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President Bush Gives Commencement Address at U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Former KGB Agent Says he Knows who Killed Litvinenko; Fourth Iranian-American Detained in Iran; New Immigration Bill Discussed

Aired May 23, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Earlier this month, Afghan, American and NATO forces tracked down and killed a top Taliban commander in Afghanistan. His death has sent a clear message to all who would challenge Afghanistan's young democracy: We drove al Qaeda and the Taliban out of power, and they're not going to be allowed to return to power.
(APPLAUSE)

In Iraq, we removed a cruel dictator who harbored terrorists, paid the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, invaded his neighbors, defied the United Nations Security Council, pursued and used weapons of mass destruction. Iraq, the United States and the world are better off without Saddam Hussein in power.

(APPLAUSE)

And today the Iraqi people are building a young democracy on the rubble of Saddam Hussein's tyranny.

December, 2005, nearly 12 million Iraqis demonstrated their desire to be free, going to the polls and choosing a new government under the most progressive democratic constitution in the Arab world.

In 2006, the thinking enemy responded to this progress and struck back with brutality. They staged sensational attacks that led to a tragic escalation of sectarian rage and reprisal.

If the sectarian violence continued to spiral out of control, the Iraqi government would have been in danger of collapse. The ensuing chaos would embolden Iran, which is fueling the violence, and al Qaeda, a key driver of Iraq's sectarian conflict. Chaos could eventually spread across the Middle East, and generations of Americans would be in even greater danger.

So I had a choice to make: withdraw our troops or send reinforcements to help the Iraqis quell the sectarian violence. I decided to send more troops with a new mission, to help the Iraqi government secure their population and get control of their capital city.

As we carry out the new strategy, the Iraqi government has a lot of work to do. They must meet its responsibility to the Iraqi people and achieve benchmarks it has set, including the adoption of a national oil law, preparations for provincial elections, progress on a new debaathfication policy, and a review of the Iraqi constitution. The Iraqi people must see that their government is taking action to bring their country together and give all Iraqis a stake in a peaceful future.

And now in 2007, we're at a pivotal moment in this battle. There are many destructive forces in Iraq trying to stop this strategy from succeeding. The most destructive is al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda knows that a democratic Iraq is a threat to their ambitions to impose their hateful ideology across the Middle East. Al Qaeda knows that our presence in Iraq is a direct threat to their existence in Iraq. Our security depends on helping the Iraqis succeed and defeating Iraq -- al Qaeda in Iraq.

(APPLAUSE)

Some in our country question whether the battle in Iraq is a part of the war on terror. Among the terrorists, there's no doubt.

Hear the words of Osama bin Laden. He calls the struggle in Iraq a "war of destiny". He proclaimed, "The war is for you or for us to win. If we win it, it means your defeat and disgrace forever."

Bin Laden's matching these words with action. He attempted to send a new commander to Iraq, an Iraqi-born terrorist named Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi.

According to our intelligence community, this terrorist had been a senior adviser to bin Laden. He served as his top commander in Afghanistan. He was responsible for all al Qaeda's military operations against our coalition in that country.

Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi never made it to Iraq. He was captured last year. He was recently transferred to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

There's a reason that bin Laden sent one of his most experienced paramilitary leaders to Iraq. He believes that if al Qaeda can drive us out, they can establish Iraq as a new terror sanctuary.

Our intelligence community believes that "Al Qaeda leaders see victory in Iraq the heart of the caliphate, and currently the most active front in their war is a religious and strategic imperative." If al Qaeda succeeds in Iraq, they would pursue their stated goals of turning that nation into a base from which to overthrow moderate governments in the region, impose their hateful ideology on millions, and launch new attacks on America and other nations.

Victory in Iraq is important for Osama bin Laden, and victory in Iraq is vital for the United States of America.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You're listening to President Bush and his commencement address at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, talking about war on terror, homeland security, and an array of topics. Want to let you know we are going to be joining YOUR WORLD TODAY in progress. Going to be talking a little bit more about that KGB death and long investigation that has been going on.

For now, everybody. Have a great day.

I'm Heidi Collins.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: ... killed on the borders of the Kremlin in some shape or form. And if the current regime in Russia is nasty brutish and long, as you believe, then you're in danger.

