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What Role Will Women Play in the New Iraq?; Wife of Legal Analyst Found Dead

Aired October 17, 2005 - 13:30   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All out of names and six more weeks of hurricane season. Tropical Storm Wilma is churning in the western Caribbean, its direction unclear. Wilma is the 21st named storm of the year, tying a record set back in 1933.
Round one to cigarette makers -- the U.S. Supreme Court won't let the Bush administration go after tobacco companies for billions of dollars, claiming that they misled the public about the dangers of smoking. A federal judge has yet to rule on this issue.

In search of support, Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers back on Capitol Hill and in just a few minutes she's scheduled to meet with Senator Charles Schumer of New York. He's on the Judiciary Committee, which must vote yea or nay on sending her nomination to the full Senate.

Two former justices of the Texas high court were at the White House just hours ago touting Miers' qualifications.

And the battle to confirm Harriet Miers is but one focus at the White House these days.

Our national correspondent Bob Franken looks at other problems preoccupying the president's mind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the whirling helicopter deposited the president back at the White House after a weekend at Camp David, the swirling question is whether some of his top advisers could possibly be indicted, or not -- and a lot of what ifs.

JOSEPH DIGENOVA, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: If they are indicted, well, then obviously they're going to have to resign from the White House because they -- a sitting president cannot have indicted individuals working on his staff.

FRANKEN: As distracting as the investigation into CIA leaks has become, the White House is trying very hard to keep the focus elsewhere.

There are plans to try and gain the offensive in the battle over Harriet Miers, the president's choice for the U.S. Supreme Court. He and she will be getting some support today from former Texas Supreme Court justices who will be talking up Miers' legal prowess. There is a lot on the president's plate: Iraq's referendum, the continuing effort to regain credibility in the response to Hurricane Katrina.

The president continues to insist the CIA leaks investigation is not a distraction, and some important Republicans are rooting him on.

SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: I have full confidence in this president and his ability to ride out this storm that he's in at the present time.

FRANKEN (on camera): Storms plural is probably more accurate.

A lot of these problems would normally to a large extent be handled by Karl Rove, but he too is riding out a storm.

Bob Franken, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, back to Iraq and its future being forged at the ballot box. So far, it appears a new constitution will be ratified. That means new elections at the end of the year.

The question, what direction will Iraq take and what role will women play?

Zainab Salbi is an Iraqi native who grew up in wartime; now she helps other war survivors through her organization Women for Women International. And her latest book, "Between Two Worlds," focuses on life under Saddam Hussein.

Zainab joins me live from Boston.

Great to see you.

ZAINAB SALBI, WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL: Good seeing you.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about how you feel about the weekend -- an incredible turnout. Your reaction to that and also, how involved were the women?

SALBI: The women were involved in writing the constitution.

One-third of the constitution drafting committee members were indeed women and they managed to get some rights that we did not have before. For example, women now are guaranteed representation in the parliament, 25 percent representation. And women now have the right to pass on their citizenship to their children even if they are not married to Iraqis.

So this is new laws actually that had not been in Iraq before.

On the other hand, there are other issues that women are very concerned about. That is mostly related to family law that is regulating marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody, access to mobility, to resources.

Many of this, particularly secular-educated women are concerned about how vague the constitution is about the direction the country will take in terms of women's rights as it pertains to their own personal movement.

PHILLIPS: When you say the secular-educated women, you're talking about secular-educated women in Iraq?

SALBI: Very true, yes.

A lot of women in the civil society did have concerns about the direction -- the constitution introduces new concepts in Iraq such as religious courts, such as religious clerics being part of the supreme court. We -- it could take the direction any -- either direction. It could really depend on who is going to interpret the law.

We could have a very enlightened support of men -- of women's rights and seeing that we could not build strong women without -- strong country without strong women, or you could have very conservative, very restrictive men who are interpreting the law.

And so we really don't know what the direction is going to take us in the future, and the concerns is about these things.

And there are some celebrations, of course, about the accomplishments.

