Bush Pledges $3.1 Billion to New Orleans
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington. And you're in the SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive at one same place at the same time. Happening now, it's 1:00 a.m. in Baghdad where Iraqis hope the color purple on ink-stained fingers will be a sort of birthmark to Iraq's democracy, a surge of voters turned out for the country's national elections. Now the counting begins. It's 4:00 p.m. in New Orleans. And the city's mayor says come home to the Big Easy. The Bush administration says it will spend billions to shore up the city's levee system that performed so poorly after Hurricane Katrina. Would the new levees rise up to another powerful storm? And it's 5:00 p.m. in New York where a woman is thankful for the catch of a lifetime. A raging fire corners mother and child. And to save the baby, she drops him out of the window. You'll hear the tale through her own eyes. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in the SITUATION ROOM. We begin in Iraq, billions of people hope purple fingers dipped in ink will help deserve the stain of tyranny and a stubborn insurgency. There was stronger-than-expected turnout today in Iraq's national elections. Now the vote count is already under way. Let's get the latest. CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad -- Aneesh.</s>ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good afternoon. Very strong turnout reported across the country today. Millions of Iraqis going to the polls. The polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. They were to close at 5:00 p.m., but in a number of areas that time was extended because the lines kept on coming in. And also in a number of areas, ballots, they had run out of them. So they needed to keep the polls open. A strong turnout in the Kurdish north and the Shia south. But perhaps most importantly, Wolf, in Sunni areas, both in Baghdad, also in the western part of the country, bringing the Sunnis of course into this political process, getting them to vote in this election is seen as key to curbing the violence. It could perhaps split the insurgents between the domestic insurgents, Saddam loyalists, and the foreign jihadists led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. So a lot of hope here today but a lot of awareness, Wolf, that this is the first step, this is a long process and many more steps have to come before the country sees true stability. A lot of hope, a lot of faith riding on Iraq's leaders who will take over this government next year -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: What do you know about the story, Aneesh, that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, terrorist number one, the Jordanian-born terrorist in Iraq, may actually have been captured by Iraqi security forces but let go because they didn't know who he was? What's going on?</s>RAMAN: Yes, we had that confirmed. Today we spoke with Hussein Kamal, the deputy interior minister, he said that at some point last year, Iraq security forces had Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in custody, he was released as you say, because they did not know his identity. He gave no other details than that startling revelation. A U.S. official though did say that while they can't confirm the report, it does seem, quote, "plausible." We're of course efforting (ph) more information on where this took place, when exactly it took place, and how this happened -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Aneesh Raman in Baghdad. Aneesh, thank you very much. And I spoke earlier today with the number two Iraqi military officer. That would be Lieutenant General Nasser Abadi, about this claim and more.</s>BLITZER: General Abadi, thanks very much for joining us. Before we get to the Iraqi military structure, there's information just coming into CNN that last year, Iraqi security forces actually captured Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist number one, but didn't know who he was, and he was inadvertently released. Do you know anything about that?</s>LT. GEN. NASSER ABADI, DEP. COMMANDING GEN., IRAQI JOINT FORCES: I don't think it's true information. He was in the hospital but not captured.</s>BLITZER: When you say he was in the hospital, what do you mean he was in the hospital?</s>ABADI: He was taken to a hospital. And when we got the news, we rushed there but he was out of there.</s>BLITZER: So you never actually arrested him.</s>ABADI: No, we did not.</s>BLITZER: All right. Let's move on and talk about the Iraqi military. It seemed to have done well today. When do you think Iraqi military forces will be ready to really take charge, enabling U.S. and coalition forces to come back home?</s>ABADI: Well, as you know, we are growing our forces. We have about -- our total would be 150,000. Now we're around 100,000. What is missing is the support units. From intelligence to vehicles to water, all those sorts of things. And these are -- will be coming on- line, are already being trained, and hopefully by the end of next year or so, these units will come on-line.