OLEG KALUGIN, FMR. KGB SPY: Well, of course, I am. I have always been. In fact, ever since Mr. Putin took over and -- as president of Russia and called me publicly "traitor," I call him publicly "war criminal" for what he had done to Chechnya.

Well, it's obvious that there is no friendship. And Mr. Putin followed up. I mean, his statement was followed up by the secret trial in -- held in absentia in Moscow, where I was convicted and sentenced to 15 years.

So I know I'm in trouble, but I live in a free country. I'm a U.S. citizen. I am protected by the United States laws, and any attempt to kill a U.S. citizen would cost them dearly, just like Mr. Litvinenko's death when the British authorities finalized their judgment on this case.

I believe this will affect the British-Russian relations. You cannot kill people in a sovereign territory of another country. Even if they are political or whatever. (INAUDIBLE) for criminal offenses, but you cannot be killed, political dissidents.

QUEST: Finally, the work that you did, you finally came to the United States. You've now been denounced as a traitor back in Russia. You've been convicted 15 years in prison. You can't go back.

What -- what do you believe -- well, let me rephrase that. You have been highly critical of the Putin administration. Do you believe that the KGB successor, the FSB, is a legitimate tool now, or it is working in a way that we should be seriously worried about?

KALUGIN: Well, I believe in the West some illusions about the Putin administration have been now shed and people in responsible positions, the Western governments, now realize that they deal with the government, which may resort to the old Soviet methods at its worst. That's precisely what happened in Russia when political opponents were either poisoned or assassinated. And the latest cases of Anna Politkovskaya, who was gunned down. She was a good friend of mine, we met in Washington two years before. Or say Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned. And other guys -- I could name another half a dozen who were similarly removed -- I mean, physically poisoned, assassinated, killed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: All right. Well, Richard conducted that interview with Oleg Kalugin as part of his show "Quest," which this month explores the life of spies and secret agents.

You can see "Quest" on CNN International. It airs Saturday at the times on your screen -- Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, now to Iraq, where after nearly two weeks of searching, authorities may -- they may have learned the fate of at least one of those three missing U.S. soldiers.

Iraqi police recovered the body from the Euphrates River, south of Baghdad, on Wednesday. They described the man that they found there as Western-looking, wearing what appeared to be the American military uniform.

U.S. officials are now trying to identify that body positively. The soldiers went missing after their convoy was ambushed on May 12th.

GORANI: Now, the U.S. State Department confirms that a fourth person of dual U.S. and Iranian citizenship has been detained by authorities in Iran. Tian Tajbak (ph) was picked up six days ago and is being interrogated, according to colleagues. The most serious case so far involves scholar Haleh Esfandiari, who has now been charged.

Jill Dougherty reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Her husband describes it as a very difficult and anxious time. His wife, Haleh Esfandiari, a prominent Iranian-American scholar, held in a notorious prison, not allowed to communicate with him or see her lawyer. Now he says it's become even more frightening.

SHAUL BAKHASH, HUSBAND: I'm very concerned, because these accusations, not yet formal charges, are very serious. But they're vague. They're very general. If you look carefully at that statement, it's very hard to make out what exactly it is they're saying.

DOUGHERTY: That statement from Iran's Intelligence Ministry appeared Monday on an Iranian news agency Web site. It alleges that Esfandiari's employer, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, along with other U.S. institutions, is trying to undermine Iran's national security. "This U.S.-designed model," the ministry says, "is aimed at soft overthrowing of the system." LEE HAMILTON, DIRECTOR, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: I did write to the president...

DOUGHERTY: The Woodrow Wilson Center's director, former U.S. congressman Lee Hamilton, has written to Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, urging him to release Esfandiari. He calls the charges outrageous.

HAMILTON: There is not a shred, not a scintilla of truth to the allegations against her. Iran is trying to turn a scholar into a spy.

DOUGHERTY: The 67-year-old Esfandiari flew to Iran in December to visit her 93-year-old mother. She was detained, interrogated, then arrested and imprisoned May 8th. The U.S. State Department is calling for her release and tells CNN, "Haleh Esfandiari is not a threat to this Iranian government or the regime as a whole. She is an academic and a voice for tolerance and people-to-people exchanges between the Iranian and American people. We can't imagine why she is considered a threat."

