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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Plea for Help From American Kidnapped in Iraq; Should Airplanes Be Protected Against Shoulder-Fired Missiles?

Aired January 25, 2005 - 17:00   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.


WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now. A new crackdown. Who is helping to fund the terror attacks against U.S. troops and Iraqis? The U.S. government says it has a good idea and he's not inside Iraq.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Held hostage. A plea for help from an American kidnapped in Iraq.

Temple stampede. Pilgrims are gripped by panic. The result, catastrophe.

Confirmation frustration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a principal architect of our failed policy, Dr. Rice is the wrong choice for secretary of state.

BLITZER: As the price of the war rises in dollars and deaths, Democrats speak out.

And shoulder-fired threat. Is it too costly to protect airliners against missiles? Is it too costly not to?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just looked to the left and I saw two stripes of smoke just coming up over the left wing.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, January 25, 2005.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: From bombings to assassinations, insurgents are pulling out all the stops in an effort to disrupt Iraq's elections just days away. Their latest tactic, a videotape showing an American held hostage. We begin our coverage with CNN's Jeff Koinange in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly three months after his abduction in Baghdad American contract worker Roy Hallums appears in a videotape released by his captors. With an assault rifle pointed to his head he speaks softly and appeals for help in saving his life. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am asking for help of Arab rulers, especially President Moammar Gadhafi, because he is known for helping those who are suffering.

KOINANGE: Hallums was a contract worker employed by a Saudi company. He was seized in November after a gun fight in the Mansour neighborhood of Baghdad. On the streets of the Iraqi capital the violence continues five days before Iraqis go to the polls.

Tuesday, a judge was gunned down along with his son as they were leaving their home. He is the third senior official to be assassinated this year. The governor of Baghdad and the city's deputy police chief were both murdered in separate drive-by shootings this month. To try to disrupt the insurgents the U.S. and Iraqi military launch raids every day seizing weapons caches like this one in Baghdad and going house to house in Fallujah on the hunt for the enemy. For now, interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi knows that U.S. forces are indispensable, but he insists Iraq will take care of its own.

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Large areas of our country is now enjoying good security situation and our security situation, our security forces are shouldering the responsibility of security in these places and these forces are ready to handle the security file from the multinational forces in the next few months.

KOINANGE: Many Iraqis, especially those returning home to shattered homes in Fallujah, a city without power or water are less confident. And they have more pressing concerns than marking a ballot.

I don't care about the election. Let them bring anyone to power, says this man.

And there's a long way to go before Iraqis can feel safe, according to the group Human Rights Watch. It says that new Iraqi security forces are guilty of abuses of detainees.

STEVE CRASAW, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: This is not isolated cases. Some serious torture is going on in Iraqi custody. I think that there are things here one needs to understand if Iraq is to become a democratic country.

KOINANGE: The optimists believe this weekend provides an important step towards democracy. The pessimists say it means little in the face of a brutal battle for power. Jeff Koinange, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: As the human cost mounts in Iraq the Bush administration is also raising the price tag for American taxpayers with an emergency request for a lot more money.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): President Bush is asking Congress for an additional $80 billion, most of which would pay for the continuing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. That brings the total to around $300 billion since the wars began. According to administration officials, the ongoing war in Iraq is costing U.S. taxpayers about $4.3 billion a month.

In a statement, the president said he would give U.S. troops whatever they need to protect themselves and complete the mission. The cost of the war in Iraq is clearly a lot more than administration officials have estimated before the U.S.-led invasion against Saddam Hussein's regime was launched. When then White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey suggested six months before the war that the mission would cost between $100 to $200 billion, he was roundly criticized by his colleagues and he eventually resigned. In fact, deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, testifying before Congress on days after the invasion began, suggested the Iraqis themselves could wind up picking much of the tab.

PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: The oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 billion and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years.

BLITZER: That upbeat assessment has not materialized. Similarly, when it came to the number of U.S. troops that might be necessary to secure a post-Saddam Iraq, that upbeat assessment also didn't materialize. Before the war, army chief of staff General Eric Shinseki suggested several hundred thousand U.S. troops would be required.

GEN. ERIC SHINSEKI, FMR. ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF: We're talking about post hostilities control over a piece of geography that's fairly significant with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems and so it takes significant ground force presence.

BLITZER: But at the time, Wolfowitz charged that assessment was wildly off the mark.

WOLFOWITZ: First, it's hard to conceive that it would take more forces to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq than it would take to conduct the war itself and to secure the surrender of Saddam's security forces and his army. Hard to imagine.

BLITZER: The U.S. currently has 150,000 troops in Iraq, more than it had during the invasion and still less than many critics claim is really needed to stabilize the country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): Despite the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and the criticism of the war, the president's additional budget request is widely expected to be approved, even if the debate over the money is intense. That's because few lawmakers want to be accused of not supporting the troops on the ground in Iraq.

This footnote. According to the Associated Press, the latest proposal would push war spending beyond $300 billion. That would be almost half the $613 billion the United States spent for World War I or the $623 billion it spent on the Vietnam War if the costs of those conflicts were translated into today's dollars.

Some Democrats say Condoleezza Rice doesn't deserve a promotion. They blasted her role, promoting the war in Iraq as the Senate debated Rice's nomination to become the secretary of state. Our congressional correspondent, Joe Johns, has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the outcome of the vote on the president's choice for secretary of state all but certain, a handful of Democrats morphed the record of Condoleezza Rice and the administration's record on Iraq into one big picture and debated them both.

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Dr. Rice was a key member of the national security team that developed to justify the rationale for war and it's been a catastrophic failure, a continuing quagmire. In these circumstances, she should not be promoted to secretary of state.

JOHNS: It seemed as if some of the critics had zeroed in on Rice's call in her confirmation hearings not to have her credibility or her integrity impugned.

SEN. MARK DAYTON (D), MINNESOTA: I don't like to impugn anyone's integrity, but I really don't like being lied to, repeatedly, flagrantly, intentionally. It's wrong. It's undemocratic. It's unAmerican and it's dangerous.

JOHNS: Because there was little to no doubt that she has the votes to get the job done, this was a public relations war more than a confirmation battle. Off the Senate floor, Republicans seeking to make the defiant Democrats pay for prolonging the vote focused on Rice's personal story, even enlisting help from some well-known African-Americans, including Democrat and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Andrew Young and C. DeLores Tucker of the National Congress of Black Women.

On the floor Republican majority whip Mitch McConnell argued that much of the criticism of Rice is misplaced, because it's the president who makes the policy that subordinates must execute.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY WHIP: Of course, as America's top diplomat, Dr. Rice will be expected to bring her expertise on a wide variety of issues to the table. The president has chosen her, because he values her opinion, but all foreign policy decisions ultimately rest with the president.

JOHNS: The vote on Condoleezza Rice's nomination is scheduled for Wednesday. While Republicans argued the long debate was a waste of time, Democrats called it their constitutional obligation, realizing the power of debate as a way to get their message out after the losses in the last election. Joe Johns, CNN, Capitol Hill. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Not all Senate Democrats oppose Rice's nomination. In fact, most Democrats are expected to vote in favor of her nomination. Joining us now is one of those Democrats California Senator Dianne Feinstein, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Intelligence Committee.

Senator Feinstein, thanks very much for joining us. Why is Barbara Boxer so adamantly opposed, your colleague from California, also a Democrat, you are so much in favor of Condoleezza Rice? You, in fact, introduced her to the committee.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, first of all, Wolf, I am not on Foreign Relations. I was, but I'm not now. I am on Intelligence. So let's just correct that.

BLITZER: All right.

