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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Dire Situation in Homs, Syria; Iowa Race in the Homestretch; Interview with Rep. Steve King

Aired December 26, 2011 - 20:00   ET

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

TOM FOREMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Ali. We begin tonight "Keeping Them Honest" with a race against time, a race between a government that says it is abiding by an agreement to end months of bloody conflict and opposition forces which say that is a flat-out lie.

Caught in the middle, hundreds of civilians pleading for the international community, including the United States, to step in and stop a massacre. Although no journalists are being allowed in, these are the videos coming out of Syria tonight, reportedly showing tanks, snipers and artillery units pounding away at neighborhoods, surrounded by thousands of troops. All this while simultaneously observers from the Arab League are arriving in Damascus to verify that President Bashar al-Assad is keeping his promise to dial back the violence, start talks with the opposition and let aid workers lend a hand.

Before showing this next video, I really do want to warn you, it is very hard to watch. You may want to turn away but it underscores the sharp contrast between the two different versions of what is going on here.

This is video claiming to show the aftermath of an artillery strike today on the city of Homs. There are more than just the one body you see here, but it's simply too gory to show. As always, we cannot independently confirm the facts of this video because the Syrian regime will not let us see for ourselves, but take a look.

These are the streets of a neighborhood. The gunfire in Homs is reportedly non-stop now. Some witnesses say it seems as if government troops are basically racing to wipe out the opposition before outside observers can arrive. The worst of all of this appears to be happening in the neighborhood called Baba Amir, just southwest of the central part of Homs. You can see as we fly in here.

It's not clear whether Arab League observers will see this tomorrow, but "Keeping Them Honest," just a couple of weeks ago, President Assad denied that there was anything to see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. BASHER AL-ASSAD, SYRIA: We don't kill our people. No government kills its people unless it's led by crazy person. For me as president, I became president because of the public support. It's impossible for anyone in this state to give order to kill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: That was President Assad December 9th, talking to ABC's Barbara Walters. His own people as Anderson found out from a rare western reporter who managed to sneak into the country, his own people knew better even as he said that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAMITA NAVAI, REPORTER, PBS FRONTLINE: People are terrified in a lot of the towns outside Syria. The economy has ground to a standstill. There are daily violent house-to-house raids, activists and protesters, too scared to leave their houses during the day, so they live life on the run, living in safehouse, moving from safehouse to safehouse. Life is not as normal. In fact it feels like war-time era there.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And Ramina, when you hear the Syrian leader, the dictator of Syria saying, we're not ordering the deaths of people, there are no house-to-house searches, people aren't being arrested and killed in their homes, what do you think? You've seen it for yourself.

NAVAI: Yes, I mean, on some level it's quite laughable. I was watching an Assad interview, and I was laughing at the same time, screaming at the television, because of course what's happening there is absolutely undeniable. It's all around you. You can't escape it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Since then, it appears that it's only gotten worse for the people living in Homs. That Arab League delegation we mentioned at the top arrived in Syria this evening. The members are at least expected to go to Homs tomorrow. We don't know if they will but the opposition puts little stock in the Arab League and is calling for action from the U.N. including military protection, if they can get it.

We spoke earlier tonight with opposition member Abu Rami.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABU RAMI, SYRIAN ACTIVIST: Well, the situation here in Homs is so bad. In Homs and Baba Amir area in particular is under shelling and the security forces and militia of Syrian army, they are using the armor vehicle and tanks and anti-aircraft armor, storming this area, storming this neighborhood. There are more than 10 houses completely destroyed, and there were many bodies under the rubble there. There is now genocide take place in this city of Homs.

FOREMAN: Do you have enough medical care for the people who are injured or any medical care for the people who are hurt?

RAMI: Five days ago up to now we don't have any medical supplies, any medical tools or equipment. Also, there is a shortage of medical assistance, no doctors, there is no doctors enough. We are not getting -- many of the hospitals changed into a prison. Most of the injured people are staying on the streets until they die. That's what is going on here in Homs.

FOREMAN: So what do you want the world to know about what is happening in Syria right now?

RAMI: This regime is not honest. This regime is just want to kill everyone who oppose him, everyone who say for al-Assad to step down. We are calling to direct intervene from the whole organization, and the international community to intervene here in Syria and stop this bloodshed that's going on in Syria and in Homs in particular.

