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Paula Zahn Now

Interview With Jack Valenti; Tsunami Survivor Tells Her Story

Aired January 25, 2005 - 20:00   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.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Appreciate your all joining us tonight. Good evening.
In just four days, the new Iraq holds its first elections. Tonight, meet one Iraqi exile, passionate, eager to vote and to embrace democracy, wondering if it really will ever happen.

And the man who brought comfort, style and luxury to what we wear, our exclusive interview with the one and only Giorgio Armani.

But we begin tonight with three subjects guaranteed to stir up controversy, religion, politics and Hollywood. Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" will go down as the ninth biggest moneymaker in movie history. And, as we found out this morning, it will go into history books without ever getting the chance to compete for Hollywood's ultimate prize, the Academy Award for best picture.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN (voice-over): The controversy had started months before anyone had even ever seen the movie. Would the film hurt Christian- Jewish relations by blaming the Jews for killing Jesus? Would the film be a heavy-handed promotion for what some critics called Mel Gibson's ultra-conservative Catholic views.

Gibson himself said he wanted to make a historically accurate and inspiring picture. He even went to the extent of having the actors speak several languages, including Aramaic, a language from 1st century Palestine. The audience had to read subtitles. Gibson produced and directed the film, putting up tens of millions of his own money.

Why the gamble?

MEL GIBSON, DIRECTOR: Because I'm passionate about it and because that's what art is and that's what making art is about. It's about sort of throwing it all out there. And if the fur is not flying, you ain't doing nothing.

ZAHN: The controversy was stoked. Scripture scholars pointed out that even the four Gospels don't agree on the details, don't tell the story the same way, and don't make the same theological points.

By the time it premiered on February 25, 2004, which happened to be Ash Wednesday, "The Passion of the Christ" had sparked endless debate, speculation, protests and a lot of publicity. Movie reviewers on both coasts called the film harrowing, gory. Some even called it a challenge to sit through. But many moviegoers saw something else.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's no way to really express it, very powerful.

ZAHN: "The Passion" took in $26 million in just its first day and ended up as last year's third biggest money-maker, taking in a staggering $370 million in the U.S., more than $600 million worldwide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm pleased to announce the films selected as the best picture nominees for 2004 are:

ZAHN: And yet, when the Academy Award nominations were announced today, Mel Gibson's effort wasn't rewarded. It was all but ignored, shut out in the most prestigious categories like best picture and best director. Some would say it was snubbed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many, many people went to see it and many people liked it. So I think that probably speaks more highly of it than actually what Hollywood thinks.

ZAHN: "The Passion of the Christ" wasn't shut out entirely today. It did earn three nominations for cinematography, makeup and original score. And, once again, it's sparking passionate debate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: In a written statement today, Mel Gibson congratulated his associates who did get nominations, saying they contributed greatly to the success of the film.

And a short time ago, I spoke with Jack Valenti, the former chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America. And I asked him if "The Passion" was passed over because of politics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACK VALENTI, FORMER MPAA CHAIRMAN: I don't believe that at all. There are about 6,000 members of the academy.

And there's no question that what they look for is what they think is the best picture. It's quite possible that "Passion of the Christ" came in sixth. They nominate five pictures. But I think people are looking for some sinister conspiracies that don't exist. I really do believe that the vast majority of the members of the academy take it very seriously. Nobody knows who you vote for. So, if you choose to vote for something that you think might not be popular in the neighborhood, nobody knows about it. So you can be honest about it.

ZAHN: But, Jack, we can't ignore the fact that this was a film that Mel Gibson produced outside the system. He didn't openly campaign for an Oscar. And some Academy Award members were not only offended by what they perceived as the anti-Semitism of the film, but they couldn't forgive his father for being what they perceived as a Holocaust denier. That had to enter into some of the voters' minds, didn't it?

VALENTI: Certainly, it didn't enter into mine. I'm not about to tell you the five films that I nominated.

But I saw "Passion of the Christ" in a private screening room in Washington with Mel Gibson present. I counted it to be a compelling, powerful, emotional film that had me misty-eyed at the end of the film. I think, however, I do not believe that that entered into it. On the other hand, I have not taken a market survey of the 6,000-plus members. There have been a lot of films have been chosen where either the inhabitants, the actors in the film, or the director wasn't exactly winning Mr. Popularity contest.

ZAHN: So, in spite of the fact that a survey shows that two- thirds of the major media critics gave negative reviews to "Passion of the Christ," can you almost hear a chorus coming, saying, there those liberals go again in Hollywood passing over "Passion of the Christ"?

VALENTI: Yes, I can. I think that's true. I think a lot of people think that. I've been in the movie business almost 40 years. And I must say that a lot of high-profile people in Hollywood are -- quote -- "on the liberal side.'

But there's a great, great number of them that are in the center, who count themselves independents. I think Hollywood takes a hit sometimes for high-profile people who gain headlines. And everybody thinks that's what Hollywood is all about.

ZAHN: On to another controversial film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." Do you think Michael more lost his chance for a best picture Oscar nod when George Bush was reelected?

VALENTI: Well, now, let's just take what we've been talking about before. If Hollywood is the liberal community that people so account it to be, then Michael Moore's film should have been No. 1 on the best picture list.

I think what Michael did, he threw the dice, going best picture, refusing to go best documentary. I think he probably would have won best documentary, had he gone for it. But he chose to go for the big prize and he lost. It's as simple as that.

ZAHN: How much over do you think the Oscar telecast will go this year?

(LAUGHTER)

VALENTI: It's impossible to do it, an Academy Award program, in less than three hours and 40 minutes or three hours and 20 minutes. Let's get over it. Let's just watch this Academy Award.

Remember, it's the Nobel Prize of cinema. And you're watching something very, very important.

(CROSSTALK) ZAHN: All right, I hear what you're telegraphing here. I am preparing myself for a four-hour show this year, Jack Valenti. Thanks for the warning.

VALENTI: Thank you, Paula.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: Academy Awards snubs deserved and undeserved, nothing new. Film critic Roger Ebert joins me now from Park City, Utah, the home of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

Good of you to join us in freezing temperatures. So, Roger, do you think "Passion of the Christ" deserved an Oscar nomination today?

ROGER EBERT, FILM CRITIC: Well, I'm one of the critics that liked it. I gave it four stars when it came out. I thought it was a very powerful film that was exactly about what its title suggested, "The "Passion of the Christ," the passion in the Roman Catholic sense being his suffering before and leading up to the crucifixion. And I thought it did an amazing job of evoking that.

So, I thought it was a very good movie. I did not expect it to win a nomination, and not necessarily for controversial reasons. Remember, it came out in February. The Academy has a very short attention span. It tends to nominate films that come out in the fall or even in December. And very rarely does a movie like "Silence of the Lambs" that opens in February still get nominated almost a year later. The Academy just doesn't work that way.

ZAHN: So the fact that this film had an overt religious theme you don't think hurt its chances of getting an Oscar nod?

EBERT: It probably didn't help, because there were people who disagreed with its religion or disagreed with what they thought was its anti-Semitism. I personally did not find it anti-Semitic either. But I know that there was a wide variety of opinion on that. And I respect differences of opinion on that.

ZAHN: Why do you think "Fahrenheit 9/11" was passed over?

EBERT: "Fahrenheit 9/11" was passed over because it was never going to win for best picture. In a way, the moment for that movie ended after Election Day. Even if Kerry had won, instead of Bush, the movie would have been over. The movie really basically was a preelection film.

And I think that Jack Valenti is quite correct. If Michael Moore had gone for best documentary, he would have been nominated and he probably would have won. But he wanted to show the movie on television, so that made him ineligible in the documentary category. He went for best picture. He didn't get best picture. I wasn't at all surprised that he didn't get best picture.

ZAHN: How much politics historically can we read into these nominations, Roger? EBERT: Is that the liberal-conservative question?

ZAHN: Yes, I guess it is. I'm not sure what your answer is.

EBERT: OK.

I think that, basically, it's true that Hollywood is more liberal than conservative. On the other hand, if you look at the pictures that were nominated this year, most of them are not overtly political at all, "Ray," "Sideways," "Million Dollar Baby," "Finding Neverland. "Hotel Rwanda" is a picture that has a political viewpoint, but it's a viewpoint almost everyone would agree with.

I think that, basically, the Academy is made up of a lot of people in the crafts and in the industries who might very well vote Republican, just as many as the stars who might vote Democrat, and that what they do is, they vote for the pictures they like and that they admire. And, oftentimes, they go right off the map to find a picture like "Maria Full of Grace" or "Hotel Rwanda," which don't have really high commercial profiles, but they do their homework. They go to see these movies.

And when they see them and like them, they vote for them. I think this year's list is very interesting and, by and large, a very good list.

