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Deadliest day Since Iraq's Elections; Watching Syria's Steps; Weapon on the Web

Aired February 18, 2005 - 14:00   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The deadliest day since Iraq's elections. Explosions rip through Baghdad, targeting worshipers at mosques. What does it mean for Iraq's future democracy?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Is it worth the risk of heart problems? Advisers to the FDA weigh in on whether a popular painkiller should stay on the market.

O'BRIEN: Serious firepower for sale. It's the most powerful gun you can legally own. Its bullets can pierce a one-inch steel plate. And you might be surprised at just how easy it is to buy it.

PHILLIPS: Captain courageous. This soldier lost part of his leg in the war but not his will to serve. His amazing battle to get back in action.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

A religious procession, a Shiite mosque, a coffee shop that happened to be too near another mosque, battlefields all in the apparent campaign to stoke sectarian war between Iraqi Shiites, soon to assume political dominance long denied them, and minority Sunnis. At least 18 Iraqis are dead in three attacks coinciding with the Shiite holiday of Ashoura. Two more were killed in a suicide blast at a checkpoint.

CNN's Nic Robertson filed this report from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anguish as wounded arrive at a Baghdad hospital. Casualties from the first of three fatal attacks on Shia Muslims on the eve of their holiest day, Ashoura.

At the site of the first blast, targeting worshipers as they made their way to a mosque, the cleanup already underway. The physical evidence of the suicide attack that killed as many as 15 and wounded 20 more mostly gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It happened when I go to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I heard somebody came and blows up his body. Between there, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I see many, many legs and hands, explosives. This is terrible things.

ROBERTSON: In the west of the capital, another suicide attack on another Shia mosque at prayer time, killing two and wounding eight. A rocket fired in the north of the city at a Shia mosque missed, hitting a coffee shop, killing one, wounding three. The attacks heightening fears that despite increased security around Shia mosques and shrines in preparation for Ashoura on Saturday, Sunni Muslim insurgents will attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Some might come with a suicide belt or a car bomb disguised as a police car. They might wear badges like the ones we wear, or a shirt like mine, so they might go undetected.

ROBERTSON: During last year's Ashoura commemoration, as many as 141 Shias were killed in multiple attacks in Baghdad and the holy city of Karbala. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility.

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The real intention behind all this is to try to draw a rift, to dig a wage between the Shiite and Sunni in this country. And this is actually is going to be a fruitless effort on behalf of the terrorists.

ROBERTSON: So far, no claim of responsibility for the latest attacks.

(on camera): How fruitless those insurgents effort to spark sectarian violence remain would depend on who gets the top jobs in the new government being hammered out behind closed doors. And before day's end, a fourth attack in Baghdad. A suicide bomber killing two and wounding 12 at a security checkpoint.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: And yet another bombing to tell you about. The death toll grows. According to The Associated Press and the Reuters Wire Service, a car bomb exploded outside a Shiite mosque just south of Baghdad. Seven people dead, according to Reuters, 10 others wounded. We'll keep tracking it for you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And just before that news, we can tell you that three more U.S. soldiers are dead in Iraq since yesterday. One was killed by small arms fire in Mosul, another in a roadside bombing in the nearby town of Telefar (ph). Iraqi forces, meanwhile, rounded up eight suspected insurgents in Mosul.

Hours later, Telefar (ph) was the scene of a fierce clash between U.S. forces and insurgents armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. No word on casualties yet from that encounter. And in southern Iraq, another GI was killed in another roadside blast.

Now, the recent assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister has put Syria under a scope of suspicion. President Bush is calling for Syria to withdraw troops from Lebanon, among other demands. And now military moves may be in the plans to get Syria to comply.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us live with the details -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.

Well, here at the Pentagon, planners say it is only routine, low- level planning, no military options are on the table at this very time. Everything could happen maybe someday. They're very casual about it. But what if there was military action?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Many in Lebanon believe Syria was behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The U.S. wants Syria to remove its troops from Lebanon, cut its ties to Hezbollah, and stop providing shelter for Iraqi insurgents.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've recalled our ambassador, which indicates that the relationship is not moving forward, that Syria's out of step with the progress being made in the greater Middle East.

