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Rice Calls on U.N. Security Council to Take Steps Against Iran; Alito's Questioning Ends; New Orleans Residents Object to Rebuilding Plan; Bush Visits Hurricane Damaged Gulf Coast; Gunman Who Shot Pope Released

Aired January 12, 2006 - 13:03   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Earlier today the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain announced that they've reached basically a dead end with the Iranian government. The Iranians moving forward, breaking seals on certain areas that had been restricted by the International Atomic Energy Agency, this is seen as an act of defiance, according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, by the Iranian government. And clearly the U.S. administration anxious to move forward, as well.
The next step would be for the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, led by its director general, Dr. Mohammed ElBaradei to come forward with a report that would be submitted to the United Nations Security Council, and at that time, the Security Council could consider sanctions, various forms of economic or diplomatic sanctions against Iran.

We'll continue to watch this story right now. But the other story we're watching in Washington, the confirmation hearings of Samuel Alito. It looks like it's beginning to wrap up right now. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat, making a final statement, we believe.

Let's listen in.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT), RANKING DEMOCRAT, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: As you know, I voted for him.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), CHAIRMAN, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Right.

LEAHY: That is a leap of faith, because nobody makes commitments exactly how they're going to vote in one case or another. In this case, you -- it's been pointed out you -- you replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Actually, initially Chief Justice Roberts was nominated for that, then Harriet Miers was nominated. The president was forced by concerns within his own party to withdraw her, then nominated you very briefly, after you had been -- you had been interviewed once at the beginning of his term, but then you were interviewed again by Vice President Cheney and Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, I think, a few others.

And that's why I worry. I just want to make sure in my own mind that you would stand as a check and balance for this president or any president. I know your concerns you expressed in the year 2000. You criticized the independent council law so many times in the questions I've raised, because I was afraid you would not act as a check and balance.

We have a government that is getting more and more powerful, in the electronic age, especially powerful. We see illegal spying on Americans by Americans. All of us agree the president's not above the law any more than you are or I am. But it takes more than that, especially if we're giving the president the power unilaterally to redefine the law, an issue that's going to eventually come before you.

So those are my concerns. I wanted you to know of my concerns are. They go anything beyond the others, issues raised by senators, Senator Specter or other senators, legitimate issues that those are, but those are mine and I wanted to say that to you, personally.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

SPECTER: Thank you very much, Senator Leahy.

We are about to excuse you from any further participation in these proceedings, Judge Alito. I've been handed statistics, which show that you've been questioned for about 18 hours, a number of questions approximating some 700, and some differences of opinion as to the comprehensiveness of your responses.

But senators are entitled to their own views, and you'll be hearing more when we conclude the hearings and later go into executive session for the committee to vote, and further on floor debate. But you've certainly demonstrated remarkable patience. I think everybody would agree with that, and remarkable stamina, and a very loyal family, led by your wife.

And we thank you for your public service, and you may be assured that the committee on both sides and all of the balance of our 100 senator will give very, very careful consideration to the president's nomination of you for the Supreme Court.

We will recess now, and we will resume at -- it's uncertain how long our session will be so we'll resume at 2:30. We begin with a report from the American Bar Association, and then we will move to witnesses from the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. But now we're going to the committee hearing room, Dirksen 226, for an executive session.

BLITZER: That's it. Samuel Alito does not have to answer any more questions by this committee. They started at noon on Monday. It's just after 1 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. Four days by my math, some 97 hours later, he's done with. He can go and relax now and wait for the Senate to do its business.

There will be, first, more witnesses who will come forward to testify both for and against him, before the Senate Judiciary Committee. They'll have a vote in the committee before there will be a final vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Presumably all of this will be wrapped up over the next week or two.

Jeff Greenfield, Jeff Toobin have been with us watching all of this unfold. The drama, there were moments of drama, but it looks like it's not going to be all that dramatic, at least not now.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It seems to me that the expectations -- I was looking back at some of my notes. And one expert said the replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor is going to be a 10 on the Richter scale or whatever that cliche is. Well, no.