ZAHN: How much impact do you think popular acclaim has, particularly when you look at grosses? "Passion of the Christ," $370 million domestically, does that mean much to the Academy?

EBERT: Not necessarily.

Movies that gross very little can also be nominated. "Titanic," on the other hand, the all-time top-grossing picture and it did very well at the Oscars. But popularity and quality are not the same thing. And I think that, since the box office rules Hollywood the rest of the year, it's interesting that, on Oscar night, people tend to vote for the picture that they think is the best picture, even if it isn't the most popular.

ZAHN: Roger Ebert, thanks for your time. We'll let you warm yourself up. I know it is freezing there tonight in Park City.

EBERT: OK.

ZAHN: Again, appreciate it. See you around Oscar time.

There's more ahead tonight, including great expectations for Sunday's election in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN (voice-over): Driven from his homeland by the violence, now in exile, an Iraqi's first taste of democracy, his first free election. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It shows that you're participating and keeping up your country somehow. And being a part of a democracy right now is really exciting.

ZAHN: One man, one vote, four days to go.

And she was trapped in the tsunami, seriously injured, a best friend swept away. An American doctor looks back at the miracle of her survival.

Also, he changed the way we look, the way we dress, the very meaning of luxury, an exclusive interview with a legend, Giorgio Armani.

All that tonight and more tonight on PAULA ZAHN NOW.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: The number of people killed in last month's tsunami now stands at nearly 144,000, with 146,000 more still missing.

So, when all the searching and all the counting is done, the toll is likely to be more than 300,000. It was just one month ago that all those lives were swept away. One of the lucky survivors was an American doctor who was on vacation in Thailand's Phi Phi Island. Libby North was in a bungalow with a friend when the waves crashed through. It was Ben Abels' last-minute offer of a ticket to Thailand that brought her there.

Ben was swept away. But she survived with a hand nearly severed and a seriously mangled leg. Doctors in Thailand saved both limbs. And Libby North finally returned home last week.

And Libby joins us now for an exclusive interview from her hometown of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where she is still trying to recover and still trying to put her life back together.

Welcome home. So good to see you.

DR. LIBBY NORTH, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: Hi. Hello.

ZAHN: How you doing physically, Libby?

NORTH: Well, you know, I'm making progress. I'm certainly better off than I was about a month ago. But I still have a long way to go. I have a lot of therapy ahead of me, but doing better.

ZAHN: How painful is the therapy?

NORTH: It's certainly in my hand, you know, where the tendons were transected and the nerves were cut, it's quite painful. And I don't have a lot of function in my hand yet. So it is painful and it's going to take some time.

ZAHN: Do doctors think you'll regain most of that feeling?

NORTH: Actually, my doctors are giving me a lot of hope that I will regain a significant amount of function in my hand. And I may even be able to go back to a lot of the activities that I love to do, like kite-boarding and mountain biking and tennis. So, I actually have a lot of hope that I will recover.

ZAHN: Will this injury allow you to go back to work any time soon? You're a neurologist and you actually specialize in patients who have suffered strokes.

NORTH: Yes. Absolutely.

I'm not a surgeon, so I should be able to return to work. And I think my hand is going to improve every month. So, I'd like to get back to work in a couple months, if I can.

ZAHN: What do you remember about that day, when the wave came crashing in on you?

NORTH: You know, I really didn't see it coming. I was in a bungalow with my friend Ben, and I heard a roaring sound, which I thought was very peculiar. In the next moment, I saw some water rushing by the bungalow. And then, instantaneously, it was like a truck crashed through the wall. And I was submerged and I was traveling underwater at approximately 40 miles per hour.

And, at the same time, my body was just thrown around in every single direction. I was being crushed through debris and it was just absolutely terrifying. I was certain I was going to die. And, in the last moment, the wave receded, and I was still living, but was buried and was fortunate to be rescued. You know, the story doesn't end there. Just the fact that I got to a hospital within seven hours and had my hand repaired is really a miracle.

ZAHN: A lot of people think it was a miracle that you had the medical training you had and that you might not have survived or at least your hand might not have survived. What difference do you think that made?

NORTH: It absolutely made a difference.

When I was buried under debris, I was aware that I had served an artery under my wrist, that I had lost a significant amount of blood. I was able to hold on to my right wrist with my left hand and actually try to control some blood loss. Once I was rescued by some local Thai men and carried to a safe place, I just continued to announce that I was a physician, that I had a severe hand injury, I was going to lose my hand, if people could please help me get to a hospital.

And once I finally arrived at a hospital in Phuket, which was just a complete, completely chaotic scene, I continued to advocate for myself, to, you know, basically, ask a surgeon to see me as soon as possible, so I could have my hand repaired. In Phuket, I had to ask for blood transfusions and tetanus shots. They were very overwhelmed there at the time. ZAHN: Well, thank goodness for your fortitude and your courage there.

A final question about your friend Ben, who remains missing at this hour. I know you are going to attend a memorial service back in Evanston, Illinois. What do you plan to say to his family?

NORTH: Well, you know, I just -- I understand how important it is for his family for me to be there. And Ben was a good friend of mine. And I just understand that my presence there is greatly appreciated.

And I feel that it is important for me to be there. And I would like to support his family in any way that I can on Sunday and in the future. Ben's family has actually established a foundation for him. And they are actually raising money for aid for the tsunami victims in Asia. And if there's any way that I can help support Ben and his family and the foundation, I will continue to do that.

ZAHN: I'm sure that means a lot to his family.

Libby North, thank you for sharing your story with us. We know it's not easy for you to relive all this pain. Good luck to you.

NORTH: Thank you.

ZAHN: Coming up next, we're going to change our focus quite a bit, "Defending America." How safe are our nation's fuel depots?

And a little bit later on, the man who brought high fashion down to earth, an exclusive interview with Giorgio Armani.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Today, the FBI said last week's scare about a terrorist plot against Boston was indeed a false alarm. And for those charged with defending America, there is always concern about the heavily populated Northeast Coast, including some places you might not think are terrorist targets.

Alina Cho takes us to one such place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nobody knows New Haven Harbor better than Mike Pimer.

(on camera): How long have you been doing this?

MIKE PIMER, HARBORMASTER: Long time. Long time.

CHO (voice-over): As the city's harbormaster, Pimer has always thought about security, but never more so than now.

(on camera): What are you looking for?

PIMER: Bombs, people, anything, people.

CHO (voice-over): The target of opportunity, the Port of New Haven. The port houses the region's second largest home heating oil reserve, supplies jet fuel to an Air Force base and a civilian airport, and handles 700 ships and barges each year, many carrying explosive cargo.

I-95, a major artery, runs right through it. An attack with an explosives-laden small craft, like that on the USS Cole, is what people around here fear the most.

CAPT. STEPHEN VERRELLI, NEW HAVEN POLICE DEPARTMENT: And it wouldn't take much of a vessel to do a substantial amount of damage.

CHO: Police Captain Steven Verrelli's job is to decide where to deploy New Haven's 210 uniformed officers. Each day, he sends two officers to the port and a canine unit does spot-checks.

VERRELLI: We cannot be here 24/7. We don't have the resources for that.

CHO: He'd like to do more.

VERRELLI: It's hard to think and talk about harbor and harbor security and port security without thinking about a boat.

CHO: But New Haven doesn't have one.

(on camera): The city had hoped to buy a police and fire boat with a homeland security grant, but New Haven lost its destination as a high-risk city this year. That means no grant money and no boat for the harbor.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: There's just no reason for it.

CHO (voice-over): Joseph Lieberman, Connecticut's senior senator, sits on the Homeland Security Committee. He also lives in New Haven.

LIEBERMAN: It's home. To cut the funding to better secure the New Haven port is just an example of penny-wise and pound foolish. And the pound foolish here really means homeland security foolish.

CHO: There have been scares. In August, two sailors from a Turkish vessel docked in New Haven jumped ship, swam ashore, and disappeared. To this day, they have not been found. The Coast Guard says the crew had been cleared long before the ship entered the port. And the missing sailors pose no security risk.

JOSH BROWN, NEW HAVEN RESIDENT: Nobody knows whether they are a threat or they're not a threat.

CHO: Josh Browns remembers sitting in this harbor-side diner when he heard about the Turkish incident. He lives in the suburbs, hunts for ducks in nearby marches and works a mile and half from the port.

BROWN: I've never seen a police vessel out there. I've never seen a Coast Guard vessel out there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coast Guard (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Coast Guard (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

CHO: The Coast Guard says it is watching the port more than people realize, more than the public can see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a tracking system.

CHO: Under new security regulations that took effect in July, the Coast Guard now monitors ships coming into the port days before they arise.

