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Your World Today

A Walk Down Haifa Street, The Illegal Underground, Interview With Turkish Foreign Minister

Aired January 26, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: President Bush gives the go-ahead: Kill or capture Iranian agents in Iraq.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The U.S. hard line on this man. Canada says it was bad information and apologizes for the role it played. Washington says he'll remain on its watch list.

CLANCY: Domestic abuse in the Muslim community, a cultural of violence or just cultural differences?

GORANI: Also, the lengths and depths illegals will go to for a chance at life on the other side.

It is noon in Washington, Ottawa; 9:00 p.m. in Karbala.

Hello and welcome to our report broadcast around the globe.

I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From Mont Blanc, to Frankfurt, Phoenix., wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

GORANI: Well, we begin with news that Washington has repeated a warning to Iran not to "meddle in Iraq," and that it isn't just tough talk.

CLANCY: That's right. U.S. troops operating now under an order to capture or kill Iranian operatives in Iraq.

GORANI: U.S. President George W. Bush approved the policy several months ago.

CLANCY: It allows troops to detain or kill Iranian agents if intelligence indicates they are plotting attacks or working with Iraqi militias.

GORANI: "The Washington Post," which first reported the story, says it's part of a wider strategy to weaken Iran's influence across the entire Middle East.

CLANCY: Now, Iran denies any allegations that it is aiding and arming militants in Iraq. Still, the Bush administration points to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a specific example of Tehran's involvement. Let's get more on all of this from our White House correspondent who's been covering it, Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, as you know, this is a very significant development, a change in Bush administration policy, really backing up the words with some actions now of senior administration officials. And, of course, national security officials confirming this program, this new policy that they believe that they have the authorization, the U.S. military, not only to capture, but to kill Iranian agents that are inside Iraq if -- if there's actionable intelligence that they're plotting or planning against American forces, coalition forces, or Iraqi forces, if these agents are working together with Iraqi militia inside the country of Iraq.

Now, this is a process that has been unfolding since fall, we are told. There have been numerous discussions between the president and his top advisers from the Pentagon, intelligence and State Department. But it was really just these last several months that the president signed off on this new policy, we're told, because deteriorating conditions on the ground inside Iraq.

Now, as you know, very controversial in some ways. It could even be provocative. President Bush was asked that question earlier today, whether or not this would actually be a provocative policy or help when it comes to relations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Does it make sense that if somebody is trying to harm our troops, or stop us from achieving our goal, or killing innocent citizens in Iraq, that we will -- we will stop them? That's an obligation we all have, is to protect -- is to protect our folks and achieve our goal.

Now, some are trying to say that because we're enforcing -- helping ourselves in Iraq by stopping outside influence from killing our soldiers or hurting Iraqi people, that we want to expand this beyond the borders. That's a presumption that simply is not accurate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Jim, there are a number of important points here.

The president saying that, look, this does not mean that there are going to be American forces, coalition forces crossing the border of Iraq into Iran, but that certainly they have the authority at this time, this new policy, to capture or kill these Iranian agents inside of Iraq.

The second thing here is, the Bush administration is talking about this link between these Iranian agents, their Revolutionary Guard, and Iraqi militia. That being, of course, one of the reasons they're going after them so aggressively.

But the other reason here is that the Bush administration definitely trying to weaken Iran and definitely frustrated here that they're not cooperating in giving up its weapons -- not weapons program, but nuclear program, which the Bush administration believes is being used to make weapons. This is meant to weaken that government and perhaps strengthen the United States' hand -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, it's certainly to escalate some of the tensions between the two countries. We'll see how it plays out on the ground.

Suzanne Malveaux, live with us there from the White House.

Thank you -- Hala.

GORANI: Well, we talked earlier with Iraq's foreign minister about this capture or kill policy toward Iranian operatives. Hoshyar Zebari says he wasn't aware of those orders, but says foreign fighters who are working to destabilize Iraq cannot be tolerated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOSHYAR ZEBARI, IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER: This, I'm sure, is not targeting those innocent Iranians who are visiting the country for legitimate reasons, coming through the proper channels, let's say. I'm sure this policy is aimed at those who are responsible for killing Iraqis, for attacking coalition forces. But that identity -- I think their status has to be established. It's not a blank order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Now, this policy is just part of the United States' tough approach towards dealing with Iraq, as we heard there from Suzanne Malveaux. Despite calls from many corners, Washington still refusing to enter any direct talks on issues that range from the Iraq war, to Iran's nuclear ambitions, one on one with the Iranians. The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency says that's a mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMED ELBARADEI, IAEA DIRECTOR-GENERAL: The key to the Iranian issue is a direct engagement between Iran and the U.S., similar to North Korea. North Korea is a good example.

