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Al-Jazeera Tape Fake?; Hawaiians Say Good-Bye to Fallen Troops; Hillary Rodham Clinton Fine after Fainting; Clint Eastwood Gets Best Director Award

Aired January 31, 2005 - 14:29   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: In the news now, a sick senator. Hillary Rodham Clinton surprised a crowd in Buffalo, New York when she fainted during a lunchtime speech. The former first lady had shared with the crowd that she was feeling a big weak and was suffering from a 24-hour stomach bug. Senator Clinton did continue with her planned schedule.
The pontiff is also under the weather. The Vatican says that Pope John Paul II has the flu. The pope has canceled his scheduled audiences for today, the first time he's done that in more than a year. Just yesterday the pope appeared jovial releasing doves into St. Peter's Square.

Wearing white, the color of innocence. Michael Jackson is in a California courtroom for the start of his child molestation trial. Jury selection got under way earlier this morning in Santa Maria. The entertainer proclaimed his innocence yesterday in a videotaped Web message.

She was instrumental in the passage of the president's No Child Left Behind Act. Now Margaret Spellings will serve as his education secretary. She was sworn in today at a brief ceremony. President Bush says she'll be outstanding while Spellings vowed to improve education across the country.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, video on Al-Jazeera supposedly shows a missile attack on the British transport plane that crashed in Iraq on election day, killing 10. CNN military analyst retired Major General Don Shepperd joins us now.

And General, why don't we do this, why don't roll through this videotape maybe a couple of times. And you talk us through it and tell us what you see. And I know you have some issues with it in terms of its authenticity.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, I do, Tony. I think it's a bogus tape. I think the first part is bogus. That's a firing device. It looks bogus. The missile looks like a radar-guided missile. I can't imagine terrorists being able to get a hold of a radar missile. It's big, it's heavy, requires launchers, it requires radars. It does not look authentic to me.

On the other hand, the last part of the tape is possibly authentic. It is consistent with a C-130 size and type aircraft. We're going to see an engine here pretty quickly. It looks like an engine core from a K-model C-130, something consistent with that. I see a wing root assembly that looks consistent. I see a ladder that's consistent with transport-type airplanes. And I also see just a flash of the tail in the back there that looked like possibly part of a C- 130. So I think the last part maybe authentic. I think the first part is bogus.

HARRIS: OK. So talk to us about this, there's the shot of the missile that's being launched. What does that missile say to you? What is it? What kind is it?

SHEPPERD: OK. This is not a missile launch device right here, this...

HARRIS: This box, what is this?

SHEPPERD: It doesn't look like anything I know. It looks like something they would use for an IED, attach a cord to it, run it to artillery shells, blow it up on the side of the road. It's typical of what they do on IEDs, both remote control and direct device like this. It's nothing that we use to launch either shoulder-fired or radar- guided missiles.

OK. So the assumption here has to be that we can -- we know for sure that there were a lot of edits in this tape.

SHEPPERD: Yes.

HARRIS: And that brings you to the conclusion that a lot of it...

SHEPPERD: Yes, I think for propaganda purposes, probably.

HARRIS: All right. Let's move forward. Now, I've got to ask you, first of all, thank you for this weekend. You were wonderful with us this weekend, explaining the elections and the...

SHEPPERD: My pleasure.

HARRIS: ... security situation and everything that happened over the weekend. I have to tell you, I thought that there would be more violence, more attacks, more Iraqis killed in the process, but the security umbrella seemed to have worked for the most part.

SHEPPERD: Yes. The soldiers also thought there would be more attacks. The commanders thought there would be more attacks. The Iraqis thought there would be more attacks. I think the things that we did the with the Iraqis...

HARRIS: In the run-up.

SHEPPERD: Run-up, in the run-up to this is what made the difference. Now it's tragic, whether it was 25 or 33 or 44, and I've heard all those numbers, Iraqis being killed, that's tragic enough. But we thought it would be more. And, of course, the rhetoric of the terrorists was blood was going to run in the streets and it didn't happen. HARRIS: And what do you think was the key? I know there were barricades, you shut down the airport, and you limit automobile traffic, all of those combined and a couple of other things.

