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Iraqis to Vote Saturday on Constitution; Probe Continues into CIA Leak; New Orleans Cleans Up

Aired October 12, 2005 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: There's turmoil in the Middle East today after the death of a prominent political figure in Syria. Government officials say the country's interior minister committed suicide. Ghazi Kanaan's death comes after a United Nations investigator recently questioned him over the assassination of the president Rafik Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister. His death sparked protests that helped end the Syrian presence in Lebanon. A report from the U.N. probe into Hariri's killing is expected to be released in days.
Syria's president tells CNN his country was not involved in the assassination and he could have never ordered that.

Well, as we reported earlier this hour, Iraqis will vote on a new constitution Saturday.

Joining us now is the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad.

Good to see you.

ZALMAY KHALILZAD, IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: Well, how hopeful are you, Mr. Ambassador, about this deal, this compromise that has been struck by the Sunni Arab party and the Shia-Kurd coalition?

KHALILZAD: Well, today was a good day for Iraqis.

The leaders of various communities and parties made some difficult compromises which resulted in the support of the draft constitution, with some changes by one of the major Sunni political parties.

This should improve prospects for Sunni support for the draft and it has also made the draft that existed before into a national compact because the existing draft had support in the Shia and Kurdish communities and now a significant Sunni Arab party has come out in favor of the draft.

So it's an important step in the right direction for Iraq.

WHITFIELD: How does this strengthen the appeal for the constitution given that President Talabani, as well as President Bush of this country, have both warned that leading up to this vote there would be more violence, so the message has to be conveyed to the Iraqi people that it is worth risking their lives to vote for this constitution?

KHALILZAD: Well, there is no doubt that the terrorists do not want the people to vote. They do not want Iraq to succeed. They have declared war on the Iraqi people and their goal is to take this country either back or to make it a base for the terrorists to threaten the people of Iraq and this region and the world.

But the constitution offers a way forward for the people of Iraq toward a government of their own that they would elect, with rights for all Iraqis, and for Iraq to achieve greatness again.

It'll be risky, certainly, but I think the security institutions of the coalition, Iraqi security forces will do their best to provide an environment in which Iraqis would be able to vote.

But no question about it, the terrorists will try to disrupt and to make it as difficult and as risky as possible for Iraqis because, as I said, their goal is not for Iraq to succeed, their goal is for Iraq to fail, and the Iraqis do not want that.

So I anticipate that millions of Iraqis will vote. Of course, (INAUDIBLE) to see that in this case Iraqis outside of Iraq will not be able to vote or participate in the process or the numbers could be less than those who participated in the previous elections, but I anticipate millions will go out and cast their ballot.

WHITFIELD: And how much of a potential setback is that if it were to come to that? You said you're hoping that millions of people will vote, but what if you don't have the million of folks to turn out? Might this reverse whatever progress you have made with the national assembly? Might it mean that there would have to be yet another vote of a national assembly if this constitution fails?

KHALILZAD: Oh, of course, the people have the choice, those who participate -- and I anticipate the numbers will be in the millions -- can either support, approve the draft or reject it.

If they approve it, a permanent government will be established based on the next election and Iraq will have a constitution. If it's rejected, elections will take place as scheduled in December, and the next assembly will have to take up the task of drafting a constitution.

WHITFIELD: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad of Iraq joining us from Washington today.

Thank you so much.

In the Middle East, two journalists kidnapped in Gaza are now free. The American and the Briton were abducted earlier today. There was no claim of responsibility.

Several foreigners have been kidnapped in Gaza in recent months. All have been released unharmed, usually within hours.

Families of those killed in the attack on the USS Cole joined current crew members this morning at the Norfolk Air Naval Station. The attack on the Cole happened five years ago today. The memorial service is scheduled later this afternoon at Arlington National Cemetery. The Cole was docked in the port of Aden, Yemen, when it was struck by a small boat loaded with explosives. The suicide attack killed 17 U.S. sailors and wounded 39 other crew members.

