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CNN Live Today
Millions of Defiant Iraqis Cast Ballots; Michael Jackson Trial; Women Making Their Mark in Iraqi Politics
Aired January 31, 2005 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Jury selection is just minutes away from beginning in the Michael Jackson child molestation case.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just ahead, what the king of pop had to tell his fans over the Internet on the eve of the proceedings. Also, a live report from the courthouse.
SANCHEZ: And low-cost airlines with plenty of perks for travelers, what sets them apart from one another? This is confusing. We're going to break it down for you.
All this in the next hour of CNN LIVE, which begins right now.
KAGAN: Let's start by taking a look at what's happening "Now in the News."
He asked for his day in court, and pop star, superstar Michael Jackson is getting just that. Jury selection is set to begin next hour in his child molestation trial. We're going live to the courthouse in Santa Maria just ahead.
Iraqi leaders look to the road ahead after the first free elections in more than 50 years. The interim prime minister today called for Iraqis to come together to build the future. More on the election live from Baghdad in just a minute.
Top Democrats are not waiting for the state of the union speech to challenge President Bush's agenda. Last hour, Senator Harry Reid and Representative Nancy Pelosi delivered a prebuttal to the president's speech. Reid is calling on Mr. Bush to spell out a strategy in Iraq, Pelosi blasted the president's plans for Social Security.
Another member of the Bush cabinet takes the oath of office. You saw this live right here on CNN just a couple minutes ago. Margaret Spelling, the new secretary of Education, was sworn in just minutes ago. Spellings actually started work last week, replacing former Education secretary Rod Paige.
It is just a minute past 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, and just a minute past 8:00 on the West. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez.
Well, we're going to begin appropriately enough in Iraq. And it may take several days to actually count all the votes, maybe more, but the country's first free election in half a century is already being hailed by many, if not most, as a success. Millions of defiant Iraqis cast their ballots despite threats from some of the insurgents.
There was some sporadic violence as expected, as well. Across Iraq, at least 29 people were killed. This is in election-related attacks. Another 71 were wounded.
Also, this story that we've been following for you, which you heard about a half-hour ago from the Pentagon. A British transport plane crashed near Baghdad, north of the city. Ten military personnel are missing and believed dead. Also, a U.S. Marine was killed in action during operations in the Al Anbar Province.
KAGAN: The election in Iraq is one step on a long road. The interim prime minister today called on Iraqis to come together to build a stable, prosperous country.
For more on the vote and what is ahead for Iraq, let's turn to our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, live in Baghdad -- Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, really now everybody is on the edge of their seat to try and find out and know who won this election. We also understand that, according to people who have been telling CNN, the big Shiite list, the United Iraqi Alliance, their people are already out in the streets jubilating and being very, very happy about what happened yesterday.
In the Sadr City area of Baghdad, which essentially is a bit of a slum, and it's where much of the poverty of Baghdad was located and still is, that's really a stronghold of the Shiites. And they came out, and they came out again today to celebrate their vote, waving pictures of Ayatollah al-Sistani and also pictures of Mr. Hakim (ph), a cleric who led one of the major parties.
We're hearing from people who are telling CNN within those parties that they believe that they have captured the majority of the vote. Now, that wouldn't be a surprise, although we can't say that that's an official vote at all. We just need to wait for the official count. But they do make up about 60 percent of the country.
Also, people are saying that if anybody, the architect of these elections was the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. He insisted right from the get-go, a year ago, more than that, that there should be one person, one-vote elections in Iraq.
Originally, the U.S., under Paul Bremer of the occupational authority, had wanted to draw up this plan for regional caucuses which would then elect a national assembly. And it was Ayatollah Sistani that said no and insisted this one man, one-person vote election would take place. And so people are now, especially his own people, crediting him with yesterday's success.
As I say, voting continues. It did start, of course, after the ballots closed. One of the success stories now that we can reveal, according to the U.S., is that they, of course, U.S. convoys, are the ones who took all the ballot boxes and all the ballot papers and all the materials out from central Baghdad to all the provinces and all the election booths. And they were very gratified and pleased that, in fact, the insurgents didn't get wind of this, or if they did, didn't know how to disrupt that. Because that would have basically put the election off.
I was told by a senior U.S. commander, if they had known how the ballot boxes were getting out and getting back, then that would have really had to -- that would have basically canceled the whole thing, because they would have had to postpone it for lack of material.
That, of course, didn't happen. Still waiting for the results.
And as to the wider impact of the Iraqi vote, well, we asked King Abdullah, U.S. ally in neighboring Jordan, what this would mean for democracy to flourish in the whole Middle East.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING ABDULLAH II, JORDAN: Once you open the door of reform and it's allowed to be discussed in society as it is throughout the Middle East, it's very difficult to close again. So I think that people are waking up, leaders are understanding that they have to push reform forward. And I don't think there's any looking back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: And, of course, Iraq's neighbors are waiting for the results as well, because what many of the countries surrounding Iraq don't want to see is a so-called Shiite crescent. In other words, total power, religious power being held here by the Shiites which would, they think and they fear, join up with the clerics in Iran.
