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Sunnis and Shiites Slaughter Each Other In Iraq; Some Wondering If Al Qaeda Finding Safe Haven In Afghanistan; Former Russian Spy Blames Russia's President Putin For His Death; Father Of JonBenet Ramsey Offers Surprise Sympathy For Man Who Falsely Confessed To Her Murder; Cold Weather Now An Ally For United States In Afghanistan

Aired November 24, 2006 - 17:00   ET

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

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: And, to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time -- standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you today's top stories.
Happening now: Sunnis and Shiites slaughter each other in the streets, mosques attacked, worshipers burned alive. Between the raids and reprisals, is Iraq already out of control?

Are U.S. troops caught in the middle of a civil war? As Pentagon planners review strategy, are there really any good options left?

Desperate diplomacy: Vice President Cheney on a secretive mission to Saudi Arabia. President Bush plans a summit with Iraq's prime minister, but is someone else in Iraq calling the shots?

Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm John King. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

The streets of Baghdad, sadly, are again running with blood, a day after hundreds were killed in a Sunni assault on a sprawling Shiite neighborhood. Shiite gunman took revenge, torching Sunni mosques, and, in a conflict already notorious for its cruelty, burning some worshipers alive -- at the White House, an urgent search for answers, beginning with some desperate diplomacy.

Paula Hancocks is in Jerusalem, Nic Robertson standing by in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Michael Ware is in Baghdad for us.

But, first, let's go live to the White House and correspondent Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, of course, securing Baghdad is the number-one issue for President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki when they meet in just a couple of days, as doubts grow whether or not Maliki can prevent his country from falling into civil war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): The Iraqis' bloodiest day Thursday in Sadr City, and today's violent aftermath, is giving the president's talks next week with Iraq's prime minister a new sense of urgency. A deputy White House spokesman condemned the violence, calling it deplorable, "a brazen effort to topple a democratically elected government" that would ultimately fail.

The White House is now engaged in an all-out diplomatic offensive. Vice President Cheney is headed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for talks with King Abdullah. Wednesday, following the NATO summit, President Bush will travel to Amman, Jordan, for a face-to-face meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Top on the agenda, White House officials say, is Iraqi security. While, publicly, the Bush administration is still expressing confidence in Maliki, privately, there is frustration and concern that Maliki may not have the will or political weight to bring peace to his country.

The White House strategy is to try to bolster the Maliki government on two fronts, from the outside in, by looking to Iraq's neighbors, namely, those friendly with the U.S., to become more directly involved in Iraq's future, countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, and Kuwait -- on the other front, working from the outside out, by looking at various options that will help Maliki train Iraqi forces, crack down on militias, and reconcile warring groups.

Those options are expected to be presented to the White House in the next couple of weeks by a bipartisan commission, the Pentagon, and the Bush administration's internal review.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And, John, CNN has learned that that bipartisan commission, the Iraq Study Group, will be meeting next week, the beginning of the week, for three days to try to come up with some sort of consensus here how to proceed next, the Bush administration. CNN has also learned that they are not close -- John.

KING: Suzanne Malveaux for us, on another difficult day at the White House -- Suzanne, thank you very much.

And, while President Bush prepares for this summit, his summit partner is struggling just to hold on to power. Does a Shiite leader now hold the real power in Iraq?

Correspondent Michael Ware joins us now from Baghdad.

Michael, Muqtada al-Sadr has played his card, essentially warning Prime Minister Maliki, go meet with Mr. Bush, and we will take down your government. Mr. Maliki doesn't have any good choices here, does he?

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely not.

I mean, if ever there was a political leader between a rock and a hard place, it's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Now, remember, this is a politician who, on his own, has no popular base, no constituency. And, unlike everyone else involved in this government, he lacks the true currency of political power in this country. And that is an armed militia. So, what's propping him up? He's relying principally on American support to keep him where he is, and try to develop a popular base for him.