It's been a busy week for the grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA agent's identity. "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller provided new details about the case today. And White House political adviser Karl Rove is expected to testify on Friday.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken joins us now from Washington with details -- Bob?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, she was brought back for the second time since she got out of jail for refusing to testify. Judith Miller came back before the grand jury, refused to talk to reporters afterwards, but sources say she was here to talk about some notes she found in the "New York Times" news room subsequent to her testimony on September 30th; notes that suggested that she had spoken with the vice president's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, before the dates covered in her last testimony.

No more details about what it is that she told before the grand jury, but Libby is somebody who has been mentioned repeatedly as one of the sources in an investigation into the leaks that identified Valerie Plame as an undercover CIA operative.

Scooter Libby is one of the names mentioned. The other, the deputy White House chief of staff Karl Rove, who for so long has been President Bush's chief political adviser.

Rove is scheduled to appear before this grand jury for the fourth time on Friday. And many are making quite a bit out of that, although his lawyer says the prosecutor has not indicated whether there even will be prosecutions.

The prosecutor is the special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. He left today with his usual no comment. He is said to be trying to wrap up this investigation.

The term of the grand jury expires October 28th, although that could be extended. But this is an investigation that's been going on almost two years now and Fitzgerald is expected to be trying to decide whether there will be indictments and if there are, against who -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right.

Bob Franken in Washington, thanks so much.

Well, as crews in New Orleans continue to sift through and assess the damage, one discovery is making for a pretty rotten job.

Details live from Louisiana next. Plus, the youngest evacuees head back to school. We'll take you inside New Orleans West, where the students aren't the only hurricane victims.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The massive cleanup in New Orleans includes some unpleasant, some might say downright disgusting, jobs. If you've ever let raw chicken go back in your refrigerator, try to imagine what it's like to dispose of millions of pounds of that rotting chicken.

CNN producer Andreas Preuss is in our Gulf Coast bureau with more on that. So, let me get this straight, Andreas. You went to this storage facility where you knew there was something like 20 million pounds of chicken that were being stored, but Katrina came along, knocked the power out, and then what did you find?

ANDREAS PREUSS, CNN PRODUCER: Well, you know, we got the assignment. Reports of 20 million pound of chicken at the New Orleans cold storage facility. So, we got in the truck, we drove across the twinspan to New Orleans East, along the Mississippi River. There, at the facility, was where the chicken was being stored. You know, we got there, we put on our face masks, we put on the Vicks Vapor Rub under the noses, but really nothing could prepare you for the smell.

We toured the facility. There they were unloading the chicken from the refrigeration units -- well, they were refrigerated at one point. But because of the loss of power after the storm, this stuff had been sitting around for a month and a half. Now, you know, I stopped counting the flies at about a zillion.

WHITFIELD: Yuck.

PREUSS: The smell, even though we had face masks on, even though we had all the gear on, it still permeated the air. The plant engineer Jimmy Bievenu told us what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY BIENVENU, COLD STORAGE ENGINEER: This is where the hurricane came through and tore out some wall sections. And that's what caused the (INAUDIBLE), mostly the wind took out wall sections and we lost our temperature, you know. Otherwise, we might have been able to hold it for a week or two and get restarted. But that was impossible with the water damage, also. We couldn't get any equipment running.

PREUSS: How much water went into the building?

BIENVENU: Approximately three feet, four feet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PREUSS: Now, Jimmy took it all in stride. Now, he, like I said, was the engineer, but he also lost his home in Venetian Isles. And, you know, he was also concerned about rebuilding his property. He told me that he would build -- rebuild again and build higher.

Now, a funny side note is that, you know, after that shooing of all this footage and being in this environment -- we didn't go inside the facility, but just being 10, 15 yards outside of it, you know, apparently, the smell had permeated our clothing, as well. We went to do an interview with the local newspaper and people in the lobby said, what is that smell? It was us. It was us. And we politely excused ourselves and scheduled another date for that shoot.

WHITFIELD: And probably had to take a few showers after that. So Andreas, now, let's talk -- all that chicken in this storage facility. I imagine, at some point, had you not had Katrina, it was going to be on its way to what -- grocery stores or to restaurants? What would have been used -- how would this chicken have been used had Katrina not come along?