The only information about his wife now comes from the one-minute phone call she's allowed to make to her mother, who then calls Esfandiari's husband.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: All right. Well, Jill joins us to discuss the wider implications of these detentions and other issues involving Iran.

Let's put it into context, Jill.

We have a fourth person of dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship on the same day, today, an IAEA report coming out criticizing Iran's nuclear program.

How do we look at it in terms of the diplomatic back and forth between the West and Iran?

DOUGHERTY: Well, if you look at Esfandiari and the others, four we believe, one not named so far, there does seem to be a pattern that they are -- the Iranian government is going after academics, journalists who are Iranian-American citizens. That's one thing.

Then if you look down at other aspects of this, you have the IAEA report on Iran's nuclear program, the accusations from the United States about expanding enrichment, et cetera. The Iranians saying, we are not doing that except for peaceful purposes.

Then have you another factor next week, the talks in Baghdad between the United States and Iran concerning Iraq's future.

And then finally, you have the war games by U.S. ships who are patrolling in that area.

So there is high tension and some people that we've been speaking with who look at it very carefully say there's a high level of paranoia in Iran.

GORANI: Well, Jill, it's got to be sort of a -- I mean, if you will, a schizophrenic relationship developing here, where the U.S. is talking to Iran inside of Iraq on the future of that country, at the same time having to object and reject other things it does, including pursuing its nuclear program.

How do you achieve a balancing act on all of this, according to the people you've been speaking with, inside the U.S.?

DOUGHERTY: Well, this is one of the problems, because the United States, as you know, does not have diplomatic relations with Iran. So even on a very basic level of trying to get information about these people who are being held, it's virtually impossible directly.

They have to work through the Swiss in the case of the United States, and the Iranians, from what we understand, are not allowing anyone to visit Esfandiari. The others have even less attention right now focussed on them.

GORANI: All right. Jill Dougherty in Washington, D.C.

Thank you.

CLANCY: All right.

Coming up right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, fleeing the violence in Lebanon.

GORANI: Well, what was supposed to be a sanctuary has turned into a living nightmare.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brad and Angelina show up in Cannes, and it's like, you know, they're bringing this much needed dose of glamour to this dumpy little seaside film festival.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Taking the spotlight at Cannes. The couple at the forefront.

GORANI: And later, would you buy a used car from this guy? Well, the seller is hoping you will. We'll tell you who used to own it. You had a clue there -- straight ahead.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

CLANCY: The United Nations Children's Fund says conditions of the youngest victims of Iraq's war are reaching a critical point in its words. UNICEF says the needs of Iraqi children are quickly outstripping any international aid that's coming in. It is now asking for $42 million over the next six months to help provide basic health, sanitation and education services.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN TOOLE, UNICEF DIR. OF EMERGENCY PROGRAMS: Five years ago, about 75 percent of Iraqi children were attending school. Today, it's 30 percent. Two-thirds of Iraqi children no longer have access to clean water. With the summer coming, with the heat, that means we risk diarrhea, that means we risk cholera, and we've already started to see that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, the lack of clean water has already taken a devastating toll on the children of Iraq.

CLANCY: It is the single biggest reason that the number of deaths among children under the age of 5 has doubled since the invasion.

Hugh Riminton has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The victims of this war are not only the kidnapped and tortured or the people blown up in market squares. There are those who simply drink. The hospitals are filling up.

"I'm doing my best to keep her alive," says Imman Awad (ph), "but often the water we buy is green. Iraq is an approaching summer, and that is diarrhea season. The biggest killer of Iraq's children. One child in 20 in Iraq, on some claims one in eight, dies before reaching 5. It is in the children's wards as much as in the trauma rooms where Iraq's tragedy is seen.

"It's pollution in the drinking water," says Dr. Saad Mahdi, a pediatrician at Sadr City's Ibn Baladi (ph) Hospital. The water contains parasites says, he says, and brings diarrhea and fever, also typhoid and hepatitis. They have got worse since the invasion.