In the meantime, in the realpolitik of the Iraqi dynamic, he had to turn to the powerful political faction and the even mightier militia faction loyal to anti-American rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

At the end of the day, it was Muqtada's support that saw him land in the prime minister's chair. Now we're seeing these two opposing interests that he draws upon, in fact, vehement enemies, coming to a head. I mean, he's due to meet with President George W. Bush next week, yet, we're hearing one of Muqtada's leading politicians warn that, if the Shia population does not see immediate improvement, then, if he meets with what they call the criminal Bush, they will suspend involvement in this parliament.

He's a man left with very few choices -- John.

KING: And, Michael, what's the end goal of al-Sadr's power play? Is there a scenario in Iraq that shows Mr. al-Sadr perhaps wanting to be the next leader?

WARE: For Muqtada to be able to maneuver into a position like that means that a lot of carnage would have had to have taken place to remove other obstacles in his path, primarily, the SCIRI political organization, and its very well-equipped, very well-trained, very experienced and disciplined Badr militia.

So, there's still a lot of obstacles in his way, before we see any kind of development like that. And a lot of blood would have to flow before we come to that -- John.

KING: Michael, you have been there for some time. You have seen the worst. Put the past 24 hours into context for us.

WARE: Well, John, in one sense, this is just another day in Baghdad, as spectacular as it was. The litany of death and attack and agony in this country is a daily occurrence. I mean, this was a stunning and atrocious slaughter.

I mean, this was a Thanksgiving Day massacre. But it was just one moment of punctuation in a long, evolving chapter of what is essentially a civil war. We have seen mass strikes like this before. This is the largest. It is not on its own. It's not in isolation. And, I dare say, there are others to follow.

In the meantime, we see the institutionalization of Shia death squads striking back at the Sunni community, men showing up in legitimate government uniforms, driven by legitimate government vehicles at Sunni homes at night, hauling men off, never to be seen again.

So, this is just separate faces of a long, ugly continuum of civil war.

KING: Michael Ware for us in Baghdad -- Michael, thank you very much.

WARE: Thank you, John.

KING: The escalating slaughter in Iraq is leading to some desperate diplomacy. President Bush will meet Iraq's prime minister next week in Jordan, as we just noted. And in a trip being played close to the vest by the White House, Vice President Cheney is to meet tomorrow with King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia.

Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is in the Saudi capital of Riyadh -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we only know very few details from Vice President Dick Cheney's office.

We know he will leave the United States this afternoon, that he will come to Riyadh tomorrow. That's today, Riyadh time, already. He will meet with King Abdullah. And then he will leave shortly after, be back in the United States on Sunday. He's only going for one place. That's Saudi Arabia, now, from Saudi sources, coming to discuss, we understand, a broad-based Middle East initiative that has been two to three months in the planning.

We're told, a lot of National Security Council members will be coming along with Vice President Dick Cheney. We're told that the points to be discussed are Iraq and a growing Iranian influence, Lebanon backing and helping prop up the government of Fouad Siniora -- Fouad Siniora, the pro-Western, anti-Syrian government of Fouad Siniora.

Also, they will be talking about Syria's role in Iraq, isolating Syria from their role in Iraq -- that according to the Saudi source -- and also looking at Hamas, and trying to limit and moderate Hamas at this time as well -- John.

KING: Nic, any great optimism in Saudi Arabia that the administration will stay committed to it? You know full well the criticism in the region of this administration. The -- government in Saudi Arabia, in Jordan, in Egypt says they're so focused on Iraq, they have let the rest of the neighborhood, if you will, deteriorate.

ROBERTSON: And the rest of the neighborhood is incredibly concerned about what the United States is going to do in Iraq. And, no doubt, this will be something that King Abdullah will want to outline.

His foreign minister and his ambassador to the United States have both recently talked about how it will be wrong for the United States to pull out of Iraq at this time. They weren't invited in, that they should -- that they should not pull out, without an invitation to pull out. The concern is, if they pull out, there is more regional violence that could overflow into Saudi Arabia. And the real concern here, the real concern in Saudi Arabia, is that growing, what they see, Iranian influence into Iraq, and potentially, how they see it, other Arab lands -- John.