I mean, for years, you know, things were not moving. Only when the U.S. started to talk directly with the North Koreans, when we have seen last week a positive report that if we are able to talk to the North Koreans, we ought to be able to talk to the Iranians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: ElBaradei says another reason for engagement with Iran is that it could be a positive influence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well -- Hala.

GORANI: Well, it is one thing to tell you that life in Baghdad's Haifa Street section is difficult and dangerous. It's another to let you see it for yourself. Arwa Damon takes us on a walk down Haifa Street.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Through the window of a crumbling theater it could almost be a normal world outside, but this is Haifa Street in central Baghdad, where we can't venture out to talk to people but snatch quick conversations in doorways.

This man doesn't want his face shown. "The street from here to here is safe," he says, "but if you go down there, it's very bad."

In one direction, kids play soccer in the street, apparently oblivious to the battleground close by. But down the street, Iraqi and U.S. forces try to dislodge insurgents.

"We are happy to see the Iraqis and the Americans. But we can't be seen saying that," he says. "They will slaughter us."

"They are Sunni extremists," says Ali Hussein (ph), a Shia who lives here. He called them "The others." "It's sort of a sectarian thing, but here we have Sunnis, too. But down there, they are different."

He tells us there was a girl who went to the market down there with her child and a sniper shot them. And down there is where we are going with a Stryker platoon, into an area that U.S. and Iraqi units have been trying to clear of insurgents.

(on camera): This is one of the Iraqi army patrol bases located on Haifa Street. It was formerly one of Saddam Hussein's palaces and would have been off limits to all of these men. They are fairly optimistic. The Americans here, however, are moving with extreme caution...

(voice-over): ... because no one knows who is still out there or where. When it's not a battlefield, Haifa Street can feel like a ghost town. The snipers, the battles, the intimidation has driven most residents away. But thousands remain. Most too afraid to step outside.

This 25-year-old and her mother are taking advantage of a lull in the fighting. And as they speak of the horrors they have endured, they can't conceal their rage.

"Bodies in the street and dogs are eating them?" Is this how cheap humans have become?" she asks. "The Americans have to protect us, otherwise, they should just leave and let people slaughter each other."

But the Americans say they are not going to leave. They are just beginning a new operation to retake Baghdad.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CLANCY: While all of this plays out on the streets of the Iraqi capital, there are people watching, certainly closely in Washington or in London, but they are also watching in the region, because what happens in Iraq affects them.

We're pleased to have with us now from Davos and the World Economic Forum Abdullah Gul, the foreign minister of Turkey.

I want to welcome you.

You just heard that report. That is part of President Bush's new strategy, renewed strategy, if you want to call it that, in Iraq.

What is Turkey's stake in this? How concerned are you?

ABDULLAH GUL, TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, first of all, Iraq is not important only for Iraqis. Iraq is important for the neighbors and the region. It's a global issue now.

Therefore, we'd like to see that Iraq keeps its total integrity and (INAUDIBLE) unity. That's what we want. And we want to see Iraq democratic, peaceful with its own people and peaceful with its neighbors.

CLANCY: Now, how concerned are you about this new policy that may lead on the ground to confrontations with Iranians who are active inside Iraq? Is that going to elevate regional tensions?

GUL: Well, of course the Iraqis should support with its policies. And together, with the Iraqis, we hope that this will be successful. Otherwise, there will be more violence, and the security will get more serious over there.

CLANCY: But I'm specifically, Mr. Foreign Minister...

(CROSSTALK)

CLANCY: Excuse me for interrupting. I'm specifically talking about President Bush's order that U.S. troops should capture or kill, if necessary, Iranian operatives thought to be targeting U.S. troops or increasing the instability in Iraq by supporting, training, providing arms to some of the militia groups blamed for the sectarian deaths.

Is this going to elevate tensions between Iran and the rest of the region?

GUL: Well, I hope that all of the neighbors, and all the Iraqis that work for the peace over there -- that's what I want to tell you. You see, now, of course the fighting is going on there, and the fighting should stop over there.