That we don't think is going to happen. According to the Shiites, they've say that they don't want, they don't plan that. But nonetheless, there are fears among some nations that that might happen.
KAGAN: And then, Christiane, this election that took place yesterday, as momentous and successful as some are calling it, it's just one step of really what's going to be a yearlong process for the new Iraq.
AMANPOUR: That's right. We go through the complicated process right now of electing the president, vice president. Then they have to be ratified by the national assembly, then they elect a prime minister, then they all get together and start writing the constitution. That's the main aim of this national assembly.
They then put that to a referendum, it has to be approved by two- thirds of the people. And then, if it is, then they go to a more permanent election by December 15, according to the current rules.
And by the end of December, 2005, they should have a permanent government in place. And along with that, most importantly, the big challenge, big, big challenge for the U.S. now, is to get Iraqi forces up and able to take over as much as possible the defense of their own country.
KAGAN: Christiane Amanpour reporting live from Baghdad. Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, 94 percent of Iraqis who registered outside the country actually cast ballots. That's according to new figures released this morning. It's a big number at polling places, for example, here in the United States. There were stories of sacrifice and jubilant celebrations, as well.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has more on the Iraqi vote for this country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From New Carrollton, Maryland, to Nashville, Tennessee, to Detroit, Michigan, and Irvine, California, in the parking lots, even at the polling stations.
(on camera): Because there are only five polling centers in the entire United States, voters had to travel hundreds, even thousands of miles, for the opportunity to cast their ballot.
(voice-over): This polling center in Irvine was the only one available west of the Mississippi. To come here was a big sacrifice.
ZAINAB RASOULI, POLL WORKER: We've had people coming from Texas, from Utah, from Oregon, from Washington. We've had people traveling all night long.
GUTIERREZ: Basad al Abbas (ph) and 25 family members raised money and flew from Portland, Oregon, to California to vote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't matter how far it is. I'm very excited.
GUTIERREZ: The Abdullah family drove 10 hours through the night from Tucson, Arizona.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the happiest day in my life.
GUTIERREZ: Tour buses from around the state brought voters in by the hundreds, but many, many more could not make the journey to a polling center. It was too far and, in some cases, too expensive.
RASHID BARZANJI, IRAQI VOTER: Not all of them could manage to come. Some of them, they have -- they don't have transportation or they don't have money to travel. It's difficult for them.
GUTIERREZ: The Hassani (ph) family traveled 3,400 miles round trip, first last week just to register, then again this week to vote. SALAM ZUHAILY, IRAQI VOTER: This is really very miniscule, very minimal price that I pay in establishing a new, free and democratic Iraq.
GUTIERREZ: For many who lost loved ones under Saddam Hussein's regime, it was a bittersweet victory.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just feel bad for the people who couldn't see (ph).
GUTIERREZ: It's an historic moment. The last ballot cast in California for the first election in a country a half world away.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Irvine, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Well, keeping this one in California, it promises to be a courtroom thriller. Michael Jackson's child molestation trial getting under way next hour with jury selection. Our correspondent, Miguel Marquez, is at the courthouse in Santa Maria in the central coast.
Good morning.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.
Yes, what we are expecting to see in the next few days is -- well, we just -- we expect jury selection, but it's certainly going to be more than that. I want to show you a little bit of what's happening out here right now.
This is just some, some of the media that's gathered out here, by the thousand. People from the media have asked for credentials here. It is a lot of media.
We are expecting that in the next three days 750 jurors will -- will come through the courthouse here. The central question that the judge wants to ask is, can they serve the five to six months of the jury -- or of the trial of Michael Jackson. If they can, then they may be here for that long. It's certainly a long road ahead for them, and we've certainly been a long way already.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ANDERSON, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SHERIFF: An arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson has been issued on multiple counts of child molestation.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): It started November 18, 2003, with a day- long search of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Two days later, Jackson was booked on suspicion of child molestation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Easy, easy. Somebody is going to get hurt.
MARK GERAGOS, FMR. JACKSON ATTORNEY: He considers this to be a big lie. MARQUEZ: A month later, Jackson was facing formal charges, seven counts of molestation and two counts of giving alcohol to a minor.
TOM SNEDDON, SANTA BARBARA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We filed formal charges, a felony criminal complaint against Mr. Jackson.
MARQUEZ: And then, Michael Jackson was arraigned for the first time. At what looked more like a concert than an arraignment, Jackson pleaded not guilty. As the months wore on, so did the investigation. Santa Barbara district attorney Tom Sneddon convened a grand jury to hear evidence massed against the pop star and to consider new charges.
