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President Bush Speaks at Officers' Spouses Luncheon; Voters Overwhelmingly Approve New Constitution in Iraq; U.S. Troop Deaths

Aired October 25, 2005 - 12:09   ET

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

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The U.S. president in an embattled administration. His poll numbers falling, even as casualties in Iraq are on the rise. But George W. Bush comes out swinging there, point by point, addressing just what his administration is doing each and every day in what he says is the war on terror. And moreover, why.
Also, holding a lot of the perceived enemies of this administration up to ridicule, saying Osama bin Laden, on one point, exhorting young men to go out and die, to commit suicide bombings, saying that he isn't himself willing to travel on that road.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: One of the themes of the president's speech was Islamic radicalism. That's a big criticism that's been growing in the states about the Bush administration's involvement in Iraq, saying that U.S. troop presence is actually increasing the Islamic radicalism not just in Iraq, but throughout the region.

As you mentioned, Jim, President Bush's approval ratings are at an all-time low. Only 37 percent in recent polls. And a growing number of Americans are pushing for the U.S. troops to leave Iraq as soon as possible.

CLANCY: All right. We're going to have much more on this in the hour ahead. It's just past 7:00 p.m. in Baghdad, about 10 minutes past. Also about that same amount of minutes past noon in Washington right now.

I'm Jim Clancy.

KOPPEL: And I'm Andrea Koppel. Welcome to our viewers throughout the world. This is CNN International, and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: As you can tell, Iraq, of course, dominating our coverage today. Election officials there say the draft constitution put to voters early this month has indeed past.

KOPPEL: But there is mounting political trouble for the Bush administration as American military deaths in Iraq reach the 2,000 mark.

CLANCY: Now, we're covering all of the different angles and aspects of the story. You just saw President Bush there live.

Nic Robertson is in Baghdad, Barbara Starr joins us from the Pentagon.

KOPPEL: So we begin in Iraq, where voters marked another milestone on the road to democracy. Iraqi election officials say voters overwhelmingly approved the new constitution.

Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson joins us live from Baghdad.

Nic, they approved it overwhelmingly, primarily Shia and Kurds did. But in two of the three predominantly Sunni-Arab provinces they voted overwhelmingly against it. How do you think that's going to resonate throughout Iraq?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's certainly going to raise the alarm bell that there's a deeper sectarian division growing in this country. And the politics is going to be -- is going to be an issue that's going to be dealt with along sectarian lines.

And certainly as well in the -- in the government in the country -- in the country here at the moment. This will be viewed as a positive step because Sunnis weren't involved in the last elections back in January.

By and large, they boycotted. By and large, this time they came out and voted. They voted against the draft constitution. But the analysis is, if they got involved in a democratic process in electing now, they will maintain that involvement in the new parliamentary elections to be held in December, which will mean, if they stay involved, that more Sunnis will vote. Therefore, more Sunnis -- more Sunni politicians will be elected to the new parliament. And that is broadly viewed as a good thing.

The insurgency has been against this process. There are Sunni politicians who remain critical of the elections, of the constitution, advise their followers not to get involved, not to come out and vote. But I think the overall analysis here, at least, is it was a good step, because it was more inclusive in these elections -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: Nic, this time yesterday, we were talking with you about those massive car bombings that took place in downtown Baghdad outside of those two hotels. Has there be any claim of responsibility as yet?

ROBERTSON: At least one Web site used in the past by al Qaeda in Iraq, by Zawahiri's group to claim responsibility for attacks in Iraq has now posted a claim on at least one Web site saying that it was responsible, that al Qaeda was responsible for the attack on the Palestine and the Sheraton Hotel in Baghdad at dusk last night.

Those three bombs going off, the third a massive bomb. Ten people killed, 22 wounded, according to Iraqi police.

What we have seen in the past is al Qaeda using these same Web sites to claim responsibility. What it is very hard to do is to verify if it's them. Are they just claiming this because it should draw them -- should bring them more support, it might bring them more money from supporters throughout the region? It might bring them more young fighters to join their cause inspired by what they see?