There are massacres that are happening every day. We are appealing to world organizations to see what's going on here. We don't have the media here to make you -- the outside, watching what's going on so I would like to thank you so much to make the Syrian people's voice going outside through your free media, and explaining to you what's going on here.

We want you to intervene. We want to you help us. We are suffering day by day, and people, they're dying, children, women, every single person here is targeted and maybe will be killed tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Let's dig deeper now. TIME.com intelligence columnist and former CIA officer Robert Baer joins us, also Robin Wright, a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center and author of "Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion across the Islamic World."

Robin, let me start with you with a very basic question here people are using big words right now like massacre and genocide to suggest that whole sections of the population there are being wiped out even as the inspectors are arriving. Are they overstating it or does that seem to be true?

ROBIN WRIGHT, SENIOR FELLOW, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: This has gone on for nine months now. This is something that's not been a short experience and the scope of it gets worse and worse despite the fact that the president of the country denies that he's ordering any brutality against his own people.

We're getting close to the point that we can use words like that, when you -- the United Nations claims that there are at least 5,000 people who have been killed. There are some estimates that 70,000 Syrians have been arrested. Those -- some of those who've been released have talked about really brutal torture. The scope of this is now getting really horrendous.

FOREMAN: Bob, let me ask you this. If you have a president of a country like this who wants to say against a backdrop of pictures like this that nothing's going on, that nothing is wrong, how much faith would you have that these inspectors from the Arab League will even get to see the right areas?

ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: They're not going to see anything. He's just buying time with the inspectors. This regime feels it's under threat, existential threat. It's a minority regime, Alawites, 10 to 15 percent of the population, and I've been talking to them today, and they said look, we're never going to give up Bashar al-Assad. We're never going to give up fighting, we will die to the last person.

I think we're seeing a sectarian war here like we've never seen in the Middle East, at least in my time.

FOREMAN: Explain to me what you mean, Bob.

BAER: Well, you've got the Sunnis are dug in. They are preparing for a civil war against the Alawites who control the military and the security services. The Alawites are a branch of Shia Islam but they're looked at by many Sunni as apostates, they've fallen away, so it makes this a much more difficult conflict than even -- than even Libya, or Yemen or Egypt, because this is -- these are the sectarian divisions, and as the fighting goes on, it gets worse and worse.

The fact is, and we have to acknowledge the opposition in the rebels are killing regime figures, they are singling out Alawites and murdering them and vice versa so this is really very much a two-sided war which we can't forget.

FOREMAN: Robin, the opposition here wants the other governments of the world to step in and do something about this. Why can't they? What's keeping the U.N. and other countries from stepping in and saying enough already?

WRIGHT: Well, with Libya, you had first a consensus among the Arabs themselves and then it went to the United Nations and then it went to NATO. We haven't even gotten through that first step. The Arab League is still trying to negotiate with the Assad regime. They're very nervous, the Arabs in general, about setting a precedent again as in Libya and that the West will get involved militarily, something they don't want given the U.S. intervention particularly in Iraq.

They don't want to set this pattern and so there's a reluctance to open the way for that to happen. I think the international community, frankly, doesn't want to replicate what happened in Libya. I think there's, frankly, a nervousness nine months in or a year now into the beginning of the Arab uprisings that -- about what will happen next, who will take over.

One of the big questions is, if Assad does fall, as many of us believe that he eventually will, what replaces him? And that's not clear. You have a real problem today between the various opposition forces. They do not speak with one voice. They're not using one set of tactics. You have the local coordination committees that are trying to engage in peaceful civil disobedience, get people out on the streets that are challenging, and then you have the army defectors who've launched over the last month, particularly an increasingly effective or visible campaign against the regime and they're using weapons. And the two sides are not coordinating. They don't have a common strategy, a common vision and that's a real source of concern. We don't know what happens next.

FOREMAN: And Bob, let me jump in on that point that Robin just raised there about the military defectors. Many of whom, as we understand it, are actually in this neighborhood that's being hammered so hard. They're trained fighters. They want to fight back.

As somebody who has been involved in intelligence work, does that open any cracks for trying to say look, there's a way to take advantage of the fact there are military people on both sides of this, to somehow get around the regime, to somehow co-opt this thing and quiet it down or is the world going to stand by and just wait until a lot of people get killed?