(on camera): For thousands of years this has been the glory of Iraq. In a desert country, the water of the River Euphrates, and this, the River Tigris, that flows through the have of Baghdad.

But have a look over here. Into this waterway, where so many millions of people draw their essential needs, putrid, stinking effluence.

(voice-over): It is liquid death. Not only sewage, but frequently bodies float in the Tigris. The original U.S.-Iraq construction plan prioritized a quarter of the budget for water and sewage. But within months, $2 billion was shifted out of that allocation as security became the pressing issue. Almost all of that will money is now gone.

UNICEF runs a tanker program. It's safe to drink this water when it comes, and people, women chiefly, come a long way to get it.

"Thank god there's this water," says this woman. "This is my only container. "God willing, it will not be too heavy. This is our suffering."

But UNICEF's water reaches less than 3 percent of the population and its future budget is uncertain. And in Baghdad, children still skip school to scrounge the most basic human resource.

The Iraqi government is now under pressure to spend billions of dollars on its money on infrastructure projects, but there is no transparency, no timetables no, sign of work being done. Sometimes lost among the bangs, the whimpers.

Hugh Riminton, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: CNN has learned that turkey has detained five suspects in three Turkish cities after Tuesday's bombing after a shopping mall in the capital Ankara. When police detained three suspects, they recovered 11 kilograms of plastic explosives, two hand grenades and 12 detonators. Police had found traces of a plastic explosives at the scene of Tuesday's attack that killed six people and wounded 100 others. Officials now say a suicide bomber was responsible for the blast.

CLANCY: Well, there is a huge debate going on in the United States, and it is a debate that is being watched closely all around the world. U.S. senators, once again, up on Capitol Hill going back and forth. Over the measure to overhaul the U.S. immigration system. Now, if this bill were to pass, the proposed -- the proposal would give some 12 million illegal immigrants what's called a path to U.S. citizenship. The bipartisan measure has the blessing of the White House. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, have a long list of complaints and changes they want to see made. Conservatives are hitting out at it as amnesty for undocumented workers. Liberals say it unfairly limits the opportunities for unskilled workers and would divide families.

Illegal immigrants would have to pay $5,000 in fines, they'd have to return to their homes at least one time and wait as long as eight years to return to the United States. A lot of immigrants say they're confused by this bill, that's after all 380 pages. Let's get some analysis now.

We turn to Isabel Garcia. She is a board member of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Thank you so much for being with us.

Now, you don't like this bill. You think that it doesn't go far enough. ISABEL GARCIA, NETWORK FOR IMMIG. & REFUGEE RIGHTS: Well, not only do I say it doesn't go far enough, that's really the wrong analysis. I think this bill, if you look at it clearly, it's contained in Title One, is a major effort to militarize not only the border, more than the $30 billion we've already allocated, but to militarize the interior itself. Those are now contained as triggers. In other words, they're preconditions.

If we don't hire 18,000 new border patrol agents, if we don't have enough resources to detain 27,500 immigrants per day on an annual basis, building more walls, building the detention centers within the United States, requiring a violation of our privacy and creation of almost a national I.D. Those are the triggers that would have to be met before there's any lawful program. And as you've stated, it's a probationary small permit.

CLANCY: OK, OK. Isabel, let me ask you something, do I understand the bill correctly that it would give out 440,000 -- 440,000 Visas a year? And do you know of any other country that offers the opportunity for 440,000 people to come in every year legally?

GARCIA: Well, let me tell you, I think there's about 200 million people in migration worldwide. This represents about six percent, 12 million people.

CLANCY: All right, but there's no other country, Isabel, there's no other country, right, that does that.

GARCIA: When you say Visa, in the minds of most Americans, they think, oh, my goodness, that's lawful residents. You have rights to everything -- that's not true. This is a very temporary worker program. And the path that you call to legalization or citizenship is literally filled with landmines and interestingly enough, many of them are going to be created by the very same companies that have -- did the landmines in Iraq.

We're talking about Halliburton, Boeing, Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, all of those ...