CAPT. PETER BOYNTON, U.S. COAST GUARD: Security starts overseas. Security continues offshore. And security then continues in the port, but security does not start in the port.

CHO: Captain Peter Boynton says the Coast Guard boards 50 percent of ships that come into the Port of New Haven, including this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cabin secure. Next one down.

CHO: On board the Liberian tanker Elka Hercules, officers search cabins, check I.D.s and look for anything suspicious, even watch for things that aren't there. For instance, if boarding officers find photos of naked women on the wall, that's OK. Blank walls could mean something out of the ordinary. He says port security has improved dramatically since 9/11. Still, he says, there's always more to do.

BOYNTON: Are there gaps? If there are gaps, what can we do to fill them? And that's a daily discussion.

CHO: So, for now, the Coast Guard does what it can and Mike Pimer does what he can about threats that, for most of his 50 years on the water, were unimaginable.

(on camera): Does it break your heart to have to think about these things?

PIMER: It took a little getting used to. I thought they were crazy at first. But, at this particular point, I don't happen to -- I don't believe they're crazy at all. And I'm out there trying to do a little more than what I did before.

CHO (voice-over): In the harbor he calls home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: That was Alina Cho reporting for us from New Haven.

As you know, the Iraqi elections are just four days away. Next, one man determined to have a say in his country's future, even though he's thousands of miles away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Now, just four days to go until Iraqis go to the polls, but that didn't slow down the violence today. Just southeast of Baghdad, a judge died in a drive-by shooting. He was leaving his home. And a videotape released today of an American hostage pleading for his life. Roy Hallums was kidnapped on November 1st. The tape gives no clues about when it was made or if even Hallums is still alive.

My colleague, Anderson Cooper, joins me now from Baghdad. Anderson, how obvious is this insurgent threat as you wander around the city?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we actually don't wander around the city for that very reason. You know, it's not as you drive through the streets -- and we drive through the streets very quickly, I can tell you -- you know, it's not as if you see insurgents running around. But you know, when you do see them, that's a problem. If they're that close to you, that's a real concern.

But you do hear -- I mean, there are whole neighborhoods in Baghdad which are sort of no-go areas at times. And there are times, even today, some insurgents were handing out flyers on the street. This is a copy of a flier that was handed out in this city of Kirkuk. It basically threatened anyone who goes to vote with death. The flyers that are being handed out today on the streets in Baghdad said that anyone who goes to vote, that they will wash the streets of Baghdad with the blood of anyone who actually goes to cast a vote.

So they are out there and they are -- even if you don't see them, you know, there is a sense that they could show up at any time, and that is why security is the number one concern, not only for journalists, but for everyone here in Iraq, Paula.

ZAHN: Sure. And I guess everybody was anticipating this spiked violence as you got closer and closer to the election. But what is your sense? Are people so paralyzed by this fear that they in fact won't vote?

COOPER: I think you're going to find some pockets of people who aren't voting, and there is certainly a lot of fear and there's very justifiable fear. But I think a lot of people -- I mean, who -- no one really knows how many people are going to turn out to vote. There are estimates of -- I mean, some think the voter turnout could be as high as 80 percent of eligible voters; some think it could be more in the realm of 40 to 50 percent.

You know, there is a lot of optimism out there that you hear. And I think there are people who are really looking forward to voting and not necessarily -- you know, there are people here who've spent their entire lives and haven't really been able to vote in a free election, in a fair election, or even vote for any kind of representative government. So there is optimism. And of course, as you know, among the Kurds and the Shiites, there is a lot of, you know, expected to be very high voter turnout among the Sunnis. It's expected to be far lower; most of the Sunni parties are boycotting these elections.

But I definitely think there is optimism out there, and I think despite the dangers -- you know, Iraqis are very tough people, and they have been living with this security problem for two years now. I think you're going to see significant numbers of people coming out to vote.

ZAHN: We heard a lot of stories about how U.S. troops are being moved around the country right now, to try to secure polling places. What kind of observations do you have? What were you able to see?

COOPER: You know, you don't see U.S. troops as much as you used to. I was here back in June for the handover of power, and back then there was a lot of talk about putting an Iraqi face on the security forces. You certainly see that more and more. I mean, just driving around, a lot of the checkpoints that are being manned, more and more it is Iraqis who are manning them, Iraqi National Guard, who have now become the Iraqi army, Iraqi police. You see them to a lesser extent.

So there is much more of an Iraqi face, but all the time you know that there are some 130,000 U.S. troops, U.S. Marines, U.S. Army, you know, Navy and Air Force here on the ground all throughout Iraq. And they're the ones conducting a lot of these commando raids, they're the ones, you know, 24 hours day, seven days a week, who are still conducting operations. And in particular in these last crucial days before this election, they're working very, very hard. They're rounding up large numbers of suspects, suspected insurgents, many of whom end up being released because they turn out not to be insurgents, but they're doing everything they can to try to make sure that this thing goes off with the least amount of violence as possible, Paula.

ZAHN: We'll be following this very closely over the next four days. Anderson, thanks very much. Look forward to talking to you again tomorrow.

Just a reminder, about a quarter of a million Iraqis who live outside their country have registered to vote on Sunday, and that's a fraction of the 1.2 million who are in fact eligible to vote.

Senior international correspondent Walt Rodgers talked with one Iraqi man who isn't letting 2,400 miles get in the way of his passion to vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Saif Abu Al-Timen (ph) is a 20-year-old Iraqi living in exile in London. Last July, he had a close call with death in Baghdad in a car bomb that killed 11 other people. Now, Saif and his mother, Faria, are preparing to vote absentee in the Iraqi elections.

There's a learning curve here. Iraqi communists like this man were literally gunned down in Baghdad under Saddam Hussein. Now in the West, the communist is largely ignored outside Saif's polling place.

For Saif, it's a two-step process. First, registration.

SAIF, IRAQI VOTER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I go to desk number 34.

RODGERS: Iraqis in exile are an often homesick but tightly knit group.

A voting registrar explains Saif needs two kinds of identification. It's a heady experience for a first time Iraqi voter.

SAIF: It feels that you're participating in keeping up your country somehow. And, you know, being a part of a democracy right now is really exciting, I guess.

RODGERS: His mother, Faria, is part of a growing power block of Iraqi women voters. She recalls the last time when Saddam's thugs banged on her door, demanding she vote in Iraq.

FARIA, SAIF'S MOTHER: Nobody can say no. Everybody, they say Saddam, because they are afraid from him. Everybody with Saddam, they have a gun, you know.

RODGERS: No guns prod Iraqi absentee voters here, but the metal detectors and pat-downs speak to a lingering volatility.

This maimed and scarred Iraqi election registrar was tortured under Saddam because he was an ethnic Kurd.

(on camera): Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just Kurdish. Nothing.

RODGERS (voice-over): Brutality, torture and death are the only politics generations of Iraqis experienced. Saif Abu Al-Timen (ph) only knew truly democratic elections from afar.

SAIF: I thought I wanted Bush to win for a specific reason, because I thought he was the right guy to finish the job for Iraq.

RODGERS: Saif gives President Bush the benefit of the doubt on Saddam's phantom weapons of mass destruction, but neither he nor his mother believes there were ever any al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq, at least before the American invasion.

FARIA: No, I don't think so, no. There is not terrorists from al Qaeda, no.

SAIF: This is a picture of my father, my sister and my little brother and myself in Jordan.

RODGERS: Saif's father was also imprisoned and tortured by Saddam's police. Later, his father spirited the family out to safety and exile in Britain. SAIF: Still, I went back to Iraq, and I was injured from a blast.

RODGERS: Last July 14th, Saif, shown here, was gravely injured in a suicide car bombing in Baghdad while visiting his father.

SAIF: The wounds are healing, it's going well. My hearing is a little affected because of the explosion.

RODGERS: Saif's father, still in Baghdad, keeps the shrapnel souvenir for his son in Iraq.

So will any of the family return to Iraq after the election? Saif's sister, Maya.

MAYA, SAIF'S SISTER: But it's too dangerous. I would never think of going back now.

RODGERS: Now with his family divided, some living in exile, Saif has become the surrogate patriarch. He disciplines his younger brother and watches over his mother and teenage sister like an Arab godfather.

MAYA: He doesn't allow no have boyfriends. I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), he does chase away boys all the time.

RODGERS: Saif Abu Al-Timen (ph) straddles two worlds, East and West. He spends evenings with other Iraqi expatriates in Arab coffee houses.

They talk about democracy and Iraq, politics and Iraq. And in traditional Arabic fashion, instead of reading tea leaves, they read coffee grounds to discover the future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says the future of Iraq is very bright.

RODGERS: But opinions differ.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the shape of a woman crying. Maybe the suffering of Iraq right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: That was Walt Rodgers reporting.