BAER: Well, what the State Department would like is for Bashar al-Assad to step down, have some sort of committee replace him as much as happened in Egypt, but with the army what we're seeing is the beginning of cracks in it. Many of the rank-and-file, the officers from less important issues are Sunni Muslims, undoubtedly there's no one can tell for sure, these are the people defecting, taking their arms.

Last night I talked to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood who are based outside the country and they said they're desperately trying to get arms in to these defective units, they bring them in through Lebanon or the coast but so far they haven't been successful. So I think that this -- we're looking at this conflict as getting worse before we find a solution.

FOREMAN: All right, Robin Wright, Bob Baer, thanks so much for joining us.

I'm telling you, folks, this is happening on the other side of the world. It may seem like it has nothing to do with you but these are big, big events this holiday week.

Thanks for joining us, you all.

Let us know what you think. We're on Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus.

Up next the "Raw Politics" of courting a reluctant kingmaker in Iowa. That's candidate Rick Santorum in Hunting Orange, and you may not recognize the other guy, but that's Congressman Steve King, he's a big deal in Iowa and everyone wants to know what he's thinking with just days to go until the caucuses.

I will ask the congressman why he has not made a pick among the Republicans.

Later on also, the mystery of a little girl's disappearance, and the new reward being offered to anyone who can help find her in "Crime & Punishment."

First let's check in with Isha Sesay.

Isha, what's going on?

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Tom. We'll bring you the latest on the investigation into what happened at a Connecticut home early Christmas morning and why firefighters could not do more to save the people inside. That and much more when 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: Many of us are taking it easy this week between the holidays but the Republican contenders are storming into Iowa for support in next week's caucuses. The most recent polls still show Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich pretty much tied for the lead there, but with only days to go, many in the Hawkeye State have their eyes on a known kingmaker especially when it comes to the strong conservative vote.

U.S. Congressman Steve King went pheasant hunting with Rick Santorum today. Look at him there, just as he has with other candidates and once again, he ended the outing with kind words but no endorsement.

With time running short, I spoke to the influential congressman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Congressman, you're the kind of guy that people listen to in Iowa, and they're listening really hard right now but you're not picking anyone. What does that mean? Do you not like any of these candidates?

REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: It means more that I actually like all of these candidates, and it is a very difficult decision, a large percentage of Iowans haven't decided. I'm among them. I thought I would come to a conclusion in September or October. It's nearly the end of the December, and we're within a week of the caucus and I've got not gotten that point where my head and heart come together and I said when that happens I'll jump in with both feet.

FOREMAN: Why have you not decided?

KING: There are a number of reasons, one of them is how the field is spread out and another part of this is as the months have unfolded and I've watched the lack of will in this Congress to tighten down on this spending, we're burning up our political capital discussing on whether we're going to be at $28 trillion in national debt in 10 years or $26 trillion. Europe is melting down incrementally, Greece is ready to default, and I've not yet heard from a presidential candidate the deep conviction on how to get us out of this impending economic disaster that we're in.

I want to know when that budget will first be balanced, when we'll pay off the first net dollar on our national debt and I'd like to hear about a transformative tax policy. I'm hoping -- that not yet happens, I thought I might get that all for Christmas and it didn't quite happen.

FOREMAN: Well, now you've raised a really interesting point here, though, because in our polls what people are most concerned about is jobs. The idea of worrying about the deficit and spending is way, way down on the list compared to that. So if you can get the candidate who says what you want for your nod is that a candidate who can win the election?

KING: That is one of those questions, but you know, from my standpoint I don't want to appear that I'm bargaining for some piece of policy that I want and using that as chit or a leveraging point. I really instead want to see that a candidate has that conviction and understands this, and you know, we're electing a leader and that leader should be looking over the horizon and taking us where we needed to go.

It's not enough to react to the public. The public wants jobs, yes, and businesses have to be able to make a profit before they can pay wages. That's all part of it. But meanwhile if neither Democrats nor Republicans show their will to tighten down on our spending and get to us a balanced budget, we could march off into a financial debacle, but we need a leader to lead us away from that, to lead us away from the abyss, and I'm not yet convinced that any of them have that vision and are able to inspire the American people to take us where we need to go.

FOREMAN: Your alternative, though, if you don't pick someone, if people like you don't decide who you want is probably to allow President Barack Obama to be reelected. I've heard an awful lot of conservatives say they're willing to compromise to stop that. What about you?

KING: Well, I'm willing to compromise to stop that. I look at what he's done with our finances and extra $1 trillion a year in red ink, each year that he's been in office at a minimum, and I look at him delivering us Obama-care, that's got to go. We've the go to repeal Obama-care.