KING: Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson tracking delicate diplomacy for us in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- thank you, Nic.

Israelis and Palestinians today backed away from talk of a possible truce. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, from Hamas, had suggested a halt to rocket fire into Israel, if Israel would halt all militant activity in the West Bank and Gaza. An Israeli spokeswoman called that ludicrous -- this as Palestinians buried an elderly woman who blew herself up in an attack on Israeli troops.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has that story from Jerusalem.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, there have been numerous Palestinian suicide bombings against Israeli military and civilians over the years. A small number have been carried out by women. But the most recent suicide bombing is, by far, one of the most unusual.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (voice-over): A 57-year-old grandmother, and a Palestinian suicide bomber, shown in a Hamas video that CNN is unable to independently authenticate -- the Hamas background, the green headband, and the gun across the shoulder, trademarks of taped video messages released after an attack, all too familiar in this region.

But al-Nejar is the first known Palestinian grandmother to attempt a suicide bombing against Israelis. Al-Nejar had nine children and more than 40 grandchildren. Five of her sons and her husband had served time in an Israeli jail. One of her sons says he accepts a suicide attack as a natural thing for her to do.

According to the family, Al-Nejar called her children to see her Thursday morning, without explaining why. Then she left home in the sprawling Jabalya refugee camp around midday, telling no one where she was going.

Later Thursday, according to the Israeli military, soldiers near the refugee camp spotted the woman approaching in what the IDF described as a suspicious manner. The soldiers threw a stun grenade at her, and she detonated her device, killing herself and likely wounding three Israeli soldiers.

At the family home, there is grief, but also pride.

This woman says, "God willing, we will all become martyrs."

Thousands of Palestinians joined the funeral of Al-Nejar Friday. She was described by her family as very politically involved before her husband died a year ago, saying she had participated in many Hamas activities.

Her sons were at pains to explain there's no shame in a woman, no matter how old, carrying out a suicide bombing, saying, a martyr's death is permitted for all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS: Fatima al-Nejar said, in her taped video message, she wanted to dedicate her death to the Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails, and also dedicate it the Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, also of Hamas -- John.

KING: Paula Hancocks, a fascinating story in Jerusalem -- Paula, thank you.

Up ahead: soaring sectarian violence in Iraq, with U.S. troops caught smack in the middle. What options does the military have? I will have our military analyst, retired Army General Spider Marks.

Also, new developments in a story of international intrigue -- Russia reacting with rare candor to the death of a former spy who says he was poisoned by the Kremlin.

And the father of JonBenet Ramsey speaking about the man who falsely confessed to the killing -- you might be surprised at what John Ramsey has to say.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: As Sunnis and Shiites slaughter each other, the U.S. military is being drawn into the sectarian conflict, today, sending attack helicopters into Sadr City.

With the violence again escalating, U.S. forces may not have any good options left.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is live for us from the Pentagon -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, this action in Sadr City clearly illustrates the quandary, the problem, the difficulty, facing Pentagon planners, that, while there is this increasing pressure for change, for new ideas, at the same time, they have got a war to fight on the ground that only seems to be getting worse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH (voice-over): More sectarian violence in Baghdad, as U.S. forces make airstrikes, taking out rocket launchers in the Sadr City enclave.

Tasked with finding a new way forward in Iraq is something Pentagon officials call the strategic dialogue group. Rather than a full-scale review of options, say officials, the 16 members are engaged in a largely secret brainstorming exercise. Some just back from Iraq, the top officers are giving the Joint Chiefs of Staff insights, advice, and an unvarnished reality check.

GENERAL PETER PACE, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I think what's important is that we look at the objectives that we have set for ourselves in this nation, and that we in the military take a look at what is going right and should be reinforced, what's going wrong and should be changed.