Certainly, as far as trying to fund an insurgency goes, if you can show as an insurgent that you're -- that you are being successful, you are more likely to get funding. And certainly, al Qaeda will be very aware of that here.

But again, it's impossible to say whether or not this particular claim is true -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: Well, certainly, the simultaneous nature of it would lead one to believe that. Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Thanks.

CLANCY: The U.S., meantime, taking somber stock of its involvement in Iraq. Word coming that the death toll for U.S. troops there has now reached the 2,000 mark.

For more, let's go to the Pentagon and correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara, what is the reaction there? Obviously, everybody sees this in different terms. There's so many different ways to look at the numbers. Still, 2,000 is a point that really rings with a lot of people's minds and hearts.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, indeed, Jim, it may well. But here at the Pentagon, military officials are not calling this a milestone even. They simply call it a mark of time, if you will.

Two thousand, they say, reflects simply the fact that 2,000 American families and the friends of those who have fallen remain in mourning for the loss of their loved ones. Now, we're not ever likely to know who exactly was number 2,000. That's very difficult to determine.

In fact, some news agencies earlier today were still reporting 1,999. But CNN did go over the statistics very carefully with military officials, determining there were two additional deaths over the weekend that indeed brought it to 2,000.

Perhaps one of the interesting questions, Jim, is what about the state of the insurgency now that is responsible for so many attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces? We've spoken to senior Army officials who say they're watching this all very carefully because what they are seeing in recent days is stepped-up IED attacks, and of course more sophistication in those improvised explosive devices. Some IEDs now able to punch through U.S. armor. That, of course, remains a matter of major concern -- Jim.

CLANCY: Barbara Starr, reporting for us there live from the Pentagon.

Barbara, thank you.

Well, meantime, over at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the Security Council has been debating now behind closed doors that report on the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. The document released last week implicates Syria in the February killing of Hariri.

Hariri, of course, an opponent of Syria's domination of Lebanon. The author, Detlev Mehlis, lead investigator and the report's author, briefed the council a little bit earlier. He challenged Syria to step up its cooperation and invited Damascus to launch its own investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DETLEV MEHLIS, U.N. CHIEF INVESTIGATOR: The commission is of the view that this would provide yet another opportunity for the Syrian authorities to show greater and meaningful cooperation and to provide any relevant substantial evidence on the assassination. For this -- for this reason, the Syrian authorities may wish to carry out on their part their own investigation into the assassination of Mr. Hariri in an open and transparent manner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: The U.S. and Britain are among the nations pushing for the council to take a tough stance on Syria. Damascus is strongly denying the charges.

For more on the story, we have now CNN Senior U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth, from the U.N. headquarters, Elyse Labott in Washington, with U.S. reaction, and Beirut Bureau Chief Brent Sadler, from the Lebanese capital.

Richard, to you first. The United States and France are going to be co-sponsoring this resolution. And they are really hoping to get unanimity among the 15 members of the council. But there are three wildcards out there. How is it looking?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, you may not want to hear this, but it's too early to tell. But what happened today inside the Security Council is what's always needed when the U.N. hones in on a case or a country.

First, the ambassadors, the 15 countries, get a briefing from the man who wrote that major report. In this case, Detlev Mehlis, the German prosecutor who was in Lebanon with an international squad. And he had devastating findings last week, accusing high-level Syrian and Lebanese officials of perhaps complicity in the murder of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri.

The special prosecutor is saying that Syria must show meaningful cooperation, because he has several more weeks left to his probe.

He also said that his team had received credible threats against them. And that is concerning some here. Right now, the Security Council, though, is behind closed doors, where the real business gets done. That's where we're going to find out who is interested in backing the U.S. and France on a resolution. Those wildcards you mentioned would be Algeria, China, Russia. They think more time should be given to Mehlis.

KOPPEL: All right. Some diplomacy needed on that front.

Let's go over to Elyse Labott at the U.S. State Department.

Elyse, when this report came out late last week, the U.S. seized upon it as further evidence that we need further action at the United Nations. Any other reaction today?