I think all of the presidential candidates on the Republican side have taken the oath to do that. I'm worried about the appointments to the Supreme Court. Another four years of Barack Obama and I don't think we'll recognize the constitution in my lifetime again. Those are all big things but it's not an easy decision. You don't just get to look at one side of the card and say I'll play this one or that one. Most of it takes a subjective judgment and, you know, who actually can see in that crystal ball? I wish I could.

FOREMAN: In the end, do you think you're going to speak up on this? Because you've said before that one thing that's very important to you is that Iowa remain important in this process, and I imagine one of the ways it remains important is by people like you speaking up and saying, I'm picking someone I think should win, now back him.

KING: Well, Iowans do need to do that, and I would not have said months ago that was my intention if I didn't think that that was also a responsibility that I have. But I've also said that I have to come to a conviction before I could take such a position. I've just challenged all Iowans, come out to the caucus, make your decision, even if you make it late it's better than not making it.

And I think this will be a caucus where there are thousands of Iowans that make up their minds right there in the precinct caucus listening to the speeches that are given on behalf of each of the candidates. The undecided caucus-goers might hear something in that speech, whoever is the best organized, whoever has the best and the most respected speakers at the many, many locations that we have might just be the surprise of the night on the caucus, and perhaps I'll get around to that conviction yet.

It doesn't -- I just want to make this confession that no one has accused me of being an equivocator over all these years but tonight I feel like one.

(LAUGHTER)

FOREMAN: All right. Well, we'll see if you reach that decision, and I'm sure you'll come tell us first if you do.

Representative Steve King, thanks so much for being here.

KING: Thanks for having me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: More on the "Raw Politics" now with GOP strategist and former Newt Gingrich press secretary, Rich Galen, also Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, who was a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.

Maria, let me start with you. You must be delighted to hear Republicans talking this way.

(LAUGHTER)

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I've had so much fun during this process, Tom, it's unbelievable, but you know Representative Steve King brings up an interesting point. It's funny, because at first he dodged your question by saying that he wasn't endorsing anybody because he liked all of the candidates so much and then in the next breath he basically says that none of them are good enough for him and that's why he hasn't endorsed.

But I think that it does underscores the lack of enthusiasm among all GOP voters for any one candidate both in terms of substance, in terms of their own history, in terms of whether they're --they're going to be able to beat President Obama or not.

FOREMAN: OK, OK, you raise an -- you raise an interesting point there about lack of enthusiasm about the candidates but Rich, I got to tell you, traveling over the country there is no lack of enthusiasm for beating Barack Obama. It seems to me that what they're really doing right now, particularly conservative Republicans is playing a bit of a game of chicken. They're trying to say how far can we get to the right with the candidate we ultimately choose and still win.

Is that a fair assessment?

RICH GALEN, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY FOR NEWT GINGRICH: I think that's right, Tom. The -- I've traveled with Steve King four years ago. He endorsed Fred Thompson to whom I was the senior adviser and I think that might have something to do with his lack of enthusiasm.

FOREMAN: That worked out really well, Rich.

(LAUGHTER)

GALEN: The -- but the -- the point I think is that Republicans, conservatives and moderates may not have their first choice as the nominee but their last choice to be president is still Barack Obama, and as we move through this process, I think it will become clearer and clearer and the polling shows both in the battleground states and elsewhere, that enthusiasm among Republicans and Republican leaning voter is much higher than it is amongst Democrats.

And that's what happens at the end of a first term when you've got the kinds of problems some of which were of the president's making, many of which were not, but people -- you know, we've become the 11:00 society. We expect all crimes to be solved by 11:00, and all problems to be solved in an hour.

FOREMAN: You know, Maria, that's one thing that Rich raises here that I think is a very valid point. I think if I were a Democratic leader right now the biggest thing I'd be saying to Democrats is do not chill the champagne yet because we're very early in this process and some chaos in the Republican side, some confusion doesn't really mean anything next November, does it?

CARDONA: There's no question about that. And I think that President Obama and this White House will be the first ones to tell you that they're running as the underdogs because regardless of who the GOP candidates are right now, and you know, regardless of how flawed most Democrats think that they are, the problem is that this president is running against the economy and right now the economy is not where we would all want it to be and the president will be the first one to say that.

