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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Saudi Arabia Agreres to Pump More Oil; Afghani Drug Lord Arrested

Aired April 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.


JOHN KING, GUEST HOST: A community learns the fate of two toddlers missing since Saturday -- two-year-old Nicole Payne and her three-year-old bother Jonah. We'll go live to Georgia.
Standby for WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Afghan connection -- the feds bust an alleged drug lord with ties to the Taliban.

JOHN GILBRIDE, DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY: This organization provided demolitions, weaponry and militia manpower.

KING: Texas two-step -- The president asks the Saudis to pump more oil. But will it really affect the price at your pump?

Probation probe -- did Martha Stewart violate her house arrest by attending a celebrity cocktail party? Authorities are investigating.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Monday, April 25, 2005.

KING: Thanks for joining us, I'm John King. Wolf is off today.

Exactly three years ago to the day, President Bush welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah to his ranch in Texas. Then, Abdullah warned the president about America's Middle East policies, but the Saudis said they would not use oil as a weapon. On that day three years ago Americans were paying an average of $1.40 a gallon for gas.

Today Crown Prince Abdullah was back at the ranch, a half an hour late, but still got a warm welcome -- a hug and a kiss from President Bush. With Americans today, paying an average $2.24 a gallon for regular. Mr. Bush seemed quite anxious to see if his Saudi guest could do something to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're talking about energy and Crown Prince understands that -- very important for there to be a -- make sure that the price is reasonable. High oil price will damage markets, and he knows that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now both sides said the meeting was a success. For more details let's go live to Texas now and our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux who joins us from Crawford.

Suzanne, did the administration get what it was looking for?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, critics are now saying that they believe this looked like, perhaps, a well orchestrated photo-op. Even one Saudi official after the meeting saying that oil did not dominate the discussion. It is fair to say that much of the leg work was done before this meeting even as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged that it was yesterday that Cheney met with the crown prince with the Saudi oil minister. That the Saudis came with their own plan today to the meeting. What essentially this allowed the administration and the Saudis to do, since President Bush came out just last week asking for more oil production by the Saudis, it allowed both sides simply to declare victory today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The president has been on this case for quite a long time. What he got from the Saudis today was an important step forward that said they also understand that there is a structural problem here that needs to be dealt with. And so, he very much welcomed the careful planning that they had done. Their desire to increase their capacity in a sustainable way, and their willingness to make investment to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So John, when the Saudis announced that they were going to go from producing 11 million barrels of oil a day, up to about 12.5 in about four years or so, it really allowed both sides to say yes, we've come out as winners here. But both sides also acknowledging that this is a long-term solution. Both sides acknowledging that there's not going to be any significant change when it comes to gas prices for Americans any time soon -- John.

KING: Now, Suzanne, the president obviously wants to show Americans that he takes rising energy prices seriously. The Saudis I assume don't want to be blamed, at least, not solely blamed, for higher prices at the pump. What was the Saudi take on the meeting?

MALVEAUX: Well, we spoke with one of the Saudi spokesperson al- Jubeir, Adel al-Jubeir who simply said that the Saudis did not commit beyond what they had publicly said they were going to do before in terms of boosting their oil production. What it did give the Saudis is really a platform to make their case, saying it's not just about supply and demand. But it is also about the ability to refine the oil.

Al-Jubeir from early afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN POLICE ADVISOR: It will not make a difference if Saudi Arabia ships an extra 1 million or 2 million barrels of crude oil to the United States if you cannot refine it, it will not turn into gasoline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And John, what it also allows them to do, of course, is say that they were one step closer to becoming a member of the World Trade Organization. That is something that the Saudis aggressively have been fighting for. They are very close in terms of bilateral -- getting a bilateral agreement. The United States and Saudis working on those trade negotiations behind the scenes. We heard from the spokesman today saying that they are very close to making that deal. Of course the crown prince wants to take that good news home back with his people, as well -- John.

KING: White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, tracking a delicate day of diplomacy in Crawford, Texas. Thank you, Suzanne.

And just how much influence does Saudi Arabia have over the price you pay at the pump? Will the royal visit to the ranch make any difference?

Let's go live to CNN's Chris Huntington in New York -- Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks a lot, John. Well, the sense in the oil markets is frankly that that kind of visit and the ongoing dialogue between the White House and the Saudi Royal Family probably will not make a huge difference, at least not in the near term. The Saudis promise to increase investment down the line is something that they've made public for several days. So, just affirming it in person to the president didn't really do a whole lot for the problem that confronts U.S. consumers right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): President Bush reached out to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah today hoping to squeeze a little more oil production out of the world's biggest supplier and ease prices, particularly at U.S. gas pumps. But many oil market veterans say today's meeting at the president's ranch was little more than a photo- op. And that the Saudis plan to invest more on future capacity will have little impact on oil prices in the near term.

JOHN KIDUFF, ENERGY ANALYST: Unfortunately, probably for the first time, maybe ever, but certainly in a long time, the Saudi's hands are almost tied, as are President Bush's at this point. Because they are pumping as much oil as they realistically can.

HUNTINGTON: Saudi Arabia currently produces close to 9.5 million barrels of oil each day and could potentially pump that up to about 10.5 million to 11 million barrels. But that would still only be about 12 percent of total world output. Saudi Arabia's oil is so- called sour crude, less desirable in the U.S. market because it is difficult to refine into gasoline. Still, more crude on the world markets should help ease prices.

The United States currently burns through about 20 million barrels of oil a day, 10 million of which are imported. One-and-a- half million barrels a day come from Saudi Arabia, roughly the same as the United States gets from Canada and Mexico. While Saudi Arabia is still the top dog in the world oil market, the fact that it is already near full output means that it is not as dominant as it once was.

FADEL GHEIT, OIL ANALYST: Saudi Arabia and OPEC in general is now like an old dog that can only bark, but doesn't bite anymore. They really have no upside potential from here. The spare capacity is very limited, if at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON: Now there is something of a fear of a backfire in the oil markets should Saudi Arabia boost to maximum current production, which as has been mentioned is about 11 million barrels a day. And that is that if the Saudis go to max production, there's a sense that that means there'd be no more spare production in the world crude market. And that, in fact, oil prices might even rise, even though there'd be a little bit more supply on the world market -- John.

KING: Well, Chris, one of the arguments the Saudi official, Adel al-Jubeir, was making in Crawford today was -- to the Saudis, at least, the market doesn't quite make sense. He's saying the price right now is not as it normally would be tracking supply and demand. What are the other factors, and are they about to change? Or is this -- we in for this for the long term?

HUNTINGTON: A couple of answers there. We're definitely in it for the long run. The general sense in the market is that demand is showing no sign of weakening. This is global demand for oil. And it is the projections for demand are currently outstripping the projections for supply, hence the high prices in the market. This particular issue with the Saudi crude, as was mentioned by Adel al- Jubeir in one of your sound bites there, is that the Saudis produce what's called sour crude. It's not really that desired here in the United States. So, if they put an extra million, million and a half barrels on the market, that's not going to find a ready conduit, if you will, into a U.S. refinery. There are too many other refineries. You have to increase the refining capacity for sour crude to make that kind of oil more desirable -- John.

KING: Chris Huntington, thank you very much. Chris Huntington, joining us from New York. Thank you, Chris.

And just how much power and leverage do the Saudis hold? Our world affairs analyst, former Defense Secretary William Cohen will join me for a closer look -- coming up.

But first, federal authorities today announced a heroin bust, which they say ties Afghanistan's Taliban to the streets of America's cities.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick is tracking this story and joins us now live from New York.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the big question here really is, what was this drug lord thinking coming to the United States, knowing that he's very much a wanted man?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): Authorities say he's one of the world's biggest heroin traffickers. Haji Bashir Noorzai arrested Saturday after flying into New York's JFK Airport.

JOHN GILBRIDE, DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY: His organization is responsible for sending kilos of heroin, not only to the United States, but to many other countries, as well. Hundreds of kilos of heroin.

FEYERICK: An amount carrying an estimated $50 million price tag on the street. The feds won't say why the drug kingpin came to the United States or who he may have been traveling with. What they do say is that for nearly 15 years, Noorzai and his associates worked with the Taliban, giving them weapons and soldiers. And in exchange the Taliban turned a blind eye to the Afghan drug lord's opium crops, heroin labs, and transport routes.

DAVID KELLEY, U.S. ATTORNEY: On one occasion in 1997, it is alleged that Taliban authorities in Afghanistan seized a truck load of morphine base that belonged to the Noorzai Organization. It didn't take very long, however, for Mullah Muhammad Omar to have the drug returned to Noorzai with Omar's personal apologies.