PREUSS: Well, the chicken was -- it was going to be exported into probably the rest of the world. Asia, Eastern Europe, Russia. These were 30 to 40 leg quarters that were in giant packages that basically were sitting there waiting for export on ships out of the port of New Orleans And once the freezers went, there went the food, the chicken spoiled. It's worthless now.

WHITFIELD: A terrible waste. All right, Andreas Preuss, thanks so much, in our Gulf Coast bureau.

Well, the cost of heating your home may go through the roof this winter. But we'll show you one way to not get burned, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Government forecasters are predicting a relatively warm winter, but they say that still won't be enough to prevent sharp increases in home heating bills.

CNN economics correspondent Kathleen Hays joins us now from New York with more on that -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred.

Well, you're absolutely right. It -- the winter weather really isn't the main factor here. We've had two warm winters in a row, and home heating bills have been climbing steadily. The main culprit here is hurricanes, hurricanes that really whack the nation's refining capacity have had a big impact on these markets.

Let's start by looking at the bill for home heating oil. This is the more costly way to heat your home, and it's going to get a lot more costly now. Look at that. A gain of more than 30 percent is forecast by the Energy Information Agency, nearly $1,600. A gain of about, well, almost 400 bucks over the winter months. Nothing to sneeze at.

As for natural gas, which heats the home of about three-fourths of American families -- a it's a cheaper, cleaner alternative in many people's minds. And, yes, it's cheaper. But look at the jump there, nearly 50 percent. You're going to pay nearly $1,100. You're going to suffer a gain of about $350.

Another thing that's interesting, Fred, about the weather forecast. So far from NOA, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, -- quite a mouthful -- they are predicting a winter that's still warm, little bit colder than last year. And they're saying in the regions of the country like the Midwest and the Northeast, they really can't say with any certainty if the winter will be warmer, colder or just about the same. Now f we have a much colder winter, though, it looks like the natural gas bill could climb to something like $1,200. So you can see what a difference the weather could make -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow, so now, looking ahead, what about the fuel at the pump? We're all experiencing, you know, a bigger pinch there. Any potential good news, as we head into the winter?

HAYS: Well, you know, maybe the good news is that the news isn't worse. Now, let's first look at crude oil, because the crude oil makes up about half the price of a gallon of gas. That's really not such a pretty forecast, is it? The average this year, about 58 bucks a barrel and next year even higher. Demand just hasn't cooled off that much in the U.S. or around the world, even with higher prices. So the outlook there still very pricy.

As for what that translates into when it comes to gasoline, the average price this year about $2.35 and the average price next year, a little higher. Granted, it's not the $3 a gallon that many of us unfortunately got used to for a while, but it's still fairly high and a lot higher than we were paying. So I guess we're just going to have to put on more sweaters and drive 55 instead of 65, Fred. How about you?

WHITFIELD: Good advice. Sounds good to me. I like the glasses, by the way, Kathleen.

HAYS: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right, have a good one.

Well, with home heating costs set to rise so dramatically this year, it may be a good time to explore, perhaps, the other options out there. And one way to reduce your bill is as simple as upgrading your thermostat. Here are the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NARRATOR: The Energy Department estimates using a programmable thermostat could save you more than $150 this winter. The way it works is you set the temperature in your home to automatically adjust itself to match your schedule. Let the mercury drop at night, and during the day, if you are not at home. That alone will cut your energy consumption by more than 10 percent. That may not sound like much, but with most heating bills expected to cost around $1,500 this year, every little bit helps.

The units retail at home improvement stores for about $100, so you'll recoup your losses within a few months. Experts say installing the new thermostat is no more difficult than putting in a light switch, and programming it is really about the same as setting an alarm clock.