KOCH: The president now speaks frequently about the internal review under way.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As you know, General Pace, who is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is in the process of evaluating a lot of suggestions from the field and from people in -- involved with the Central Command, as well as at the Pentagon.

KOCH: Some lawmakers have insisted, sending more troops should be one option. And the top U.S. commander in the Middle East does want more U.S. troops to train and back Iraqi forces.

But General John Abizaid has told Congress that sending 20,000 more would only help temporarily, and be something the military could not sustain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: It's unclear when the Pentagon review will be complete. The findings could serve to either bolster or counter the recommendations that are due out later this month from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group -- John.

KING: Waiting for that report as well.

Kathleen Koch for us at the Pentagon -- Kathleen, thank you very much.

And, so, what choices does the U.S. military have, as Iraq slips into chaos?

We're joined now in THE SITUATION ROOM by CNN military analyst General James "Spider" Marks.

I'm sure there's a definition in the military manual somewhere. The Pentagon says this is not a civil war. The White House says this is not a civil war. You can see these pictures, sir. You hear the threats. You see the recriminations between the Sunni and the Shia. If it's not a civil war, what is it?

BRIGADIER GENERAL JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I need to tell you, you know, we could get in to -- to definitions and semantics. And I don't mean to minimize any of that. But civil war clearly an attack on the governing body that exists. That's not what we see directly.

But, that aside, what you see is incredible violence. And, John, what you really see is the loss of the center in the Iraqi population, the flight of the middle class. And what you end up with is neighborhoods going against neighborhoods. This is tribal warfare at its worst.

KING: Tribal warfare at its worst.

If you are General Casey, or if you're another commander on the ground in Baghdad, and you have Muqtada al-Sadr saying that, if the prime minister goes and meets with the president of the United States, he will cause the government to collapse, that's a political debate. But he has the -- his militia. His militia is obviously part of this violence.

What is the role of the U.S. military in the middle of something like that?

MARKS: Several things that they can do, and I would guarantee you that they're doing them right now.

Number one is, Iraqi forces on the ground, both those that are police forces, Ministry of the Interior, and the military forces out the Ministry of Defense, have got to be able to work hand in hand, much like some of the U.S. experiences that we have had, where you have to define who owns what aspect of this fight.

So, there has to be exchange of local intelligence. The only way, John, that you get ahead of this is that these are very local fights. Who is willing to talk to the U.S. forces? Who is willing to talk to the Iraqis? And, then, what can you do about that intelligence and that information that you have?

So, that -- that has to take place. And the U.S. has a very large role to play in that. The next aspect is, Sadr is not going anywhere. He's not expendable. Unfortunately, Maliki may be politically expendable. So, how do these two very powerful men work hand in hand? Sadr has got the upper hand. And, in order to minimize his influence -- and I don't think he's leaving the scene -- but, in order to minimize his influence, you have got to eliminate the Mahdi army.

He's got to be able to step in, condemn their activities, and to eliminate them at the very lowest levels.

KING: But it's clear the prime minister either can't or won't eliminate them. It is clear that Sadr won't dial back, isn't willing to do that.

You have heard Senator McCain and others say, the only solution here is to take out Muqtada al-Sadr and deal with the consequences, that that at least would get you on the stepping-stone to stability.

As someone on the ground -- if you, General James "Spider" Marks, were on the ground in Baghdad right now, would you be recommending that?

MARKS: I don't think you would recommend that. You know, the sad thing is, you don't know what the alternative is going to be. Better the -- better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.

KING: Better the devil you know, even when this happens, even when you have them going -- Sunni, Shia going into mosques, killing each other, recriminations? That's better?

MARKS: No, of course it's not. No, of course it's not better.

What I'm -- what I'm saying is, as bad as it is, I could see where a scenario might be even worse, is what I'm saying, John. And, so, how do you get your arms around that. You get around that by trying to establish -- without walking away from it. There is no cut- and-run option. There can't be.