FEINSTEIN: I'm supporting Condoleezza Rice. I know her. She's a friend. We have had the opportunity to have many discussions. We have participated in many groups that discuss world issues. And so I perhaps have a little different view. I think the architects of the war were the president, the vice president, the secretary of defense. Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser, of course, gave advice to the president. I don't know whether the president took that advice or not.

Now with respect to the intelligence and the fact that she said one thing about intelligence, a lot of other people said that. Secretary of State Colin Powell went before the Security Council and said a number of things. Seventy-eight members of the United States Senate voted to authorize use of force because we found the intelligence compelling.

At the time, we didn't know that it was deeply flawed, that it was both bad and wrong. Now I don't think you can blame Condoleezza Rice for that. I think we have to blame our collection and analysis and, of course, that's what intelligence reform was all about. How do we correct those problems?

BLITZER: I was going to say, are you going to vote for the $80 billion supplemental request the president is about to introduce?

FEINSTEIN: Well, of course, I am. We have to support our troops. They are there. They have to be supported. Now what I do think is that we ought to pull out all the stops and get the Iraqi police and the Iraqi military, the Iraqi border control well trained and able to function in this kind of an environment. And then we ought to begin to bring down our force and bring our people home as soon as we possibly can.

BLITZER: As a member of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Feinstein, do you see progress unfolding? Is the situation in Iraq getting better from the U.S. perspective or getting worse? FEINSTEIN: Well, I was there in early December, as you know. It was my first trip. But I was there with three other senators, Senators Hagel, Chaffee and Biden. It was their fourth trip. And I think it's pretty fair to say that each one would tell you that Baghdad was not safer. The problem is the insurgency, and the problem was our policy of de-Baathification, which didn't deal with a defeated enemy in terms of Baathist Party members, but simply remove them from any source of their livelihood.

Therefore it left them with no recourse but to fight. I think that needs to be met. And I think -- I'm very hopeful that Sunnis will vote. In the event they don't, I am hopeful that those who win will see that there is Sunni representation in any way, shape or form in this constituent assembly, and that come next December with the leadership election, that there will be a real unity ticket. You can't have an Iraqi government, in my view, that doesn't have adequate Sunni representation.

BLITZER: Senator Feinstein, Roy Hallums, the American hostage, we saw him at the beginning of the show in this new videotape, I know that you've been speaking with your constituents, some of whom are relatives and friends of his. What can you share with our viewers about this heart-wrenching case?

FEINSTEIN: Well, it is heart-wrenching. I have not spoken directly with the family. My legislative director has. And we have tried to see that they get as much information from the FBI as possible. I have a phone call in to the director, Bob Mueller. I spoke with the undersecretary, Mark Grossman. And as a matter of fact, I was just getting a report from him on a cell phone on my way over to Russel for this interview and it blanked out.

But Mr. Hallums worked for a Saudi company that catered to the Iraqi army. And he has been a hostage since November the 1st. That's really hard and really tragic. And I would join on behalf of his family with urging his captors to please let him go. They have proved their point. Release him. Show that you're human.

BLITZER: Senator Feinstein, thanks for spending a few moments with us on our program. Appreciate it very much.

FEINSTEIN: You're very welcome. Thank you.

BLITZER: On the ground in Iraq, our Anderson Cooper is now in Baghdad. Coming up next, I will speak with him, get the latest from him.

Also, terror financing. New actions taken against a man believed to be supporting al Qaeda's top operative, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Protecting the nation's airliners from terrorists. Can the industry afford to protect planes from shoulder-fired missiles?

Also ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 60 years after its liberation, Auschwitz still haunts you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the passage of time has not dulled that dulled that all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Remembering Auschwitz, six decades after the death camp was liberated, a survivor speaks out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Let's go back to Iraq right now. It's been racked by violence and turmoil only days away before the election. CNN's Anderson Cooper is now in Baghdad. He is joining us live.

Anderson, I know this is your second time there. How does one get to Baghdad? What's it like to fly from New York to Baghdad? Not so easy, is it?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, actually, flying into Baghdad is one of the more sort of exciting flights I think you'll probably ever take. Right when you get above Baghdad, because of the security situation, the safest place they think is right above the airfield.

So you literally do what is called a corkscrew landing, where the plane just banks and you just rapidly descend round and round and round until you hit the ground.

The problem is, when there's fighting, they won't let you land. So yesterday, I was actually on two flights. Twice I was circling, we had started to descend. Both times we had to pull back up and return to Amman, Jordan, because there was fighting on the ground.

Finally today, they allowed the plane to land. So I was able to make it in this morning. But it is definitely an adventure just getting here on the ground -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Is this a regular commercial airliner or some sort of military plane?

COOPER: It's Royal Jordanian Airways. They actually rent -- it's a South African plane, a South African crew. The pilots are all South African. But it's an airline. You can buy your ticket. They serve snacks on it, just like a regular flight except for right at the end when they start that descent, you know you're going to someplace that's very different.

BLITZER: So how scared were you, Anderson? COOPER: You know, it wasn't that bad. I saw fighter jets beneath me. And I was glad they pulled out when they did. And they certainly knew the situation better than I. It was a little confusing to tell what's going on.

But you know, you can't help but come here and be a little bit concerned about the security situation. But, you know, we have our own security people and you do the best you can.

BLITZER: So then what happens? You get to the airport. You finally land after these two tries, unsuccessful tries. What happens next? The drive to the hotel, everyone says the airport road is probably the most dangerous in the region.

COOPER: Yes. People say it's the most dangerous in the world right now. And that certainly may be true. It's about less than 10 miles. But it's extraordinary. I think what a lot of people probably don't realize is that the U.S. doesn't fully control -- and the Iraqi government doesn't fully control the road from the airport to the center of town.

So there are parts of the road that you're driving on where, you know, it's quite an exciting ride. There are security precautions we all take, security personnel that we have. And I don't want to go into too many detail about what we do, but there's the fear of suicide car bombers, of snipers, of improvised explosive devices.

And on that road, I can tell you, when a car suddenly pulls up alongside you, you were checking them out several times to make sure that they're not bad guys looking to blow up you.

BLITZER: How would you compare this trip so far, you've only been there a couple of days, to what you saw in June for the handover when you were there the last time?

COOPER: At the handover time back in June, there was a lot of talk of putting an Iraqi face on this. This time around, you really do see more Iraqi security personnel than you did before. You don't see that many U.S. soldiers, U.S. Marines manning checkpoints like you did before. You see Iraqis, you see private security contractors. But there is definitely more of an Iraqi face.

How deep that goes is an open question. You know that the U.S. military is around. You know there are soldiers waiting sort of unseen in places on their bases and conducting raids day and night, 24/7. So the U.S. is still definitely here, large numbers of troops, 130,000-some personnel here right now. But it is Iraqis you see more and more manning the checkpoints. And that is something that as they get more Iraqi security forces on-line, they hope to increase those numbers.

BLITZER: Anderson Cooper, be safe. Thanks very much. And Anderson will be part of our excellent team covering the upcoming elections this Sunday. He'll also be anchoring his own program tonight from Baghdad all these nights. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" that airs 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 p.m. Pacific. Are Iraq's insurgents finding aid and comfort right next door? The Bush administration has been turning up the heat on Syria, and today took action against an alleged terror financier. Let's bring in our national security correspondent David Ensor.

David, what have you learned?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, U.S. officials say that the Iraqi insurgents are getting help from a young Syrian. And officials say the question is whether the Syrian government will go after him.

The U.S. took a step designed to force the question today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): The U.S. move aims to reduce attacks by insurgents in Iraq against coalition forces and Iraqi security personnel by cutting off the money that funds the insurgency. The U.S. Treasury Department says foreign insurgence, led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, are being helped by money and recruits by a 29-year- old Syrian national, Sulayman Khalid Darwish.