SHEPPERD: Yes, I think limiting the automobile traffic was a stroke of genius that made a big difference. Also, the cooperation and planning with the Iraqi security forces. They did some bogus planning out there, some bogus fortification of sites that perhaps the terrorists thought were going to be polls and turned out not to be polls. There also were extensive offensive operations two to three weeks before to round up terrorists and suspected terrorists, really, really offensive on both sides. I think that interdicted a lot of them. And then, of course, the polls themselves were very, very well done by the Iraqis.

HARRIS: Did you think we would see more mortar attacks?

SHEPPERD: I did. On the other hand...

HARRIS: Because that was a vulernerability.

SHEPPERD: It is because mortars are easy to do. You can set them up in a matter of seconds. You can launch it and then you can leave the tube there or carry it with you. The thing about mortars, though, if you're trying to hit a polling station, it's very hard to hit anything. They're very inaccurate unless you take several shots and time to zero them in, which, of course, they couldn't do without being vulnerable.

Also remember, we were watching night and day with drones for groups of people setting these things up. This was well done by the Iraqis and the Americans and the coalition forces.

HARRIS: How stressful a weekend was this on these coalition forces?

SHEPPERD: Big-time stressful. The world was watching.

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

SHEPPERD: We had to stay as coalition out of the way because it was an Iraqi show. It was important to make sure the Iraqis did this and they pulled it off. And so we were expecting the worst, expecting to be on call, expecting to have things go off on us, rush there and be attacked other places. It was really stressful.

HARRIS: General Shepperd, thank you. Thank you for all your help.

SHEPPERD: My pleasure.

HARRIS: Appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: Definitely stressful, but it was awesome to see the millions of Iraqis go out and vote. There's definitely a newfound optimism in much of Iraq following Sunday's election. But CNN senior analyst Jeff Greenfield wonders if the vote truly set the country on a path to peace and freedom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST (voice-over): Allow yourself a moment of optimism. Assume that these elections are a real first step toward a democratic Iraq. Does that mean Iraq will be free? Does this moment hold the promise of a more peaceful region?

That premise is at the heart of the president's core belief, offered dramatically at his inaugural.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands.

GREENFIELD (on camera): But does this premise reflect the way the world really works? And if it does, what will determine whether Iraq will emerge both free and peaceful?

(voice-over): There's no question that elections have taken place in places where such events were once unimaginable. In Afghanistan, in Romania, in Ukraine, where a deeply flawed election was rerun and where, so far, the losers have accepted the outcome.

Elections have also taken place among the Palestinians, triggering a rare burst of optimism on both sides of that conflict. And there's also no question that free nations do seem far less likely to be breeding grounds for terror and violence. Signs do point to a significant connection between tyranny and terrorism. According to one study, 70 percent of all deaths because of terrorism from 1999 to 2003 were caused by terrorist groups from non-democratic countries.

But we have also seen elected leaders channel ethnic hatred into mass violence. Slobodan Milosevic came to power in Serbia, promising to avenge defeats that went back centuries. Once in power, he helped trigger wars and violence throughout the former Yugoslavia.

In Zimbabwe, the elected government of Robert Mugabe has presided over a steadily worsening climate of fear among political and ethnic rivals that has drawn international condemnation and sanctions.

In other words, majorities can freely vote to oppress minorities. And given the ancient, often violent power struggles among Iraq's ethnic and religious tribes, will the new constitution that the new parliament must draft protect minority rights? And even if the language offers such protections, will they be there in reality?

Finally, there is this bedrock question. Will the new government with our without U.S. assistance be able to end the violence that has seen government officials, journalists, human rights workers, and ordinary citizens assassinated, sometimes in broad daylight before the cameras? Fear of such violence imprison citizens as much as any tyrant or jail.

Indeed, one prominent neoconservative supporter of the Iraq War wrote recently that in Iraq, "democratic movements and institutions are dying" in large measure because so many who want to speak or write or organize cannot be protected from murderous assaults.

Further, can a civil society truly be nurtured in an environment where the most bedrock of needs, clean water, electricity, clean streets are in such short supply?

(on camera): The optimistic view is that today's images hold immense power to convince skeptics that in Iraq and elsewhere in the region, freedom can take root in what once seemed hostile soil.

But do they have the power also to change the minds of those who see freedom itself as a kind of religious heresy? Can they persuade others to put aside hatreds that have been handed down across the generations? The fate of Iraq and of the Bush doctrine depends on the answers.

Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Food for thought there.

