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CNN Sunday Morning

Iraq Votes

Aired January 30, 2005 - 07:00   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.


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: ...there a national election for eight hours. At some polling stations, the voting is described as brisk. At others, it's slow. Eight suicide bombings have been reported in Baghdad so far. Insurgent mortar attacks are also reported in the capitol and at Balad, north of Baghdad.
Yesterday before the voting began, insurgents launched a rocket attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad's heavily fortified green zone. Two Americans were killed, a service member and civilian. Seven suspects were arrested after that attack.

Back here at home, Michael Jackson will issue a statement this morning on his Web site, commenting on leaks of grand jury testimony in his case. Jackson's trial on child molestation charges begins tomorrow with jury selection. Earlier this month, ABC News reported details of grand jury testimony that a judge had ordered sealed.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Our top story this Sunday morning, voting for a new Iraq. Some of these people have been waiting all their lives for this election day. They have just under two hours to cast their ballots at one of 30,000 polling places across Iraq. Meantime, insurgents are doing what they can to keep voters away.

In Baghdad, eight suicide bombers have blown themselves up at polling stations. Plus, scattered mortar attacks are also being reported, but the voters are choosing among 111 slates of national assembly candidates with two of those slates considered favorites.

One is led by the current interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. And the other is supported by the Grand Ayatollah Al Sistani. Voters have turned out in force at some Baghdad polling places and at many stations in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region. At other polling places, notably in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, only a trickle of voters have turned out.

CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper is live from Baghdad with more.

Anderson, tell us all about what you have borne witness to on this historic day?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It is a certainly historic day, really an extraordinary day when you think of all that has gone on, all the blood that has been shed in this country, all the sacrifices that have been made by Iraqis, by American troops, and by others, an extraordinary day in Baghdad and all around Iraq. The U.N. special representative for these elections said that they are pleased at this point with the early reports of turnout they have been getting. They say they think the turnout ultimately will be strong.

The reports that are still coming in, we don't have accurate numbers at this point. Anecdotally, though, many polling stations do seem to have long lines. I was just at a polling station a short time ago in Baghdad. The line was about an hour wait. No one was complaining. I can tell you that. People were just happy to be there, excited.

As you said, this is for many people, the first time in their lives they have been able to cast a vote, a vote which actually meant something, a vote in which they had a choice. And there are many choices on the ballot this morning in Iraq.

There are two hours left until polls close. Polls close officially around 5:00 p.m. in the afternoon. They opened up at 7:00 a.m. Polls were not -- at least the early ones that we saw here in Baghdad were not immediately crowded. But early as the morning, as the hours went by, more people started to show up.

Security is, of course, extremely tight. Just to get into the polling stations, you have to go through layer after layer, body check after body check by Iraqi national guard troops, by Iraqi police officers.

All the while, overhead, U.S. helicopters are circling the city of Baghdad. And U.S. troops are visible from a distance at time -- at polling stations. You don't see them right up close at polling stations. The station I was at, about 200 yards away, you could see some U.S. soldiers standing on a rooftop, watching the proceedings.

More or less the proceedings have gone on relatively peacefully. I say relatively, though there have been eight suicide bombings here in the city of Baghdad, that is an extraordinarily high number for one day in this city, the city which has seen so much violence over the last two years or so.

11 people, as you said, have been killed by those suicide blasts. Four people were killed by mortars. More than 50 people have been wounded. 52 is the current count in those suicide attacks.

A very disturbing report to tell you about. Iraqi police and witnesses at the scene of one suicide bomber said the suicide bomber appeared to have Downs Syndrome and whether or not he actually detonated the device himself, whether someone else detonated it for him is not known at this point, but it is just a very disturbing detail, someone believed to have Downs Syndrome being used as a suicide bomber. It is something shocking, even in this city, which has become used to seeing slaughter, to seeing brutality on a scale that is hard to comprehend.

HARRIS: OK, Anderson, we appreciate it. That is a sad footnote. Anderson Cooper from Baghdad for us -- Anderson. NGUYEN: At Baquba northeast of Baghdad, the atmosphere at one polling station has been enthusiastic and even celebratory. And voters there tell CNN's Jane Arraf they are not afraid of insurgents or anyone else.

And Jane Arraf reports now live from Baquba.

What an extraordinary day it's been, Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has, absolutely, Betty. And we're trying to get a sense of what's happening here at Baquba, which is an important city in the Sunni Triangle. So we've moved to another polling station in this tiny cramped room. And our camera man Rick Hall -- move around a little bit and show you what Iraq's first day -- first election day in more than 50 years is like.

Right here, you've got people who have lined up in the hundreds to be able to vote. And you can see there are women as well as men. There are police officers here. They are ecstatic, many of these people at being able to vote.

We have these cardboard voting booths, give somewhat of a semblance of privacy. But as you can see...

(AUDIO GAP)

NGUYEN: All right, we're having some difficulty hearing Jane Arraf. But as you can see, they've lined up by the hundreds there in that video. And they have turned out to vote in Baquba. We'll of course continue to follow that section of Iraq -- Tony?

HARRIS: The outcome of Iraq's election could prove critical to President Bush's success there. Will it truly be a turning point for democracy in the Middle East? And will it help bring American troops back home?

Joining us to talk about that is CNN military analyst Major General Don Shepperd.

General, good to see you this morning.

DON SHEPPERD, MAJ. GEN., U.S. ARMY (RET.): Good morning, Tony.

HARRIS: All right, I see you have your maps there. Let's talk through the security situation first of all. We're hearing some reports that some military officials are surprised that there haven't been more attacks. Talk us through your maps and what we have seen in terms of violence?

SHEPPERD: OK, Tony, so far, so good. The security has been better than expected. But let's take a look at the map and I'll do a little telestrating here on CNN's telestrator.

Last night, we had an attack in the green zone right here. It's the site of the American embassy. Two people were killed, an American contractor and an American military personnel. We have some video of that, that was received from the Department of Defense. We actually got the impact, if you will, of the -- it was just termed to be a rocket that went off in there and killed these two people and injured five to six others. We don't have the final count there.

Going back to the map if I can here, the other attacks that have taken place have been in Sadr City. Now this was predicted. We predicted it before the election. This happened to be a mortar attack in Sadr City. Then we've had suicide attacks in an upscale neighborhood over here, Mansour, west of the Tigris River in the western part of the city. Remember, Mansour was the area where we had the attack on the restaurant where the forces believe Saddam Hussein was during the war.

Now I'm going to clear this off and tell you other areas that we expected to have problems and I'm not seeing problems. There's Akadamia (ph) neighborhood up here in the northwest part of the city that we expected problems. No problems there yet. And then we also expect that another problem area in the southwestern neighborhood right here and the possibility of problems in the university area inside the loop and the river.

Again, this situation has been better than we expected. If I can expand the map from Baghdad and go across the country and look at some of the trouble provinces where we expected problems, we expected problems in Baghdad. And we have seen problems in Baghdad. Eight attacks there between mortar and suicide attacks.

We also expected attacks up in Mosul. We've seen an attack there. We expected attacks down in Basra, which is down in the southern part of the country down here. And we've seen attacks there.

But the good news, if you will, is that expected attacks all over the country. And those have not taken place. There's about a little less than two hours to go in the voting before the polls close. So we could see some spectacular attacks, but we have not seen them.

The security has been really, really good. And again, the trouble provinces that were -- that we expected these provinces out to the west here, the heavily Sunni area, voter turnout low in those areas, but we've not seen any suicide attacks in those particular areas. So so far, it's been a pretty good picture.

I think the reason that we have had such good luck is a couple. First of all, we've had a lot of time to plan and plan with the Iraqi forces. We've been out of sight. The Iraqi forces have been taking care of the security at the polling places.

The other thing, there have been extensive offensive operations for the last couple of three weeks before the polls, rounding up insurgents or people that we thought were -- had the potential of being insurgents, getting them off the streets and then stopping the vehicular traffic has been a big factor, Tony. So so far, so good. Good news story. So far today with almost two hours to go.

HARRIS: So far. OK, General, we appreciate it. That's a great assessment. Thank you. SHEPPERD: You bet.

NGUYEN: And we have this information just coming into CNN that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been issuing a statement on several Islamic Web sites claiming responsibility for the attacks in and around Baghdad and throughout Iraq, which are aimed at derailing this election. And again, we do want to remind you it is coming into CNN right now that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has issued a statement on several Islamic Web sites, claiming responsibility for the attacks today in Iraq.

Now later this hour, we will meet a woman who was victimized by Saddam Hussein and hear what voting for a free Iraq means to her.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Bob Franken in New Carrollton, Maryland. This is one of five spots in the United States where expatriate Iraqis can come and make their vote. They've been showing up in small numbers, compared to the number in the U.S. Those who do come often travel hundreds of miles and have to go through now substantial security. And as you can see here, some winter weather. Tony and Betty?

HARRIS: And good morning, Nashville. Another one of five U.S. cities where Iraqi expatriates are casting their votes. We'll have your complete weather forecast in about 15 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: News across America this morning. A horrific bus crash outside of Rochester, New York kills three passengers. The charter bus carrying members of a Canadian women's hockey team rear ended a truck stopped on the side of the road. That impact was so great that it split the bus halfway down the middle. The truck driver was also killed in that accident.

In the southeast, people in Georgia and South Carolina hope warmer temperatures today will erase the effects of a severe ice storm. Most major highways reopened last night, but thousands of people across the region are still without power.

And on the shores of any icy Chesapeake Bay, several dozen hardy souls turned out for the annual Polar Bear Swim. Still don't understand why they do it. Not many people actually swam, though. Yes, because it was too cold. Most dashed into the frigid waters and then dashed right back out. The event is a fund-raiser for the Special Olympics.

And Rob Marciano will have the weather forecast for the rest of your weekend in about 10 minutes.

HARRIS: For many Iraqis, today's national election marks a political and personal turning point. That's especially true for people who say they were brutalized by Saddam Hussein's regime. Our Suzanne Malveaux talked to one of those survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On June 5th, 1987, Saddam Hussein launched a chemical attack in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Dr. Katrin Michael remembers the moment like it was yesterday.

KATRIN MICHAEL, IRAQI VOTER: There were hundreds of Peshmerga people, women, children, men around this fire, vomiting, yelling, twisting from pain.

MALVEAUX: Katrin's village Ziwa was among the first of more than 250 villages attacked with Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons in 1987 and 1988.

MICHAEL: It start tears coming from our eyes. We couldn't breathe.

MALVEAUX: Katrin not only temporarily lost her breath, but her hair and her sight, a moment that haunts her to this very day.

MICHAEL: I had this nightmare always feel that I'm dying or somebody shooting me or something running after me.

