is equally committed.

AL-HILLI: I came back because my roots are here and I want to come back to my roots. Even though I've lived for 35 years abroad, but to be honest, even when I dream, I always dreamt of the house I was born in.

AMANPOUR: It's not a normal election, they say. But they hope it'll be a start.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the U.S. State Department reports nearly 14 million Iraqis are registered to vote. Interestingly, the largest out of country group of registered Iraqi voters is in Iran, followed by Sweden, Britain and Germany. Only 23,915 Iraqis in the United States have registered. Voting in the United States will take place this Friday through Sunday in the same five cities where registrations were held.

Among those Iraqis in the U.S. who registered and plan to vote, Dr. Maha Alattar, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Maha, great to have you with us.

DR. MAHA ALATTAR, ASST. PROFESSOR, UNIV. OF N.C.: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: So describe the registration process. What did it look like? How did it feel? I'm sure you and your family were extremely excited.

ALATTAR: Sure. I have to say that I thank the people who put this together. It was very organized. My family and I went there. It was very smooth. There was a lot of security, which is something we appreciate very much. And we went in, we saw a lot of Iraqis registering to vote. And the whole process didn't take more than five minutes, I have to say. We just went in, we showed our identification card to prove that we were Iraqis, and then we took some pictures, and then we left. It was very smooth, actually.

PHILLIPS: Well, Maha, tell me -- let's get personal here a little bit. And tell me how it made you feel just being there and having the chance to register. I know you were born in Baghdad.

ALATTAR: Yes.

PHILLIPS: You actually were a target of Saddam's regime because of your Persian background and also the fact that you are Shia. When you and your parents were talking, your family was talking, what were you saying? I mean, could you even believe that this was happening?

ALATTAR: Sure. No, I didn't believe it was happening. If you came to me and told me this was going to happen to me or to my family, that we were going to have a chance to vote a couple of years ago, it would have been a very hard thing to take. It's really an honor. And it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially coming from that part of the world, to be able to have your voice on the table, to be counted, especially having come from such an oppressive regime, something that has really massacred hundreds of thousands of people.

And so this is a testament to those who fought against the regime and also for those who now, whose voices were oppressed for so long, including my family, have now a chance to come in and be counted and be represented in this process. The way I felt about it is it's really -- it's a really remarkable, almost surrealistic feeling. It's a comfort and a pleasure at the same time.

PHILLIPS: Maha, do you still have family there in Iraq? And if so, are they going to vote? Are they nervous? Are they scared? Do they feel like they've been intimidated by the insurgency?

ALATTAR: Yes, they have been intimidated, and they are scared, but they are determined to vote. And this is very much how a lot of Iraqis feel. They feel that the only way for them to stand up and voice their opposition to the terrorism that's been going on is to have this peaceful process, a process that's not any different from, let's say, Martin Luther King or Gandhi, where you actually fight back through some sort of a peaceful opposition by voicing your opinion and through providing a process, a first-step process, for a pluralistic democracy.

PHILLIPS: I can just imagine the conversation that you and your students get into, knowing that you were born in Baghdad. Do they ask you a lot of questions? Do they talk about the war? Does it frustrate some and encourage others? ALATTAR: Actually, all the people I've talked to here at the campus or hospital are very much curious and interested to see what sort of a process this is going to be. Remember, a lot of what people have seen over the past two years was a lot of bombing and terrorism, a lot of negative coverage.

And now for the first time, we have some step towards a democratic process. This is a very optimistic process, and a lot of people are curious. And they want to know for me, what is it like? Who are you going to elect? How are you going to elect? What is the new government going to look like? And so I do answer a lot of their questions, and they're very appreciative.

PHILLIPS: You're here in the States. You know what democracy is like. You've got family there in Iraq. And there's been a lot of criticism about this war, when you see soldiers dying on a daily basis and you see the insurgency growing. You still, deep in your heart, feel that the way this went about, is it justified?

ALATTAR: Yes, indeed. What I want to tell everybody is to remember that what happened in Iraq was a genocide. There was ethnic cleansing. It was not much different from the genocides that happened in Europe or in Africa. And it's really hard for me to take it that the world would just stay silent when so many hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were slaughtered at the hands of the Baathist regime. So for me and my family and hundreds of other thousands of people who were tortured or whose families were killed, yes, it's justified.

This is a tough fight. This is not something that's going to change over a few months or even a few years. It's going to take a long time. Remember, the Saddam regime was one of the most oppressive in the region. It will take a few years to change that. It takes a few years to change the mentality of the people. Having said that, that doesn't mean that a lot of people are not ready for it. In fact, if you look at how people have embraced and responded to the democratic process, there's a lot of enthusiasm. People can't wait to vote.