How do you get your arms around that? How do you establish security locally, very, very locally? And you do that through the use of the Iraqis. They're the ones that have to step up.

So, the next question, then, inevitably, is, how long can the United States afford to do that? How do you measure the success of the Iraqi forces, both the military and the police forces, in order to establish security? And how do you measure that?

Based on the activities of the last two days, I would say they get an absolutely F-minus, in terms of their abilities to do that. Can they ramp it up and do better? We have got to be able to stand side by side those guys. And that's not trite. But that's being able to train better, train faster, get more Iraqis forces on the ground, and don't allow a standard that is lower than what we can afford to see on the ground, in terms of providing results.

KING: General James "Spider" Marks, thanks for your time today in THE SITUATION ROOM.

MARKS: Thanks, John.

KING: Thank you.

Even in the more stable regions of Iraq, sectarian violence is having a devastating impact on Iraqi families forced from their homes. That's according to a new report.

Our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton, has the details -- Abbi.

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: John, more than 1,000 Iraqis displaced internally each day due to sectarian violence -- that's according to the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations-associated group that has been monitoring the situation for the internally displaced in Iraq since their numbers increased dramatically, along with sectarian violence, this year, interviewing almost 2,000 families arriving in the province of Qadisiyah, south of Baghdad.

The people cited threats to their safety, letters, anonymous calls, graffiti on their homes, as well as general violence, the vast majority of them coming from Baghdad. In neighboring Wasit Province, families arriving there answered overwhelmingly that they were targeted because of their religion. All those families interviewed there were Shiite.

The U.N. Refugee Agency estimates at least 1.6 million Iraqis internally displaced, and 1.8 million that have fled to neighboring countries -- John.

KING: That's depressing.

Abbi Tatton -- Abbi, thank you very much.

Coming up: a CNN exclusive. Is al Qaeda still finding safe haven in Afghanistan? Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is there with the head of the U.S. Central Command.

Plus: British officials expressing shock as they reveal what killed a former Russian spy. And Russia is now reacting to accusations it's responsible.

Stay with us here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: You're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time.

Happening now: disturbing sectarian violence in Iraq, Shiites and Sunnis slaughtering each other by the hundreds, with some victims burned alive, and U.S. troops caught in the middle of the meltdown.

The Bush administration is reacting to the deteriorating situation with diplomatic offensives. Vice President Dick Cheney is to meet with Saudi Arabia's king this weekend, and President Bush is heading to Jordan next week to meet with the Iraqi prime minister.

And the father of murdered child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey is offering surprise sympathy for the man who said he killed her, a claim now known to be false. But the story may not be over for John Mark Karr. We will show you why.

Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm John King. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Remarkable new developments in a story tinged with Cold War intrigue -- British officials now say a former Russian spy was poisoned with a heavy dose of radiation. And, on his deathbed, he blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin. Now Russia is responding with rare candor

CNN's Ryan Chilcote is in Moscow with the latest.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, for the second time this fall, the Russian president was forced to deny accusations that he ordered the assassination of a critic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE (voice-over): This fall, Russia's president was forced to deny accusations that he ordered the assassination of a critic.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I hope the British authorities won't fuel any groundless political scandals that have nothing to do with reality.

KOCH: The Kremlin freely admits to killing its opponents abroad in Soviet days.

One of the more notable hits: Leon Trotsky, who broke with Stalin, got a pickax in the head in Mexico in 1940 -- the last one acknowledged by the Kremlin, Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist sprayed with poisoned in Germany in 1959.

A spokesman for Russia's spy agency, granting a rare interview, tells me, the Kremlin's agents abandoned that practice half-a-century ago, and wouldn't even consider such a move for someone as insignificant as Alexander Litvinenko.

SERGEI IVANOV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE: We had nothing to do, because we have no reason to do it. That's simple.

CHILCOTE (on camera): And no reason because he was a nobody?

IVANOV: He was a nobody.