And part of the reason was that, unlike, say Robert Bork or unlike the Clarence Thomas with the sexual harassment issue, this did not have the sense of a -- of a guy determined to push the court who had argued for years in very bold terms that the court was off on a wrong course and it had to be changed radically. That did not come across.

And the second part is that, in my view, the Democrats who opposed Alito did not really have a coherent narrative and, frankly, with few exceptions, they don't know how to ask questions. They know how to make speeches. And I think a lot of the energy for that reason, was drained out of the hearings.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think the way these hearings are now, the way the witnesses answer questions, or don't answer them, gives the nominee a tremendous advantage, because they don't really say much. They don't really give questioners an opportunity to cross-examine them in great detail. So if you can simply forestall a confrontation, you're in pretty good shape in one of these hearings, and Alito did.

He also, in fairness, demonstrated tremendous mastery of the law. I mean, he obviously knows these cases very well. We don't know what he really thinks about them, but he certainly knows what the cases are and he looks like he's in very good shape.

BLITZER: All right. Well, we'll continue to watch the hearings with the other witnesses coming forward. But Samuel Alito is no longer going to have to answer any questions. Jeff Greenfield, Jeff Toobin, thanks very much for your excellent analysis, as usual.

We're going to stay on top of this story. Clearly much more coming up. Four p.m. Eastern we'll be back in THE SITUATION ROOM. Among my guests later today, by the way, Judge Robert Bork, who was rejected for the Supreme Court back in 1987. We'll speak to Robert Bork, his assessment of what's happening with Samuel Alito.

Until then, thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. Our coverage continues now with Kyra Phillips and LIVE FROM right after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Four and a half months after Katrina, three and a half months after his last trip, the shattered Gulf Coast, President Bush is back. Within the past hour he's compared notes with business leaders who continue to struggle over how best to rebuild New Orleans.

As things stand now, 13 neighborhood development districts are supposed to come up with individual rebuilding blueprints, and fast. More about that in just a minute.

Next hour Mr. Bush will be in Waveland and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, which -- much of which, rather, looks pretty much the way it looked in early September. The federal government has already committed roughly $60 billion to hurricane relief and reconstruction.

Now the current population of New Orleans is thought to be somewhere between a quarter and a third of what it was before last August -- or before last August 29. The mayor's best case scenario looks for half of the former residents to return eventually, but that presents a dilemma that's part field of dreams, part chicken and egg. If you rebuild it, will they come or should they come first?

Here's CNN Gulf Coast correspondent Susan Roesgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're ready. Our folks are ready. We have the means to help ourselves. So don't get in our way and prevent us from doing that.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One by one, angry home owners blasted the new blueprint for the city's future. The plan calls for teams of experts to go in neighborhoods hardest hit by the hurricane and estimate how many people plan to come back. Based on that number, the city will consolidate some neighborhoods and eventually abandon others, offering government-funded buyouts to home owners living in neighborhoods the city determines it can no longer support.

Joe Canizaro, a banker, led the group that drafted the plan.

JOE CANIZARO, BRING NEW ORLEANS BACK: You have a small city with less revenue. We're giving our people the opportunity to make that determination by committing to return and by participating in the planning process that will make it their future neighborhood.

ROESGEN: Canizaro says the process will help people decide if they should come back but some angry residents say Canizaro's committee has already made the decision for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Joe Canizaro, I don't know you but I hate you. I hate you. Because you been in the background trying to scheme and get our land.

ROESGEN: The frustration comes from this: houses sitting empty, while people wait for the city to restore basic services like power and water. The city says it won't restore those services until people return, but Fred Yoder, who's been fixing up his home in the city's flooded Lakeview neighborhood, says the city has it backwards. People need the city's help before they commit to coming back.