All right. A teddy bear in a straitjacket as a symbol of Valentine's Day love? Well, not everyone is feeling warm and fuzzy about the idea.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Sibila Vargas. It was a big weekend in Hollywood. So who's one step closer to Oscar gold? I'll tell you when LIVE FROM returns.

PHILLIPS: Mergers, line one. A giant phone company merger is reportedly a done deal. But will it mean cheaper rates for you? We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Awards and accolades. It's that time of the year in Hollywood where the deserving get their due credit. Clint Eastwood and the animated "Incredibles" are the latest award recipients. CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas is live in L.A. with more.

VARGAS: I'm here and I'm live. It's official. Clint Eastwood can add one more industry award to his mantel. The actor/director was crowned Best Director 2004 by his fellow Hollywood filmmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: I've just got to say that this is a real pleasure. I worked with Hilary and Morgan, just fabulous people that go to make the picture together. All I have to do is just sort of stand there and guide it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: Eastwood got the honor for his work on "Million Dollar Baby" at the prestigious Directors Guild of America Awards. He beat out "The Aviator"'s Martin Scorsese, who, like Eastwood, has nominated for a Best Director Oscar. Now, winners of the DGA have gone on to win at the Best Director Oscar at the Academy Awards 51 times in the past 57 years, Tony. So things are looking a little bleak for Mr. Scorsese, who has been nominated five times for the Best Director at the Oscars, but has yet to pick up the award. Hey, Tony, you never know.

HARRIS: You don't. You never know.

VARGAS: You never know.

HARRIS: You don't. What's the story with Sundance? Are they handing out awards there?

VARGAS: Well, you know, Tony, they just wrapped over the weekend, but not before handing out its top prize. The independent film "40 Shades of Blue" got the festival's biggest honor, the Grand Jury Prize for American dramas. The film, directed by Ira Sachs, is set in Memphis and stars Rip Torn as a weathered music legend.

And Tony, here's a story that can only be described as incredible. Pixar's family of superheroes, "The Incredibles," swept the 32nd annual Annie awards. "The Incredibles" won top honors for Best Animated Feature, Best Director and Best Voice Acting for Brad Bird, who is, by the way, the film's director. Now Bird was the voice of the small and decisive seamstress Edna Mode, who beat out Samuel L. Jackson, the voice of superhero Frozone in "The Incredibles" and Antonio Banderas, who provided the voice of Puss in Boots in "Shrek 2."

The awards show is presented by the International Animated Film Society to honor outstanding animation in television and film. And I got to see "Shrek 2." Kyra, you probably agree with me, he gave sex appeal to that cat. Antonio Banderas.

HARRIS: Oh, yes, yes. "Shrek 2," that's right, the boots guy, right?

PHILLIPS: Green is sexy, or whatever color he was.

VARGAS: Exactly. Puss in boots.

HARRIS: Nice. Sibila with the moves there.

PHILLIPS: I'm trying to remember, what was the character again? It was the cat.

HARRIS: It was the cat. It was the boots.

PHILLIPS: Right, right.

HARRIS: Is that what it was, Puss in boots?

VARGAS: Puss in boots, that's what it was.

PHILLIPS: There you go. I just like it when she says that. It's just... HARRIS: Yes, it was pretty good, wasn't it? Thank you, Sibila.

PHILLIPS: Yes, he's hot whether it's his voice or in person. I agree with you, Sibila.

VARGAS: All right.

HARRIS: All right, now, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Am I going to like this story, too?

HARRIS: Yes, I think so. A cabbie in New York who moonlights as a matchmaker. We're going to tell you all about it.

PHILLIPS: I've got to hook him up with folks here in the newsroom.

All right, then we're going to go back to California. Back live, of course. It's the first day of jury selection in the Michael Jackson trial. We're live from Santa Maria in just about 20 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN.COM: At cnn.com, we're taking a high-tech look at the Michael Jackson trial from a digital perspective. No doubt, you remember watching police raiding Jackson's Neverland ranch, carrying out boxes of evidence like books, videos, magazines, as well as several computers and a digital camera.

Well, you're asking why the computers? Well, if you think of e- mail or digital photo is gone once you've deleted it, think again. Computers and other electronic devices can hold valuable digital evidence, which Internet sites you've clicked on to files you've downloaded. Your PDA, laptop, printer or even telephone could hold evidence that may be used against you in the court of law.

That's why we're inviting you to step into the role of crime scene investigator. No search warrant required at cnn.com/jacksontrial. There you can unlock the secrets behind everyday technology. How an incriminating letter can be traced back to a specific printer, or how even a digital watch can link someone to a crime. You have the right to remain informed.