Tomorrow, a very special story about a very special Marine platoon. The men of Pale Rider 3, veterans of the bloodiest Iraqi battle, the battle of Falluja. Their personal stories are the story of the war in Iraq. And you'll hear them here tomorrow.

Even the worst of evils end and survivors move on with the result to make a world a better place to live in. One survivor story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Two days from now, Europe will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the end of the Holocaust. Six million Jews and millions of others died in Nazi death camps during World War II, the numbers are still difficult to grasp.

And there are some unsettling signs that the reality of the Holocaust is slipping from memory, one of those signs when a member of Britain's royal family, Prince Harry, wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party this month, a remarkable case of bad timing.

One of those survivors of the Holocaust, Adam Koenig, was just a teenager when the Nazi's arrested him in 1939. His only crime? You'll see.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN (voice-over): ... this week that Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Some one and a half million people, 90 percent of them Jews, were murdered in these Nazi gas chambers and crematoriums.

Now, for the first time, the U.N. is marking the anniversary. Still, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, a Nobel laureate, warns that the world must never let something so evil happen again.

ELIE WIESEL, NOBEL PEACE PRICE LAUREATE: As a teacher, I always believe in questions. The question is, will the world ever learn?

ZAHN: But anti-Semitic acts are still happening today. Holocaust survivors say, though, the high profiles memorials this week in France, Germany and Poland are steps in the right direction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: One survivor returning to Poland this week was a teenager when he was arrested by the Nazis.

Chris Burns has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Adam Koenig was one of eight siblings in a Jewish family in Frankfurt. A week after World War II began, the Nazis sent him to a concentration camp. He was just 16 years old, the beginning of nearly six years of horror.

ADAM KOENIG, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: The first thing I thought, that was the impression maybe like, that's the kind hell would look like.

BURNS: Koenig survived Sachsenhausen and other death camps as a manual laborer. In October 1942, he was transferred in a cattle car to Auschwitz.

KOENIG: Whoever wasn't able to work, they sent to Buchenwald, which meant to be -- to come to the killing factory. It smelled like -- like burnt meat. Sweet, a certain smell, you -- it's hard to forget it. BURNS: With Soviet troops advancing on Auschwitz in 1935, the Nazis moved thousands of prisoners, Koenig included, to other death camps.

KOENIG: Those who couldn't continue, would fall, were too weak to continue to march, they were shot.

BURNS: When British troops liberated Koenig at Bergen-Belsen April 15, it wasn't a day of joy for him.

KOENIG: Maybe I felt that the -- the damage must have been so much for the family, that I couldn't expect any good things.

BURNS: Indeed, Koenig would learn that four of his younger brothers and sisters died in the Holocaust, as well as his parents, his father at Auschwitz.

KOENIG: After 20 years, I decided to talk about it. And if I wouldn't manage to keep my feeling in a certain way, I wouldn't do that. It would with too hard.

BURNS: Koenig's wife, Maria, was also at Auschwitz. They met as they and other survivors searched for loved ones.

As retired teachers, they continue to lecture, to keep the Holocaust memory alive. At 82, and a great-grandfather, Koenig remains on a mission.

KOENIG: People who have the experience, they have to do something. They have a certain responsibility that the things which happened shouldn't be for nothing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: A reminder of that. Chris Burns reporting for us.

Well, the human mind is capable of great cruelty. It's also capable of bringing beauty and grace into our lives. You're going to meet one man who's done that, Giorgio Armani, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: In Paris this week with a dozen of the biggest names in fashion are showing off their spring and summer collections. They always work way ahead of schedule.

Among them, Giorgio Armani, the Italian designer, who has over the past 30 years built a $2 billion empire, changing the way we define the word "style."

The legendary designer, who is notoriously shy, sat down with our Alessio Vinci for an interview you only see here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I met Giorgio Armani in Milan, in what he calls his theater, the place he uses for work, inspiration and to showcase his latest collections.

As he prepares for his next show, his focus on detail is intense. Surrounded by a staff of several dozen, he is the only one dressing the models.

GIORGIO ARMANI, FASHION DESIGNER (through translator): In this business, the attention to detail is fundamental. Especially in a choice like I make, which is not a choice of great extravagance, but of a subtle evolution of the tendencies. It's something often undetectable, not using the spectacular effects which in the fashion world often get used.

VINCI: Armani prides himself for creating fashions people can wear everyday, staying away from what he calls the excesses of modern day coterie.

ARMANI (through translator): I don't agree with a lot of the things that are done on the wave of done to the advantage of people's good faith, like showing things in newspaper which don't have anything to do with real life, because that particular dress will never be sold in a store or that particular image does not correspondent to anything in real life. You will never find a woman moving that way.

VINCI: He also rejects critics who have dismissed his style as no longer cutting edge.

ARMANI (through translator): Fashion has come to mean the latest model of cell phone, the latest shoe, the latest tricycle. Everything that is emphasized, everything that is commercial. I think people have started saying, "Who gives a damn?"

VINCI: And that has worked to Armani's advantage.

ARMANI (through translator): We survived better than a lot of others, precisely because my products have never had extravagant peaks that make people think once I buy that object I'll have to throw it away in three months because the fashion has already changed so much.

VINCI: After 30 years in the business, Giorgio Armani says it isn't just fashion that's changed but also the way fashion is sold in stores.

ARMANI (through translator): Today, the promotion is more important than the product. The size of the store is more important than the real value of what's being sold.

VINCI: At the age of 70, Armani admits to thinking about his legacy.

ARMANI (through translator): To think about a Giorgio Armani company that does not include my presence anymore is a daily thought. Everyday, I have to deal with this problem. It's very painful to think about it, especially, when we're talking about a person who does a job everyone that looks upon as the message.

In the morning, I arrive in the office, and the various dress making workshops, and everyone waits for me to say what has to be done.

VINCI: Among those assisting him today may be his successor, but his dominance as one of the world's most famous fashion houses makes it difficult for anyone to step out of his shadow.

ARMANI (through translator): This is a company closely linked to my personality, to my way of seeing things. I have organized behind me a group of people. You saw those guys today. Some of them are quite creative. Others are more organizational. Obviously, in the choice of a tie, red rather than green, I hope the person who will take my place will choose the right one.

VINCI: A year ago Armani suggested for the first time that he could retire after another five years in the business. Today, he laughs at that possibility.

ARMANI (through translator): There are not four years now. There are still five, so we have to move the deadline farther away. This job, you either do it full time or you don't do it.

VINCI: And despite his status, Giorgio Armani admits that he, too, is mortal.

VINCI (through translator): I am what I am. I am a human being.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: I hope we're all that. Alessio Vinci reporting for us tonight.

"LARRY KING LIVE" now joins with us a look at what's coming up at 9, a picture of sartorial elegance, tonight.

You don't have to be a fashion victim to cut through, do you, Larry?

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": No, but I like Giorgio Armani. I didn't know he didn't speak English.

ZAHN: No. Whenever you speak to him you have to speak to him through an interpreter. So consequently, conversations are very long.

KING: We have that problem, though, sometimes. We talk through management.

ZAHN: Of course. By the way, you deserve a major check from management last night. You had a stunning show, and a lot of America watched it. Way to go, Lar. Your Johnny Carson tribute was magnificent.

KING: Thank you. And we're going to repeat it on Saturday night.

ZAHN: Good.

KING: And then we'll be live Sunday night. You'll be live Sunday, too. We're all live Sunday with the Iraq elections.

ZAHN: Right.

KING: Tonight, interesting show. Interesting young man. He's with us here in the studio, Owen Lafave. His estranged wife, the former teacher, Debbie Lafave is accused of having sexual encounters with a 14-year-old student. He's our guest for the full hour. We'll be taking your phone calls with this extraordinary story. Owen Lafave at 9 -- Paula.

ZAHN: Thanks, Larry. We'll see you in a couple of minutes.

Coming up next, some late night laughs. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Just enough time for a late night laugh or two. If there's a way to draw comparison between the U.S. and the Iraqi elections, leave it to "The Daily Show" to find it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB CORDDRY, "THE DAILY SHOW": The voters are getting ready to select from nearly 8,000 candidates representing 270 political parties. And according to the latest polls, things are really heating up.

As you can see, Jon, if you look there on your graph, as you can see, the Iraqi Unity Party seems to be sitting pretty with a strong 0.8 support. But Jon, anything can happen in a week.

I thought this was interesting. The Islamic Islamic Party losing ground the Unbelievably Islamic party. Of course, both still beating Sharpton by a comfortable margin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Gives you a sense of what is at stake on Sunday.

