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Your World Today
War of Words Over War in Iraq; Jose Padilla Criminally Indicted; 'Eye on the Middle East'
Aired November 22, 2005 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Forced to take cover in Tikrit, insurgents fire. It interrupts the hand-over of Saddam Hussein's presidential palace.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Arab leaders weigh in on the raging debate, when should U.S.-led forces leave Iraq?
HOLMES: And in the United States, a home-grown terror suspect is indicted, accused of plotting with al Qaeda.
VERJEE: It's noon in Washington, 8:00 p.m. in Baghdad.
I'm Zain Verjee.
HOLMES: And I'm Michael Holmes.
Welcome to our viewers throughout the world. This is CNN International, and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
We begin in Iraq, where the American ambassador to that country and the U.S. commander there were among those who had to scramble to safety after insurgents fired a mortar during a ceremony. It happened right now at the hand-over of land and presidential palaces to local Iraqi authorities in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.
There were no injuries. Well, to date, 28 such forward-operating bases or FOBs, as they are known in the military, across the country have been hand back to the Iraqi government.
VERJEE: The attack comes as the debate between the Bush administration and critics of the war grows more acrimonious. Now, the latest flare-up came after Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha called for the pullout of all U.S. troops as soon as possible.
John King reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The vice president's mission was to tone down one Iraq war political fight and sharpen the already heated rhetoric in another.
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But he is a good man, a Marine, a patriot. KING: Those kind words for Democratic Congressman Jack Murtha, whose call to bring the troops home in six months initially drew a scathing White House rebuke.
But, before heading home from Asia, the president told senior aides the initial Murtha rebuttal was too personal and said publicly that, while he disagreed with him, the congressman is a fine man.
Echoing the president's tone, the vice president called Murtha a friend, but made clear the White House thinks his timetable carries a dangerous risk.
CHENEY: Would the United States and other free nations be better off or worse off with Zarqawi, bin Laden and Zawahiri in control of Iraq?
KING: The sharper rhetoric was aimed at Democrats who suggest the president deliberately exaggerated the Iraqi threat to win public and congressional support for the war.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The war in Iraq was and remains one of the great acts of misleading and deception in the American history.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: The fact of the matter is that -- you can't escape this -- is that the administration manipulated the evidence.
CHENEY: Flaws in the intelligence are plain enough, in hindsight. But any suggestion that pre-war information was distorted, hyped or fabricated by the leader of the nation is utterly false. This is revisionism of the most corrupt and shameless variety.
KING: Rebutting the argument Mr. Bush misled the country into war because the toll on the president's credibility is mounting and has ramifications for his entire second-term agenda.
PETER HART, DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER: At this stage of the game, the American public says, "I no longer believe you." And we are not talking about those people who are liberal Democrats. We're talking about the middle of the electorate.
KING: Another reason the administration believes it can focus more on the pre-war intelligence debate is, even Democrats who label the Bush Iraq policy a disaster, like Delaware Senator Joseph Biden, disagree with Congressman Murtha's six-month withdrawal timetable.
BIDEN: The hard truth is that our large military presence in Iraq is both necessary and increasingly counterproductive. Our presence remains necessary, because, right now, our troops are the only guarantor against chaos.
KING: While tough on Bush policy, Biden said, at best, U.S. troop levels could reduced from 150,000 to 100,000 by the end of next year. And, with that the emerging Democratic consensus, many Republicans are pushing the administration to lay out a plan for beginning to reduce U.S. troop levels.
(on camera): The president has consistently said his decisions will be based on progress in Iraq, not political pressures. But senior administration officials tells CNN, if next month's Iraqi elections go well, Mr. Bush is prepared to embrace reducing U.S. troop levels, perhaps in his State of the Union address early next year.
John King, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: The Iraq pullout issue was discussed during a conference of Iraqi leaders in Egypt hosted by the Arab League. Shia, Kurdish and Sunni leaders called for the withdrawal of foreign troops according to a timetable, but they want to put in place immediately a national program to rebuild the armed forces, control the borders and improve the security situation. The leaders also condemned terrorism, but said Iraq's opposition had a legitimate right of resistance.
Iraqi President Jalal Talibani was among those who attended the conference.
