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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
America Strikes Back: Are Donations Going Where They Belong?; Bacteria May be Developing Resistance; Rumsfeld Says U.S. Aided Rebel Leader
Aired November 06, 2001 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Today on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: "America Strikes Back." Is this man's network capable of getting nuclear weapons?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wouldn't put it past him to develop evil weapons to try to harm civilization as we know it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: What President Bush said, and why the world is taking notice.
As they recover from the September 11 attacks, New Yorkers look for new leadership.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK GREEN (D), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I have the experience to bring the city together. And I think he is out of touch with the neighborhoods.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Today it's the economy and everybody's job, and that is what I'm going to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: A race for mayor that may be as close as the one that made "chad" famous.
Banking on a rate cut. But will the Fed's aggressive action be enough to help you?
And in the war against terrorism: new manpower, as "America Strikes Back." Hello. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from Washington, where President Bush's latest warnings are getting lots of attention. His message today seemed familiar, until he tacked on these ominous words: "nuclear weapons." We'll go live to the White House for an explanation in just a moment, but first, Kyra Phillips with the latest developments -- Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, Wolf, and thank you. President Bush is warning the American people and the world Osama bin Laden must not be allowed to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Bush says there is no evidence that bin Laden has nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. But he says bin Laden's threats to acquire such weapons must be taken seriously.
The Federal Reserve cut a key rate by a half point, to 2 percent, the lowest level in 40 years. It's the tenth cut this year, and the latest effort to pump up a slumping economy battered by the terrorist attacks.
The Federal Aviation Administration is hiring 225 more security workers in a bid to beef up airport security before Thanksgiving. The move follows a weekend security breach at Chicago's O'Hare airport. A man was arrested after allegedly trying to board a plane with several knives, a can of mace and a stun gun.
The FBI says that for the most part, the anthrax contamination is still a big mystery. Appearing before a Senate panel, the agency's antiterrorism expert said the FBI still does not know who is responsible for the anthrax attacks.
U.S. warplanes are keeping up heavy bombing raids on Taliban front line targets in northern Afghanistan and near the southern city of Kandahar. Rebels of the opposition Northern Alliance claim they captured two towns on the road to the key northern town of Mazar-e- Sharif. The claim has not been confirmed.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the number of American special forces in Afghanistan has risen by two-and-a-half times since last week. He didn't give any numbers, but Pentagon officials say the total remains below 100. The Americans are calling in targets for U.S. bombers and helping opposition groups with their communications.
The United Nations says more than 135,000 Afghan refugees have fled to Pakistan since the September terror attacks. Pakistan's border with Afghanistan is officially closed, but the refugees are finding ways to bypass checkpoints.
That's the latest from here in Atlanta. Let's go back to Washington and Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you, Kyra.
President Bush is pledging to keep "relentless military pressure" on Osama bin Laden for as long as it takes to defeat terrorism. And he says bin Laden's threats about weapons of mass destruction must be taken seriously. CNN's senior White House correspondent John King is over at the White House. He joins us now with details of the president's latest remarks -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this blunt talk from the president today, part of a carefully calculated White House-led public relations strategy to go along with the fifth week of the military strikes. Some public opinion polling across Europe noting rising skepticism for the U.S. campaign.
Some Arab leaders, of course, have asked for at least a pause in the bombing during the coming Muslim holy period of Ramadan. But Mr. Bush talking tough today, for the first time himself, giving voice to a view long held by the CIA. The president telling an antiterrorism conference earlier in the day in Warsaw, Poland, in a speech delivered via satellite from here at the White House, that he believes Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network are trying to get their hands on chemical, biological, and, yes, perhaps even nuclear weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Al Qaeda operates in more than 60 nations, including some in Central and Eastern Europe. These terrorist groups seek to destabilize entire nations and regions. They are seeking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Given the means, our enemies would be a threat to every nation, and eventually, to civilization itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Mr. Bush repeated that message at later meeting and conversation with reporters here in the Rose Garden, with the visiting French President Jacques Chirac. Mr. Bush also accusing the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan of persecuting women and children, saying that Afghanistan needs a new government, as the U.S. military campaign continues.
Mr. Bush meeting with a half-dozen more international leaders in the days ahead. On Saturday he gives a speech to the United Nations General Assembly. Mr. Bush serving notice today that would be a blunt talk as well, saying that words of sympathy and support are not enough, that all nations would be called upon to step up and join the war against terrorism -- Wolf.
BLITZER: John, any explanation from officials over there, or perhaps elsewhere in Washington, why the president is ratcheting up the rhetoric right now, as far as weapons of mass destruction and Osama bin Laden?