But I think what's important here, going into this election cycle, the debate on the payroll tax cut I think was incredibly valuable for one reason. It started to define the debate about what this election is going to be about between a president and a party who is squarely in the court of the middle class, fighting for the middle class and working class families, and a party who all they have done all year is fight for millionaires and billionaires.

And frankly the House Republicans did such a good job of defining that debate for us as we move into 2012 and I think that's going to help the enthusiasm on the Democratic side and we've already seen it.

FOREMAN: All right. Maria, Maria, we've all read the talking points. We're going to move on from that but I get your point here. Hey, Rich, let me ask you something about Virginia right now and Newt Gingrich. Is he toast now? Because -- I mean to not even make it on the ballot in Virginia, the issue isn't that you don't make it on the ballot as much as it what it says about your organization, isn't it?

GALEN: Well, I --

FOREMAN: If you're not organized enough to get on the ballot you can't win.

GALEN: Yes, it's hard to get on the ballot in Virginia but it's clearly not impossible. And it does take a significant amount of organization. It has to do with the age-old commonwealth battle between Northern Virginia and Southern Virginia. But the -- but the fact is that we may see another indication of this lack of organization on the 3rd, because the prevailing theory is that you've got to be organized to be able to get your people out to a caucus in Iowa.

You got to have the lists. You got to have people as Steve King was seeing who is really a decent guy. He was saying you got to have somebody who's prepared to stand up and talk for you. You got to know who's going to show up. And I'm not sure that Newt is kind of -- you know, telephone call campaign having a conference call every day is going to substitute for being able to have built an on-the-ground -- on-the-ground operation, and it showed in Virginia.

I mean that's 50 delegates that he cannot compete for because he's not going to be on the ballot.

FOREMAN: And Maria, quick question here. Would you rather have the Republicans pick a candidate sooner so you know who your man is running against or would you rather have them keep mulling it over longer?

CARDONA: I think it doesn't really matter in terms of what the final outcome is going to be for the Democrats. Because they're going to be ready. This president is going to be ready to run against whoever comes out of the process but a drawn out process I do think is helpful, because the more infighting there is amongst the Republicans the more I think it shows where this president is going to be.

GALEN: Well, before you get too far down that track let me just remind you that the fight between Clinton and Obama went all the way to June and guess who got sworn in the next January?

FOREMAN: Rich, Rich, you took the words out of my mouth. There were an awful lot of Republicans gloating over that right up until Election Day when it didn't work out.

Rich Galen --

CARDONA: But we were all unified.

FOREMAN: Maria Cardona, thanks for being here. Good luck as we head into the new year.

CARDONA: Thank you so much.

FOREMAN: Still ahead, new controversy surrounding Newt Gingrich's marriages. Gingrich claims his first marriage ended because his wife wanted a divorce but court documents obtained by CNN tell a different story. We have the exclusive details.

Also ahead, "Crime & Punishment," a new reward for information about a toddler who vanished just days before Christmas. It's an amazing and heartbreaking story, what we've learned is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: Let's catch up on some of the stories we're following tonight. Isha joins us again with the "360 Bulletin" -- Isha.

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tom, a bloody day in Iraq. A suicide car bomber got through six security checkpoints and set off an explosion killing at least five people at the Interior Ministry in Baghdad. At least 39 others were wounded.

In San Bernardino, California, police have arrested a man suspected of shooting and paralyzing a U.S. soldier at his homecoming party. The victim, Christopher Sullivan, earned a purple heart after surviving a suicide bombing in Afghanistan a year ago.

Georgia court documents obtained by CNN cast doubt on Newt Gingrich's claim that his first wife wanted the divorce in 1980. The files show Jackie Gingrich asked the judge to deny the divorce. Still the Gingrich campaign says he was simply following her wishes.

And it was a very Merry Christmas for actor Matthew McConaughey and his girlfriend, Brazilian model Camilla Alvarez. They are engaged. The couple has two children. Tom, he tweeted that he'd ask her to marry him. I guess, she said yes because he tweeted it.

FOREMAN: Do you think he proposed to her over Twitter?

SESAY: I think she was like sitting across from him and he was like "Want to tie the knot."

FOREMAN: That's good. That was dramatic re-enactment, very well done. Thanks, Isha.

SESAY: You get it all.

FOREMAN: You know, as the end of 2011 approaches, it's a chance for us to look back at all these big moments in the news from pop culture to politics and so much more.