HOLMES: The U.S. Justice Department has announced charges against the alleged enemy combatant Jose Padilla. He has been held for more than three years in military custody in South Carolina.
Kelli Arena joins us now with all the details.
Hi, Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Michael.
Well, the charges against Padilla alleged that he was part of a conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim persons in a foreign country and provide material support to terrorists abroad. But here's the interesting point. The indictment does not mention anything about attacks here in the United States which justice officials laid out in great detail last year.
Now, there are a lot of questions as to why the Bush administration chose to act now. The attorney general says it's because prosecutors decided that it was the appropriate thing to do. But in a statement, the attorney general spoke about how helpful the Patriot Act was in bringing those charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Clearly, the Patriot Act was important in the investigation and prosecution in this case. Because of provisions of the Patriot Act, we were able to share information collected by court order under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, share it with prosecutors. In addition, Mr. Padilla is being charged under the conspiracy provisions of the material support statue, which, of course, are a byproduct of the Patriot Act.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ARENA: Now, there are several provisions of the Patriot Act which expire at the end of this year. And Congress has hit a roadblock in dealing with whether to extend those and for how long.
Now, some critics suggest that the move on Padilla is meant to boost support for the Patriot Act. But others suggest that the administration is trying to avoid a Supreme Court showdown.
Why? Padilla's lawyers asked the Supreme Court for a final word on how long the Bush administration can legally hold Americans accused in the war on terror without charging them or at least giving them a trial. In fact, House Judiciary member and Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff said in a statement that the Justice Department cannot continue to change course each time action from the courts is imminent.
Now, Padilla's lawyers say that they believe the Supreme Court case is still alive. And in a statement, they also said the fact that the government filed charges is a vindication not just for Mr. Padilla, but the whole constitutional process -- Michael.
HOLMES: All right, Kelli. Thanks.
Kelli Arena there -- Zain.
VERJEE: Michael, Germany has sworn in its first woman head of state. Angela Merkel took the oath of office in parliament on Tuesday. The center left social democrat helped elect the Christian democrat leader, but some 50 members of her own party voted against her, signaling possible trouble ahead.
Mrs. Merkel then watched as her cabinet was sworn in. Germany's grand coalition new government consists of 16 posts that are basically evenly split between the SPD and the conservative Christian alliance.
HOLMES: Well, the issues Mrs. Merkel plans to address are many. They include improving relations with the United States strained by former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's opposition to the war in Iraq. Mrs. Merkel also hopes to resuscitate the nation's economy, once a powerhouse, but now one of Europe's most sluggish. And an 11 percent unemployment presents a pressing challenge to her government.
VERJEE: A new poll is giving a boost to Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon. A day after he broke away from his hard-line Likud party, polls in major newspapers show he would win about one-quarter of parliamentary seats and lead a moderate coalition.
Mr. Sharon says the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza makes peace more possible, but that progress was hindered by fighting within the right wing of his old party.
Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak says he's convinced the Israeli leader can achieve his goals. But former Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu called Mr. Sharon "a dictator."
HOLMES: Israel's neighbor to the north also undergoing sweeping political change.
VERJEE: When we -- sorry. When we come back, a look at life in Lebanon, a country where Independence Day is taking on a whole new meaning this year.
You are watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VERJEE: Hello, and welcome back. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
HOLMES: An hour of world news right here on CNN International.
Well, all this week we've been paying special attention to the people and changes sweeping the Middle East.
VERJEE: And the focus of today's edition of "Eye on the Middle East" is Lebanon. Now, the country is considered one of the most divided in the region. Lebanon's population is a mixture of various Christian sects, Sunni, Shias, Muslims, as well as others.
HOLMES: Add to the mix the Syria factor, and you have an extremely complex situation.
CNN's Jim Clancy joining us now from the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Over to you, Jim.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Michael and Zain, you're absolutely right, the situation here in Lebanon is an uncertain one right now. But at the same time, the Lebanese people feel that they are united at this point in their history, and they feel that they have to celebrate this Independence Day, their 63rd year, making it the oldest democracy in the Middle East.