STARR: If diplomacy fails, Pentagon planners could be asked for options, a list of targets, especially if Syria were found to be behind the assassination.

THEORDORE KATTOUF, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SYRIA: I don't think you could say a military -- a limited military strike was off the table if this was incontrovertible evidence, as you say, that Syria was responsible.

STARR: The military will not wait for President Bush to ask. It's already doing routine planning.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Sometimes that process speeds up if certain current events happen and drive the process to, hey, are you ready for this in case it happens? And so I suspect that's exactly what's happening in Syria.

STARR: If the mission is to control the border with Iraq, U.S. troops could conduct border raids, so-called hot pursuit into Syria against insurgents seeking refuge there. If the order is for a limited strike, the initial targets could include suspected chemical weapons sites. Air defenses and missile installations, all could be struck to keep retaliation in check. But to attack Syria's longtime support for the military arm of Hezbollah, some experts believe the most likely targets would be in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.

GRANGE: Because the headquarters, the main planning group for immediate action, assassinations, suicide bombers, other type of terrorist attacks actually come out of the Bekaa Valley.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: And Kyra, that is one of the concerns of Pentagon planners, if there was some order for military action someday, that retaliation could come in the form of terrorist strikes, especially against U.S. troops in both Iraq and Kuwait -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr live from the Pentagon. Thanks -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: On the domestic front now, President Bush takes on the litigious society we live in. Mr. Bush today signed a bill today into law that would limit class action lawsuits against companies. It sends multimillion-dollar lawsuits filed in state courts to federal courts, those courts less open to such cases.

Mr. Bush called the law a critical step to ending America's lawsuit culture. It's the president's first major legislative victory of his second term.

News across "America Now."

Remember Iwo Jima. Sixty years later, scores of survivors of the World War II battle gather outside Washington this weekend to commemorate the event. The aging veterans, most of them now in their 70s and 80s, are paying tribute to almost 7,000 Americans who died in the battle for that Japanese island.

Bill Cosby off the hook. Prosecutors have ended their investigation into allegations the comedian drugged and groped a Canadian woman last year. They say there is no evidence to support any of those charges.

And an Islamic foundation and two of its officers are indicted in Oregon. The group and officers are charged with defrauding the U.S. government by diverting a $150,000 donation meant for Chechnya. The men, both of whom are believed to be outside the U.S., also face tax violation charges.

PHILLIPS: Well, if you want to buy a powerful rifle, you probably have to file paper work, right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... or is one that is not being sold by a dealer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN's investigative reporter, Drew Griffin, finds out just how easy it is to buy a 50 caliber rifle. And it raises questions about weapons, like these, falling into the wrong hands.

And he nearly lost his life serving on the frontlines in Iraq. But he did not lose his will to fight. Captain David Roselle joins us to share his inspiring story. And get this, he's going back to Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: All right. The second amendment affords Americans the right to bear arms, of course. The .50 caliber rifle is the most powerful weapon legally sold in America. It's only a mouse click away for consumers, even terrorists, to by them. CNN's Drew Griffin actually bought the weapon as part of a special he's working on here at CNN.

An investigative reporter, he joins us now with more -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Miles, January 1st, California banned this gun. Several members of Congress want to now take that ban nationally because of its power. But what surprised us was not only the power of this gun, but how easy it was to get our hands on one. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: To buy a gun, even a .50 caliber gun, this huge gun, you just need to go to your computer and click on one of the biggest classified gun sites, which is in our case is GunsAmerica.com. AK- 47s, shotguns, pistols, all kinds of rifles.

But what we wanted to buy was the biggest caliber rifle you could possibly buy, and that's this category right here, the biggest .50 caliber rifle. This is the gun that is now banned in California. And on this Web site we have about three dozen of them for sale.

But what we're looking for is one that is not being sold by a dealer. See where it says "Federal licensed firearm dealer?" We're trying to find one that's being sold by just a private citizen. This is actually the gun we bought.