KING: Well, certainly the CIA has held this view for a long time. The president himself using those words for the first time today. White House officials say this is a natural progression of the rhetorical campaign, if you will.
Five weeks into the strikes, there have been some doubts raised, especially -- President Chirac was here today. Public opinion polling in France showing rising skepticism. In Great Britain, as well. Tony Blair himself said in an interview today, when you're five weeks into a campaign like this, people are beginning to see pictures of civilian casualties. You need to go back to the reasons you were in this to begin with, and remind people of why you are doing this.
The president doing that today, but also escalating the rhetoric, as you noted, as he does so.
BLITZER: But he didn't go as far as to suggest that the anthrax attacks here in the United States were necessarily connected to Osama bin Laden, did he?
KING: He did not. He has said in the past that he wouldn't put it past bin Laden to be responsible for the anthrax attacks, but he made no mention of that today. One of the reasons, as we just heard from Kyra Phillips, the FBI telling Congress today it still has no idea as to what the source of that anthrax might be.
BLITZER: John King at the White House, thank you very much.
And what makes Osama bin Laden tick? You can find some answers at cnn.com. This in-depth special fills you in on his motives and the evidence against him. The AOL keyword is "CNN."
On the political front here in the United States, Americans are going to the polls today for the first elections since the September terror attacks. One of the most closely watched races is of course in New York City. CNN's Maria Hinojosa is there and she joins us now live.
Maria, give us a little preview of what's happening there.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, here we are at the Upper East Side, which in this polling site, a senior center, actually it turned out, it has been pretty brisk throughout the day. And according to Board of Elections officials, turnout has been pretty steady throughout the city.
But at this point in this mayor's race, we're talking about a statistical dead heat. Now, this area where we're at today is an also area where both of these candidates, the top candidates, live. Mark Green, the Democrat and public advocate of the city. He's a career politician and he's been looking for this mayorship for four years.
And on the Republican side, billionaire media mogul Mike Bloomberg, who will have spent $40 million of his own money in this election, making it the most expensive campaign and election ever in this city's history.
Now, both candidates, Mark Green and Mike Bloomberg, are white, Jewish and wealthy. Both have degrees from Harvard, and up until last year, both of them lifelong Democrats. But Mike Bloomberg then decided to become a Republican in this election. He was endorsed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Mark Green was recently endorsed by President Bill Clinton.
And even though both of these men are very similar in their backgrounds, they say that they have very different ideas about what they will bring to the city at this moment in history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLOOMBERG: My experience, in terms of building a company and managing people through economic, trying times, and providing leadership to 8,000 employees, and 200,000 customers makes me qualified to lead the city forward for this period in time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREEN: The stakes are so high, the race is so close, and the contrast is so sharp, between a Democratic public advocate who has been in every neighborhood and helped working families in every neighborhood, and a Republican billionaire who is out of touch with our neighborhoods, who hasn't one accomplishment in public life, and whose slogan is "money talks."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, MAYOR OF NEW YORK: I feel not just me, but the people that work with me, gave everything we had after the city was attacked on September 11th. So you know, I'm comfortable with what we did. And you always wish you had done more. And I'm quite comfortable with Mike Bloomberg being the next mayor. But whatever the voters choose, it's their choice. The right to vote is a fundamental right. Whomever is selected as the next mayor, we will start the transition tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HINOJOSA: And whoever comes on as mayor is going to face a 4- to $6 billion deficit out of a budget of $40 billion. And right now we're talking about 15 percent of New York City voters undecided. Many of those undecided voters, African-Americans and Latinos -- traditional Democrats who have turned away from Mark Green, accusing him playing racial politics -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Maria, as you know, Mayor Giuliani has endorsed Bloomberg, his Republican colleague. Why is this race so close? Is that the major reason?
HINOJOSA: Well, that is one key reason. But what happened during the last runoff, when Mark Green was facing Fernando Ferrer, who wanted to become the first Latino mayor in New York City, there were accusations that Mark Green played racial politics, divisive politics, saying things like, for example, that if Fernando Ferrer won, that Reverend Al Sharpton would be helping to run the city.
And many Latinos and African-Americans have become very angry about this situation. There have been -- sorry about that. There have been in fact endorsements by key Latino newspapers, saying that they're going to go for Bloomberg. And last night Reverend Al Sharpton said that he was not encouraging black voters to vote for Mark Green.
So all of that has added to make this pretty difficult to call at this point. It would depend on how many of those African-American and Latino voters actually come out to the polls for the vote, or if they're going to stay away from the polls altogether -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Maria Hinojosa, thank you very much.
Meanwhile voters in dozens of other cities are also choosing mayors in this off-year election. Some of the top races are in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Houston and Miami. But none of those match New York City's race for the big spending, and of course for the big stakes involved.