Well, they had a parade in downtown Beirut, of course. And our own Brent Sadler was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A day to remember in a country accustomed to war. Lebanese army tanks rumble through once war-torn Beirut. Thousands of soldiers march past a reviewing stand. But there's a major absence among these VIPs.
There are no Syrian generals with the top brass, generals who once called the shots over security and intelligence here. Powerful generals forced to leave Lebanon in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the father, say may here, of a Beirut spring, the so-called Cedar Revolution.
GEBRAN TUEINI, LEBANESE PARLIAMENT MEMBER: It's independence that cost us a lot, really a lot. But at least, you know, we think that we are independent, and that's why it's the first time that you can see us smiling. SADLER (on camera): For many Lebanese, this is a day of double celebration, independence from France more than 60 years ago, and freedom from decades of Syrian control that ended just seven months ago.
(voice over): But not everyone is smiling at the antics of the army nor the politicians, including the head of state, President Emile Lahoud, a pro-Syrian president under intense preacher from opponents to resign. A president who warns that Lebanon is being used as part of a U.S.-led plot to break neighboring Syria and disarm Hezbollah, one of Iran's closest allies in the region.
Hezbollah, though, refuses to lay down its weapons, and since Monday, has been confronting Israel in the heaviest cross-border battles for some three years, shaking confidence on Lebanon's day of independence.
FOUAD SINIORA, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: I hope that everybody will exercise self-restraint in the coming days.
SADLER: But any decision to exercise restraint on the Lebanese side is not made by the central government. It's the guns of Hezbollah, not these army cannons that do the talking with Israel. And if necessary, warns Hezbollah, the killing.
Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Well, at the same time that Lebanese were celebrating their independence, they were also enjoying what they considered to be more freedom in their country. But freedom comes at a price.
That price was certainly paid by the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri. It has also been paid by journalists, journalists who dared to question authority, who dared to question the relationship between Syria and Lebanon and ask questions about that. They have paid a price, and today many people look back and remember them as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY (voice over): From the newsroom of An-Nahar, to the studios of Lebanese broadcasting, the free press of Lebanon is under fire. Lebanon's media doesn't just deliver political and economic reports from the front lines in this real-life fight for democracy. It drives it.
EDMOND SAAB, EDITOR, "AN-NAHAR": We are so attached to our liberty, our freedom, that we are ready to pay the price. And we are ready, and we are still ready to do it every day.
CLANCY: The price in 2005, one journalist dead, another badly wounded. Samir Kassir, an eloquent voice against Syrian occupation of Lebanon, was killed by a bomb planted in his car. A similar attack critically wounded May Chidiac, a talk show host for the Lebanese Broadcasting Company. Neither case has been solved. Two months later, she remains in the hospital.
SHADA OMAR, JOURNALIST, LBC: Everyone is a little bit afraid even if they don't say so. What happened was really devastating for everyone. We felt anger, we felt helplessness. We were really helpless, and we didn't even believe that this could be done to a journalist, to a woman.
CLANCY: Samir Kassir's widow, herself a journalist for the Al Arabiya network, said it was the young people of Lebanon her husband loved so much who most felt his loss.
GISELE KHOURY, JOURNALIST, AL ARABIYA: He had the same language, the same discord of the young people, democracy, freedom.
CLANCY: Former colleagues fashioned a tribute to Samir, recreating a space that reflects his life and work. Those who enter see images of his interviews, his favorite film, "Casablanca," his chair, iPod, and the book he wrote on his beloved Beirut.
Peering through glass from outside, they read the last words he typed on his computer. "It was a victory, but it was not my victory." Full explanation would never come.
Those who knew Samir Kassir vow to fight on.
KHOURY: I am in the war with the military regime here or in Syria. I think it's the same. I want to see my country with (INAUDIBLE) and with a democracy. And I will fight to the end.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: May Chidiac has undergone 17 operations. She lost a part of her left arm and her left leg. From her hospital bed, she told me that "I didn't choose to become a heroine, but I am going to stand and fight and take on that role."
She has a lot of support here in Lebanon this day, Independence Day.
Zain and Michael, back to you.
HOLMES: Yes, she does. Jim, thanks very much.
Jim Clancy there in Beirut.