FEYERICK: Taliban leader Mullah Omar was an ally of Osama bin Laden. Omar and the Taliban were kicked out of Afghanistan by the U.S.-led invasion in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks.

GILBRIDE: That regime can no longer rely on his money, resources, or influence.

FEYERICK: Prosecutors wouldn't talk about possible al Qaeda ties. But in the past, U.S. officials have accused Noorzai of smuggling heroin to al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan.

Noorzai appeared before a federal judge in Manhattan. He entered no plea to drug conspiracy charges against him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): Norzai faces up to 10 years to life in prison if convicted. It is just too soon to tell what kind of an impact his arrest will have on Afghanistan's overall heroin trade, a trade that makes up roughly half the country's economy. John?

KING: Deborah Feyerick, live in New York. Thank you, Deborah.

And, also in our "Security Watch," flanked by the city's mayor and the state's two U.S. senators, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff paid his first official visit to New York's Grand Central terminal, one of our nation's busiest rail stations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I think there is tremendous security here. We have detectors that are focused on potential biological hazards, on chemical hazards. We saw the K-9 unit, which is the dogs, that go out and do explosive sniffing. We do a tremendous job. There is a presence, a security presence, in and around the terminal and the trains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Chertoff says he believes in a risk-based approach that would give New York a bigger share of federal funding for homeland security.

And, remember now, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

How important is this heroin bust and the alleged ties to the Taliban? Joining me now is our world affairs analyst, the former Defense secretary, William Cohen, the chairman and CEO of the Cohen group.

You know the criticism quite well, that when the administration went into Iraq, it took its eye off the ball in Afghanistan, including the drug trade. What does this tell you?

WILLIAM COHEN, CHMN/CEO COHEN GROUP, FMR. DEF. SEC.: This tells us that the administration is keeping at least one eye on Afghanistan, that we can't allow it to go back and sink into producing drugs or heroin, in this particular case on a massive scale. There has to be an alternative to the people of Afghanistan, investment in infrastructure, other types of cash crops, other than poppies, and this indicates that the United States has continued to focus upon the heroin trade, how it's funding terrorism. And so, it's still fighting the war in Iraq, but that war on terrorism, or against terrorism being funded by heroin trade, taking place in Afghanistan. So this is an important arrest.

KING: Let's turn our attention to Crawford, Texas, and rising energy prices. Critics already saying this is a photo-op. The administration says the Saudis agree, down the road, to increase production. The Saudis say even if they sent a million, two million more barrels a day, wouldn't affect the price a penny because of the refining capacity in this country. Is it a photo-op?

COHEN: Well, I think there are a number of issues that the president needed to discuss with the Saudi crown prince, namely, certainly gas prices, which I think is of marginal ability, at least, of the Saudi's, at this point, influence. They certainly could influence by cutting back on production; whether they could increase it to make any significant decrease in the prices is doubtful at this point.

Ultimately, long-term we've got to develop alternative sources. We have to have hybrid cars, engines, for our cars. We have to rely upon other power sources other than energy. Long-term, this country cannot tie its future security interests to production of oil coming out of the Persian Gulf. That's something that's going to take leadership from the White House and a commitment on the part of Capitol Hill and certainly the people of this country. Stop buying and using gas guzzlers, finding ways to conserve, find other sources of energy. It's going to be important more so than increased Saudi production in the near term.

KING: What about the Saudi perspective? Do they come to the ranch looking for something from the administration?

COHEN: Oh, I'm sure that the Saudis are also looking for some commitment on the part of the president in terms of the Middle East peace process. The Saudi crown prince floated his initiative a couple years ago, not much reaction to it. Very important statement on his part, to recognize the right of Israel to exist, but now I think you have to go further and say, yes you've recognized Israel's right to exist, but now we need Saudi help in really starting to invest in the -- in Gaza, to put hope in the eyes and the hearts of the Palestinian people, to turn from helping to fund Madrassas to helping to fund construction.

So, I think there's a mutual interest. The president needs to have the Saudis continue to support their efforts in the war against terror, but also their effort to help really rebuild Gaza as the first step to the overall road map, to include dismantling some of the settlements, major settlements, on the West Bank as well as Gaza.

KING: I don't want to let you get out the door without ask asking your perspective on the John Bolton nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. You are unique in that you served in the Senate and were on some of these committees that are involved, still have friends there, and you've been a cabinet member. You know well the confirmation process and how it can sometimes take strange detours. What do you think?

COHEN: Well, you start with the premise that the president got elected. He's entitled to his nominees for these critical positions, unless the individual is so flawed in either ability or character that he can't vie the Senate confirmation process. It seems to me that the issues about whether -- how abusive he may or may not have been -- he's not going to be dispositive.

The key issues would be, did he in fact try to shape intelligence in a way inconsistent with the facts, as far as Cuba was concerned, and did he, as a matter of fact, misrepresent his position in terms of whether the ambassador to South Korea, Tom Hubbard, validated his speeches. And those go to the character issue, and I think those two issues will be dispositive. And Senator Arlen Specter had it about right. I think at this point, too close to call. The president's going to make a full court effort, a full court press, and he may very well get him through, but it's not going to be easy.

KING: Big challenge for the president ahead. Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, thank you, sir. COHEN: Pleasure.

KING: The fate of two missing toddlers revealed; new developments in the case of a two- and a three-year-old who disappeared Saturday.

Did Martha Stewart violate her parole by attending a star-studded gala? Federal probation officers open an investigation.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Flyers like this, I think, for some good they may do, I think they could do a lot more damage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Concerns and controversy over publicly identifying convicted sex offenders: we'll look at some of the safety and civil liberties issues involved.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: A desperate search for two young children has ended with a tragic discovery. CNN's Tony Harris joins us from Warrenton, Georgia, with the latest. Tony?

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as you mentioned, we are in Warrenton, Georgia. Just to give you a bit of a scene setter, this is a small town just west of Augusta, Georgia. And, I've got to tell you, John, that the signs have been pretty grim on this story throughout the course of the morning and afternoon.

If you could have seen the expressions on the faces of law enforcement officials who briefed us on the search to find the kids earlier today, we all walked away thinking this was not going particularly well. In the end, it was left to John Bankhead of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations to make the grim announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BANKHEAD, GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: It appears that our worst fears have been realized. The bodies of Jonah and Nicole were found approximately 12:15 today in a sanitation pond, approximately a few hundred yards from the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, there are a number of ponds in this immediate area. Now, we can tell you that a number of those ponds were searched with camera equipment on Saturday, during the massive initial search for these two children.

Sadly, we can tell you that the sanitation pond where they were eventually found was not searched with camera equipment on Saturday. Shortly after 12:15 this afternoon, an officer searching that sanitation pond anew noticed what he described as a bump in this algae-filled, bacteria-filled sanitation pond. And that turned out to be the body of two-year-old Nicole. A short time thereafter, the body of three-year-old Jonah was found. The bodies were positively identified by the children's father, Dennis Payne, a short time later.

John, this is now a death investigation. And one of the working theories is that the children simply wandered away from their home and found their way to this sanitation pond. We got some surprising clarity on that point from Warrenton Police Chief Jim McClain this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM MCCLAIN, WARRENTON POLICE CHIEF: The kids had wandered off before. But before they got too far from the house, they were recovered.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

MCCLAIN: It happened Saturday believe it or not, at 4:00. But they were recovered before they left again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The children had wandered off even earlier that day. So the parents came out, I can add, John, a short time ago, just to thank the police and all the volunteers who took part in the search. All in all, a pretty sad day here in Warrenton, Georgia.

KING: Tony Harris for us in Warrenton, thank you very much, Tony. A grim story. Thank you.

A desperate mission to save 53 American hostages ended in failure 25 years ago today. But it's now viewed as a turning point for U.S. Special Forces. The impact of that extraordinary night, next.

Deadly collision. A commuter train crashes into an apartment building. Fifty-seven people killed, at least 440 injured.

Troop withdrawal. Syrian forces head out of Lebanon, giving up control after three decades.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: U.S. military officials in Iraq say a roadside bomb killed an American soldier in Baghdad today. That attack came on the heels of four bombings yesterday in Iraq. Those bombings killed at least 24 people. Two of those bombings occurred in Baghdad, near a mosque and a busy market. The two others occurred in Tikrit, outside the Iraqi Police Academy.

Iraqi insurgents also continued to target oil installations. Some pumps were set on fire near Kirkuk. Authorities say insurgents attacked the police guarding a convoy of tanker trucks. Two police were wounded and three insurgents were captured.

Twenty-five years ago today, an elite U.S. military force met with disaster in the Iranian desert. But that mission to rescue American hostages was a turning point for U.S. Special Forces. It was remembered today at Arlington National Cemetery, and our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): November 4th, 1979. Militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran; Americans are taken hostage.

