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Prism

Iraqi Female Suicide Bomber Targets Women Pilgrims On Their Way To A Religious Festival

Aired February 01, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

STAN GRANT, CNN INT'L. ANCHOR, PRISM (voice over): A female bomber detonates a suicide belt among Shiite pilgrims, killing dozens in Iraq.

Iranian opposition leaders call for protests to mark the country's 1979 Revolution. In our "Prism Segment" tonight, just how strong is Iran's opposition?

And putting the pedal to the metal: Toyota releases a plan to fix faulty gas pedals. Will it fix the fall out from the recall?

From CNN Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates, this is PRISM, where we take a story and look at it from multiple perspectives. I'm Stan Grant.

A devastating bombing on the streets of Baghdad leads to growing concern about the government's ability to protect Iraqis from terrorism. This time the suicide bomber was a woman, setting off her explosives in a tent where female Shiite pilgrims were being searched. Dozens were killed, more than 100 people wounded. Our Diana Magnay joins us now, live, from Baghdad with the latest on the story.

And everyone, Diana, no doubt asking how this was able to happen?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: How this was able to happen? Definitely the question, but the trouble is how to police the hundreds of routes that Shia pilgrims are really taking from all corners of Iraq, down to the city of Karbala, for the Arbaeen Festival on Friday. That of course is extremely difficult.

And as you said, yourself, this bomb was detonated in a female checkpoint. These have been specifically installed, really, for the last couple of years-since female suicide bombers really spiked in numbers-to check women, to check that they aren't carrying explosives beneath these long black robes that the pilgrims wear. So there have been measures taken to try and combat this kind of thing. And around the city of Karbala thousands of extra security forces have been drafted in. But as I said, very difficult to police really, the many routes that are being taken by the pilgrims, Stan.

GRANT: And also, with the elections looming in March, what questions are being asked-keeping in mind the difficulty you have just posed, and about how to ensure this type of thing doesn't happen-but what questions are going to be asked about security and how people can be kept safe?

MAGNAY: Well, before the elections this is precisely what Al Qaeda and extremists groups are trying to achieve. Trying to make people believe that the security forces aren't capable of protecting them and that this Shiite-led government isn't capable of guaranteeing stability and security in this country. And that is a big problem for the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, because he is really built this campaign on-in terms of the fact that he has supposed to have brought stability back to Iraq.

So, he will really be in the spotlight now, as to that security record. But that is certainly the intention of these extremists groups to make people question the ability of their security forces, Stan.

GRANT: Diana, thank you. Diana Magnay joining us live from Baghdad.

Well, the Israeli military has disciplined two Army officers for their actions during last year's operation against Hamas in Gaza. Paula Hancocks joins us now live from Jerusalem with more on that story-Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Stan.

Well, this is the highest-ranking Israeli action we have seen so far in their own investigations it comes this three-week Gaza military operation, the end of 2008, beginning of 2009. Now we understand that a brigadier general and a colonel have both been disciplined by the Israeli Defense Forces for their conduct during the war.

Now, this emerged on page 30 of a 46-page report that was sent to the United Nations back on Friday. There Israel's rebuttal for the United Nation's Goldstone report, which accuses both Israel and Hamas of carrying out and committing war crimes.

Now what we understand from the Israeli Defense Force is that the two in question have been reprimanded, basically because they authorized artillery shells to be used in a populated area. Now this is from January 15, it is from the same day, and the same incident, in which the U.N. headquarters in Gaza caught fire. There was evidence of white phosphorous during that incident.

But the idea says that the two military officials were not reprimanded for the use of white phosphorous, they say that the IDF has used white phosphorous in line with international norms, i.e., not in populated areas, and only as a smoke screen, Stan.

GRANT: Paula, try to clarify this. They haven't been reprimanded for the use of white phosphorous, but had they authorized that? Is there anything to indicate that they were ordering white phosphorous to be used?

HANCOCKS: Well, what those two individuals, themselves, had been authorizing was the use of artillery shells in that particular area. Now these artillery shells, themselves, it has emerged from the IDF were used in an area where they shouldn't have been used. It was too populated an area, which is why they were reprimanded.