Voters in only two states, Virginia and New Jersey, are picking a new governor. Moderate Democrat Mark Warner is the favorite in Virginia in his race against former Republican State Attorney General Mark Earley. And in New Jersey, Democrat Jim McGreevey is favored over Republican Brett Schundler.
The off-year elections come at a time when the nations's economy is edging closer and closer to a recession. The Federal Reserve tried again today to pump some life back into the economy, cutting a key interest rate by half a point, to 2 percent. That's the lowest level -- get this -- since 1961.
Joining us now from Atlanta to talk about this and more, involving the Fed's move, is Rajeev Dhawan. He's the director of economic forecasting at the center there at Georgia State University.
Rajeev, thanks for joining us. What is this going to mean practically for our viewers out there, consumers out in the United States?
RAJEEV DHAWAN, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY: It might lift their spirits a little bit if the Fed is really aggressive, but it's not going to do much for them immediately right now. I think the Fed is priming the economy for a pickup down the road, when the fiscal stimulus comes in. And the question is, what kind of stimulus would that be.
BLITZER: Well, what kind of stimulus do you think the economy needs right now? Because as you know, there is a traditional debate unfolding here in Washington between those Democrats, largely, who want to increase government spending for unemployment insurance and other benefits for laid-off workers, as opposed to Republicans, by and large, who want to cut taxes.
DHAWAN: I think those are nice ways of putting money back into the economy, but we need to do something fast and quick. And we need to think outside the box, you know. And the spending programs cannot pump money into the economy that quickly, the way it needs it right now. Because this is an economy that is sinking very fast and very rapidly.
You know, the September 11 events really shook up the confidence of the consumer, which wasn't rosy before. And every day there is more news about more new attacks and more new problems. In that kind of situation, you and me as a consumer would hold back. And when we hold back, there is not much demand for the products for the producers.
So at this point we need to put money directly into people's pockets, and I'm thinking a little bit outside the box, and I'm advocating why not have some kind of a big tax holiday. Maybe no federal taxes for a month or so, and that will literally put the money into people's pocket, and hopefully they will spend.
BLITZER: Some have proposed eliminating, for certain days, for example, state taxes, and as far as purchase taxes, sales taxes, to get people to go out there and buy stuff, and let the federal government subsidize the states. Is that realistic?
DHAWAN: It's realistic, but it's going to take some time and it won't be that much. I'm talking about some kind of a stimulus that should be on the tune of 50- to a $100 billion coming over three months. And the only way you can do that very quickly, that means generate demand in front of the firms, the producers, for their products, the routers, the cars and all that, is by putting money into peoples' pockets directly. And the only way you can do that, at this point, the way it looks to me, is by giving some kind of a massive tax relief to the consumers.
BLITZER: As you know, interest rates are now at a low of 40 years. Since 1961, they haven't been this low. How much lower can they realistically go?
DHAWAN: If you go back to just the recent history, few years before the 1960s, the federal fund rate was even less than 1 percent. So the Fed still has some room to cut. And I'm thinking -- my hope is that they will cut down to even 2.5 percent or even lower by early spring.
But you know, still, the question is: Is that going to make me go rush out, buy another car? Probably not, because I may not need it or I may be too hesitant because I may be worried about my job or something. But the biggest thing is, if you force money into peoples' pockets, perhaps they will save a lot of it to make up for the losses they have suffered in the stock market. You know, the 401(k) reports don't look very good right now.
But hopefully they will spend a part of it, and that will jump- start the economy. And at that time, the low interest rates will imply that the firms, or the businesses who want to borrow money to expand production, will be able to get it.
BLITZER: Will this automatically be translated into lower mortgage rates? Are people going to go out and buy houses, or refinance their mortgages right now?-
DHAWAN: Unfortunately, the short-term rate does not impact the long-term rates, which is the 10-year bond rate or the 30-year bond rate, which determines the market's rate, especially on the main 15- to 30-year mortgages. So that rate may or may not come down too much.
I think at this point, there was a rally in the bond market and the rates came down big time in the last couple weeks. But they can't go much further lower. So at this point, if the mood of the consumer is good, that you and me feel confident about either buying a new house and upgrading what we have, at that point, you know, things will pick up. But that's a few months away. That needs some drastic actions, both from the government's side, as well as from the people side.
BLITZER: We'll be watching carefully. Rajeev Dhawan of Georgia State University, thank you very much.
And with the economy in a slump, cartoonists are finding a little humor in this story and poking fun at the Fed. In today's "U.S. Today," take a look at this. A couple is in front of a loan officer. Notice the sign behind them: "4.5 Percent Interest." Now look at the caption: "Actually, since the Fed's rate cuts, that's how much we pay you!"