When you finally find the gun you want on this Web site, and you're dealing with a private party, you just give him your e-mail and you send him a note, "Let's set up a meeting, I'm paying cash." And the next thing you know we're going to buy our gun.

(voice-over): But before I shelled out $2,500 to buy this gun, I wanted to make sure I could buy ammunition. That turned out to be as easy as ordering flowers.

With just a couple of clicks on my computer, I ordered and paid by credit card for .50 -- .50 caliber armor piercing rounds. They were delivered in a week. Shells as long as my hand delivered, no questions asked by UPS. I could have even bought tracer rounds if I wanted. Now it was time to get the gun.

(on camera): What we're about to do is legal in dozens of states where cash and carry is the rule. A private seller, a private buyer. There will be no background check, no government waiting period, no government paperwork at all. In fact, the only paper that will change hands is the money we used to buy our .50 caliber rifle.

(voice-over): The transaction at a house in suburban Houston took about 20 minutes. We walked out with a case holding the gun critics say is the perfect terrorist weapon, a brand new .50 caliber with scope bipod and directions.

We flew home. Guns are checked as baggage. And when the bags arrived for our flight, I simply picked it up and left.

Ronnie Barrett, who manufacturers .50 caliber rifles, believe as an American it is your right to own one.

(on camera): Isn't that particular gun in the hands of a terrorist dangerous?

RONNIE BARRETT, BARRETT MANUFACTURING: We're not talking about terrorists. We're disarming here (ph) civilians. These laws have nothing to do with terrorism.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Barrett's company makes one of the most popular and top of the line .50 caliber rifles on the market, a semiautomatic favored by armies around the world. But Barrett says his company couldn't survive on military orders alone, and what keeps all of these workers busy is its popularity among recreational shooters. Barrett says it may be effective on the battlefield, but on the target range it is just plain fun.

(on camera): Should there be any regulation ons your guns?

BARRETT: There should be regulations on criminals.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Gun control advocates want a federal ban on this weapon. Their reasoning? Anything that can hit a target at 1,000 yards with a bullet the size of a small artillery shell could certainly pose a major threat to aircraft.

(on camera): But the question at most of the nation's airports is not what you can do with a .50 caliber gun at 1,000 yards. Here at LAX a would-be terrorists could get within 1,000 feet.

(voice-over): This week at a police gun range I found out what this gun could do to the emergency exit door of a Boeing 727 fired from 1,000 feet away. The gun is very heavy, not easy to maneuver, but took only a few moments to set up. The first time I fired it I missed. After adjusting for the sight, round after armor-piercing round went straight through the door.

But just about any gun could pierce the thin aluminum skin of an airplane. What scares law enforcement is what else this round can do when fired from this gun.

This is a one-inch think piece of steel plate. More protection than almost any armored car. The .50 caliber goes right through the aircraft door and right through one-inch steel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow. Right through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right through it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right through it, baby.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's where it came out. That's where it went in. One-inch steel plate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Had we bought this gun from a federal dealer, we would have had to fill out paper work, pass a background check and show some I.D. But because we bought it between two adults in the same state, there was no transaction paper work at all except the money that was the transaction. That's it -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. A couple thoughts here. Let's make sure it's very clear, at those altitudes, if somebody were able to fire in an airplane, it's not necessarily going to bring that plane down.

GRIFFIN: Probably not. But what the critics of this gun say is a well-placed shot in the cockpit, in a fuel cell, in an engine would certainly cripple that plane and create an emergency on board.

O'BRIEN: But that could go with a lot of other weapons as well, I suppose.

GRIFFIN: Sure.

O'BRIEN: All right. Well, that's interesting, and the report sheds a lot of light in this. I suppose there are some viewers going, wait a minute, why are you telling people all this stuff, giving some terrorists some ideas?

GRIFFIN: The .50 caliber has been around for years and years. It's a favorite weapon of the military. If a terrorist wanted one out there, he already knows, no doubt, how to get it. These have been sold at gun shows across the U.S. And as we said, they're as easy as Googling on your Internet to find it.

O'BRIEN: All right. Drew Griffin, thanks for shedding some light on that for us. We appreciate it.