JUAN ZARATE, ASST. TREASURY SECRETARY: In Iraq, it's money that allows the activities that we have seen and the activities of Zarqawi to continue. These individuals need to recruit, they need to train, they need to eat, sleep, buy weapons. And that comes with resources and money. So it's part of our strategy to try to break, as Secretary Snow said, the financial backbone of these terrorist networks.

ENSOR: The Treasury Department is asking the United Nation's committee to put Darwish on a list of terrorists tied to Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda or the Taliban, which U.N. member states are required to freeze the assets of and prevent from traveling.

Syrian officials insist the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has been looking for Darwish for years and they, too, have now asked the U.N. to put him on the list. They deny suggestions by some U.S. officials that Damascus is helping Iraqi insurgents or at least turning a blind eye.

BLITZER: Are you cooperating in any way with the insurgents?

FAROUK AL-SHARA, SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Not at all. We are not friendly even with them because this is not the right way to help the Iraqis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: Treasury officials did not criticize Syria directly but they say they hope that this action will cause Damascus to do more against Syrians who are helping the Iraqi insurgents -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor, thanks very much. David Ensor reporting. And we'll have more from Iraq in just a few minutes. We'll check in with our Jane Arraf, she's embedded with U.S. Marines in Falluja as that city and the rest of Iraq prepare for elections.

Defending the skies. Could commercial airliners right here in the United States be targeted by shoulder-fired missiles? A new report paints a frightening picture.

Deadly stampede, panicked pilgrims crushed as a religious celebration turns to chaos.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: In our CNN "Security Watch," defending commercial airliners from missile attacks. It can be done with anti-missile systems, but a new report says doing it now is far too expensive to be practical. Joining us with details, our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, U.S. intelligence officials say they have no information that al Qaeda has a specific plot to use shoulder-fired missiles to shoot down commercial airliners in this country. But is it a concern? You bet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: 2003, Baghdad. This tape purports to show insurgents firing a man-portable air defense system, or ManPADS at a DHL cargo plane. They hit it, though the plane landed safely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the missile...

MESERVE: ManPADS have been recovered in Iraq. Featured in al Qaeda training tapes and, some believe, sooner or later, ManPADS will be used right here to take down a commercial aircraft.

REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: There are 500,000 of them out there in the hands of 27 separate terrorist groups. They are easy to get. They are easy to use. That is the most potent threat we have.

MESERVE: There are anti-ManPADS technologies, the military uses flares to deflect them. But a new Rand study says now is not the time to deploy anti-missile systems on commercial aircraft.

JACK RILEY, RAND CORPORATION: What we're saying at this the technology is not there. We don't know enough about the reliability, and the cost seems relatively high.

MESERVE: High, indeed. According to RAND, it would cost $11 billion to put the equipment on the nation's commercial airliners and another $2.1 billion annually to operate and maintain it. RAND recommends more research. But that doesn't satisfy Congressman Israel.

REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: The RAND study seems to me to defy common sense. A single shoulder-fired missile that costs about $5,000 that strikes a single United States commercial aircraft would be the absolute end of the aviation industry as we know it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: RAND looked at that, too. It estimates that economic losses resulting from a successful MANPADS attack could rise above $15 billion, not to mention the cost in lives -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, so, Jeanne, what does the U.S. government, the federal government doing about all this?

MESERVE: It has let two contracts to two companies to develop prototype new anti-missile technologies. It also has done assessments of airport vulnerabilities. It's trying to address vulnerabilities around airport perimeters.

It also has been trying to stem the international trafficking in MANPADS. It's also been doing some training of border agents and police to recognize the components of these MANPADS, if they should come across them.

BLITZER: So, they are clearly aware of this...

(CROSSTALK)

MESERVE: Very much aware.

BLITZER: The danger there.

MESERVE: But they agree with RAND that right now things are too expensive to deploy on commercial aircraft.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve, thanks very much.

There has been one notable attempt in recent years to try to bring down a plane using shoulder-fired missiles. That incident occurred in 2002 when terrorists with ties to al Qaeda fired two missiles at an Israeli plane taking off from a Kenya airport. Rafi Marek was piloting the Arkia airplane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFI MAREK, PILOT: We saw two trails of white smoke coming up from behind on our left side, passing us to the front and disappearing in the distance. We did not know immediately what it was, because none of us had experience with such things. My colleague, which was sitting on the right-hand seat, said, I think someone is firing at us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You can hear Rafi Marek's entire story and learn more about defending airliners from possible missile attacks tonight right here on CNN's "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN." That airs 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific, a fascinating report, our Frank Buckley on the scene.

To our viewers, here's you turn to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of the day is this. Do you think the risk to airliners warrants anti-missile systems? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast. And please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Held hostage in Iraq. A new videotape shows an American man being held at gunpoint. An update on what the United States State Department is doing to try to help free him and comfort his family back home.

Inside Falluja, the city often described as the home of the insurgency. Are residents there and U.S. troops ready for the election this Sunday? Our Jane Arraf, she is there with U.S. Marines.

And later, spying on a celebrity. Why authorities now believe someone has been bugging the actress Nicole Kidman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

A newly released videotape shows an American held hostage at gunpoint in Iraq. What is the U.S. government doing to try to help find him and free him? New details ahead.

But, first, a quick check of some other stories now in the news.

We're waiting to learn the condition of eight U.S. Navy personnel whose helicopter crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 30 miles off Virginia Beach, Virginia, earlier today. All aboard were rescued by Navy and Coast Guard ships. No word yet on why the helicopter went down. We're watching this story. We'll get more information for you.

Robert Kennedy Jr. says he won't run for New York state's attorney general. The son of the late RFK cites family concerns, saying he wants to be able to spend time with his children. The race potentially would have pitted him against Andrew Cuomo, his soon-to- be-former brother-in-law and the son of the former New York governor. Cuomo is separated from Kennedy's sister.

Newly released court documents reveal prosecutors in the Michael Jackson molestation case want to show the jury erotic books, videos and magazines. The items were seized in searches of Jackson's Neverland Ranch, Jackson's trial scheduled to start Monday.

Taking hostages is just one method of intimidation insurgents are using to try to scare Iraqis from voting in Sunday's national elections. They have also stepped up deadly attacks throughout the country. But many Iraqis appear to be determined to go to the polls.

CNN's Jane Arraf looks at what's being done to get ready in the former insurgent stronghold of Falluja.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: It's just a few days away from when voting is supposed to take place. And there still are not a lot of details about how that voting will be accomplished, where it will be held, or even who people will be able to vote for.

But there are preparations under way to allow citizens of Falluja to go out and vote if they want to. The U.S. military, the Marines, have been taking over a lot of the functions that the electoral commission would normally do. They're the only people here to do it. On this day, they held a job fair to hire workers, who will get paid $500, a small fortune here, for working for three days in the voting booth.

Now, this is seen as a dangerous occupation. There are threats against voters. There are threats to boycott the elections. And everyone is on heightened alert in a state of alert for suicide bombs, car bombs and other attacks. But, despite that, some of the people we talked to say that they're excited about the prospect of going out and voting. They have never done it before, obviously. They're not sure who they will vote for, some of them.

But they say they will do it. Security, obviously, is intense. The voting sites won't be announced until probably 48 hours before it takes place. And then how people will get there is an open question. Iraqi security forces have been training to keep those voting booths safe. On the outer cordon will be American security forces.

All of this, they say, they hope will lead to some sort of significant turnout in Falluja. It's not clear whether a lot of people will turn out. But, if they don't, they say it won't be because of security. It will be because they believe their vote doesn't matter.

Jane Arraf, CNN, reporting from near Falluja.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was questioned today in the oil-for-food investigation.

Our senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth, is joining us now live with details -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

Today, Wolf, first time we had official confirmation that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was questioned formally as part of the oil-for-food investigation, the investigation run, U.N.-authorized probe, by Paul Volcker.

