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Justice Department Investigates Charges of NSA Eavesdropping; Iraq or Bust For 16-Year-Old American

Aired December 30, 2005 - 15:00   ET

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

(WEATHER REPORT)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, New York will drop the ball to bring in 2006.

Here is a closer look at the crystal centerpiece of the Big Apple's big night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: This ball, that will be in Times Square, will drop at midnight, is the same one that dropped on the eve of the new millennium. It's six feet in diameter and about a thousand pounds. The ball contains almost 700 light bulbs, 90 rotating pyramid mirrors and 504 Waterford crystals. The Times Square ball may be the centerpiece of New Year's Eve newscasts, but many communities have come up with their own creative things to drop.

In Tempe, Arizona, how about a 200-pound tortilla chip that drops into a giant bowl of salsa? In Lebanon, Pennsylvania, officials drop a 120-pound bologna. And perhaps the most outlandish New Year's event of them all happens in Key West, Florida, where they drop a drag queen in the giant slipper. It all happens as the clock strikes midnight.

CROWD: Four, three, two, one.

KAGAN: Well, usually, it does.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, earlier this month, when "The New York Times" first reported that the NSA had been secretly and, without warrants, eavesdropping on phone calls and e-mails inside the United States, President Bush told reporters that he presumed the Justice Department would investigate the leak.

Today, the department confirmed it is doing just that.

We get the details now from CNN national correspondent David Ensor in Washington.

Where do they begin to search for this needle in a haystack, David?

(LAUGHTER) DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, there's a relatively small number of U.S. officials who would have known about this very closely held top-secret program.

So, clearly, the FBI and Justice Department investigators will go first to those people. There are a certain number of people at the National Security Agency itself who were implementing the program. There are officials at the White House, the Justice Department and a couple of the other intelligence agencies that will also have to be looked into.

There are eight members of Congress, or eight -- eight -- eight officials in Congress, the leadership and the -- and the heads of the two parties in the Intelligence Committees on both sides. They will be looked at as well.

And -- and, finally, there are the reporters, James Risen and Eric Lichtblau. We -- we noticed recently that they are increasingly of interest to investigators. Their phone records may be investigated -- all sorts of possibilities there, too Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, once they narrow the field of potential leakers, then what? Will they ever get to the bottom of it?

ENSOR: Well, hard to say. I would have said no.

Leak investigations usually don't work. But, given what has happened this past year with Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor who was appointed to look into and try to figure out who leaked the name of Valerie Plame Wilson, the CIA officer, and the tactic that he used, this new tactic of going after the journalists, and jailing one of them, when she wouldn't reveal her sources, it is possible that these investigators could -- could take a -- take a page out of his book and go after the journalists.

So, it's going to be interesting to watch.

PHILLIPS: So, if they figure out who leaked the information, let's talk about the impact on journalists, reporters like you.

ENSOR: Well, that's right.

Those of us who cover national security have had a fairly worrisome year. And, obviously, we have to be concerned. And, certainly, I'm sure Jim Risen and Eric Lichtblau are concerned today about what could be in store for them.

It is conceivable that they might refuse to name sources. They might have to go to jail for that. It is -- it wouldn't be first time. And this would have a chilling effect on U.S. government officials who are willing talk to reporters about national security matters.

Now, in "The New York Times" story, you -- you will remember, they said that, starting about a year ago, over a dozen present and former officials had talked to them about this matter, because those officials felt that there were real questions about whether this should have been done, whether the president hadn't exceeded his authority.

And, so, they were whistle-blowers, in effect. This could have a -- a chilling effect on whistle-blowers. And there's a kind of balance there, that, you know, Americans have to find the right place, where they want to be, in terms of freedom and security -- always a difficult balance to keep -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Indeed.

David Ensor, thanks.

Well, kids, don't try this at home, a secret flight to Kuwait, aborted road trip to Iraq, flight to Beirut, flight to Baghdad, sudden awareness of surroundings, realization of danger, utter uncertainty on what to do next.

Such was the one-man fact-finding mission of Farris Hassan, a 16- year-old prep school junior, youngest son of Iraqi-born parents in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Well, you know, if you have been watching CNN, Hassan was moved by his natural curiosity and personal convictions to see Iraq for himself, despite the fact that his parents said no. He didn't have a visa, doesn't speak a word of Arabic.