April 24th, 1980. A secret rescue mission is under way in the Iranian desert. Then 34-year-old Army Captain Peter Schoomaker has trained for months.

GEN. PETER SCHOOMAKER, ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF: And on the actual night of going in, my job was to lead a group of the rescue team. I commanded about half of the team that was going to go inside the embassy itself.

STARR: They never make it beyond the landing site, Desert One. Bad weather and mechanical trouble ground two helicopters. The mission is canceled. C-130s prepare to fly everyone out.

Then, a helicopter crashes into one of the planes. A fireball erupts; eight servicemen are killed. Everyone is evacuated, including several badly burned troops.

Critics have long said the plan was too complicated.

SCHOOMAKER: It was a failure on our military itself. It was a failure on the intelligence community. It was a failure on our diplomatic side of things, and everything else.

STARR: But General Schoomaker remembers the young men who gave it everything they had.

SCHOOMAKER: I also remember the absolute dedication that everybody had to make this work, and the tremendous disappointment.

STARR: Schoomaker eventually would command all of Special Operations Forces. He retired, and then was called back to become Army chief of staff.

LAUREN BETH HARVEY, DAUGHTER OF DESERT ONE VICTIM: A heartache that never goes away.

STARR: That night, long ago in the desert, is remembered 25 years later.

SCHOOMAKER: Some of my very best friends that, you know, that I've ever had.

STARR: Schoomaker says the failure of Desert One made the military get serious about commando-style operations and led to today's highly trained forces.

(on camera): Three of the men who died that night are buried near this marker, which remembers a failed mission and a sacrifice a quarter century ago.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Arlington National Cemetery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Trying to track sex offenders. Some say it's a fine line between control and harassment. So, are some measures going too far?

And as the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers. But what about April snow? The latest on the cold front next.

And later, did Martha Stewart's appearance at a star-studded party violate her probation? As investigators probe the incident, our Mary Snow takes a closer look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Welcome back. Leaving Lebanon after three decades of what some call a ruthless occupation, Syrian troops complete their withdrawal. We'll get to that.

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

Three tornado warnings have been issued in Texas. The first for southeastern Tarrant County; the second for central Johnson County; the third for southwestern Dallas County, which includes the southern suburbs of Dallas. One twister has been spotted on the ground eight miles west of Cedar Hill. We'll continue, of course, to monitor the weather in all of these areas.

In parts of the Midwest and Appalachians, a spring snowstorm for the record books. Thousands of people in Ohio are still without power, and dozens of schools are closed after the storm swept across the region over the weekend. Some areas received almost two feet of snow. In parts of Michigan, snow drifts are three to four feet high.

In Japan, investigators are trying to determine the cause of that country's deadliest rail accident in more than four decades. A packed commuter train overshot a station and slammed into an apartment building today near Osaka, killing at least 57 people. More than 400 were injured. Authorities say that train driver's lack of experience and excessive speed may have been possible factors in the deadly crash.

Syria's presence in Lebanon appears to be entering its final hours, and today United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is dispatching a team of experts to verify the Syrian pullback. In response to U.N. demands, Damascus has promised to withdraw all of its troops and its intelligence agents from Lebanon by Saturday.

Syria controlled Lebanon for close to three decades. And now many Lebanese are speaking out, calling Syria's rule a ruthless occupation. Here's more from CNN's Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Syrian forces withdraw from Lebanon, uprooted after three decades of a government-backed presence, officially to help secure stability.

But their departure is ending what many Lebanese claim was a ruthless occupation.

JIBRAN TUEINI, PUBLISHER, AN-NAHAR NEWSPAPER: ... that one day, the Syrians will leave Lebanon.

SADLER: Journalist and newspaper publisher Jibran Tueini says it was managed by Syrian intelligence agents -- powerful overlords, who recently evacuated their notorious Beirut headquarters in an abandoned hotel, widely known, explains Tueini, as the Beau Rivage, with an underground prison.

TUEINI: When you used to mention the name Beau Rivage to somebody in Lebanon, it was terror, it was fear. Syrians used from here to run Lebanon, to impose the reign of terror on Lebanese. It was impossible for you to come through this road. The prison is in this building exactly.

SADLER: It was basement level. Iron gates with bars were ripped out, he says, when the Syrians left.

TUEINI: We know that the Syrians used to exert pressure on people, and I'm sure that these walls (ph) have witnessed a lot of Lebanese, different Lebanese, different kinds of persons. People shouting, people screaming, people trying to (INAUDIBLE).

SADLER: Claims supported by Hussein Badran and his wife, Rayya. Incredibly, they lived eight floors above the cell block, enduring a nerve-wracking life, they say, unwilling to abandon their home. Silent witnesses, until now.

HUSSEIN BADRAN, RESIDENT: It was horrible. In one word, it was horrible.

RAYYA BADRAN, RESIDENT: I used to see the people they brought, you know, blindfold.

SADLER (on camera): But you couldn't do anything about it.

H. BADRAN: Absolutely. What can we do? The whole country cannot do anything about it.

SADLER (voice-over): Across the street, Insaf (ph) and Ismail Sayed (ph) are thrilled at the first sight of their building, taken over by the Syrians long ago. Insaf (ph) falls to the ground in prayer, thankful to be back. His wife overjoyed.

Syria's opponents are many here. So, too, are its influential allies. But the opposition gearing up for elections expected soon is ready, says this commentator, to turn a decisive page in history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should now dream about a new Lebanon. We should now have a vision about a new Lebanon. Christians and Muslims were here on the 14th of March, more than one million, first time in the history of Lebanon, coming out to say very loudly, enough is enough.

SADLER: And that time seems to be now.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: And now a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): As vote counting in Togo's presidential election got under way, new clashes broke out between security forces and opposition supporters in the African nation. Voting ended yesterday with deadly clashes. Togo is choosing its first new leader in four decades. All sides in the election have made allegations of fraud and intimidation.

Several dozen Chinese coal miners are back above ground after their rescue from a flooded mine. But a search is under way for as many as 30 others who are still missing. The miners were trapped when water swept in from another shaft.

A day after his inauguration, Pope Benedict XVI took a short trip away from the Vatican. He paid a visit to the Tomb of St. Paul the Apostle south of Rome. Earlier, the new pontiff had a number of meetings on his schedule, including talks with Muslim leaders.

And in the Netherlands, a sure sign that spring has arrived. Tulips and other colorful flowers are now in full bloom around the country.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Keeping track of child molesters. It's an issue of growing concern to many American communities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLYN ATWELL-DAVIS, NAT'L CTR. FOR MISSING CHILDREN: Communities should not be taking matters into their own hands. It just creates a wave of hysteria, and also leads to misinformation getting put out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Hear more about the debate over how to deal with convicted sex offenders once they're released from prison.

Also ahead, she's out of prison, but she's under investigation again. We'll tell you about a new twist in the Martha Stewart saga.

Plus, a rebirth in southern Iraq. The region's historic marshes and the people who once lived there are making a comeback.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Now an update on the convicted sex offender who's accused of kidnapping and killing a 9-year-old Florida girl. State officials say they sent out a letter six months ago that could have prompted the county sheriff's office to look for John Couey. The letter listed sex offenders who have failed to return required forms, and Couey's name was on it. That could have led to Couey's arrest months before Jessica Lunsford appeared. The sheriff's office says it can't verify whether it ever received that letter.

A recent CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup shows that child molestation is a top concern of Americans. Some responders are calling for tighter controls after convicted sex offenders are released from prison. Some, however, argue that there's a fine line between control and harassment.

Our Brian Todd is looking at that question.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, communities are often encouraged to be very active about tracking sex offenders in their areas. But the issue is turning on one neighborhood that may have just gone too far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Clovis Claxton, felt his neighbors closing in. He'd been on his state's list of registered sex offenders for years. But recently someone had posted flyers all over his street in Ocala, Florida, bearing the words child rapist. People had been reported yelling obscenities at his parents. On at least four occasions Claxton called sheriff's deputies saying he feared for his life.

CAPT. DENNIS STROW, MARION CO. SHERIFF'S OFFICE: He was very distraught over it. And just didn't know how to handle it. And made comments about ending it all, over dosing, you know, and committing suicide.