Reporting from dot com desk, I'm Christina Park.

PHILLIPS: You've heard about the taxicab confessions. Now a New York cabby is helping his single passengers find their soul mates or at least a date. 50-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim (ph) offers his matchmaking services for free. He sets up about eight people a week, he says. And he gives new meaning to the phrase "love in the back seat." But marriage is not for him. He says he does have a girlfriend, a woman he picked up in his cab.

HARRIS: Mental health advocates aren't thrilled about a Vermont token of love. They say the "Crazy For You" teddy bear which comes wearing a straitjacket, and is accompanied by commitment papers is insulting. Lawmakers and Vermont's governor agree. The bear, which is meant as a funny Valentine's gift, sells for $69.95. Now the chief of the company which makes it says the teddy will stay on the market until it sells out. No second run of that.

PHILLIPS: Marriage and love. It's all a great thing.

HARRIS: Nice block, huh, we put together? Merger Monday?

PHILLIPS: There we go. Marriage, mergers, kind of the same thing. A pair of multibillion-dollar deals taking center stage.

HARRIS: Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange has the details. Hi, Susan.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: We just got some video in of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. We had told you earlier today that she had fainted after giving a speech to an organization at a private club, actually a chamber of commerce in Buffalo. And this is video of her not long after that. She said she had a stomach flu. She wasn't feeling well. Then she fainted. Well, we all know that she's quite a tough woman. She came back, took to the podium, finished her talk, and now she's scheduled to speak at a Catholic college also later in the day. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Time and time again across the U.S., families and friends have paid tribute to fallen troops in Iraq. Hawaiian residents are doing the same thing. Twenty-six marines and a sailor all stationed in Hawaii were killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq last week. Now their friends are honoring their sacrifice. Our Rusty Dornin is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As people came to pay their respects to the 27 marines from here who died, nearby sat a man in civilian clothes, struggling with his loss. Lance Corporal Buck Gates.

(on camera): You knew every single one of those guys on that helicopter?

LANCE CORPORAL BUCK GATES, U.S. MARINE CORPS: That's correct. They were all my friends. They were all my same company.

DORNIN: Less than three weeks ago, Gates said good-bye to his Marine Corps buddies in Fallujah, Iraq. Gates came home to the base at Hawaii, his buddies didn't.

GATES: They're more than just, you know, guys. The guys I served with. They're my brothers, my family. DORNIN: Family is also how the community here describes its relationship with the military. The Hawaiian community typifies this feeling. Christina Sueyoshi lost her boyfriend, 24-year-old Lance Corporal Gail Saintville (ph) in the accident. Saintville called her just two days before.

CHRISTINA SUEYOSHI, GIRLFRIEND: He just called and said he was going on his last mission and not to worry. And that it's not that serious. That he should be home soon.

DORNIN: Nearby at Hope Chapel, there were prayers...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ...guide and protect our families with the men that we lost.

DORNIN: And plenty of tears.

MAJOR ALEX CHATMAN, MARINE HELICOPTER PILOT: Some of these men were married for just a short time. And have had children that they have never met.

DORNIN: Back at the base, people came to say good-bye and thank you.

(on camera): For many in the community, this is the one place they can come to honor these men. The first week in March, there will be a memorial service on the base, but most, if not all of the marines killed in the crash, will be buried on the mainland. Rusty Dornin, CNN, Kaneohe Marine Corps Base, Hawaii.

HARRIS: And now in the news call it Clinton composure. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton fainted during a lunchtime speech today but has continued her planned schedule. The press secretary for the senator says she's suffering from a stomach virus. In a just a few minutes we'll have a live report from New York.

A British transport plane that crashed in Iraq over the weekend may have been captured on tape. A video shown on al-Jazeera purportedly shows a missile bringing down the C-130. CNN military analyst, retired major general Don Shepperd says the pieces of the wreckage appear to be from a C-130 but the missile firing appeared suspect.

There are U.S. casualties to report in Iraq today. Three marines were killed in action in the Babil province south of Baghdad. The U.S. military says they were conducting security and stability operations. Two other marines were wounded in those operations.