More on the Fed's move and its impact at the top of the hour on "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE."
Assessing the bioterrorism threat with Senator Arlen Specter at the half-hour. And getting help to those hurt by the terror attacks. Families of those killed tell us about the difficulty of tapping into millions of dollars already donated.
Is this man the best chance for the U.S. to rally Afghan opposition to the Taliban? Meet Hamid Karzai when we come back. And later, the tourism bite: how Washington is sinking its teeth into attracting visitors.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today the United States forces went to the aid last week of an anti- Taliban rebel leader. His name is Hamid Karzai, and he's one of many Afghan rebels the United States is aiding.
Earlier today, CNN's Bill Hemmer spoke to Karzai by satellite phone about the situation inside Afghanistan and his impressions of the Taliban recruitment efforts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMID KARZAI, SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN: It looks like there is no Afghan recruitment for Taliban, because the forces attacked us were about 450 people. And the people who surrendered to us from the Taliban told us that the 15 trucks that moved from one direction towards us, from the direction of the northeast -- about half of those pickup trucks, say, seven or eight, were full of foreign fighters, Arabs and Pakistani extremists.
This shows that the Taliban cannot recruit people. Secondly, for the Taliban to take a month to come and attack me, also proves that they were finding it hard to find recruits to come and attack us. So I stayed almost a month in Afghanistan before they could gather the strength to come and attack me.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: You know what happened to Abdul Haq, another rebel commander who went inside Afghanistan just about 10 days ago. Are you concerned about your own safety there traveling?
KARZAI: As far as my security is concerned, it is an individual security. It doesn't really matter. I can put my life in danger, bring peace for Afghanistan, get rid of these foreign terroristic elements from my country, and bring dignity to the Afghan people -- I'll be very happy to give my life for that. It's in God's hands.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: At today's Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged that the U.S. has been assisting Karzai.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: He has been in Afghanistan with a number of supporters and troops. And we have, I know, delivered ammunition and some supplies to him within recent days -- in fact, I think while I was in Pakistan, At his request he was extracted from Afghanistan with a small number of his senior supporters and fighters, I believe, for consultation in Pakistan. And undoubtedly will be -- will be going back in there, at that point, when those consultations are completed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Karzai was Afghanistan's deputy foreign minister in the early 1990s before the Taliban came to power, and he's an ally of the exiled Afghan king.
Join me for the war room at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. I'll discuss the prosecution of the war in Afghanistan with, among others, the former CIA director James Woolsey and Senator Paul Wellstone.
And get your questions in for our panel at cnn.com/wolf. Click on "send questions," and I'll present them to our guests. You can also read my daily on-line column there as well.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair says people want quick results in the war on terrorism. But in an interview with CNN's Larry King, Mr. Blair said the struggle requires patience and a commitment across a number of fronts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It is important that we realize there are, in a sense, really two phases for this. One is to make sure that we shut down that Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda network in Afghanistan, and prevent the regime there sheltering and aiding them.
And then we deal with international terrorism in all its forms in different ways: how it's financed, how they manage to acquire weapons, how they move across borders, how they operate. And this requires, again, close consultation and deliberation with allies, and then a proper plan to deal with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: You can see much more of that interview tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE." That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.
On the international front, German Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder is offering 3,900 German troops for use in the war on terrorism. The offer could lead to the biggest German troop commitment since World War II.
Two former U.S. diplomats say Osama bin Laden was allowed to remain in Afghanistan because he enjoyed the blessing of the Taliban leader Mullah Omar. The two Clinton administration officials said other Taliban leaders considered bin Laden a burden. They say the case was made to the Taliban two years ago that bin Laden was guilty of terrorism, but because of ties to Mullah Omar, he could not be expelled.
In Madrid, 95 people were injured today in a car bomb explosion during the morning rush hour. Spanish law enforcement officials made two arrests and blamed the Basque separatist group. Spain's interior minister says the intended target appears to have been a senior member of the Spanish government.
At a time of heightened terrorism alert, should we be singling out people who look Middle Eastern? One member of Congress gives you a first person account of racial ethnic profiling when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Since September 11th, the debate over racial profiling has taken on a slightly different tone. While many Americans argue that questioning people on the basis of race or ethnicity is fundamentally wrong, others say that in the current climate some racial or ethnic profiling is unavoidable.
Joining me now from Capitol Hill, Congressman Darrell Issa. The California Republican says he was the victim of profiling in the wake of the September 11th attacks. He's the grandson of Lebanese immigrants here in the United States.
Congressman Issa, thanks for joining us. Walk us back, tell us what happened in your particular case.
REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: Well, it's -- you know, we can call it profiling, but we can also probably call it bureaucracy. But what actually happened, I showed up at the airport, got to the ticket counter about an hour and 15 minutes before a flight, to France with continuation to Saudi Arabia. I was with another congressman.
BLITZER: You were at Washington Dulles Airport, is that right?
ISSA: At Washington Dulles Airport. And the two of us were going to meet with the royal family and various people in the government in Saudi Arabia, just before the war actually broke out. And I arrived and they punched me in the computer, took my tickets, my boarding passes and my passport, and walked me out of sight for about 20 minutes.
And when they came back, they had taken my boarding passes away and handed me back my ticket, and said, "You're going tomorrow."
And I looked at the ticket, and I said, "No, I'm going today."
And they said, "No, you're going tomorrow." And therein began about a one-hour debate, which ended with the plane leaving without me.
BLITZER: These were people from Air France, is that right?
ISSA: Absolutely. People from Air France operating, as I understand it, completely on Air France profiling and away of doing business. And that's why I call it a bureaucracy more than anything else. Because I'm one of those people that says there's nothing wrong with profiling.
There is something wrong when you have a member of Congress with an official U.S. passport -- not a blue one, but rather one that a member of Congress carries, State Department approved visas and another member of Congress on the plane, that in an hour you can't resolve the difficulties.
And this is, I think, what loyal Americans of Arab and Muslim persuasion, if you will, face. It's not unreasonable to double check and to question. After all, all 19 of these people that committed this terrorist act on us, and others that we're still rounding up, were all Arabs, they were all Muslims, and in most cases, were also Saudis. So there is nothing wrong with profiling.
I think what the people in this country expect is, that after we do the initial profile, we will efficiently get through the initial look, the red flag if you will, and resolve whether somebody is friend or foe.
BLITZER: Now, they obviously knew you were a member of Congress. You had a Congressional passport, and another member of Congress, Robert Wexler, Democrat of Florida, was on that plane. He was traveling with you and he came off the plane to protest -- isn't that right?
ISSA: He did, and that's what made it so obviously a bureaucratic -- once they had a no from whatever was in their computer, they simply couldn't change their mind, even if all logic, at least by an American flag carrier, would have meant that they -- they shouldn't do what they were doing. And you know, it was one of the reason that I kept it completely quiet (AUDIO GAP) released.
We didn't do anything about it except send a letter to Air France, because I think it -- my experience, although it probably is an example of profiling -- also points up the fact that this is not malice by the administration.
It has gone out of their way to make sure that Muslims and Arabs are very safe in this country and being treated overwhelmingly well, considering the fact that we are at war and every day somebody is being infected with anthrax or in fact is living in fear.
BLITZER: Was it -- was it the fact that you are of Arab ancestry or was it that you had a one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia, because I believe Congressman Wexler -- who as you know is of Jewish background -- he had a one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia as well, didn't he?
ISSA: Yes, and I think it's a -- it's a combination. You know, here you have somebody whose Arab surname means Jesus, going to Saudi Arabia on a one-way ticket arriving -- although technically within their limits -- sort of late.
And although I just voted, you know, and I had all the reasons to think that I had done the right thing, you could see where it would throw up a red flag. And I think the important thing -- there has been over 1100 people who have been pulled off of flights. It is not unreasonable to be pulled off flights.
It is only unreasonable if reasonable care isn't taken to find out whether they should be put back on that flight, and I commend the American carriers and the FAA. They have done pretty darn good job of resolving these red flags when they occur so as to minimize the inconvenience to the Arab community. And I think the Arab community overwhelmingly is very, very appreciative of that. You know, after all, there were Arabs and Muslims killed in this terrorist attack.
BLITZER: Congressman Issa, good of you to tell us your story. I think our viewers are obviously very interested in this subject. Good luck to you.
ISSA: Thank you.
BLITZER: And just a note. You eventually did make it to Saudi Arabia, didn't you?
ISSA: Actually I ended up going and catching up to the group at the next stop, which was in Bahrain, where Rob Wexler -- Congressman Wexler and I -- oddly enough were there for the beginning of the war.
And so a great deal was accomplished there, and then I went on to Lebanon, and I'm going back to the region. Congressman Wexler is going back to the region.
We are dedicated to try to do what we can as members of Congress to emphasize to these powers in that region how important this is and how it unites all Americans -- Arab, Muslim, and others alike.
BLITZER: Congressman Darrell Issa, thank you very much for joining us.