ELYSE LABOTT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Andrea, you just heard from President Bush. He's obviously not in that briefing with Mr. Mehlis, but his aides have gone through the report. And even as they're continuing to seize on aspects of the report, calling for strong action, so they really see this today as kind of setting the stage for consultations which will be taking place over the next few days.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Ottawa today gave Syria a very tough warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The attitude of the Syrian government toward the Mehlis report should be one that they recognize at the international community, expects them to take it seriously and cooperate.

Secondly, that the Syrians need to understand that no one will tolerate efforts at or means of intimidation of the Lebanese people in response to this report.

And finally, that this is a serious matter for the international community when you have these kinds of charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: So now Secretary of State Rice will be in New York next week with other council foreign ministers. They'll be working on a resolution.

The U.S. and France pushing for a very tough resolution, calling on Syria to cooperate with the Mehlis investigation, and perhaps even threatening sanctions if they do not.

The U.S. also wants to call Syria on the carpet for a long list of other -- of other crimes, such as supporting Palestinian terrorist groups, and also insurgents against the border in Iraq. But obviously, this will be the discussion for the days to come -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: Elyse Labott at the State Department.

Now to Beirut and Brent Sadler.

Brent, we heard Detlev Mehlis say that he expected meaningful cooperation from the Syrians. Is he going to get it?

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, the ball very much in the Syrian court. The Syrians have been saying -- ever since this report came out they have been cooperating fully with it. But now this is the first time we've seen Detlev Mehlis in front of the Syrian representative at the U.N. And really now in open arena, if you like.

This is going to get tougher and tougher, as far as the Syrians are concerned, with a diplomatic jewel that's now started at the United Nations. Syria under immense pressure to prove that it can do more at the same time as it is saying itself it's doing all it can.

But the important things to watch here are what Syria is saying about the credibility of Mehlis' witnesses, which they've been consistently undermining. They've been mobilizing Syrian public opinion in the capital, Damascus. Many, many thousands on the streets some 24 hours ago.

And also, what's important to pick out here, the Lebanese want closure in this investigation to find out who killed Rafik Hariri. People are very scared here about more violence. Detlev Mehlis hit it right on the head when he said, with the continuing investigation that he's going to head, he's concerned that the security risk, even to his own team, will escalate in the near future -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: Brent Sadler in Beirut, Elyse Labott at the State Department, and Richard Roth at the United Nations.

Thanks to all of you.

CLANCY: And we're going to get even more of a view from Syria and Damascus when we come back. Imad Moustapha, Syria's ambassador to the U.S., will be joining us.

KOPPEL: Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, and welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

For decades Syria was building its involvement in Lebanon. Suddenly, on the 14th of February of this year, the assassination of a former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, an opponent of increasing influence by Damascus in Beirut's affairs, his assassination seemed to bring it all crashing now. Most of the focus has been on the so- called Mehlis report.

Let's get a look now at Syria's reaction to that in the view of Syria's ambassador to the United States. Imad Moustapha joins us now.

We heard your representative at the United Nations today saying very emphatically that Syria is the victim here, Syria is innocent. And yet from the very start, even before the investigation began, Syria has been blamed.

IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Yes, blaming Syria is very easy because it offers -- it offers advantages to our political adversaries in Lebanon on one hand, and it allows the United States administration to continue its ongoing political campaign against Syria. However, Syria has, on one hand, repeatedly denied any involvement in this heinous crime. President Bashar al-Assad has said that Syria would never, ever participate in such a terrible crime. This is on one hand.

On the other hand, we have said that we-- it is in our interest to reach -- to reveal the truth about the assassination of Rafik Hariri. And we have, contrary to what was written in this report, we have cooperated with the Mehlis investigation.

And we have -- we challenged -- we challenged today investigator Mehlis to tell us if he has ever complained to us or hinted to us about any dissatisfaction with Syria's cooperation on this report.

CLANCY: Would you say -- was it...

MOUSTAPHA: The first time we ever heard about non-cooperation was when we read this report.

CLANCY: Would you say that Rafik Hariri's assassination, the results of that, have unraveled more than two decades of foreign policy, the core foreign policy of Damascus?