If this continues, then it might bring more violence over there. But the forces are there, the forces are not there just to stay. Of course the forces are there to bring stability and to fight those that are destabilizing Iraq. CLANCY: Sir, you specifically mentioned the stability, and Turkey has a concern. If there is a breakup of Iraq, a breakup some have already advocated here that would create a Kurdistan in the north of Iraq, what would Turkey do then?

GUL: Well, we should not think that -- that Iraq's territory and (ph) Turkey should be maintained, because if Iraq is divided, it's not going to be a problem for Turkey. It's going to be a problem for the region, first of all. The Iraqis will not allow this, and there will be another cause, there will be another dark period, and there will be suffering over there. That is important, first.

CLANCY: Sir, I want to address another issue, and that is the assassination, the murder of Hrant Dink, the Armenian-Turkish journalist who was gunned down. Now we have word that your counterpart, the interior minister, has suspended two ranking officials in a province from where the suspected gunman came from, indicating that these people were part of a group from extremists, Islamists believers, if you will, that targeted him.

Is there a lot of concern about that?

GUL: Look, first of all, there are not Islamist believers, if you look at the lifestyle that doesn't match with the Islamic ideas, first of all. It was unfortunate, but what was the good thing, that the killer was caught in 24 hours. It was brought to court now, and the reaction of the Turkish people was remarkable. The government is taking it very seriously.

CLANCY: All right. Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister.

I want to thank you very much for joining us there in the cold and the snow of Davos, Switzerland.

GUL: Thank you.

CLANCY: Again, thank you.

GORANI: Well, still ahead, a brief stopover in the U.S. and his life into a tale spin.

CLANCY: The engineer from Canada was deported to Syria. Imprisoned, beaten and tortured, he says. Now the Canadian government is trying to make amends.

GORANI: Also, an uneasy calm settles over Beirut after days of deadly clashes. A live update coming up later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: That's right. We're bringing you up to date on some of the most important stories, international stories from all around the world. GORANI: Well, an update now on a story we reported extensively about earlier. There's word that Canada will formally apologize today to a man who had been living in Canada when his life became a nightmare during a brief stopover in the United States.

It happened five years ago when he was on his way home from a holiday. Software engineer Maher Arar was deported by U.S. agents to Syria, where Arar says he was repeatedly tortured over the course of a year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHER ARAR, SOFTWARE ENGINEER: It's so scary when you hear people being tortured. It's so scary when you are beaten. And I would just say anything, anything they want, just to stop the torture.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Now Canadian media report that Canada will offer him more than $8 million in compensation.

CLANCY: In the post-September 11th era, labeling someone, especially someone of Arabic descent, an Islamic extremist, will get the attention of U.S. security. And that's how this whole affair started.

The CBS's Roger Smith explains it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROGER SMITH, CBC REPORTER (voice-over): Teary-eyed with relief, Maher Arar got what he wanted most.

ARAR: I wanted to clear my name. Today, Justice O'Connor has cleared my name and restored my representation.

SMITH: Though the RCMP and CSIS tried hard to nail him as a terrorist, the report says they came up with nothing.

DENNIS O'CONNOR, INQUIRY CHAIRMAN: There is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Arar has committed any offense, or that his activities constitute a threat to the security of Canada.

SMITH: But what happened to Arar, he says, was due to incompetence, not deliberate policy. O'Connor found "No evidence that any Canadian authorities were complicit" in the U.S. decision to arrest and deport Arar to face torture in Syria. But the RCMP very likely sealed his fate by giving the Americans unfair, inaccurate information.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this day in age, calling somebody a "terrorist" is like calling somebody a "communist" in the early '50s.

SMITH: For example, just after 9/11, mounties warned the U.S. to watch out for Arar and his wife, describing them as Islamic extremists with suspected links to al Qaeda. A baseless charge, it turns out, that the Americans took seriously.

ALEX NEVE, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: If things had been done differently back in Canada, Mr. Arar would not have endured the abuses he suffered.

SMITH: The government now studying recommendations on how to prevent a repeat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened to Mr. Arar is very regrettable. We hope with any future situations like this to never see this happen again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, the U.S. insists that Arar will stay on its terrorist watch list. A joint statement released by the U.S. attorney and homeland security chief says a review of the intelligence stands. Keeping Arar on the watch list is appropriate despite the retraction and planned apology from the Canadian government. The U.S. adds that independent information gathered by U.S. law enforcement agencies supports the decision to keep Arar on the watch list.