Of course we invite you to stay tuned to CNN day and night, 24/7, 365 for the most reliable news about your security.

PHILLIPS: Well, does the good outweigh the bad when it comes to popular painkillers? FDA advisers weigh in on whether you should still be able to take Celebrex. We'll have that story straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kathleen Hays at the New York Stock Exchange. Coming up, forget the free toaster when you open a bank account. Today's giveaways are going high tech. That's next on LIVE FROM, so stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A major boost for the tsunami recovery effort. Former presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush head to the region. First stop is the devastated Thai resort of Phuket. The foreign nation visit is aimed at keeping world attention focused on the disaster and encouraging Americans to keep on giving.

CNN's Aneesh Raman sent us this report just a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Former presidents Bush and Clinton will arrive here in Phuket in a matter of hours. Their day will begin with a helicopter tour of some of the most devastated areas in southern Thailand. They will then both lay wreaths at the wall of remembrance that has been erected here in Phuket.

It is part of a three-day trip through the region that will take them on Sunday to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and on Monday to the Maldives. Now, the trip isn't really meant to evaluate the situation on the ground but, rather, explicitly to bring the global spotlight back to the lingering aftermath of the tsunami.

We're now a week away from the two-month mark. And the former presidents are trying to get the global community to continue giving monies to the charities that are here on the ground.

The recovery and relief efforts continue for the people who are still affected by that tsunami. It could be years or decades before their lives are turned to any sense of normalcy.

This tsunami is now just the new reality. The aftermath will never explicitly end. So for the former presidents who have made numerous appearances on American television trying to get donations in, this will be the latest leg in that evidence that President Bush charged them with in early January.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Phuket, southern Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's not just a free toaster when you open up an account. Today's freebies are getting a little fancier.

O'BRIEN: They still give away toasters? Do they really do that?

PHILLIPS: I've only gotten a T-shirt. I don't know where the toasters are. I haven't gotten a toaster.

O'BRIEN: Kathleen Hays with more on the freebies that banks are giving away.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired February 18, 2005 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The deadliest day since Iraq's elections. Explosions rip through Baghdad, targeting worshipers at mosques. What does it mean for Iraq's future democracy?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Is it worth the risk of heart problems? Advisers to the FDA weigh in on whether a popular painkiller should stay on the market.

O'BRIEN: Serious firepower for sale. It's the most powerful gun you can legally own. Its bullets can pierce a one-inch steel plate. And you might be surprised at just how easy it is to buy it.

PHILLIPS: Captain courageous. This soldier lost part of his leg in the war but not his will to serve. His amazing battle to get back in action.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

A religious procession, a Shiite mosque, a coffee shop that happened to be too near another mosque, battlefields all in the apparent campaign to stoke sectarian war between Iraqi Shiites, soon to assume political dominance long denied them, and minority Sunnis. At least 18 Iraqis are dead in three attacks coinciding with the Shiite holiday of Ashoura. Two more were killed in a suicide blast at a checkpoint.

CNN's Nic Robertson filed this report from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anguish as wounded arrive at a Baghdad hospital. Casualties from the first of three fatal attacks on Shia Muslims on the eve of their holiest day, Ashoura.

At the site of the first blast, targeting worshipers as they made their way to a mosque, the cleanup already underway. The physical evidence of the suicide attack that killed as many as 15 and wounded 20 more mostly gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It happened when I go to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I heard somebody came and blows up his body. Between there, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I see many, many legs and hands, explosives. This is terrible things.

ROBERTSON: In the west of the capital, another suicide attack on another Shia mosque at prayer time, killing two and wounding eight. A rocket fired in the north of the city at a Shia mosque missed, hitting a coffee shop, killing one, wounding three. The attacks heightening fears that despite increased security around Shia mosques and shrines in preparation for Ashoura on Saturday, Sunni Muslim insurgents will attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Some might come with a suicide belt or a car bomb disguised as a police car. They might wear badges like the ones we wear, or a shirt like mine, so they might go undetected.

