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Your World Today

"TIME" Chooses Vladimir Putin of 'Person of the Year"; Newly- Single French President Out With Supermodel, U.S. Energy Bill, Iraq Controls Basra, Iraq's Children, Amy Winehouse In Trouble

Aired December 19, 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: From outgoing president to man of the year, why "TIME" magazine put Putin on the cover.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Heavy smoke pours from a building across from the White House, forcing hundreds to evacuate.

CLANCY: Then they're the Iraq war's youngest victims, but only a fortunate few are finding the care they need.

MCEDWARDS: And president by day, playboy after hours. Reaction to Nicolas Sarkozy's splashy outing with a supermodel.

It's 6:00 p.m. right now in Paris, 8:00 p.m. in Moscow.

Welcome to our report seen around the globe.

I'm Jim Clancy.

MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards.

From Seoul to London, from Washington to Basra, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Well, "TIME" magazine says he took a country in chaos roaring back to the table of world power.

CLANCY: And for that, Russian president Vladimir Putin has earned its title of "Person of the Year."

MCEDWARDS: Interestingly, "TIME" also says he's "not a good guy" -- that's a quote -- but has done some extraordinary things, calling him even a potentially dangerous new czar of Russia.

CLANCY: Well, President Putin is extremely popular at home, but many in the West criticize his clampdown on civil liberties and a rollback of democratic reforms, the lack of access to the media by the opposition. "TIME" acknowledges all of that saying, flatly, Mr. Putin does not care about things like free speech, sacrificing such liberties for stability.

Matthew Chance has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Fresh from a landslide election victory, with a booming economy at home, Vladimir Putin is on an unprecedented roll. Named "TIME" magazine's person of the year for 2007, the Russian president is enjoying wide applause for his achievements. Not least in overseeing a period of prosperity and stability at the helm of his vast and once impoverished country.

MICHAEL ELIOTT, "TIME" MAGAZINE EDITOR: We thought that this was the year in which Russia stepped back onto the world stage in a big way, with the -- with the confidence that comes from high oil prices, with the confidence that comes from economic success, and a lot of that confidence, in our view, is due to the iron will and determination of one man, Vladimir Putin. And that's why we called him our "Person of the Year" this year.

CHANCE: But "TIME" magazine and other Russia watchers know there's a worrying dark side to Putin's presidency. Political opponents have been sidelined, even arrested. Some critics have been brutally silenced, like journalist Anna Politkovskaya, gunned down in her Moscow apartment building, and former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned in a London hotel. The Kremlin denies any involvement with the killings.

Diplomatic tensions over NATO, missile defense, Kosovo and Iran have led to talk of a new Cold War with the West. As President Putin prepares to leave office next year, his legacy may be significant, indeed.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Well, the "Person of the Year" award is not a popularity contest. It's not even necessarily an honor. It is, though, a recognition of the person who had the greatest impact on world events for better or worse.

For more on why Mr. Putin was chosen, we are joined now by "TIME" magazine's managing editor, Richard Stengel. He is in New York.

Richard, thanks a lot for joining us.

RICHARD STENGEL, MANAGING EDITOR, "TIME": Great to be here.

MCEDWARDS: You know, of all the choices you had -- J.K. Rowling was one of the names, former vice president Al Gore -- why Vladimir Putin?

STENGEL: Well, we live in a serious time, Colleen, and Putin is doing something that's actually quite extraordinary. For so many of us in the West, in the '90s Russia seemed to fall off the map, and with Putin coming back as president, he's put Russia back on its feet, for better or for worse. And as you noted, "TIME" "Person of the Year" is not an award, it's not an horror. It's a recognition of, in some ways, extraordinary leadership and power, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.

MCEDWARDS: You k now, I found the writing you all did on it sort of shocking. I mean, on one hand, you call him potentially dangerous.

STENGEL: Well, he could take two paths. Look, his idol in many ways is Peter the Great. Peter the Great modernized Russia, but at great cost.

The other, then, person that he could become more like is someone like Stalin, who was a modern-day czar. He has accumulated more power. He controls the oil industry. He controls the press.