MOUSTAPHA: I would agree with you on one thing, that this crime had the dimensions that reached far beyond the assassination of Rafik Hariri. And we have said in Syria, and we have repeatedly said this, that we were more damaged by this crime than any other party in the whole Middle East.

CLANCY: Well, economically, diplomatically, the isolation that Damascus now faces, all of it would seem to cry out for just what you say, a full and complete accounting. Now, we heard your representative at the United Nations saying very clearly, if anybody is to be brought to justice, Syria is going to do that, there isn't going to be any national court, jurisdiction in this case.

Is that Syria's position?

MOUSTAPHA: It's in our interest to cooperate in this investigation and to reveal the truth. This is the only way Syria can exonerate...

CLANCY: Who will prosecute, Mr. Ambassador? What's your understanding?

MOUSTAPHA: This is too early to judge. How would we know who will prosecute?

At least Mehlis in his report has said, if you read carefully the report, that his investigation team might need month to years to be able to build up a file that can be presented...

CLANCY: He also invited Syria to have its own probe ongoing into those that might be responsible. Do you see that happening? What do you hear?

MOUSTAPHA: Syria will do whatever it takes to help reveal the truth. This is the only way that we can confront this unfair campaign of smearing and accusations against us. This is the only way. And we will do it. And we will cooperate.

CLANCY: It's fair to say that no one knows what the outcome of this probe will be. No one knows all of the answers right now. But should it be Syrian officials, Lebanese officials that are involved, do you think that they will be held accountable, even if they are very close to people in high places?

MOUSTAPHA: The president of Syria has said in an interview with CNN a couple of weeks ago that there is an undeniable evidence that if a Syrian official has been implicated in this crime, then this is akin to (INAUDIBLE) reason, and he must be punished, whether by a Syrian court or an international court.

We're not blinking an eye on this. This crime has caused us incredible damage, and we want to reveal the truth.

CLANCY: Imad Moustapha, the Syrian ambassador to the United States, I want to thank you very much, sir, for joining us.

MOUSTAPHA: Thank you again. And say hello to Andrea.

CLANCY: All right.

KOPPEL: We are going to have a roundup of the main stories coming up in just a moment.

CLANCY: Yes. And did the vice president reveal her name? And has perjury been committed? A new report on a key U.S. investigation. We'll tell you who may be involved when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: And welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. We're so glad you can join us. I'm Andrea Koppel.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy, and these are the stories that are making headlines around the world. Iraqi officials say voters overwhelming approve the new constitution; 78 percent of the vote was yes. Sunni Arab opponents were unable to muster enough support to defeat it. No votes did win a two-thirds majority, though, in two of the provinces. If a third province had rejected the document by a similar two-thirds vote, it would have failed altogether. Officials say 63 percent of eligible voters took part.

The death toll for U.S. troops in Iraq now totals 2,000. That's according to CNN's count of U.S. military figures. The latest casualties include two Marines and a soldier killed last week. As the U.S. troop death toll in Iraq reaches that 2,000 mark, one U.S. Army division has seen its share of troop casualties.

Aneesh Raman is embedded with a regimen of the 3rd Infantry Division in the Babil province.

Aneesh, are they talking about that death toll today?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Andrea, they are. We were out with this unit of the 3rd I.D. here in the northern part of Babil province for a 24-hour patrol. We just got back some hours ago, and I spoke to them about these casualty numbers. They themselves, this unit, lost 14 troops in a span of just about 45 days in June and July of this summer when IEDs were exploding on this area. This is thought to be, according to the military, where the insurgents are staging their operations in the capital. This is where they're assembling their weapons. This is where they're amassing forces. And so this is where U.S. troops are still very much in battle.

And when we were out there, I asked them about the casualties. They say, of course, that those that they knew, those that were killed are constantly in the back of their mind, But They have to move on. It is part of what they're trained to do, and they did so again today, but for them, again, the big point today is that 2,000 is not a number. It is 2,000 individuals, men and women who have lost their lives on the battlefield. And when they go out and fight, there's no notion of the global war on terror. From those I spoke to, it is about keeping the person to the right and left and to the right of you live by the end of the mission, so that another days goes by without anyway getting their lives lost.