FRED YODER, NEW ORLEANS HOMEOWNER: This is a big, audacious plan that was put together by obviously very brilliant people. But guess what? You missed the boat. What we need is -- we're in the mud. We're cleaning out our homes, and all we're asking for is a little help and a little support. If you can't give us direction, get the hell out of the way!

ROESGEN: The committee got an earful, but now the ball's in the mayor's court. Since he chose committee members, he isn't likely to reject their plan, but he may change it.

Susan Roesgen, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Many people in Mississippi have long since given up on bigger and better, President Bush's promise last fall. They've settled for the homes and lives and communities that they had before.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is in Bay St. Louis.

I'm wondering what all the residents will be saying to the president if they get a chance to talk to him like last time as they walk the streets, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Kyra, people here in Mississippi, actually while they are still somewhat frustrated at the pace of the recovery, they are appreciative of the federal aid that has trickled in here. You don't have quite the sense of outspoken anger that you saw in New Orleans.

Now I think we are going to show you a clip, though, of the president's discussion that he was having just a little while ago with Mayor Ray Nagin and with these five business leaders in New Orleans, small business owners.

And similar to what the president said, he said the contrast for him is pretty dramatic. He hasn't been in New Orleans in about three months. And we would not, though, answer any questions about that controversial rebuilding plan that Susan described, though he did say it is very important that the great city of New Orleans rise again. He said the federal government is very committed. It's already got $85 billion pledged, $25 million spent. So he says, you now, there is $60 billion more in the pipeline.

The president also made a really big commitment that the new levee system be bigger and better than it was before, and he says that that is something that's got to come to pass, because otherwise people won't reinvest in New Orleans.

Though, people are very worried, again, about whether that's going to happen. So there are supposed to be a lot of protesters in New Orleans. In Jackson Square, packing Jackson Square, very angry.

But here in Bay St. Louis, he's expected to get a pretty warm reception, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It's interesting. We've been talking so much about New Orleans. You're from this part of Mississippi. Sean Callebs was in Waveland doing a piece, showing video from right after the storm and even right now, still just as bad.

What about where you are? You've gone back home. You've tried to personalize what's happened there. Do you see a lot of difference?

KOCH: There is a difference, and every time I come back here I see change and change for the better. I see improvements, but they're baby steps.

For instance, when I was here at Thanksgiving in town, there were about five restaurants opened. Now there are six. That is a big deal here.

The debris that you see, there is less. There's still debris in every direction when you look, but there's less of it. They've picked up about 33 percent of it. So there's still a lot, a long ways to go.

But everyone is just relishing and enjoying these little improvements, because it's a step in the right direction.

But a lot of frustration with the insurance companies. This town, perhaps 20-25 percent of it, was in a FEMA good zone. More than 95 percent of the city flooded. So people don't have coverage, and they're just struggling, really, to find a way to rebuild.

PHILLIPS: Are there a lot of people filing lawsuits against the insurance company? I believe it's Trent Lott that has a home in Mississippi, right? He's had frustration with his insurance company.

KOCH: Trent Lott, Gene Taylor, the congressman for this area of Mississippi, his home here in Bay St. Louis was simply erased. It's gone. It's like the home that I used to live in down on South Beach Boulevard. It's just a slab.

And the insurance companies are saying it's just flood and since you didn't have flood insurance we're not paying you a dime on that insurance policy for wind that you had for years and years you paid all that money into. Well, there were hurricane force winds here, 125 miles an hour, 135, but they're saying no it's all flood.

And so residents are suing. A lot of them are being forced to sue. But a lot of them don't have the money, and the insurance companies are betting on people just walking away and giving up.

PHILLIPS: Well, you know, in New Orleans we've been talking a lot, too, about the Ninth Ward, the Lower Ninth Ward, should it be rebuilt? There's a lot of controversy over what areas will be given more attention, less attention. Are you seeing that in Mississippi? Is there controversy over certain areas? Should neighborhoods be rebuilt or not?