TOM MESEREAU, JACKSON'S ATTORNEY: This case is about one thing only, the complete vindication of a wonderful human being named Michael Jackson.
MARQUEZ: When the grand jury handed up 10 counts, Jackson had a new lawyer and a new arraignment. He also had any new problem. In addition to molestation, Jackson was now charged with conspiring to imprison and extort his accuser and his family.
JACKSON: I want to thank the community of Santa Maria. I want you to know that I love the community of Santa Maria very much.
MARQUEZ: Jackson was now facing the reality that 12 people from a small town on California's central coast would soon be deciding his future. A year later, after almost two dozen pretrial hearings and over 100 search warrants executed against Jackson, the showdown is set for the pop star versus the prosecutor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: And you are now looking at a live picture outside the courthouse in Santa Maria, California. About 100 fans or so, maybe a bit more at this point, have shown up to support Mr. Jackson. There are also some advocates for victims' rights. Victims of the child molestation are out there as well. As well as you can see probably a lot of the media there.
Jury selection is expected to take about a month. Mr. Jackson will be here today. One difference, though, we've seen in previous days, Mr. Jackson will be here alone, at least in court alone. The judge saying there are just too many jurors in there and Mr. Jackson will have to be there without any support from his family or friends.
Back to you, Daryn.
KAGAN: Miguel Marquez from Santa Maria. Thank you.
SANCHEZ: And the real story in all of this is this new videotape that's been released by Michael Jackson himself. It's out there. We have it. We'll share it with you.
And then, we're going to share it with Kendall Coffey to get his reaction on what difficulties it may pose. All this as we break it down. KAGAN: Also, protecting the littlest victims of AIDS. Any kind of progress being made in preventing AIDS progress in newborns.
SANCHEZ: Also, the fallout from Iraqi elections. We're going to be all over this. We're going to have it for you right here, especially when it comes to women's rights.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Women are almost certainly going to make their mark in Iraqi politics after yesterday's election. By law, they made up about a third of the candidates.
Let's talk to Zainab Salbi in Los Angeles. She is the president of Women for Women International, a group that helps women in war-torn countries. And she herself from Iraq.
Good morning. Welcome back.
ZAINAB SALBI, WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL: Good morning. Thank you.
KAGAN: I didn't have a chance to ask you when we talked last week, did you vote in this election? Were you able to?
SALBI: I actually unfortunately missed out on the registration, but all of the friends and the families that I have voted all over the world, not only in Iraq, but in Jordan and America.
KAGAN: A very exciting time for you and your family.
SALBI: Yes.
KAGAN: Now, it's going to some amount of time before we know the results, so we won't know for sure how many women actually made it into victory. And yet you're hopeful that this is going to improve life for women in Iraq?
SALBI: Very hopeful, actually. Before the election, we were not sure how many women are going to turn out to vote. From what you learned yesterday, according to Iraqi TV stations such as (UNINTELLIGIBLE), the majority of the voters who got out actually to vote in the south were women.
One of them they featured as an elderly woman in Baghdad who was at the voting station, for example, when there was some bullets and some fighting broke out. She insisted on staying while everyone was running away. And she said, "I will not give up my right to vote."
So what we see are women becoming very resilient, very courageous and adamant about protecting their legal rights. And now this stage becomes the critical stage for Iraqi women.
How do we ensure protecting their legal and constitutional right? And that protection not only guarantees their rights, but it guarantees how the society in Iraq is going to go. Is it in a progressive way or in a backward way in terms what have happens to women.
KAGAN: We want to get to that next step in a second. First of all, when you talk about the stories that you were just sharing, and you see the pictures of women going to these polling places, what's your reaction?
SALBI: It's an amazing emotionally scene, actually. I had goose bumps all over my -- I had tears. I was talking to my family and friends and everyone is just absolutely celebrating that historical moment.
I just talked to our staff in Iraq. And everyone said it was like a public wedding, where people were wearing their best clothes. The whole streets, the vibes in the streets of Baghdad and all over Iraq was very vibrant, very energetic, everyone adamant, saying this is our day.
No matter what the turnout is going to be, no matter what the result, this was a historical day not to be forgotten in Iraqi history. And it meant a lot for all of us.
KAGAN: And as this new constitution is written, what are some specific rights in terms of women that you would like to see included, put down on paper?
SALBI: Well, we want to make sure that private laws, our family laws are protected. We want to make sure that they keep their rights for divorce, for custody, for inheritance, for -- and they are not only equal citizens in terms of voting and economic participation, but they really are active in rebuilding the new Iraq.
So we want to make sure that they are active in the economic reconstruction and the new government, not only in the parliamentary level, but at the more ministerial level and prime ministerial level. We want to make sure that they are active in all sectors of Iraqi society, political, social and economic.