Thanks for joining us tonight. That wraps it up for all of us here. We'll be back the same time, same place tomorrow night. "LARRY KING LIVE" is next. Thanks again for joining us tonight.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired January 25, 2005 - 20:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Appreciate your all joining us tonight. Good evening.
In just four days, the new Iraq holds its first elections. Tonight, meet one Iraqi exile, passionate, eager to vote and to embrace democracy, wondering if it really will ever happen.

And the man who brought comfort, style and luxury to what we wear, our exclusive interview with the one and only Giorgio Armani.

But we begin tonight with three subjects guaranteed to stir up controversy, religion, politics and Hollywood. Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" will go down as the ninth biggest moneymaker in movie history. And, as we found out this morning, it will go into history books without ever getting the chance to compete for Hollywood's ultimate prize, the Academy Award for best picture.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN (voice-over): The controversy had started months before anyone had even ever seen the movie. Would the film hurt Christian- Jewish relations by blaming the Jews for killing Jesus? Would the film be a heavy-handed promotion for what some critics called Mel Gibson's ultra-conservative Catholic views.

Gibson himself said he wanted to make a historically accurate and inspiring picture. He even went to the extent of having the actors speak several languages, including Aramaic, a language from 1st century Palestine. The audience had to read subtitles. Gibson produced and directed the film, putting up tens of millions of his own money.

Why the gamble?

MEL GIBSON, DIRECTOR: Because I'm passionate about it and because that's what art is and that's what making art is about. It's about sort of throwing it all out there. And if the fur is not flying, you ain't doing nothing.

ZAHN: The controversy was stoked. Scripture scholars pointed out that even the four Gospels don't agree on the details, don't tell the story the same way, and don't make the same theological points.

By the time it premiered on February 25, 2004, which happened to be Ash Wednesday, "The Passion of the Christ" had sparked endless debate, speculation, protests and a lot of publicity. Movie reviewers on both coasts called the film harrowing, gory. Some even called it a challenge to sit through. But many moviegoers saw something else.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's no way to really express it, very powerful.

ZAHN: "The Passion" took in $26 million in just its first day and ended up as last year's third biggest money-maker, taking in a staggering $370 million in the U.S., more than $600 million worldwide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm pleased to announce the films selected as the best picture nominees for 2004 are:

ZAHN: And yet, when the Academy Award nominations were announced today, Mel Gibson's effort wasn't rewarded. It was all but ignored, shut out in the most prestigious categories like best picture and best director. Some would say it was snubbed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many, many people went to see it and many people liked it. So I think that probably speaks more highly of it than actually what Hollywood thinks.

ZAHN: "The Passion of the Christ" wasn't shut out entirely today. It did earn three nominations for cinematography, makeup and original score. And, once again, it's sparking passionate debate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: In a written statement today, Mel Gibson congratulated his associates who did get nominations, saying they contributed greatly to the success of the film.

And a short time ago, I spoke with Jack Valenti, the former chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America. And I asked him if "The Passion" was passed over because of politics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACK VALENTI, FORMER MPAA CHAIRMAN: I don't believe that at all. There are about 6,000 members of the academy.

And there's no question that what they look for is what they think is the best picture. It's quite possible that "Passion of the Christ" came in sixth. They nominate five pictures. But I think people are looking for some sinister conspiracies that don't exist. I really do believe that the vast majority of the members of the academy take it very seriously. Nobody knows who you vote for. So, if you choose to vote for something that you think might not be popular in the neighborhood, nobody knows about it. So you can be honest about it.

ZAHN: But, Jack, we can't ignore the fact that this was a film that Mel Gibson produced outside the system. He didn't openly campaign for an Oscar. And some Academy Award members were not only offended by what they perceived as the anti-Semitism of the film, but they couldn't forgive his father for being what they perceived as a Holocaust denier. That had to enter into some of the voters' minds, didn't it?

VALENTI: Certainly, it didn't enter into mine. I'm not about to tell you the five films that I nominated.

But I saw "Passion of the Christ" in a private screening room in Washington with Mel Gibson present. I counted it to be a compelling, powerful, emotional film that had me misty-eyed at the end of the film. I think, however, I do not believe that that entered into it. On the other hand, I have not taken a market survey of the 6,000-plus members. There have been a lot of films have been chosen where either the inhabitants, the actors in the film, or the director wasn't exactly winning Mr. Popularity contest.

ZAHN: So, in spite of the fact that a survey shows that two- thirds of the major media critics gave negative reviews to "Passion of the Christ," can you almost hear a chorus coming, saying, there those liberals go again in Hollywood passing over "Passion of the Christ"?

VALENTI: Yes, I can. I think that's true. I think a lot of people think that. I've been in the movie business almost 40 years. And I must say that a lot of high-profile people in Hollywood are -- quote -- "on the liberal side.'

But there's a great, great number of them that are in the center, who count themselves independents. I think Hollywood takes a hit sometimes for high-profile people who gain headlines. And everybody thinks that's what Hollywood is all about.

ZAHN: On to another controversial film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." Do you think Michael more lost his chance for a best picture Oscar nod when George Bush was reelected?

VALENTI: Well, now, let's just take what we've been talking about before. If Hollywood is the liberal community that people so account it to be, then Michael Moore's film should have been No. 1 on the best picture list.

I think what Michael did, he threw the dice, going best picture, refusing to go best documentary. I think he probably would have won best documentary, had he gone for it. But he chose to go for the big prize and he lost. It's as simple as that.

ZAHN: How much over do you think the Oscar telecast will go this year?

(LAUGHTER)

VALENTI: It's impossible to do it, an Academy Award program, in less than three hours and 40 minutes or three hours and 20 minutes. Let's get over it. Let's just watch this Academy Award.

Remember, it's the Nobel Prize of cinema. And you're watching something very, very important.

(CROSSTALK) ZAHN: All right, I hear what you're telegraphing here. I am preparing myself for a four-hour show this year, Jack Valenti. Thanks for the warning.

VALENTI: Thank you, Paula.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: Academy Awards snubs deserved and undeserved, nothing new. Film critic Roger Ebert joins me now from Park City, Utah, the home of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

Good of you to join us in freezing temperatures. So, Roger, do you think "Passion of the Christ" deserved an Oscar nomination today?

ROGER EBERT, FILM CRITIC: Well, I'm one of the critics that liked it. I gave it four stars when it came out. I thought it was a very powerful film that was exactly about what its title suggested, "The "Passion of the Christ," the passion in the Roman Catholic sense being his suffering before and leading up to the crucifixion. And I thought it did an amazing job of evoking that.

So, I thought it was a very good movie. I did not expect it to win a nomination, and not necessarily for controversial reasons. Remember, it came out in February. The Academy has a very short attention span. It tends to nominate films that come out in the fall or even in December. And very rarely does a movie like "Silence of the Lambs" that opens in February still get nominated almost a year later. The Academy just doesn't work that way.

ZAHN: So the fact that this film had an overt religious theme you don't think hurt its chances of getting an Oscar nod?

EBERT: It probably didn't help, because there were people who disagreed with its religion or disagreed with what they thought was its anti-Semitism. I personally did not find it anti-Semitic either. But I know that there was a wide variety of opinion on that. And I respect differences of opinion on that.

ZAHN: Why do you think "Fahrenheit 9/11" was passed over?

EBERT: "Fahrenheit 9/11" was passed over because it was never going to win for best picture. In a way, the moment for that movie ended after Election Day. Even if Kerry had won, instead of Bush, the movie would have been over. The movie really basically was a preelection film.

And I think that Jack Valenti is quite correct. If Michael Moore had gone for best documentary, he would have been nominated and he probably would have won. But he wanted to show the movie on television, so that made him ineligible in the documentary category. He went for best picture. He didn't get best picture. I wasn't at all surprised that he didn't get best picture.

ZAHN: How much politics historically can we read into these nominations, Roger? EBERT: Is that the liberal-conservative question?

ZAHN: Yes, I guess it is. I'm not sure what your answer is.

EBERT: OK.

I think that, basically, it's true that Hollywood is more liberal than conservative. On the other hand, if you look at the pictures that were nominated this year, most of them are not overtly political at all, "Ray," "Sideways," "Million Dollar Baby," "Finding Neverland. "Hotel Rwanda" is a picture that has a political viewpoint, but it's a viewpoint almost everyone would agree with.

I think that, basically, the Academy is made up of a lot of people in the crafts and in the industries who might very well vote Republican, just as many as the stars who might vote Democrat, and that what they do is, they vote for the pictures they like and that they admire. And, oftentimes, they go right off the map to find a picture like "Maria Full of Grace" or "Hotel Rwanda," which don't have really high commercial profiles, but they do their homework. They go to see these movies.

And when they see them and like them, they vote for them. I think this year's list is very interesting and, by and large, a very good list.