The IDF is not specifying about the white phosphorous. We had heard reports saying this is what these two individuals were reprimanded for. The IDF has been at pains to point out, this was not related. This is not what these two had been reprimanded for. But it is significant that they have been reprimanded. It is the first indication that we have seen of this. We have heard from the Israeli government that they have got 150 cases that were being investigated; 36 of those during the conduct of the war and now have been passed on to military police for a criminal investigation, Stan.

GRANT: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks joining us live there from Jerusalem.

U.S. military officials are publically acknowledging they are beefing up missile defense systems in the Persian Gulf Region. It is a process that began under President George Bush, but has expanded under President Barack Obama. As Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr reports the move is designed to raise pressure on Iran, over its controversial nuclear program, while sending a signal about security in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (On camera): Just last night, the U.S. conducted a missile test of a U.S. missile system that would be capable of shooting down an Iranian missile. The missile test failed due to some technical problems with the radar.

But the message remains the same: The U.S is now trying to really beef up defenses, if you will, in the Persian Gulf. Both ships in the Strait of Hormuz and those systems on shore, in Persian Gulf allied countries. The White House advisor, David Axelrod, just talked, yesterday, about why this was happening.

DAVID AXELROD, SR. WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: Well, look, we have partners in that region. We have a great interest in the stability of that region. And we are going to continue to do what is necessary to help maintain security in that region.

STARR: But one of the issues, really, on the table is the sensitivities of the Persian Gulf nations about this. They live in a, you know, pretty tight neighborhood out there. They have existing commercial and economic relations with Iran. So, the U.S. has been at some pains to try and convince them to beef up their own defenses against Iran, even though, I think everyone understands that the stated threat is of any Iranian attack against Israel. Still, the U.S. really making this effort to really push these defenses in the Persian Gulf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRANT: Barbara Starr reporting there.

Well, over the next 10 days Iran marks a major anniversary that many are watching closely. The 1979 return of Ayatollah Khomeini and the dawn of the Islamic Revolution, will climax February 11. Already some opposition leaders are calling on Iranians to take to the streets and demand their rights back.

A statement posted on an opposition web site reads: "The widespread arrests of political activists and university students, the silencing of the media, and the forced confessions of prisoners are against the principles of Islam and the constitution of Iran."

It seems to be a bold call to action from the opposition, considering the events of the past eight months. Through the PRISM this evening, we are asking how strong is the Iranian opposition? From Islamabad, Correspondent Reza Sayah looks at the strength and structure of what many see as a permanent political fixture in Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They have beaten, arrested, and sentenced to death, dozens have been killed. Yet, Iran's opposition movement remains defiant, posing the biggest challenge ever to the Islamic Republic in its 31 year history.

But question remain. How widespread is this movement? Who exactly are its leaders? And does it have the power to bring political change to Iran?

It is impossible to say the opposition movement represents Iran's majority. Iran's hardline leaders say the movement is insignificant. But their protests show they have strength in numbers; able to draw hundreds of thousands to the streets in cities throughout Iran. The demographics of the movement have expanded as well, analysts say. Men, women, rich, poor, even religious conservatives now taking part in the call for change, says Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INT'L. PEACE: What we have seen over the course of the last seven months is that with the passage of time the legitimacy of the regime has only been further diluted and the ranks of those who sympathize with the opposition has only increased.

SAYAH: Analyst say the movement has carried on without a clear leader. Early on defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi seemed to lead the charge. But no longer is this a protest against the vote he lost. The movement now, a shapeless blend of different factions, with demands ranging from regime change to a freer more open society.

Columbia University Professor Hamid Dabashi calls it a civil rights movement.

HAMID DABASHI, PROF. OF IRANIAN STUDIES, COLUMBIA UNIVERSIT: For the fist time in modern history, and not just in the history of Iran, we have a civil rights movement that people are its leaders. Of course, Mr. Mousavi, Karoubi, etc cetera, are also representative of this movement, but not its leaders.

SAYAH: Some experts say the absence of a clear leader is precisely why the regime can't crush the opposition movement. After all, who does the government go after when it is not even sure who is leading the charge? So far the movement hasn't been able to spark political change, but a recent television debate, where state-run media invited an opposition supporter to speak, is perhaps the regime's first acknowledgment, this is a movement that cannot be ignored.