He could go in one of those two directions. And that is why what makes him so fascinating, what makes him so interesting and makes watching Russia such an important part of what's going to happen in the 21st century.

MCEDWARDS: You know, the magazine talks about the stability that he has created. I don't think anybody would argue with that, but at what cost? I mean, has he sacrificed too much to bring that kind of stability to Russia?

STENGEL: You know, remember when Gorbachev was president of Russia, people said he made a big mistake. And the mistake was putting Glasnost before Perestroika. That is basically putting freedom before order.

Putin looks at it the other way around. In order to have freedom, you need to have order first. But there is a cost. There's a cost in terms of a free press, there's a cost in terms of civil liberties, but he thinks and most Russians agree, that that's a price worth paying.

MCEDWARDS: You know, the infrastructure in the country is a mess, though. I mean, when you look at the average daily life for Russians, I mean, people have fires in their homes, can't even count on someone to come and help them put on the fire kind of thing. I mean, bridges are collapsing. It's a mess.

STENGEL: Well, if you look at their economy, it's dividing in two ways. I mean, there are this unprecedented group of billionaires, but for working class people, their income has gone up seven percent a year over the last four years, so they're looking at benefits to that. But they do have problems -- infrastructure, as you mentioned.

They have a demographic problem. They have a population of only about 150 million, and it's not replicating itself. It's very old. So there are lots of things that they have to reckon with. I mean, one of the things that Putin said to us when we talked to him in Moscow, he says, you know, I feel like a workhorse with an incredible load that I have to carry every day. And it's true. He does.

MCEDWARDS: What did he say and what do you make of his obvious efforts to, you know, try to cling to power here and to find a way around the constitutional restrictions and basically come back again? STENGEL: Again, it's something that might be potentially ominous. I mean, he is, in effect, figured out a way to succeed himself, to become what he calls national leader in the role of prime minister-ship, which has always been a traditionally week office.

I mean, it's hard imagine to that the man, Mr. Medvedev, who he's appointing as president, wouldn't actually defer to Mr. Putin. But again, Russians do like this. They feel that he has restored order and stability, and for them it is keeping that in place, and that's what's important to them.

MCEDWARDS: All right. Richard Stengel, we have got to leave it there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

STENGEL: Thank you.

MCEDWARDS: We are going to have much more on this coming up, too. It's such an interesting choice. We're going to get some reaction from Russia, and that is actually going to be from government spokesman Dmitri Peskov. Jim is going to have that coming up in just a few moments on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: A little bit of excitement in Washington today. Firefighters there called out to battle a two-alarm blaze in a landmark U.S. government building just next to the White House, on the White House campus, so to speak.

The fire in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building was quickly extinguished with no injuries reported. The building houses one of the offices of Vice President Dick Cheney. As a matter of fact, the fire said to have started in an electrical space or electrical closet near the vice president's office. Cheney was working at his White House office at the time of the blaze.

President Bush later walked over to the old Executive Office Building and checked on a bit of the damage. He thanked the firefighters for their efforts to put out that blaze.

MCEDWARDS: And you know, we're starting to get some photos from our viewers who saw all of that action in Washington as it unfolded.

CLANCY: That's right. Let's take a look here.

Andrew Leyden sent us this photo. It shows the emergency response in action there. It's kind of a bird's eye view at an angle. Now we get the ground view along Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street near the White House.

MCEDWARDS: Now, if you have any photos to share of this story or any other story, for that matter, do send them to us -- cnn..com/ireport.

CLANCY: French president Nicolas Sarkozy raising a few eyebrows back in October. That's when he became the country's first leader to obtain a divorce while he was in office. MCEDWARDS: That was then, and this is now. Since going back on the market, so to speak, he's done pretty well for himself. He's just been romantically linked to Italian supermodel Carla Bruni.

CLANCY: Jim Bittermann is there in Paris with details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): By any measure, French president Nicolas Sarkozy has to be one of the world's most eligible bachelors. He's got the trappings of power, the big house, and contrary to these pictures, no longer the wife. And so, as one newspaper here put it, there will be other first ladies and they, too, will be beautiful and famous.