ZAHN: How much impact do you think popular acclaim has, particularly when you look at grosses? "Passion of the Christ," $370 million domestically, does that mean much to the Academy?

EBERT: Not necessarily.

Movies that gross very little can also be nominated. "Titanic," on the other hand, the all-time top-grossing picture and it did very well at the Oscars. But popularity and quality are not the same thing. And I think that, since the box office rules Hollywood the rest of the year, it's interesting that, on Oscar night, people tend to vote for the picture that they think is the best picture, even if it isn't the most popular.

ZAHN: Roger Ebert, thanks for your time. We'll let you warm yourself up. I know it is freezing there tonight in Park City.

EBERT: OK.

ZAHN: Again, appreciate it. See you around Oscar time.

There's more ahead tonight, including great expectations for Sunday's election in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN (voice-over): Driven from his homeland by the violence, now in exile, an Iraqi's first taste of democracy, his first free election. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It shows that you're participating and keeping up your country somehow. And being a part of a democracy right now is really exciting.

ZAHN: One man, one vote, four days to go.

And she was trapped in the tsunami, seriously injured, a best friend swept away. An American doctor looks back at the miracle of her survival.

Also, he changed the way we look, the way we dress, the very meaning of luxury, an exclusive interview with a legend, Giorgio Armani.

All that tonight and more tonight on PAULA ZAHN NOW.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: The number of people killed in last month's tsunami now stands at nearly 144,000, with 146,000 more still missing.

So, when all the searching and all the counting is done, the toll is likely to be more than 300,000. It was just one month ago that all those lives were swept away. One of the lucky survivors was an American doctor who was on vacation in Thailand's Phi Phi Island. Libby North was in a bungalow with a friend when the waves crashed through. It was Ben Abels' last-minute offer of a ticket to Thailand that brought her there.

Ben was swept away. But she survived with a hand nearly severed and a seriously mangled leg. Doctors in Thailand saved both limbs. And Libby North finally returned home last week.

And Libby joins us now for an exclusive interview from her hometown of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where she is still trying to recover and still trying to put her life back together.

Welcome home. So good to see you.

DR. LIBBY NORTH, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: Hi. Hello.

ZAHN: How you doing physically, Libby?

NORTH: Well, you know, I'm making progress. I'm certainly better off than I was about a month ago. But I still have a long way to go. I have a lot of therapy ahead of me, but doing better.

ZAHN: How painful is the therapy?

NORTH: It's certainly in my hand, you know, where the tendons were transected and the nerves were cut, it's quite painful. And I don't have a lot of function in my hand yet. So it is painful and it's going to take some time.

ZAHN: Do doctors think you'll regain most of that feeling?

NORTH: Actually, my doctors are giving me a lot of hope that I will regain a significant amount of function in my hand. And I may even be able to go back to a lot of the activities that I love to do, like kite-boarding and mountain biking and tennis. So, I actually have a lot of hope that I will recover.

ZAHN: Will this injury allow you to go back to work any time soon? You're a neurologist and you actually specialize in patients who have suffered strokes.

NORTH: Yes. Absolutely.

I'm not a surgeon, so I should be able to return to work. And I think my hand is going to improve every month. So, I'd like to get back to work in a couple months, if I can.

ZAHN: What do you remember about that day, when the wave came crashing in on you?

NORTH: You know, I really didn't see it coming. I was in a bungalow with my friend Ben, and I heard a roaring sound, which I thought was very peculiar. In the next moment, I saw some water rushing by the bungalow. And then, instantaneously, it was like a truck crashed through the wall. And I was submerged and I was traveling underwater at approximately 40 miles per hour.

And, at the same time, my body was just thrown around in every single direction. I was being crushed through debris and it was just absolutely terrifying. I was certain I was going to die. And, in the last moment, the wave receded, and I was still living, but was buried and was fortunate to be rescued. You know, the story doesn't end there. Just the fact that I got to a hospital within seven hours and had my hand repaired is really a miracle.

ZAHN: A lot of people think it was a miracle that you had the medical training you had and that you might not have survived or at least your hand might not have survived. What difference do you think that made?

NORTH: It absolutely made a difference.

When I was buried under debris, I was aware that I had served an artery under my wrist, that I had lost a significant amount of blood. I was able to hold on to my right wrist with my left hand and actually try to control some blood loss. Once I was rescued by some local Thai men and carried to a safe place, I just continued to announce that I was a physician, that I had a severe hand injury, I was going to lose my hand, if people could please help me get to a hospital.

And once I finally arrived at a hospital in Phuket, which was just a complete, completely chaotic scene, I continued to advocate for myself, to, you know, basically, ask a surgeon to see me as soon as possible, so I could have my hand repaired. In Phuket, I had to ask for blood transfusions and tetanus shots. They were very overwhelmed there at the time. ZAHN: Well, thank goodness for your fortitude and your courage there.

A final question about your friend Ben, who remains missing at this hour. I know you are going to attend a memorial service back in Evanston, Illinois. What do you plan to say to his family?

NORTH: Well, you know, I just -- I understand how important it is for his family for me to be there. And Ben was a good friend of mine. And I just understand that my presence there is greatly appreciated.

And I feel that it is important for me to be there. And I would like to support his family in any way that I can on Sunday and in the future. Ben's family has actually established a foundation for him. And they are actually raising money for aid for the tsunami victims in Asia. And if there's any way that I can help support Ben and his family and the foundation, I will continue to do that.

ZAHN: I'm sure that means a lot to his family.

Libby North, thank you for sharing your story with us. We know it's not easy for you to relive all this pain. Good luck to you.

NORTH: Thank you.

ZAHN: Coming up next, we're going to change our focus quite a bit, "Defending America." How safe are our nation's fuel depots?

And a little bit later on, the man who brought high fashion down to earth, an exclusive interview with Giorgio Armani.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Today, the FBI said last week's scare about a terrorist plot against Boston was indeed a false alarm. And for those charged with defending America, there is always concern about the heavily populated Northeast Coast, including some places you might not think are terrorist targets.

Alina Cho takes us to one such place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nobody knows New Haven Harbor better than Mike Pimer.

(on camera): How long have you been doing this?

MIKE PIMER, HARBORMASTER: Long time. Long time.

CHO (voice-over): As the city's harbormaster, Pimer has always thought about security, but never more so than now.

(on camera): What are you looking for?

PIMER: Bombs, people, anything, people.

CHO (voice-over): The target of opportunity, the Port of New Haven. The port houses the region's second largest home heating oil reserve, supplies jet fuel to an Air Force base and a civilian airport, and handles 700 ships and barges each year, many carrying explosive cargo.

I-95, a major artery, runs right through it. An attack with an explosives-laden small craft, like that on the USS Cole, is what people around here fear the most.

CAPT. STEPHEN VERRELLI, NEW HAVEN POLICE DEPARTMENT: And it wouldn't take much of a vessel to do a substantial amount of damage.

CHO: Police Captain Steven Verrelli's job is to decide where to deploy New Haven's 210 uniformed officers. Each day, he sends two officers to the port and a canine unit does spot-checks.

VERRELLI: We cannot be here 24/7. We don't have the resources for that.

CHO: He'd like to do more.

VERRELLI: It's hard to think and talk about harbor and harbor security and port security without thinking about a boat.

CHO: But New Haven doesn't have one.

(on camera): The city had hoped to buy a police and fire boat with a homeland security grant, but New Haven lost its destination as a high-risk city this year. That means no grant money and no boat for the harbor.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: There's just no reason for it.

CHO (voice-over): Joseph Lieberman, Connecticut's senior senator, sits on the Homeland Security Committee. He also lives in New Haven.

LIEBERMAN: It's home. To cut the funding to better secure the New Haven port is just an example of penny-wise and pound foolish. And the pound foolish here really means homeland security foolish.

CHO: There have been scares. In August, two sailors from a Turkish vessel docked in New Haven jumped ship, swam ashore, and disappeared. To this day, they have not been found. The Coast Guard says the crew had been cleared long before the ship entered the port. And the missing sailors pose no security risk.

JOSH BROWN, NEW HAVEN RESIDENT: Nobody knows whether they are a threat or they're not a threat.

CHO: Josh Browns remembers sitting in this harbor-side diner when he heard about the Turkish incident. He lives in the suburbs, hunts for ducks in nearby marches and works a mile and half from the port.

BROWN: I've never seen a police vessel out there. I've never seen a Coast Guard vessel out there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coast Guard (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Coast Guard (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

CHO: The Coast Guard says it is watching the port more than people realize, more than the public can see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a tracking system.

CHO: Under new security regulations that took effect in July, the Coast Guard now monitors ships coming into the port days before they arise.

CAPT. PETER BOYNTON, U.S. COAST GUARD: Security starts overseas. Security continues offshore. And security then continues in the port, but security does not start in the port.

