Shock and Awe: Five Years Later

Has anyone else found themselves missing Wolf Blitzer broadcasting The Situation Room from the New York Election Center now that he’s back in the DC studio? You don’t need to sell me on the idea that The Situation Room should be based in DC – that really does make the most sense – but I didn’t realize how much I had gotten used to the look of the show from New York until they came back to DC. Here's a side by side comparison...

New York	Washington, DC
(Screen caps from TSR 3/11)	(Screen caps from TSR 3/13)

Its hard to believe that The Situation Room wall of monitors could seem small. Other than monitor size, the Election Center also presented a few other benefits. Wasn't it nice having Jack Cafferty in the same room as Wolf? And of course there is this season’s cool gadget- the magic delegate map...

Saturday's Your $$$$$ had an interesting segment from Ines Ferre about reducing workplace stress. (Don't we all need that?) Here's a clip:

Who says that money doesn't grow on trees?

Wednesday, March 19th will mark the Fifth Anniversary of the war in Iraq. Here’s what CNN has planned:

6 AM – 9 AM ET CNN/US

American Morning considers whether expenses for the war drains the economy and contributes to recession or actually pumps up the economy with the infusion of money spent on the war effort.

6 AM – 9 AM ET Headline News

Morning Express with Robin Meade will air special salutes to the troops for the war anniversary. Starting today, members of military families can visit www.CNN.com/robin to express how the war has affected their lives, including the triumphs and challenges they've experienced over the past five years. The show will air a sampling of e-mail and photo submissions as a tribute to our troops and their families.

4 PM – 7 PM ET CNN/US

The Situation Room, anchor Wolf Blitzer and his team will examine the war from all angles. Correspondents will report on the cost to prosecute the war and rebuild Iraq, troop morale, the fate of Iraqi refugees and strategies for fighting insurgents.

9 PM ET CNN en Espanol

Panorama Mundial will broadcast reports from Iraq filed by CNN’s international correspondents.

11 p.m. (ET) on both CNN/US & CNN International

“Shock and Awe: Five Years Later,” an Anderson Cooper 360º special. This in-depth hour offers retrospective dispatches from those who have covered the war for the past five years, including such CNN journalists as chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, senior political correspondent Candy Crowley, senior international correspondent Nic Robertson, national correspondent Gary Tuchman and Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware and contributors including Ret. Gen. David Grange.

Also for the anniversary coverage, chief national correspondent John King reports from the Middle East as he travels with Vice President Dick Cheney for a 10-day trip that includes visits to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Turkey.

Online, CNN.com will provide special coverage on Wednesday, March 19, and Thursday, March 20, focusing on the impact of the war on military families. Users also can visit the “Salute to Troops” blog at http://www.CNN.com/exchange/blogs/salute/index.html, which includes special audio, photo, video and text messages from families and friends honoring their loved ones in service. All service personnel who have lost their lives in Iraq are remembered in a CNN.com special section at http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties.

iReport.com, CNN’s recently launched user-generated community Web site, features first-hand accounts from military families about how their lives have changed over the past five years at http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=3605. Viewers and users are encouraged to upload their video, photo, audio or text submissions about the anniversary of the war in Iraq to the site. iReport.com contributors also may gain recognition by having the material they submit to the site – once vetted and approved for use – appear on a CNN network or CNN.com.

Source: CNN Press Release

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