Et voila -- enter the beautiful famous and rich Carla Bruni, the former top model, singer and woman about town who at one time or another has been romantically linked to everyone from Eric Clapton to Donald Trump. Humorist and star watcher Stephane Berne says Bruni is to dating what Rolex is to watches.

STEPHANE BERNE, MEDIA PERSONALITY: You know, if you go back to the reputation of Ms. Carla Bruni, I mean, her private life, you find more a famous name than in the bible. It's a good point if he is happy in his private life, because a happy president is always better than a moody president.

BITTERMANN: In fact, President Sarkozy did appear happy enough when photographers caught the couple together, along with Bruni's mother, on a very public date at Euro Disneyland. A photo first published in the glitz and glamour magazine "Point de Vue," whose editor says no doubt having a bachelor president is going to provide many more cover stories.

COLOMBE PRINGLE, "POINT DE VUE" MAGAZINE EDITOR: You know, French people, we're not a conservative country on that part of the side -- on that side of life. We like, we enjoy men who have success and have sort of stories in their lives and love stories.

BITTERMANN: Out of the streets, where there's no end to the stories about the presidential romance, that view seems to hold true.

LY NGO, SECRETARY: He's not bad looking, and I think power is very attractive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, "THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT": The president told me how you two met.

BITTERMANN: This bachelor president business has been dealt with before, by Hollywood, of course...

ANNETTE BENING, ACTRESS, "THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT": One minute I was calling him a mockery of an environmental leader. The next minute I had a date.

BITTERMANN: ... in a movie ironically titled "The American President," ironically because Sarkozy is known here as "Sarko the American" because of his admiration for the U.S.

BENING: I meant, do you go out on -- do you often...

MICHAEL DOUGLAS, ACTOR, "THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT": Do I date a lot?

BENING: Yes.

BITTERMANN: The movie's president, Michael Douglas, eventually settles down with his new girlfriend, but then that's Hollywood.

In real life, not even Sarkozy's mother thinks that will happen. Andree Sarkozy said, "In his position, he's spoiled for choice. I hope no one will think of marriage. I've had enough of brides."

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Spoken like a true future mother-in-law.

CLANCY: In France.

MCEDWARDS: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Coming up this hour, we're going to head to South Korea.

CLANCY: The results coming in on that country's presidential election. We're going to meet the winner who transitioned from leader of a major company to head of a nation.

MCEDWARDS: Plus, where's Rudy? The U.S. Republican presidential hopeful seems to have shifted focus lately. Our Bill Schneider is going to fill us in. We'll have a live report.

CLANCY: And a bit later, sister act. First Britney, now Jamie Lynn Spears making tabloid headlines around the world. What could she possibly have done?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

CLANCY: U.S. voters are about to start weighing in on the presidential candidates for each party. We have some new numbers to share with you from one of the first states where primary votes will be counted.

Our survey is a CNN/WMUR poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire. Among the Democrats, it finds that Hillary Clinton has recaptured the lead in the state, with 38 percent support. Barack Obama trailing at 26 percent. John Edwards, just 14 percent.

Let's look over on the Republican side.

Mitt Romney out in front, 34 percent, followed by John McCain with 22 percent. Rudy Giuliani with 16 percent. Mike Huckabee, 10 percent.

Well, Giuliani has recently shifted his focus southward. He campaigned in Florida this past weekend, but he's been keeping a low profile in those other early voting states.

What's going on?

Let's bring in our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, try to get some answers.

Let's look at the Republicans. How do you analyze those numbers, and where is Rudy?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, on the Republican side, we're seeing the same thing that's happening on the Democratic side. Much more voter interest in pocketbook issues, in bread and butter issues like the economy and health care and Social Security and taxes, things that are very close to home, rather than the war on terror and the war in Iraq, which were supposed to dominate this campaign.

Who are the candidates who are highest rated on those domestic issues? Mitt Romney on the Republican side, who used to be a business executive, who managed the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and Hillary Clinton, whose husband has a strong economic record when he was president.