VERJEE: A special look into the Middle East will continue later in the program.
HOLMES: That's right. We're going to travel to Saudi Arabia, where women are beginning to take a stand for their place in a very conservative society.
VERJEE: Women and their changing status, that's coming up later here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes. First, though, a check on stories making headlines here in the U.S.
Last year in -- last hour in Washington, D.C., federal officials unveiled an indictment against the so-called dirty bomb suspect, Jose Padilla. Padilla has been held for more than three years as an enemy combatant. A federal grand jury in Miami returned the indictment, alleging he was part of a U.S.-based conspiracy to commit terror abroad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GONZALES: Padilla was one of the individuals recruited by this terrorist support cell to fight in violent jihad overseas. With the assistance of codefendant Hassoun (ph) and others, Mr. Padilla allegedly left the United States in September 1998 and traveled overseas for that purpose, where he met up with codefendant Yousef (ph) in Egypt.
While overseas, Mr. Padilla continued to advise and seek assistance from codefendant Hassoun (ph) in the United States as he sought to obtain the necessary training to pursue these violent jihad activities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Today's indictment does not include the government's earlier claims that Padilla allegedly planned attacks inside the U.S.
The Associated Press is reporting that the Florida teacher charged with having sex with a 14-year-old student has avoided prison time with a plea deal. Twenty-five-year-old Deborah Lafave agrees to serve three years house arrest, seven years probation, after pleading guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious activity.
Her case was scheduled to go to trial next month. She could have faced up to 15 years in prison if she had been convicted.
Today in Austin, Texas, Congressman Tom DeLay appears this court. His lawyers have asked the judge to toss out charges of conspiracy and money laundering. The judge has not yet ruled, but if he agrees to the dismissal, the Republican could reclaim his position as House majority leader.
Some tense moments here in Atlanta today as crews raced to free a man who was trapped in a storm drain. According to one local media report, the man was apparently sleeping in the drain when he fell down a level and got stuck. People on the street heard his cries for help, rescue crews freed the man who is reported to be in stable condition.
FEMA is extending its short-term housing program for Hurricane Katrina evacuees, but only for those still living in Louisiana and Mississippi. The agency will pick up their hotel tabs until December 15. That is two weeks beyond the original deadline.
A spokesman says FEMA recognizes the challenges of finding places to live in Louisiana.
Let's check in on weather news. Bonnie Schneider watching that for us this hour.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Let's take a look at these pictures now. Look at the highlighted area. A hockey player about to flirt with death.
It's Jiri Fischer of the Detroit Red Wings. He suffered a seizure and collapsed on the bench during last night's game. Medical personnel discovered his heart had stopped, but they were able to revive him. The 25-year-old seems fine today. He is undergoing tests.
Well, he was barely old enough to vote for himself, but 18-year- old Michael Sessions is now the mayor of his city. The high school senior took the reigns of Hillsdale, Michigan, yesterday with the simple words, "I will."
Hillsdale has a population of about 8,200 people. It's about 100 miles southwest of Detroit.
The debate over the war in Iraq: what should the U.S. do next? Find out what former military leaders think. A roundtable discussion at the top of the hour on "LIVE FROM."
Meanwhile, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VERJEE: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.
I'm Zain Verjee.
HOLMES: And I'm Michael Holmes.
We want to update you on the top stories of the day. A mortar attack during a ceremony in Iraq send top officials running for cover. There it comes now. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq and the commander of multinational forces were among those attending. The attack came during the handover of base to local authorities in Tikrit. There were no injuries.
VERJEE: The U.S. Justice Department has indicted so-called enemy combatant Jose Padilla on seven counts. He's being charged with belonging to a violent terrorist support cell that operated in the United States and Canada. Padilla's been accused of, but not previously charged with, helping al Qaeda. The trial is scheduled for next year.
HOLMES: Germany officially has its first female chancellor. Angela Merkel was formally sworn into office in Berlin a few hours ago. She's also the first person from the former East Germany to hold the office. Merkel will lead a grand coalition government made up of her Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democrats.