And, once he made it to Baghdad, and reality began to sink in, Hassan went to the Baghdad bureau of the Associated Press. There, he met Patrick Quinn and Jason Straziuso both of whom joined me in first hour of LIVE FROM.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK QUINN, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Well, I was a little shocked, because he introduced himself as a 16-year-old American high school student from Florida.

And, I have to admit, I was a little stunned. I recall telling Jason here that it was -- I would have been less surprised if little green men had walked into the office.

(LAUGHTER)

QUINN: And he actually announced to us that he wanted to join us and become a journalist, and I was quite stunned by -- by this whole thing.

PHILLIPS: Patrick, did he seem frazzled? Was he very self confident? What did -- what did he say to you?

QUINN: Well, I would describe -- I think the word that would best describe it is blissfully ignorant of his surroundings and where he was.

Farris walked into the most dangerous city on this planet, especially if you are an unaccompanied American, let alone a teenager who doesn't speak any Arabic.

I'm really -- I'm really stunned that he ever thought of coming here. This -- I don't think he quite comprehended the severity and the seriousness of the situation he was in.

PHILLIPS: Now, Jason, you sat down with him. You talked a number of hours with him. You -- both of you even sent us an essay that he had written back home before he came to Iraq.

He said, I feel guilty living in a big house, driving a nice car, going to a great school. I feel guilty hanging out with my friends in a cafe without the fear of a suicide bomber present.

For 16 years old, not only does he have a lot of guts to head to Iraq, but it seems like he's got a lot of passion about what he wants to do.

JASON STRAZIUSO, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Yes, I -- I think so.

I was really amazed to read that essay. It was really, really heartfelt was the -- the first word that came to mind. He talked about wanting to volunteer with the Red Cross. It is clear he has a social conscience. It's clear that he's bright. He's well studied.

The one thing I would say is that he didn't research his journey real well, because there are not any humanitarian organizations here, or there are very few. And he wasn't -- he was going to have a hard time finding them, because it is -- it is simply too dangerous for them to be here.

PHILLIPS: And...

QUINN: And the other thing he didn't realize was that there are suicide bombers here. We had six people die in two different suicide bomb attacks today. So, I mean, this is not -- this is not Florida.

PHILLIPS: Well, he writes in the essay, you guys: "I know going to Iraq will be incredibly risky. There are thousands of people there that desperately want my head. There are millions of people there that mildly prefer my demise merely because I'm an American. Nevertheless, I will go there to love and help my neighbors in distress. If that endangers my life, so be it."

It seems, Jason, he knew what he was getting into danger, wise.

STRAZIUSO: Yes. That essay says, I accept the risks.

And when he said -- when he sat down with us, he said, I know how dangerous it is.

But I got the impression over time, over the hours that I spent with him, that it's one thing to say, I accept the danger when you're sitting in Florida, and you're writing this essay and you're thinking about, I want to make the world a better place. It's another thing when you're here. There -- there was that scenario that he got himself into where he was at a Baghdad food stand. He doesn't speak Arabic. He pulls out a phrase book, draws a lot of attention to himself that he didn't want. And he said, at that point, he got freaked out.

One of the last things he said to me in one of our final conversations was ; Now that I've been here, I realize that, if I walk down the wrong street, that I seriously could get kidnapped.

So, it's one thing to say, I accept the danger when you're back home and you're being idealistic. It's another thing to be here and know that the danger is all around you.

PHILLIPS: Well, when it comes...

QUINN: I don't think Farris realized how dangerous it really was -- go ahead.

PHILLIPS: No, no, no. Go ahead. Finish your thought.

QUINN: I don't think Farris realized how dangerous this place is, until he actually talked with a couple people. He was brought here pretty much directly from the airport, so, he -- he was kind of insulated from the reality that is Baghdad.

I think he started realizing, after talking to us and other people, that this place is not what he thought it was.

PHILLIPS: Whether he realized what he was getting into or not, Patrick and Jason -- Jason, maybe you can respond to this -- 16 years old, making a trip like this, writing an essay like that, I mean, he's going to make one hell of a reporter, if he sticks this out and doesn't get grounded until he's 18.