KAGAN: And you will be watching it. You've made this your life. Zainab Salbi, thank you for joining us from Los Angeles.
SALBI: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Another big story we're following, Michael Jackson issues a taped public statement just one day before jury selection is set to begin in his child molestation case. Here it is.
We're going to let you listen to it soon. And then we're going to break it down with our legal analyst, a former U.S. attorney.
KAGAN: Also ahead, the hidden perks of flying low-cost carriers. We're going to run down which ones offer the most for your money.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Let's take a closer look now at the legal case against Michael Jackson. Kendall Coffey is a former U.S. attorney in Miami. He's a frequent CNN contributor, and he's joining us.
Kendall, have you got a chance to see this videotape?
KENDALL COFFEY, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: No, I heard about it, but I think it's reaction to what were a lot of ugly leaks about grand jury materials. Clearly something, Rick, that was suggested, not by his lawyer, but by his PR folks. Because this isn't going to help him with a jury at all.
SANCHEZ: Well, let's do this -- do you want to see it? I can show it to you.
COFFEY: Yes. Let's do it.
SANCHEZ: Here it is. Let's show a clip to both Kendall and the millions of you watching at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: In the last few weeks, a large amount of ugly, malicious information has been released into the media about me. Apparently, this information was leaked through transcripts in a grand jury proceeding where neither my lawyers nor I ever appeared. The information is disgusting and false.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: What's the aim of this? And what do you think the effect will be?
COFFEY: Well, the aim has got to be kind of like Martha Stewart. Remember, she was the pioneer of the Web site "I am innocent" kind of theme. And, by the way, it didn't work too well for her. She's a guest of the federal taxpayers somewhere in West Virginia right now.
SANCHEZ: Although she got a TV show out of it.
COFFEY: Well, she got a TV show out of it. And clearly, Michael Jackson is playing to his base. He wants to come through these things not as totally damaged goods. He hopes to get acquitted and then still have a career and have some record sales. But, Rick, I don't know if this is going to help him at all with a Jury, and it could conceivably hurt him.
SANCHEZ: If you were his attorney, would you have coached him to maybe appear more mainstream? You get my drift?
COFFEY: Heck yes. I mean, I would have tried to clean him up, make him look as basically serious and simple as possible.
And one of the concerns, Rick, I think you have when a celebrity, somebody who's well known like this keeps putting their face forward is, the jury may think, OK, if he's willing to talk to the Internet, why isn't he willing to get on the stand and talk to the jury here in Santa Maria? And I think this kind of thing puts a subtle pressure on someone like Michael Jackson to actually take the stand at some point during the trial.
SANCHEZ: That's a good question. In other words, in the jury's mind, suddenly they'll be thinking, well, you know, you did that statement. I want to see what you have to say here in front of me. And it almost becomes a question of respect, doesn't it?
But let's go to the issue now of some of the evidence. There's this evidence that may be presented about some magazines, apparently pornographic, that have the fingerprints of both Michael Jackson and the victim. How big is this?
COFFEY: Well, I think it's really damaging. I mean, Michael Jackson and a child looking at pornography together? Where does that take you?
That's the kind of thing where -- and I don't know what his explanation would be -- but if he doesn't take the stand to give some kind of explanation, like maybe the alleged accuser was looking at it and I had to take it away from him, or something like that, he's got to come up with something. Because if he leaves that unanswered, I think it's devastating.
SANCHEZ: Interesting. Well, with so much to talk about, what a case this is going to be. We'll be talking to you again. Kendall Coffey joining us from Miami.
COFFEY: Nice talking to you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: All right.
KAGAN: Let's check out some other stories on the docket today in our look at "Legal Briefs."
In Charleston, South Carolina, jury selection begins in the double murder trial of 15-year-old Christopher Pittman. He confessed to killing his grandparents when he was 12 years old. His lawyers claim the prescription drug Zoloft caused Pittman to hallucinate and cloud his judgment. He's being tried as an adult.
The Connecticut execution of confessed killer Michael Ross could be postponed for a second time. He is scheduled to die tonight by lethal injection today. However, over the weekend, Ross agreed to a competency hearing and papers are being filed today. He was condemned to death for killing four women in eastern Connecticut. He has admitted to killing eight women in Connecticut and New York State.
And in Georgia, a former crematory operator is expected to be sentenced for dumping 334 corpses and saying cement dust was their remains. Ray Brent Marsh faces the relatives of the dead at the hearing today. Some have traveled from as far away as Indiana and Michigan to speak their mind. Marsh is expected to get 12 years in prison. SANCHEZ: Up next, a British plane has crashed in Iraq. It was a transport plane. And the question that many in the Pentagon and in England, obviously, are trying to figure out is, was it shot down? There's going to be a live report from the Pentagon on this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired January 31, 2005 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Jury selection is just minutes away from beginning in the Michael Jackson child molestation case.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just ahead, what the king of pop had to tell his fans over the Internet on the eve of the proceedings. Also, a live report from the courthouse.