VERJEE: In the U.S., eroding sales for automaker General Motors has led to drastic downsizing. GM, along with Ford, Chrysler and American Motors, once dominated the market. Ali Velshi looks at some of the reasons why U.S. car companies are the big four no more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): General Motors has been the world's biggest car maker since 1931. In 1955, it became the first American company to make over a billion dollars a year and it was all built on relentless demand for cars.
Cars for the masses were first built in America about 100 years ago and Americans haven't stopped buying them since. The thing is, they just don't buy as many from GM anymore, or from Ford. And GM and Ford's losses seem to be Toyota's gain. In fact, once the restructuring is done, GM will build a million fewer cars a year, allowing Toyota to take the lead and become the world's biggest car maker.
MICHAEL QUINCY, CONSUMER REPORTS: There's less of that stigma about, I don't want to buy foreign, I only want to buy American. I think Toyota had the right cars at the right time since even the 1970s when fuel prices were high and the oil embargo, they built small, fuel-efficient cars that people flocked to buy.
VELSHI: U.S. car makers got into a price war five years ago to overcome the sagging sales, then they introduced lower than bank interest financing, then zero interest financing. Now they tell you they'll sell you a car for the same price that employees pay. None of it worked.
GM and Ford now have the smallest share of the U.S. car market ever. Meanwhile, Toyota, Honda and others swooped in and won American drivers over with their quality, value and their styling. For GM, it's more than just sales, it's costs.
GM's biggest parts supplier, Delphi, recently filed for bankruptcy. GM used to own Delphi and may have to cover some of Delphi's healthcare expenses. That could cost GM billions. GM's own healthcare costs will amount to $5.8 billion this year. GM has already lost $4 billion this year. Some people on Wall Street think the car maker itself could go bankrupt.
Now it's not all bad. American pickup truck sales have been solid. You might say, like a rock. GM's Chevy Silverado is the second best-selling vehicle in the United States. The best selling vehicle is Ford's F-sears pickup. But the best selling car in the United States, the Toyota Camry.
Toyota knows that as early as next year it could earn the title of world's biggest car maker and they're worried that in the world's biggest car market, that may trigger a backlash, especially given how many American auto workers have been laid off. So Toyota's embarked on an ad campaign touting the 190,000 U.S. auto jobs that it's created.
Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: In the past, jobs in the U.S. auto industry and other manufacturing plants helped build a strong middle class. Now many of those workers and their families are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.
Lisa Sylvester reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joe Bresnahan and his family are learning how to stretch a dollar. He worked for Maytag in Galesburg, Illinois, for 16 years, but the plant closed. His job shipped to Mexico, where the workers are paid in cents, not dollars.
JOE BRESNAHAN, FMR. MAYTAG WORKER: I'm not going to work for 58 cents an hour. There's no way that we can compete. It's got to stop. The gap -- there is no more middle class in my mind. You're either rich or you're poor.
SYLVESTER: Joe now works for a company packaging art supplies.
BRESNAHAN: I bring home every two weeks what I used to bring home in a week, and used to have good health insurance, dental, vision. And none of that now.
SYLVESTER: His story is being repeated all over Illinois. The state has lost more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs since 1990. Middle class families haven't just stalled on the economic ladder, they're being kicked further down.
A new study by the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability shows the state's median income of $46,000 is at the same level as it was in 1989. During the '90s, when the economy was booming, the job growth was in the lower paid service industry, and many high-paying jobs were shipped overseas.
RALPH MARTIRE, CTR. FOR TAX & BUDGET ACCOUNTABILITY: We are truly feeling the impact of globalization, and it's not like the old days where maybe one high-paying wage sector would go away in the economy and another high-paying wage sector would jump up to replace it. That's not what's really happening now.
SYLVESTER: What's happening in Illinois is also occurring in the rest of the country.
LEE PRICE, ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Illinois a little bit more than the rest of the country. But the country as a whole, the typical family in the middle of the income spectrum is doing worse than they were five years ago.
SYLVESTER: That's because middle class families like Joe's Bresnahan's have not only seen their paycheck shrink, they're also coping with rising costs of gas, housing and food.
(on camera): The workers who fared the best were college educated. Having a high school diploma is simply not enough to get ahead. And the authors of this study says this trend of shrinking paychecks is only going to get worse unless policy-makers come up with different decisions.
Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: Is news of the GM lay-offs, then, affecting the way people in the U.S. feel about the economy?
For a look at some of the numbers, we want to go to Gallup poll editor-in-chief Frank Newport. He joins us from Princeton in New Jersey.
Frank, firstly, is the economy getting better or worse?
FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP: Well, that's exactly the question we ask the American public twice a month here at Gallup. And I can tell you the numbers are still not great. However, there's a little trend upwards, Zain.
Let's show you the numbers going back to September. Sixty-six percent at that point said it was getting worse. You can see, 24 percent getting better. Notice that the lines have gradually been merging over the last couple of two-week periods. Now we're up to 36 percent getting better and 58 percent worse.
Everything is relative, of course. Back in the dot-com boom days, we had a huge percent saying the economy was getting better, so it's still in the big picture, negative. But the trend, at any rate, shows some upward movement rather than downward movement. I should point out this survey was taken as of Sunday night, so it probably does not reflect any possible impact of yesterday's announcements of the lay-offs by General Motors.
One other point here. We do ask Americans -- in your own words, what's the biggest financial problem facing your family today? And one issue is energy costs, now coming in only at 11 percent. That was up to 20 percent or higher earlier this fall. So clearly concerned about at gas. At least for the moment, it's come back down. Biggest problems -- American worried about healthcare costs, wages, unemployment. And for upper income households in particular, college expenses -- Zain.
VERJEE: Frank, last week you reported President Bush's job approval rating basically hit a new-time all-low of 37 percent. Did his trip to Asia and all the fuss over Iraq in the last few days have a significant impact? NEWPORT: No, over the weekend, virtually no change statistically speaking. You could have argued either way, Zain, that the trip to Asia might have helped the president, seeing him there with foreign leaders.
On the other hand, all the discussion about Iraq and the criticism from Congressman Murtha in the U.S. and so forth may have hurt him. Net net, 38 percent job approval now. Last week it was 37. As I mentioned, really no change.
VERJEE: Thanks a lot, Frank. Appreciate this.
HOLMES: Steering a plan for reform in Saudi Arabia.
Still ahead, we're going to take a look at the driving force behind the call for action, and a profile of a woman who's daring to keep her plan on track.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone, to YOUR WORLD TODAY. All this week CNN International is focusing on the Middle East, from the average person on the street to the political movers and shakers.
VERJEE: For better or for worse, this region of more than 300 million people is in the midst of some real transformation. A new generation is rejecting old thinking and bringing in new challenges to leaders.
HOLMES: Well, women are raising their voices, taking a stand for their rightful place in a very conservative city.
Nic Robertson examines now the status of women in Saudi Arabia and their hopes for the future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Life for girls in Saudi Arabia doesn't get more daring than this. At the wheel of a virtual car, Annan's (ph) not sure if she'll drive when she grows up. Not because she's crashing, but because women are banned from doing the real thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the house for ladies who can -- widows and divorced.
ROBERTSON: In her chauffeur-driven car as she drives me around her hometown Jeddah, women's right activist Maha Fitaihi sees change.
(on camera): How long do you think before you could be driving around these streets?
MAHA FITAIHI, SAUDI WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: I say maybe a few months.
ROBERTSON: That's very short. FITAIHI: It will have a backlash, I'm sure, from some people who don't believe in women's role in life.
ROBERTSON: The more religious extremes.
FITAIHI: Yes. And expected, but we're ready for that. Yes.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Female drivers are a hot issue. Video clips like this, purporting to be women flaunting the law, driving in Saudi Arabia, are popular in the growing youth counterculture of video messaging.
Fitaihi, though, wants more than just being allowed to drive. She wants religious extremists responsible for repressing women's rights to radically reform their attitudes. She wants respect.
FITAIHI: I want to see that when you talk to me, you listen to me, and you talk to me in the eyes. You look me in the eyes, and you respect me as a woman, and you take what I say as a woman.
That was the first time we come up on the TV. We're eight leaders.
ROBERTSON: Her path from mother of five to reformer began in earnest with TV appearances following September 11.
FITAIHI: Just talking the every day life as a mother and as a wife, living her life and want to have a better life.