ROBERTSON: During last year's Ashoura commemoration, as many as 141 Shias were killed in multiple attacks in Baghdad and the holy city of Karbala. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility.

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The real intention behind all this is to try to draw a rift, to dig a wage between the Shiite and Sunni in this country. And this is actually is going to be a fruitless effort on behalf of the terrorists.

ROBERTSON: So far, no claim of responsibility for the latest attacks.

(on camera): How fruitless those insurgents effort to spark sectarian violence remain would depend on who gets the top jobs in the new government being hammered out behind closed doors. And before day's end, a fourth attack in Baghdad. A suicide bomber killing two and wounding 12 at a security checkpoint.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: And yet another bombing to tell you about. The death toll grows. According to The Associated Press and the Reuters Wire Service, a car bomb exploded outside a Shiite mosque just south of Baghdad. Seven people dead, according to Reuters, 10 others wounded. We'll keep tracking it for you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And just before that news, we can tell you that three more U.S. soldiers are dead in Iraq since yesterday. One was killed by small arms fire in Mosul, another in a roadside bombing in the nearby town of Telefar (ph). Iraqi forces, meanwhile, rounded up eight suspected insurgents in Mosul.

Hours later, Telefar (ph) was the scene of a fierce clash between U.S. forces and insurgents armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. No word on casualties yet from that encounter. And in southern Iraq, another GI was killed in another roadside blast.

Now, the recent assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister has put Syria under a scope of suspicion. President Bush is calling for Syria to withdraw troops from Lebanon, among other demands. And now military moves may be in the plans to get Syria to comply.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us live with the details -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.

Well, here at the Pentagon, planners say it is only routine, low- level planning, no military options are on the table at this very time. Everything could happen maybe someday. They're very casual about it. But what if there was military action?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Many in Lebanon believe Syria was behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The U.S. wants Syria to remove its troops from Lebanon, cut its ties to Hezbollah, and stop providing shelter for Iraqi insurgents.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've recalled our ambassador, which indicates that the relationship is not moving forward, that Syria's out of step with the progress being made in the greater Middle East.

STARR: If diplomacy fails, Pentagon planners could be asked for options, a list of targets, especially if Syria were found to be behind the assassination.

THEORDORE KATTOUF, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SYRIA: I don't think you could say a military -- a limited military strike was off the table if this was incontrovertible evidence, as you say, that Syria was responsible.

STARR: The military will not wait for President Bush to ask. It's already doing routine planning.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Sometimes that process speeds up if certain current events happen and drive the process to, hey, are you ready for this in case it happens? And so I suspect that's exactly what's happening in Syria.

STARR: If the mission is to control the border with Iraq, U.S. troops could conduct border raids, so-called hot pursuit into Syria against insurgents seeking refuge there. If the order is for a limited strike, the initial targets could include suspected chemical weapons sites. Air defenses and missile installations, all could be struck to keep retaliation in check. But to attack Syria's longtime support for the military arm of Hezbollah, some experts believe the most likely targets would be in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.

GRANGE: Because the headquarters, the main planning group for immediate action, assassinations, suicide bombers, other type of terrorist attacks actually come out of the Bekaa Valley.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: And Kyra, that is one of the concerns of Pentagon planners, if there was some order for military action someday, that retaliation could come in the form of terrorist strikes, especially against U.S. troops in both Iraq and Kuwait -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr live from the Pentagon. Thanks -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: On the domestic front now, President Bush takes on the litigious society we live in. Mr. Bush today signed a bill today into law that would limit class action lawsuits against companies. It sends multimillion-dollar lawsuits filed in state courts to federal courts, those courts less open to such cases.

Mr. Bush called the law a critical step to ending America's lawsuit culture. It's the president's first major legislative victory of his second term.

News across "America Now."

Remember Iwo Jima. Sixty years later, scores of survivors of the World War II battle gather outside Washington this weekend to commemorate the event. The aging veterans, most of them now in their 70s and 80s, are paying tribute to almost 7,000 Americans who died in the battle for that Japanese island.