TODD: On Thursday, it appeared Claxton had followed through. His body, discovered inside his home, drugs, alcohol, and one of those flyers nearby. The sheriff's department is treating it as a suicide. Claxton had never been charged with child rape, but did serve time in Washington State for first degree child molestation, for exposing himself to a 9-year-old. Marion County Sheriff's officials tell CNN, the 38-year-old Claxton was mentally disabled and confined to a wheelchair. And they had not considered him a threat to the community. They're also investigating who altered a printout from the state website listing sex offenders, and printed the words child rapist next to Claxton's name -- flyers that still leave a community divided.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Flyers like this, I think -- for some good they may do, I think they could do a lot more damage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's terrible that he did that, but as far as the flyer, I'm a father and I live here in the neighborhood. And if you know, I would never have no idea that this guy moved into the neighborhood.

TODD: A neighborhood with a heightened sense of the dangers to local children. The recent deaths of Sarah Lunde and Jessica Lunsford, allegedly killed by registered sex offenders in nearby Florida counties, shed light on how difficult it is for law enforcement agencies across the country to track these offenders.

How does the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children weigh in on the Claxton case?

ATWELL-DAVIS: Communities should not be taking matters into their own hands. It just creates a wave of hysteria and also leads to misinformation getting put out there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: The center says notifying law enforcement is still the best way to deal with local sex offenders. And the laws for registering and tracking them have not gone too far. Now, despite the Claxton case, experts say there are very few reports of vigilantism against registered sex offenders -- John.

KING: Tough issue.

TODD: Yes it is.

KING: Thank you, Brian.

And more on this debate over how to deal with registered sex offenders tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," that's at 7:00 Eastern here on CNN.

And coming up, of course, at the top of the hour "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT."

Lou's standing by in New York with a preview -- Lou.

LOU DOBBS, HOST LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: Indeed we are, John. Thank you.

Tonight at 6:00 p.m., right here on CNN, we'll be reporting on the drive for democracy in the Middle East. Syrian troops quitting Lebanon, it's a major victory for President Bush's campaign against tyranny.

Also tonight, secret trade agreements. Congress debating the CAFTA agreement with Central America. My guest tonight, a business leader who says CAFTA is simply another way to export American jobs and industry to cheap overseas labor markets.

And the escalating immigration crisis that faces our country. Tonight a guest worker plan that doesn't give illegal aliens an automatic path to citizenship. I'll be talking with the bill's sponsor Senator Saxby Chambliss.

And Martha Stewart -- what's going on? We'll have that story as well and a great deal more coming up in just a few minutes.

Now back to John King -- John.

KING: Thank you, Lou.

Is attending a party a parole violation?

Probation officers investigate Martha Stewart for possibly breaking the terms of her house arrest.

Plus, the place where recorded civilization began experiences a dramatic rebirth. How this area once destroyed by Saddam Hussein is coming back to life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Martha Stewart -- remember her? Well, she may be in trouble again. Now that she's been released from prison the lifestyle guru is supposed to be on five months home detention. That has some people wondering why she turned up at a lavish gala.

CNN's Mary Snow looking into that -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, Martha Stewart is allowed to leave her home under certain conditions. But her attendance last week at a party has come under scrutiny. And the question is, was that party work-related.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): Six weeks out of prison, Martha Stewart was all smiles at "Time" magazine's gala last Tuesday honoring the 100 most influential people. She hobnobbed with movers and shakers, and she even gave a toast.

MARTHA STEWART, MSLO FOUNDER: This is a toast to my inspiration...

SNOW: She drew attention not just from photographers, but from the probation department, as well. The chief U.S. probation officer of New York's Southern District says, his office is now looking into whether Martha Stewart violated conditions of her supervised release. The probation office says she did get permission to attend.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: What may be uncertain is, what the probation officer really understood about what was going to go on here, because she was photographed at this very lavish dinner, and you could see how the probation officer might be a little embarrassed that he approved this.

SNOW: Stewart left prison in March and returned to her New York estate to begin five months of home confinement. Since then, her movements have been restricted. Stewart has to wear an electronic ankle bracelet to monitor her whereabouts. She's allowed to leave her home for 48 hours a week, mostly to go to work.

JOHN LAWRENCE ALLEN, SECURITIES ATTORNEY: I think that they're concerned that the event that she attended had a direct relationship to her work.

SNOW: In a statement, her company said, "When 'Time' magazine recognizes Martha Stewart, MSLO's founder, as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, our company benefits from that honor." Because Stewart's work is so public, she's been seen at events like last week's announcement of a radio deal. One former probation officer says, going to a big event, for Stewart, is not out of the ordinary.

LISA KUCA, FORMER FED. PROBATION OFFICER: The "Time" event is probably very consistent with what other people of a similar profession would do in their job duties.

SNOW: And "Time" magazine, which sponsored the event, is owned by Time Warner, which is also the parent company of CNN. Now, legal experts say that if home confinement rules are violated, there are penalties ranging from stricter restrictions to being sent back to jail. But, experts say the chances of her being sent back to jail are slim to none. John?

KING: Mary Snow in New York. Mary, thank you very much.

Once drained by Saddam Hussein and thought to be lost forever, Iraq's marshlands are making a comeback. We'll take you on a tour up next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cal Ripken, Jr.: He's baseball's Iron Man, a player's player whose work ethic and energy made him a perennial fan favorite. Cal Ripken, Jr., was born into a baseball family and stayed true to the family business throughout his 20-year career with the Baltimore Orioles. Ripken was a great player, earning League MVP honors, but he is best known for the streak. Ripken played 2,632 consecutive Major League Baseball games, breaking Lou Gehrig's record. The streak ended in 1998, and Ripken retired from baseball three years later.

CAL RIPKEN, JR., BALTIMORE ORIOLES: It's been a great run. Fabulous career.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now 44, Ripken lives in Maryland with his wife Kelly, and their two children. Baseball's iron man and his brother Billy have a baseball talk show on XM Satellite Radio.

RIPKEN: I really enjoy actually promoting and talking about the game and really trying to push that and get a few more back stops built up around the country as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ripken also owns a Minor League team, the Aberdeen Iron Birds and he's established the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, providing baseball programs to underprivileged kids.

RIPKEN: If I am remembered, I hope it's because, by living my dream, I was able to make a difference.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Back when Saddam Hussein was the leader of Iraq, he drained the marshes of southern Iraq, home to an ancient population known as the marsh Arabs. Many were forced to leave. Now that Saddam has been deposed, the marshes and the marsh Arabs are beginning to come back.

CNN's Jane Arraf reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a few years ago, Sheikh Muhammad al Abadi (ph) walked over the same area his boat is gliding over. These are the marshes near the Iranian border, drained by Saddam Hussein in the 1990s to flush out insurgents fighting his regime. Che Hubabi (ph) was one of those, participating in attacks from the area before he fled over the nearby border to Iran.

CHE HUBABI, ANTI-SADDAM INSURGENT (through translator): These marshes became a military area. People weren't allowed to enter. They weren't allowed to hunt or fish.

ARRAF: Since the regime fell, Abadi and tens of thousands of other Iraqis have returned from exile in Iran. Part of the marshland has returned, as well.

(on camera) These marshes are where recorded civilization began. Just a few years ago some of this was salty wasteland, but now, in parts of the area, the water is coming back.

(voice-over) It's coming back here, because marsh Arabs took matters into their own hands. In other parts of this region, the size of the Florida Everglades, aid organizations are doing detailed studies on how best to reflood the marshes. The solution here was more immediate.

TRANSLATOR: After the fall of the former regime, people broke the dams that blocked the rivers from pouring water into these areas.

ARRAF: Abadi and another member of Masan's (ph) provincial council take us on our tour by power boat of the recovering marsh land. A military helicopter used by Welsh Guards hovers overhead.

There are scenes here unchanged in thousands of years. Carvings from Sumerian times depict fishermen in boats and reed houses, looking much as they do today. Looking down from the same helicopter, there's a stark difference between areas where the water has been released, and the barren land where the marshes were drained. Much of this marsh is covered with up to three meters, nine feet of water, enough to bring the fish, and the fishermen back again. They fish from boats and from tiny islands like this. It's clear what a hard life this is.

These young men stay for 10 days at a time on this island with only a bit of food. Drinking water comes from the marsh. The marsh Arabs here moved back to the nearby village of Abu Saha, the place they call their ancestral homeland.

We brought the water on our heads from the rivers, and we made these homes from mud, says Lifta Alaywi Mohammad, who's around 60 years old. They want to stay here, but they want real homes, and schools, and hospitals. He says the people in his village want to help rebuild Iraq, starting with the marshes, civilization's cradle, their home.

Jane Arraf, CNN, in Iraq's southern marshes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: That's a beautiful piece.

And now, our "Picture of the Day:" Fleet-week, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. A series of U.S. warships and a British icebreaker sailed into Port Everglades this morning to kick off the annual spectacle -- the first big event just about to get underway.

Thanks for sharing part of your day with us. LOU DOBBS TONIGHT starts right now. Lou's standing by.