Where is Rudy Giuliani in all this? Well, he's been spending time in Florida, and if you look around me here in New Hampshire, you might think, that's a good place to be this time of year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice over): What's the big news in the Republican race? Huckabee versus Romney, McCain's endorsements, Ron Paul's money.

Question: Where's Rudy? He is still the national front-runner, according to a new Gallup poll, which four other candidates -- Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney -- essentially tied for second. But the action is in the early voting states -- Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

Giuliani is not leading in any of them. His pollster say he's not worried.

ED GOEAS, GIULIANI CAMPAIGN POLLSTER: We decided to go after a national strategy. That's what we have been running since the beginning. I think that's what you will continue to see.

RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you very much.

SCHNEIDER: The polls show Giuliani's standing has eroded a bit since the summer. That could have something to do with what's happening in the Democratic race. Hillary Clinton does not look quite so inevitable.

SCOTT HUFFMON, PROFESSOR, WINTHROP UNIVERSITY: I think a lot of the support in South Carolina behind Giuliani, behind Romney, was the concept of, this is the person who can knock off Hillary.

SCHNEIDER: If Clinton is less of a threat, some Republicans may be going with the candidate they agree with more. Giuliani's signature issue has always been terrorism. But terrorism is no longer the voters' top concern. Among all voters, terrorism ranks fifth out of five issues. Among Republicans, it is in third place, behind the economy and illegal immigration, and declining in importance.

The agenda is shifting to domestic issues. Is Giuliani worried? Not according to his pollster.

GOEAS: I think what you have seen is not just the terrorism fading as an important issue, as much as there has been a layer added on to Rudy Giuliani, which is an understanding of the job he did as mayor, what he did to bring down welfare, what he did to bring down crime, what he did to cut taxes 23 times.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: Giuliani is a big-state guy -- Florida, California, New York -- but those states vote late. He's hoping the field will remain divided until the campaign gets to those states, because happiness in politics is a divided opposition -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right. You're probably wishing you were in Florida as well there, I can see, Bill. But let's look at the Democrats for a while.

Everybody had been talking earlier this week about the decline in fortunes for the Clinton campaign. It looks like she's back and she's back big.

What does that mean for Barack?

SCHNEIDER: Well, Barack Obama has just a few weeks to try to close the sale. The voters seem to be interested in him.

He has an inspirational message. He has a unifying message. But she raised some questions and so did her husband, who's been campaigning for Hillary Clinton, about Barack Obama's electability, and that is very much on Democrats' minds, as well as his record and his ability to handle those crucial pocketbook issues that seem to be very much on Democrats' minds right now.

So, those issues have come back into the fore in the voters' concerns.

CLANCY: Bill Schneider saying watch your pocketbooks out there if you are running in New Hampshire.

Bill, as always, thanks for being with us.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

CLANCY: You can stay up to date with all of the developments on the campaign trail from the so, those issues have come back into the fore in the voters' concerns.

Bill Schneider, watch your pocketbooks out there if you are running in new Hampshire. Bill, as always, thanks for being with us.

You can stay up to date with all the developments from the campaign trail on a special section of our Web site. No matter where you are in world, get the candidates' positions on key issues, preview upcoming races. All of it's waiting for you at cnn.com/election.

MCEDWARDS: Well, it is a document of freedom but it came at a price.

CLANCY: Still to come right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a privately owned copy of the Magna Carta just went up on the auction block. We're going to tell you the price of democracy just ahead.

MCEDWARDS: Plus, help coming from thousands of miles away. How some are helping the youngest victims of the war in Iraq.

Stay with CNN.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries and territories all around the globe, including, this hour, the United States.

CLANCY: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.

MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards. Some of the top stories that we're following for you.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been named "Time's" person of the year for 2007. The magazine's editors say that Putin has managed to bring solidarity for a post-Soviet Russia that was in danger of slipping into chaos.

CLANCY: South Korea has a new leader. The former head of Hyundai. Lee Myung-Bak won the presidency by a landslide despite lingering fraud allegations. The conservative leader is set to take over come February and there's cause for dual celebrations as Mr. Lee is marking his 66th birthday today. Happy birthday.