We do it every year, put it together in a big special and this Saturday, New Year's Eve at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. Eastern, write it down, stick it to the refrigerator, we bring you that special, "It's All the Best, All the Worst of 2011," here's a preview. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The word crazy keeps coming to mind, a crazy year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it was one of those roller coaster years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talk about unexpected, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This year's been all over the place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The final liftoff of "Atlantis."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This year was weird, wasn't it?

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN'S "AC 360": I think it's been a tough year for the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The Iraq war is coming to an end.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Let's start with the biggest, best story of 2011. The wholesale return of American troops from Iraq after more than eight years of combat, more than 4,000 lives lost, tens of thousands wounded, whether you supported the war or not, this end was a long time coming.

And even with Afghanistan still in play, it was welcome relief for many military families. But some of the happy reunions may have been stifled by the biggest, baddest story confronting everyone once again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was the number one concern that everybody had was jobs. Everybody knew someone who had lost their job.

L.Z. GRANDERSON, ESPN, SENIOR WRITER: We'd been hovering between 9.2 percent and 9.1 percent for the past couple of years. You know, that has defined 2011.

FOREMAN: A late year dip into the 8 percent range helped a bit, but despite a lot of ambitious talk from politicians about plans for recovering the millions of jobs lost in the recession, unemployment lines remain long and frustration levels high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The retail slump continued.

CLORIS LEACHMAN, ACTRESS: It's horrible not to be able to pay for yourself, to have a job, to work at what you're good at.

COOPER: I've been told by a lot of people they can't get ahead and there are severe imbalances in this country. FOREMAN: At least there is this, if misery loves company, more Americans seem to be warming to the notion that the whole world is in this economic mess together.

LEACHMAN: We need each other. We need each other to buy each other's products and make it all work.

FOREMAN: The biggest blow-up goes to the Middle East where the Arab spring movement ignited passions across the region.

GRANDERSON: I don't think the Middle East went crazy. We're just starting to pay attention.

COOPER: I think what we're seeing happen in the Middle East is extraordinary.

LEACHMAN: It's quite thrilling, and where is it all going to end?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Where indeed. That's just a little taste of "All the Best, All the Worst of 2011." It's airing Saturday at New Year's Eve at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

And after make sure you ring in 2012 with Anderson and comedian, Kathy Griffin live from Times Square. The party starts at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, New Year's Eve right here on the only place to be that night on CNN.

Just ahead, her father, Justin Dipietro, says she vanished from her own bed. It's a chance for you to help locate a missing little girl. Stick with us. Tonight police are offering a big reward, trying to find the missing toddler, Ayla Reynolds.

And an apparent murder/suicide on Christmas. New information tonight about the man who police say killed six members of his own family. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: Tonight in "Crime and Punishment" police in Maine are offering helping $30,000 to anyone who can help them find Ayla Reynolds, a toddler who disappeared from her own bedroom days before Christmas.

Her story starts our new series "Vanished." Her father reported her missing December 17th, saying he put her to bed the night before and found her room empty in the morning.

Investigators conducted dozens of searches including the family's home and nearby pond and hiking trails, but police still do not know what happened to her. And at a news conference today, they offered that big reward in hopes that it will produce someone with concrete information.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JOSEPH MASSEY, WATERVILLE, MAINE POLICE DEPT.: Initially, we had a lot of leads come in, as you might expect, but as the days and the investigation continued on, they dropped off somewhat. They were still coming in, they're still coming in, and again, we're in hopes in offering the reward that those folks who might not have contacted us with information will do so now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: That's the police chief on this case, who also says he believes this is the biggest reward ever offered in Maine in a missing person case. Let's get more on this mystery from Deb Feyerick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's Friday night, December 16th, 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds is ready for bed, wearing her green polka dot pajamas with the words "daddy' princess" on the front.

Her father, Justin Dipietro, puts her to sleep. He says it's the last time he saw his daughter. The next morning, Ayla was gone, vanished sometime during the night.

Dipietro had been carrying for baby Ayla for weeks, after her mother, Trista Reynolds, checked herself into a 10-day rehab program.

After completing rehab, Reynolds filed court papers to regain custody of her daughter. The papers were filed the day before Ayla was last seen.

Police say both parents are fully cooperating in the case, and say they have no suspects yet, but they are certain Ayla was taken from her home on that Friday night.