PHILLIPS: And, of course, you talk in such an educated way because of your background and your experience, both from a cultural perspective and also just the way you grew up.

And I want to move into your book for a moment, if you don't mind, just so our viewers understand and put this in context -- "Between Two Worlds: Escape From Tyranny, Growing up in the Shadow of Saddam Hussein."

You have firsthand experience for what it means to have or not have rights as a woman, and that is, your father was a pilot to Saddam Hussein.

Just tell our viewers -- I know you address -- so many details you address in your book, but did you like this man at all? Did you find any sense of compassion for this man growing up with him?

SALBI: Well, as many Iraqi children, we were taught to sing for him, to dance for him, to praise for him, to write our poetry for him. So there is definitely -- I was, as any Iraqi children growing up in my generation, there was definitely that aspect of it, of seeing him as the leader.

On the other hand, having grown up in a Shia household, having grown up with a friend whose father was executed by Saddam, a mother -- my mother who almost got deported from Iraq just because of her original ethnic roots, I always knew that we were actually in danger when we were with Saddam. Being close to the devil only makes you that much closer to danger, so there was always an awareness that this is a man to be feared, that this man could kill my family or me any time he wanted, and we were always trying to be as polite and cautious when we were with him.

PHILLIPS: And you write about just the fear in your mother's eyes when you had to -- when you maybe went on a day trip with him and she was so happy to see you come back, but there was a concern and there was a tremendous concern about sexual molestation, right?

SALBI: Definitely.

You know, every Iraqi woman, I think, every Iraqi household have a story. Iraqi women were particularly vulnerable to state-sponsored violence against women and particularly Saddam-sponsored violence against women.

He had, for example, people's days in which when -- where people could go and ask him for help in solving some family matters and when he liked a woman in these sessions, he actually often took them to the other room and raped them.

This happened both in the city, as well as in rural areas. These estranged women were close and were no less protected. Any woman who was liked by Saddam was vulnerable to his desires and his needs.

And when my mom feared for me, she immediately got me out of the country in an arranged marriage that later ended up in a bad end.

But the things that I learned through my mother's stories -- that women really and mothers are the real heroines of wars, and the things that they do to protect their children are absolutely, for me, amazing in terms of what my mother tried to do for me.

PHILLIPS: Gosh -- and you address that in your book. Your book is fascinating, Zainab. "Between Two Worlds: Escape From Tyranny, Growing up in the Shadow of Saddam."

Great to have your reaction of course to the voting and also -- I wish we could talk more about your book.

I know you'll be sitting down with Andrea Koppel with more of an in-depth interview. I look forward to that and I know Andrea does too.

Thank you, Zainab, for your time.

SALBI: Thank you very much, Kyra. It's good to be with you again. Thanks.

PHILLIPS: It's a pleasure.

Up next on LIVE FROM, a murder mystery in an upscale San Francisco suburb. A prominent defense attorney involved in a controversial murder trial finds his wife dead in their secluded home. We'll have more details.

Plus, are proms profane? Well, one high school principal thinks so and he is doing something about it.

That's later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A local sheriff calls it a definite homicide. And now California's Bay area is riveted.

The victim was the wife of prominent defense attorney, Daniel Horowitz, a man who has often appeared on TV news programs as a legal analyst.

CNN's Peter Viles has the latest on a story that has authorities tight-lipped but has everyone else talking.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The sheriff's department in Contra Costa County says defense attorney Daniel Horowitz called Saturday evening to report that his wife was dead and that the body of 52-year-old Pamela Vitale was found in the couple's remote home in the hills of Lafayette which is east of Oakland.

JIMMY LEE, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPT.: We had Lafayette police officers respond to the scene. They arrived. They found a deceased 52-year-old female at that location. We do have our homicide investigators on scene right now. We're treating this case as a homicide.

VILES: The sheriff's department won't say how the woman was killed. A spokesman telling CNN no one is in custody and no one has been identified as a suspect. Horowitz told the "San Francisco Chronicle" quote, "I can't talk. I can't. It's beyond words."