SANCHEZ: And low-cost airlines with plenty of perks for travelers, what sets them apart from one another? This is confusing. We're going to break it down for you.
All this in the next hour of CNN LIVE, which begins right now.
KAGAN: Let's start by taking a look at what's happening "Now in the News."
He asked for his day in court, and pop star, superstar Michael Jackson is getting just that. Jury selection is set to begin next hour in his child molestation trial. We're going live to the courthouse in Santa Maria just ahead.
Iraqi leaders look to the road ahead after the first free elections in more than 50 years. The interim prime minister today called for Iraqis to come together to build the future. More on the election live from Baghdad in just a minute.
Top Democrats are not waiting for the state of the union speech to challenge President Bush's agenda. Last hour, Senator Harry Reid and Representative Nancy Pelosi delivered a prebuttal to the president's speech. Reid is calling on Mr. Bush to spell out a strategy in Iraq, Pelosi blasted the president's plans for Social Security.
Another member of the Bush cabinet takes the oath of office. You saw this live right here on CNN just a couple minutes ago. Margaret Spelling, the new secretary of Education, was sworn in just minutes ago. Spellings actually started work last week, replacing former Education secretary Rod Paige.
It is just a minute past 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, and just a minute past 8:00 on the West. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez.
Well, we're going to begin appropriately enough in Iraq. And it may take several days to actually count all the votes, maybe more, but the country's first free election in half a century is already being hailed by many, if not most, as a success. Millions of defiant Iraqis cast their ballots despite threats from some of the insurgents.
There was some sporadic violence as expected, as well. Across Iraq, at least 29 people were killed. This is in election-related attacks. Another 71 were wounded.
Also, this story that we've been following for you, which you heard about a half-hour ago from the Pentagon. A British transport plane crashed near Baghdad, north of the city. Ten military personnel are missing and believed dead. Also, a U.S. Marine was killed in action during operations in the Al Anbar Province.
KAGAN: The election in Iraq is one step on a long road. The interim prime minister today called on Iraqis to come together to build a stable, prosperous country.
For more on the vote and what is ahead for Iraq, let's turn to our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, live in Baghdad -- Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, really now everybody is on the edge of their seat to try and find out and know who won this election. We also understand that, according to people who have been telling CNN, the big Shiite list, the United Iraqi Alliance, their people are already out in the streets jubilating and being very, very happy about what happened yesterday.
In the Sadr City area of Baghdad, which essentially is a bit of a slum, and it's where much of the poverty of Baghdad was located and still is, that's really a stronghold of the Shiites. And they came out, and they came out again today to celebrate their vote, waving pictures of Ayatollah al-Sistani and also pictures of Mr. Hakim (ph), a cleric who led one of the major parties.
We're hearing from people who are telling CNN within those parties that they believe that they have captured the majority of the vote. Now, that wouldn't be a surprise, although we can't say that that's an official vote at all. We just need to wait for the official count. But they do make up about 60 percent of the country.
Also, people are saying that if anybody, the architect of these elections was the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. He insisted right from the get-go, a year ago, more than that, that there should be one person, one-vote elections in Iraq.
Originally, the U.S., under Paul Bremer of the occupational authority, had wanted to draw up this plan for regional caucuses which would then elect a national assembly. And it was Ayatollah Sistani that said no and insisted this one man, one-person vote election would take place. And so people are now, especially his own people, crediting him with yesterday's success.
As I say, voting continues. It did start, of course, after the ballots closed. One of the success stories now that we can reveal, according to the U.S., is that they, of course, U.S. convoys, are the ones who took all the ballot boxes and all the ballot papers and all the materials out from central Baghdad to all the provinces and all the election booths. And they were very gratified and pleased that, in fact, the insurgents didn't get wind of this, or if they did, didn't know how to disrupt that. Because that would have basically put the election off.
I was told by a senior U.S. commander, if they had known how the ballot boxes were getting out and getting back, then that would have really had to -- that would have basically canceled the whole thing, because they would have had to postpone it for lack of material.
That, of course, didn't happen. Still waiting for the results.
And as to the wider impact of the Iraqi vote, well, we asked King Abdullah, U.S. ally in neighboring Jordan, what this would mean for democracy to flourish in the whole Middle East.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING ABDULLAH II, JORDAN: Once you open the door of reform and it's allowed to be discussed in society as it is throughout the Middle East, it's very difficult to close again. So I think that people are waking up, leaders are understanding that they have to push reform forward. And I don't think there's any looking back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: And, of course, Iraq's neighbors are waiting for the results as well, because what many of the countries surrounding Iraq don't want to see is a so-called Shiite crescent. In other words, total power, religious power being held here by the Shiites which would, they think and they fear, join up with the clerics in Iran.