And an update on today's developments in America's new war is next. And assessing the bioterrorism threat with Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Also, the threat to the United States from anthrax-fighting antibiotics. All when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We will get to the latest on bioterrorism and our interview with Senator Specter in just a moment. But first let's go back to Kyra Phillips in Atlanta for a quick check of the latest developments. Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, ANCHOR: Thanks again, Wolf. The Federal Reserve has cut a key interest rate to two percent, the lowest since the Kennedy years. The half-point cut in the federal funds rate is the third such attempt since September 11th to try to spur the economy.
On news of the cut, the Dow Jones Industrial Average headed upward, and finished with a gain of 150 points.
President Bush suggests that one reason the strikes against Afghanistan are so important is to counter the effort by Osama Bin Laden to get weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Bush made his comment after a White House meeting with French President Jacques Chirac, amid signs from Europe that support for the strikes is slipping.
An FBI official got grilled today on Capitol Hill. Several impatient senators slam the lack of progress in the anthrax probe. The official says it is still unclear whether the anthrax came from overseas or from within the United States.
Also today, the FBI plans to withdraw its warning that a major Western bridge is the object of a possible terrorist plot. The warning was passed last week to local law enforcement officials, and made public by California Governor Gray Davis. Officials say the information that prompted the warning now is considered "not credible."
In Afghanistan, the United States dropped bombs today near Kandahar and Kabul. And in its latest battle update, the Pentagon reports 100 combat flights on Monday alone. Anti-Taliban rebels are claiming two major victories in fighting near a town in the country's far north. Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: Thanks, Kyra. More than a month after the first anthrax case surfaced in Florida, the surface -- the source, excuse me -- of anthrax-tainted letters remains very much a mystery.
U.S. Senators addressed that issue today in a hearing on bioterrorism. An FBI counterterrorism expert, Tim Caruso, admitted the investigation has turned up little. He was also grilled by the panel's chairwoman, Senator Dianne Feinstein, about anthrax production in the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN, (D) CALIFORNIA: How many labs handle anthrax in the United States?
TIM CARUSO, FBI COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT: We do not know that at this time. I can assure...
FEINSTEIN: You don't know that?
CARUSO: No, we do not. We are pressing hard to determine...
FEINSTEIN: Could you possibly tell me why you do not know that?
CARUSO: The research capabilities of thousands of researchers is something that we are just continuing to run down. I know it's an unsatisfactory answer, and unsatisfying to us as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: One of the issues in the bioterrorism debate is whether Americans should be vaccinated for dangerous diseases, or whether such vaccines should be stockpiled in case of an outbreak.
Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter is a among those looking closely into this issue. He joins us now. Senator Specter, thanks for joining us. What do you think? Should all Americans start receiving vaccines, for example, for smallpox right away?
SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER, (D) PENNSYLVANIA: Wolf, I think all Americans should have access to smallpox vaccinations if they decide to take them.
There is a risk factor. We had a hearing last week. The experts said there was a risk of one to six people out of million, which is a relatively minor risk. And the decision has been made by the federal government at the moment not to vaccinate.
And I think that that's a wrong decision. It oughtn't to be up to the federal government. What the government should do is to be sure that there are enough vaccination materials available and they haven't -- they haven't done that.
BLITZER: Right now, there is only, what, 15 million vaccines available? Even if you dilute it five to one, there would only be 75 million. How long will it take to get enough for 250 or 300 million Americans?
SPECTER: Well, they said not until the end of next year, and a number of us on the panel were very critical of the Center for Disease Control because it's their job to tell us what -- what their needs are. And it's not something that happened last week or last month to know that there is a potential for smallpox.
And had they brought the information to the subcommittee last year, the year before or earlier this year, we would have been in a position to make the decision on appropriations. And we have very heavily funded health research on the National Institute of Health and we have shown our willingness to put the money out. But they hadn't told us of the problem and now we face a substantial risk of a very long delay.
BLITZER: I know that your office is in that Hart Senate building, which is still shut down. Is there any --- do you have any sense about the anthrax vaccine? Is that something that should go beyond the military personnel who currently receive that, something that should be made available to the general public?
SPECTER: Well, I'm not sure about that. Frankly, I tried to get the anthrax vaccination several years ago when it first came out and couldn't -- couldn't get it.
We have not had the kind of a risk assessment on anthrax. If you have that problem, you can take Cipro or other antibiotics. My staff was exposed to it. I was. I had a test and for a couple of days until it proved negative, took Cipro.
So unlike smallpox, where if you don't have the vaccination you catch it and the mortality rate is very high, perhaps as high as 30 percent with anthrax, you can take an antibiotic and beat it.
BLITZER: Are you -- are you suggesting, Senator Specter, that someone at the CDC -- the Centers for Disease Control and prevention -- some people were asleep at the switch as far as this threat of bioterrorism is concerned?