KOCH: That's a big problem here, too, Kyra. Because everyone is waiting for these new FEMA flood maps. Again, the flood maps for this area when people went to go, after they bought a home and went to get flood insurance the maps were 20 years out of date. They dated from the early '80s.

So people are waiting, and if the FEMA flood maps come back and say now all the homes have to be built five, six feet higher, that's a huge change. And so it's got everyone, even with those with money to rebuild, in a state of suspended animation. They dare not move forward. Because what if the map comes out and says they have to be six or seven feet higher? They can't insure a home they just built. So everyone's waiting and hoping.

PHILLIPS: Kathleen Koch, thanks so much.

Well, with President Bush visiting the Gulf Coast today, we were left wondering if any industry in Mississippi is starting to recover from the damage left by Hurricane Katrina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH (voice-over): Most of the Gulf Coast casinos were devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but the gambling industry is starting to come back to life in Mississippi.

Governor Haley Barbour signed a law in October allowing casinos to be built up to 800 feet from the shore, reversing a previous decision that restricted gambling to floating operations.

Three out of five casinos already have reopened in Biloxi. The Isle of Capri was the first to move its slots onto land. The I.P. Hotel and Casino and Palace Casino are also open. And operators of the MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment are planning on reopening in the coming months.

The Mississippi tourism industry attracted 31 million visitors last year. Gambling contributed $421 million, or about 11 percent of the state's tax revenue for fiscal year 2005.

The industry also accounts for about 50,000 jobs in that state.

The Mississippi Development Authority says of the Gulf Coast's 16,000 hotel and motel rooms, about a third are open, with the majority being occupied by construction and recovery workers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, the man who attempted to kill Pope John Paul II is released from a Turkish prison. We're live from Turkey.

The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The Turkish gunman who shot and wounded Pope John Paul II walked out of prison today, but there's a chance that he'll be back behind bars. The decision to free Mehmet Ali Agca has raised such an outcry in Turkey that the government said today it will review the release for possible errors.

The story now from Istanbul, CNN's Paula Newton.

And Paula, tell us more about these possible errors. And do you think his release really will be repealed?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really a dramatic day today, Kyra, and what the Turkish government is responding to is the outrage that this man should walk free after serving less than five years, not for the attempted assassination on the pope, but for the murder of a Turkish journalist.

The Turkish justice minister today said he is reviewing the basis on which the judges set him free earlier this month.

What's happening here in Turkey, Kyra, is that they're having judicial review, and Agca is benefiting from that judicial review. What happened is they are applying the almost two decades of incarceration he had in Italy for the crime of attempting to murder the pope, applying that to his crimes here, and that's what led to his early release.

I have to tell you, there is a lot of outrage. The newspapers were full of speculation that this had to be reviewed, and the government responded to that in kind -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Paula, with that frustration also came a group of individuals who were there cheering him on, hailing him as a hero. Who were those people?

NEWTON: You know, it is incredible out there, what we saw today. We had supporters and detractors. The supporters, they were few in number, albeit, a few dozen. And there are also nationalists who call him a hero.

They really -- at one point, two of the men who were in the crowd in 1997 had tried to hijack a plane in order to get Agca free. They are saying that what he did in honor of his Muslim brotherhood. And so that is what really has the Turkish people concerned here. They feel that it mars the reputation of their entire country -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: CNN's Paula Newton, thank you so much.

And more background now on the story of the attack on Pope John Paul II and the man who pulled the trigger. Here's CNN's Delia Gallagher.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The man who shot John Paul II has spend nearly 25 years behind bars. Mehmet Ali Agca fired a nine-millimeter pistol at John Paul II in broad daylight amidst a huge crowd in St. Peter's Square. Wounded in his hand and abdomen, the pope survived the assassination attempt and forgave Agca from his hospital bed. An Italian court sentenced him to life in prison.

Two years later, the pope visited his famous would-be assassin in a maximum security prison in Rome.