END

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 April 25, 2005 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, GUEST HOST: A community learns the fate of two toddlers missing since Saturday -- two-year-old Nicole Payne and her three-year-old bother Jonah. We'll go live to Georgia.
Standby for WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Afghan connection -- the feds bust an alleged drug lord with ties to the Taliban.

JOHN GILBRIDE, DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY: This organization provided demolitions, weaponry and militia manpower.

KING: Texas two-step -- The president asks the Saudis to pump more oil. But will it really affect the price at your pump?

Probation probe -- did Martha Stewart violate her house arrest by attending a celebrity cocktail party? Authorities are investigating.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Monday, April 25, 2005.

KING: Thanks for joining us, I'm John King. Wolf is off today.

Exactly three years ago to the day, President Bush welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah to his ranch in Texas. Then, Abdullah warned the president about America's Middle East policies, but the Saudis said they would not use oil as a weapon. On that day three years ago Americans were paying an average of $1.40 a gallon for gas.

Today Crown Prince Abdullah was back at the ranch, a half an hour late, but still got a warm welcome -- a hug and a kiss from President Bush. With Americans today, paying an average $2.24 a gallon for regular. Mr. Bush seemed quite anxious to see if his Saudi guest could do something to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're talking about energy and Crown Prince understands that -- very important for there to be a -- make sure that the price is reasonable. High oil price will damage markets, and he knows that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now both sides said the meeting was a success. For more details let's go live to Texas now and our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux who joins us from Crawford.

Suzanne, did the administration get what it was looking for?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, critics are now saying that they believe this looked like, perhaps, a well orchestrated photo-op. Even one Saudi official after the meeting saying that oil did not dominate the discussion. It is fair to say that much of the leg work was done before this meeting even as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged that it was yesterday that Cheney met with the crown prince with the Saudi oil minister. That the Saudis came with their own plan today to the meeting. What essentially this allowed the administration and the Saudis to do, since President Bush came out just last week asking for more oil production by the Saudis, it allowed both sides simply to declare victory today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The president has been on this case for quite a long time. What he got from the Saudis today was an important step forward that said they also understand that there is a structural problem here that needs to be dealt with. And so, he very much welcomed the careful planning that they had done. Their desire to increase their capacity in a sustainable way, and their willingness to make investment to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So John, when the Saudis announced that they were going to go from producing 11 million barrels of oil a day, up to about 12.5 in about four years or so, it really allowed both sides to say yes, we've come out as winners here. But both sides also acknowledging that this is a long-term solution. Both sides acknowledging that there's not going to be any significant change when it comes to gas prices for Americans any time soon -- John.

KING: Now, Suzanne, the president obviously wants to show Americans that he takes rising energy prices seriously. The Saudis I assume don't want to be blamed, at least, not solely blamed, for higher prices at the pump. What was the Saudi take on the meeting?

MALVEAUX: Well, we spoke with one of the Saudi spokesperson al- Jubeir, Adel al-Jubeir who simply said that the Saudis did not commit beyond what they had publicly said they were going to do before in terms of boosting their oil production. What it did give the Saudis is really a platform to make their case, saying it's not just about supply and demand. But it is also about the ability to refine the oil.

Al-Jubeir from early afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN POLICE ADVISOR: It will not make a difference if Saudi Arabia ships an extra 1 million or 2 million barrels of crude oil to the United States if you cannot refine it, it will not turn into gasoline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And John, what it also allows them to do, of course, is say that they were one step closer to becoming a member of the World Trade Organization. That is something that the Saudis aggressively have been fighting for. They are very close in terms of bilateral -- getting a bilateral agreement. The United States and Saudis working on those trade negotiations behind the scenes. We heard from the spokesman today saying that they are very close to making that deal. Of course the crown prince wants to take that good news home back with his people, as well -- John.

KING: White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, tracking a delicate day of diplomacy in Crawford, Texas. Thank you, Suzanne.

And just how much influence does Saudi Arabia have over the price you pay at the pump? Will the royal visit to the ranch make any difference?

Let's go live to CNN's Chris Huntington in New York -- Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks a lot, John. Well, the sense in the oil markets is frankly that that kind of visit and the ongoing dialogue between the White House and the Saudi Royal Family probably will not make a huge difference, at least not in the near term. The Saudis promise to increase investment down the line is something that they've made public for several days. So, just affirming it in person to the president didn't really do a whole lot for the problem that confronts U.S. consumers right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): President Bush reached out to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah today hoping to squeeze a little more oil production out of the world's biggest supplier and ease prices, particularly at U.S. gas pumps. But many oil market veterans say today's meeting at the president's ranch was little more than a photo- op. And that the Saudis plan to invest more on future capacity will have little impact on oil prices in the near term.

JOHN KIDUFF, ENERGY ANALYST: Unfortunately, probably for the first time, maybe ever, but certainly in a long time, the Saudi's hands are almost tied, as are President Bush's at this point. Because they are pumping as much oil as they realistically can.

HUNTINGTON: Saudi Arabia currently produces close to 9.5 million barrels of oil each day and could potentially pump that up to about 10.5 million to 11 million barrels. But that would still only be about 12 percent of total world output. Saudi Arabia's oil is so- called sour crude, less desirable in the U.S. market because it is difficult to refine into gasoline. Still, more crude on the world markets should help ease prices.

The United States currently burns through about 20 million barrels of oil a day, 10 million of which are imported. One-and-a- half million barrels a day come from Saudi Arabia, roughly the same as the United States gets from Canada and Mexico. While Saudi Arabia is still the top dog in the world oil market, the fact that it is already near full output means that it is not as dominant as it once was.

FADEL GHEIT, OIL ANALYST: Saudi Arabia and OPEC in general is now like an old dog that can only bark, but doesn't bite anymore. They really have no upside potential from here. The spare capacity is very limited, if at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON: Now there is something of a fear of a backfire in the oil markets should Saudi Arabia boost to maximum current production, which as has been mentioned is about 11 million barrels a day. And that is that if the Saudis go to max production, there's a sense that that means there'd be no more spare production in the world crude market. And that, in fact, oil prices might even rise, even though there'd be a little bit more supply on the world market -- John.

KING: Well, Chris, one of the arguments the Saudi official, Adel al-Jubeir, was making in Crawford today was -- to the Saudis, at least, the market doesn't quite make sense. He's saying the price right now is not as it normally would be tracking supply and demand. What are the other factors, and are they about to change? Or is this -- we in for this for the long term?

HUNTINGTON: A couple of answers there. We're definitely in it for the long run. The general sense in the market is that demand is showing no sign of weakening. This is global demand for oil. And it is the projections for demand are currently outstripping the projections for supply, hence the high prices in the market. This particular issue with the Saudi crude, as was mentioned by Adel al- Jubeir in one of your sound bites there, is that the Saudis produce what's called sour crude. It's not really that desired here in the United States. So, if they put an extra million, million and a half barrels on the market, that's not going to find a ready conduit, if you will, into a U.S. refinery. There are too many other refineries. You have to increase the refining capacity for sour crude to make that kind of oil more desirable -- John.

KING: Chris Huntington, thank you very much. Chris Huntington, joining us from New York. Thank you, Chris.

And just how much power and leverage do the Saudis hold? Our world affairs analyst, former Defense Secretary William Cohen will join me for a closer look -- coming up.

But first, federal authorities today announced a heroin bust, which they say ties Afghanistan's Taliban to the streets of America's cities.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick is tracking this story and joins us now live from New York.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the big question here really is, what was this drug lord thinking coming to the United States, knowing that he's very much a wanted man?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): Authorities say he's one of the world's biggest heroin traffickers. Haji Bashir Noorzai arrested Saturday after flying into New York's JFK Airport.

JOHN GILBRIDE, DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY: His organization is responsible for sending kilos of heroin, not only to the United States, but to many other countries, as well. Hundreds of kilos of heroin.

FEYERICK: An amount carrying an estimated $50 million price tag on the street. The feds won't say why the drug kingpin came to the United States or who he may have been traveling with. What they do say is that for nearly 15 years, Noorzai and his associates worked with the Taliban, giving them weapons and soldiers. And in exchange the Taliban turned a blind eye to the Afghan drug lord's opium crops, heroin labs, and transport routes.

DAVID KELLEY, U.S. ATTORNEY: On one occasion in 1997, it is alleged that Taliban authorities in Afghanistan seized a truck load of morphine base that belonged to the Noorzai Organization. It didn't take very long, however, for Mullah Muhammad Omar to have the drug returned to Noorzai with Omar's personal apologies.