MCEDWARDS: A new CNN/WMUR poll shows Hillary Clinton has recaptured the lead among Democratic presidential hopefuls in New Hampshire. The state holds its primary January 8th. Barack Obama is in second. John Edwards, third.

Now on the Republican side, Mitt Romney is out in front. He's got 34 percent. Followed by John McCain with 22 percent, Rudy Giuliani with 16 percent. Mike Huckabee is there with 10 percent.

CLANCY: Well, back now to our top story. "Time" magazine's choice of Russian President Vladimir Putin person of the year. We want to get some reaction now from the kremlin. A spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, joins us now live from Moscow.

Mr. Peskov, thank you so much for being with us.

Any reaction from President Vladimir Putin?

DMITRY PESKOV, RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: Well, thank you. It's my pleasure to be with you.

Well, it's great news. It's great news and, of course, he was very pleased to know that he was -- he was chosen to be a man of the year. Of course, we treat that as a kind of acknowledgment of what he did for Russians and what he did on international arena.

CLANCY: It comes with a little bit of criticism, a lot of talk about what kind of a man he is. For one thing it says, here's a guy that does not tolerate any small talk. Won't have it around him. Is that true?

PESKOV: Well, not exactly. Not exactly. The question that was asked at the very beginning of his presidency, who is Mr. Putin, unexpectedly is still alive. But I think it's very obvious through the interview, through the interview that, that -- I mean, he's a man, he's a hard worker. He's a hard worker and he's a hard worker trying to spend all possible efforts for his fellow Russians, for his country. He's a man who has launched lots and lots of projects to make their life better.

CLANCY: A lot of controversy. People are saying that he appoints a man to become the next president, signals that's his choice, and then that man, Mr. Medvedev, turns around and says, well then you'll be my choice to be prime minister. Does Vladimir Putin believe he's destined to lead Russia?

PESKOV: Well, first of all, he is not appointing next president of Russia. He expresses his support to Mr. Medvedev. And actually if Mr. Medvedev is elected as a third president of Russia as a result of free and democratic presidential elections in this country, he offered to Mr. Putin a possibility to continue his efforts as a prime minister because, in accordance with constitution, he cannot go ahead as a president for a third term.

CLANCY: Will he go for ...

PESKOV: And Mr. Putin said that -- yes?

CLANCY: Will he go ahead for a third term after he serves some time as prime minister? Has he said anything about that?

PESKOV: Well, we know that he is not going for a third term now because it is forbidden by the constitution. And we know that if Mr. Medvedev is elected, President Putin will continue as a prime minister in the government of Mr. Medvedev.

CLANCY: Does President Putin believe that the west is trying to undermine Russia even to this day? So-called democratic groups out there trying to stir up problems, change the government, force change in Russia that Russians don't necessarily want?

PESKOV: Well, his general approach that western countries have to accept and to understand us, to understand Russia as it is. And they have to quit with -- well, efforts that we witness, unfortunately, sometimes to interfere in our domestic affairs. And to the contrary, he suggests that Russia's voice is heard in the world and we all take into account each other's concern and we all stay together in trying to liberate mutually acceptable solutions to all existing problems.

CLANCY: All right. Well, tell the president that we're very happy for him. I think that it acknowledges a lot of things that he's done that the Russian people have certainly told us about his popularity there. They support him.

PESKOV: Thank you.

CLANCY: Thank you.

PESKOV: OK. Thank you, sir.

CLANCY: We're talking to Dmitry Peskov, Russia's government spokesman -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: Well, U.S. President George W. Bush has just signed an energy bill into law. The nation's first fuel efficiency increase in 32 years. The measure mandates about a 40 percent increase in auto fuel efficiency, more ethanol use, tougher standards for federal buildings and in new commercial construction as well, as well as a higher efficiency standards for appliances from refrigerators to light bulbs and pretty much everything in between. Well, the big headline in the energy law is about cars. American cars are going to have to become a lot more fuel efficient, that's for sure.

CLANCY: There's another part of this law that's worth a closer look. The U.S. is about to become the biggest country yet to abandon the traditional light bulb.