MASSEY: We believe that someone was involved in taking her out of the house and that's where the focus of this investigation has turned.

FEYERICK: Two days after Ayla's disappearance, Trista Reynolds tells various media outlets, including HLN's Nancy Grace that she worried her daughter was not safe with her father.

The day after Ayla's mother give these interviews, Justin Dipietro writes a letter to law enforcement. He says he has no idea what happened to his daughter nor does he know who's responsible for her disappearance.

Adding, "I will not make accusations or insinuations towards anyone until police have been able to prove who is responsible for this." Meanwhile, the search for Ayla widens. Police received nearly 200 tips.

Civilian volunteers joined state, local and federal authorities in over 80 searches of the area, including a nearby river, a pond, and several hiking trails. Cadaver dogs are brought in, still, no sign of the missing girl.

TRISTA REYNOLDS, AYLA'S MOTHER: Is she OK? Is she laying somewhere dead? Is she safe? Is she cold? Is she being fed? Is someone watching her?

RONALD REYNOLDS, AYLA'S GRANDFATHER: Bring her home. Just bring her home to us. I want my baby home. I want her home.

FEYERICK: And on Christmas Day, prayers instead of presents for Ayla. It's been over a week since the blond haired blue eyed toddler was last seen, and these cases, time is the enemy.

But police continue their search, hoping a new $30,000 reward will bring them closer to finding little Ayla. Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Digging deeper into this case, let's bring in forensic psychiatrist, Helen Morrison. Helen, thanks for being here tonight. Now Deb just said time is the enemy.

DR. HELEN MORRISON, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: Thank you for having me.

FOREMAN: I must say in my experience, whenever a child this young goes missing this long, bad news seems to be just around the corner.

MORRISON: You're absolutely right about that. Most people understand that the first 48 hours are critical in any investigation, and it's been so long now, and the question is, was she taken?

Who might have taken her? What would the motive have been, and where is she now? Bringing in cadaver dogs is not unusual, that's pretty normal as far as protocol is concerned, but the question is, with all of those leads, why hasn't there been someone named a person of interest?

FOREMAN: You raise an interesting point there, but the fact that there hasn't been a person of interest named against this backdrop of hundreds of leads.

MORRISON: Right.

FOREMAN: Does that mean police don't have one or they're just not talking about it?

MORRISON: They may not be talking about it. I think one of the things that police have learned over the years is that not talking tends to keep their investigation tight, and it doesn't allow a lot of information to leak.

If a person of interest thought that they were going to be named, the question is what would they do in that type of a situation, but there have been so many statements about did this little girl walk out on her own, highly unlikely.

Was it someone in the house at the time because there was another infant in that same bedroom? So why was she taken, if she was taken, why not the other child?

The speculation ranges from it was somebody on a revenge kick, did somebody need to have money owed to them? The speculation has gotten pretty wild.

FOREMAN: Almost always in cases like this, unless I'm mistaken, Helen, it's somebody either in the family or close to the family, at least police look at them very, very carefully.

Is it in the police interest right now to keep family members talking to each other about this, to see if something comes up or is it in their interest to try to keep family members away from each other to kind of play people against each other, to either find a suspect or to rule them out.

MORRISON: I think you're on the right track about that, but in this family, it certainly appears that they have no need to be kept apart. They are apart. They've not been communicating on the basis of their own wishes.

There's a tremendous amount of anger on the part of the maternal side of the family, and we've heard nothing from the paternal side of the family. So again, is it something that the police are doing?

Police always look at the intimate family. They are the people who have opportunity. They have exposure, and no one knows what motives might be, but family and intimate partners are always the first to be looked at.

FOREMAN: All right, Helen Morrison, thank you very much for joining us on this difficult, difficult case. I so hope we get some kind of decent news to come out of it, but thanks for being here tonight.

MORRISON: Thank you for having me.

FOREMAN: Ahead, another deadly tragedy for a Connecticut family this Christmas. Fire rips through their home, killing five people, including three young girls. Why fire fighters say they weren't able to go in and rescue them?

Also police catch up with a group of teens accused of stealing thousands of dollars in cash and merchandise and you will not believe what they did to get the cops' attention. You must stay around.

And who is copying whom? Anderson takes on Stephen Colbert as part of our top ten "Ridiculist" of 2011.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: Isha is back with a "360 News and Business Bulletin" -- Isha. SESAY: Tom, new information tonight on an apparent Christmas day murder/suicide near Dallas. Police believed the gunman dressed as Santa Claus, opened fire at a holiday gathering right after gifts were unwrapped.