MALVEAUX: Born a Christian and raised in the Kurdish area of Iraq, Katrin joined the Kurdish resistance after her father was killed by Saddam's regime. Exiled for 20 years, she finally settled in the United States, becoming an Iraqi opposition leader and activist.

MICHAEL: I'm victim of chemical weapons.

MALVEAUX: Meeting with President Bush in the run-up to the Iraq War.

MICHAEL: The last moment that I left the Oval room, he said that you are going to see free Iraq.

MALVEAUX: But the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was bittersweet.

MICHAEL: Every bump, when it bumped by country, it hurt me. It hurt -- it squeezed my heart.

MALVEAUX: Now Katrin is excited to usher in a new era of Iraqi leadership when she votes for the first time. Armed with her voter registration card, she's determined to convince naysayers the U.S.'s investment in Iraqi democracy is worth it.

MICHAEL: Elections the best solution to change this government.

We challenging a lot of people around the world. They are against this democracy in Iraq.

MALVEAUX: But it's not all kudos for the Bush family. Katrin says President Bush's father is partly to blame for Saddam's rise in power before his graceless fall. Bush, Sr. went after Saddam in the first Persian Gulf War, but left the dictator in place in the end.

MICHAEL: That was a big mistake. The administration I feel was a big mistake to keep Saddam on power 1991.

MALVEAUX: But Katrin has moved forward. Now it's time to vote. She heads to the polling booth with memories of some of those she left behind. Her brother, who protected her in times of conflict. Her pregnant friend, who lost her baby from a chemical attacks. Two little boys who were gassed and temporarily went blind. Her ballot is her ticket to hope.

MICHAEL: I'm very optimist that Iraq is going to be a democracy in Iraq and is going to be a freedom country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And of course, that's what President Bush is counting on. He has invested a lot of political capitol in the U.S. mission in Iraq. The president receiving extensive updates and briefings on the Iraqi election this weekend. We understand that we may hear from the president later today, as well as his new Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be talking to our own Wolf Blitzer later this afternoon.

HARRIS: Thank you, Suzanne. Wonderful perspective in that story. Thank you.

Flag draped coffins, there's been a steady stream of them coming to the U.S. from Iraq. Will the American deaths cast a permanent shadow on President Bush's legacy? Our senior White House correspondent John King explores that question in our 9:00 Eastern hour.

And our e-mail question today, is Iraq worth the American sacrifice? You were wonderful on this subject yesterday. We want some more feedback from you.

Here's the question once again. Is Iraq worth the American sacrifice? E-mail us at wam@cnn.com and we'll read your responses throughout the morning.

NGUYEN: But first, here are some scenes and emotions captured in the Iraqi streets today. An elderly disabled man is being carried into a polling station in Sadr City. We'll bring that photo up in just a moment. Also in Sadr City, an elderly woman is getting help entering the station. I want to show you this one from Nashville. An Iraqi expatriate after casting his ballot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right, time now for a check of some of the other stories making news around the world.

HARRIS: And for that, let's go down Anand Naidoo at the International Desk -- Anand?

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning. Checking some of the other news around the world. The big story this morning, of course, the Iraqi elections. But next door in Kuwait, new violence. We're getting reports of a gun battle between security forces and suspected militants. A Kuwaiti official says one militant, a civilian and a policeman have been killed. It's the third outbreak of violence this month. The U.S. is calling on Americans who live there in Kuwait City to be more vigilant. And these latest clashes are taking place in an area of Kuwait City and a part of the capitol where many foreigners live.

Some real movement in the Middle East stalemate. Israel says it will transfer security control over several West Bank towns to Palestinians in the coming days. Indications are that the Israelis will withdraw to positions it held before the current Intifadah broke out in September 2000. And that announcement has come out actually just one week before the new United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading to that region.

Staying in the Middle East, and I got to say, this one took us by surprise. The Arab Television Network al Jazeera could be for sale. "The New York Times" reporting that the Qatar government, which owns the network, is speeding up plans for its sale. It's the most watched satellite television channel in the Arab world and a major thorn in the Bush administration side. As one Qatari official put it, the pressure from the U.S. has become a huge headache.

Incidentally, al Jazeera cannot report the Iraqi election from Iraq. That's because the interim government there has banned that satellite television network from Iraq for a period of six months.

That's all for me for now. More later. Back to Betty and Tony.

HARRIS: Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: All right, Iraqis across the globe are still casting ballots. Our Bob Franken is live in Maryland. Morning, Bob.

FRANKEN: Good morning. And there are five voting places in the United States, meaning that those Iraqi expatriates who want to vote have to go long distances in many cases to do so. Many, many are not. We'll talk about all that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Just 90 minutes to go before the polling stations in Iraq close their doors. We want to welcome you back this morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. That story in a minute. First, a look at news this morning.

It's Iraq's first free election in half a century. In some places, voting is described as brisk. In others, the streets are like a ghost town. Insurgents have launched attacks on polling stations across the country, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 50.

In a statement posted on several Islamic Web sites, a group headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claims responsibility for the attacks.

The U.S. military released this footage of yesterday's attack on the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad. Two Americans were killed, five other people were wounded. The military says troops captured seven insurgents about an hour after the attack.

That southeast ice storm has left hundreds of thousands of people without power in Georgia and South Carolina. Yesterday's freezing rain and sleet shut down highways, forced airlines to cancel flights, and left a coat of ice on trees and power lines. Three deaths are blamed on the weather. Two in Georgia and one in South Carolina.

NGUYEN: Now to our top story this Sunday morning. Voting for a new Iraq. Some of these people have been waiting all their lives for this election day. They have just about an hour and a half to go to cast their ballots at one of 30,000 polling places across Iraq.

Meantime, insurgents are doing what they can to keep voters away. In Baghdad, eight suicide bombers have blown themselves up at polling stations. A group led by top terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is claiming responsibility for those attacks. The voters are choosing among 111 slates of national assembly candidates with two of those slates considered favorites.

One is led by the current interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. And the other is supported by the Grand Ayatollah Al Sistani.

HARRIS: At Baquba northeast of Baghdad, the atmosphere at one polling station has been enthusiastic and celebratory. And voters tell CNN's Jane Arraf they're not afraid of insurgents or anyone else.

Jane reports live from Baquba. Hello, Jane.

ARRAF: Hello, Tony. We're jammed in this little school room. We're trying to give you a sense of what it's like, this historic day that has started at the moment in the lives of this Iraqi people.

Now some of these people have been lined up around the block, waiting to get into this schoolhouse to vote. And what they're doing now is they're being handed ballots, the first ballots, the first election they have ever seen. The blue ones are for provincial government. The huge lines (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the national government.

And you can see, Tony, there are women here as well as men. A lot of them have made this a family affair, coming to vote together.

Now these cardboard booths are for some sort of privacy. But as you can see, there isn't a lot or privacy here. They are definitely making this a group activity.

And here in Baquba, which is in the heart of the Sunni Triangle, Tony, we're told that 24 of 36 polling stations are open. The other ones, they've had problems with election workers not showing up. Problems of intimidations.

And we're just going to follow this process through. We want to show you an Iraqi woman putting her ballot in. She's folded up that ballot, put it in that plastic slot. And there you have it, an Iraqi who has voted for the first time in her life.

This really is an incredible time for these people. Some of them have come on crutches. One man came in a wheelchair. All of them are ecstatic that they're finally being able to vote -- Tony?

HARRIS: Jane Arraf in Baquba. And just to follow-up on that, Iraq's election commission is reporting voter turnout, placing voter turnout at 72 percent countrywide.

Now remember, Iraq has about 14 million people who are eligible to vote. And the election commission is placing the voter turnout at 72 percent countrywide.

NGUYEN: And that is remarkable. Well today is the final opportunity for Iraqis living abroad, including here in the U.S., to cast votes in their homeland historic election. Washington, D.C. has a large Iraqi expatriate population.

And national correspondent Bob Franken is live at their polling station in New Carrollton, Maryland. How's voter turnout so far?

FRANKEN: Well, you know, it's interesting to contrast the turnout in the United States, which is really quite small among the expatriates with that that was just reported in Iraq.

Here, only about 10 percent of those registered to vote at five polling places, including this hotel in suburban Washington, New Carrollton, Maryland, you can add the winter weather now to one of the impediments that might even suppress the turnout some more.

Once they come here, they encounter fairly substantial security for reasons that are not going to surprise anybody. Other reasons that are given for the low registration include the fact that the polling places are so few and far between. Five in the United States as I said. Sometimes drives of several hundred miles to get to one.

In addition to that, registration occurred during some of the Islamic holidays. So there's been some criticism of that. Nevertheless, many of those who are voting say that they really feel that they have a need to influence a country that they left sometimes in great fear to try and change the future of the country, many of them have families back there. They still feel tugs for a variety of reasons. So some of them are making that big trip.

As I said here in the East coast, that trip was a bit more treacherous today because of the bad weather, but people will be making the vote. They'll be coming to this hotel. The polls open just a short time ago. We've seen just a very, very small flow of cars in so far, but it's going to pick up, we assume as the day goes on, as the Iraqis who left their country try to influence the country that they still probably call home -- Betty?

NGUYEN: Bob, you mentioned low voter turnout where you are, as little as 10 percent. But I guess on the whole, as you speak with Iraqis, is it less about voter turnout and more about just about the sheer ability to vote in this election?

FRANKEN: Well, some people say that. For some, just like in the country itself, this is the first time that they participated in a free election for 50 years. And that is one of the reasons that people are coming up to vote.

Others, however, are not. They've become so much part of the United States that they've left Iraq behind them. Or these are people who for one reason or another criticize the way that the vote is being conducted.

The lack of a turnout sometimes can be considered a protest. But those who are voting, as you point out, are saying this is something they've waited so long to do, that they felt they had to do it, no matter how far they had to drive.

NGUYEN: And they're making history at it. All right, CNN's Bob Franken in New Carrollton, Maryland today. Thank you, Bob.

Tony?

HARRIS: As Iraqis vote, Washington is keeping close tabs and looking ahead to the future. At the Pentagon, officials are asking themselves a key question. Are the Iraqis ready to take over security even for a day?

Let's go live to the Pentagon now, where Barbara Starr is standing by. Good Sunday morning to you, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony. Well, here at the Pentagon and across the U.S. military, officials have been monitoring the situation overnight. And they are now saying that they feel the violence has been fairly contained. It's about what they expected due to the very stringent security measures.

But senior U.S. military generals are already looking ahead to those next steps you mentioned. Iraqi security forces and what will be the future for U.S. troops in Iraq.

There are a number of key points that they're looking at, Tony, in the next several days and weeks. They expect a period of uncertainty in Iraq, as the new government, the new assembly is seated and new government members are selected.