So, Andrea, really, a sense that this mark may have been coming, that he knew that it was, but they hoped it wouldn't come so soon -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: Aneesh, you said that there were 14 members of this regimen of the 3rd Infantry Division that had been killed. What is the morale like?

RAMAN: Reporter: Well, not just the regiment, those 14 that in that 45-day period from the unit itself, a much smaller group. The morale is now moving beyond. They are able to cope with this. And every individual is no doubt a loss. But they know this mission has to go forward. And when you talk with them, many of them know it's a very real sort of experience. They don't go too much into depth. But they are very aware that their lives are on the line every day that they go outside of this operating base, every day that they are in this area that is area that is still bristling with insurgent activity. Their lives and their fellow soldier, their brothers and sisters in war, their lives are on the line as well.

So they are all part of this mission. For many of them, though, the mission is not anything that they are determining. It is simply succeeding in Iraq. The definition of that success, of course, comes top down in the military, but they are continuing every day to do what they are here to do, which is the jobs at hand and to keep themselves and each other alive -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: So tell us, Aneesh, what is the regimen responsible for right now. What are you doing in Babil province?

RAMAN: We're in the northern part, again, just south of Baghdad. It's an area that is a majority Sunni population. It's also an area that had tribal elements early on that were fighting against Saddam. Lawlessness was there before, and it is now there as we went out there. We came under mortar fire. We came under small-arms fire. A number of insurgent groups, according to the military, are there, not just Al Qaeda in Iraq, Ansar Al Islam, as well as domestic insurgent groups. And they are using that area to prepare their attacks for the capital city. They are using the roads in to do that, and they have tactical disadvantages here in terms of the infrastructure on the ground and the vehicles that they are using, the military. So they're going out there everyday, finding IEDs, improvised-explosive devices. At times, 10 minutes later, another one is planted. It is literally a constant battle that they are facing.

This morning, some three of them were detected within the area, and so they continue, though, to try and bring stability in any number of ways, not just through the military, but through the social dynamic as well -- Andrea.

O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman for us there in Babil province. Thanks.

CLANCY: Well, closer to home, "The New York Times" is quoting U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney as the key figure in the controversy over disclosure of a CIA operative's identity. Quoting now, the lawyers that are involved in the case, in the words of the "Times" the newspaper reports that Cheney's Chief of Staff Lewis Scooter Libby says he first heard of Valerie Plame's identity from the vice president himself. Plame is married to former ambassador Joseph Wilson. He was ambassador in Iraq for a while. He has then become in recent years a vocal critic of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq.

KOPPEL: A federal prosecutor is investigating the case and may issue indictments this week. Daryn Kagan has a look back now at this very complicated case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It started in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. The Bush administration had promised a war on terror, and one of the potential targets was Iraq. There were reports that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein had tried to purchase yellow cake uranium in Africa, allegedly for the purpose of developing nuclear weapons.

In February of 2002, the CIA asked Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador in Africa, to investigate. One month later, Wilson reported that the yellow cake report was highly doubtful. As it turned out, Wilson's assessment did not put the yellow cake issue to rest. It came up again 10 months later, in January 2003 during President Bush's State of the Union Address.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

KAGAN: Less than two months after that speech in March 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq. Wilson remained silent all spring, but in July, he went public. He discussed his investigation in an op ed for "The New York Times," and he raised a troubling question. Did the Bush administration manipulate intelligence about Saddam Hussein's weapons programs to justify an invasion of Iraq?

Wilson's article sparked outrage at the White House. A few days later, Robert Novak, a syndicated columnist and a CNN contributor, wrote about Wilson. Novak reported that Wilson was picked to conduct the yellow cake investigation at the suggestion of his wife Valerie Plame. Novak identified Plame as a CIA an operative, citing two unnamed administration sources. Three days later, "Time" magazine, a corporate cousin of CNN, printed a similar story. It's illegal for a federal official to knowingly reveal the identity of a covert agenda. And in September of 2003, the CIA asked the Justice Department to investigate the leak.