CLANCY: Well, coming up, in Arabic it means to have hope.

GORANI: Well, it's also the name of a shelter for Muslim women in the U.S. abused by their husbands who have nowhere else to run.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.

I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. And these are some of the stories that are making news around the world. U.S. President W. Bush says troops have the right to protect themselves against Iranians plotting to launch attacks inside Iraq. He's defending U.S. policy to capture or kill Iranian operatives in Iraq if intelligence shows they're working with militias. Mr. Bush signed off on the policy several months ago.

GORANI: The head of United Nations nuclear watch dog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, is calling on Iran and the West to declare a time- out. This, as Iran says it will bar all U.N. inspectors from countries that voted in favor of a security council resolution imposing sanctions on its nuclear program.

Tehran's move follows a ban on 38 inspectors from four major Western nations.

CLANCY: Syrian-born Canadian Maher Arar (ph) is going to stay on a U.S. terrorist watch list. But Canadian authorities have cleared him. They told the Americans they should do the same. They say the information given to the U.S. was just plain wrong. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has just issued an apology -- a formal apology to Arar and offered him nearly $10 million in compensation.

Now he's holding a news conference right now. You're looking here that in both French and English. We're monitoring that and we'll bring you the latest developments that come out of this press conference.

An embarrassing moment for the prime minister, as well as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

GORANI: Well, there are problems on the second war front for the United States. Taliban and al Qaeda connected attacks have increased in recent months and years. And more fighting is anticipated in the future. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza rice took the U.S. case to NATO headquarters Friday to ask for more help. She's already announced for $10 billion in new spending for Afghanistan over the next two years. NATO's response, "We agree more needs to be done."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAAP DE HOOP SCHEFFER, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: Afghanistan, NATO's top priority, is about building schools, roads, power stations, democratic institutions. But it is also, of course, about conducting military operations to support the elected Afghan government and allow reconstruction to go forward. To achieve results, the international community needs to provide both the necessary civilian and military resources.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: More troops, more money. That's a familiar situation for the Bush administration. But as Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports for us, unlike in Iraq, the commanders on the ground in Afghanistan have been telling their higher ups not for months but for years they need help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The slowness of America's allies in NATO to provide more troops has forced the U.S. to keep 3,200 soldiers from the Army's Tenth Mountain Division soldiers in Afghanistan an extra four months to battle the resurgent Taliban and al Qaeda, who are expected to stage another deadly spring offensive.

A handful of those U.S. soldiers had already reunited with family members in Fort Drum, New York this week, only to learn they will have to do an about face and go back.

The problem is, despite the presence of 31,000 NATO troops, including 11,000 Americans, attacks in the south of Afghanistan are up 200 percent. U.S. commanders say a big reason is that al Qaeda had been operating freely from sanctuaries across the border in Pakistan ever since Pakistan's made a deal to rely on tribal leaders to keep al Qaeda in check.

A U.S. intelligence official tells CNN al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan are full. But Pakistan's president, a staunch U.S. ally, insists he's doing all he can.

GEN. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: We are tackling them with troops. So let it not be said that Pakistan is not doing enough. If there is anybody who's not doing enough, it is others who are not doing enough.

MCINTYRE: And, in fact, the other big problem is, just like in Iraq, the performance of local Afghan security forces, especially the police, has been spotty. So in addition to more troops, the Bush administration now plans to plow more money in Afghanistan, more than $10 billion, including $8 billion for police training and equipment and $2 billion for construction, things like roads.

SEAN MCCORMACK, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: Afghanistan could be a real producer of various types of agricultural products. But some of those are perishable and by the time -- with the current road system, by the time you get those goods to market, they're no good.

MCINTYRE (on camera): After months of foot-dragging, NATO has announced it will finally send the rest of the troops allied commanders requested last summer. But with the level of fighting on the rise, U.S. and NATO generals are saying they may need even more troops as they head into summer.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: The Georgian government reports to the IAEA soon about a Russian man who try today sell weapons-grade uranium last year. A Georgian tells CNN that Oleg Khinsagov was arrested in February of last year as he tried to sell 100 grams of the uranium to undercover agents in an apartment in Tiblisi (ph). The official says Khinsagov carried the uranium in two plastic bags in his pocket. He's Now serving an 8 year prison sentence in Georgia after he was convicted. The Georgian government says it's frustrated by Russia's response to the thwarted uranium sale. Moscow has not commented publicly on the allegation, but said the uranium sample it was given by Georgia is too small to determine its origin.