SPECTER: Well, absolutely, Wolf. Just look at the facts. We have known for years that there is a bioterrorist threat. We knew that forcibly when the Japanese faced the problem in their subway in 1995.
And it's also a matter of tabulating how much vaccination material there is available. 15 million vaccines, perhaps diluted to 75 million. 280 million Americans.
The Center for Disease Control is supposed to control diseases. Their job is to tell the Congress what the problems are and then let it be up to the Congress to decide what kind of funding to make to answer that problem. And they didn't do it.
BLITZER: Senator Arlen Specter, thanks for joining us.
SPECTER: Glad to do it, Wolf.
BLITZER: Experts fear that some of the bacteria they are trying to protect people against may develop resistance to certain antibiotics. CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: In this laboratory freezer, in small cardboard boxes, are thousands of vials of bacteria that demonstrate the danger of overprescribing Cipro. Each of these vials represents a person with an infection that could not be treated with multiple antibiotics. Some of these people died as a result.
So in this freezer you have what looks like thousands of samples of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And this would actually represent in a very small scale what hospitals confront every day of the week.
COHEN: When someone has an antibiotic-resistant infection, doctors often turn to Cipro, one of the strongest antibiotics around. Now thousands of Americans are taking Cipro because of the anthrax attacks, which could create a different problem.
The more Cipro gets used, the greater the chance that harmful bacteria figure out how to outsmart it -- how to do end-runs around the drug. If that happens, then Cipro -- and all the other drugs in its class -- could be rendered useless. It's happened to antibiotics in the past, and experts worry it could happen again.
DR. STUART LEVY, TUFTS UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL: For cancer patients, for transplant patients, for many very sick patients, ciprofloxacin and members of that same family are critically, critically needed. They are often the drug of last resort. I don't want to lose them.
DR. BARRY KREISWIRTH, PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE: We're going to pay a price, maybe six months, maybe a year from now, and that is we're going to lose perhaps a major, effective, antibiotic class of drugs.
COHEN: Before we explain how a bacteria learns how to outsmart antibiotics, let's make one thing clear: experts say the anthrax used in the attacks so far is not going to become resistant to Cipro, but other harmful bacteria could.
Here's how bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics. Let's say someone's taking Cipro. At first, the bacteria don't know what to do because they've never seen Cipro before, so they die. But over time, bacteria figure out how to fight off the Cipro. The bacteria, in other words, grow resistant to it. The person taking Cipro can then sneeze and send that resistant bacteria to someone else. Then, when the person gets sick, Cipro won't work.
One person passes this resistant bacteria on to another, then another, and then in time it can become a national problem, because we all fly around the country and share our germs. That's the potential danger.
So as thousands of Americans line up for antibiotics against anthrax, given the worries about Cipro resistance, why aren't public health authorities just switching more people over to another antibiotic that the CDC says works just as well against the anthrax we've seen so far: doxycycline?
Experts aren't as worried about resistance to doxy, as it's called, because it's not as powerful and useful a drug as Cipro. For the answer, we go to the nightly news.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...been hearing a lot about these days is an antibiotic called Cipro that is...
COHEN: The CDC says they're trying to switch people over to doxy, but they're concerned about public confidence in anything but Cipro. In other words, it's a psychological problem.
DR. DAVID FLEMING, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: How we educate people that doxycycline is as effective as Cipro, we don't want to create concern in people that they're not getting the best drugs. So we're doing this education right now to help people understand that these two drugs are equally effective.
COHEN: Two drugs, equally effective against anthrax. But will insistence on Cipro -- and only Cipro -- create a different and perhaps even more deadly problem?
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Millions of dollars have been pledged to help the families of those killed in the September 11th attacks. But now, nearly two months after the devastation, are those funds reaching the people who really need them? That when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Americans have been opening up their hearts and their wallets to those victimized by the September 11th attacks. More than $1 billion has been raised or pledged. But according to a CNN survey of seven large charities, only about one- fifth of those funds have been disbursed.
In a hearing on Capitol Hill today, a woman widowed by the attack on the World Trade Center expressed her frustration with the delays.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSA STEIN, WIDOW OF WTC VICTIM: I do understand the magnitude of this -- this project for charitable groups is unprecedented. I appreciate the work they are doing for me and for thousands of other families. And I do think my situation could have been worse. But I don't think contributors to the various September 11 funds thought that their donations would be caught up in so much red tape and become such a source of frustration for families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: For more on the charities issue, we are joined by Thomas Roger. His daughter was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11. He is active in a group of families who lost loved ones -- lost loved ones on September 11th.