On December 30th, a special counsel was appointed, Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney for northern Illinois. Fitzgerald threatened reporters with jail if they didn't testify before a grand jury about their sources.

There was a long legal fight. But "Time's" Matthew Cooper finally testified after being released from his promise of confidentiality by President Bush's top advisor Karl Rove. "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller served 85 days in jail. She eventually testified, too. She was released from her promise of confidentiality by Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: What is the political fallout of all of this? Joining us from Washington with more on this and the implications for President George W. Bush, senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

Bill, what a mess. The White House really sidestepping these latest charges that were published in the "New York Times" that said this all came from Dick Cheney's office.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, what the "Times" reports is that the name of the CIA agent, Joseph Wilson's wife, was given to Scooter Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, by the vice president himself.

Now, that could catch up Mr. Libby in a piece of false testimony because he is reported, again, to have told the grand jury -- grand jury investigations are secret, but he's reported to have told the grand jury that he learned -- he believed he had learned the name of the agent from journalists, not from any official source.

But his notes indicate that it might have been the vice president of the United States who gave him, at least the information, that Wilson's wife was a CIA agent -- or an employee of the CIA. CLANCY: But have you a problem here, Bill. And the problem is this, that you've started an investigation saying who leaked the name. You end up catching somebody in the administration on what is a technicality, a legal technicality, saying, well, you didn't tell the story straight while we were looking into these other affairs. I mean, is there a risk here that the special prosecutor is going to be forced to show, really, that he can come up with something?

SCHNEIDER: Well there is pressure. Of course, he's been investigating for almost two years now. But he does have authority, which he requested from the Justice Department, to broaden his investigation. And essentially he has the authority to charge anyone with a crime who obstructs his investigation.

Special prosecutors commonly do that. Remember, Ken Starr started off investigating Whitewater and it ended up becoming an investigation of sexual misbehavior. This special prosecutor says anyone who obstructs the investigation or gives a false statement can be prosecuted for a crime.

CLANCY: All right. How soon are we going to know what comes out here? What's the likelihood that you're going to see an actual indictment from somebody passing on the name of a CIA undercover agent?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, well, that may or may not happen. Look, the deadline for the grand jury, it expires Friday, October 28th. The special prosecutor could ask for an extension. He's already indicated he will not file a report. So the assumption -- again, it's an assumption, speculation in Washington -- is that someone is likely to be indicted by the end of this week because it's believed that he's not going to ask for an extension of the grand jury.

Who it's going to be and for what crime, nobody really knows. But the name of the vice president being linked to this does raise the stakes and makes it very dangerous for the White House, because the special prosecutor has all along been looking into whether there was a deliberate campaign to discredit Ambassador Wilson by revealing the name of his wife.

If that was the case, that's a very serious crime. The White House has argued no, it was inadvertent revelations in conversations with journalists. The fact that Cheney's name has now been linked to it raised the possibility that there might have been a deliberate campaign and possibly a cover up of that campaign.

CLANCY: We shall see. Bill Schneider in Washington. As always, thank you for your analysis. Well, time for us to take a short break, Andrea.

KOPPEL: Right, while the nail biting continues in Washington, when we return, Wilma leaves her mark and not just in Florida. Along with a lot of superlatives, tremendous damage and tremendous cost.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CLANCY: We're feeling Hurricane Wilma's aftermath in the United States. Welcome back, everyone. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

KOPPEL: And for more on Hurricane Wilma and its impact, not just on Florida, but really on the whole east coast of the United States, Fritz Nivose is at the International Weather Center -- Fritz.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Speeding away from Florida, Wilma still poses a threat to the eastern U.S. and Canada. But as this hurricane absorbs what's left of Tropical Depression Alpha, we asked experts at NOAA's Centers for Environmental Prediction, is this is a perfect storm in the making?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The perfect storm is really different things to different people.