Now, a curfew has been lifted. But schools and universities are still closed in the Lebanese capital a day after violent clashes shook the fragile country. At least four people were killed during protests between pro-government and opposition supporters.

Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is live in Beirut with more on what's happening right now in the Lebanese capital -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it has been much calmer throughout the day. There's been very tight security in the capitol, particularly around the area where there was funeral, a funeral for one of the four people killed in the clashes yesterday. He was buried in a predominantly Hezbollah area of the city. He was a Shia Muslim. His wife was at the graveside. She was crying about his unborn son. Hit two other young children came to the graveside. It was a very, very emotional time. His wife was calling for revenge not against civilians, she said, but against the armed militias she said were responsible for firing weapons into the people that were firing at the university. There's been no concrete proof that this has actually happened, but it's a widely-held suspicion, particularly among the anti-government, pro-Hezbollah supporters who were present during those clashes.

But the day, almost getting back to normal. But people we've talked to in communities here, very concerned about the way that the violence seems to be lurching the country toward sectarian conflict.

Indeed, listening to some of the several thousand mourners at that funeral, they were chanting in support of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. But at the same time, they were also calling for death to America and death to Lebanon's prime minister. And that really does give an indication of just how deeply held the divisions are at this time.

GORANI: Nic, you've been to Lebanon regularly since -- over the last year or so. How does the atmosphere feel to you there? I mean, is it remarkably different from a few months ago, in terms of tension?

ROBERTSON: There is a shift. There are plenty of people that want Lebanon to continue, that want it to remain united. But at the same time, they will tell you they are deeply concerned about the direction the country's going in.

Another indication of the level of tension came this evening when a Christian leader, who is a pro-government leader here, said on television, on national television here that if Hassan Nasrallah continues to take Hezbollah on the path that it's on now, it will lead to civil war. Again, an indication -- so it is a subtle shift. But it is a shift and it is a slip towards sectarianism that really people here have held at bay. It's really been very much pro and anti- government factions. But it is descending into something much more volatile and much more -- into much deeply -- more deeply held passions here.

GORANI: All right. Nic Robertson, live in Beirut.

Thank you, Nic.

CLANCY: Well, Hala, the journey for some Mexicans who want to come United States actually begins underground.

GORANI: Still ahead, for some illegal immigrants, tunneling through sewers is worth the risk.

CLANCY: Up next, though, seeking shelter in support of another kind. We're going to introduce you to an American organization that is helping battered Muslim women.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back. Well, we're seen live in more than 200 countries around the globe, and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

Now, no question domestic abuse crosses all boundaries. However, in the Muslim community, well, it tends to me more hidden. There are some cultural reasons for that that.

Liz Neisloss tells about a New Jersey shelter, especially for battered Muslim women, which is trying to educate victims about their rights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIZ NEISLOSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For her own safety, she could not reveal her identity, after years of abuse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He broke my nose, and he hit me pretty had, and he hit me when I was pregnant.

NEISLOSS: The victim of North African origin, the abuser, her husband.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very painful for me to remember everything in my 19 years marriage.

NEISLOSS: She's a Muslim mother of five living in New Jersey, home to one in 10 of America's Muslims. It took years for her to find the courage to leave home, and eventually found the help she needed at Wafa House.

DORRIA FAHMY, WAFA HOUSE FOUNDER: I saw a lot of women who come to me and say, please, don't send us to a shelter, because they don't under our culture; they don't understand our language.

NEISLOSS: This woman urgently needed language services. She says her husband abducted her young daughter and took her back to Egypt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cleaned the house every day, but I leave my daughter's stuff in the same place.

NEISLOSS: Wafa House is now her second home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel that I need somebody to hear me. I come here, and I feel really free to talk.

NEISLOSS (on camera): In the United States, rates of domestic abuse of Muslim woman are thought to be similar to those in the general population. And Muslim women insist their problem isn't rooted in religion.

(voice-over): The founder of Wafa House agrees.

FAHMY: It has nothing to do with the religion at all; it has to do with the how he's brought up in house when he was young.

NEISLOSS: There are new efforts to educate Muslims about what their religion permits and forbids. MAHA ALKHATIB, PEACEFUL FAMILIES PROJECT: And the prophet himself, never hit a woman. Never hit a child. In fact he actually said, specifically about women, never hit your wives.