CHILCOTE (voice-over): Litvinenko is among a growing number of Kremlin critics to wind up dead, disfigured or otherwise disposed of. Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist and fierce Putin critic, was shot dead in Moscow last month. Russian agents were convicted of blowing up Chechen separatist leader Zelim Khan Yandarbayev in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar three years ago and claimed responsibility for the recent poisoning death of an Arab militant in the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya.

Add to these a long list of Kremlin opponents who have ended up behind bars or fled the country, and the mysterious poisoning of disfigured Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko, all of this has given Russia an image problem. This, says former long-time KGB spy Stanislav Lekarev, makes the Kremlin an unlikely suspect in this latest killing. Lekarev says it's more likely Russia's being set up.

STANISLAV LEKAREV, KGB VETERAN: I'm 80 percent sure that this was planned by the people who don't like Russia, who hate Russia, who want to change the regime in Russia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE: When Litvinenko fled Moscow six years ago, people here simply stopped talking about him and his fierce criticism of the Russian president. Now, perhaps ironically, with these allegations that the Kremlin may behind his death, Russian government officials fully expect to hear a lot more talk about it -- John.

KING: Ryan Chilcote in Moscow. And for more on this intriguing story, we want to bring in CNN's resident Kremlinologist, correspondent Jill Dougherty. Jill spent eight years as our Moscow bureau chief and has unique insight into this spy drama. Jill, it is great to see you. I want to begin with the deathbed statement of Mr. Litvinenko.

He said this, "You may succeed in silencing one man, but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr. Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life. May God forgive you for what you have done not only to me, but to the beloved Russia and its people."

He clearly blamed President Putin. President Putin says not him. Jill Dougherty, what do you think?

(LAUGHTER)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, this has more layers than a John Carre novel, so trying to penetrate those is pretty difficult. But let's begin with that sensation accusation of President Putin. Now, obviously, Mr. Litvinenko believed that, or wanted to believe it, and is attacking the president. And you could say, on some level, that's his view. It might be the viewpoint of other people.

But it's much more complicated, as well, because you have with Litvinenko a long history of involvement in anti-Kremlin action. I mean, he was -- back in 1998 -- just to begin the story -- he said that he was told by the Kremlin -- by, I should say, the KGB, which is now called the FSB -- to murder the tycoon Boris Berezovski. But he didn't do it. But he blew the plot wide open.

And then fast forward. In 1999 -- and I was there in Moscow, covering these buildings being blown up, apartment buildings, if you remember, where innocent people were asleep, blown up. They were killed, 300 people in Russia. And Litvinenko said the Kremlin -- actually, the KGB had been behind that, too. And to what purpose? To get Russia into a second Chechen war, that the government would blow up its own people to get into a war.

And then the most recent allegation is Politkovskaya, the journalist, and Litvinenko, at this point, now investigating that from his home -- he's living -- he was living in London -- and also surmising that there was some type of perhaps KGB/FSB involvement.

Now, I have to say, this has all been denied. And actually, you can see from the tone of the Kremlin, they're saying this is so ridiculous, it doesn't even merit -- really merit comment. So they're denying it. But there's no question that it's very sensational and very, very complex to come to the bottom of all of this, John.

KING: Well, so Jill, it is possible -- Mr. Putin is a former KGB man. He certainly has clamped down on press and other democratic freedoms within Russia. It is possible that some of those in what is now the FSB, the former KGB, think that they have a green light to go after his critics, even though Mr. Putin himself may have nothing to do with this?

DOUGHERTY: That also probably entirely possible. but look at some of the former KGB, the FSB officers. You know, when the Soviet Union broke up, they went a lot of different places. Many of them are very smart people. Many of them had the goods, black information, as it's called, on a lot of people. They had a lot of nasty information on a lot of people. That can be very, very valuable.