Volcker was here today, third session with Secretary-General Annan. This was just a short time ago. He was kind of harried by reporters, but he took a few questions, didn't shed too much information. But he did say he's going to have, as we expect, an interim report shortly, probably early February and then one later on. Both reports in some way may touch on administrative functions, responsibilities of this United Nations organization.

This was the third session between oil-for-food probers led by Paul Volcker and the secretary-general. Annan's son, Kojo, has been a figure in the case, because he accepted money from Cotecna, a company that won a lucrative bid to inspect goods going into the Iraq under the oil-for-food program.

U.N. officials have denied any link between father and son. Kofi Annan has said don't blame -- or the spokesman for Kofi Annan said don't blame any sins of the son on the father. This was the two men, Volcker and Annan, meeting at the beginning of the establishment of this investigation -- back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Richard Roth at the United Nations, monitoring this story for us -- Richard, thank you very much.

A pilgrimage turns deadly, how hundreds of people were killed during a holy celebration.

Also this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN WEISS, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: Men that were working age, we lined up and we started to marching towards a man in a sharp SS uniform, which we found out later his name was Mengele, Dr. Mengele.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A survivor recounts the horrors of Auschwitz, liberated 60 years ago this week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now back to our top story. There's a new twist in the case of an American taken hostage by gunmen in Iraq last November. For the first time since his kidnapping, Roy Hallums appeared today in a videotape pleading for his life with a rifle -- take a look at that -- pointed right at his head.

Joining us now on what Hallums was doing in Iraq, how his family is holding up, our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel.

What have you learned, Andrea?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, at the time that Hallums was kidnapped from his home in an affluent Baghdad neighborhood, he was working for a Saudi-based company that provided catered food to the U.S. military.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (voice-over): In the videotape, Roy Hallums, a rifle barrel pointed at his head, says he was arrested by a resistance group in Iraq and pleads to escape what describes as definite death. Clearly nervous, Hallums says he is not asking help from President Bush, but, rather, from Arab rulers.

ROY HALLUMS, HOSTAGE: I am asking for the help of Arab rulers, especially President Moammar Moammar Gadhafi, because he is known for helping those who are suffering.

KOPPEL: The 60-second videotape offers no obvious clues as to when it was made or if Hallums is still alive. But it's the first time the 56-year-old has been seen since he and five others were kidnapped November 1 from this Baghdad neighborhood. Four of those taken hostage at that time has already been released.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: There's no excuse for taking people like this hostage. It's not a basis for any policy or any program or any cause or anything but terror.

KOPPEL: For Hallums' family in Southern California, it's been three months of hell. On New Year's Eve, the oldest of Hallums' two daughters, 29-year-old Carrie, started this family Web page to honor her father, a man she describes as warm, caring and intelligent. The Web site shows photographs from happier days, Carrie's wedding in October 2003, precious moments shared between a father and his little girl.

"Family memories," writes Carrie, the good times and the bad, are what keeps me going and what keeps my hope alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: In today's videotape, Hallums says that his health is, in his words, in a very bad situation. And in another alarming development, Hallums makes no mention as to what his kidnappers want in exchange for his safe release -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What a heart-wrenching story. Andrea Koppel, thank you very much for updating us on that.

What was supposed to be a holy pilgrimage in western India turned into a deadly nightmare that left at least 222 people dead, many of them women and children.

CNN's Suhasini Haidar shows us what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUHASINI HAIDAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scenes of grief and shock and evidence of the chaos that killed so many on what should have been a peaceful pilgrimage. Officials say the entire hilltop near the town of Wai in western India was packed with more than 200,000 Hindu pilgrims, anxious to visit this famous shrine on a holy day.

Police say they are investigating what triggered Tuesday's tragedy. According to eyewitnesses, it started when a few impatient devotees began to jostle the crowd so they could receive blessings at the Mandra Devi temple here. In the stampede that followed, a number of people were killed and then angry pilgrims set nearby shops on fire.

The fires spread, causing electrical poles to short circuit. And gas cylinders used to cook for the devotees exploded in the main square of the temple complex. In the chaos that followed, hundreds, many of them women and small children, were crushed as they tried to run for safety through narrow lanes. Officials say they tried to rush fire trucks, ambulances and police personnel into the area, but the large crowds and unpaved roads leading to the shrine slowed them down.

It was several hours before any relief reached the scene. This was one of the worst stampedes to occur at a Hindu pilgrimage in recent years. In August 2003, 39 people were killed at a riverside festival, also in this western state of Maharashtra.

Suhasini Haidar, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: What a sad story.

Let's take a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Hundreds of villagers in Kenya are living in makeshift settlements following deadly clashes between rival tribes. At least 16 people were killed in weekend fighting triggered by a dispute of access to water.

Fox hunt ban. Supporters of British fox hunting launched a court fight today against an upcoming ban on their ancient sport. The ban is scheduled to go into effect next month, but analysts say legal action could push it back at least until after general elections in May.

Bugging a star. According to the Associated Press, police in Australia are checking out the discovery of an electronic listening device outside the mansion of actress Nicole Kidman. Her chief bodyguard says surveillance video shows the bug was planted.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And when we come back, the world remembers Auschwitz 60 years later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEISS: You see something or think about something, you always think of your parents or the people that perished unnecessarily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A survivor recalls his family's experience at the death camp. That story when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Thursday marks 60 years since the liberation of the most notorious Nazi camp, Auschwitz. The grim anniversary has some survivors recalling the horror they experienced there, including one who shared his story with CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He wasn't there long, only about 10 days, but Auschwitz stays with Martin Weiss.

MARTIN WEISS, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: I never spoke about it. Nobody ever asked me about it.

TODD: Stays with him for what he saw.

WEISS: All I can remember is the chaos.

TODD: And what he lost.

WEISS: All bedlam broke loose. They started separating men from the women.

TODD: Weiss is 15 years old when he, his parents, three out of his eight siblings, many other cousins and uncles, are rounded up and rushed to Auschwitz in June 1944. His other brothers and sisters had already been taken from their village in what was then Czechoslovakia and sent to labor camps. At Auschwitz, this teenager sees his world fragment even further.

WEISS: Men that were working age, we lined up and we started to marching towards a man in a sharp SS uniform, which we found out later his name was Dr. Mengele.

TODD: Josef Mengele and other officers meticulously divide whole families. It's the last time Martin Weiss sees his mother and two younger sisters, who he believes dies almost immediately.

TODD (on camera): Did you have a sense then that was the last time?

WEISS: Yes.

TODD: Why?

WEISS: They told us, because somehow they realized the enormity of what was happening around us.

TODD (voice-over): A brother disappears and he never sees him again. Weiss and his father stay together for a short time, then are sent out of Auschwitz to labor camps, where his father dies. All told, Martin Weiss believes he lost at least 16 relatives in the processed annihilation that was Auschwitz.

Allied troops finally get there and to Weiss' camp.

WEISS: Young, vibrant American soldiers jumping in out of the jeeps and try and -- we looked at them like they were something out of make-believe.

TODD: Weiss eventually comes to the United States, starts a family. His children don't hear him speak about Auschwitz until they're in their 40s.

TODD (on camera): But 60 years after its liberation...

WEISS: Right.

TODD: Auschwitz still haunts you?

WEISS: Oh, yes.

TODD: And the passage of time has not dulled that at all?

WEISS: No.

TODD: Why not?

WEISS: Every day, you see something or think about something, you always think of your parents or the people that perished unnecessarily. That's something that does not go away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at this, 50/50. Remember, though, it's not a scientific poll.