And Democrats make demands of President Bush before his State of the Union address. The top Democrats in Congress gave a prebuttal (ph) today. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her Senate counterpart Harry Reid urged the president to reshape Social Security and announce a new plan for Iraq. The president will give his State of the Union Wednesday night. 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 31, 2005 - 14:29   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In the news now, a sick senator. Hillary Rodham Clinton surprised a crowd in Buffalo, New York when she fainted during a lunchtime speech. The former first lady had shared with the crowd that she was feeling a big weak and was suffering from a 24-hour stomach bug. Senator Clinton did continue with her planned schedule.
The pontiff is also under the weather. The Vatican says that Pope John Paul II has the flu. The pope has canceled his scheduled audiences for today, the first time he's done that in more than a year. Just yesterday the pope appeared jovial releasing doves into St. Peter's Square.

Wearing white, the color of innocence. Michael Jackson is in a California courtroom for the start of his child molestation trial. Jury selection got under way earlier this morning in Santa Maria. The entertainer proclaimed his innocence yesterday in a videotaped Web message.

She was instrumental in the passage of the president's No Child Left Behind Act. Now Margaret Spellings will serve as his education secretary. She was sworn in today at a brief ceremony. President Bush says she'll be outstanding while Spellings vowed to improve education across the country.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, video on Al-Jazeera supposedly shows a missile attack on the British transport plane that crashed in Iraq on election day, killing 10. CNN military analyst retired Major General Don Shepperd joins us now.

And General, why don't we do this, why don't roll through this videotape maybe a couple of times. And you talk us through it and tell us what you see. And I know you have some issues with it in terms of its authenticity.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, I do, Tony. I think it's a bogus tape. I think the first part is bogus. That's a firing device. It looks bogus. The missile looks like a radar-guided missile. I can't imagine terrorists being able to get a hold of a radar missile. It's big, it's heavy, requires launchers, it requires radars. It does not look authentic to me.

On the other hand, the last part of the tape is possibly authentic. It is consistent with a C-130 size and type aircraft. We're going to see an engine here pretty quickly. It looks like an engine core from a K-model C-130, something consistent with that. I see a wing root assembly that looks consistent. I see a ladder that's consistent with transport-type airplanes. And I also see just a flash of the tail in the back there that looked like possibly part of a C- 130. So I think the last part maybe authentic. I think the first part is bogus.

HARRIS: OK. So talk to us about this, there's the shot of the missile that's being launched. What does that missile say to you? What is it? What kind is it?

SHEPPERD: OK. This is not a missile launch device right here, this...

HARRIS: This box, what is this?

SHEPPERD: It doesn't look like anything I know. It looks like something they would use for an IED, attach a cord to it, run it to artillery shells, blow it up on the side of the road. It's typical of what they do on IEDs, both remote control and direct device like this. It's nothing that we use to launch either shoulder-fired or radar- guided missiles.

OK. So the assumption here has to be that we can -- we know for sure that there were a lot of edits in this tape.

SHEPPERD: Yes.

HARRIS: And that brings you to the conclusion that a lot of it...

SHEPPERD: Yes, I think for propaganda purposes, probably.

HARRIS: All right. Let's move forward. Now, I've got to ask you, first of all, thank you for this weekend. You were wonderful with us this weekend, explaining the elections and the...

SHEPPERD: My pleasure.

HARRIS: ... security situation and everything that happened over the weekend. I have to tell you, I thought that there would be more violence, more attacks, more Iraqis killed in the process, but the security umbrella seemed to have worked for the most part.

SHEPPERD: Yes. The soldiers also thought there would be more attacks. The commanders thought there would be more attacks. The Iraqis thought there would be more attacks. I think the things that we did the with the Iraqis...

HARRIS: In the run-up.

SHEPPERD: Run-up, in the run-up to this is what made the difference. Now it's tragic, whether it was 25 or 33 or 44, and I've heard all those numbers, Iraqis being killed, that's tragic enough. But we thought it would be more. And, of course, the rhetoric of the terrorists was blood was going to run in the streets and it didn't happen. HARRIS: And what do you think was the key? I know there were barricades, you shut down the airport, and you limit automobile traffic, all of those combined and a couple of other things.

SHEPPERD: Yes, I think limiting the automobile traffic was a stroke of genius that made a big difference. Also, the cooperation and planning with the Iraqi security forces. They did some bogus planning out there, some bogus fortification of sites that perhaps the terrorists thought were going to be polls and turned out not to be polls. There also were extensive offensive operations two to three weeks before to round up terrorists and suspected terrorists, really, really offensive on both sides. I think that interdicted a lot of them. And then, of course, the polls themselves were very, very well done by the Iraqis.