So some of them went off into business. Some of them went off into government. But some of them went into the Russian Mafia. And that's where the plot thickens, so to speak, because you don't know. I mean, there could be people, former KGB -- this is complete surmisal (ph), John -- but could be people like that who were uncomfortable, didn't like, hated Litvinenko for getting some information on this and wanted to get him for another reason.

And then if you want to flip the whole thing on its head, I was just listening to Russian radio on the Internet, and they're saying, This is an attempt -- the Russian government saying, This is an attempt just to blacken the image of Russia.

So who's doing this? We don't know. But it is an amazing thing. And to get into the substance that was used, it's very rare, polonium 210, very rare substance. And you have to wonder where somebody could get that in London.

KING: Jill Dougherty. Why we love Jill Dougherty, because she's listening to Russian radio on the Internet. Jill Dougherty, thanks for sharing your thoughts. And maybe you could write a spy novel of your own.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: Take care, Jill. Good to see you.

And coming up, more echoes of the cold war era, the so-called "Star Wars" space-based missile shield. We'll show you now who's eyeing one and how it's complicating relations with, guess who, Russia. Plus an exclusive report from Afghanistan. Is al Qaeda finding safe haven there once again? CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr talks to the head of the U.S. Central Command. That's a CNN exclusive. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Many say the future of military defense lies in space. U.S. efforts to develop a missile shield go back decades, to Ronald Reagan's so-called "Star Wars" plan. Now NATO is weighing a similar space defense system for Europe. CNN European political editor Robin Oakley has our "Welcome to the Future" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR (voice-over): An oil rig blazes after a terrorist assault. A plane dives to extinguish the fire. Air-sea rescue teams pluck victims from the sea. Scenes from the next James Bond movie? No, this was Exercise Kaliningrad, a joint NATO-Russia rescue exercise maneuver.

In an age of global terrorism, such cooperative projects are increasing, but will they continue if NATO goes ahead with the latest plan being suggested for a Europe-wide missile defense system? The U.S. has for some time been fashioning a missile shield, dubbed "Son of Star Wars," which would shoot out of the sky any nuclear-armed missiles bound for America. Now, after a 10,000-page feasibility study, NATO's chief wants Europe to have similar protection.

JAAP DE HOOP SCHEFFER, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: I think personally that in the times we are living in, missile defense should have a more prominent place on the NATO agenda. And I hope that the Riga summit will address this.

OAKLEY: But Russia was angered by the initial U.S. plans, which involved radar stations on the continent like the Menwith Hill complex in Britain. "We wouldn't want anybody to get the impression this is something we fear, but this will require changes in our plan for military construction."

(on camera): A European missile shield is clearly moving up the agenda. Experts say it can be done. The question is whether those European nations, who've been reluctant to fund big enough defense budgets to meet theirs and NATO's current needs, will stump (ph) up the money to pay for it. Robin Oakley, CNN, at NATO headquarters, Brussels.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: And still to come, a decade after child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was murdered, her father speaks out about the man once considered a suspect.

But first, Shi'ite leader Muqtada al Sadr may be calling the shots in Baghdad, but is Iran's leader calling the shots for al Sadr?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMESH RATNESAR, WORLD EDITOR, "TIME": Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is the president of Iran, this year emerged as a dominant player on the world stage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Iran's president also emerges as a candidate for "Time" magazine's "Person of the Year."

PRISCILLA PAINTON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "TIME": We saw Ahmadinejad essentially defy many of the wishes of negotiators from the West in terms of refusing to stop the development of possible nuclear weapons. That's number one. Number two, we saw the role that his country played indirectly in the Lebanese-Israeli conflict. And number three, we saw the degree to which he has been effective, for better or for worse, at using major international platforms to essentially make his case.

ADI IGNATIUS, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "TIME": He continually has talked about wiping out Israel, has talked about denying the Holocaust. I mean, these are outrageous statements that make him no friends internationally.

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KING: Cold weather is now an ally for United States and its allies in Afghanistan as they press their mission of tracking al Qaeda leaders.

Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is traveling with the head of the U.S. Central Command. She has this exclusive report from Afghanistan.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, winter has already come to the mountains of Afghanistan, and in some areas, that bitter weather means attacks by the Taliban are dropping off. Still, the top commander here is expressing his concerns about that safe haven for al Qaeda across the border of these mountains in Pakistan.

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: The Pakistanis have done a great deal, especially in the areas away from the mountains, to get after al Qaeda, capture their operatives and make it difficult for them to conduct operations. That having been said, there's no doubt that in this region, there is a safe haven on the Pakistani side of the border that needs continued work in cooperation with NATO forces.

STARR: Commanders here in Afghanistan tell us they expect 2006 will end with more than 100 suicide bomb attacks. In fact, in the last three months here in Afghanistan, they have broken up six suicide bomb cells. Now, they say that the weapons they are seeing, the IEDs attacks that they are seeing here, are still fairly rudimentary, though some of them have grown to be larger in size in the last several months. And though it is winter here, they are already planning for a spring offensive by the Taliban, and the troops here say they will be ready -- John.

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KING: Barbara Starr for us from Afghanistan. Pretty mountains in that snow.

Up next: The father of JonBenet Ramsey speaking out publicly for the first time about the man who falsely confessed to the killing. Find out why he says he's actually sorry for him. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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KING: The father of murdered child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey is speaking out publicly for the first time about the man who falsely confessed to the crime. And you might be surprised at what John Ramsey has to say. CNN's Mary Snow is live for us in New York with that story -- Mary. MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, John Ramsey says he actually felt sorry at one point for John Mark Karr, the 41-year-old former suspect in his daughter's murder. Ramsey spoke to "48 Hours Mystery" on CBS News.

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SNOW (voice-over): It was back in August when the bizarre of John Mark Karr made headlines around the world. After nine years, it appeared that one of the most notorious unsolved murder cases in recent history might be solved.

JOHN MARK KARR: I loved JonBenet, and she died accidentally.

SNOW: Karr was arrested in Thailand and extradited to the U.S. on suspicion of murdering 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, but the evidence never materialized and Karr was eventually released. Now come words you might not expect from the father of murder victim JonBenet. John Ramsey spoke to "48 Hours Mystery" about the man once suspected of killing his daughter.

JOHN RAMSEY, JONBENET RAMSEY'S FATHER: After a while, he was so abused and vilified and convicted in the media that I started to feel sorry for the guy, which was a bizarre feeling. Having been through what we went through, you know, I was going to be the last guy that was out there and said, Aha! This is the guy.

SNOW: Ramsey and his late wife, Patsy, were themselves under a cloud of suspicion after their daughter was found beaten and strangled in the basement of their Colorado home in 1996. They're no longer considered suspects. Patsy Ramsey died in June. Her husband said she had been aware that police were on Karr's trail, a man described as being obsessed not only with JonBenet but with Patsy.

As for Karr, "48 Hours Mystery" quotes an agent with the Department of Homeland Security in Thailand as saying Karr's not off the hook with authorities just yet, but they didn't spell out what they're looking at. Department of Homeland Security officials in the U.S. declined any comment. Last month, in an interview with CNN's Larry King, Karr had this to say about any pending charges.

KARR: I'm being told by my attorney and advised that I shouldn't discuss this matter because in all honesty, you know, at this point, I'm possibly a target for law enforcement to just keep their eye on me.

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SNOW: Now, in that interview, Karr also said he wasn't facing any charges. His arrest and release only seemed to add more questions than answers about a murder that will mark its 10th anniversary on December 26 -- John.

KING: In a word, bizarre. Mary Snow for us in New York. Mary, thank you very much. And remember, we're here every weekday afternoon from 4:00 to 6:00 Eastern, and we're back on the air at 7:00 PM Eastern. That's just one hour from now. Until now, I'm John King in THE SITUATION ROOM. "Lou Dobbs Tonight" starts right now. Kitty Pilgrim is for Lou.

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