(On camera): One of the most effective ways to gauge the opposition movement's momentum has been their ability to target major holidays and calendar days in Iran, and essentially hijack government sanctioned events to make their voices heard; the next date they are targeting, February 11, the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRANT: The opposition movement that sprang up after the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad represents the biggest challenge to the government in the Islamic Revolution's 31 year history. President Ahmadinejad publically dismisses the opposition and government authorities warn any protests February 11 will be met with a crackdown.

The United States is seeing relations deteriorate under Mr. Ahmadinejad's time in office. In an interview with World Affairs Correspondent Jill Dougherty, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the political struggle is strictly an internal matter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Their society is under a lot of stress. We think it is imperative to change the calculus of the leadership. The Iranian people are at a crossroads. They have the opportunity to demand more from their own leadership, which has obviously from the outside, appeared to have failed the Iranian people.

So, the voices of protest, the voices of opposition, are going to continue to challenge this regime in Iran, but the outside world is not involved in that. This is an internal, societal, matter for Iranians to decide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: Hooman Majdid is the author of "The Ayatollah Begs to Differ". Born in Tehran, he was a translator of President Ahmadinejad at the United Nations. Appearing on CNN's "AMANPOUR" recently, he said he views the current opposition as more of a civil rights movement, not a revolution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOOMAN MAJDID, AUTHOR, "THE AYATOLLAH BEGS TO DIFFER": I think that Mousavi, and Karoubi, and Khatami-now if you believe that they are the leaders of this movement, some people disagree that they are the leaders anymore. But if you believe that they are-and I tend to believe that they still are-they do want to have reform. They want to have change, they want to have free elections, they want to go back to the principles of the constitution of the Islamic Republic. And I think the majority of the supporters certainly feel that way, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: A story we will be watching for you through the PRISM.

Well tomorrow we'll look at gays in the military. Should openly gay man and women be allowed to serve in the military? Send us your thoughts on Twitter at CNNABUDHABI.

There is new hope today for Haiti's most critically injured earthquake victims. Airlifts to U.S. hospitals are starting up once again. They had been suspended for four days. That was to make certain there is adequate space in U.S. medical facilities and to clarify how costs will be covered. Patients to be sent to the U.S. are those whose medical needs cannot be met by doctors working in Haiti.

Ten Americans are in jail now in Haiti, charged with child trafficking and awaiting word on what comes next. They were stopped trying to take 33 children out of the country Friday with none of the required paperwork. Haiti's prime minister has called it kidnapping but the men and women say they are with a church group and they were just trying to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA SILSBY, DETAIN IN HAITI: By the end of the day, we were basically held in jail, and the children were all taken from us. Which honestly, our tears tonight have not been for ourselves, because we're fine, it is has been for these precious children who have lost everything and we have given them-you know, we have been up all-several nights now with them, comforting them and caring for them through the night as they have wept and cried with their losses. And it hurts me greatly tonight to know that they are in some camp, somewhere, once again, alone and not-not- you know, without that comfort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: A child welfare group says many of the children have at least one surviving parent.

A major recall for Toyota. Today the automotive giant explains how it plans to fix its pedal problems.

Plus, U.S. President Barack Obama lays out his plans for growth in a $3.8-trillion budget. We'll bring you the details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRANT: Toyota says it has a plan to fix the sticky gas pedals in millions of vehicles worldwide. It is adding a steel reinforcement bar to most of its most popular models like the Camry, Corolla, and Tundra. The parts are expected to reach dealers in North America this week. Still the faulty pedals remain a big black eye for the world's largest automaker.

The head of Toyota in the U.S. tells customers he hopes they will give the company a chance to earn back their trust. Well millions of vehicles in Asia and Europe are also affected. Deborah Feyerick is in New York with the details-Deborah.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Stan, it is a big black eye. As a matter of fact it raises a significant amount of concern. Is it really the gas pedal? Because some had said that perhaps it is a problem with the electronics. Well, we just got off a conference call with Toyota. They say that, no, in fact, it is not the electronic system that that is designed in order to be fail safe. They say that this fix, they believe with that reinforce bar, will indeed remedy the problem which is affecting some 2.3 million cars. And the parts are going to be arriving either late tomorrow or early Wednesday.