ROBERTSON: She felt Saudis were responsible for the attacks in the U.S., and her country needed to change. She discovered she wasn't alone.
FITAIHI: I was shocked by the -- some of messages. And the telephone calls.
ROBERTSON: Many women supported her view that narrow religious education is the root of the Saudi problem, stemming from the empowerment of conservative religious leaders, following a botched revolt against the royal family.
FITAIHI: With that incident of 1979 had that impact on our TV, our schools, our education, our daily life. You know, everywhere, we were not allowed to speak out.
ROBERTSON: Fitaihi is devoted to Islam. She prays five times a day. To do less would allow religious extremists to derail her agenda.
FITAIHI: My mission that I would like to differentiate and to show the differences between what is from the Islam, and what is from social practices and customs.
I was living here in the...
ROBERTSON (on camera): In the center? (voice-over): Nowhere the her calculated bucking of the social norm more obvious than when she shows me where she grew up. For a woman to be in public with an unrelated man is banned by religious police. For it to be filmed for Western television is a first for me. It is a sign of change.
In the markets' female migrant workers, she sees optimism and reality in equal measure.
FITAIHI: Two years ago, it was only maybe three, four women. You see now how many? Saudi women themselves, they don't want to get into this now. Because they don't know that they -- maybe that she's going to be harm, maybe she's going to be hurt, maybe she's going to be hearing some. But the more we have like this, I'm sure in two year's time, you'll find some Saudis sitting here.
ROBERTSON: Her optimism is based on trust in the new Saudi monarch King Abdullah, in whose hands women's fortunes here lie. Just looking along this rack of magazines and newspapers gives an indication of the subtle and slow change on women's issues.
(on camera): This magazine, for example, features a picture of Saudi Arabia's king and a woman on its cover. It would have been unheard of several years ago. Unlike many publications these days, features more articles relevant for women.
(voice-over): And elsewhere, women are getting minor victories. Girls can now study engineering. Women can join chambers of commerce. Both formally off limits.
But fundamental changes like equality in law are nowhere in sight. Fitaihi has been fighting for her own college-age girls. She knows the final push may come from them.
FITAIHI: The new generation is rejecting that power without logic. They would like -- and this is their -- because of their Internet and the TV, satellite TVS and the exposure.
ROBERTSON: More than 60 percent of the country is under 16. Seventeen-year-old Sali (ph) knows what she wants, and is breaking social norms to tell us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It would be bet for women could drive, she says. It would be easier on the family.
ROBERTSON: By the time Annan is Sali's age, she may well be driving. And if she keeps practicing, she'll likely do just fine.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: Now to Qatar, where women enjoy some of the most relaxed laws in all of the Gulf countries. They can vote, they drive, they work. Richard Quest went to the Qatar palace to meet a woman calling for even more change in her first TV interview. One of the daughters of the emir of Qatar makes it clear that change for women is inevitable.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She is 23, has strong ideas and is not afraid to express them. Sheikha Mayassa has just graduated from an American university.
(on camera): Do you believe in equality of women?
SHEIKHA MAYASSA, DAUGHTER OF EMIR OF QATAR: Of course.
QUEST: Total equality for women?
MAYASSA: Total equality -- and we have it. If you go to the West, women are paid less than men; here women are paid exactly the same as men for the same job. What more equality proof do you need for that?
We have no problem with women taking leading roles. We have women who are ministers. We have women who are taking leading roles within society. But then there are other countries in the region who are not ready for change, although I think change is inevitable.
QUEST (voice-over): Promoting education is a big part of the Sheikha's working life.
Qatar has branches of several top U.S. universities.
And just as she moves easily between Western dress and traditional clothes, Sheikha Mayassa is pushing for further reform, such as removing the fact some women still need permission from male relatives to get passports.
MAYASSA: We are stranded by old laws that fit for, you know, in the past, but now they no longer fit so we need to change them. And the question is always, how do we change them? What is the right procedure to change and not hurt or destroy the essence of the society that we are in?
Because we still have to consider the conservatives here and respect their wishes as well.
QUEST (on camera): What do you think your role will be? What's your vision for yourself?
MAYASSA: I have a lot of ambitions.