Bill Cosby off the hook. Prosecutors have ended their investigation into allegations the comedian drugged and groped a Canadian woman last year. They say there is no evidence to support any of those charges.

And an Islamic foundation and two of its officers are indicted in Oregon. The group and officers are charged with defrauding the U.S. government by diverting a $150,000 donation meant for Chechnya. The men, both of whom are believed to be outside the U.S., also face tax violation charges.

PHILLIPS: Well, if you want to buy a powerful rifle, you probably have to file paper work, right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... or is one that is not being sold by a dealer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN's investigative reporter, Drew Griffin, finds out just how easy it is to buy a 50 caliber rifle. And it raises questions about weapons, like these, falling into the wrong hands.

And he nearly lost his life serving on the frontlines in Iraq. But he did not lose his will to fight. Captain David Roselle joins us to share his inspiring story. And get this, he's going back to Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: All right. The second amendment affords Americans the right to bear arms, of course. The .50 caliber rifle is the most powerful weapon legally sold in America. It's only a mouse click away for consumers, even terrorists, to by them. CNN's Drew Griffin actually bought the weapon as part of a special he's working on here at CNN.

An investigative reporter, he joins us now with more -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Miles, January 1st, California banned this gun. Several members of Congress want to now take that ban nationally because of its power. But what surprised us was not only the power of this gun, but how easy it was to get our hands on one. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: To buy a gun, even a .50 caliber gun, this huge gun, you just need to go to your computer and click on one of the biggest classified gun sites, which is in our case is GunsAmerica.com. AK- 47s, shotguns, pistols, all kinds of rifles.

But what we wanted to buy was the biggest caliber rifle you could possibly buy, and that's this category right here, the biggest .50 caliber rifle. This is the gun that is now banned in California. And on this Web site we have about three dozen of them for sale.

But what we're looking for is one that is not being sold by a dealer. See where it says "Federal licensed firearm dealer?" We're trying to find one that's being sold by just a private citizen. This is actually the gun we bought.

When you finally find the gun you want on this Web site, and you're dealing with a private party, you just give him your e-mail and you send him a note, "Let's set up a meeting, I'm paying cash." And the next thing you know we're going to buy our gun.

(voice-over): But before I shelled out $2,500 to buy this gun, I wanted to make sure I could buy ammunition. That turned out to be as easy as ordering flowers.

With just a couple of clicks on my computer, I ordered and paid by credit card for .50 -- .50 caliber armor piercing rounds. They were delivered in a week. Shells as long as my hand delivered, no questions asked by UPS. I could have even bought tracer rounds if I wanted. Now it was time to get the gun.

(on camera): What we're about to do is legal in dozens of states where cash and carry is the rule. A private seller, a private buyer. There will be no background check, no government waiting period, no government paperwork at all. In fact, the only paper that will change hands is the money we used to buy our .50 caliber rifle.

(voice-over): The transaction at a house in suburban Houston took about 20 minutes. We walked out with a case holding the gun critics say is the perfect terrorist weapon, a brand new .50 caliber with scope bipod and directions.

We flew home. Guns are checked as baggage. And when the bags arrived for our flight, I simply picked it up and left.

Ronnie Barrett, who manufacturers .50 caliber rifles, believe as an American it is your right to own one.

(on camera): Isn't that particular gun in the hands of a terrorist dangerous?

RONNIE BARRETT, BARRETT MANUFACTURING: We're not talking about terrorists. We're disarming here (ph) civilians. These laws have nothing to do with terrorism.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Barrett's company makes one of the most popular and top of the line .50 caliber rifles on the market, a semiautomatic favored by armies around the world. But Barrett says his company couldn't survive on military orders alone, and what keeps all of these workers busy is its popularity among recreational shooters. Barrett says it may be effective on the battlefield, but on the target range it is just plain fun.

(on camera): Should there be any regulation ons your guns?

BARRETT: There should be regulations on criminals.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Gun control advocates want a federal ban on this weapon. Their reasoning? Anything that can hit a target at 1,000 yards with a bullet the size of a small artillery shell could certainly pose a major threat to aircraft.