That we don't think is going to happen. According to the Shiites, they've say that they don't want, they don't plan that. But nonetheless, there are fears among some nations that that might happen.
KAGAN: And then, Christiane, this election that took place yesterday, as momentous and successful as some are calling it, it's just one step of really what's going to be a yearlong process for the new Iraq.
AMANPOUR: That's right. We go through the complicated process right now of electing the president, vice president. Then they have to be ratified by the national assembly, then they elect a prime minister, then they all get together and start writing the constitution. That's the main aim of this national assembly.
They then put that to a referendum, it has to be approved by two- thirds of the people. And then, if it is, then they go to a more permanent election by December 15, according to the current rules.
And by the end of December, 2005, they should have a permanent government in place. And along with that, most importantly, the big challenge, big, big challenge for the U.S. now, is to get Iraqi forces up and able to take over as much as possible the defense of their own country.
KAGAN: Christiane Amanpour reporting live from Baghdad. Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, 94 percent of Iraqis who registered outside the country actually cast ballots. That's according to new figures released this morning. It's a big number at polling places, for example, here in the United States. There were stories of sacrifice and jubilant celebrations, as well.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has more on the Iraqi vote for this country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From New Carrollton, Maryland, to Nashville, Tennessee, to Detroit, Michigan, and Irvine, California, in the parking lots, even at the polling stations.
(on camera): Because there are only five polling centers in the entire United States, voters had to travel hundreds, even thousands of miles, for the opportunity to cast their ballot.
(voice-over): This polling center in Irvine was the only one available west of the Mississippi. To come here was a big sacrifice.
ZAINAB RASOULI, POLL WORKER: We've had people coming from Texas, from Utah, from Oregon, from Washington. We've had people traveling all night long.
GUTIERREZ: Basad al Abbas (ph) and 25 family members raised money and flew from Portland, Oregon, to California to vote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't matter how far it is. I'm very excited.
GUTIERREZ: The Abdullah family drove 10 hours through the night from Tucson, Arizona.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the happiest day in my life.
GUTIERREZ: Tour buses from around the state brought voters in by the hundreds, but many, many more could not make the journey to a polling center. It was too far and, in some cases, too expensive.
RASHID BARZANJI, IRAQI VOTER: Not all of them could manage to come. Some of them, they have -- they don't have transportation or they don't have money to travel. It's difficult for them.
GUTIERREZ: The Hassani (ph) family traveled 3,400 miles round trip, first last week just to register, then again this week to vote. SALAM ZUHAILY, IRAQI VOTER: This is really very miniscule, very minimal price that I pay in establishing a new, free and democratic Iraq.
GUTIERREZ: For many who lost loved ones under Saddam Hussein's regime, it was a bittersweet victory.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just feel bad for the people who couldn't see (ph).
GUTIERREZ: It's an historic moment. The last ballot cast in California for the first election in a country a half world away.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Irvine, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Well, keeping this one in California, it promises to be a courtroom thriller. Michael Jackson's child molestation trial getting under way next hour with jury selection. Our correspondent, Miguel Marquez, is at the courthouse in Santa Maria in the central coast.
Good morning.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.
Yes, what we are expecting to see in the next few days is -- well, we just -- we expect jury selection, but it's certainly going to be more than that. I want to show you a little bit of what's happening out here right now.
This is just some, some of the media that's gathered out here, by the thousand. People from the media have asked for credentials here. It is a lot of media.
We are expecting that in the next three days 750 jurors will -- will come through the courthouse here. The central question that the judge wants to ask is, can they serve the five to six months of the jury -- or of the trial of Michael Jackson. If they can, then they may be here for that long. It's certainly a long road ahead for them, and we've certainly been a long way already.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ANDERSON, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SHERIFF: An arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson has been issued on multiple counts of child molestation.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): It started November 18, 2003, with a day- long search of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Two days later, Jackson was booked on suspicion of child molestation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Easy, easy. Somebody is going to get hurt.
MARK GERAGOS, FMR. JACKSON ATTORNEY: He considers this to be a big lie. MARQUEZ: A month later, Jackson was facing formal charges, seven counts of molestation and two counts of giving alcohol to a minor.
TOM SNEDDON, SANTA BARBARA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We filed formal charges, a felony criminal complaint against Mr. Jackson.
MARQUEZ: And then, Michael Jackson was arraigned for the first time. At what looked more like a concert than an arraignment, Jackson pleaded not guilty. As the months wore on, so did the investigation. Santa Barbara district attorney Tom Sneddon convened a grand jury to hear evidence massed against the pop star and to consider new charges.