A winter wonderland, it's our picture of the day. Look at this. These seaside homes in Hull, Massachusetts, were transformed into real ice castles by this weekend's blizzard. High winds coated the billions in ocean spray, which froze on contact, making instant igloos. Amazing.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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


Aired January 25, 2005 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now. A new crackdown. Who is helping to fund the terror attacks against U.S. troops and Iraqis? The U.S. government says it has a good idea and he's not inside Iraq.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Held hostage. A plea for help from an American kidnapped in Iraq.

Temple stampede. Pilgrims are gripped by panic. The result, catastrophe.

Confirmation frustration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a principal architect of our failed policy, Dr. Rice is the wrong choice for secretary of state.

BLITZER: As the price of the war rises in dollars and deaths, Democrats speak out.

And shoulder-fired threat. Is it too costly to protect airliners against missiles? Is it too costly not to?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just looked to the left and I saw two stripes of smoke just coming up over the left wing.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, January 25, 2005.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: From bombings to assassinations, insurgents are pulling out all the stops in an effort to disrupt Iraq's elections just days away. Their latest tactic, a videotape showing an American held hostage. We begin our coverage with CNN's Jeff Koinange in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly three months after his abduction in Baghdad American contract worker Roy Hallums appears in a videotape released by his captors. With an assault rifle pointed to his head he speaks softly and appeals for help in saving his life. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am asking for help of Arab rulers, especially President Moammar Gadhafi, because he is known for helping those who are suffering.

KOINANGE: Hallums was a contract worker employed by a Saudi company. He was seized in November after a gun fight in the Mansour neighborhood of Baghdad. On the streets of the Iraqi capital the violence continues five days before Iraqis go to the polls.

Tuesday, a judge was gunned down along with his son as they were leaving their home. He is the third senior official to be assassinated this year. The governor of Baghdad and the city's deputy police chief were both murdered in separate drive-by shootings this month. To try to disrupt the insurgents the U.S. and Iraqi military launch raids every day seizing weapons caches like this one in Baghdad and going house to house in Fallujah on the hunt for the enemy. For now, interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi knows that U.S. forces are indispensable, but he insists Iraq will take care of its own.

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Large areas of our country is now enjoying good security situation and our security situation, our security forces are shouldering the responsibility of security in these places and these forces are ready to handle the security file from the multinational forces in the next few months.

KOINANGE: Many Iraqis, especially those returning home to shattered homes in Fallujah, a city without power or water are less confident. And they have more pressing concerns than marking a ballot.

I don't care about the election. Let them bring anyone to power, says this man.

And there's a long way to go before Iraqis can feel safe, according to the group Human Rights Watch. It says that new Iraqi security forces are guilty of abuses of detainees.

STEVE CRASAW, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: This is not isolated cases. Some serious torture is going on in Iraqi custody. I think that there are things here one needs to understand if Iraq is to become a democratic country.

KOINANGE: The optimists believe this weekend provides an important step towards democracy. The pessimists say it means little in the face of a brutal battle for power. Jeff Koinange, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: As the human cost mounts in Iraq the Bush administration is also raising the price tag for American taxpayers with an emergency request for a lot more money.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): President Bush is asking Congress for an additional $80 billion, most of which would pay for the continuing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. That brings the total to around $300 billion since the wars began. According to administration officials, the ongoing war in Iraq is costing U.S. taxpayers about $4.3 billion a month.

In a statement, the president said he would give U.S. troops whatever they need to protect themselves and complete the mission. The cost of the war in Iraq is clearly a lot more than administration officials have estimated before the U.S.-led invasion against Saddam Hussein's regime was launched. When then White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey suggested six months before the war that the mission would cost between $100 to $200 billion, he was roundly criticized by his colleagues and he eventually resigned. In fact, deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, testifying before Congress on days after the invasion began, suggested the Iraqis themselves could wind up picking much of the tab.

PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: The oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 billion and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years.

BLITZER: That upbeat assessment has not materialized. Similarly, when it came to the number of U.S. troops that might be necessary to secure a post-Saddam Iraq, that upbeat assessment also didn't materialize. Before the war, army chief of staff General Eric Shinseki suggested several hundred thousand U.S. troops would be required.

GEN. ERIC SHINSEKI, FMR. ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF: We're talking about post hostilities control over a piece of geography that's fairly significant with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems and so it takes significant ground force presence.

BLITZER: But at the time, Wolfowitz charged that assessment was wildly off the mark.

WOLFOWITZ: First, it's hard to conceive that it would take more forces to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq than it would take to conduct the war itself and to secure the surrender of Saddam's security forces and his army. Hard to imagine.

BLITZER: The U.S. currently has 150,000 troops in Iraq, more than it had during the invasion and still less than many critics claim is really needed to stabilize the country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): Despite the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and the criticism of the war, the president's additional budget request is widely expected to be approved, even if the debate over the money is intense. That's because few lawmakers want to be accused of not supporting the troops on the ground in Iraq.

This footnote. According to the Associated Press, the latest proposal would push war spending beyond $300 billion. That would be almost half the $613 billion the United States spent for World War I or the $623 billion it spent on the Vietnam War if the costs of those conflicts were translated into today's dollars.

Some Democrats say Condoleezza Rice doesn't deserve a promotion. They blasted her role, promoting the war in Iraq as the Senate debated Rice's nomination to become the secretary of state. Our congressional correspondent, Joe Johns, has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the outcome of the vote on the president's choice for secretary of state all but certain, a handful of Democrats morphed the record of Condoleezza Rice and the administration's record on Iraq into one big picture and debated them both.

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Dr. Rice was a key member of the national security team that developed to justify the rationale for war and it's been a catastrophic failure, a continuing quagmire. In these circumstances, she should not be promoted to secretary of state.

JOHNS: It seemed as if some of the critics had zeroed in on Rice's call in her confirmation hearings not to have her credibility or her integrity impugned.

SEN. MARK DAYTON (D), MINNESOTA: I don't like to impugn anyone's integrity, but I really don't like being lied to, repeatedly, flagrantly, intentionally. It's wrong. It's undemocratic. It's unAmerican and it's dangerous.

JOHNS: Because there was little to no doubt that she has the votes to get the job done, this was a public relations war more than a confirmation battle. Off the Senate floor, Republicans seeking to make the defiant Democrats pay for prolonging the vote focused on Rice's personal story, even enlisting help from some well-known African-Americans, including Democrat and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Andrew Young and C. DeLores Tucker of the National Congress of Black Women.

On the floor Republican majority whip Mitch McConnell argued that much of the criticism of Rice is misplaced, because it's the president who makes the policy that subordinates must execute.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY WHIP: Of course, as America's top diplomat, Dr. Rice will be expected to bring her expertise on a wide variety of issues to the table. The president has chosen her, because he values her opinion, but all foreign policy decisions ultimately rest with the president.

JOHNS: The vote on Condoleezza Rice's nomination is scheduled for Wednesday. While Republicans argued the long debate was a waste of time, Democrats called it their constitutional obligation, realizing the power of debate as a way to get their message out after the losses in the last election. Joe Johns, CNN, Capitol Hill. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Not all Senate Democrats oppose Rice's nomination. In fact, most Democrats are expected to vote in favor of her nomination. Joining us now is one of those Democrats California Senator Dianne Feinstein, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Intelligence Committee.

Senator Feinstein, thanks very much for joining us. Why is Barbara Boxer so adamantly opposed, your colleague from California, also a Democrat, you are so much in favor of Condoleezza Rice? You, in fact, introduced her to the committee.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, first of all, Wolf, I am not on Foreign Relations. I was, but I'm not now. I am on Intelligence. So let's just correct that.

BLITZER: All right.

FEINSTEIN: I'm supporting Condoleezza Rice. I know her. She's a friend. We have had the opportunity to have many discussions. We have participated in many groups that discuss world issues. And so I perhaps have a little different view. I think the architects of the war were the president, the vice president, the secretary of defense. Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser, of course, gave advice to the president. I don't know whether the president took that advice or not.