Toyota knows that it really does have a big problem on its hands. The head of Toyota, in the U.S., for sales, he was out there beating the drums, saying they are taking their customer's concerns to heart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM LENTZ, PRES., TOYOTA MOTOR SALES, USA: We put all of our efforts against making sure that we knew exactly what the situation was, developing the fix, and then developing the solution that we could fix our dealers-fix the cars at our dealerships as rapidly as possible. So, I know many have criticized us but I think it is most important that customers understand that we understand the problem, we have the fix, and our dealers are ready to take care of customers later on this week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, Toyota says that the problem stems from a friction device I the gas pedal. And essentially, that device is what gives you that sort of steady, consistent drive. But in some cars, over time, Toyota says as materials get used, there is wear and tear, environmental conditions, it causes the pedal to stick rather than come back and release smoothly. Now, when there is too much friction, the pedal does not return as quickly as it should, or in the worst cases the car doesn't slow down and continues to accelerate unexpectedly. Now, Toyota says it has created what is called a precision cut steel reinforcement bar. It is not very big. But it is going be installed in the gas pedal assembly. They say it will reduce surface tension, thereby eliminate the access friction.

As you can see, there, in that picture right by the CNN bug, there is that little red bar. That is what they are going to be adding to the vehicle. Now, according to Toyota, engineers have rigorously tested this new part. It is being shipped and Toyota dealers say they plan to have their folks working around the clock in order to remedy this problem. Again, 2.3 million cars on the road; when you think about it, they say it is about a half an hour to fix. So, you are looking at about a million man hours in all of this? But, again, Toyota has about 170,000 dealers across the U.S. So they should be able to handle it. But don't expect to be first on the list, Stan.

GRANT: And it is going to be costly, isn't it? And how much inconvenience to those people who had these cars at the moment?

FEYERICK: There is a huge amount of inconvenience. And Toyota has not yet answered questions, for example, what does that mean for the warranty? What if you have got a lease? Does that affect the lease terms? All of these sort of outstanding concerns. But again, consumer confidence? That is the underlying question. Will they be able to get that confidence? And boy, you are not looking at millions of cars that have been affected by not only this recall. But a recall because of floor mats. And so, that is a lot of uncertainty out there for cars on the road, Stan.

GRANT: Deborah, thank you for that. Deborah Feyerick joining us there, from New York.

Well, how many crashes are blamed on Toyota's acceleration problems? From 2006 to late 2009, safety experts say there have been 13 crashes. These were officially confirmed cases of unintended acceleration.

In those crashes, five people were killed; 17 other people hurt, four of those deaths were from a single incident in California. According to "Consumer Reports" in 2008 more than 40 percent of sudden acceleration complaints involved Toyota vehicles.

U.S. President Barack Obama has just unveiled a $3.8 trillion budget proposal for 2011. It appears aimed at balancing two competing goals. Continued government spending to fuel the economic recovery and putting the breaks on the nation's growing deficit. It will take months before a final budget is approved. But the next step starts Tuesday with a series of congressional hearings. Mr. Obama explained his plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We simply cannot continue to spend as if deficits don't have consequences, as if waste doesn't matter, as if the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like "Monopoly" money. As if we can ignore this challenge for another generation, we can't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: Deadly snow storms blanket parts of Oklahoma State. Now, forecasters say more freezing rain and ice are on the way. We'll have the latest, plus a look at your worldwide weather picture, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAYLOR SWIFT, SINGER/SONGWRITER: Oh, wow. Thank you so much. I just hope that you know how much this means to me and to Nathan, my producer, and to all of these musicians that you see on this stage, that we get to take this back to Nashville. And oh, my gosh, our families are freaking out ..

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: A very happy 20-year-old Taylor Swift taking the Album of the Year honor at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles for her best selling record "Fearless" Beyonce missed that honor, but she made Grammy history as the most decorated female artist in a single year. She collected six Grammys out of 10 nominations, including Song of the Year, for the catchy, "Single Ladies, Put A Ring On It". Beyonce's haul puts her Grammy wins to 16, including the three awards she won with her former group, Destiny's Child.

Let's take a look at the global weather picture now. Mari Ramos at the CNN World Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

GRANT: And that's it for me, Stan Grant, in Abu Dhabi. "African Voices" is up next, after we update the headlines.

END