They've done a very good job at putting this process in place so that people can go vote and they're -- the candidacy, the whole process went very well. But the -- a lot of people question this war, and I understand that, especially when you have a lot of soldiers die. And that's very sad. And also, remember, a lot of Iraqis were killed, tens of thousands were killed.

But not many places in the world change from being very oppressive, from the standpoint of their government, to being Democratic in a matter of months. I mean, look at the French Revolution. Look at the French where they are today. Even Europe. Europe didn't just happen overnight, the way it is today. Even this country, you had to fight for your rights, including women.

And what we're doing right now is we're in baby steps. These are baby steps that we're taking towards some sort of a pluralistic democracy, and it's not just any democracy. And it is unique in the Middle East. So it will take a lot of effort. And what I ask everybody is to be patient. And it will provide a secure area in the Middle East, hopefully, that will, you know...

PHILLIPS: Make a difference.

ALATTAR: ... make a difference for a lot of people in that part of the world.

PHILLIPS: You should be running for office. Dr. Maha Alattar, M.D., also assistant professor at Chapel Hill. Thanks so much for your time.

ALATTAR: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: A pleasure.

As Iraqis struggle to hold elections amid that fierce insurgency that Maha even talked about, CNN does give viewers an up-close look at life in the war-torn country. We invite to you watch "CNN PRESENTS" special edition "Under Fire: Stories from the New Iraq." It premieres this Thursday night at 10 Eastern.

Well, it's a controversial medical procedure that most of us have only seen depicted in the movies.

O'BRIEN: But some people say it saved their lives. More on the medical merits and the drawbacks of electroshock therapy.

Later on the program, when British police take a bite out of crime, they end up alienating a core constituency. You can see the hint there, lower right. You don't want to miss this cautionary tale about the dangers of driving under the influence of fruit.

Fruit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Drug treatment is helping many sufferers of depression, but it doesn't work for everyone. Another kind of treatment is for many the last bolt of hope, if you will. Others would like it banned, however.

CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman's report could be disturbing to many viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A life spent in misery.

DAVID SCHAAT, ECT PATIENT: I'm bipolar, so I have manic depression.

TUCHMAN: David Schaat has considered killing himself. He's now in a Utah hospital as a last resort about to undergo a psychiatric procedure that has long carried a stigma. It's best known as electroshock therapy. Electrically shocking the brain to produce a seizure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready?

TUCHMAN: A procedure many only know from it's portrayal by Jack Nicholson in the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

DR. LOWRY BUSHNELL, UNIV. OF UTAH, NEUROPYSCHIATRIC INSTITUTE: It's understandable to see why people might think that this is a bit like the Frankenstein monster in the castle on the hill. We have an image problem, but the reality is not that at all.

TUCHMAN: This is the reality say the doctors treating David Schaat.

BUSHNELL: This will be the stimulation itself, and his face will flinch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it's proving the direct muscle stimulation in the face.

BUSHNELL: Now he's having a seizure.

TUCHMAN: The seizure lasts just over 30 seconds. Anesthesia stops David from convulsing anything like Jack Nicholson. Doctors aren't exactly sure why the treatment, also called electroconvulsive therapy or ECT works, but...

BUSHNELL: It seems as though the closest thing it is is the equivalent of rebooting the brain's operating system.

CHERYL SHERMAN, ETC PATIENT: I've been on medication for years and it just doesn't work.

TUCHMAN: Cheryl Sherman is also undergoing ECT.

BUSHNELL: She's having her seizure at this point.

TUCHMAN: The Wyoming resident says she once bought a machete to end a life she felt was no longer worth living.

BUSHNELL: ECT is done on over 100,000 people a year in the United States. Many, many of those people would not survive without it, and those that did, most would have tragic lives.

TUCHMAN: Leonard Roy Frank doesn't buy any of it. He was forced to undergo ECT 42 years ago when the shock was harsher. He says years of his memory were completely erased.

LEONARD ROY FRANK, FORMER ECT PATIENT: This is an effective way of destroying personality, destroying consciousness, stripping consciousness.

TUCHMAN (on camera): State legislators throughout the country, including here in Utah, have received proposals asking for electroconvulsive therapy to be banned. Bills have been passed imposing some limitations. But so far, no state has declared ECT as illegal.

(voice-over): Cheryl Sherman says she has some minor memory loss, but feels better than she can ever remember.

(on camera): Does it scare you that you feel so good?

SHERMAN: It's kind of unnerving, because you expect the other shoe to drop and have it all go to hell on you.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): This is also strange territory for the Schaat family.

SCHAAT: It's brought a lot of new emotions, a lot of euphoric feelings, happy feelings that I'm not used to having.