Mr. Roger, thanks for joining us. Of course, our deepest condolences to you and to your entire family. Tell us your story. What has been your experience in dealing with these funds that are being made to the relatives of the victims, of those killed?
THOMAS ROGER, FATHER OF TERRORIST VICTIM: Our experience has been, I would say, OK. You know, we were first contacted by the Red Cross actually after the governor of Connecticut, I think, prodded them to contact the Connecticut residents.
And I happen live both in Connecticut and Massachusetts, which turned out to be quite fortunate, because as I understand it, the Massachusetts people -- some of them -- are still waiting for contacts. But the governor of Connecticut had the Red Cross -- Stamford area Red Cross send us a form.
We had some contact with the Red Cross people in terms of how to fill out the form. You know, this was for the one-time gift program that the Red Cross was anxious to get started. So we sent the form in. And it took about three, three and a half weeks for them to respond, a number of phone calls and I would say typical bureaucracy in dealing with an organization like the Red Cross.
BLITZER: So you have actually started to receive some money already, right?
ROGER: Yes. We received -- under the one-time program from the Red Cross, where they are making a gift to the families to cover what they classify as the couple of months of expenses associated with the tragedy.
BLITZER: What about all the other charities, all the others funds that are supposedly being made available? We have heard some people talk -- some horror stories about the bureaucracy, the red tape, the paperwork that they have to go through?
ROGER: Yes. I think the -- it's very clear that certainly the people that are the neediest are the least able to access the funds. You know, I went online today to do a survey of, you know, the information that's on the web about all the different charities that are out there.
And you know, I'm a lawyer and an engineer and pretty experienced in tracking down information. And I can tell you that if -- if I had some immediate needs, I think I would have had a hard time trying track down who to contact about taking care of these needs.
There's also, a number of problems associated with these -- the people that are qualifying for various funding. Just an example is siblings of people who perished on September 11.
Sometimes the siblings were in a position where they were either responsible for a disabled parent and all of a sudden now the person that was the caretaker is gone. The sibling now has to quit their job and take responsibility. And under some of these programs the siblings do not qualify for receiving any aid. So there is some real needy people out there right now who have some serious problems.
BLITZER: OK. I want to thank you, Mr. Roger, for joining us. Once again, or deepest condolences...
ROGER: Thank you.
BLITZER: ...to you and to your family. Thank you very much.
ROGER: I appreciate it.
BLITZER: And more of course on the charities in the next hour. Bernadine Healy, who is resigning as the American Red Cross president, is the guest on "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE." That's at 6:00 Eastern, 3:00 Pacific.
We will be right back with latest. There's some late-breaking developments involving major league baseball. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We are following a breaking news story. The baseball commissioner, Bud Selig, says owners have now overwhelmingly voted to authorize what he calls "contraction" of major league baseball.
Selig says two teams will be dropped, but he says they have not yet been chosen. Details still need to be worked out. I want to play you what he said just a few moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUD SELIG, BASEBALL COMMISSIONER: Clubs voted today overwhelmingly in favor of contraction and authorized me to begin a myriad of detail to try to bring that process to fruition as quickly as possible. We had other items today, but as you all know this was the rescheduling of the quarterly meeting that was supposed to be held in Milwaukee on Tuesday, September 11th. So we did what normally do at quarterly meeting and then of course had discussion of contraction. I'm open to question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there any discussion of relocating teams, for example to Washington, as opposed to contraction?
SELIG: No. Because, you know, we have talked about all the solutions available. And contraction, we believe, deals with this problem because it -- whatever the two franchises are that we finally track -- and there are more than two candidates at this time -- they are teams that we have judged to be not capable, now or in the future, of generating enough revenue to be a productive franchise.
And by shifting teams, oftentimes all you do is shift problems. So relocation is a -- is something that we will consider in the future. And certainly a time to consider that will come. But it has nothing to do with the contraction process.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you saying the two teams have not yet been decided on?
SELIG: That is correct. That's exactly what I'm saying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) news stadium that could potentially...
SELIG: Well, I'm -- the fact of the matter is that they haven't -- we haven't picked a final two teams. And there is -- there is a lot of negotiation yet to be done. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many teams...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Bud Selig, the commissioner of baseball, saying two teams will be eliminated from major league baseball. He won't say which two franchises will be gone. There's been a lot of speculation in the press over the past few weeks that the Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos are candidates. The commissioner saying there are other candidates as well.
We will continue to follow this breaking news story. Meanwhile, I will be back in one hour with more coverage in our CNN war room, including a free-wheeling discussion on the course of the war. Among my guests: Senator Paul Wellstone, former CIA Director James Woolsey, and the former CIA officer Reuel Gerecht.
I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. CNN's coverage of America's new war continues now with "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE." That begins right now.
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