NEISLOSS: Activists believe that abuse in the Muslim community may be more hidden because of the culture not taking your problems outside of home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That may include sense of privacy and families, and a belief that any internal conflict in the family should be resolved within.

NEISLOSS: And that's a cycle these women now want to break.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want my daughter one day, who is going to leave my situation and she's going to say to herself, it's normal. Her husband is going to hit her and she's going to love him. No.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So the hope, Hala is that with more resources available that are culturally, sensitive to religion, that more women, Muslim women, and in some cases men, will be able to break from abusive homes.

GORANI: So, Liz,how big a problem is this? And if it's not more prevalent in the Muslim community than others, how is it different?

NEISLOSS: It's different in this sense, because in many cultures, and there are many cultures within the Muslim community, the woman in particular is considered to be responsible for harmony in the home. So that's a special challenge when a woman considers breaking out of a home to leave an abusive relationship. The statistics are anywhere from 10 to 18 percent, which sounds very high. It depends what kinds of abuse that you include. But most experts have told me that there is a lot of underreporting in a crime like domestic abuse. People are afraid to come out and talk about it, not surprisingly -- Hala.

GORANI: All right, yes and in other communities as well. Thanks very much for your record, Liz Neisloss -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right, we're going back to the story of Maher Arar. he was the Canadian -- Syrian-born Canadian, who is staying on the U.S. terrorist watch list for right now, but Canadian authorities have cleared him. They say the information that was given to the U.S. in the first place was just plain wrong. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has issued a formal apology to Arar, and offered him nearly 10 million dollars, U.S. dollars, in compensation.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN HARPER, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Again, I wish to announce that the government of Canada concluded a settlement with Mr. Maher Arar regarding his legal actions. As a consequence I have written Mr. Arar as follows: "On behalf of the government of Canada, I wish to apologize to you, Mania Maziq (ph) and your family for any role Canadian officials may have played in the terrible ordeal that all of you have experienced in 2002 and 2003. Although these events occurred under the last government, please rest assured that this government will do everything in its power to make sure the issues raised by Commissioner O'Connor are addressed. I trust having arrived at a negotiated settlement, we have ensured that fair compensation will be paid to you and your family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: All right. Joining us now on the line is Loren Waldmann, an attorney for Maher Arar.

And I want to just ask you, what has been the response, Maher's response, to this apology?

LOREN WALDMANN, ARAR'S ATTY.: Well, Mr. Arar has he been waiting for this apology since September when Commissioner O'Connor cleared him completely of any involvement in anything, and found that Canadian officials provided erroneous information to the Americans. So obviously, he's very happy that finally it came late, but better late than ever.

CLANCY: He's got to be concerned, too. He said, you know, his interest was to clear his name. U.S. authorities have not done that.

WALDMANN: Well, I think at this point in time, any reasonable person knows that there's nothing there, because Ambassador Wilkins made suggestion, the U.S. ambassador Kanna (ph) Wilkins, made a suggestion that the U.S. had other information. So the Canadian public security minister went down and looked at that information. After he looked at it, he said there's absolutely nothing there.

So clearly, we have now seen -- or the Canadian officials have now seen the U.S. evidence, and so it's been exposed to the whole world that there is not any evidence.

So the only people who are clinging to keeping Mr. Arar on the watch list is the Bush administration. Because as you know, the U.S. Congress has began to investigate the case, and Senator Leahy has demanded that Attorney Gonzales provide information, and as far as I know, that hasn't yet been forthcoming.

CLANCY: And this is all going to back to the whole topic of rendition, sending someone back to another country, where they might be tortured, and that is, in fact, when he went home to Syria, that's what happened to him.

WALDMANN: Well, the Canadian commissioner of inquiry did an extensive study. They investigated whether or not he'd been tortured, and there was conclusive finding that Mr. Arar was brutally tortured by the Syrian government while he was there, as were several other Canadians. CLANCY: Loren Waldmann, attorney for Maher Arar, who has just won an apology and an offer of a compensation package from Canada's prime minister. I want to thank you for joining us on the line there.

Well, still ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we're going to take everyone underground.

GORANI: Well, desperate Mexican immigrants resort to sewer tunnels to make their way into the U.S. We'll take you along and tell you their story in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: You know, by the numbers, there are almost 11 million undocumented residents living in the United States. And most of them come from one country, Mexico.

GORANI: Well, it makes sense geographically. Many are desperate immigrants coming to the U.S. in search of a better life for themselves and their families.