TODD: Jim Hoak (ph) was at this center when the perfect storm of movie legend battered New England in 1991. He says mariners think of a perfect storm as one that batters an area of the ocean for several hours. And for people on land, it's a massive surge pounding the coast. This time, Wilma and Alpha are combining, and another system is moving in behind them from west. But Hoak says these three systems will not likely make a perfect storm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was significant about the perfect storm was, to the north of that low there was a high. And this high prevented this low from moving out. Wilma is moving out very quickly.

TODD: Still Hoak says, these storms will likely batter the east coast of the U.S. and Canada, one after the other, for at least a couple of days. So residents of the northeastern U.S. have to prepare for a second possibly flooding event this month.

And at major ports like the one in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where commercial ships dock 2,000 times a year, they're hunkering down and signaling ships to stay behind the storm's predicted path.

Brian Todd, CNN, in Camp Springs, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRITZ NIVOSE, INTERNATIONAL WEATHER: And that's our weather update for now. YOUR WORLD TODAY will be back in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: The woman known to many as the mother of the U.S. civil rights movement has died at the age of 92. Half a century ago, Rosa Parks helped inspire the civil rights movement when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. That simple, peaceful act of defiance sparked a bus boycott that was championed by a young reverend by the name of Martin Luther King. And the rest, as they say, is history. A small, soft-spoken woman, but a courageous one, and likely to never be forgotten. Rosa Parks, dead at 92.

CLANCY: It is called "United for Children: Unite Against AIDS." It's UNICEF's 5-year, $30 million campaign to raise awareness and to raise money. The goal is to help children around the world infected with HIV, living with an infected parent or orphaned by AIDS.

KOPPEL: UNICEF's executive director calls children "the invisible face of AIDS." According to the U.N., nearly 1800 children are infected with HIV -- get this -- every single day. And every minute, a child under the age of 15 dies from AIDS. It's also estimated that 15 million children have lost one or both of their parents to the deadly disease. But UNICEF officials say the world can drive those numbers down and that a child with AIDS is not a lost cause.

CLANCY: It is noteworthy in all of this, Andrea, that there is a group of professional athletes who agree and they are taking that message to South Africa.

KOPPEL: And Alphonso Van Marsh now shows us their game plan to help fight AIDS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA (voice over): Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo is using his celebrity to raise AIDS awareness in South Africa. His team of current and former NBA players are rallying youth to avoid HIV infection in a country where the government estimates 1 in every 4 people lives with the virus.

DIKEMBE MOTUMBO, HOUSTON ROCKETS: Being African, it was so important for me to try and reach out to my people.

VAN MARSH: Congolese-was born Mutombo and his team are visiting HIV prevention groups, as well as literacy programs here, donating computers, books and basketball equipment too. Necessities, the NBA says, to help counter rising infection rates amongst the young, aggravated by a lack of education and health care.

JIM JACKSON, PHOENIX SUNS: The environment affects some of the decision-making, and until you really see it on a day-to-day basis, you can't understand why it's so high.

VAN MARSH: High fives for the Basketball Without Borders stars -- not so much because these kids recognize them, as much as they appreciate these athletes traveling so far to say they care.

OOKILE MKHWANAZI, FAN: It was very educational about the AIDS and all that. They told us to get tested, yes, so I think I'm going to do it.

WINNIE BELOW, FAN: And I saw the NBA players. It was great.

VAN MARSH (on camera): While there's no shortage of celebrity here, this is the NBA Basketball Without Borders program, and the professional players say that they're eager to see some of the local talent.

(voice over): Basketball camp for 106 athletes -- handpicked from 28 African countries. The reward for players like Egyptian Amir Abdul-Monem: free coaching from NBA stars and staff, who, until now, Amir has only seen on TV.

AMIR ABDUL-MONEM: It's like a dream to see these people, and then see them and play with them. It's a dream coming true.

VAN MARSH: The NBA stars know they can have a big impact here, promoting basketball and encouraging the next generation of talent. And above all, helping to save a lot of lives by making South Africa's teenagers aware of AIDS.

Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Soweto, South Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: What a nice story. This has been YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

CLANCY: Thank you very much for watching.

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