(on camera): But the question at most of the nation's airports is not what you can do with a .50 caliber gun at 1,000 yards. Here at LAX a would-be terrorists could get within 1,000 feet.

(voice-over): This week at a police gun range I found out what this gun could do to the emergency exit door of a Boeing 727 fired from 1,000 feet away. The gun is very heavy, not easy to maneuver, but took only a few moments to set up. The first time I fired it I missed. After adjusting for the sight, round after armor-piercing round went straight through the door.

But just about any gun could pierce the thin aluminum skin of an airplane. What scares law enforcement is what else this round can do when fired from this gun.

This is a one-inch think piece of steel plate. More protection than almost any armored car. The .50 caliber goes right through the aircraft door and right through one-inch steel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow. Right through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right through it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right through it, baby.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's where it came out. That's where it went in. One-inch steel plate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Had we bought this gun from a federal dealer, we would have had to fill out paper work, pass a background check and show some I.D. But because we bought it between two adults in the same state, there was no transaction paper work at all except the money that was the transaction. That's it -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. A couple thoughts here. Let's make sure it's very clear, at those altitudes, if somebody were able to fire in an airplane, it's not necessarily going to bring that plane down.

GRIFFIN: Probably not. But what the critics of this gun say is a well-placed shot in the cockpit, in a fuel cell, in an engine would certainly cripple that plane and create an emergency on board.

O'BRIEN: But that could go with a lot of other weapons as well, I suppose.

GRIFFIN: Sure.

O'BRIEN: All right. Well, that's interesting, and the report sheds a lot of light in this. I suppose there are some viewers going, wait a minute, why are you telling people all this stuff, giving some terrorists some ideas?

GRIFFIN: The .50 caliber has been around for years and years. It's a favorite weapon of the military. If a terrorist wanted one out there, he already knows, no doubt, how to get it. These have been sold at gun shows across the U.S. And as we said, they're as easy as Googling on your Internet to find it.

O'BRIEN: All right. Drew Griffin, thanks for shedding some light on that for us. We appreciate it.

Of course we invite you to stay tuned to CNN day and night, 24/7, 365 for the most reliable news about your security.

PHILLIPS: Well, does the good outweigh the bad when it comes to popular painkillers? FDA advisers weigh in on whether you should still be able to take Celebrex. We'll have that story straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kathleen Hays at the New York Stock Exchange. Coming up, forget the free toaster when you open a bank account. Today's giveaways are going high tech. That's next on LIVE FROM, so stay tuned.

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(WEATHER REPORT)

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PHILLIPS: A major boost for the tsunami recovery effort. Former presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush head to the region. First stop is the devastated Thai resort of Phuket. The foreign nation visit is aimed at keeping world attention focused on the disaster and encouraging Americans to keep on giving.

CNN's Aneesh Raman sent us this report just a short while ago.

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ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Former presidents Bush and Clinton will arrive here in Phuket in a matter of hours. Their day will begin with a helicopter tour of some of the most devastated areas in southern Thailand. They will then both lay wreaths at the wall of remembrance that has been erected here in Phuket.

It is part of a three-day trip through the region that will take them on Sunday to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and on Monday to the Maldives. Now, the trip isn't really meant to evaluate the situation on the ground but, rather, explicitly to bring the global spotlight back to the lingering aftermath of the tsunami.

We're now a week away from the two-month mark. And the former presidents are trying to get the global community to continue giving monies to the charities that are here on the ground.

The recovery and relief efforts continue for the people who are still affected by that tsunami. It could be years or decades before their lives are turned to any sense of normalcy.

This tsunami is now just the new reality. The aftermath will never explicitly end. So for the former presidents who have made numerous appearances on American television trying to get donations in, this will be the latest leg in that evidence that President Bush charged them with in early January.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Phuket, southern Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's not just a free toaster when you open up an account. Today's freebies are getting a little fancier.

O'BRIEN: They still give away toasters? Do they really do that?

PHILLIPS: I've only gotten a T-shirt. I don't know where the toasters are. I haven't gotten a toaster.

O'BRIEN: Kathleen Hays with more on the freebies that banks are giving away.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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