CLANCY: OK, we're getting -- but we're -- as we do that, we get off the track of immigration. Let's go back to Senator Ted Kennedy. You've got to say, he's a liberal. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED KENNEDY, (D-MA): The idea that you have you 800,000 workers, farm workers, primarily in California, half of them undocumented on that kind of thing, are going to continue to have to work and work and work and work, but are going to be protected and going to have some opportunity for the American dream is a change that is breathtaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Breathtaking change is the way he describes it. It's giving people a chance, isn't it? Already, I talked to restaurant owners that say they're willing to pay that $5,000 fine for their workers.

GARCIA: It's not only $5,000, but when you have to depart the country after eight or 13 years, you must come up with another $4,000, you must then be able to qualify under the new system that's based on merit and skill and education, leaving out low-skilled workers that have really built a lot of wealth in this country.

When he talks about the agricultural workers, yes, it's a one- shot deal for -- it's the ag (ph) jobs provision, and it's one of the few.

CLANCY: And that's -- that's that low-skilled workers that you're talking about. Wait a minute. And I want to talk about another group of would-be immigrants. And those are the people that have been legally standing in line, waiting to get into the United States, filled out all the paperwork. They've been put to the back of the line by people that jumped in front of them illegally.

And now, they are the ones that are going to be first in line when this flood of immigration permits is handed out. Aren't they really -- is it really going to benefit immigrants and benefit America, a nation built on immigration?

GARCIA: Well, first of all, you have to recall -- remember that we have had incredibly long backlogs because we have unrealistic quotas. But beyond that, I think it's really important to note here that about half of the immigrants are Mexican immigrants and we, through our government have imposed policies and practices that have encouraged unlawful migration for over 100 years -- Encouraged unlawful migration. Why? Because we're very generous or is it because we needed their labor force to create much of what we know of the southwest, and continue to today.

We also have to not ignore the root of migration. Why doesn't the Congress and this administration address the roots of migration versus treating it rather than an economic-social-political problem, they treat it as a law enforcement, military problem.

CLANCY: Well, a lot of them see it as a law enforcement issue. Isabel Garcia, we've got to leave it there. But I thank you, valuable points, all of them. All worth keeping in mind. Thank you.

GARCIA: Thank you very much.

CLANCY: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, reasserting their glamour credentials, where else, but at Cannes.

GORANI: Just ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see them and it's like -- sort of back to you know, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton showing up somewhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Brangelina as they're called, take a break from activism and family, but not from their status as celebrity power couple. We'll bring you the latest on their Cannes escapade after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: The relatively small city of Cannes in France has its glam face on right now.

CLANCY: Its glam face? Well, that's because the annual film festival is underway. In fact, this is the event's 60th year.

GORANI: And who better to help celebrate than Hollywood's number one it couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Brooke Anderson has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: We've seen them as tabloid fodder, international do-gooders, and serial child adopters. But at the Cannes Film Festival, we're seeing Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in a way we hardly ever see them anymore: as glamorous. True blue, movie stars.

AMY ARGETSINGER, WASHINGTON POST GOSSIP COLUMNIST: Brad and Angelina show up in Cannes, and it's like, you know, they're bringing this much needed dose of glamour to this dumpy little seaside film festival.

ANDERSON: All joking aside, Brad and Angelina are making it clear with their splashy appearance at Cannes, they are Hollywood's number one undisputed it couple.

ARGETSINGER: You see them, and it's like -- sort of back to you know, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton showing up somewhere. It's like that though. They were the Brangelina of 1963. It's interesting to see them on an actual red carpet. We were sort of forgetting what it was that they are stupendously famous for, making movies.

ANDERSON: Not that you should get used to scenes like this. Angelina Jolie tells "People" magazine that she will soon be taking a year off away from all this to spend time with her growing family. But for now, Brangelina is front and center. And Brad Pitt tells "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" the throngs of the media aren't bothering him.

BRAD PITT, ACTOR: It's a bit of a trial to come to Cannes. It's the pinnacle of the festival.

ANDERSON: But Brad and his Oscar-winning companion are not at the ritzy film festival just to look pretty. They're both promoting new movies. Pitt's in "Ocean's 13."