</s>BLITZER: So you think between now and the end of next year, the U.S. and other coalition forces will have to maintain a robust military presence in your country?</s>ABADI: We will be taking a lot areas of responsibility. They will be in the background. We still will need the fire support because the fire support, you know, like the Air Force, will still be needed. There's still some more time until we are fully operational.</s>BLITZER: So you're going to depend on the United States for air power for some time to come, is that right?</s>ABADI: Yes.</s>BLITZER: Well, General Abadi, thanks for spending a few moments with us. Good luck to you and the Iraqi military, especially in the aftermath of today's elections. We'll continue to stay in touch.</s>ABADI: Thank you very much. This is a very historic day for us. God bless.</s>BLITZER: More now on that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi story. A U.S. official would not confirm the report that Iraqi security forces had Zarqawi in custody last year and released him mistakenly, but that official added, and let me quote now, "it is plausible." He would not dismiss the story out of hand. Let's get some more on today's historic election in Iraq. We'll go to Falluja, voters turned out in stronger numbers than they did in Iraq's January elections, joining us on the phone is Jonathan Finer. He's a foreign correspondent with The Washington Post. How did it go today in Falluja, Jonathan?</s>JONATHAN FINER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Well, from the perspective of turnout I think it went about as well as it possibly could have. They're saying more than 200,000 people voted in Falluja and the surrounding area, and a total of maybe 280,000 in Anbar province, the western province which is considered sort of the heartland of the Iraqi insurgency and where very few people voted in -- back in January.</s>BLITZER: Is that seen as a sign that the Iraqi Sunnis who largely boycotted the election back in January are now on board on this so-called democratic train?</s>FINER: Well, in Falluja that's certainly the case, upwards of 90-something percent turnout in this city. In some of the other cities in Anbar, like Ramadi, which is a bigger city than Falluja and also they're much more violent right now, turnout was considerably lower, although still better than it was back in January. The big question is now, Wolf -- now that the Sunnis have turned out to vote, it's depending on what sort of representation they get in Iraq's next parliament, are they going to be able to achieve some of the demands they have for the U.S. to withdraw, for the security forces to start looking more like a representative force, rather than just representing Iraq's Shiite majority. And if they don't get some of these demands, are they going to continue to embrace politics or perhaps slip back into the violent resistance that we've seen in the almost three years of the U.S. presence here.</s>BLITZER: Jonathan Finer of The Washington Post. Stay safe over there in Falluja. Let's get a little glimpse now of the actual voting activity in Basra. For that we turn to another Washington Post correspondent, Doug Struck. He is joining us on the phone as well. How did it go in Basra in the south?</s>DOUG STRUCK, THE WASHINGTON POST: It was pretty smooth, pretty quiet. There wasn't much in the way of violence down here. There were some what we might call irregularities, the Iraqi police in Basra, which are publicly acknowledged to be heavily infiltrated by the militias were actually out campaigning for the religious Shiite list, which is of course a violation. But aside from that, the turnout was strong, from all we could learn from both exit polls and our own interviews, a great majority of those who voted down here were voting to try to keep the religious Shiite coalition in power to be the largest party in the next parliament and likely to pick the next prime minister.</s>BLITZER: Doug Struck of The Washington Post, be safe in Basra as well, whipping around the Iraqi scene on this historic day. Back here in the United States, we're also following a developing story, a torture deal after many months. The White House and Republican Senator John McCain reach an agreement on banning torture of foreign suspects in the war on terror. But the deal is not exactly sealed, at least not yet. Let's get some details. Our congressional correspondent Ed Henry standing by -- Ed.</s>ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a major reversal from President Bush that seems to hand his one-time political nemesis, John McCain, a big political victory. As you mentioned, after months of opposition, the president reversing course and saying he now supports John McCain's ban on the use of torture of detainees in the war on terror. The administration had been opposed for months, saying they needed wide latitude to wage that war. This comes after international pressure on Secretary of State Rice, also a big bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives last night that showed a big surge of support for McCain, even across the Capitol, where they had not voted for it previously. But as you suggest, there is a little bit of a hitch here. House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter coming out a short while and saying he may not sign this deal, because he's concerned it could hamper the U.S. intelligence efforts in the war on terror.