FEYERICK: Taliban leader Mullah Omar was an ally of Osama bin Laden. Omar and the Taliban were kicked out of Afghanistan by the U.S.-led invasion in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks.

GILBRIDE: That regime can no longer rely on his money, resources, or influence.

FEYERICK: Prosecutors wouldn't talk about possible al Qaeda ties. But in the past, U.S. officials have accused Noorzai of smuggling heroin to al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan.

Noorzai appeared before a federal judge in Manhattan. He entered no plea to drug conspiracy charges against him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): Norzai faces up to 10 years to life in prison if convicted. It is just too soon to tell what kind of an impact his arrest will have on Afghanistan's overall heroin trade, a trade that makes up roughly half the country's economy. John?

KING: Deborah Feyerick, live in New York. Thank you, Deborah.

And, also in our "Security Watch," flanked by the city's mayor and the state's two U.S. senators, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff paid his first official visit to New York's Grand Central terminal, one of our nation's busiest rail stations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I think there is tremendous security here. We have detectors that are focused on potential biological hazards, on chemical hazards. We saw the K-9 unit, which is the dogs, that go out and do explosive sniffing. We do a tremendous job. There is a presence, a security presence, in and around the terminal and the trains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Chertoff says he believes in a risk-based approach that would give New York a bigger share of federal funding for homeland security.

And, remember now, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

How important is this heroin bust and the alleged ties to the Taliban? Joining me now is our world affairs analyst, the former Defense secretary, William Cohen, the chairman and CEO of the Cohen group.

You know the criticism quite well, that when the administration went into Iraq, it took its eye off the ball in Afghanistan, including the drug trade. What does this tell you?

WILLIAM COHEN, CHMN/CEO COHEN GROUP, FMR. DEF. SEC.: This tells us that the administration is keeping at least one eye on Afghanistan, that we can't allow it to go back and sink into producing drugs or heroin, in this particular case on a massive scale. There has to be an alternative to the people of Afghanistan, investment in infrastructure, other types of cash crops, other than poppies, and this indicates that the United States has continued to focus upon the heroin trade, how it's funding terrorism. And so, it's still fighting the war in Iraq, but that war on terrorism, or against terrorism being funded by heroin trade, taking place in Afghanistan. So this is an important arrest.

KING: Let's turn our attention to Crawford, Texas, and rising energy prices. Critics already saying this is a photo-op. The administration says the Saudis agree, down the road, to increase production. The Saudis say even if they sent a million, two million more barrels a day, wouldn't affect the price a penny because of the refining capacity in this country. Is it a photo-op?

COHEN: Well, I think there are a number of issues that the president needed to discuss with the Saudi crown prince, namely, certainly gas prices, which I think is of marginal ability, at least, of the Saudi's, at this point, influence. They certainly could influence by cutting back on production; whether they could increase it to make any significant decrease in the prices is doubtful at this point.

Ultimately, long-term we've got to develop alternative sources. We have to have hybrid cars, engines, for our cars. We have to rely upon other power sources other than energy. Long-term, this country cannot tie its future security interests to production of oil coming out of the Persian Gulf. That's something that's going to take leadership from the White House and a commitment on the part of Capitol Hill and certainly the people of this country. Stop buying and using gas guzzlers, finding ways to conserve, find other sources of energy. It's going to be important more so than increased Saudi production in the near term.

KING: What about the Saudi perspective? Do they come to the ranch looking for something from the administration?

COHEN: Oh, I'm sure that the Saudis are also looking for some commitment on the part of the president in terms of the Middle East peace process. The Saudi crown prince floated his initiative a couple years ago, not much reaction to it. Very important statement on his part, to recognize the right of Israel to exist, but now I think you have to go further and say, yes you've recognized Israel's right to exist, but now we need Saudi help in really starting to invest in the -- in Gaza, to put hope in the eyes and the hearts of the Palestinian people, to turn from helping to fund Madrassas to helping to fund construction.

So, I think there's a mutual interest. The president needs to have the Saudis continue to support their efforts in the war against terror, but also their effort to help really rebuild Gaza as the first step to the overall road map, to include dismantling some of the settlements, major settlements, on the West Bank as well as Gaza.

KING: I don't want to let you get out the door without ask asking your perspective on the John Bolton nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. You are unique in that you served in the Senate and were on some of these committees that are involved, still have friends there, and you've been a cabinet member. You know well the confirmation process and how it can sometimes take strange detours. What do you think?

COHEN: Well, you start with the premise that the president got elected. He's entitled to his nominees for these critical positions, unless the individual is so flawed in either ability or character that he can't vie the Senate confirmation process. It seems to me that the issues about whether -- how abusive he may or may not have been -- he's not going to be dispositive.

The key issues would be, did he in fact try to shape intelligence in a way inconsistent with the facts, as far as Cuba was concerned, and did he, as a matter of fact, misrepresent his position in terms of whether the ambassador to South Korea, Tom Hubbard, validated his speeches. And those go to the character issue, and I think those two issues will be dispositive. And Senator Arlen Specter had it about right. I think at this point, too close to call. The president's going to make a full court effort, a full court press, and he may very well get him through, but it's not going to be easy.

KING: Big challenge for the president ahead. Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, thank you, sir. COHEN: Pleasure.

KING: The fate of two missing toddlers revealed; new developments in the case of a two- and a three-year-old who disappeared Saturday.

Did Martha Stewart violate her parole by attending a star-studded gala? Federal probation officers open an investigation.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Flyers like this, I think, for some good they may do, I think they could do a lot more damage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Concerns and controversy over publicly identifying convicted sex offenders: we'll look at some of the safety and civil liberties issues involved.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: A desperate search for two young children has ended with a tragic discovery. CNN's Tony Harris joins us from Warrenton, Georgia, with the latest. Tony?

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as you mentioned, we are in Warrenton, Georgia. Just to give you a bit of a scene setter, this is a small town just west of Augusta, Georgia. And, I've got to tell you, John, that the signs have been pretty grim on this story throughout the course of the morning and afternoon.

If you could have seen the expressions on the faces of law enforcement officials who briefed us on the search to find the kids earlier today, we all walked away thinking this was not going particularly well. In the end, it was left to John Bankhead of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations to make the grim announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BANKHEAD, GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: It appears that our worst fears have been realized. The bodies of Jonah and Nicole were found approximately 12:15 today in a sanitation pond, approximately a few hundred yards from the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, there are a number of ponds in this immediate area. Now, we can tell you that a number of those ponds were searched with camera equipment on Saturday, during the massive initial search for these two children.

Sadly, we can tell you that the sanitation pond where they were eventually found was not searched with camera equipment on Saturday. Shortly after 12:15 this afternoon, an officer searching that sanitation pond anew noticed what he described as a bump in this algae-filled, bacteria-filled sanitation pond. And that turned out to be the body of two-year-old Nicole. A short time thereafter, the body of three-year-old Jonah was found. The bodies were positively identified by the children's father, Dennis Payne, a short time later.

John, this is now a death investigation. And one of the working theories is that the children simply wandered away from their home and found their way to this sanitation pond. We got some surprising clarity on that point from Warrenton Police Chief Jim McClain this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM MCCLAIN, WARRENTON POLICE CHIEF: The kids had wandered off before. But before they got too far from the house, they were recovered.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

MCCLAIN: It happened Saturday believe it or not, at 4:00. But they were recovered before they left again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The children had wandered off even earlier that day. So the parents came out, I can add, John, a short time ago, just to thank the police and all the volunteers who took part in the search. All in all, a pretty sad day here in Warrenton, Georgia.

KING: Tony Harris for us in Warrenton, thank you very much, Tony. A grim story. Thank you.

A desperate mission to save 53 American hostages ended in failure 25 years ago today. But it's now viewed as a turning point for U.S. Special Forces. The impact of that extraordinary night, next.

Deadly collision. A commuter train crashes into an apartment building. Fifty-seven people killed, at least 440 injured.

Troop withdrawal. Syrian forces head out of Lebanon, giving up control after three decades.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: U.S. military officials in Iraq say a roadside bomb killed an American soldier in Baghdad today. That attack came on the heels of four bombings yesterday in Iraq. Those bombings killed at least 24 people. Two of those bombings occurred in Baghdad, near a mosque and a busy market. The two others occurred in Tikrit, outside the Iraqi Police Academy.

Iraqi insurgents also continued to target oil installations. Some pumps were set on fire near Kirkuk. Authorities say insurgents attacked the police guarding a convoy of tanker trucks. Two police were wounded and three insurgents were captured.

Twenty-five years ago today, an elite U.S. military force met with disaster in the Iranian desert. But that mission to rescue American hostages was a turning point for U.S. Special Forces. It was remembered today at Arlington National Cemetery, and our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): November 4th, 1979. Militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran; Americans are taken hostage.