HARRIS: Did you think we would see more mortar attacks?

SHEPPERD: I did. On the other hand...

HARRIS: Because that was a vulernerability.

SHEPPERD: It is because mortars are easy to do. You can set them up in a matter of seconds. You can launch it and then you can leave the tube there or carry it with you. The thing about mortars, though, if you're trying to hit a polling station, it's very hard to hit anything. They're very inaccurate unless you take several shots and time to zero them in, which, of course, they couldn't do without being vulnerable.

Also remember, we were watching night and day with drones for groups of people setting these things up. This was well done by the Iraqis and the Americans and the coalition forces.

HARRIS: How stressful a weekend was this on these coalition forces?

SHEPPERD: Big-time stressful. The world was watching.

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

SHEPPERD: We had to stay as coalition out of the way because it was an Iraqi show. It was important to make sure the Iraqis did this and they pulled it off. And so we were expecting the worst, expecting to be on call, expecting to have things go off on us, rush there and be attacked other places. It was really stressful.

HARRIS: General Shepperd, thank you. Thank you for all your help.

SHEPPERD: My pleasure.

HARRIS: Appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: Definitely stressful, but it was awesome to see the millions of Iraqis go out and vote. There's definitely a newfound optimism in much of Iraq following Sunday's election. But CNN senior analyst Jeff Greenfield wonders if the vote truly set the country on a path to peace and freedom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST (voice-over): Allow yourself a moment of optimism. Assume that these elections are a real first step toward a democratic Iraq. Does that mean Iraq will be free? Does this moment hold the promise of a more peaceful region?

That premise is at the heart of the president's core belief, offered dramatically at his inaugural.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands.

GREENFIELD (on camera): But does this premise reflect the way the world really works? And if it does, what will determine whether Iraq will emerge both free and peaceful?

(voice-over): There's no question that elections have taken place in places where such events were once unimaginable. In Afghanistan, in Romania, in Ukraine, where a deeply flawed election was rerun and where, so far, the losers have accepted the outcome.

Elections have also taken place among the Palestinians, triggering a rare burst of optimism on both sides of that conflict. And there's also no question that free nations do seem far less likely to be breeding grounds for terror and violence. Signs do point to a significant connection between tyranny and terrorism. According to one study, 70 percent of all deaths because of terrorism from 1999 to 2003 were caused by terrorist groups from non-democratic countries.

But we have also seen elected leaders channel ethnic hatred into mass violence. Slobodan Milosevic came to power in Serbia, promising to avenge defeats that went back centuries. Once in power, he helped trigger wars and violence throughout the former Yugoslavia.

In Zimbabwe, the elected government of Robert Mugabe has presided over a steadily worsening climate of fear among political and ethnic rivals that has drawn international condemnation and sanctions.

In other words, majorities can freely vote to oppress minorities. And given the ancient, often violent power struggles among Iraq's ethnic and religious tribes, will the new constitution that the new parliament must draft protect minority rights? And even if the language offers such protections, will they be there in reality?

Finally, there is this bedrock question. Will the new government with our without U.S. assistance be able to end the violence that has seen government officials, journalists, human rights workers, and ordinary citizens assassinated, sometimes in broad daylight before the cameras? Fear of such violence imprison citizens as much as any tyrant or jail.

Indeed, one prominent neoconservative supporter of the Iraq War wrote recently that in Iraq, "democratic movements and institutions are dying" in large measure because so many who want to speak or write or organize cannot be protected from murderous assaults.

Further, can a civil society truly be nurtured in an environment where the most bedrock of needs, clean water, electricity, clean streets are in such short supply?

(on camera): The optimistic view is that today's images hold immense power to convince skeptics that in Iraq and elsewhere in the region, freedom can take root in what once seemed hostile soil.

But do they have the power also to change the minds of those who see freedom itself as a kind of religious heresy? Can they persuade others to put aside hatreds that have been handed down across the generations? The fate of Iraq and of the Bush doctrine depends on the answers.

Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Food for thought there.

All right. A teddy bear in a straitjacket as a symbol of Valentine's Day love? Well, not everyone is feeling warm and fuzzy about the idea.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Sibila Vargas. It was a big weekend in Hollywood. So who's one step closer to Oscar gold? I'll tell you when LIVE FROM returns.