Now with respect to the intelligence and the fact that she said one thing about intelligence, a lot of other people said that. Secretary of State Colin Powell went before the Security Council and said a number of things. Seventy-eight members of the United States Senate voted to authorize use of force because we found the intelligence compelling.

At the time, we didn't know that it was deeply flawed, that it was both bad and wrong. Now I don't think you can blame Condoleezza Rice for that. I think we have to blame our collection and analysis and, of course, that's what intelligence reform was all about. How do we correct those problems?

BLITZER: I was going to say, are you going to vote for the $80 billion supplemental request the president is about to introduce?

FEINSTEIN: Well, of course, I am. We have to support our troops. They are there. They have to be supported. Now what I do think is that we ought to pull out all the stops and get the Iraqi police and the Iraqi military, the Iraqi border control well trained and able to function in this kind of an environment. And then we ought to begin to bring down our force and bring our people home as soon as we possibly can.

BLITZER: As a member of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Feinstein, do you see progress unfolding? Is the situation in Iraq getting better from the U.S. perspective or getting worse? FEINSTEIN: Well, I was there in early December, as you know. It was my first trip. But I was there with three other senators, Senators Hagel, Chaffee and Biden. It was their fourth trip. And I think it's pretty fair to say that each one would tell you that Baghdad was not safer. The problem is the insurgency, and the problem was our policy of de-Baathification, which didn't deal with a defeated enemy in terms of Baathist Party members, but simply remove them from any source of their livelihood.

Therefore it left them with no recourse but to fight. I think that needs to be met. And I think -- I'm very hopeful that Sunnis will vote. In the event they don't, I am hopeful that those who win will see that there is Sunni representation in any way, shape or form in this constituent assembly, and that come next December with the leadership election, that there will be a real unity ticket. You can't have an Iraqi government, in my view, that doesn't have adequate Sunni representation.

BLITZER: Senator Feinstein, Roy Hallums, the American hostage, we saw him at the beginning of the show in this new videotape, I know that you've been speaking with your constituents, some of whom are relatives and friends of his. What can you share with our viewers about this heart-wrenching case?

FEINSTEIN: Well, it is heart-wrenching. I have not spoken directly with the family. My legislative director has. And we have tried to see that they get as much information from the FBI as possible. I have a phone call in to the director, Bob Mueller. I spoke with the undersecretary, Mark Grossman. And as a matter of fact, I was just getting a report from him on a cell phone on my way over to Russel for this interview and it blanked out.

But Mr. Hallums worked for a Saudi company that catered to the Iraqi army. And he has been a hostage since November the 1st. That's really hard and really tragic. And I would join on behalf of his family with urging his captors to please let him go. They have proved their point. Release him. Show that you're human.

BLITZER: Senator Feinstein, thanks for spending a few moments with us on our program. Appreciate it very much.

FEINSTEIN: You're very welcome. Thank you.

BLITZER: On the ground in Iraq, our Anderson Cooper is now in Baghdad. Coming up next, I will speak with him, get the latest from him.

Also, terror financing. New actions taken against a man believed to be supporting al Qaeda's top operative, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Protecting the nation's airliners from terrorists. Can the industry afford to protect planes from shoulder-fired missiles?

Also ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 60 years after its liberation, Auschwitz still haunts you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the passage of time has not dulled that dulled that all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Remembering Auschwitz, six decades after the death camp was liberated, a survivor speaks out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Let's go back to Iraq right now. It's been racked by violence and turmoil only days away before the election. CNN's Anderson Cooper is now in Baghdad. He is joining us live.

Anderson, I know this is your second time there. How does one get to Baghdad? What's it like to fly from New York to Baghdad? Not so easy, is it?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, actually, flying into Baghdad is one of the more sort of exciting flights I think you'll probably ever take. Right when you get above Baghdad, because of the security situation, the safest place they think is right above the airfield.

So you literally do what is called a corkscrew landing, where the plane just banks and you just rapidly descend round and round and round until you hit the ground.

The problem is, when there's fighting, they won't let you land. So yesterday, I was actually on two flights. Twice I was circling, we had started to descend. Both times we had to pull back up and return to Amman, Jordan, because there was fighting on the ground.

Finally today, they allowed the plane to land. So I was able to make it in this morning. But it is definitely an adventure just getting here on the ground -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Is this a regular commercial airliner or some sort of military plane?

COOPER: It's Royal Jordanian Airways. They actually rent -- it's a South African plane, a South African crew. The pilots are all South African. But it's an airline. You can buy your ticket. They serve snacks on it, just like a regular flight except for right at the end when they start that descent, you know you're going to someplace that's very different.

BLITZER: So how scared were you, Anderson? COOPER: You know, it wasn't that bad. I saw fighter jets beneath me. And I was glad they pulled out when they did. And they certainly knew the situation better than I. It was a little confusing to tell what's going on.

But you know, you can't help but come here and be a little bit concerned about the security situation. But, you know, we have our own security people and you do the best you can.

BLITZER: So then what happens? You get to the airport. You finally land after these two tries, unsuccessful tries. What happens next? The drive to the hotel, everyone says the airport road is probably the most dangerous in the region.

COOPER: Yes. People say it's the most dangerous in the world right now. And that certainly may be true. It's about less than 10 miles. But it's extraordinary. I think what a lot of people probably don't realize is that the U.S. doesn't fully control -- and the Iraqi government doesn't fully control the road from the airport to the center of town.

So there are parts of the road that you're driving on where, you know, it's quite an exciting ride. There are security precautions we all take, security personnel that we have. And I don't want to go into too many detail about what we do, but there's the fear of suicide car bombers, of snipers, of improvised explosive devices.

And on that road, I can tell you, when a car suddenly pulls up alongside you, you were checking them out several times to make sure that they're not bad guys looking to blow up you.

BLITZER: How would you compare this trip so far, you've only been there a couple of days, to what you saw in June for the handover when you were there the last time?

COOPER: At the handover time back in June, there was a lot of talk of putting an Iraqi face on this. This time around, you really do see more Iraqi security personnel than you did before. You don't see that many U.S. soldiers, U.S. Marines manning checkpoints like you did before. You see Iraqis, you see private security contractors. But there is definitely more of an Iraqi face.

How deep that goes is an open question. You know that the U.S. military is around. You know there are soldiers waiting sort of unseen in places on their bases and conducting raids day and night, 24/7. So the U.S. is still definitely here, large numbers of troops, 130,000-some personnel here right now. But it is Iraqis you see more and more manning the checkpoints. And that is something that as they get more Iraqi security forces on-line, they hope to increase those numbers.

BLITZER: Anderson Cooper, be safe. Thanks very much. And Anderson will be part of our excellent team covering the upcoming elections this Sunday. He'll also be anchoring his own program tonight from Baghdad all these nights. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" that airs 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 p.m. Pacific. Are Iraq's insurgents finding aid and comfort right next door? The Bush administration has been turning up the heat on Syria, and today took action against an alleged terror financier. Let's bring in our national security correspondent David Ensor.

David, what have you learned?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, U.S. officials say that the Iraqi insurgents are getting help from a young Syrian. And officials say the question is whether the Syrian government will go after him.

The U.S. took a step designed to force the question today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): The U.S. move aims to reduce attacks by insurgents in Iraq against coalition forces and Iraqi security personnel by cutting off the money that funds the insurgency. The U.S. Treasury Department says foreign insurgence, led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, are being helped by money and recruits by a 29-year- old Syrian national, Sulayman Khalid Darwish.