They are concerned that the insurgents again will try and take advantage of this period of uncertainty. But underlying all of this, what senior military officials are saying is they are being very cautious. They do not see this election as a fundamental defeat, military defeat for the insurgency. They do not expect the violence to stop. They do not expect the insurgency to suddenly melt away. And they want everyone to know that.

So the U.S. military strategy going forward from here is to proceed with the effort to put U.S. military training teams with those Iraqi security forces, get those Iraqi security forces beefed up, ready to really deal with the insurgency over the long haul. The feeling from the U.S. military is the turning point will come when Iraqis really see their own security forces willing to fight and die for their country, that that will give the Iraqis really the confidence to stand on their feet.

As to the question, Tony, of civil war following this election, officials, military officials say again they don't necessarily see an outbreak of sectarian violence on the horizon, but they certainly don't see an end to the violence.

So what's the bottom line on military strategy now after the election? Well, they estimate that there are about 30 to 35,000 Iraqi security forces now fully trained and equipped and able to deal with the insurgency. They want that number to go much higher from the U.S. military point of view here at the Pentagon, the planning scenario is that U.S. troops will stay in Iraq -- may have to stay in Iraq for at least the next two years in some significant fashion. That's the planning scenario. They hope it will be less if those Iraqi security forces can really begin to deal with the insurgency on their own.

But this election, they say, that has happened now in Iraq is only one step in this very lengthy process -- Tony?

HARRIS: OK, Barbara. And just to double check that with you. 35,000 now is the new number of Iraqis trained?

STARR: No, I am so sorry. Let me clarify.

HARRIS: OK.

STARR: Let me be very clear. There are about 130,000 Iraqi security...

HARRIS: OK.

STARR: ...forces. But let me be clear, there is a smaller number that are specifically trained and equipped to deal with the insurgency. Many of them deal with the counter terrorism mission. Many of them are police commando units, are border guards, are facility security guards.

They're talking about the real core that they believe can go out on a sort of military infantry basis, if you will, and deal with the insurgency.

130,000 overall. 30,000 core really trained to deal with the insurgency. They want that number to go up.

HARRIS: Now we are crystal clear.

STARR: Thank you.

HARRIS: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you, Barbara.

Iraqi citizens are celebrating the vote while international election monitors are watching the voting from afar. Are they close enough to do any good?

NGUYEN: And we want to say good morning, Washington, as snow and ice covers the ground. Is the southeast still on ice? Well, your complete weather forecast ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And checking our top stories now, Iraq's first re- election in half a century leads our coverage. Polls close in about an hour and 15 minutes. Iraqis have been lining up at thousands of polling places across the country, but it's not clear how many of the more than 14 million registered voters have actually cast ballots.

Security fears led to a low turnout in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Those fears are coming to fruition in some areas, especially the capitol. There have been a string of suicide bombings and mortar attacks in and around Baghdad, some targeting lines of voters.

NGUYEN: Well, there are some 18,000 Iraqi election monitors at the polling stations today. And watching from afar, 128 registered monitoring groups from around the world.

Among them, the International Mission for Iraqi Elections, which is assessing the voting from neighboring Jordan. We have with us today Jean Pierre Kingsley, Canada's chief electoral officer, who heads that observer mission. And he joins us from Amman, Jordan.

We appreciate you being on the show. Thank you.

JEAN PIERRE KINGSLEY, INTL. MISSION IRAQI ELECTIONS: Thank you.

NGUYEN: First of all, let's talk about the overall voter turnout. How successful has this election been so far from your eyes?

KINGSLEY: Well, point of fact, I'm not aware of the latest figures on turnout. And I'd rather wait until the final numbers are in before making any kind of determination in that respect.

NGUYEN: Well, we just heard around 70 percent have turned out in this election. That's a pretty good number, wouldn't you say?

KINGSLEY: Well, obviously, 70 percent is a very good number, especially at this time of the day.

NGUYEN: And are you hearing any kind of irregularities or any kind of problems with voting in Iraq?

KINGSLEY: The only irregularities are due to the security concerns. Now one must keep in mind that over and above the 18,000 Iraqis who are doing observation themselves on their elections, there's 36,000 who are representatives of parties and candidates who are situated in the polls, much as in the states and much as in Canada for that matter, who are going to be reporting back to their parties. And from that, we will see what kind of complaints have been generated. And they will be filed with the Iraqi Independent electoral Commission for consideration as to their impact.

NGUYEN: We want to talk about those complaints in just a moment, because you have drawn some criticism for the simple fact that your monitors are not in Iraq. You're judging this from afar. Can you accurately assess the situation on the ground there and determine if this was a fair and free election?

KINGSLEY: Well, number one, our mission was never to send observers per se. It's something that would have occurred if it had been possible.

But security measures preempted that, as well as the fact that, you know, thousands or a couple of thousand soldiers might have been required to put to -- provide security for these people. And that would have deprived Iraqi electors of this security.

What our mission has always been to monitor what was happening before the elections. How sound was the electoral law? How were -- how was the law in terms of respect for the fundamental rights of electors? How were electors defined? Was that OK? How was the register of electors drawn up? Was it complete? Were there people who were missing, who were being discriminated against?

These are the things that professional electoral administrators realize are very important. And without them, if you don't have that, then no matter what kind of an electoral day you've got, you've got a flawed process.

Our mission has always been to make sure that that was sound and solid.

NGUYEN: So as you wait for this information to come into you, how long do you think after the polls close just over an hour from now, do you expect to issue that preliminary assessment of the Iraq election?

KINGSLEY: Well, in terms of any preliminary assessments, tell you the truth, we're going to be relying on what the Iraqis themselves feel was their election. They've got the monitors out there. They have their systems of reporting. And there's no one else who can claim that they have any other means of doing that, except the Iraqi electoral commission itself as well.

NGUYEN: All right, Jean Pierre Kingsley, head of the International Mission for Iraqi Elections. We appreciate your time and insight today. Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And good morning, Washington, D.C. A suburb of the nation's capitol, it's actually in Maryland, but it's considered D.C. suburb, New Carrollton is one of the five U.S. sites where Iraqi expatriates are casting their votes today. NGUYEN: But as you look at that picture right there, that live picture, boy, we socked in especially here in the south and parts of the northeast with all this snow and still ice on the ground.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: We have been asking you this morning if Iraq is worth American sacrifice. Here's the question., There's the address. We will read your replies next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: So let's get to our e-mail question of the day. Is Iraq worth the American sacrifice?

HARRIS: And here's the first response from Lori B. from Cincinnati. "Absolutely not!!! The whole war is based on a lie...straight from the top. We went into the region NOT to save us all from nuclear annihilation but for one thing only...OIL. Our men and women's lives are worth more than oil."

NGUYEN: And Pollak believes that the sacrifice is definitely worth it. He says, "Yes. We are saving American lives in the long run." And of course, we appreciate you sending those responses in. Keep them coming this morning to our e-mail question of the day. All you have to do is send it to wam@cnn.com.

HARRIS: And the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins right now.

NGUYEN: It's one hour before the polls close in Iraq's first free election in 50 years. Despite the violence in some areas, Iraqis are braving the bombers and voting.

From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's January 30th. 8:00 a.m. at CNN headquarters here in Atlanta, 5:00 a.m. on the West Coast, 4:00 p.m. in Baghdad.

Good morning, everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Let's get you caught up with today's news.

NGUYEN: CNN is closely monitoring today's historic voting in Iraq. Here's where things stand right now.

Insurgents have made good on their threats to attack voters in polling sites. So far there have been at least 13 separate attacks, most of them suicide bombers. Twenty people have died, and more than 50 have been wounded.

Now, just a short time ago, several Islamic Web sites posted a statement reportedly by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, claiming responsibility for today's attacks. However, the violence and threats have failed to deter many voters. In some places, Iraqis have endured long lines and lengthy waits without complaint. Although polls officially close in one hour, everyone who shows up at the polls by 5:00 p.m. local time will be permitted to vote.

HARRIS: One area that appears to have had fairly good turnout is Baquba, which is north of Baghdad. CNN's Jane Arraf has been watching the situation there on this historic day and she joins us by video phone.

And Jane, I have to tell you I love the energy of what you've been showing us from your polling place.

ARRAF: Thank you. There is a lot of energy around here in this tiny little room. Now this a school. It's essentially falling down, but we are seeing history unfolding in front of us.

We want to just give you a little snapshot of what's happening here. As people come to vote for the first time in their lives, they are lining up. This man here is holding a stamped ballot. He has stamped 1,500 of them today. So many he told us he has blisters on his fingers. These people, these Iraqis are being given ballots, two of them, one for the provincial council, one for the national level.

And he, this election worker, has been helping people fill their ballots, and helping them check the boxes. These cardboard partitions are meant to provide a little bit of privacy, but you can see this a group activity.

We've had families come here, men with their wives, bringing their children even. And as you can also see, there are women who are coming here, a large number of women who have come out to vote.

This is something they say they have dreamed of for all of their lives. We actually have with us someone who voted this morning. His name is Zaz (ph). He's an engineer. And Zaz I'm hoping you could tell us, tell our viewers, what does this day mean to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like a wedding party. It's like that we are decide to maintain ourselves. This is our right. So you can see how many people are coming, and there are really -- most of the people do not know the procedure, but they're coming.

They don't know even their (UNINTELLIGIBLE), but even they all coming and they are looking for their votes sometimes, and coming here and (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ARRAF: Now, you have ink on your fingers. People can tell you voted, insurgents can tell you voted. Are you afraid?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no. We are, as I told you, we are beating the terrorists as we are coming here to show that we are -- we are here and we want to be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) like all people, like all human beings.

ARRAF: Who did you vote for? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I vote really for Mr. Allawi and his party.

ARRAF: For the prime minister. Why did you vote for him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because in my mind he is the man that we are (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ARRAF: Now, you're a young professional, you're an engineer. You haven't worked for a long time. What do you see for yourself in the future?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see my future in my child's eyes. And I see the future as bright now, in this election. This is the first thing that (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ARRAF: Zaz (ph), thank you so much. He is an Iraqi from this neighborhood (UNINTELLIGIBLE) dreamed of. And no matter what's happened outside, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 7:30 in the morning as there were mortars around me somewhere around here.

In this room, on this floor there are many people who say their dreams today have come true because they have been able for the first time to make the first step of reclaiming their country, saying something to the insurgents.

It's not huge, huge numbers, but there has been a steady stream of very brave people who have come (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HARRIS: Very well said. Jane Arraf in Baquba this morning. Jane, thank you.

NGUYEN: Today is the final opportunity for Iraqis living abroad, including here in the U.S. to cast votes in their homeland's historic election. Nashville has a large Iraqi expatriate population and Denise Belgrave has that story.