STRAZIUSO: Well, that's right.

(LAUGHTER)

STRAZIUSO: I mean, the words that have come to mind that I like to describe him with are, he's curious and he's courageous. Now, if he could just wait a couple more years, add a little bit of life experience, then I think it's -- it's great for him to do these kind of things.

You know, guys who -- who do this for a living, they start venturing off on their own 20, 21, 22. But, at 16, it's just kind of crazy.

QUINN: I -- I don't think I'm going to experience something like this again. At least, I hope not.

(LAUGHTER)

QUINN: I mean, a 16-year-old walking into my office in -- in a war zone is just like -- it's completely, completely bizarre.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, Hassan's mother calls the past three weeks a nightmare. And the teen admitted to Jason that -- right there at the AP -- that he will kiss the ground when he gets home, which should be pretty soon.

Well, it started out as a routine mission, an insurgent sweep through Baghdad's Abu Ghraib neighborhood. But, after they met baby Noor, it turned into an urgent mission for a group of Georgia National Guardsmen. They heard that Iraqi doctors gave Noor little chance of survival, thanks to her severe spina bifida. So, the soldiers sprang into action and enlisted stateside help from doctors, politicians and churches.

Now Noor is en route from Baghdad to the U.S. and is expected to arrive in Atlanta tomorrow, along with her father and her grandmother. We will keep you posted.

Well, a race against time to save thousands of men, women and children. They survived one of the deadliest earthquake in memory. But now winter is coming, and they're not prepared -- Dr. Sanjay Gupta on an urgent mission to save lives -- when LIVE FROM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, deadly clashes in Egypt -- at least 10 Sudanese refugees are killed, as protests turn ugly. Officials say that Cairo police, trying to evacuate the refugees, killed between 10 and 20 of them.

More than 50 were injured. Twenty Egyptian soldiers were wounded. The refugees were protesting their living conditions in Egypt. Up to 2,500 of them were living in a city park. They demanded resettlement in other countries. And the refugees have been taken to a camp south of the Egyptian capital now.

In northern Pakistan, the effort to save thousands of victims displaced by the recent earthquake has turned into a race against time. Winter conditions came early to a part of the world that, even in the best conditions, is a demanding place to live.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports from a mountain village some 7,000 feet high.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since the earthquake of October 8 in Pakistan, there have been more than 2,000 aftershocks.

It seems the earth is always trembling. And it has left a feeling of everything being unsettled, both physically and psychologically. But, as we learned, the greatest threat to the more than two million displaced survivors was not coming from the ground, but from the air. It's getting cold, really cold. The snow has already started to fall in the hilltop town of Gangwal, snow-covered peaks with impossibly blue rivers running through them. Today, the Aga Khan Foundation brings supplies.

As I watch the young boys and men jostle for the few bags, it never seems like enough. Never before have I seen relief at such a raw level. Simply, if these supplies hadn't arrived, many of these people would have probably died within the next few weeks. I snow many of them still will.

Ten-year-old Javid (ph) and 13-year-old Masser (ph) are brothers. They lost their mother during the quake. And their father is too ill to help. So -- and this is too often the case -- young boys are quickly turned into men, as they move their family from higher in the mountains to this village.

(on camera): So, he's moved here because it's -- it's too -- too cold?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because their houses are all gone. So, they have decided to move to that place. And there's (INAUDIBLE) brothers and sister in that tent, they're burning wood to keep them warm. And they're all right.

GUPTA (voice-over): Their job today is to try and hoist at least one of these 50-pound bags of supplies up the side of one of these mountains to their home. They don't want any help, afraid someone will steal their bag.

Their hands are working hands, already far too calloused and cracked for such a young age. But they do have shoes, more than this boy can say -- no shoes, no jacket, no gloves and, some would say, no chance at survival.

Today, it is below freezing. As he curls his toes in a futile attempt to stay warm, it looks to me like frostbite may have already claimed his black feet. He runs away when I offer him my coat.

(on camera): The snow has started to fall in many places of Pakistan, as you can see here.

And it is a tremendously large problem. Obviously, it is very cold. But, even more pragmatically speaking, it just makes this area absolutely uninhabitable. What you want to do is to be able to drive stakes into the ground here. You absolutely can't do it.