MEHMET ALI AGCA: I am Jesus Christ. In this generation, all the world will be destroyed.

GALLAGHER: Agca claimed at times to be the messiah. His trial attorney called him a religious fanatic, with delusions of grandeur. Neither the pope nor Italian investigators ever believed Agca acted alone, giving rise to many conspiracy theories.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: The most popular theory is that the Bulgarian secret police, the most popular theory, were the immediate coordinators of the assassination attempt, and perhaps ultimately acting on instructions from Moscow.

GALLAGHER: 1981 was the height of the Cold War, and the Polish- born pope supported the solidarity movement, the beginning of the end of communism in Europe. Italy tried three Turks and three Bulgarians who were allegedly involved. They were acquitted for lack of evidence. The pope never pressed for answers.

ALLEN: I think in his mind it was clear it was much bigger than that. You know, ultimately, it was about the powers of this world, the demonic forces that work in the world that were trying to interfere, stop the work of good that he was attempting to do.

GALLAGHER: After 19 years, Agca was let go. Italian President Ciampi pardoning him as part of a millennium amnesty for prisoners, a program set in motion by the pope. Agca was sent back to his native Turkey to serve time for the previous murder of a newspaper editor in Istanbul. A recent court ruling reducing Agca's sentence cleared the way for his release today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Faith and values correspondent Delia Gallagher joins us now live from New York.

Delia, let's talk about the time that the pope met with Agca. Do we -- or have we ever really found out what was said in that meeting? And did he tell the pope he thought he was the messiah?

GALLAGHER: Well, in fact we don't know exactly what was said during that meeting, Kyra. It was in 1983, after of course the pope was shot of course in 1981, and he went to the prison in Rome to meet with Ali Agca. It was a private conversation, and it was never revealed exactly what was said between the two men.

However, some years after that, the pope's private secretary, Stanislaw Dziwisz, did say this during the meeting he was asked if Ali Agca ever asked for forgiveness from the pope, because of course we know that the pope gave his forgiveness to Ali Agca, but we don't know whether it was ever asked for, and the pope's private secretary said the only thing Ali Agca was concerned about in that meeting was whether he had offended the Virgin Mary. So it was a sort of discussion.

Remember that it happened May 13th, which was the anniversary of the Virgin of Fatima, the appearance of Mary in Portugal. And so Ali Agca during his prison time had gotten into This secret of Fatima, as it were, and of course the pope himself believed that he was saved, he wrote about, by the hand of the Virgin Mary. So there was also this great mystery about the Secret of Fatima and what was going on, so apparently, according to the pope's private secretary, Ali Agca, very interested in this aspect of it, but that's all we know of the conversation.

PHILLIPS: Well, now apparently Ali Agca has written this letter to Pope Benedict, this letter was published in the "La Republican," and it says, "We as the Agca family are grateful to the Vatican. Over the past 25 years the Vatican has always helped me, it has supported me, always been as open as possible, and for this reason, I offer the Vatican my deepest gratitude."

Delia was there really a relationship there, and did those in the Vatican, were they fighting to get him released?

GALLAGHER: Well, I would say absolutely not with 100 percent certainty the officials that I've spoken to have said publicly it has been a matter for the Turkish authorities to deal with.

However, it's quite right he should be grateful to the Vatican, because of course were it not for the fact that Pope John Paul II forgave him and sort of set in motion his subsequent pardon by the judicial authorities in Italy, By the president of Italy, he would never have been returned to Turkey.

So in that sense, of course, fair enough to say he's grateful to the Vatican but to suggest that subsequently there was any behind the scenes movement on behalf of Ali Agca by the Vatican would be simply wishful thinking on his part.

PHILLIPS: Now this 1979 draft dodger, being released from prison, on his way apparently to see if he's fit for military service?

GALLAGHER: Yes, there is a one-year Turkish military service requirement in Turkey, and he hasn't served it. The problem there is that is he now 48 years old, and the maximum age to serve military service is 41.