CHO: Captain Peter Boynton says the Coast Guard boards 50 percent of ships that come into the Port of New Haven, including this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cabin secure. Next one down.

CHO: On board the Liberian tanker Elka Hercules, officers search cabins, check I.D.s and look for anything suspicious, even watch for things that aren't there. For instance, if boarding officers find photos of naked women on the wall, that's OK. Blank walls could mean something out of the ordinary. He says port security has improved dramatically since 9/11. Still, he says, there's always more to do.

BOYNTON: Are there gaps? If there are gaps, what can we do to fill them? And that's a daily discussion.

CHO: So, for now, the Coast Guard does what it can and Mike Pimer does what he can about threats that, for most of his 50 years on the water, were unimaginable.

(on camera): Does it break your heart to have to think about these things?

PIMER: It took a little getting used to. I thought they were crazy at first. But, at this particular point, I don't happen to -- I don't believe they're crazy at all. And I'm out there trying to do a little more than what I did before.

CHO (voice-over): In the harbor he calls home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: That was Alina Cho reporting for us from New Haven.

As you know, the Iraqi elections are just four days away. Next, one man determined to have a say in his country's future, even though he's thousands of miles away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Now, just four days to go until Iraqis go to the polls, but that didn't slow down the violence today. Just southeast of Baghdad, a judge died in a drive-by shooting. He was leaving his home. And a videotape released today of an American hostage pleading for his life. Roy Hallums was kidnapped on November 1st. The tape gives no clues about when it was made or if even Hallums is still alive.

My colleague, Anderson Cooper, joins me now from Baghdad. Anderson, how obvious is this insurgent threat as you wander around the city?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we actually don't wander around the city for that very reason. You know, it's not as you drive through the streets -- and we drive through the streets very quickly, I can tell you -- you know, it's not as if you see insurgents running around. But you know, when you do see them, that's a problem. If they're that close to you, that's a real concern.

But you do hear -- I mean, there are whole neighborhoods in Baghdad which are sort of no-go areas at times. And there are times, even today, some insurgents were handing out flyers on the street. This is a copy of a flier that was handed out in this city of Kirkuk. It basically threatened anyone who goes to vote with death. The flyers that are being handed out today on the streets in Baghdad said that anyone who goes to vote, that they will wash the streets of Baghdad with the blood of anyone who actually goes to cast a vote.

So they are out there and they are -- even if you don't see them, you know, there is a sense that they could show up at any time, and that is why security is the number one concern, not only for journalists, but for everyone here in Iraq, Paula.

ZAHN: Sure. And I guess everybody was anticipating this spiked violence as you got closer and closer to the election. But what is your sense? Are people so paralyzed by this fear that they in fact won't vote?

COOPER: I think you're going to find some pockets of people who aren't voting, and there is certainly a lot of fear and there's very justifiable fear. But I think a lot of people -- I mean, who -- no one really knows how many people are going to turn out to vote. There are estimates of -- I mean, some think the voter turnout could be as high as 80 percent of eligible voters; some think it could be more in the realm of 40 to 50 percent.

You know, there is a lot of optimism out there that you hear. And I think there are people who are really looking forward to voting and not necessarily -- you know, there are people here who've spent their entire lives and haven't really been able to vote in a free election, in a fair election, or even vote for any kind of representative government. So there is optimism. And of course, as you know, among the Kurds and the Shiites, there is a lot of, you know, expected to be very high voter turnout among the Sunnis. It's expected to be far lower; most of the Sunni parties are boycotting these elections.

But I definitely think there is optimism out there, and I think despite the dangers -- you know, Iraqis are very tough people, and they have been living with this security problem for two years now. I think you're going to see significant numbers of people coming out to vote.

ZAHN: We heard a lot of stories about how U.S. troops are being moved around the country right now, to try to secure polling places. What kind of observations do you have? What were you able to see?

COOPER: You know, you don't see U.S. troops as much as you used to. I was here back in June for the handover of power, and back then there was a lot of talk about putting an Iraqi face on the security forces. You certainly see that more and more. I mean, just driving around, a lot of the checkpoints that are being manned, more and more it is Iraqis who are manning them, Iraqi National Guard, who have now become the Iraqi army, Iraqi police. You see them to a lesser extent.

So there is much more of an Iraqi face, but all the time you know that there are some 130,000 U.S. troops, U.S. Marines, U.S. Army, you know, Navy and Air Force here on the ground all throughout Iraq. And they're the ones conducting a lot of these commando raids, they're the ones, you know, 24 hours day, seven days a week, who are still conducting operations. And in particular in these last crucial days before this election, they're working very, very hard. They're rounding up large numbers of suspects, suspected insurgents, many of whom end up being released because they turn out not to be insurgents, but they're doing everything they can to try to make sure that this thing goes off with the least amount of violence as possible, Paula.

ZAHN: We'll be following this very closely over the next four days. Anderson, thanks very much. Look forward to talking to you again tomorrow.

Just a reminder, about a quarter of a million Iraqis who live outside their country have registered to vote on Sunday, and that's a fraction of the 1.2 million who are in fact eligible to vote.

Senior international correspondent Walt Rodgers talked with one Iraqi man who isn't letting 2,400 miles get in the way of his passion to vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Saif Abu Al-Timen (ph) is a 20-year-old Iraqi living in exile in London. Last July, he had a close call with death in Baghdad in a car bomb that killed 11 other people. Now, Saif and his mother, Faria, are preparing to vote absentee in the Iraqi elections.

There's a learning curve here. Iraqi communists like this man were literally gunned down in Baghdad under Saddam Hussein. Now in the West, the communist is largely ignored outside Saif's polling place.

For Saif, it's a two-step process. First, registration.

SAIF, IRAQI VOTER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I go to desk number 34.

RODGERS: Iraqis in exile are an often homesick but tightly knit group.

A voting registrar explains Saif needs two kinds of identification. It's a heady experience for a first time Iraqi voter.

SAIF: It feels that you're participating in keeping up your country somehow. And, you know, being a part of a democracy right now is really exciting, I guess.

RODGERS: His mother, Faria, is part of a growing power block of Iraqi women voters. She recalls the last time when Saddam's thugs banged on her door, demanding she vote in Iraq.

FARIA, SAIF'S MOTHER: Nobody can say no. Everybody, they say Saddam, because they are afraid from him. Everybody with Saddam, they have a gun, you know.

RODGERS: No guns prod Iraqi absentee voters here, but the metal detectors and pat-downs speak to a lingering volatility.

This maimed and scarred Iraqi election registrar was tortured under Saddam because he was an ethnic Kurd.

(on camera): Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just Kurdish. Nothing.

RODGERS (voice-over): Brutality, torture and death are the only politics generations of Iraqis experienced. Saif Abu Al-Timen (ph) only knew truly democratic elections from afar.

SAIF: I thought I wanted Bush to win for a specific reason, because I thought he was the right guy to finish the job for Iraq.

RODGERS: Saif gives President Bush the benefit of the doubt on Saddam's phantom weapons of mass destruction, but neither he nor his mother believes there were ever any al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq, at least before the American invasion.

FARIA: No, I don't think so, no. There is not terrorists from al Qaeda, no.

SAIF: This is a picture of my father, my sister and my little brother and myself in Jordan.

RODGERS: Saif's father was also imprisoned and tortured by Saddam's police. Later, his father spirited the family out to safety and exile in Britain. SAIF: Still, I went back to Iraq, and I was injured from a blast.

RODGERS: Last July 14th, Saif, shown here, was gravely injured in a suicide car bombing in Baghdad while visiting his father.

SAIF: The wounds are healing, it's going well. My hearing is a little affected because of the explosion.

RODGERS: Saif's father, still in Baghdad, keeps the shrapnel souvenir for his son in Iraq.

So will any of the family return to Iraq after the election? Saif's sister, Maya.

MAYA, SAIF'S SISTER: But it's too dangerous. I would never think of going back now.

RODGERS: Now with his family divided, some living in exile, Saif has become the surrogate patriarch. He disciplines his younger brother and watches over his mother and teenage sister like an Arab godfather.

MAYA: He doesn't allow no have boyfriends. I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), he does chase away boys all the time.

RODGERS: Saif Abu Al-Timen (ph) straddles two worlds, East and West. He spends evenings with other Iraqi expatriates in Arab coffee houses.

They talk about democracy and Iraq, politics and Iraq. And in traditional Arabic fashion, instead of reading tea leaves, they read coffee grounds to discover the future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says the future of Iraq is very bright.

RODGERS: But opinions differ.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the shape of a woman crying. Maybe the suffering of Iraq right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: That was Walt Rodgers reporting.