Good morning, Denise. I see it's raining there. Is that affecting voter turnout this morning, on the last day for them to vote?

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty. Actually, it was raining and cold yesterday, and it's raining and cold again today. But it hasn't seemed to stop the Iraqis from coming out and voting.

If you look behind me, we're standing right here at the entrance. The polls just opened, and we've already seen a bunch of cars go in and people get out to vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BELGRAVE: (voice-over): They celebrated. They were determined.

Iraqis from across the southeast braved cold rain, and treacherous road conditions getting to Nashville to cast their ballot in Iraq's first free election in half a century. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I drive anywhere for freedom and democratic and for my country, my people. I don't care.

BELGRAVE: Nashville, Tennessee is home to the largest Kurdish community in the U.S., and the Kurds turned out in force to vote. After years of persecution under Saddam Hussein, the opportunity to vote is particularly poignant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the first time ever we vote. We have the opportunity to make some changes for our people. Plus we're Kurdish. We're great American allies and we're very proud of that.

BELGRAVE: Only one in 10 eligible Iraqis living in the U.S. registered to vote in this election. For those who did show up, it's a statistic that they found disappointing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They really lost a good chance to help Iraqis. I mean, there's people that are risking their lives in Iraq now because of the violence, and they don't care. And still they go and vote. And here we're safe and security here, and they should go.

BELGRAVE: Even non-Iraqis were moved by the spirit. Valerie Clemente, a Nashville native, spent this cold day congratulating and encouraging Iraq's new voters.

VALERIE CLEMENTE, NASHVILLE NATIVE: Thank you, thank you, I'm so proud of you today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELGRAVE: I was extremely impressed by how determined all the Iraqis who showed up here are, and how much this means to them. They really feel that this is a new opportunity for their country, and they really hope that all Iraqis are going to be able to pull it together following this vote.

NGUYEN: Historic day. Denise Belgrave, we thank you for that.

We want to go live now to Carlos Valenzuela at the Baghdad Convention Center. And Carlos had a major role in organizing these elections. Good morning to you. Thanks for being with us.

CARLOS VALENZUELA, U.N. ELECTION ORGANIZER: Good morning.

NGUYEN: Let's talk about the kind of voter turnout that you're seeing. We heard some 72 percent of Iraqis have turned out to vote. Is that what you're hearing? And if that's the case, that's quite a turnout.

VALENZUELA: Well, at this stage we're very happy with the turnout, as it seems to be higher than expected. I would not at this stage give any figures. I think we're still at the early stage of reporting, and I would rather wait until we have much better reporting to be able to come up with figures.

But it is true that across the country, even in areas that have been -- with violence, voter turnout has been quite good, or better than we had expected, actually.

NGUYEN: OK. Figures aside, what areas are you seeing the highest number of people come out to vote in this election?

VALENZUELA: As has been expected from the beginning, the south has come up in quite great numbers. The north has also come out in great numbers. The central area has shown that they are coming slower, and actually in the last hour or two, we have seen quite a spin in the turnout.

In Baghdad, we have seen that a lot of cues are coming up at the very last minute. In Anbar, that started out being very slow, cues are also coming up as we speak.

One important feature maybe to take note of is the fact that women have made up quite a lot of the voter turnout, particularly in the north and in the south.

NGUYEN: Which can be something to celebrate. All right. Carlos Valenzuela, the U.N. chief election adviser to Iraq. We appreciate your information today. Thank you -- Tony.

HARRIS: CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is among our team of reporters in Baghdad. She joins us now with the latest from where she is. And Christiane, we've been anxiously waiting to hear from you this morning. Give us your perspective on what you've seen as a history has unfolded in Baghdad.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, it's taken us a little time to get the satellite open from this polling site here in central Baghdad, but here we are.

We've been here quite a few hours over the course of the morning, and we have seen a steady flow of people into the polling station. Now, it's about 50 minutes until these polls close, and the level of the people coming here has dropped off somewhat. But we're told that so far about 1,500 people have come to this polling station alone.

We saw many of them voting this morning. Many told us how excited they were. One of the election workers, as you know these election workers have been intimidated, and some killed and wounded over this campaign, she told us, this is a great day.

She felt like she was, quote, "being reborn." She said the terrorists tried to sabotage this, but they haven't been able to. That's the sentiment we're getting from most people we talk to. They all recognize this as an amazing moment. That this is the first time they've been able to vote, the first time they've been able to choose in any meaningful way.

Of course you remember there were elections, so-called, under Saddam Hussein, but those weren't elections. Those were just yes and no to Saddam and most people said they basically were forced to say yes, and that's what used to happen over that period of that tyranny.

But now they're very happy. a lot of people have taken their children to these polling stations. We've also heard from the military that, of course, we've been reporting there have been some instances of violence here, some suicide bombers, people who have been strapping vests to their bodies and blowing them up, and that has killed people.

But the military is quite satisfied that they've prevented massive car bombs, which they feared, from getting anywhere close to these polling stations. And they also say that as soon as these attacks have taken place, as soon as it's cleared up, the voting stations open up again and the people keep filing towards them.

One story I heard from the military, that on one of the worst streets in Baghdad, there was an ambulance being used earlier this morning by insurgents to toss out grenades, and apparently the local people surrounded the ambulance, grabbed the people who were driving it, and handed them over to the authorities.

So there is a spirit of defiance today. People were not deterred, and they have come out. Back to you.

HARRIS: OK. Christiane Anampour in Baghdad. Christiane, thank you.

NGUYEN: And we also want to know what you think today. Is Iraq worth the American sacrifice? We'll be reading your e-mails all throughout the morning. But keep them coming in to wam@cnn.com.

HARRIS: They share the same nation but have different views. We explore the difference between Iraq's Sunnis and Shiites in our "Faces of Faith" segment ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: As you can imagine, the election in Iraq is dominating media coverage in the Middle East. So how is the story being told? A few of the Arab media live next hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, 9:00 a.m. eastern.

HARRIS: Good morning, Detroit, one of five U.S. cities where Iraqi expatriates are voting. We'll have your forecast in a minute.

NGUYEN: Checking the top stories this Sunday morning, about 45 minutes to go before Iraqi voters wrap up their historic election. Voting is described as heavy at some of the thousands of polling stations, much lighter at others. Iraqis are picking a national assembly and regional council.

Iraq is under extremely tight security, but that has not stopped the insurgents. There has been a series of suicide bombings in Baghdad, some of them targeting polling sites. A statement said to be from wanted militant Abu Musab al Zarqawi's group claims responsibility for those attacks.

Back here in the U.S., we'll be hearing from Michael Jackson this morning, a day before jury selection starts in his child molestation case. The singer is releasing a video statement on his Web site in under two hours from now. He's expected to comment on leaks of grand jury testimony.

HARRIS: And Rob Marciano hasn't specifically been tracking the weather in Iraq, but something tells me he's been keeping an eye on it. It's been a great day over there, and our weather in this country is improving as well, Rob.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, a history of disdain, Iraqis, Sunnis and Shiites, can they find common ground after the election? We will ask our religion expert straight ahead in our "Faces of Faith" segment.

HARRIS: And at the bottom of the hour, we're at the height of the flu season, so how are we doing? Dr. Sanjay Gupta answers that question in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In our Faces of Faith this morning, to what degree will religious influences sway the Iraqi election? Sunni Muslim leaders have called for a boycott of today's vote, and it looks like a lot of Sunnis may have taken heed. Will this lead to a deeper rift with Iraq's Shiite majority?

For some answers, let's turn to professor Juan Cole, a Middle East expert at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Cole, good to see you this morning.

Dr. JUAN COLE, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Thank you.

HARRIS: Got to ask you off the top, are we witnessing a bit of history? Are we witnessing a success story in Iraq?

COLE: Well, it's certainly a historic moment, and it's a political earthquake in Iraqi history.

HARRIS: An earthquake?

COLE: In the region. Yes, I think so. You've got, I think, good turnout in the Shiite and Kurdish areas. You're going to have an elected government with a substantial popular mandate, but there is a downside. As you say, the Sunni Arabs appear not to have turned out in any great numbers, and then the U.S. was not able to prevent dozens of people from being killed and wounded.

HARRIS: So what does that mean as we move forward? Will religion be an advisory factor in shaping the new government, or will it take on a supervisory role?

COLE: The Iraqi Shiites say they want religion only to be in an advisory role. They want the religious leaders, the grand ayatollah, to give fatwahs, to give rulings and attempt to include politics from outside the government, not to run the government. HARRIS: I guess we should set that up by mentioning the obvious, that the Shiites make up 60 to 65 percent of the population, so they should dominate this process, correct?

COLE: Yes. It looks like they will dominate the process if the turnout is as reported. And we're expecting the United Iraqi Alliance, the list put together under the auspices of the Grand Ayatollah Sistani, to do very well in these elections. It may very well be able to form the next government.

HARRIS: What has been our view of Shiites in general, this government's view through the years?

COLE: Well, the United States has had a different relations with Shiite community and Islam, depending upon the country and the time. Because of the Iranian revolution being led by Ayatollah Khomeini, the U.S. for a long time had bad relations with a lot of Shiites, and then there was the activism in the south Lebanon of the Hezbollah, there was hostage taking.

On the other hand, in the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the U.S. worked closely with the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, with the Dawa Party and other Shiite parties.

HARRIS: And Dr. Cole very quickly, what kind of position are the Sunnis in?

COLE: Well, the Sunni Arabs have decided not to participate in these elections in great numbers. Of course, many of them were afraid. There's not good security in their areas. But others, I think, felt that it's illegitimate to have an election under military occupation.

Because they did -- they seem not to have come out in large numbers, they're going to be underrepresented in parliament, and this parliament is going to craft a permanent constitution. So there is a problem to have a major minority excluded.

HARRIS: Dr. Cole, thanks for taking the time to talk to us on this historic day. We appreciate it.

COLE: Thank you.

HARRIS: Well, it is our e-mail question of the morning. Is Iraq worth the American sacrifice?

NGUYEN: We got one coming from Sherry. It's very poignant. She says, "it is hard to lose so much life, so much precious life, but these sacrifices are for others' hopes and dreams, and will give generations to come things they could have never believed they would have.

These men and women are giving the best gift any human being can, life to others, peace to others. They are dying for mankind. They make history, and we should all be thankful and be able to see the greater good of this awful war." We appreciate all of your responses coming in. Keep them coming, though. Send them to wam@cnn.com. The question of the day, is Iraq worth the American sacrifice?

We're live at the top of the hour from Iraq as soon as the polls close on this historic election day. Next hour, we'll bring you a complete wrap of the day's voting.

HARRIS: And next on "HOUSE CALL," our Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at where we are now at the height of flu season.