TOM MESEREAU, JACKSON'S ATTORNEY: This case is about one thing only, the complete vindication of a wonderful human being named Michael Jackson.
MARQUEZ: When the grand jury handed up 10 counts, Jackson had a new lawyer and a new arraignment. He also had any new problem. In addition to molestation, Jackson was now charged with conspiring to imprison and extort his accuser and his family.
JACKSON: I want to thank the community of Santa Maria. I want you to know that I love the community of Santa Maria very much.
MARQUEZ: Jackson was now facing the reality that 12 people from a small town on California's central coast would soon be deciding his future. A year later, after almost two dozen pretrial hearings and over 100 search warrants executed against Jackson, the showdown is set for the pop star versus the prosecutor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: And you are now looking at a live picture outside the courthouse in Santa Maria, California. About 100 fans or so, maybe a bit more at this point, have shown up to support Mr. Jackson. There are also some advocates for victims' rights. Victims of the child molestation are out there as well. As well as you can see probably a lot of the media there.
Jury selection is expected to take about a month. Mr. Jackson will be here today. One difference, though, we've seen in previous days, Mr. Jackson will be here alone, at least in court alone. The judge saying there are just too many jurors in there and Mr. Jackson will have to be there without any support from his family or friends.
Back to you, Daryn.
KAGAN: Miguel Marquez from Santa Maria. Thank you.
SANCHEZ: And the real story in all of this is this new videotape that's been released by Michael Jackson himself. It's out there. We have it. We'll share it with you.
And then, we're going to share it with Kendall Coffey to get his reaction on what difficulties it may pose. All this as we break it down. KAGAN: Also, protecting the littlest victims of AIDS. Any kind of progress being made in preventing AIDS progress in newborns.
SANCHEZ: Also, the fallout from Iraqi elections. We're going to be all over this. We're going to have it for you right here, especially when it comes to women's rights.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Women are almost certainly going to make their mark in Iraqi politics after yesterday's election. By law, they made up about a third of the candidates.
Let's talk to Zainab Salbi in Los Angeles. She is the president of Women for Women International, a group that helps women in war-torn countries. And she herself from Iraq.
Good morning. Welcome back.
ZAINAB SALBI, WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL: Good morning. Thank you.
KAGAN: I didn't have a chance to ask you when we talked last week, did you vote in this election? Were you able to?
SALBI: I actually unfortunately missed out on the registration, but all of the friends and the families that I have voted all over the world, not only in Iraq, but in Jordan and America.
KAGAN: A very exciting time for you and your family.
SALBI: Yes.
KAGAN: Now, it's going to some amount of time before we know the results, so we won't know for sure how many women actually made it into victory. And yet you're hopeful that this is going to improve life for women in Iraq?
SALBI: Very hopeful, actually. Before the election, we were not sure how many women are going to turn out to vote. From what you learned yesterday, according to Iraqi TV stations such as (UNINTELLIGIBLE), the majority of the voters who got out actually to vote in the south were women.
One of them they featured as an elderly woman in Baghdad who was at the voting station, for example, when there was some bullets and some fighting broke out. She insisted on staying while everyone was running away. And she said, "I will not give up my right to vote."
So what we see are women becoming very resilient, very courageous and adamant about protecting their legal rights. And now this stage becomes the critical stage for Iraqi women.
How do we ensure protecting their legal and constitutional right? And that protection not only guarantees their rights, but it guarantees how the society in Iraq is going to go. Is it in a progressive way or in a backward way in terms what have happens to women.
KAGAN: We want to get to that next step in a second. First of all, when you talk about the stories that you were just sharing, and you see the pictures of women going to these polling places, what's your reaction?
SALBI: It's an amazing emotionally scene, actually. I had goose bumps all over my -- I had tears. I was talking to my family and friends and everyone is just absolutely celebrating that historical moment.
I just talked to our staff in Iraq. And everyone said it was like a public wedding, where people were wearing their best clothes. The whole streets, the vibes in the streets of Baghdad and all over Iraq was very vibrant, very energetic, everyone adamant, saying this is our day.
No matter what the turnout is going to be, no matter what the result, this was a historical day not to be forgotten in Iraqi history. And it meant a lot for all of us.
KAGAN: And as this new constitution is written, what are some specific rights in terms of women that you would like to see included, put down on paper?
SALBI: Well, we want to make sure that private laws, our family laws are protected. We want to make sure that they keep their rights for divorce, for custody, for inheritance, for -- and they are not only equal citizens in terms of voting and economic participation, but they really are active in rebuilding the new Iraq.
So we want to make sure that they are active in the economic reconstruction and the new government, not only in the parliamentary level, but at the more ministerial level and prime ministerial level. We want to make sure that they are active in all sectors of Iraqi society, political, social and economic.