Authorities say he killed six members of his family before taking his own life. The victims ranged in age from 15 to late 50s. Police expect to release autopsy results and the victim's identities tomorrow.

Another Christmas tragedy, this one in Connecticut, a massive fire at the Stamford home of an ad executive. Her parents and three young daughters were killed. The executive and a friend escaped but the flames were so intense, fire fighters were unable to go inside to rescue the others.

Shoppers went bargain hunting today, making it the third busiest shopping day of the year. Retailers hope mega Monday sales will lure people into their stores and hopefully use the millions of gift cards received for Christmas.

And tom, listen up, Pittsburgh police arrested four teens for robbing a local market after one of them posted pictures on Facebook, posing with all the loot.

Officers say an 18-year-old and three miners stole more than $8,000 worth of cash, cigarettes, candy, and checks. I can only assume that they had a sugar rush from all the candy and thought it was a good idea to post the pictures on Facebook.

FOREMAN: Master criminals there. Thanks, Isha.

SESAY: Yes.

FOREMAN: Up next, number five on Anderson's "Ridiculist" countdown of 2011, his beef with Stephen Colbert. Stick around.

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FOREMAN: We have been counting down the top ten "Ridiculist" of the year and this week we're down to the top five, based on your votes and tonight a journey back to May when Stephen Colbert first made the list. Take a look at number five on our countdown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Time for the "Ridiculist." I got to admit I struggled tonight whether or not to add this person to the list, but I decided in the end that enough is enough so tonight we're adding a man by the name of Stephen Colbert to the list.

Now at first I must admit I had forgotten who Stephen Colbert -- what, coal-bare? You're sure? The "t" is silent, Stephen Colbert, my team of PR professionals tell me I have been on Mr. Colbert's show but I have no memory of that. Anyway, a couple weeks ago I put Sean Hannity on the "Ridiculist" because of a clip of his show on liberal bias, a clip of me on air, which he show edited to completely change the meaning of what I said.

Mr. Colbert took issue and accused me of copying him. He went so far as to create something called the absurd u chart just to put me on it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You, sir, are nothing but a thief because your segment "The Ridiculist" is a clear rip-off of my on notice board, and for stealing my idea. I am putting you and your "Ridiculist" on my Absurdu chart.

COOPER: Absurdu chart, sorry. Words hurt Mr. Colbert, words hurt. The very idea I am copying you is simply ridonculist, which is the original name we came up for the "Ridiculist." I cannot believe you say that I'm copying you, when in fact, sir, I'm going there, it has been you copying me for years.

That's right I said it. I give you exhibit "A." Here you are on the cover of the current issue of "Outside" magazine like you ever go outside. Where could you come one the idea of being on the cover of "Outside" magazine, could it be from me, yes, one year ago April 2010, there I am, look on the cover of "Outside" magazine.

Now my cover shot was a far more heroic pose, and exhibit "B" your ice cream flavor, the Americone dream, a big seller I'm told, sounds pretty good, vanilla ice cream with fudge covered waffle cone pieces and a caramel swirl.

Wonder where you could have gotten the idea, could it have been from my ice cream, which came out years ago? Perhaps you've heard of it, Anderson cooper's white bread ripple, little chunks of dry, white toast and vanilla ice cream with vanilla pieces, swirl of gin and a hint of tonic.

Might not be as well as yours, but it has a brisk business in Kennebunkport in late July to early August. Look, I admit your absurdu chart was very funny especially particularly the part where you used peanut butter to affix my picture to actual figure. That was inspired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, there you go, boom! How's that taste, Anderson? I assume like peanut butter. I didn't even check to see if you had a peanut allergy. The ratings feud is on! I await your next move.

COOPER: Now I know if I was one of these other cable anchors I would try to keep a ratings feud to go with you, attention and ratings and mutually beneficial. I'm not going to do that. I'm willing to let bygones be bygones.

We're both adults. We're both TV professionals. There's no need for a feud. It's certainly not worth it for me because as we all know at the end of the day, everyone goes to sleep after the Daily Show anyway. So here's to you, Stephen Colbert, love your absurdu chart and I'm proud to have you on tonight's "Ridiculist."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Anderson will have No. 4 on our countdown tomorrow night. We'll see you again at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" starts right now.