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 30, 2005 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: ...there a national election for eight hours. At some polling stations, the voting is described as brisk. At others, it's slow. Eight suicide bombings have been reported in Baghdad so far. Insurgent mortar attacks are also reported in the capitol and at Balad, north of Baghdad.
Yesterday before the voting began, insurgents launched a rocket attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad's heavily fortified green zone. Two Americans were killed, a service member and civilian. Seven suspects were arrested after that attack.

Back here at home, Michael Jackson will issue a statement this morning on his Web site, commenting on leaks of grand jury testimony in his case. Jackson's trial on child molestation charges begins tomorrow with jury selection. Earlier this month, ABC News reported details of grand jury testimony that a judge had ordered sealed.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Our top story this Sunday morning, voting for a new Iraq. Some of these people have been waiting all their lives for this election day. They have just under two hours to cast their ballots at one of 30,000 polling places across Iraq. Meantime, insurgents are doing what they can to keep voters away.

In Baghdad, eight suicide bombers have blown themselves up at polling stations. Plus, scattered mortar attacks are also being reported, but the voters are choosing among 111 slates of national assembly candidates with two of those slates considered favorites.

One is led by the current interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. And the other is supported by the Grand Ayatollah Al Sistani. Voters have turned out in force at some Baghdad polling places and at many stations in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region. At other polling places, notably in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, only a trickle of voters have turned out.

CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper is live from Baghdad with more.

Anderson, tell us all about what you have borne witness to on this historic day?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It is a certainly historic day, really an extraordinary day when you think of all that has gone on, all the blood that has been shed in this country, all the sacrifices that have been made by Iraqis, by American troops, and by others, an extraordinary day in Baghdad and all around Iraq. The U.N. special representative for these elections said that they are pleased at this point with the early reports of turnout they have been getting. They say they think the turnout ultimately will be strong.

The reports that are still coming in, we don't have accurate numbers at this point. Anecdotally, though, many polling stations do seem to have long lines. I was just at a polling station a short time ago in Baghdad. The line was about an hour wait. No one was complaining. I can tell you that. People were just happy to be there, excited.

As you said, this is for many people, the first time in their lives they have been able to cast a vote, a vote which actually meant something, a vote in which they had a choice. And there are many choices on the ballot this morning in Iraq.

There are two hours left until polls close. Polls close officially around 5:00 p.m. in the afternoon. They opened up at 7:00 a.m. Polls were not -- at least the early ones that we saw here in Baghdad were not immediately crowded. But early as the morning, as the hours went by, more people started to show up.

Security is, of course, extremely tight. Just to get into the polling stations, you have to go through layer after layer, body check after body check by Iraqi national guard troops, by Iraqi police officers.

All the while, overhead, U.S. helicopters are circling the city of Baghdad. And U.S. troops are visible from a distance at time -- at polling stations. You don't see them right up close at polling stations. The station I was at, about 200 yards away, you could see some U.S. soldiers standing on a rooftop, watching the proceedings.

More or less the proceedings have gone on relatively peacefully. I say relatively, though there have been eight suicide bombings here in the city of Baghdad, that is an extraordinarily high number for one day in this city, the city which has seen so much violence over the last two years or so.

11 people, as you said, have been killed by those suicide blasts. Four people were killed by mortars. More than 50 people have been wounded. 52 is the current count in those suicide attacks.

A very disturbing report to tell you about. Iraqi police and witnesses at the scene of one suicide bomber said the suicide bomber appeared to have Downs Syndrome and whether or not he actually detonated the device himself, whether someone else detonated it for him is not known at this point, but it is just a very disturbing detail, someone believed to have Downs Syndrome being used as a suicide bomber. It is something shocking, even in this city, which has become used to seeing slaughter, to seeing brutality on a scale that is hard to comprehend.

HARRIS: OK, Anderson, we appreciate it. That is a sad footnote. Anderson Cooper from Baghdad for us -- Anderson. NGUYEN: At Baquba northeast of Baghdad, the atmosphere at one polling station has been enthusiastic and even celebratory. And voters there tell CNN's Jane Arraf they are not afraid of insurgents or anyone else.

And Jane Arraf reports now live from Baquba.

What an extraordinary day it's been, Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has, absolutely, Betty. And we're trying to get a sense of what's happening here at Baquba, which is an important city in the Sunni Triangle. So we've moved to another polling station in this tiny cramped room. And our camera man Rick Hall -- move around a little bit and show you what Iraq's first day -- first election day in more than 50 years is like.

Right here, you've got people who have lined up in the hundreds to be able to vote. And you can see there are women as well as men. There are police officers here. They are ecstatic, many of these people at being able to vote.

We have these cardboard voting booths, give somewhat of a semblance of privacy. But as you can see...

(AUDIO GAP)

NGUYEN: All right, we're having some difficulty hearing Jane Arraf. But as you can see, they've lined up by the hundreds there in that video. And they have turned out to vote in Baquba. We'll of course continue to follow that section of Iraq -- Tony?

HARRIS: The outcome of Iraq's election could prove critical to President Bush's success there. Will it truly be a turning point for democracy in the Middle East? And will it help bring American troops back home?

Joining us to talk about that is CNN military analyst Major General Don Shepperd.

General, good to see you this morning.

DON SHEPPERD, MAJ. GEN., U.S. ARMY (RET.): Good morning, Tony.

HARRIS: All right, I see you have your maps there. Let's talk through the security situation first of all. We're hearing some reports that some military officials are surprised that there haven't been more attacks. Talk us through your maps and what we have seen in terms of violence?

SHEPPERD: OK, Tony, so far, so good. The security has been better than expected. But let's take a look at the map and I'll do a little telestrating here on CNN's telestrator.

Last night, we had an attack in the green zone right here. It's the site of the American embassy. Two people were killed, an American contractor and an American military personnel. We have some video of that, that was received from the Department of Defense. We actually got the impact, if you will, of the -- it was just termed to be a rocket that went off in there and killed these two people and injured five to six others. We don't have the final count there.

Going back to the map if I can here, the other attacks that have taken place have been in Sadr City. Now this was predicted. We predicted it before the election. This happened to be a mortar attack in Sadr City. Then we've had suicide attacks in an upscale neighborhood over here, Mansour, west of the Tigris River in the western part of the city. Remember, Mansour was the area where we had the attack on the restaurant where the forces believe Saddam Hussein was during the war.

Now I'm going to clear this off and tell you other areas that we expected to have problems and I'm not seeing problems. There's Akadamia (ph) neighborhood up here in the northwest part of the city that we expected problems. No problems there yet. And then we also expect that another problem area in the southwestern neighborhood right here and the possibility of problems in the university area inside the loop and the river.

Again, this situation has been better than we expected. If I can expand the map from Baghdad and go across the country and look at some of the trouble provinces where we expected problems, we expected problems in Baghdad. And we have seen problems in Baghdad. Eight attacks there between mortar and suicide attacks.

We also expected attacks up in Mosul. We've seen an attack there. We expected attacks down in Basra, which is down in the southern part of the country down here. And we've seen attacks there.

But the good news, if you will, is that expected attacks all over the country. And those have not taken place. There's about a little less than two hours to go in the voting before the polls close. So we could see some spectacular attacks, but we have not seen them.

The security has been really, really good. And again, the trouble provinces that were -- that we expected these provinces out to the west here, the heavily Sunni area, voter turnout low in those areas, but we've not seen any suicide attacks in those particular areas. So so far, it's been a pretty good picture.

I think the reason that we have had such good luck is a couple. First of all, we've had a lot of time to plan and plan with the Iraqi forces. We've been out of sight. The Iraqi forces have been taking care of the security at the polling places.

The other thing, there have been extensive offensive operations for the last couple of three weeks before the polls, rounding up insurgents or people that we thought were -- had the potential of being insurgents, getting them off the streets and then stopping the vehicular traffic has been a big factor, Tony. So so far, so good. Good news story. So far today with almost two hours to go.

HARRIS: So far. OK, General, we appreciate it. That's a great assessment. Thank you. SHEPPERD: You bet.

NGUYEN: And we have this information just coming into CNN that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been issuing a statement on several Islamic Web sites claiming responsibility for the attacks in and around Baghdad and throughout Iraq, which are aimed at derailing this election. And again, we do want to remind you it is coming into CNN right now that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has issued a statement on several Islamic Web sites, claiming responsibility for the attacks today in Iraq.

Now later this hour, we will meet a woman who was victimized by Saddam Hussein and hear what voting for a free Iraq means to her.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Bob Franken in New Carrollton, Maryland. This is one of five spots in the United States where expatriate Iraqis can come and make their vote. They've been showing up in small numbers, compared to the number in the U.S. Those who do come often travel hundreds of miles and have to go through now substantial security. And as you can see here, some winter weather. Tony and Betty?

HARRIS: And good morning, Nashville. Another one of five U.S. cities where Iraqi expatriates are casting their votes. We'll have your complete weather forecast in about 15 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: News across America this morning. A horrific bus crash outside of Rochester, New York kills three passengers. The charter bus carrying members of a Canadian women's hockey team rear ended a truck stopped on the side of the road. That impact was so great that it split the bus halfway down the middle. The truck driver was also killed in that accident.

In the southeast, people in Georgia and South Carolina hope warmer temperatures today will erase the effects of a severe ice storm. Most major highways reopened last night, but thousands of people across the region are still without power.

And on the shores of any icy Chesapeake Bay, several dozen hardy souls turned out for the annual Polar Bear Swim. Still don't understand why they do it. Not many people actually swam, though. Yes, because it was too cold. Most dashed into the frigid waters and then dashed right back out. The event is a fund-raiser for the Special Olympics.

And Rob Marciano will have the weather forecast for the rest of your weekend in about 10 minutes.

HARRIS: For many Iraqis, today's national election marks a political and personal turning point. That's especially true for people who say they were brutalized by Saddam Hussein's regime. Our Suzanne Malveaux talked to one of those survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On June 5th, 1987, Saddam Hussein launched a chemical attack in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Dr. Katrin Michael remembers the moment like it was yesterday.

KATRIN MICHAEL, IRAQI VOTER: There were hundreds of Peshmerga people, women, children, men around this fire, vomiting, yelling, twisting from pain.

MALVEAUX: Katrin's village Ziwa was among the first of more than 250 villages attacked with Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons in 1987 and 1988.

MICHAEL: It start tears coming from our eyes. We couldn't breathe.

MALVEAUX: Katrin not only temporarily lost her breath, but her hair and her sight, a moment that haunts her to this very day.

MICHAEL: I had this nightmare always feel that I'm dying or somebody shooting me or something running after me.