KAGAN: And you will be watching it. You've made this your life. Zainab Salbi, thank you for joining us from Los Angeles.
SALBI: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Another big story we're following, Michael Jackson issues a taped public statement just one day before jury selection is set to begin in his child molestation case. Here it is.
We're going to let you listen to it soon. And then we're going to break it down with our legal analyst, a former U.S. attorney.
KAGAN: Also ahead, the hidden perks of flying low-cost carriers. We're going to run down which ones offer the most for your money.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Let's take a closer look now at the legal case against Michael Jackson. Kendall Coffey is a former U.S. attorney in Miami. He's a frequent CNN contributor, and he's joining us.
Kendall, have you got a chance to see this videotape?
KENDALL COFFEY, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: No, I heard about it, but I think it's reaction to what were a lot of ugly leaks about grand jury materials. Clearly something, Rick, that was suggested, not by his lawyer, but by his PR folks. Because this isn't going to help him with a jury at all.
SANCHEZ: Well, let's do this -- do you want to see it? I can show it to you.
COFFEY: Yes. Let's do it.
SANCHEZ: Here it is. Let's show a clip to both Kendall and the millions of you watching at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: In the last few weeks, a large amount of ugly, malicious information has been released into the media about me. Apparently, this information was leaked through transcripts in a grand jury proceeding where neither my lawyers nor I ever appeared. The information is disgusting and false.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: What's the aim of this? And what do you think the effect will be?
COFFEY: Well, the aim has got to be kind of like Martha Stewart. Remember, she was the pioneer of the Web site "I am innocent" kind of theme. And, by the way, it didn't work too well for her. She's a guest of the federal taxpayers somewhere in West Virginia right now.
SANCHEZ: Although she got a TV show out of it.
COFFEY: Well, she got a TV show out of it. And clearly, Michael Jackson is playing to his base. He wants to come through these things not as totally damaged goods. He hopes to get acquitted and then still have a career and have some record sales. But, Rick, I don't know if this is going to help him at all with a Jury, and it could conceivably hurt him.
SANCHEZ: If you were his attorney, would you have coached him to maybe appear more mainstream? You get my drift?
COFFEY: Heck yes. I mean, I would have tried to clean him up, make him look as basically serious and simple as possible.
And one of the concerns, Rick, I think you have when a celebrity, somebody who's well known like this keeps putting their face forward is, the jury may think, OK, if he's willing to talk to the Internet, why isn't he willing to get on the stand and talk to the jury here in Santa Maria? And I think this kind of thing puts a subtle pressure on someone like Michael Jackson to actually take the stand at some point during the trial.
SANCHEZ: That's a good question. In other words, in the jury's mind, suddenly they'll be thinking, well, you know, you did that statement. I want to see what you have to say here in front of me. And it almost becomes a question of respect, doesn't it?
But let's go to the issue now of some of the evidence. There's this evidence that may be presented about some magazines, apparently pornographic, that have the fingerprints of both Michael Jackson and the victim. How big is this?
COFFEY: Well, I think it's really damaging. I mean, Michael Jackson and a child looking at pornography together? Where does that take you?
That's the kind of thing where -- and I don't know what his explanation would be -- but if he doesn't take the stand to give some kind of explanation, like maybe the alleged accuser was looking at it and I had to take it away from him, or something like that, he's got to come up with something. Because if he leaves that unanswered, I think it's devastating.
SANCHEZ: Interesting. Well, with so much to talk about, what a case this is going to be. We'll be talking to you again. Kendall Coffey joining us from Miami.
COFFEY: Nice talking to you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: All right.
KAGAN: Let's check out some other stories on the docket today in our look at "Legal Briefs."
In Charleston, South Carolina, jury selection begins in the double murder trial of 15-year-old Christopher Pittman. He confessed to killing his grandparents when he was 12 years old. His lawyers claim the prescription drug Zoloft caused Pittman to hallucinate and cloud his judgment. He's being tried as an adult.
The Connecticut execution of confessed killer Michael Ross could be postponed for a second time. He is scheduled to die tonight by lethal injection today. However, over the weekend, Ross agreed to a competency hearing and papers are being filed today. He was condemned to death for killing four women in eastern Connecticut. He has admitted to killing eight women in Connecticut and New York State.
And in Georgia, a former crematory operator is expected to be sentenced for dumping 334 corpses and saying cement dust was their remains. Ray Brent Marsh faces the relatives of the dead at the hearing today. Some have traveled from as far away as Indiana and Michigan to speak their mind. Marsh is expected to get 12 years in prison. SANCHEZ: Up next, a British plane has crashed in Iraq. It was a transport plane. And the question that many in the Pentagon and in England, obviously, are trying to figure out is, was it shot down? There's going to be a live report from the Pentagon on this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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