So there's sort of a question as to how he's going to do it but the Turkish officials I spoke to said that, absolutely, under the law he's required to serve his military time, and it looks like that may be what is in store for him in the future.

PHILLIPS: Did they say anything about could this man actually be given a weapon?

GALLAGHER: I also mentioned that, Kyra, and in fact, they said quite possibly. So we don't yet, but as you reported earlier, I think the outcry in Turkey right now with regard to the very fact that he has been released, it remains to be seen just where this is going to go, if he indeed going to be a free man.

PHILLIPS: The twist and turns to his life are quite amazing.

Delia Gallagher, thanks so much for your time today. GALLAGHER: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, a quarter century after he shot pope John Paul II, Mehmet Ali Agca walked out of prison this morning. As we've been telling you, with his release, we thought you'd like background on his life and criminal past.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: In February, 1979, Mehmet Ali Agca killed a prominent Turkish journalist for which where he spent 153 days in a military prison in Istanbul before escaping. Two years on May 13, 1981, he shot and Wounded Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. He was sentenced in Rome to life in prison. The pope met Agca in prison on December 27th, 1983 and forgave him. Italy pardoned Agca in 2000 and extradited him to Turkey, where he was imprisoned to serve his remaining term for killing the journalist.

On January 5th of this year, Turkish court decided Agca had completed his prison term, and he was freed today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Baby Noor, the Iraqi girl who's in the United States getting life-saving treatment, she is just one of many children around the world who just do not have access to medical care at home.

Straight ahead on LIVE FROM, what's being done to help them and how you can join the effort.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: If you get change today, you may see a new, smiling face looking back at you. Just when you thought the good old American nickel was safe from government interference, well, think again. Actually, it's just a revamped design featuring the first ever full- faced portrait of a president on a coin.

Eighty million of the new nickels leave the U.S. Mint for banks today. And they didn't just introduce a new nickel two years ago, right? Yes, it was. It was a special issue to commemorate Lewis and Clark. This Mint says that this new design is the last one for awhile so you can get used to it.

Another big bank says it's lost the confidential information of thousands of customers. For more on this security breach, Susan Lisovicz joins me now live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Susan, I can't remember, we must have had at least five situations last year. Here it goes again.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Still no need for any more surgery for Baby Noor. Doctors here in Atlanta successfully operated on the Iraqi infant three days ago, positioning her spinal cord in its proper place. They had fear that there might be a buildup of spinal fluid in her brain, which would require additional surgery, but that has not occurred.

Baby Noor was born with spina bifida and brought to the U.S. for treatment after U.S. soldiers found her in Iraq. Sadly, Baby Noor's case is not unique. So many other Iraqi children are in critical need of medical care. Their anguished families have been asking CNN's Jennifer Eccleston, what about us?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baby Hager's (ph) serene demeanor belies a deadly condition. The 6-week-old's has cerebral atrophy. Her brain is shrinking. Hager means nomad, wanderer, traveler, so fitting these days as mother, father and baby are living a nomadic existence, wandering from hospital to hospital, seeking treatment that will save her life. But this Baghdad children's hospital is their final stop.

MAHMOOD JAWAD HUSSEIN, FATHER: The doctor tell in Iraq no care here. We must go abroad, outside.

ECCLESTON: But Mahmood can't afford to go abroad, so they'll go home.

HUSSEIN: Where to die.

ECCLESTON: Mahmood's heartache etched across the faces of nearly every family in this ward. Their infants, toddlers, kids, crammed three to a bed, desperately ill, unable to get life-saving, life- sustaining treatment in this hospital, in this country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just give them the basic treatment only, but they need more treatment, more investigation, but many of it not present in this hospital.

ECCLESTON: Sanctions, war, neglect and insurgency -- they've crippled Iraq's once exemplary medical care, says Doctor Yidala (ph). Now there's only one way to ensure her young patients survive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They need to go outside of Iraq.