PITT: Let me tell you what you don't want, your hotel in a twisted heap of steel and glass. ANDERSON: And Angelina Jolie is starring in the more serious film, "A Mighty Heart." It's the true story of Mariane Pearl, the widow of Wall Street Journal Reporter Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped and beheaded by Islamic militants in Pakistan in 2002.

Pitt is producing the movie, and the "Washington Post's" Amy Argetsinger says even this serious film couldn't escape the sometimes tawdry Brangelina rumor mill.

ARGETSINGER: This is a project that originally belonged to Brad and Jennifer Aniston when they were married, and they had a production company together. And so, the word that Angelina would be starring in this movie, which apparently Brad got in the divorce, it was, you know, there was this immediate buzz of ooh, Angelina is stealing Jen's Oscar role.

ANDERSON: But now, Pitt and Jolie are using their star power to promote their labor of love, and with the real Mariane Pearl at their side in France, Jolie is praising the woman who inspired her latest role.

ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: I highly doubt there is anybody in this room who has more reason to hold hate inside herself than Mariane and she doesn't. She is a very compassionate, thoughtful person.

ANDERSON: But Brangelina's glamorous reemergence at Cannes is doing more than promoting "A Mighty Heart." It's also promoting the couple themselves who have seen their share of negative stories.

DAVE CAPLAN, JOURNALIST: There have been so many nasty stories written about them in the past few months. Everyone knows everything about their personal life, that now is the time for them to be like hey, we're going to return to our roots, we want to be perceived by the public as just actors.

ANDERSON: And as they set the world talking, Brangelina is once again showing us that they're not just actors or even tabloid topics. They are in a classic sense of the word, stars.

CAPLAN: The golden age of Hollywood is coming back. You see it with Brad and Angelina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Brooke Anderson there.

eBay says items when sold by celebrities are always big sellers.

CLANCY: It's probably true, he's not exact a celebrity, I guess, but a car that was once in the family of British Prime Minister Tony Blair is getting some hits. The terms of the deal straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back, everyone. Hala, would you pay $7500 for a car once owned by British Prime Minister Tony Blair's family? GORANI: Well, I think it would largely depend on the car. And you're about to see what it is. There's an ambitious eBay seller, sure hoping that someone will.

Linzie Janis tells us about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LINZIE JANIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The General Lee from "Dukes of Hazzard."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry it took so long, but it took special cooperation.

JANIS: David Hasselhoff's talking trans am (ph) kit in "Night Rider." The DeLorean Time Machine out of "Back to the Future," all auctioned on eBay. But it's not just famous cars available on the Web site. You can also buy cars once driven by the famous.

Demian Brewster is selling one that belonged to a certain prime minister.

DEMIAN BREWSTER, EBAY SELLER: I questioned him at the time and said, what do you mean, it's the same model of car that Tony Blair drives? And he said no, no, it's the actual car, it is actually his car. So, I thought he was pulling my leg and asked him to show me proof. And he produced this logbook with ...

JANIS (on camera): That's the logbook?

BREWSTER: Mrs. Cherie Blair, 10 Downing Street, London.

JANIS (voice-over): The Blairs purchased the Chrysler Voyager 10 years ago. They kept it six years, putting just 60,000 miles on it. With the prime minister's days at number 10 numbered, Brewster hopes the car will make him and his family a bit of extra cash.

(on camera): Tony Blair's old family car is currently generating bids of around $8,000. But there's still time left in the bidding process. And as is often the case with eBay, things don't heat up until the final moments.

(voice-over): Ebay says celebrity-owned cars are always a big hit with customers.

AIDEEN MCGRATH, EBAYMOTORS.CO.UK: We've had David Beckham sell his BMW, we've had Robbie Williams, Elton John, we had a car for Freddie Mercury. We've had Joanna Lumee's (ph) car on there. Pink Panther is the latest celebrity, some may call him a celebrity, to sell his car there. We've also had the Queen's Range Rover, which incidentally, was the first car that Charles and Diana dated in.

JANIS: So what will the Blairs drive after Downing Street? There are British media reports they've ordered a custom-built bullet and bombproof Land Rover like this one. Price tag? $300,000.

Linzie Janis, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Trading up.

GORANI: Yes, that will do it for this hour. I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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