TUCHMAN: The treatment does not come with a lifetime guarantee. It does come for many, though, with a great deal of hope.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Salt Lake City, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: CNN's Anderson Cooper continues our examination of depression tonight at 7:00 Eastern. Tonight, Anderson will break the silence about depression during pregnancy.

PHILLIPS: More LIVE FROM straight ahead.

O'BRIEN: Snowy slopes and hot names. It can mean only one thing.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. U2 hits the road, P. Diddy goes behind the scenes, and things are seating up at the Sundance Film Festival. I'll have the details when CNN's LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: While Kevin Costner is wowing them on the screen at Sundance, P. Diddy gives his regards to Broadway and U2 is experiencing vertigo on purpose. Let's get all the details from CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles. All right. You've got the scoop. What's the deal?

VARGAS: All right. Here's the deal. Well, he may not have been a heavy hitter at yesterday's Oscar nominations, but Kevin Costner is hitting a home run at Sundance Film Festival. His new movie "The Upside of Anger" is all the buzz at the Utah film fest. Costner plays an alcoholic ex-baseball star who tries to romance a neighbor with her own set of problems.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE UPSIDE OF ANGER")

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What can I say? I have four girls. One that hates me, two or three that are leaning that way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You look perfect. Your face is big and plump. Oh, I could just eat you up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My face is plump?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, god. No, I didn't mean plump.

KEVIN COSTNER, ACTOR: You still looking for love?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: Joan Allen co-stars in the comedy, written and directed by Mike Binder (ph). The Sundance charmer is set to open in theaters in March.

And listen to this. P. Diddy is heading back to Broadway. Well, sort of. He starred in Broadway's "Raisin in the Sun" to somewhat mixed reviews. But that's not stopping Sean "P. Diddy" Combs from getting back into the theater business. Reports out of the Britain say the hip-hop mogul should and could be a surprise bidder for part of a theater group owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Lloyd Webber's office confirmed that they had received an inquiry, but added that the process was in its formative stages and no decisions had been made. We called P. Diddy's publicist a short time ago, and they said they would neither confirm nor deny it.

Well, here's one thing that can be confirmed. U2 fans can start to celebrate. The band is kicking off its 2005 Vertigo tour. 16 North American dates are on top for the first leg of the tour, which opens and begins in San Diego on March 28th. The quartet will play 13 North American cities, including Phoenix, Seattle and New York before moving on to Europe.

U2 will return, though, to North America for another 30-day leg in the fall. And here's the coolest part of it all. The band's manager says that like their last tour, the cheapest seats will be the ones on the floor level. That's kind of cool, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Can you spare some tickets?

VARGAS: You know, giving back to the fans.

PHILLIPS: Yes. There you go. All right. Sibila Vargas, thanks so much.

O'BRIEN: All right. A human rights group is blasting the meat industry for hazardous working conditions.

David Haffenreffer joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange for that report -- David.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Interesting story, here, guys. A human rights group not only blasting the meat industry for hazardous working conditions, it's also accusing companies of preventing workers from reporting injuries. In a 175 page report, the private group Human Rights Watch says high production speeds and poor training at meat processing plants put workers at risk. Companies under scrutiny include Tyson foods, Smithfield Foods and Nebraska Beef.

In response, the meat industry says many of the reports's allegations are either false or based on old information. The report recommends new federal and state laws to slow down production at meat- packing plants. It also recommends establishing new ergonomic standards to reduce injuries and new laws, as well, to protect immigrant workers -- Kyra and Miles.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Paying a high price in Iraq, as U.S. forces experience their deadliest day yet in that country. We go live to the Pentagon for an update on the chopper crash that killed 31 marines.

O'BRIEN: We'll also have the latest from Glendale, California, where a man faces homicide charges now. Police say he deliberately parked his car in the path of an oncoming train, causing that deadly collision. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: "Now in the News." President Bush gave the first news conference of his second term this morning. He offered condolences to the families of dozens of American troops killed in Iraq today, the single deadliest day of the war for U.S. forces since it began. But Mr. Bush insisted America will complete the mission in Iraq.

PHILLIPS: Condoleezza Rice will be sworn in as secretary of state tonight. She'll be on the job at the State Department tomorrow. The full Senate voted 85-13 to confirm her earlier today. 12 Democrats and one independent, Senator James Jeffords of Vermont, voted no.

O'BRIEN: Israel has resumed diplomatic ties with the Palestinians two weeks after it suspended them. Representatives from both sides met today to hammer out details of a possible summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian authority, President Mahmoud Abbas. A U.S. envoy to the region calls it a very promising moment.

PHILLIPS: A successful walk in space for the crew of the International Space Station. For more than five hours, the two-member crew ventured out of the station to set up a robotics experiment. It inspected vents on an oxygen generator that has been on the blink.

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