MCEDWARDS: Jonathan Mann has some insight into this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the very symbol of a smart idea, an incandescent light bulb lighting up over someone's head. Well, the world has a brighter idea and the classic, old light bulb is going the way of the telegraph, the horse and buggy and all those Be Gees albums in your basement. It is time to change the light bulb.

Under the new legislation the president has signed, the U.S. is now slated to phase them out in the next six years, joining England, Australia and a growing number of countries.

Why are they doing it? Well, the light from a traditional bulb comes from heating a filament inside. And eighty-five percent of the energy the light bulb uses is just that heat. Heat that's wasted.

What you'll probably end up using instead are compact fluorescent light bulbs. The ones that are shaped like sticks or spirals. The Earth Policy Institute estimate that's the United States alone could close 80 coal fired power plants if all Americans would just switch over. If the whole world switches, it could close 270 power plants.

And those CFL bulbs are much more expensive to buy, they last longer and they save so much energy that in theory everyone comes out way ahead. A brilliant idea but there is a hitch. They contain mercury. So when you throw them out, you're supposed to wrap them, so the mercury, which is toxic, doesn't escape.

If you break one, the U.S. environmental protection agency suggests all of this. You open a window, you leave the room for 15 minutes, then you put on some rubber gloves, clean up the mess, you double bag all of the trash you've collect and then wash your hands. I'm not kidding. That's progress.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Thanks, Jonathan Mann.

Well, coming up, a priceless gift from a stranger.

MCEDWARDS: An American stranger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (through translator): People in Iraq and in the Arab world think the Americans are our enemy. It's just the opposite. They helped me in the airport. Everywhere I go, the Americans help me. Let this truth get out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCEDWARDS: Iraqi mother expresses gratitude to citizens of a country many of their countrymen hold in contempt.

CLANCY: American angels putting the shattered lives of children back together. They're not alone. We'll come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MCEDWARDS: Well, just a few days ago, British troops officially handed over security responsibilities in southern Iraq to Iraqi forces. When the British army said good-bye to Basra, a new man was put in charge. It is now his job to keep the peace and protect the citizens there. And as Neil Connery explains, it is a job few people would want. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEIL CONNERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Who on earth would want his job? Meet the Iraqi general now running Basra. Abdul Jalil Khalaf says he's already survived 20 assassination attempts. So what does he think of the legacy left to him by the British?

MAJOR GEN. ABDUL JALIL KHALAF, BASRA POLICE CHIEF, (through translator): Unfortunately, the British did not understand the nature of Iraqi society. They chose to recruit policemen from the political parties whose loyalty is to that party or militia. That person is then indebted to those who found him the job, not to the country.

CONNERY: The general's laptop is full of gruesome evidence of what Shia militias are capable of. The case files of 48 women murdered by religious extremists in the past six months. Some for not wearing proper Islamic attire. These pictures too horrific to broadcast show one victim beheaded. The tortured body of another lies next to her child, also murdered.

KHALAF: This is a very serious issue and it's terrifying. Many women have been murdered, along with their children, and their bodies dumped in the street. Women are the biggest victims in Basra. That's why I'm leading a campaign to catch those responsible. I find it astonishing that society has been indifferent to this.

CONNERY: But for all his brave talk, General Khalaf asked us not to record the sound when meeting his officers and the public, scared at the possible consequences. The silence speaks volumes of the fear enveloping everyday life in Basra. But back in the car, the general insists he's not frightened.

KHALAF: Fear is not in my vocabulary. I do feel a great sense of responsibility here. Every time a woman or a child is murdered in Basra, I feel a sense of personal guilt because I haven't been able to do my job properly and protect them.

CONNERY: Back in his office, it's clear he's proud of serving his country, given the chaos he's now in charge of, what is his message to British mothers whose sons have been killed serving their country in Iraq? Was their sacrifice worth it?

KHALAF: Well, I extend my condolences to every mother, be she Iraqi or British, who has lost a son. I will leave it to her to decide if her son has lost his life for a worthy cause or not. But I would also say to her, be patient.