</s>REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R-CA), CHAIRMAN, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Until we have an assurance from the White House that the provisions which we have been working on, provides the same high level of effective intelligence-gathering capability that we presently have, I'm not going to sign that deal.</s>HENRY: Now, just a few minutes ago Senator McCain told reporters he's confident by the end of the night Duncan Hunter will get those assurances from the White House as well as from fellow Republicans here on the Hill, and will back down. But if Hunter does not, McCain is confident this ban on torture will stay on a separate bill, the defense spending bill, and one way or another it will pass by the end of the year -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right, Ed, thank you very much. Ed Henry on Capitol Hill. Staying here in Washington, we're moving to a multibillion dollar fix-it plan, the mayor of New Orleans says is part of the holy trinity of recovery. Almost four months after Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration announces today it will spend $3 billion to fix and strengthen the levee system in New Orleans. Asked how safe the newer system might be, Mayor Ray Nagin told our Kyra Phillips today he's comfortable enough to urge residents to come back to the Big Easy.</s>MAYOR RAY NAGIN (D), NEW ORLEANS: If another Katrina hit New Orleans, and this system was put in place, we wouldn't have the devastation and amount flooding that we had with this last storm. That makes me feel very -- a lot better.</s>BLITZER: Let's go to the scene. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in New Orleans. He is joining us now with more on this story -- Ed.</s>ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. Well, you know, many people here in the New Orleans area paying close attention to this announcement today, $3 billion. But what we're hearing repeatedly from people who are not only involved in improving the levee system that exists here already and trying to get it ready for next year is that this is an excellent first step. You know, of course, many people here very hesitant to balk and criticize $3 billion that will be coming this way to improve the situation, but what many people here in New Orleans are calling for is what they call "total protection," and that means Category 5 storm protection. The strength of Hurricane Katrina here was a Category 3 storm and the levee system wasn't able to handle that. And so many people here are nervous about the future. And many people here go as far as to say that the very future of this city depends on how much the levee system here is strengthened. And they say that anything short of Category 5 threatens the very possible return of many businesses and residents to this area.</s>BLITZER: Ed Lavandera reporting for us in New Orleans. Ed, thank you very much. Let's go up to New York right now, Jack Cafferty is standing by with the "Cafferty File." Once again, hi, Jack.</s>JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. Big win today for tobacco. The Illinois Supreme Court reversed a $10.1 billion verdict against Phillip Morris today. The company, which is now Altria, had been found guilty of trying to convince smokers that light cigarettes are safer than regular ones. Well, here's a bulletin. All cigarettes are bad for you. So are booze, guns, cheeseburgers, if you eat enough of them. In fact, the world is full of stuff that can hurt you if you choose to take the risk. If I choose to smoke cigarettes and suffer the consequences, who's fault is that? Here's the question, if you choose to use a product that may be harmful, should you then be able to turn around and sue the manufacturer? E-mail us your thoughts at caffertyfile@cnn.com. I mean, if I go into McDonald's there and get me a couple of Whopper sandwiches every day and clog up my arteries and drop dead of a massive heart attack, I mean, is it McDonald's fault? I don't think so.</s>BLITZER: No, that's Burger King has Whoppers, McDonald's has the Big Macs.</s>CAFFERTY: Oh, well, thank you. How do you know all that stuff? You're a nice, trim, slim guy.</s>BLITZER: I have a lot of useless information in my head, Jack.</s>BLITZER: We will check back with you. Thanks very much. Up ahead, millions of people each day count on it. Will New York subway and bus systems shut down tomorrow? We'll have the latest on a looming transit strike. Also, desperate move and a heroic catch, a baby literally tossed from a burning building, an incredible story, and we're going to show you what happened. Plus, guarding your money. He might have been the best friend taxpayers ever had in the U.S. Congress. We'll look at the father of the so-called Golden Fleece Awards. 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