ECCLESTON: But only a handful do. The obstacles -- government, red tape, and lack of funds -- often insurmountable. But then one story gave many Iraqis new reason for hope, the story of Baby Noor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope Abdullah will become like Baby Noor.

ECCLESTON: Abdullah has leukemia. The hospital often runs out of his medicine. When his mother heard we were from America, she begged us to make him another Baby Noor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope when to see him to go Europe or America. ECCLESTON: As word spread, other families approached us with medical records, giving us cell phone numbers. Could we help Abdullah, whose legs are paralyzed? Or Moj (ph), who has cancer? In quiet anguish, Huda Raham watched the procession of desperate families.

Her 8-month-old son has heart disease. He's barely conscious. She's already lost two children to the same illness.

"I would do anything to help him," she says, "but it's too late. He's dying." Doctors agree. Without surgery, he won't make it another week.

Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, as you can see, so many children and so little time. Childspring International is one charity organization that does what it can, wherever it can, to help the helpless.

Founded just five years ago it's reached out to more than 300 children from 38 nations. Joining me now, one of the people who coordinates it all, Helen Shepard. Great to have you with us, Helen.

HELEN SHEPARD, CHILDSPRING INTERNATIONAL: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We've been talking so much about Baby Noor but we see it's such a wider issue. You look at Baghdad's Children's Hospital and you see all of these other kids. Say somebody does see this is piece and has been touched by one of these children. They want to help. What do they do?

SHEPARD: That piece moved so many people to get involved, and unfortunately, limited resources is what challenges us the most. It requires a doctor and a hospital to accept the case.

It also requires a lot of behind-the-scenes to set up a host family and put all the logistics in place for this to happen and it doesn't typically happen in 18 days. It usually happens in somewhere between three and six months, so we just look forward to being able to help more.

PHILLIPS: So would an individual contact you or would they contact a church first, and then you would work with the church? Because you deal a lot with the passport and the papers and finding doctors that will do the work for free, right?

SHEPARD: Correct. Most of the time the referrals come to us through medical missionaries traveling overseas who find the children and then they provide us with as much information as they can for us to do our jobs. Sometimes we send them back to local doctors to actually get medical records. Sometimes we don't even have that to start with. And that's important when you're moving forward.

The church has become involved when we need the host families and we're looking for community support. Many of our children travel without family members and are escorted over through the help of American Airlines and Delta Airlines employees. And it's just so important to build a community and a safe place for these children and helping them through this medical process. It's life-changing.

PHILLIPS: Well, interesting. You talk about it's usually missionaries that contact you. In this case, with Baby Noor, it was U.S. soldiers. Was this a first? Was this unique?

SHEPARD: This was unique to us, but now our phones are ringing off the phone and it's not so unique. It's really been a whirlwind for us over the last few weeks. We are being inundated with requests, but resources are always our biggest challenge. You know, we need people to step forward and help us find doctors and hospitals and help us find the local resources that we need to stretch our dollars as far as we can.

PHILLIPS: Just imagine if every doctor in the country just did one free surgery or one free set of treatments for a child, it would be pretty amazing.

SHEPARD: It is and sometimes it's not as difficult as one think. I mean, sometimes it's a prosthetic arm or a cleft lip and palate where we can coordinate with another organization whose -- that's their main focus and we can get many children helped in just one day. But it does coordinated efforts of a lot of different agencies. And we just want to get the message out there that, you know, it's not a drop in the bucket. Every child that we help is one more drop in the bucket.

PHILLIPS: Well, I tell you what, I want to talk about some of the other kids that you've helped because it's been all over the world. We're going to take a quick break, come back and talk more about Childspring and some of the other children that you've helped.

SHEPARD: Sure.

PHILLIPS: OK. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAKS)

PHILLIPS: And to continue our conversation with Helen Shepard with Childspring International. And, of course, the reason why we're talking about this is because of Baby Noor, who was brought over here. Your organization tremendously involved in helping her get free medical care.