Horowitz has appeared often as an unpaid legal analyst on cable TV commenting on high-profile cases including the Scott Peterson murder trial.

DANIEL HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He's in prison for the rest of his life.

VILES: As a defense attorney he's been involved in numerous high profile cases currently defending Susan Polk who is accused of murder in the stabbing death of her husband, a case closely watched in the bay area.

Last year he helped defend the former prime minister of Ukraine Pavel Lazarenko, who was convicted in federal court in San Francisco on numerous counts of financial fraud.

Local news reports indicate Horowitz's wife was a former marketing executive and worked for him at his law firm. The sheriff's department says that 20 investigators are working the case. An autopsy will be performed Monday.

Peter Viles for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And much more on this story coming up next hour. I'll talk live with CNN's Nancy Grace. Daniel Horowitz has been a frequent guest on her show. She knows him very well and also his wife, the victim, Pamela.

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kathleen Hays, live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Big changes in bankruptcy rules go into effect today. I'll tell you all about it right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: CNN "LIVE FROM" will continue right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now to announce the cub's name, a drum roll, please. Tai Shan!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: At last an answer to the riddle. What's black and white and read about all over? As the director of the National Zoo becomes cub reporter for a day and unveils the name of the male panda, born July 9th. You heard it, Tai Shan, and it means "Peaceful Mountain" in Chinese. The cuddly little bear is the first giant panda born at the National Zoo to survive more than just a few weeks.

Well, coming up in the LIVE FROM, angst abounds and fears grow. Is the stock market headed for a crash? Will inflation deflate the economy? CNN's Ali Velshi tells us if the jitters are justifiable.

But first, most high schools haven't even gotten a homecoming yet, but a private Catholic school in Uniondale, New York, has already put the kibosh on its annual spring prom. Although thousands of carnations have thus been spared, there's a bumper crop of outrage, plenty of it from parents.

Reporter N.J. Burkett, from New York affiliate WABC, has more on the social upheaval.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) N.J. BURKETT, WABC REPORTER (voice-over): Barely three weeks into their senior year, students at Kellenberg Memorial High School have already been told there will be no senior prom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's fair at all. I don't think that we shouldn't be punished for something that we didn't have any part in. Our class had nothing to do with anything that happened last year.

BURKETT: But the school's principal says the prom has gotten out of control, telling parents in a letter, quote, "KMHS is willing to sponsor a prom, but not an orgy. Over the years parents have become more active in creating the prom experience, from personally signing for houses for a three-day drug, sex, alcohol bash to mothers making motel reservations for their sons and daughters for after-prom get- togethers to fathers signing the contract for a booze cruise for an after-prom adventure."

Some have expressed the view that it is better to lose one's virginity and get drunk before going college so that parents are around to help," end quote.

KENNETH HOAGLAND, PRINCIPAL: We're not naive, we're not putting our head in the sand. We're quite aware of the Pandora's Box being open. Our letter simply is saying we're not sponsoring the event that allows all of this to happen.

BURKETT: Kellenberg is a private catholic School with roughly 2,000 students, where a typical senior spend more than $1,000 at prom time.

JACLYN MORRISSEY, SENIOR: Even if it was $1,000, it's not their money; it's our money, and now we're not having a prom because of it. Some parents are already organizing their own prom.

Rob Lawson's dad is one of them.

ROB LAWSON, STUDENT: Once we leave the prom, with all due respect, it's none of their responsibility where we go. Once we leave the prom, where they're chaperoning us, it's our responsibility, it's our parent's responsibility.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Supreme Court support. Will President Bush get Harriet Miers confirmed? Senate Judiciary Committee members Chuck Grassley and Patrick Leahy join me live this hour.

Homicide investigation. The wife of a TV legal analyst, Daniel Horowitz, found dead. The Bay Area is in shock. CNN's own Nancy Grace is live on the story.

And bear market or a lot of bull? Why so market watchers are getting a little pessimistic.

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