PHILLIPS: Mergers, line one. A giant phone company merger is reportedly a done deal. But will it mean cheaper rates for you? We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Awards and accolades. It's that time of the year in Hollywood where the deserving get their due credit. Clint Eastwood and the animated "Incredibles" are the latest award recipients. CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas is live in L.A. with more.

VARGAS: I'm here and I'm live. It's official. Clint Eastwood can add one more industry award to his mantel. The actor/director was crowned Best Director 2004 by his fellow Hollywood filmmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: I've just got to say that this is a real pleasure. I worked with Hilary and Morgan, just fabulous people that go to make the picture together. All I have to do is just sort of stand there and guide it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: Eastwood got the honor for his work on "Million Dollar Baby" at the prestigious Directors Guild of America Awards. He beat out "The Aviator"'s Martin Scorsese, who, like Eastwood, has nominated for a Best Director Oscar. Now, winners of the DGA have gone on to win at the Best Director Oscar at the Academy Awards 51 times in the past 57 years, Tony. So things are looking a little bleak for Mr. Scorsese, who has been nominated five times for the Best Director at the Oscars, but has yet to pick up the award. Hey, Tony, you never know.

HARRIS: You don't. You never know.

VARGAS: You never know.

HARRIS: You don't. What's the story with Sundance? Are they handing out awards there?

VARGAS: Well, you know, Tony, they just wrapped over the weekend, but not before handing out its top prize. The independent film "40 Shades of Blue" got the festival's biggest honor, the Grand Jury Prize for American dramas. The film, directed by Ira Sachs, is set in Memphis and stars Rip Torn as a weathered music legend.

And Tony, here's a story that can only be described as incredible. Pixar's family of superheroes, "The Incredibles," swept the 32nd annual Annie awards. "The Incredibles" won top honors for Best Animated Feature, Best Director and Best Voice Acting for Brad Bird, who is, by the way, the film's director. Now Bird was the voice of the small and decisive seamstress Edna Mode, who beat out Samuel L. Jackson, the voice of superhero Frozone in "The Incredibles" and Antonio Banderas, who provided the voice of Puss in Boots in "Shrek 2."

The awards show is presented by the International Animated Film Society to honor outstanding animation in television and film. And I got to see "Shrek 2." Kyra, you probably agree with me, he gave sex appeal to that cat. Antonio Banderas.

HARRIS: Oh, yes, yes. "Shrek 2," that's right, the boots guy, right?

PHILLIPS: Green is sexy, or whatever color he was.

VARGAS: Exactly. Puss in boots.

HARRIS: Nice. Sibila with the moves there.

PHILLIPS: I'm trying to remember, what was the character again? It was the cat.

HARRIS: It was the cat. It was the boots.

PHILLIPS: Right, right.

HARRIS: Is that what it was, Puss in boots?

VARGAS: Puss in boots, that's what it was.

PHILLIPS: There you go. I just like it when she says that. It's just... HARRIS: Yes, it was pretty good, wasn't it? Thank you, Sibila.

PHILLIPS: Yes, he's hot whether it's his voice or in person. I agree with you, Sibila.

VARGAS: All right.

HARRIS: All right, now, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Am I going to like this story, too?

HARRIS: Yes, I think so. A cabbie in New York who moonlights as a matchmaker. We're going to tell you all about it.

PHILLIPS: I've got to hook him up with folks here in the newsroom.

All right, then we're going to go back to California. Back live, of course. It's the first day of jury selection in the Michael Jackson trial. We're live from Santa Maria in just about 20 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN.COM: At cnn.com, we're taking a high-tech look at the Michael Jackson trial from a digital perspective. No doubt, you remember watching police raiding Jackson's Neverland ranch, carrying out boxes of evidence like books, videos, magazines, as well as several computers and a digital camera.

Well, you're asking why the computers? Well, if you think of e- mail or digital photo is gone once you've deleted it, think again. Computers and other electronic devices can hold valuable digital evidence, which Internet sites you've clicked on to files you've downloaded. Your PDA, laptop, printer or even telephone could hold evidence that may be used against you in the court of law.

That's why we're inviting you to step into the role of crime scene investigator. No search warrant required at cnn.com/jacksontrial. There you can unlock the secrets behind everyday technology. How an incriminating letter can be traced back to a specific printer, or how even a digital watch can link someone to a crime. You have the right to remain informed.