CONNERY: On the streets he surveys, though, the general is all too aware that patience is in short supply.

Neil Connery, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Although Basra's new police chief says he has inherited a legacy of murder and mayhem, the British government paints a different picture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Since a few months ago, there's been a 90 percent fall in the violence against British troops. There is more emphasis now being placed by the Iraqi people on economic and social development. There has been less violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCEDWARDS: Well, the British military said that it will continue to assist the Iraqi forces as need, but it does plan to cut the number of troops in Iraq in half and that is by the middle of next year.

CLANCY: When you look at the overall conflict in Iraq, it's still ongoing, it's had many unintended consequences.

MCEDWARDS: It sure has. And one of the most significant is the huge number of children who are living with permanent scars of war.

CLANCY: Arwa Damon reports for us that there are people, thousands of miles away, working to make a difference.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOHAMMED RASOUL, IRAQI AMPUTEE: I am Mohammed and from Fallujah -- from Iraq in Fallujah.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): And his struggle is almost over.

RASOUL: A bomb . . .

DAMON: Exploded. Visiting America.

He's made a short movie. And his mother, Denon (ph), has kept a journal of their remarkable journey.

"We left Fallujah September 7th at 3:00 p.m.," she reads.

She's actually only writing down the events that take place in this book that she's keeping because her emotions are just too intense.

About two years ago, Mohammed was outside his home when an explosion blew off his right leg and killed his six-year-old cousin. CNN met him 15 months later.

RASOUL, (through translator): I remember everything going pitch- black. My cousin died at the scene. I still hear her screams.

DAMON: Three times a week, he watered the tree he had planted at her grave. Thousands of miles away, on Staten Island, New York, Elissa Montanti saw our story. She's the founder of the Global Medical Relief Fund.

ELISSA MONTANTI, GLOBAL MEDICAL RELIEF FUND: All children are equal and these children need us. They need us so bad.

DAMON: So she brought Mohammed and his mother to America. And now he's on his way to Shriners Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, which has pledged to provide Mohammed with free treatment and prosthetics until he's an adult.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me go get your -- the new leg, OK, and I'll be right back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am very happen for this leg. I am very happy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're happy to have you.

There we go. There you go. Try that out.

Come on in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (through translator): I am so happy. So happy. I am seeing him tall and big. It's a strange emotion. It's been two years since I last saw him standing like this.

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you very much.

DAMON: Mohammed has been through so much in his short life, but at least he's getting help. So many Iraqi children don't, whether they are innocent victims of war or just desperately in need of medical aid.

It's not just the violence. It's the collapse of the health care system. After four years of war, there's little medicine. Sanitation is almost non-existent. Most of the country's doctors have fled abroad. Others have been killed.

Child mortality has risen by more than a third. For the most part, the only way to help children is to get them out. Last month, the American charity, Operation Smile, brought about 50 Iraqi children to Jordan. These kids all have either cleft lips, palates or burns. Not life-threatening, but surgery is life-altering.

DR. WILLIAM MCGEE, FOUNDER, OPERATION SMILE: No child should have to live their life imprisoned in their own body for the lack of 45-minute operations that can bring them to society and change their life.

DAMON: A life that can't be changed in their homeland. This baby already had an unsuccessful surgery in Iraq.

"I never imagined that we would be here. It was hard. Baghdad isn't easy. It's scary," her father says.

The charities that work with Iraqi kids know they could do more. The Global Medical Relief Fund has brought a dozen Iraqi kids to the U.S.

MONTANTI: I function on a prayer, literally. If I thought logical and I wasn't persistent, I wouldn't be where I am. We have no paid staff. We're not this big organization. We are very small, making huge -- making a huge impact on these children and these parents' lives.

DAMON: And that impact goes beyond the medical care.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (through translator): People in Iraq and in the Arab world think the Americans are our enemy. It's just the opposite. They helped me in the airport. Everywhere I go, the Americans help me. Let this truth get out. You know I stayed in Kuwait four days and no one helped me. They are Arabs. I didn't see help until I got here.

MONTANTI: I love you.

RASOUL: I love you, too.