JUAN ZARATE, ASST. TREASURY SECRETARY: In Iraq, it's money that allows the activities that we have seen and the activities of Zarqawi to continue. These individuals need to recruit, they need to train, they need to eat, sleep, buy weapons. And that comes with resources and money. So it's part of our strategy to try to break, as Secretary Snow said, the financial backbone of these terrorist networks.

ENSOR: The Treasury Department is asking the United Nation's committee to put Darwish on a list of terrorists tied to Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda or the Taliban, which U.N. member states are required to freeze the assets of and prevent from traveling.

Syrian officials insist the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has been looking for Darwish for years and they, too, have now asked the U.N. to put him on the list. They deny suggestions by some U.S. officials that Damascus is helping Iraqi insurgents or at least turning a blind eye.

BLITZER: Are you cooperating in any way with the insurgents?

FAROUK AL-SHARA, SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Not at all. We are not friendly even with them because this is not the right way to help the Iraqis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: Treasury officials did not criticize Syria directly but they say they hope that this action will cause Damascus to do more against Syrians who are helping the Iraqi insurgents -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor, thanks very much. David Ensor reporting. And we'll have more from Iraq in just a few minutes. We'll check in with our Jane Arraf, she's embedded with U.S. Marines in Falluja as that city and the rest of Iraq prepare for elections.

Defending the skies. Could commercial airliners right here in the United States be targeted by shoulder-fired missiles? A new report paints a frightening picture.

Deadly stampede, panicked pilgrims crushed as a religious celebration turns to chaos.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: In our CNN "Security Watch," defending commercial airliners from missile attacks. It can be done with anti-missile systems, but a new report says doing it now is far too expensive to be practical. Joining us with details, our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, U.S. intelligence officials say they have no information that al Qaeda has a specific plot to use shoulder-fired missiles to shoot down commercial airliners in this country. But is it a concern? You bet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: 2003, Baghdad. This tape purports to show insurgents firing a man-portable air defense system, or ManPADS at a DHL cargo plane. They hit it, though the plane landed safely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the missile...

MESERVE: ManPADS have been recovered in Iraq. Featured in al Qaeda training tapes and, some believe, sooner or later, ManPADS will be used right here to take down a commercial aircraft.

REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: There are 500,000 of them out there in the hands of 27 separate terrorist groups. They are easy to get. They are easy to use. That is the most potent threat we have.

MESERVE: There are anti-ManPADS technologies, the military uses flares to deflect them. But a new Rand study says now is not the time to deploy anti-missile systems on commercial aircraft.

JACK RILEY, RAND CORPORATION: What we're saying at this the technology is not there. We don't know enough about the reliability, and the cost seems relatively high.

MESERVE: High, indeed. According to RAND, it would cost $11 billion to put the equipment on the nation's commercial airliners and another $2.1 billion annually to operate and maintain it. RAND recommends more research. But that doesn't satisfy Congressman Israel.

REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: The RAND study seems to me to defy common sense. A single shoulder-fired missile that costs about $5,000 that strikes a single United States commercial aircraft would be the absolute end of the aviation industry as we know it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: RAND looked at that, too. It estimates that economic losses resulting from a successful MANPADS attack could rise above $15 billion, not to mention the cost in lives -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, so, Jeanne, what does the U.S. government, the federal government doing about all this?

MESERVE: It has let two contracts to two companies to develop prototype new anti-missile technologies. It also has done assessments of airport vulnerabilities. It's trying to address vulnerabilities around airport perimeters.

It also has been trying to stem the international trafficking in MANPADS. It's also been doing some training of border agents and police to recognize the components of these MANPADS, if they should come across them.

BLITZER: So, they are clearly aware of this...

(CROSSTALK)

MESERVE: Very much aware.

BLITZER: The danger there.

MESERVE: But they agree with RAND that right now things are too expensive to deploy on commercial aircraft.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve, thanks very much.

There has been one notable attempt in recent years to try to bring down a plane using shoulder-fired missiles. That incident occurred in 2002 when terrorists with ties to al Qaeda fired two missiles at an Israeli plane taking off from a Kenya airport. Rafi Marek was piloting the Arkia airplane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFI MAREK, PILOT: We saw two trails of white smoke coming up from behind on our left side, passing us to the front and disappearing in the distance. We did not know immediately what it was, because none of us had experience with such things. My colleague, which was sitting on the right-hand seat, said, I think someone is firing at us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You can hear Rafi Marek's entire story and learn more about defending airliners from possible missile attacks tonight right here on CNN's "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN." That airs 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific, a fascinating report, our Frank Buckley on the scene.

To our viewers, here's you turn to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of the day is this. Do you think the risk to airliners warrants anti-missile systems? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast. And please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Held hostage in Iraq. A new videotape shows an American man being held at gunpoint. An update on what the United States State Department is doing to try to help free him and comfort his family back home.

Inside Falluja, the city often described as the home of the insurgency. Are residents there and U.S. troops ready for the election this Sunday? Our Jane Arraf, she is there with U.S. Marines.

And later, spying on a celebrity. Why authorities now believe someone has been bugging the actress Nicole Kidman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

A newly released videotape shows an American held hostage at gunpoint in Iraq. What is the U.S. government doing to try to help find him and free him? New details ahead.

But, first, a quick check of some other stories now in the news.

We're waiting to learn the condition of eight U.S. Navy personnel whose helicopter crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 30 miles off Virginia Beach, Virginia, earlier today. All aboard were rescued by Navy and Coast Guard ships. No word yet on why the helicopter went down. We're watching this story. We'll get more information for you.

Robert Kennedy Jr. says he won't run for New York state's attorney general. The son of the late RFK cites family concerns, saying he wants to be able to spend time with his children. The race potentially would have pitted him against Andrew Cuomo, his soon-to- be-former brother-in-law and the son of the former New York governor. Cuomo is separated from Kennedy's sister.

Newly released court documents reveal prosecutors in the Michael Jackson molestation case want to show the jury erotic books, videos and magazines. The items were seized in searches of Jackson's Neverland Ranch, Jackson's trial scheduled to start Monday.

Taking hostages is just one method of intimidation insurgents are using to try to scare Iraqis from voting in Sunday's national elections. They have also stepped up deadly attacks throughout the country. But many Iraqis appear to be determined to go to the polls.

CNN's Jane Arraf looks at what's being done to get ready in the former insurgent stronghold of Falluja.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: It's just a few days away from when voting is supposed to take place. And there still are not a lot of details about how that voting will be accomplished, where it will be held, or even who people will be able to vote for.

But there are preparations under way to allow citizens of Falluja to go out and vote if they want to. The U.S. military, the Marines, have been taking over a lot of the functions that the electoral commission would normally do. They're the only people here to do it. On this day, they held a job fair to hire workers, who will get paid $500, a small fortune here, for working for three days in the voting booth.

Now, this is seen as a dangerous occupation. There are threats against voters. There are threats to boycott the elections. And everyone is on heightened alert in a state of alert for suicide bombs, car bombs and other attacks. But, despite that, some of the people we talked to say that they're excited about the prospect of going out and voting. They have never done it before, obviously. They're not sure who they will vote for, some of them.

But they say they will do it. Security, obviously, is intense. The voting sites won't be announced until probably 48 hours before it takes place. And then how people will get there is an open question. Iraqi security forces have been training to keep those voting booths safe. On the outer cordon will be American security forces.

All of this, they say, they hope will lead to some sort of significant turnout in Falluja. It's not clear whether a lot of people will turn out. But, if they don't, they say it won't be because of security. It will be because they believe their vote doesn't matter.

Jane Arraf, CNN, reporting from near Falluja.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was questioned today in the oil-for-food investigation.

Our senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth, is joining us now live with details -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

Today, Wolf, first time we had official confirmation that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was questioned formally as part of the oil-for-food investigation, the investigation run, U.N.-authorized probe, by Paul Volcker.