I've always thought of working maybe in the future in the United Nations because I believe that being fortunate, you know, having a very easy lifestyle and childhood, I would like to give back to society. QUEST (voice-over): Sheikha Mayassa is a liberated woman in one of the most liberal countries in the Gulf, and she doesn't want people to tell her what they think she wants to hear.
(on camera): What do you dislike?
MAYASSA: What do I dislike? As a thing, I dislike fakeness in people. I like people when they're honest, even when they say things you don't necessarily want to hear.
QUEST (voice-over): That's a fine thought, especially when your father runs the country.
Richard Quest, CNN, at the Qatari Palace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: Our "Eye on the Middle East" segment will continue tomorrow with some more special reports from our correspondents in the region.
HOLMES: That's right.
Also, don't forget to check out our Web site, cnn.com/ime. More information there for you.
Well, rumor has it that fashion from the runways of Milan is hitting the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of Rome.
VERJEE: Following fashion quite closely, are you?
HOLMES: I do, believe it or not.
VERJEE: Well, to be exact, the Vatican -- why is the head of the Roman Catholic Church getting a lot of attention paid to his feet, Michael?
HOLMES: Jeanne Moos is going to tell us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, the American fashion designer Bill Blass, I'm told, once said when in doubt, wear red.
VERJEE: Red -- you're wearing red today. I'm wearing red also.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Very good. Well, we must have had some doubts.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Anyway, seems like men in high places are taking that advice.
VERJEE: And lately, the wardrobe of Pope Benedict XVI is bearing the marks, some say, of a very famous Italian designer.
Jeanne Moos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Never has papal footwear had this kind of scrutiny.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They look fairly pricey and upscale.
MOOS: If, according to a recent best-seller, "The Devil Wears Prada," why not the pope?
(on camera): The pope wears Prada.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me see that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The pope wears Prada. I don't wear Prada.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my!
MOOS (voice-over): And it's not just the shoes.
(on camera): These are supposed to be Gucci.
(voice-over): Gucci sunglasses?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holy Mackerel!
MOOS: The operative word is, "holy."
But some who report on religion don't buy it.
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN FAITH & VALUES CORRESPONDENT: What I'm saying is if he does wear Prada, he doesn't know he's wearing Prada. He doesn't know what sort of glasses he's got on -- he can barely find his glasses, probably.
MOOS: CNN's faith and values correspondent says Pope Benedict is a 78-year-old intellectual. He's reading scholarly books, not Italian "Vogue."
Nevertheless, from European newspapers to a Catholic publication to "Newsweek," Pope Benedict's fashion sense is under the microscope.
We haven't seen this much interest in red shoes since Dorothy tapped her's together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDY GARLAND, ACTRESS, "WIZARD OF OZ": There's no place like home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: And there are no shoes like Prada. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what they say about those?
MOOS (on camera): What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Angels don't wear red shoes.
MOOS (voice-over): Well, actually, it's...
(MUSIC CLIP)
MOOS: We couldn't quite nail down whether Pope Benedict's shoes are absolutely positively Prada. The company couldn't confirm it.
Other Vatican fashion rumors, likewise unconfirmed, have it that the pope is neglecting the tailor shop that's made papal garments for over 200 years in favor of his own personal tailor.
There were stories of a fashion faux pas when the new pope made his debut.
GALLAGHER: His cassock was about that high, you know, his hemline of the cassock was that high from his ankles.
MOOS: Normally it's down here instead of up there.
There's also talk about the pope's handsome personal assistant wearing pricey shoes from Tod's.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they call him the pope's George Clooney.
MOOS: Next thing you know, they'll say that's Fendi fur the pope used as wind screens on his microphones. We're pretty sure the souls the pope wants to save aren't on the bottom of Prada shoes.
(on camera): They say he's a real intellectual and the last thing on his mind would be designers, except for maybe intelligent design.
(LAUGHTER)
(voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We won't get into that debate -- intelligent design.
VERJEE: Let's.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: No, we have to go.
This has been YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.
And I'm Michael Holmes. VERJEE: I'm Zain Verjee.
HOLMES: And I'm Michael Holmes.
VERJEE: Thanks for joining us.
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