MALVEAUX: Born a Christian and raised in the Kurdish area of Iraq, Katrin joined the Kurdish resistance after her father was killed by Saddam's regime. Exiled for 20 years, she finally settled in the United States, becoming an Iraqi opposition leader and activist.

MICHAEL: I'm victim of chemical weapons.

MALVEAUX: Meeting with President Bush in the run-up to the Iraq War.

MICHAEL: The last moment that I left the Oval room, he said that you are going to see free Iraq.

MALVEAUX: But the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was bittersweet.

MICHAEL: Every bump, when it bumped by country, it hurt me. It hurt -- it squeezed my heart.

MALVEAUX: Now Katrin is excited to usher in a new era of Iraqi leadership when she votes for the first time. Armed with her voter registration card, she's determined to convince naysayers the U.S.'s investment in Iraqi democracy is worth it.

MICHAEL: Elections the best solution to change this government.

We challenging a lot of people around the world. They are against this democracy in Iraq.

MALVEAUX: But it's not all kudos for the Bush family. Katrin says President Bush's father is partly to blame for Saddam's rise in power before his graceless fall. Bush, Sr. went after Saddam in the first Persian Gulf War, but left the dictator in place in the end.

MICHAEL: That was a big mistake. The administration I feel was a big mistake to keep Saddam on power 1991.

MALVEAUX: But Katrin has moved forward. Now it's time to vote. She heads to the polling booth with memories of some of those she left behind. Her brother, who protected her in times of conflict. Her pregnant friend, who lost her baby from a chemical attacks. Two little boys who were gassed and temporarily went blind. Her ballot is her ticket to hope.

MICHAEL: I'm very optimist that Iraq is going to be a democracy in Iraq and is going to be a freedom country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And of course, that's what President Bush is counting on. He has invested a lot of political capitol in the U.S. mission in Iraq. The president receiving extensive updates and briefings on the Iraqi election this weekend. We understand that we may hear from the president later today, as well as his new Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be talking to our own Wolf Blitzer later this afternoon.

HARRIS: Thank you, Suzanne. Wonderful perspective in that story. Thank you.

Flag draped coffins, there's been a steady stream of them coming to the U.S. from Iraq. Will the American deaths cast a permanent shadow on President Bush's legacy? Our senior White House correspondent John King explores that question in our 9:00 Eastern hour.

And our e-mail question today, is Iraq worth the American sacrifice? You were wonderful on this subject yesterday. We want some more feedback from you.

Here's the question once again. Is Iraq worth the American sacrifice? E-mail us at wam@cnn.com and we'll read your responses throughout the morning.

NGUYEN: But first, here are some scenes and emotions captured in the Iraqi streets today. An elderly disabled man is being carried into a polling station in Sadr City. We'll bring that photo up in just a moment. Also in Sadr City, an elderly woman is getting help entering the station. I want to show you this one from Nashville. An Iraqi expatriate after casting his ballot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right, time now for a check of some of the other stories making news around the world.

HARRIS: And for that, let's go down Anand Naidoo at the International Desk -- Anand?

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning. Checking some of the other news around the world. The big story this morning, of course, the Iraqi elections. But next door in Kuwait, new violence. We're getting reports of a gun battle between security forces and suspected militants. A Kuwaiti official says one militant, a civilian and a policeman have been killed. It's the third outbreak of violence this month. The U.S. is calling on Americans who live there in Kuwait City to be more vigilant. And these latest clashes are taking place in an area of Kuwait City and a part of the capitol where many foreigners live.

Some real movement in the Middle East stalemate. Israel says it will transfer security control over several West Bank towns to Palestinians in the coming days. Indications are that the Israelis will withdraw to positions it held before the current Intifadah broke out in September 2000. And that announcement has come out actually just one week before the new United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading to that region.

Staying in the Middle East, and I got to say, this one took us by surprise. The Arab Television Network al Jazeera could be for sale. "The New York Times" reporting that the Qatar government, which owns the network, is speeding up plans for its sale. It's the most watched satellite television channel in the Arab world and a major thorn in the Bush administration side. As one Qatari official put it, the pressure from the U.S. has become a huge headache.

Incidentally, al Jazeera cannot report the Iraqi election from Iraq. That's because the interim government there has banned that satellite television network from Iraq for a period of six months.

That's all for me for now. More later. Back to Betty and Tony.

HARRIS: Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: All right, Iraqis across the globe are still casting ballots. Our Bob Franken is live in Maryland. Morning, Bob.

FRANKEN: Good morning. And there are five voting places in the United States, meaning that those Iraqi expatriates who want to vote have to go long distances in many cases to do so. Many, many are not. We'll talk about all that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Just 90 minutes to go before the polling stations in Iraq close their doors. We want to welcome you back this morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. That story in a minute. First, a look at news this morning.

It's Iraq's first free election in half a century. In some places, voting is described as brisk. In others, the streets are like a ghost town. Insurgents have launched attacks on polling stations across the country, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 50.

In a statement posted on several Islamic Web sites, a group headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claims responsibility for the attacks.

The U.S. military released this footage of yesterday's attack on the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad. Two Americans were killed, five other people were wounded. The military says troops captured seven insurgents about an hour after the attack.

That southeast ice storm has left hundreds of thousands of people without power in Georgia and South Carolina. Yesterday's freezing rain and sleet shut down highways, forced airlines to cancel flights, and left a coat of ice on trees and power lines. Three deaths are blamed on the weather. Two in Georgia and one in South Carolina.

NGUYEN: Now to our top story this Sunday morning. Voting for a new Iraq. Some of these people have been waiting all their lives for this election day. They have just about an hour and a half to go to cast their ballots at one of 30,000 polling places across Iraq.

Meantime, insurgents are doing what they can to keep voters away. In Baghdad, eight suicide bombers have blown themselves up at polling stations. A group led by top terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is claiming responsibility for those attacks. The voters are choosing among 111 slates of national assembly candidates with two of those slates considered favorites.

One is led by the current interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. And the other is supported by the Grand Ayatollah Al Sistani.

HARRIS: At Baquba northeast of Baghdad, the atmosphere at one polling station has been enthusiastic and celebratory. And voters tell CNN's Jane Arraf they're not afraid of insurgents or anyone else.

Jane reports live from Baquba. Hello, Jane.

ARRAF: Hello, Tony. We're jammed in this little school room. We're trying to give you a sense of what it's like, this historic day that has started at the moment in the lives of this Iraqi people.

Now some of these people have been lined up around the block, waiting to get into this schoolhouse to vote. And what they're doing now is they're being handed ballots, the first ballots, the first election they have ever seen. The blue ones are for provincial government. The huge lines (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the national government.

And you can see, Tony, there are women here as well as men. A lot of them have made this a family affair, coming to vote together.

Now these cardboard booths are for some sort of privacy. But as you can see, there isn't a lot or privacy here. They are definitely making this a group activity.

And here in Baquba, which is in the heart of the Sunni Triangle, Tony, we're told that 24 of 36 polling stations are open. The other ones, they've had problems with election workers not showing up. Problems of intimidations.

And we're just going to follow this process through. We want to show you an Iraqi woman putting her ballot in. She's folded up that ballot, put it in that plastic slot. And there you have it, an Iraqi who has voted for the first time in her life.

This really is an incredible time for these people. Some of them have come on crutches. One man came in a wheelchair. All of them are ecstatic that they're finally being able to vote -- Tony?

HARRIS: Jane Arraf in Baquba. And just to follow-up on that, Iraq's election commission is reporting voter turnout, placing voter turnout at 72 percent countrywide.

Now remember, Iraq has about 14 million people who are eligible to vote. And the election commission is placing the voter turnout at 72 percent countrywide.

NGUYEN: And that is remarkable. Well today is the final opportunity for Iraqis living abroad, including here in the U.S., to cast votes in their homeland historic election. Washington, D.C. has a large Iraqi expatriate population.

And national correspondent Bob Franken is live at their polling station in New Carrollton, Maryland. How's voter turnout so far?

FRANKEN: Well, you know, it's interesting to contrast the turnout in the United States, which is really quite small among the expatriates with that that was just reported in Iraq.

Here, only about 10 percent of those registered to vote at five polling places, including this hotel in suburban Washington, New Carrollton, Maryland, you can add the winter weather now to one of the impediments that might even suppress the turnout some more.

Once they come here, they encounter fairly substantial security for reasons that are not going to surprise anybody. Other reasons that are given for the low registration include the fact that the polling places are so few and far between. Five in the United States as I said. Sometimes drives of several hundred miles to get to one.

In addition to that, registration occurred during some of the Islamic holidays. So there's been some criticism of that. Nevertheless, many of those who are voting say that they really feel that they have a need to influence a country that they left sometimes in great fear to try and change the future of the country, many of them have families back there. They still feel tugs for a variety of reasons. So some of them are making that big trip.

As I said here in the East coast, that trip was a bit more treacherous today because of the bad weather, but people will be making the vote. They'll be coming to this hotel. The polls open just a short time ago. We've seen just a very, very small flow of cars in so far, but it's going to pick up, we assume as the day goes on, as the Iraqis who left their country try to influence the country that they still probably call home -- Betty?

NGUYEN: Bob, you mentioned low voter turnout where you are, as little as 10 percent. But I guess on the whole, as you speak with Iraqis, is it less about voter turnout and more about just about the sheer ability to vote in this election?

FRANKEN: Well, some people say that. For some, just like in the country itself, this is the first time that they participated in a free election for 50 years. And that is one of the reasons that people are coming up to vote.

Others, however, are not. They've become so much part of the United States that they've left Iraq behind them. Or these are people who for one reason or another criticize the way that the vote is being conducted.

The lack of a turnout sometimes can be considered a protest. But those who are voting, as you point out, are saying this is something they've waited so long to do, that they felt they had to do it, no matter how far they had to drive.

NGUYEN: And they're making history at it. All right, CNN's Bob Franken in New Carrollton, Maryland today. Thank you, Bob.

Tony?

HARRIS: As Iraqis vote, Washington is keeping close tabs and looking ahead to the future. At the Pentagon, officials are asking themselves a key question. Are the Iraqis ready to take over security even for a day?

Let's go live to the Pentagon now, where Barbara Starr is standing by. Good Sunday morning to you, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony. Well, here at the Pentagon and across the U.S. military, officials have been monitoring the situation overnight. And they are now saying that they feel the violence has been fairly contained. It's about what they expected due to the very stringent security measures.

But senior U.S. military generals are already looking ahead to those next steps you mentioned. Iraqi security forces and what will be the future for U.S. troops in Iraq.

There are a number of key points that they're looking at, Tony, in the next several days and weeks. They expect a period of uncertainty in Iraq, as the new government, the new assembly is seated and new government members are selected.