DAMON: Mohammed may be just 12 years old, but he knows he is one of a fortunate few.

RASOUL, (through translator): I wish that they would help all the other children like me that were harmed by the war. By the bombs in Iraq.

DAMON: At least he can make a new start in life.

RASOUL: And I'm very happy today.

DAMON: Arwa Damon, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Well, this story's on the front page of our special Web site. A Web site that helps you take action.

CLANCY: Bad things happen in a world every day, of course, but good can result. And one person, maybe it's you, can have an impact on the whole world. Just go to cnn.com/impact.

MCEDWARDS: Well, if you know the lyrics of the hit song "Rehab," you'll know that she said no, no, no.

CLANCY: Yes. But the reality is, after another arrest, it could be soon, go to jail.

MCEDWARDS: And this. Britney Spears now sharing a bit of drama. An unexpected announcement from the other Spears sister making headlines today.

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MCEDWARDS: She's got quite a voice. And her songs have been played across radio air waves all around the world. The single "Rehab" was hugely successful for her and she's been nominated for awards. Her album is one of the best reviewed that you can buy. But her personal life is more than topsy-turvy. Phil Black looks at the life of Amy Winehouse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): 2007 has been a year of extremes for Amy Winehouse. Her album, "Back to Black," was Britain's biggest seller.

AMY WINEHOUSE, (singing): Trying to make me go to rehab. I won't go, go, go.

BLACK: It was also just recognized in the United States with six Grammy nominations. But her personal life has been disastrous. Winehouse's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, is in jail. And now she's been arrested in connection with his case. Fielder-Civil is charged with trying to pay off someone to drop assault allegations against him. The publicist says Winehouse was questioned and later released.

BEN JONES, VIRGIN RADIO DJ: This is going to be hanging over her head for quite some time. You know, we wish her the very best of luck and I think most people who have gone out and bought that album this year, millions of people have, probably wish her the very best of luck as well.

BLACK: Her husband's arrest has also interfered with major tour. Winehouse said she couldn't go on without him, so the tour was canceled. In October, she was arrested in Norway for possessing cannabis. Both her parents and her husband's have spoken publicly about the couple's drug problems. And, not surprisingly, those troubles have been plastered across British newspapers.

JONES: This relationship, this girl, this career, it is a bit of a car wreck. And the thing about a car wreck is, you can't take your eyes off it, which is why, you know, she's on the front page of every single newspaper today. She is tabloid fodder.

BLACK: And it's likely Winehouse will remain so as this tortured artist's life unravels slowly and very publicly.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, no doubt "Parenting" magazine is holding the presses for this story. Britney Spears may be giving some motherly tips to her little sister.

MCEDWARDS: Yes. Sixteen-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears says she's pregnant. She made the announcement in a gossip magazine. Classy, huh?

CLANCY: The younger Spears is -- and she's on the left here. You can see her. She's in this video taken by Hollywood TV. She says her mom -- can you believe this -- was upset by the news at first, but she's now supportive, Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: You figure. Oh, good, good, good. Well, Jamie Lynn Spears, by the way, she's the star of a cable television show. It's "Zoey 101." And she says the father of her child is her long time boyfriend, Casey Aldridge.

CLANCY: Long time. She's 16. Long time boyfriend.

MCEDWARDS: She's 16. They've been together years.

CLANCY: "People" magazine reporting that there's a parenting book that's coming out by the mother of Britney Spears and her sister, her name is Lynn Spears. But, amazingly, it's been delayed.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, do you think? Delayed indefinitely.

CLANCY: Can't believe it. The viewers are weighing in on this one.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, parents, we want to hear from you. What do you think about Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy?

CLANCY: And will you talk to your kids about that? Send us your thoughts, your comments right here at CNN. Go to cnn.com and click on the I-Report logo.

MCEDWARDS: You know, there's some stuff on the blogs already about it. A few people asking, you know, when are the media going to stop giving these guys attention? You know, others saying, poor girl, she had her own show. Now what's going to happen to her career?

CLANCY: It's going to go on and will never stop.

That's it for this hour. I'm Jim Clancy.

MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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