April 24th, 1980. A secret rescue mission is under way in the Iranian desert. Then 34-year-old Army Captain Peter Schoomaker has trained for months.

GEN. PETER SCHOOMAKER, ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF: And on the actual night of going in, my job was to lead a group of the rescue team. I commanded about half of the team that was going to go inside the embassy itself.

STARR: They never make it beyond the landing site, Desert One. Bad weather and mechanical trouble ground two helicopters. The mission is canceled. C-130s prepare to fly everyone out.

Then, a helicopter crashes into one of the planes. A fireball erupts; eight servicemen are killed. Everyone is evacuated, including several badly burned troops.

Critics have long said the plan was too complicated.

SCHOOMAKER: It was a failure on our military itself. It was a failure on the intelligence community. It was a failure on our diplomatic side of things, and everything else.

STARR: But General Schoomaker remembers the young men who gave it everything they had.

SCHOOMAKER: I also remember the absolute dedication that everybody had to make this work, and the tremendous disappointment.

STARR: Schoomaker eventually would command all of Special Operations Forces. He retired, and then was called back to become Army chief of staff.

LAUREN BETH HARVEY, DAUGHTER OF DESERT ONE VICTIM: A heartache that never goes away.

STARR: That night, long ago in the desert, is remembered 25 years later.

SCHOOMAKER: Some of my very best friends that, you know, that I've ever had.

STARR: Schoomaker says the failure of Desert One made the military get serious about commando-style operations and led to today's highly trained forces.

(on camera): Three of the men who died that night are buried near this marker, which remembers a failed mission and a sacrifice a quarter century ago.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Arlington National Cemetery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Trying to track sex offenders. Some say it's a fine line between control and harassment. So, are some measures going too far?

And as the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers. But what about April snow? The latest on the cold front next.

And later, did Martha Stewart's appearance at a star-studded party violate her probation? As investigators probe the incident, our Mary Snow takes a closer look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Welcome back. Leaving Lebanon after three decades of what some call a ruthless occupation, Syrian troops complete their withdrawal. We'll get to that.

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

Three tornado warnings have been issued in Texas. The first for southeastern Tarrant County; the second for central Johnson County; the third for southwestern Dallas County, which includes the southern suburbs of Dallas. One twister has been spotted on the ground eight miles west of Cedar Hill. We'll continue, of course, to monitor the weather in all of these areas.

In parts of the Midwest and Appalachians, a spring snowstorm for the record books. Thousands of people in Ohio are still without power, and dozens of schools are closed after the storm swept across the region over the weekend. Some areas received almost two feet of snow. In parts of Michigan, snow drifts are three to four feet high.

In Japan, investigators are trying to determine the cause of that country's deadliest rail accident in more than four decades. A packed commuter train overshot a station and slammed into an apartment building today near Osaka, killing at least 57 people. More than 400 were injured. Authorities say that train driver's lack of experience and excessive speed may have been possible factors in the deadly crash.

Syria's presence in Lebanon appears to be entering its final hours, and today United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is dispatching a team of experts to verify the Syrian pullback. In response to U.N. demands, Damascus has promised to withdraw all of its troops and its intelligence agents from Lebanon by Saturday.

Syria controlled Lebanon for close to three decades. And now many Lebanese are speaking out, calling Syria's rule a ruthless occupation. Here's more from CNN's Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Syrian forces withdraw from Lebanon, uprooted after three decades of a government-backed presence, officially to help secure stability.

But their departure is ending what many Lebanese claim was a ruthless occupation.

JIBRAN TUEINI, PUBLISHER, AN-NAHAR NEWSPAPER: ... that one day, the Syrians will leave Lebanon.

SADLER: Journalist and newspaper publisher Jibran Tueini says it was managed by Syrian intelligence agents -- powerful overlords, who recently evacuated their notorious Beirut headquarters in an abandoned hotel, widely known, explains Tueini, as the Beau Rivage, with an underground prison.

TUEINI: When you used to mention the name Beau Rivage to somebody in Lebanon, it was terror, it was fear. Syrians used from here to run Lebanon, to impose the reign of terror on Lebanese. It was impossible for you to come through this road. The prison is in this building exactly.

SADLER: It was basement level. Iron gates with bars were ripped out, he says, when the Syrians left.

TUEINI: We know that the Syrians used to exert pressure on people, and I'm sure that these walls (ph) have witnessed a lot of Lebanese, different Lebanese, different kinds of persons. People shouting, people screaming, people trying to (INAUDIBLE).

SADLER: Claims supported by Hussein Badran and his wife, Rayya. Incredibly, they lived eight floors above the cell block, enduring a nerve-wracking life, they say, unwilling to abandon their home. Silent witnesses, until now.

HUSSEIN BADRAN, RESIDENT: It was horrible. In one word, it was horrible.

RAYYA BADRAN, RESIDENT: I used to see the people they brought, you know, blindfold.

SADLER (on camera): But you couldn't do anything about it.

H. BADRAN: Absolutely. What can we do? The whole country cannot do anything about it.

SADLER (voice-over): Across the street, Insaf (ph) and Ismail Sayed (ph) are thrilled at the first sight of their building, taken over by the Syrians long ago. Insaf (ph) falls to the ground in prayer, thankful to be back. His wife overjoyed.

Syria's opponents are many here. So, too, are its influential allies. But the opposition gearing up for elections expected soon is ready, says this commentator, to turn a decisive page in history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should now dream about a new Lebanon. We should now have a vision about a new Lebanon. Christians and Muslims were here on the 14th of March, more than one million, first time in the history of Lebanon, coming out to say very loudly, enough is enough.

SADLER: And that time seems to be now.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: And now a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): As vote counting in Togo's presidential election got under way, new clashes broke out between security forces and opposition supporters in the African nation. Voting ended yesterday with deadly clashes. Togo is choosing its first new leader in four decades. All sides in the election have made allegations of fraud and intimidation.

Several dozen Chinese coal miners are back above ground after their rescue from a flooded mine. But a search is under way for as many as 30 others who are still missing. The miners were trapped when water swept in from another shaft.

A day after his inauguration, Pope Benedict XVI took a short trip away from the Vatican. He paid a visit to the Tomb of St. Paul the Apostle south of Rome. Earlier, the new pontiff had a number of meetings on his schedule, including talks with Muslim leaders.

And in the Netherlands, a sure sign that spring has arrived. Tulips and other colorful flowers are now in full bloom around the country.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Keeping track of child molesters. It's an issue of growing concern to many American communities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLYN ATWELL-DAVIS, NAT'L CTR. FOR MISSING CHILDREN: Communities should not be taking matters into their own hands. It just creates a wave of hysteria, and also leads to misinformation getting put out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Hear more about the debate over how to deal with convicted sex offenders once they're released from prison.

Also ahead, she's out of prison, but she's under investigation again. We'll tell you about a new twist in the Martha Stewart saga.

Plus, a rebirth in southern Iraq. The region's historic marshes and the people who once lived there are making a comeback.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Now an update on the convicted sex offender who's accused of kidnapping and killing a 9-year-old Florida girl. State officials say they sent out a letter six months ago that could have prompted the county sheriff's office to look for John Couey. The letter listed sex offenders who have failed to return required forms, and Couey's name was on it. That could have led to Couey's arrest months before Jessica Lunsford appeared. The sheriff's office says it can't verify whether it ever received that letter.

A recent CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup shows that child molestation is a top concern of Americans. Some responders are calling for tighter controls after convicted sex offenders are released from prison. Some, however, argue that there's a fine line between control and harassment.

Our Brian Todd is looking at that question.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, communities are often encouraged to be very active about tracking sex offenders in their areas. But the issue is turning on one neighborhood that may have just gone too far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Clovis Claxton, felt his neighbors closing in. He'd been on his state's list of registered sex offenders for years. But recently someone had posted flyers all over his street in Ocala, Florida, bearing the words child rapist. People had been reported yelling obscenities at his parents. On at least four occasions Claxton called sheriff's deputies saying he feared for his life.

CAPT. DENNIS STROW, MARION CO. SHERIFF'S OFFICE: He was very distraught over it. And just didn't know how to handle it. And made comments about ending it all, over dosing, you know, and committing suicide.