Reporting from dot com desk, I'm Christina Park.

PHILLIPS: You've heard about the taxicab confessions. Now a New York cabby is helping his single passengers find their soul mates or at least a date. 50-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim (ph) offers his matchmaking services for free. He sets up about eight people a week, he says. And he gives new meaning to the phrase "love in the back seat." But marriage is not for him. He says he does have a girlfriend, a woman he picked up in his cab.

HARRIS: Mental health advocates aren't thrilled about a Vermont token of love. They say the "Crazy For You" teddy bear which comes wearing a straitjacket, and is accompanied by commitment papers is insulting. Lawmakers and Vermont's governor agree. The bear, which is meant as a funny Valentine's gift, sells for $69.95. Now the chief of the company which makes it says the teddy will stay on the market until it sells out. No second run of that.

PHILLIPS: Marriage and love. It's all a great thing.

HARRIS: Nice block, huh, we put together? Merger Monday?

PHILLIPS: There we go. Marriage, mergers, kind of the same thing. A pair of multibillion-dollar deals taking center stage.

HARRIS: Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange has the details. Hi, Susan.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: We just got some video in of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. We had told you earlier today that she had fainted after giving a speech to an organization at a private club, actually a chamber of commerce in Buffalo. And this is video of her not long after that. She said she had a stomach flu. She wasn't feeling well. Then she fainted. Well, we all know that she's quite a tough woman. She came back, took to the podium, finished her talk, and now she's scheduled to speak at a Catholic college also later in the day. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

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HARRIS: Time and time again across the U.S., families and friends have paid tribute to fallen troops in Iraq. Hawaiian residents are doing the same thing. Twenty-six marines and a sailor all stationed in Hawaii were killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq last week. Now their friends are honoring their sacrifice. Our Rusty Dornin is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As people came to pay their respects to the 27 marines from here who died, nearby sat a man in civilian clothes, struggling with his loss. Lance Corporal Buck Gates.

(on camera): You knew every single one of those guys on that helicopter?

LANCE CORPORAL BUCK GATES, U.S. MARINE CORPS: That's correct. They were all my friends. They were all my same company.

DORNIN: Less than three weeks ago, Gates said good-bye to his Marine Corps buddies in Fallujah, Iraq. Gates came home to the base at Hawaii, his buddies didn't.

GATES: They're more than just, you know, guys. The guys I served with. They're my brothers, my family. DORNIN: Family is also how the community here describes its relationship with the military. The Hawaiian community typifies this feeling. Christina Sueyoshi lost her boyfriend, 24-year-old Lance Corporal Gail Saintville (ph) in the accident. Saintville called her just two days before.

CHRISTINA SUEYOSHI, GIRLFRIEND: He just called and said he was going on his last mission and not to worry. And that it's not that serious. That he should be home soon.

DORNIN: Nearby at Hope Chapel, there were prayers...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ...guide and protect our families with the men that we lost.

DORNIN: And plenty of tears.

MAJOR ALEX CHATMAN, MARINE HELICOPTER PILOT: Some of these men were married for just a short time. And have had children that they have never met.

DORNIN: Back at the base, people came to say good-bye and thank you.

(on camera): For many in the community, this is the one place they can come to honor these men. The first week in March, there will be a memorial service on the base, but most, if not all of the marines killed in the crash, will be buried on the mainland. Rusty Dornin, CNN, Kaneohe Marine Corps Base, Hawaii.

HARRIS: And now in the news call it Clinton composure. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton fainted during a lunchtime speech today but has continued her planned schedule. The press secretary for the senator says she's suffering from a stomach virus. In a just a few minutes we'll have a live report from New York.

A British transport plane that crashed in Iraq over the weekend may have been captured on tape. A video shown on al-Jazeera purportedly shows a missile bringing down the C-130. CNN military analyst, retired major general Don Shepperd says the pieces of the wreckage appear to be from a C-130 but the missile firing appeared suspect.

There are U.S. casualties to report in Iraq today. Three marines were killed in action in the Babil province south of Baghdad. The U.S. military says they were conducting security and stability operations. Two other marines were wounded in those operations.

And Democrats make demands of President Bush before his State of the Union address. The top Democrats in Congress gave a prebuttal (ph) today. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her Senate counterpart Harry Reid urged the president to reshape Social Security and announce a new plan for Iraq. The president will give his State of the Union Wednesday night. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com