Volcker was here today, third session with Secretary-General Annan. This was just a short time ago. He was kind of harried by reporters, but he took a few questions, didn't shed too much information. But he did say he's going to have, as we expect, an interim report shortly, probably early February and then one later on. Both reports in some way may touch on administrative functions, responsibilities of this United Nations organization.

This was the third session between oil-for-food probers led by Paul Volcker and the secretary-general. Annan's son, Kojo, has been a figure in the case, because he accepted money from Cotecna, a company that won a lucrative bid to inspect goods going into the Iraq under the oil-for-food program.

U.N. officials have denied any link between father and son. Kofi Annan has said don't blame -- or the spokesman for Kofi Annan said don't blame any sins of the son on the father. This was the two men, Volcker and Annan, meeting at the beginning of the establishment of this investigation -- back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Richard Roth at the United Nations, monitoring this story for us -- Richard, thank you very much.

A pilgrimage turns deadly, how hundreds of people were killed during a holy celebration.

Also this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN WEISS, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: Men that were working age, we lined up and we started to marching towards a man in a sharp SS uniform, which we found out later his name was Mengele, Dr. Mengele.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A survivor recounts the horrors of Auschwitz, liberated 60 years ago this week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now back to our top story. There's a new twist in the case of an American taken hostage by gunmen in Iraq last November. For the first time since his kidnapping, Roy Hallums appeared today in a videotape pleading for his life with a rifle -- take a look at that -- pointed right at his head.

Joining us now on what Hallums was doing in Iraq, how his family is holding up, our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel.

What have you learned, Andrea?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, at the time that Hallums was kidnapped from his home in an affluent Baghdad neighborhood, he was working for a Saudi-based company that provided catered food to the U.S. military.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (voice-over): In the videotape, Roy Hallums, a rifle barrel pointed at his head, says he was arrested by a resistance group in Iraq and pleads to escape what describes as definite death. Clearly nervous, Hallums says he is not asking help from President Bush, but, rather, from Arab rulers.

ROY HALLUMS, HOSTAGE: I am asking for the help of Arab rulers, especially President Moammar Moammar Gadhafi, because he is known for helping those who are suffering.

KOPPEL: The 60-second videotape offers no obvious clues as to when it was made or if Hallums is still alive. But it's the first time the 56-year-old has been seen since he and five others were kidnapped November 1 from this Baghdad neighborhood. Four of those taken hostage at that time has already been released.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: There's no excuse for taking people like this hostage. It's not a basis for any policy or any program or any cause or anything but terror.

KOPPEL: For Hallums' family in Southern California, it's been three months of hell. On New Year's Eve, the oldest of Hallums' two daughters, 29-year-old Carrie, started this family Web page to honor her father, a man she describes as warm, caring and intelligent. The Web site shows photographs from happier days, Carrie's wedding in October 2003, precious moments shared between a father and his little girl.

"Family memories," writes Carrie, the good times and the bad, are what keeps me going and what keeps my hope alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: In today's videotape, Hallums says that his health is, in his words, in a very bad situation. And in another alarming development, Hallums makes no mention as to what his kidnappers want in exchange for his safe release -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What a heart-wrenching story. Andrea Koppel, thank you very much for updating us on that.

What was supposed to be a holy pilgrimage in western India turned into a deadly nightmare that left at least 222 people dead, many of them women and children.

CNN's Suhasini Haidar shows us what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUHASINI HAIDAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scenes of grief and shock and evidence of the chaos that killed so many on what should have been a peaceful pilgrimage. Officials say the entire hilltop near the town of Wai in western India was packed with more than 200,000 Hindu pilgrims, anxious to visit this famous shrine on a holy day.

Police say they are investigating what triggered Tuesday's tragedy. According to eyewitnesses, it started when a few impatient devotees began to jostle the crowd so they could receive blessings at the Mandra Devi temple here. In the stampede that followed, a number of people were killed and then angry pilgrims set nearby shops on fire.

The fires spread, causing electrical poles to short circuit. And gas cylinders used to cook for the devotees exploded in the main square of the temple complex. In the chaos that followed, hundreds, many of them women and small children, were crushed as they tried to run for safety through narrow lanes. Officials say they tried to rush fire trucks, ambulances and police personnel into the area, but the large crowds and unpaved roads leading to the shrine slowed them down.

It was several hours before any relief reached the scene. This was one of the worst stampedes to occur at a Hindu pilgrimage in recent years. In August 2003, 39 people were killed at a riverside festival, also in this western state of Maharashtra.

Suhasini Haidar, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: What a sad story.

Let's take a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Hundreds of villagers in Kenya are living in makeshift settlements following deadly clashes between rival tribes. At least 16 people were killed in weekend fighting triggered by a dispute of access to water.

Fox hunt ban. Supporters of British fox hunting launched a court fight today against an upcoming ban on their ancient sport. The ban is scheduled to go into effect next month, but analysts say legal action could push it back at least until after general elections in May.

Bugging a star. According to the Associated Press, police in Australia are checking out the discovery of an electronic listening device outside the mansion of actress Nicole Kidman. Her chief bodyguard says surveillance video shows the bug was planted.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And when we come back, the world remembers Auschwitz 60 years later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEISS: You see something or think about something, you always think of your parents or the people that perished unnecessarily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A survivor recalls his family's experience at the death camp. That story when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Thursday marks 60 years since the liberation of the most notorious Nazi camp, Auschwitz. The grim anniversary has some survivors recalling the horror they experienced there, including one who shared his story with CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He wasn't there long, only about 10 days, but Auschwitz stays with Martin Weiss.

MARTIN WEISS, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: I never spoke about it. Nobody ever asked me about it.

TODD: Stays with him for what he saw.

WEISS: All I can remember is the chaos.

TODD: And what he lost.

WEISS: All bedlam broke loose. They started separating men from the women.

TODD: Weiss is 15 years old when he, his parents, three out of his eight siblings, many other cousins and uncles, are rounded up and rushed to Auschwitz in June 1944. His other brothers and sisters had already been taken from their village in what was then Czechoslovakia and sent to labor camps. At Auschwitz, this teenager sees his world fragment even further.

WEISS: Men that were working age, we lined up and we started to marching towards a man in a sharp SS uniform, which we found out later his name was Dr. Mengele.

TODD: Josef Mengele and other officers meticulously divide whole families. It's the last time Martin Weiss sees his mother and two younger sisters, who he believes dies almost immediately.

TODD (on camera): Did you have a sense then that was the last time?

WEISS: Yes.

TODD: Why?

WEISS: They told us, because somehow they realized the enormity of what was happening around us.

TODD (voice-over): A brother disappears and he never sees him again. Weiss and his father stay together for a short time, then are sent out of Auschwitz to labor camps, where his father dies. All told, Martin Weiss believes he lost at least 16 relatives in the processed annihilation that was Auschwitz.

Allied troops finally get there and to Weiss' camp.

WEISS: Young, vibrant American soldiers jumping in out of the jeeps and try and -- we looked at them like they were something out of make-believe.

TODD: Weiss eventually comes to the United States, starts a family. His children don't hear him speak about Auschwitz until they're in their 40s.

TODD (on camera): But 60 years after its liberation...

WEISS: Right.

TODD: Auschwitz still haunts you?

WEISS: Oh, yes.

TODD: And the passage of time has not dulled that at all?

WEISS: No.

TODD: Why not?

WEISS: Every day, you see something or think about something, you always think of your parents or the people that perished unnecessarily. That's something that does not go away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at this, 50/50. Remember, though, it's not a scientific poll.

A winter wonderland, it's our picture of the day. Look at this. These seaside homes in Hull, Massachusetts, were transformed into real ice castles by this weekend's blizzard. High winds coated the billions in ocean spray, which froze on contact, making instant igloos. Amazing.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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