CLANCY: The reality, though, is that for those who can't enter the country legally, they're going to find another way. As Gary Tuchman tells us, they're going underground, literally.

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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the left side of this wall, Arizona; on the right, the Mexican state of Sonora. Huge numbers of illegal immigrants scale the wall to get into the U.S. On the Mexican side, this man turned back.

But this mother and child squeezed through a hole in the wall, just two of the roughly 400,000 people just in this part of Arizona nabbed in the last year.

The desperation of many Mexicans and the Border Patrol's effectiveness on the ground has moved the battle underground to the huge sewers and storm drains that connect the cities of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see there's not a whole lot to hide behind, so you just got to...

TUCHMAN (on camera): There's nothing to hide behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not a whole lot.

TUCHMAN: Yes, so if you're claustrophobic, afraid of the dark, this ain't the job for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No, I guess not.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The U.S. Border Patrol is a specially trained unit that scours the dark underbelly of this border region, searching for illegal immigrants and the smugglers who bring them and bring drugs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a Heckler and Koch -- it's H.K. UMP- 40.

TUCHMAN (on camera): And you're ready to use it if need be?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely, to protect myself or anyone else on the team.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Tense moments are about to come.

But first, a look at where the journey begins: a strip joint in Nogales, Mexico and underneath it, a wide open sewer, where many journeys start.

And this is where many of them conclude, a taco restaurant on the U.S. side. The tunnel's end point, where border agents are preparing to begin their patrol.

(on camera): You literally can't see your hand in front of your face.

(voice-over): Without special equipment, this is what you see as you're stepping in sewage muck.

And this is what it looks like with the night vision goggles the agents wear. All is quiet as the team approaches the international border. We pass tunnels in the sides of the wall with welded grates that are often broken by the Mexicans. We encounter a short burst of daylight under a welded grate. A startled citizen sees me from above.

(on camera): Are you used to the fact that there are immigrants passing under your city?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not really.

TUCHMAN: It's kind of strange, isn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): We go back to darkness. Part of the tunnel system has rushing sewage water flowing through. We find shoes and cell phones discarded. And then the agents command us to be quiet. They see something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

TUCHMAN: "Who is it? Who is it?" agents yell in Spanish. And listen to this whisper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got a body south.

TUCHMAN: "A body south."

As it turns out the night vision goggles reveal at least six moving bodies just feet away on the other side of the border.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

TUCHMAN: "We are American police, slow down," say the agents.

It's hard to make sense of their soft responses. And it's still not clear who these people are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

TUCHMAN: "What are you doing?" they ask.

The moments are nerve-racking. Weapons are readied. The silence lasts minutes. There's always concern that smugglers with nothing to lose will fire first.

CHIEF MICHAEL NICLEY, U.S. BORDER PATROL, TUCSON SECTOR: It's them against the smugglers inside those tunnels. It's a very dangerous job.

TUCHMAN: This night vision video was shot by the Border Patrol a couple of months ago. On the right, Mexicans who have crossed over into the U.S. They can't see the Border Patrol agents on the left or the bats flying circles. Watch what happens when one of the agents jumps down to catch them. Chaos ensues, but ultimately the agents arrest them and others they find in the tunnel. They're brought out of the sewer. And the ones without criminal records are sent back to Mexico.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you back here behind me.

TUCHMAN: Back in our tunnel, the agents see lights. Mexican authorities have arrived.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on down, dude. It's clear.

TUCHMAN: The six suspicious people have disappeared on the other side of this yellow borderline in Mexico. It's still not clear what they were up to.

So I leave the sewer the same way many illegal immigrants do, climb through a side tunnel and exit into blinding sunlight in the middle of a busy American street.

(on camera): It's not known how many people escape into Nogales, Arizona without ever being seen. But it's clear a lot of them come through sewers like I just did. And it doesn't even shock the people in the city because it happens so frequently.

(voice-over): Most of the arrests are still of the traditional variety. But the number of people in the tunnels every month now sometimes approaches 1,000.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Nogales, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE) GORANI: All right. Well, for our viewers in the United States, NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips and Don Lemon is up next.

CLANCY: And for out viewers elsewhere around the world, the race to find the next online craze. It's at the heart of "CNN CONNECTS: OUR NETWORKED WORLD", hosted by Becky Anderson. We'll take a look at the new forces transforming the way that we access information. Stay with CNN.

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