They are concerned that the insurgents again will try and take advantage of this period of uncertainty. But underlying all of this, what senior military officials are saying is they are being very cautious. They do not see this election as a fundamental defeat, military defeat for the insurgency. They do not expect the violence to stop. They do not expect the insurgency to suddenly melt away. And they want everyone to know that.

So the U.S. military strategy going forward from here is to proceed with the effort to put U.S. military training teams with those Iraqi security forces, get those Iraqi security forces beefed up, ready to really deal with the insurgency over the long haul. The feeling from the U.S. military is the turning point will come when Iraqis really see their own security forces willing to fight and die for their country, that that will give the Iraqis really the confidence to stand on their feet.

As to the question, Tony, of civil war following this election, officials, military officials say again they don't necessarily see an outbreak of sectarian violence on the horizon, but they certainly don't see an end to the violence.

So what's the bottom line on military strategy now after the election? Well, they estimate that there are about 30 to 35,000 Iraqi security forces now fully trained and equipped and able to deal with the insurgency. They want that number to go much higher from the U.S. military point of view here at the Pentagon, the planning scenario is that U.S. troops will stay in Iraq -- may have to stay in Iraq for at least the next two years in some significant fashion. That's the planning scenario. They hope it will be less if those Iraqi security forces can really begin to deal with the insurgency on their own.

But this election, they say, that has happened now in Iraq is only one step in this very lengthy process -- Tony?

HARRIS: OK, Barbara. And just to double check that with you. 35,000 now is the new number of Iraqis trained?

STARR: No, I am so sorry. Let me clarify.

HARRIS: OK.

STARR: Let me be very clear. There are about 130,000 Iraqi security...

HARRIS: OK.

STARR: ...forces. But let me be clear, there is a smaller number that are specifically trained and equipped to deal with the insurgency. Many of them deal with the counter terrorism mission. Many of them are police commando units, are border guards, are facility security guards.

They're talking about the real core that they believe can go out on a sort of military infantry basis, if you will, and deal with the insurgency.

130,000 overall. 30,000 core really trained to deal with the insurgency. They want that number to go up.

HARRIS: Now we are crystal clear.

STARR: Thank you.

HARRIS: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you, Barbara.

Iraqi citizens are celebrating the vote while international election monitors are watching the voting from afar. Are they close enough to do any good?

NGUYEN: And we want to say good morning, Washington, as snow and ice covers the ground. Is the southeast still on ice? Well, your complete weather forecast ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And checking our top stories now, Iraq's first re- election in half a century leads our coverage. Polls close in about an hour and 15 minutes. Iraqis have been lining up at thousands of polling places across the country, but it's not clear how many of the more than 14 million registered voters have actually cast ballots.

Security fears led to a low turnout in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Those fears are coming to fruition in some areas, especially the capitol. There have been a string of suicide bombings and mortar attacks in and around Baghdad, some targeting lines of voters.

NGUYEN: Well, there are some 18,000 Iraqi election monitors at the polling stations today. And watching from afar, 128 registered monitoring groups from around the world.

Among them, the International Mission for Iraqi Elections, which is assessing the voting from neighboring Jordan. We have with us today Jean Pierre Kingsley, Canada's chief electoral officer, who heads that observer mission. And he joins us from Amman, Jordan.

We appreciate you being on the show. Thank you.

JEAN PIERRE KINGSLEY, INTL. MISSION IRAQI ELECTIONS: Thank you.

NGUYEN: First of all, let's talk about the overall voter turnout. How successful has this election been so far from your eyes?

KINGSLEY: Well, point of fact, I'm not aware of the latest figures on turnout. And I'd rather wait until the final numbers are in before making any kind of determination in that respect.

NGUYEN: Well, we just heard around 70 percent have turned out in this election. That's a pretty good number, wouldn't you say?

KINGSLEY: Well, obviously, 70 percent is a very good number, especially at this time of the day.

NGUYEN: And are you hearing any kind of irregularities or any kind of problems with voting in Iraq?

KINGSLEY: The only irregularities are due to the security concerns. Now one must keep in mind that over and above the 18,000 Iraqis who are doing observation themselves on their elections, there's 36,000 who are representatives of parties and candidates who are situated in the polls, much as in the states and much as in Canada for that matter, who are going to be reporting back to their parties. And from that, we will see what kind of complaints have been generated. And they will be filed with the Iraqi Independent electoral Commission for consideration as to their impact.

NGUYEN: We want to talk about those complaints in just a moment, because you have drawn some criticism for the simple fact that your monitors are not in Iraq. You're judging this from afar. Can you accurately assess the situation on the ground there and determine if this was a fair and free election?

KINGSLEY: Well, number one, our mission was never to send observers per se. It's something that would have occurred if it had been possible.

But security measures preempted that, as well as the fact that, you know, thousands or a couple of thousand soldiers might have been required to put to -- provide security for these people. And that would have deprived Iraqi electors of this security.

What our mission has always been to monitor what was happening before the elections. How sound was the electoral law? How were -- how was the law in terms of respect for the fundamental rights of electors? How were electors defined? Was that OK? How was the register of electors drawn up? Was it complete? Were there people who were missing, who were being discriminated against?

These are the things that professional electoral administrators realize are very important. And without them, if you don't have that, then no matter what kind of an electoral day you've got, you've got a flawed process.

Our mission has always been to make sure that that was sound and solid.

NGUYEN: So as you wait for this information to come into you, how long do you think after the polls close just over an hour from now, do you expect to issue that preliminary assessment of the Iraq election?

KINGSLEY: Well, in terms of any preliminary assessments, tell you the truth, we're going to be relying on what the Iraqis themselves feel was their election. They've got the monitors out there. They have their systems of reporting. And there's no one else who can claim that they have any other means of doing that, except the Iraqi electoral commission itself as well.

NGUYEN: All right, Jean Pierre Kingsley, head of the International Mission for Iraqi Elections. We appreciate your time and insight today. Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And good morning, Washington, D.C. A suburb of the nation's capitol, it's actually in Maryland, but it's considered D.C. suburb, New Carrollton is one of the five U.S. sites where Iraqi expatriates are casting their votes today. NGUYEN: But as you look at that picture right there, that live picture, boy, we socked in especially here in the south and parts of the northeast with all this snow and still ice on the ground.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: We have been asking you this morning if Iraq is worth American sacrifice. Here's the question., There's the address. We will read your replies next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: So let's get to our e-mail question of the day. Is Iraq worth the American sacrifice?

HARRIS: And here's the first response from Lori B. from Cincinnati. "Absolutely not!!! The whole war is based on a lie...straight from the top. We went into the region NOT to save us all from nuclear annihilation but for one thing only...OIL. Our men and women's lives are worth more than oil."

NGUYEN: And Pollak believes that the sacrifice is definitely worth it. He says, "Yes. We are saving American lives in the long run." And of course, we appreciate you sending those responses in. Keep them coming this morning to our e-mail question of the day. All you have to do is send it to wam@cnn.com.

HARRIS: And the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins right now.

NGUYEN: It's one hour before the polls close in Iraq's first free election in 50 years. Despite the violence in some areas, Iraqis are braving the bombers and voting.

From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's January 30th. 8:00 a.m. at CNN headquarters here in Atlanta, 5:00 a.m. on the West Coast, 4:00 p.m. in Baghdad.

Good morning, everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Let's get you caught up with today's news.

NGUYEN: CNN is closely monitoring today's historic voting in Iraq. Here's where things stand right now.

Insurgents have made good on their threats to attack voters in polling sites. So far there have been at least 13 separate attacks, most of them suicide bombers. Twenty people have died, and more than 50 have been wounded.

Now, just a short time ago, several Islamic Web sites posted a statement reportedly by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, claiming responsibility for today's attacks. However, the violence and threats have failed to deter many voters. In some places, Iraqis have endured long lines and lengthy waits without complaint. Although polls officially close in one hour, everyone who shows up at the polls by 5:00 p.m. local time will be permitted to vote.

HARRIS: One area that appears to have had fairly good turnout is Baquba, which is north of Baghdad. CNN's Jane Arraf has been watching the situation there on this historic day and she joins us by video phone.

And Jane, I have to tell you I love the energy of what you've been showing us from your polling place.

ARRAF: Thank you. There is a lot of energy around here in this tiny little room. Now this a school. It's essentially falling down, but we are seeing history unfolding in front of us.

We want to just give you a little snapshot of what's happening here. As people come to vote for the first time in their lives, they are lining up. This man here is holding a stamped ballot. He has stamped 1,500 of them today. So many he told us he has blisters on his fingers. These people, these Iraqis are being given ballots, two of them, one for the provincial council, one for the national level.

And he, this election worker, has been helping people fill their ballots, and helping them check the boxes. These cardboard partitions are meant to provide a little bit of privacy, but you can see this a group activity.

We've had families come here, men with their wives, bringing their children even. And as you can also see, there are women who are coming here, a large number of women who have come out to vote.

This is something they say they have dreamed of for all of their lives. We actually have with us someone who voted this morning. His name is Zaz (ph). He's an engineer. And Zaz I'm hoping you could tell us, tell our viewers, what does this day mean to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like a wedding party. It's like that we are decide to maintain ourselves. This is our right. So you can see how many people are coming, and there are really -- most of the people do not know the procedure, but they're coming.

They don't know even their (UNINTELLIGIBLE), but even they all coming and they are looking for their votes sometimes, and coming here and (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ARRAF: Now, you have ink on your fingers. People can tell you voted, insurgents can tell you voted. Are you afraid?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no. We are, as I told you, we are beating the terrorists as we are coming here to show that we are -- we are here and we want to be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) like all people, like all human beings.

ARRAF: Who did you vote for? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I vote really for Mr. Allawi and his party.

ARRAF: For the prime minister. Why did you vote for him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because in my mind he is the man that we are (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ARRAF: Now, you're a young professional, you're an engineer. You haven't worked for a long time. What do you see for yourself in the future?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see my future in my child's eyes. And I see the future as bright now, in this election. This is the first thing that (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ARRAF: Zaz (ph), thank you so much. He is an Iraqi from this neighborhood (UNINTELLIGIBLE) dreamed of. And no matter what's happened outside, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 7:30 in the morning as there were mortars around me somewhere around here.

In this room, on this floor there are many people who say their dreams today have come true because they have been able for the first time to make the first step of reclaiming their country, saying something to the insurgents.

It's not huge, huge numbers, but there has been a steady stream of very brave people who have come (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HARRIS: Very well said. Jane Arraf in Baquba this morning. Jane, thank you.

NGUYEN: Today is the final opportunity for Iraqis living abroad, including here in the U.S. to cast votes in their homeland's historic election. Nashville has a large Iraqi expatriate population and Denise Belgrave has that story.

Good morning, Denise. I see it's raining there. Is that affecting voter turnout this morning, on the last day for them to vote?