TODD: On Thursday, it appeared Claxton had followed through. His body, discovered inside his home, drugs, alcohol, and one of those flyers nearby. The sheriff's department is treating it as a suicide. Claxton had never been charged with child rape, but did serve time in Washington State for first degree child molestation, for exposing himself to a 9-year-old. Marion County Sheriff's officials tell CNN, the 38-year-old Claxton was mentally disabled and confined to a wheelchair. And they had not considered him a threat to the community. They're also investigating who altered a printout from the state website listing sex offenders, and printed the words child rapist next to Claxton's name -- flyers that still leave a community divided.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Flyers like this, I think -- for some good they may do, I think they could do a lot more damage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's terrible that he did that, but as far as the flyer, I'm a father and I live here in the neighborhood. And if you know, I would never have no idea that this guy moved into the neighborhood.

TODD: A neighborhood with a heightened sense of the dangers to local children. The recent deaths of Sarah Lunde and Jessica Lunsford, allegedly killed by registered sex offenders in nearby Florida counties, shed light on how difficult it is for law enforcement agencies across the country to track these offenders.

How does the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children weigh in on the Claxton case?

ATWELL-DAVIS: Communities should not be taking matters into their own hands. It just creates a wave of hysteria and also leads to misinformation getting put out there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: The center says notifying law enforcement is still the best way to deal with local sex offenders. And the laws for registering and tracking them have not gone too far. Now, despite the Claxton case, experts say there are very few reports of vigilantism against registered sex offenders -- John.

KING: Tough issue.

TODD: Yes it is.

KING: Thank you, Brian.

And more on this debate over how to deal with registered sex offenders tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," that's at 7:00 Eastern here on CNN.

And coming up, of course, at the top of the hour "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT."

Lou's standing by in New York with a preview -- Lou.

LOU DOBBS, HOST LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: Indeed we are, John. Thank you.

Tonight at 6:00 p.m., right here on CNN, we'll be reporting on the drive for democracy in the Middle East. Syrian troops quitting Lebanon, it's a major victory for President Bush's campaign against tyranny.

Also tonight, secret trade agreements. Congress debating the CAFTA agreement with Central America. My guest tonight, a business leader who says CAFTA is simply another way to export American jobs and industry to cheap overseas labor markets.

And the escalating immigration crisis that faces our country. Tonight a guest worker plan that doesn't give illegal aliens an automatic path to citizenship. I'll be talking with the bill's sponsor Senator Saxby Chambliss.

And Martha Stewart -- what's going on? We'll have that story as well and a great deal more coming up in just a few minutes.

Now back to John King -- John.

KING: Thank you, Lou.

Is attending a party a parole violation?

Probation officers investigate Martha Stewart for possibly breaking the terms of her house arrest.

Plus, the place where recorded civilization began experiences a dramatic rebirth. How this area once destroyed by Saddam Hussein is coming back to life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Martha Stewart -- remember her? Well, she may be in trouble again. Now that she's been released from prison the lifestyle guru is supposed to be on five months home detention. That has some people wondering why she turned up at a lavish gala.

CNN's Mary Snow looking into that -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, Martha Stewart is allowed to leave her home under certain conditions. But her attendance last week at a party has come under scrutiny. And the question is, was that party work-related.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): Six weeks out of prison, Martha Stewart was all smiles at "Time" magazine's gala last Tuesday honoring the 100 most influential people. She hobnobbed with movers and shakers, and she even gave a toast.

MARTHA STEWART, MSLO FOUNDER: This is a toast to my inspiration...

SNOW: She drew attention not just from photographers, but from the probation department, as well. The chief U.S. probation officer of New York's Southern District says, his office is now looking into whether Martha Stewart violated conditions of her supervised release. The probation office says she did get permission to attend.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: What may be uncertain is, what the probation officer really understood about what was going to go on here, because she was photographed at this very lavish dinner, and you could see how the probation officer might be a little embarrassed that he approved this.

SNOW: Stewart left prison in March and returned to her New York estate to begin five months of home confinement. Since then, her movements have been restricted. Stewart has to wear an electronic ankle bracelet to monitor her whereabouts. She's allowed to leave her home for 48 hours a week, mostly to go to work.

JOHN LAWRENCE ALLEN, SECURITIES ATTORNEY: I think that they're concerned that the event that she attended had a direct relationship to her work.

SNOW: In a statement, her company said, "When 'Time' magazine recognizes Martha Stewart, MSLO's founder, as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, our company benefits from that honor." Because Stewart's work is so public, she's been seen at events like last week's announcement of a radio deal. One former probation officer says, going to a big event, for Stewart, is not out of the ordinary.

LISA KUCA, FORMER FED. PROBATION OFFICER: The "Time" event is probably very consistent with what other people of a similar profession would do in their job duties.

SNOW: And "Time" magazine, which sponsored the event, is owned by Time Warner, which is also the parent company of CNN. Now, legal experts say that if home confinement rules are violated, there are penalties ranging from stricter restrictions to being sent back to jail. But, experts say the chances of her being sent back to jail are slim to none. John?

KING: Mary Snow in New York. Mary, thank you very much.

Once drained by Saddam Hussein and thought to be lost forever, Iraq's marshlands are making a comeback. We'll take you on a tour up next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cal Ripken, Jr.: He's baseball's Iron Man, a player's player whose work ethic and energy made him a perennial fan favorite. Cal Ripken, Jr., was born into a baseball family and stayed true to the family business throughout his 20-year career with the Baltimore Orioles. Ripken was a great player, earning League MVP honors, but he is best known for the streak. Ripken played 2,632 consecutive Major League Baseball games, breaking Lou Gehrig's record. The streak ended in 1998, and Ripken retired from baseball three years later.

CAL RIPKEN, JR., BALTIMORE ORIOLES: It's been a great run. Fabulous career.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now 44, Ripken lives in Maryland with his wife Kelly, and their two children. Baseball's iron man and his brother Billy have a baseball talk show on XM Satellite Radio.

RIPKEN: I really enjoy actually promoting and talking about the game and really trying to push that and get a few more back stops built up around the country as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ripken also owns a Minor League team, the Aberdeen Iron Birds and he's established the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, providing baseball programs to underprivileged kids.

RIPKEN: If I am remembered, I hope it's because, by living my dream, I was able to make a difference.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Back when Saddam Hussein was the leader of Iraq, he drained the marshes of southern Iraq, home to an ancient population known as the marsh Arabs. Many were forced to leave. Now that Saddam has been deposed, the marshes and the marsh Arabs are beginning to come back.

CNN's Jane Arraf reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a few years ago, Sheikh Muhammad al Abadi (ph) walked over the same area his boat is gliding over. These are the marshes near the Iranian border, drained by Saddam Hussein in the 1990s to flush out insurgents fighting his regime. Che Hubabi (ph) was one of those, participating in attacks from the area before he fled over the nearby border to Iran.

CHE HUBABI, ANTI-SADDAM INSURGENT (through translator): These marshes became a military area. People weren't allowed to enter. They weren't allowed to hunt or fish.

ARRAF: Since the regime fell, Abadi and tens of thousands of other Iraqis have returned from exile in Iran. Part of the marshland has returned, as well.

(on camera) These marshes are where recorded civilization began. Just a few years ago some of this was salty wasteland, but now, in parts of the area, the water is coming back.

(voice-over) It's coming back here, because marsh Arabs took matters into their own hands. In other parts of this region, the size of the Florida Everglades, aid organizations are doing detailed studies on how best to reflood the marshes. The solution here was more immediate.

TRANSLATOR: After the fall of the former regime, people broke the dams that blocked the rivers from pouring water into these areas.

ARRAF: Abadi and another member of Masan's (ph) provincial council take us on our tour by power boat of the recovering marsh land. A military helicopter used by Welsh Guards hovers overhead.

There are scenes here unchanged in thousands of years. Carvings from Sumerian times depict fishermen in boats and reed houses, looking much as they do today. Looking down from the same helicopter, there's a stark difference between areas where the water has been released, and the barren land where the marshes were drained. Much of this marsh is covered with up to three meters, nine feet of water, enough to bring the fish, and the fishermen back again. They fish from boats and from tiny islands like this. It's clear what a hard life this is.

These young men stay for 10 days at a time on this island with only a bit of food. Drinking water comes from the marsh. The marsh Arabs here moved back to the nearby village of Abu Saha, the place they call their ancestral homeland.

We brought the water on our heads from the rivers, and we made these homes from mud, says Lifta Alaywi Mohammad, who's around 60 years old. They want to stay here, but they want real homes, and schools, and hospitals. He says the people in his village want to help rebuild Iraq, starting with the marshes, civilization's cradle, their home.

Jane Arraf, CNN, in Iraq's southern marshes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: That's a beautiful piece.

And now, our "Picture of the Day:" Fleet-week, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. A series of U.S. warships and a British icebreaker sailed into Port Everglades this morning to kick off the annual spectacle -- the first big event just about to get underway.

Thanks for sharing part of your day with us. LOU DOBBS TONIGHT starts right now. Lou's standing by.

END

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