The ground is just too tough. Some of the people around here are telling me they can't even dig to bury people. They can't even dig their own graves.

And get this. Even when the snow starts to melt, all this water actually will come down and cause significant mudslides -- so, one problem on top of another.

Right now, a lot of people are trying to be encouraged to move to lower ground to get away from all this. But, as you can see, so many people are still staying around here.

(voice-over): The Pakistani government has set up tent relief camps, like this one, but many aid organizations are trying to help people stay where they live and continue the lives they know.

ROGER DEAN, GOAL IRELAND: And every person -- there's no selection criteria. Everybody gets what they need to stay alive this winter.

GUPTA: A few miles away, Roger Dean with the GOAL foundation is fighting for the life of that boy with no shoes and everyone else in the area.

(on camera): So, tell us what's going on here.

DEAN: What we have got here is, we have got the logistical base for GOAL in this area. We have got -- our shelter and our food programs are all being supplied from here. So, we are having all the metal sheets for people to build their homes, their winter shelters coming out from here.

GUPTA: We're about a mile in the sky now, you know, about 5,000 feet or so. What has been the biggest challenge to get all this done?

DEAN: It's the time scale. We're working against a very, very tight time scale. We could have had snow any day. As you can see outside, the cloud has come in overnight. This is new for today. And that's a bad sign. That means rain is on the way. And, when there's rain, there's snow. So, anything can happen.

GUPTA (voice-over): GOAL and many relief organizations, including USAID, World Food Program, and Doctors Without Borders, are working to make it safe to continue living here.

(on camera): This home costs about $200.

Point out a couple of things here. First of all, this is corrugated iron. And for many people living in this area, this could be the difference between life and death, as the winter gets much colder here.

Also, as you look up here, you will see a lot of straw in between the tarp and the corrugated iron. That's the best form of insulation they can have around here. And, also, this tarp itself, a simple tarp, gray on the outside, and actually white on the inside.

And the -- and the point of that is to actually attract the sun, to keep it even warmer. This is what they are going to have to deal with, as the winter gets much colder around here and the temperatures drop below freezing at night.

What this the -- what is the thing you need more than anything else?

M. MUSHTAQ KHAN, VILLAGER: We need no -- iron sheets. If we have iron sheets, we can live here. Otherwise, this tent is not enough.

GUPTA (voice-over): And there it was, a problem. Yes, it was getting colder, and a solution, $10 iron sheets.

It wasn't clear that these corrugated iron sheets would make it here in time to save the lives of Javid (ph), Masser (ph), and that boy with no shoes. Some say it's already too late. Some say the aftershock of winter came too quick and too strong.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Gangwal, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): We all know the melody, thanks mostly to the late great Guy Lombardo. But bet you a cup of kindness you don't know most of the words to this annual favorite, as "Auld Lang Syne" usually leaves most of us humming before it's over.

BETTE MIDLER AND CHOIR (singing): Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind.

PHILLIPS: But here's what we do know. "Auld Lang Syne" is based on a traditional Scottish song. National poet Robert Burns was the first to put it down on paper some time in the 1700s.

Literally translated from Scottish dialect, the words auld lang syne mean old long since, or, in more familiar terms, days gone by.

But take a look at this verse and see if you can figure out the rest of it, hardly a "Sing Along With Mitch" kind of moment, is it? Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed muddled through it in "It's a Wonderful Life," but only through the first verse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE")

JIMMY STEWART, DONNA REED AND UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS (singing): We will drink a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Still, as far as Scottish traditions go, this one goes down a lot easier than that haggis. So, cheers, or slainte mhath, to days gone by. Happy new year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: There's a celebration on the -- under way right now on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. But it's not because the market is rallying. Our Suzanne Lisovicz right there in the middle of it to tell us what the fuss is all about. Getting ready for New Year's Eve, I hope, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Kyra.

You know, I always feel like, when you're on the trading floor while the New York Stock Exchange is in session, it is like being in the middle of a football field while there's a football game going on. And that's -- you know, you can really feel the energy of the room.

This is the world's biggest stock market. And it's the only one that's not completely electronic. So, here we are, in the middle of a broad-based sell-off, yet, the mood here is quite festive. Why is that? Because traders are -- are people, too. And they are just relieved that this year is over.

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