But as you mentioned, and what we've been talking about, we've been looking at Baghdad Children's hospital, and all these other parents that say I want my kid to be the next Baby Noor. You brought up a very interesting point in that you reach all across the world because, in some parts of the world, there isn't even a hospital as well put together as Baghdad's Iraqi -- or Children's Hospital, right?

SHEPARD: Absolutely, and of course. Haiti is a great example of a place where we're finding children with... PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about Esther.

SHEPARD: Oh yes!

PHILLIPS: OK, go ahead. Esther's from Haiti...

SHEPARD: Esther's from Haiti. She arrived last summer. She came here to have severe scoliosis corrected. The scoliosis was impairing her organs and so there was a short lifespan, definitely, for her. And somewhat shunned in the community because of her condition.

And she came to Atlanta. She actually stayed in Rome with our host family there, and she warmed hearts and dazzled her doctor, as all of our children do, as you can see. And she's had three surgeries. She now has a rod in her spine that has helped straighten out -- which we're hoping is a long-term solution. And she's going to the school for the very first time under a scholarship from Childspring International.

PHILLIPS: You know, I didn't realize she had scoliosis. And that's interesting that you brought this up, because I had that as a child and had to wear this back brace for a couple years -- it was awful. You know, the kind that you could see. And -- but you brought up a good point in that in Haiti, they wouldn't even know how to give a child a back brace let alone do a surgery, right?

SHEPARD: She would have just been pushed aside. I mean, her family loves her tremendously and she was so excited to go home. But as a community, it's just a resource that's not available. It's -- life is such a struggle there every day that you just have to move onto the bigger problems, such as food and just everyday life.

So to change Esther's life brings that hope back to that community and a message of, you know, complete strangers just opening their hearts and making that spiritual change, really healing that whole child.

PHILLIPS: Well, on that note of spirituality, Abreham, considered a little miracle in Ethiopia. Tell us about his story and how he's just -- I even see you getting teary-eyed talking about it. He really -- and this is the host family, their daughter, right? Who just fell in love with him.

SHEPARD: Yes, that was one of our host families here in Atlanta. ' He actually arrived just before Christmas in 2003, and I was just coming up with the organization. So Abreham's one of my first loves, though many of the children have captured my heart.

But he was here for Christmas and then he was sent to Burlington, Vermont. So an Ethiopian boy in Vermont for, you know, snowstorms is pretty hilarious. But he had an amazing host family there. It was a retired physician from one of the local hospitals, and...

PHILLIPS: What was wrong with him? SHEPARD: He had what turned out to be a cyst behind his eye. They were concerned that it might be a tumor or cancerous, but it wasn't. It was a cyst that they actually removed. So his eye protruded out -- very deforming.

PHILLIPS: And he was shunned in his country.

SHEPARD: Absolutely. He was considered a curse by his family and the community as that something bad has happened to them. And so in three months in the United States, the cyst was removed, his eye was put back in place. He looked, as you can see from the pictures, almost completely normal. Warms your heart.

He has the most fantastic smile. And went home and really changed the lives of his local village in Ethiopia. I mean, they celebrated for days. That's the words we were getting once he returned. Not only excited to have their child back, but to have him look completely normal and knowing that strangers gave up their hearts for that and that people donated money to save their child, is very special.

PHILLIPS: I want to plug the Web site.

SHEPARD: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Childspring International. We've actually got it. You can childspringintl.org. You need host families, you desperately need funds. Baby Noor has brought a lot of attention to you, but you need more funds, of course, to make this happen.

SHEPARD: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Helen Shepard, thank you so much.

SHEPARD: Thanks for having us!

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it.

Well, in the next hour of LIVE FROM, we're going to talk about author James Frey. He breaks his silence on the controversy over his memoir, and Larry King gets a surprise caller to chime in. We're going to tell you what Oprah Winfrey said about the controversial book that she recommended to millions of viewers, as soon LIVE FROM returns.

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