Tomorrow, a very special story about a very special Marine platoon. The men of Pale Rider 3, veterans of the bloodiest Iraqi battle, the battle of Falluja. Their personal stories are the story of the war in Iraq. And you'll hear them here tomorrow.

Even the worst of evils end and survivors move on with the result to make a world a better place to live in. One survivor story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Two days from now, Europe will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the end of the Holocaust. Six million Jews and millions of others died in Nazi death camps during World War II, the numbers are still difficult to grasp.

And there are some unsettling signs that the reality of the Holocaust is slipping from memory, one of those signs when a member of Britain's royal family, Prince Harry, wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party this month, a remarkable case of bad timing.

One of those survivors of the Holocaust, Adam Koenig, was just a teenager when the Nazi's arrested him in 1939. His only crime? You'll see.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN (voice-over): ... this week that Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Some one and a half million people, 90 percent of them Jews, were murdered in these Nazi gas chambers and crematoriums.

Now, for the first time, the U.N. is marking the anniversary. Still, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, a Nobel laureate, warns that the world must never let something so evil happen again.

ELIE WIESEL, NOBEL PEACE PRICE LAUREATE: As a teacher, I always believe in questions. The question is, will the world ever learn?

ZAHN: But anti-Semitic acts are still happening today. Holocaust survivors say, though, the high profiles memorials this week in France, Germany and Poland are steps in the right direction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: One survivor returning to Poland this week was a teenager when he was arrested by the Nazis.

Chris Burns has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Adam Koenig was one of eight siblings in a Jewish family in Frankfurt. A week after World War II began, the Nazis sent him to a concentration camp. He was just 16 years old, the beginning of nearly six years of horror.

ADAM KOENIG, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: The first thing I thought, that was the impression maybe like, that's the kind hell would look like.

BURNS: Koenig survived Sachsenhausen and other death camps as a manual laborer. In October 1942, he was transferred in a cattle car to Auschwitz.

KOENIG: Whoever wasn't able to work, they sent to Buchenwald, which meant to be -- to come to the killing factory. It smelled like -- like burnt meat. Sweet, a certain smell, you -- it's hard to forget it. BURNS: With Soviet troops advancing on Auschwitz in 1935, the Nazis moved thousands of prisoners, Koenig included, to other death camps.

KOENIG: Those who couldn't continue, would fall, were too weak to continue to march, they were shot.

BURNS: When British troops liberated Koenig at Bergen-Belsen April 15, it wasn't a day of joy for him.

KOENIG: Maybe I felt that the -- the damage must have been so much for the family, that I couldn't expect any good things.

BURNS: Indeed, Koenig would learn that four of his younger brothers and sisters died in the Holocaust, as well as his parents, his father at Auschwitz.

KOENIG: After 20 years, I decided to talk about it. And if I wouldn't manage to keep my feeling in a certain way, I wouldn't do that. It would with too hard.

BURNS: Koenig's wife, Maria, was also at Auschwitz. They met as they and other survivors searched for loved ones.

As retired teachers, they continue to lecture, to keep the Holocaust memory alive. At 82, and a great-grandfather, Koenig remains on a mission.

KOENIG: People who have the experience, they have to do something. They have a certain responsibility that the things which happened shouldn't be for nothing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: A reminder of that. Chris Burns reporting for us.

Well, the human mind is capable of great cruelty. It's also capable of bringing beauty and grace into our lives. You're going to meet one man who's done that, Giorgio Armani, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: In Paris this week with a dozen of the biggest names in fashion are showing off their spring and summer collections. They always work way ahead of schedule.

Among them, Giorgio Armani, the Italian designer, who has over the past 30 years built a $2 billion empire, changing the way we define the word "style."

The legendary designer, who is notoriously shy, sat down with our Alessio Vinci for an interview you only see here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I met Giorgio Armani in Milan, in what he calls his theater, the place he uses for work, inspiration and to showcase his latest collections.

As he prepares for his next show, his focus on detail is intense. Surrounded by a staff of several dozen, he is the only one dressing the models.

GIORGIO ARMANI, FASHION DESIGNER (through translator): In this business, the attention to detail is fundamental. Especially in a choice like I make, which is not a choice of great extravagance, but of a subtle evolution of the tendencies. It's something often undetectable, not using the spectacular effects which in the fashion world often get used.

VINCI: Armani prides himself for creating fashions people can wear everyday, staying away from what he calls the excesses of modern day coterie.

ARMANI (through translator): I don't agree with a lot of the things that are done on the wave of done to the advantage of people's good faith, like showing things in newspaper which don't have anything to do with real life, because that particular dress will never be sold in a store or that particular image does not correspondent to anything in real life. You will never find a woman moving that way.

VINCI: He also rejects critics who have dismissed his style as no longer cutting edge.

ARMANI (through translator): Fashion has come to mean the latest model of cell phone, the latest shoe, the latest tricycle. Everything that is emphasized, everything that is commercial. I think people have started saying, "Who gives a damn?"

VINCI: And that has worked to Armani's advantage.

ARMANI (through translator): We survived better than a lot of others, precisely because my products have never had extravagant peaks that make people think once I buy that object I'll have to throw it away in three months because the fashion has already changed so much.

VINCI: After 30 years in the business, Giorgio Armani says it isn't just fashion that's changed but also the way fashion is sold in stores.

ARMANI (through translator): Today, the promotion is more important than the product. The size of the store is more important than the real value of what's being sold.

VINCI: At the age of 70, Armani admits to thinking about his legacy.

ARMANI (through translator): To think about a Giorgio Armani company that does not include my presence anymore is a daily thought. Everyday, I have to deal with this problem. It's very painful to think about it, especially, when we're talking about a person who does a job everyone that looks upon as the message.

In the morning, I arrive in the office, and the various dress making workshops, and everyone waits for me to say what has to be done.

VINCI: Among those assisting him today may be his successor, but his dominance as one of the world's most famous fashion houses makes it difficult for anyone to step out of his shadow.

ARMANI (through translator): This is a company closely linked to my personality, to my way of seeing things. I have organized behind me a group of people. You saw those guys today. Some of them are quite creative. Others are more organizational. Obviously, in the choice of a tie, red rather than green, I hope the person who will take my place will choose the right one.

VINCI: A year ago Armani suggested for the first time that he could retire after another five years in the business. Today, he laughs at that possibility.

ARMANI (through translator): There are not four years now. There are still five, so we have to move the deadline farther away. This job, you either do it full time or you don't do it.

VINCI: And despite his status, Giorgio Armani admits that he, too, is mortal.

VINCI (through translator): I am what I am. I am a human being.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: I hope we're all that. Alessio Vinci reporting for us tonight.

"LARRY KING LIVE" now joins with us a look at what's coming up at 9, a picture of sartorial elegance, tonight.

You don't have to be a fashion victim to cut through, do you, Larry?

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": No, but I like Giorgio Armani. I didn't know he didn't speak English.

ZAHN: No. Whenever you speak to him you have to speak to him through an interpreter. So consequently, conversations are very long.

KING: We have that problem, though, sometimes. We talk through management.

ZAHN: Of course. By the way, you deserve a major check from management last night. You had a stunning show, and a lot of America watched it. Way to go, Lar. Your Johnny Carson tribute was magnificent.

KING: Thank you. And we're going to repeat it on Saturday night.

ZAHN: Good.

KING: And then we'll be live Sunday night. You'll be live Sunday, too. We're all live Sunday with the Iraq elections.

ZAHN: Right.

KING: Tonight, interesting show. Interesting young man. He's with us here in the studio, Owen Lafave. His estranged wife, the former teacher, Debbie Lafave is accused of having sexual encounters with a 14-year-old student. He's our guest for the full hour. We'll be taking your phone calls with this extraordinary story. Owen Lafave at 9 -- Paula.

ZAHN: Thanks, Larry. We'll see you in a couple of minutes.

Coming up next, some late night laughs. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Just enough time for a late night laugh or two. If there's a way to draw comparison between the U.S. and the Iraqi elections, leave it to "The Daily Show" to find it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB CORDDRY, "THE DAILY SHOW": The voters are getting ready to select from nearly 8,000 candidates representing 270 political parties. And according to the latest polls, things are really heating up.

As you can see, Jon, if you look there on your graph, as you can see, the Iraqi Unity Party seems to be sitting pretty with a strong 0.8 support. But Jon, anything can happen in a week.

I thought this was interesting. The Islamic Islamic Party losing ground the Unbelievably Islamic party. Of course, both still beating Sharpton by a comfortable margin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Gives you a sense of what is at stake on Sunday.

Thanks for joining us tonight. That wraps it up for all of us here. We'll be back the same time, same place tomorrow night. "LARRY KING LIVE" is next. Thanks again for joining us tonight.

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