So if you've been putting it off, it may be time to bite the bullet and buy yourself a new thermostat. You can expect to save this winter and in the years to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, police may have solved the mystery of the stolen airplane that turned up over the weekend at a suburban Atlanta airport. The case involved a Cessna Citation 7 that was taken from an airport in St. Augustine, Florida. Today, authorities said a 22- year-old suburban Atlanta man flew the plane to Georgia. He has been charged with theft for receiving and reckless conduct. A police spokesman said the incident appeared to have been a joyride.

And they are students in exile. The children of New Orleans back in school, but far away from home. Their story, straight ahead on LIVE FROM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: Or if there's a divorce or there's a disability, who's going to will take care of your kids?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely.

WINFREY: You know, how are you going to get daycare and all of that?

COOPER: And then if you do get a job -- I mean, there are all these terrible...

WINFREY: What it takes to pay for the kids.

COOPER: There are all these terrible choices you have to make. It's the cold calculus of survival.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

That's our own Anderson Cooper. He'll be doing a special edition of "Oprah" this afternoon called "Inside the Lives of America's Poor." And you can also see Anderson later this evening on CNN, "ANDERSON COOPER 360," which airs at 7:00 p.m.

Despite the gradual resettlement of New Orleans, many thousands of evacuees remain scattered across the country. Leaving the familiar surroundings of home can be wrenching for children, but in Texas, a special school is keeping some young evacuees together.

CNN's Gary Tuchman has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The skyline of Houston, Texas, as viewed through the school bus window. Another day for students in exile.

(on camera): Do you guys miss new Orleans?

CHILDREN ON BUS: Yes!

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The Texas flag may fly outside their school, but the name of the school is New Orleans West. A place specifically for Louisiana children evacuated for Hurricane Katrina.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sixth grade, what year are you going to college?

CHILDREN IN CLASSROOM: 2012.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seventh grade, what year are you going to college?

CHILDREN IN CLASSROOM: 2011.

TUCHMAN: This K-8 charter school is run in conjunction with the Houston school district, but it's part of the national Knowledge is Power program, which emphasizes structure.

CHILDREN: You got to read, baby, read.

GARY ROBICHAUX, PRINCIPAL: We knew it would be a good thing for the kids of New Orleans to be together in one school, with teachers that were actually teaching them in New Orleans. So the idea sounded great.

TUCHMAN (on camera): So you started this school from scratch?

ROBICHAUX: We started this school from scratch.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): In addition to the academics, these youngsters, almost all of whom lost their homes, deal with what they have been through, by writing their thoughts about what they saw back home, and reading essays about their experiences.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bullet killed a man in the Superdome. The guard -- I mean, the man took the gun out the guard hand, shot him in the leg.

TUCHMAN: This 11-year-old boy wanted to tell us about his 30- year-old cousin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was trying to save a little boy out in a hurricane, and, the boy was saying, help. And he went in the water.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Your cousin?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he has drowned. TUCHMAN (voice-over): It's not just the children who have lost their homes, it's also many of the teachers, and the principal, whose school in New Orleans was also destroyed.

ROBICHAUX: Just being around the kids and the teachers, it's made it much easier.

TUCHMAN (on camera): This school was built in 1926, but was shut down last year due to declining enrollment. These children of New Orleans, starting their new lives, have brought this Houston school back to life.

(voice-over): But it's only supposed to stay this way for a year. It's expected the students will return to New Orleans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, (INAUDIBLE). How was y'all's day?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fine.

TUCHMAN: Angela Banks and her children are in a temporary apartment in Houston. Angela likes the atmosphere at New Orleans West she doesn't want it to ever close.

ANGELA BANKS, MOTHER: I love the school. It is the dream school.

TUCHMAN (on camera): All of the things that happened during the hurricane and after the hurricane made you feel very sad about New Orleans?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

TUCHMAN: And made you not want to go back there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

TUCHMAN: And now you want to stay in Houston?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have it right.

TUCHMAN: I have it right?

(voice-over): The students of New Orleans West are being taught they can rely on their teachers for help, and the teachers are relying on them right back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that wraps up this Wednesday edition of LIVE FROM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Now it's Kyra Phillips and Ali Velshi, are in for in Wolf Blitzer, live in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

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