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty. Actually, it was raining and cold yesterday, and it's raining and cold again today. But it hasn't seemed to stop the Iraqis from coming out and voting.

If you look behind me, we're standing right here at the entrance. The polls just opened, and we've already seen a bunch of cars go in and people get out to vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BELGRAVE: (voice-over): They celebrated. They were determined.

Iraqis from across the southeast braved cold rain, and treacherous road conditions getting to Nashville to cast their ballot in Iraq's first free election in half a century. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I drive anywhere for freedom and democratic and for my country, my people. I don't care.

BELGRAVE: Nashville, Tennessee is home to the largest Kurdish community in the U.S., and the Kurds turned out in force to vote. After years of persecution under Saddam Hussein, the opportunity to vote is particularly poignant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the first time ever we vote. We have the opportunity to make some changes for our people. Plus we're Kurdish. We're great American allies and we're very proud of that.

BELGRAVE: Only one in 10 eligible Iraqis living in the U.S. registered to vote in this election. For those who did show up, it's a statistic that they found disappointing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They really lost a good chance to help Iraqis. I mean, there's people that are risking their lives in Iraq now because of the violence, and they don't care. And still they go and vote. And here we're safe and security here, and they should go.

BELGRAVE: Even non-Iraqis were moved by the spirit. Valerie Clemente, a Nashville native, spent this cold day congratulating and encouraging Iraq's new voters.

VALERIE CLEMENTE, NASHVILLE NATIVE: Thank you, thank you, I'm so proud of you today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELGRAVE: I was extremely impressed by how determined all the Iraqis who showed up here are, and how much this means to them. They really feel that this is a new opportunity for their country, and they really hope that all Iraqis are going to be able to pull it together following this vote.

NGUYEN: Historic day. Denise Belgrave, we thank you for that.

We want to go live now to Carlos Valenzuela at the Baghdad Convention Center. And Carlos had a major role in organizing these elections. Good morning to you. Thanks for being with us.

CARLOS VALENZUELA, U.N. ELECTION ORGANIZER: Good morning.

NGUYEN: Let's talk about the kind of voter turnout that you're seeing. We heard some 72 percent of Iraqis have turned out to vote. Is that what you're hearing? And if that's the case, that's quite a turnout.

VALENZUELA: Well, at this stage we're very happy with the turnout, as it seems to be higher than expected. I would not at this stage give any figures. I think we're still at the early stage of reporting, and I would rather wait until we have much better reporting to be able to come up with figures.

But it is true that across the country, even in areas that have been -- with violence, voter turnout has been quite good, or better than we had expected, actually.

NGUYEN: OK. Figures aside, what areas are you seeing the highest number of people come out to vote in this election?

VALENZUELA: As has been expected from the beginning, the south has come up in quite great numbers. The north has also come out in great numbers. The central area has shown that they are coming slower, and actually in the last hour or two, we have seen quite a spin in the turnout.

In Baghdad, we have seen that a lot of cues are coming up at the very last minute. In Anbar, that started out being very slow, cues are also coming up as we speak.

One important feature maybe to take note of is the fact that women have made up quite a lot of the voter turnout, particularly in the north and in the south.

NGUYEN: Which can be something to celebrate. All right. Carlos Valenzuela, the U.N. chief election adviser to Iraq. We appreciate your information today. Thank you -- Tony.

HARRIS: CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is among our team of reporters in Baghdad. She joins us now with the latest from where she is. And Christiane, we've been anxiously waiting to hear from you this morning. Give us your perspective on what you've seen as a history has unfolded in Baghdad.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, it's taken us a little time to get the satellite open from this polling site here in central Baghdad, but here we are.

We've been here quite a few hours over the course of the morning, and we have seen a steady flow of people into the polling station. Now, it's about 50 minutes until these polls close, and the level of the people coming here has dropped off somewhat. But we're told that so far about 1,500 people have come to this polling station alone.

We saw many of them voting this morning. Many told us how excited they were. One of the election workers, as you know these election workers have been intimidated, and some killed and wounded over this campaign, she told us, this is a great day.

She felt like she was, quote, "being reborn." She said the terrorists tried to sabotage this, but they haven't been able to. That's the sentiment we're getting from most people we talk to. They all recognize this as an amazing moment. That this is the first time they've been able to vote, the first time they've been able to choose in any meaningful way.

Of course you remember there were elections, so-called, under Saddam Hussein, but those weren't elections. Those were just yes and no to Saddam and most people said they basically were forced to say yes, and that's what used to happen over that period of that tyranny.

But now they're very happy. a lot of people have taken their children to these polling stations. We've also heard from the military that, of course, we've been reporting there have been some instances of violence here, some suicide bombers, people who have been strapping vests to their bodies and blowing them up, and that has killed people.

But the military is quite satisfied that they've prevented massive car bombs, which they feared, from getting anywhere close to these polling stations. And they also say that as soon as these attacks have taken place, as soon as it's cleared up, the voting stations open up again and the people keep filing towards them.

One story I heard from the military, that on one of the worst streets in Baghdad, there was an ambulance being used earlier this morning by insurgents to toss out grenades, and apparently the local people surrounded the ambulance, grabbed the people who were driving it, and handed them over to the authorities.

So there is a spirit of defiance today. People were not deterred, and they have come out. Back to you.

HARRIS: OK. Christiane Anampour in Baghdad. Christiane, thank you.

NGUYEN: And we also want to know what you think today. Is Iraq worth the American sacrifice? We'll be reading your e-mails all throughout the morning. But keep them coming in to wam@cnn.com.

HARRIS: They share the same nation but have different views. We explore the difference between Iraq's Sunnis and Shiites in our "Faces of Faith" segment ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

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NGUYEN: As you can imagine, the election in Iraq is dominating media coverage in the Middle East. So how is the story being told? A few of the Arab media live next hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, 9:00 a.m. eastern.

HARRIS: Good morning, Detroit, one of five U.S. cities where Iraqi expatriates are voting. We'll have your forecast in a minute.

NGUYEN: Checking the top stories this Sunday morning, about 45 minutes to go before Iraqi voters wrap up their historic election. Voting is described as heavy at some of the thousands of polling stations, much lighter at others. Iraqis are picking a national assembly and regional council.

Iraq is under extremely tight security, but that has not stopped the insurgents. There has been a series of suicide bombings in Baghdad, some of them targeting polling sites. A statement said to be from wanted militant Abu Musab al Zarqawi's group claims responsibility for those attacks.

Back here in the U.S., we'll be hearing from Michael Jackson this morning, a day before jury selection starts in his child molestation case. The singer is releasing a video statement on his Web site in under two hours from now. He's expected to comment on leaks of grand jury testimony.

HARRIS: And Rob Marciano hasn't specifically been tracking the weather in Iraq, but something tells me he's been keeping an eye on it. It's been a great day over there, and our weather in this country is improving as well, Rob.

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NGUYEN: Well, a history of disdain, Iraqis, Sunnis and Shiites, can they find common ground after the election? We will ask our religion expert straight ahead in our "Faces of Faith" segment.

HARRIS: And at the bottom of the hour, we're at the height of the flu season, so how are we doing? Dr. Sanjay Gupta answers that question in just a few moments.

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HARRIS: In our Faces of Faith this morning, to what degree will religious influences sway the Iraqi election? Sunni Muslim leaders have called for a boycott of today's vote, and it looks like a lot of Sunnis may have taken heed. Will this lead to a deeper rift with Iraq's Shiite majority?

For some answers, let's turn to professor Juan Cole, a Middle East expert at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Cole, good to see you this morning.

Dr. JUAN COLE, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Thank you.

HARRIS: Got to ask you off the top, are we witnessing a bit of history? Are we witnessing a success story in Iraq?

COLE: Well, it's certainly a historic moment, and it's a political earthquake in Iraqi history.

HARRIS: An earthquake?

COLE: In the region. Yes, I think so. You've got, I think, good turnout in the Shiite and Kurdish areas. You're going to have an elected government with a substantial popular mandate, but there is a downside. As you say, the Sunni Arabs appear not to have turned out in any great numbers, and then the U.S. was not able to prevent dozens of people from being killed and wounded.

HARRIS: So what does that mean as we move forward? Will religion be an advisory factor in shaping the new government, or will it take on a supervisory role?

COLE: The Iraqi Shiites say they want religion only to be in an advisory role. They want the religious leaders, the grand ayatollah, to give fatwahs, to give rulings and attempt to include politics from outside the government, not to run the government. HARRIS: I guess we should set that up by mentioning the obvious, that the Shiites make up 60 to 65 percent of the population, so they should dominate this process, correct?

COLE: Yes. It looks like they will dominate the process if the turnout is as reported. And we're expecting the United Iraqi Alliance, the list put together under the auspices of the Grand Ayatollah Sistani, to do very well in these elections. It may very well be able to form the next government.

HARRIS: What has been our view of Shiites in general, this government's view through the years?

COLE: Well, the United States has had a different relations with Shiite community and Islam, depending upon the country and the time. Because of the Iranian revolution being led by Ayatollah Khomeini, the U.S. for a long time had bad relations with a lot of Shiites, and then there was the activism in the south Lebanon of the Hezbollah, there was hostage taking.

On the other hand, in the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the U.S. worked closely with the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, with the Dawa Party and other Shiite parties.

HARRIS: And Dr. Cole very quickly, what kind of position are the Sunnis in?

COLE: Well, the Sunni Arabs have decided not to participate in these elections in great numbers. Of course, many of them were afraid. There's not good security in their areas. But others, I think, felt that it's illegitimate to have an election under military occupation.

Because they did -- they seem not to have come out in large numbers, they're going to be underrepresented in parliament, and this parliament is going to craft a permanent constitution. So there is a problem to have a major minority excluded.

HARRIS: Dr. Cole, thanks for taking the time to talk to us on this historic day. We appreciate it.

COLE: Thank you.

HARRIS: Well, it is our e-mail question of the morning. Is Iraq worth the American sacrifice?

NGUYEN: We got one coming from Sherry. It's very poignant. She says, "it is hard to lose so much life, so much precious life, but these sacrifices are for others' hopes and dreams, and will give generations to come things they could have never believed they would have.

These men and women are giving the best gift any human being can, life to others, peace to others. They are dying for mankind. They make history, and we should all be thankful and be able to see the greater good of this awful war." We appreciate all of your responses coming in. Keep them coming, though. Send them to wam@cnn.com. The question of the day, is Iraq worth the American sacrifice?

We're live at the top of the hour from Iraq as soon as the polls close on this historic election day. Next hour, we'll bring you a complete wrap of the day's voting.

HARRIS: And next on "HOUSE CALL," our Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at where we are now at the height of flu season.

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