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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
FBI Plans Sweeping Changes; Is al Qaeda Trying to Trigger a Nuclear War? Should Families of Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 Settle?
Aired May 29, 2002 - 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: We need to change and we are indeed changing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: Is al Qaeda trying to trigger a nuclear war? The last line of defense, we'll take you up to 35,000 feet, a rare look at federal air marshals training to stop hijackers. And, the latest mission by the man who found the Titanic, has he found the boat that made JFK a hero?
It's Wednesday, May 29th, 2002. Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Its crime-fighting capabilities are legendary, but the FBI has been under fire for its failures in fighting terrorism. Now the bureau gets an overhaul with a new mission and a new look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): From the nation's top law enforcement officials, a commitment to change the culture of the FBI.
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Where there are responsible changes to be made, we will make them. Where there are mistakes to acknowledge, we will not shy away from doing so.
BLITZER: This wholesale shift in philosophy calls for the FBI to put less emphasis on its long-time mission of solving domestic crimes, instead turning the bureau into more of an intelligence agency, analyzing threats and trying to prevent terrorism.
MUELLER: Our analytical capability is not where it should be.
BLITZER: FBI Director Robert Mueller is spearheading this sweeping reform.
MUELLER: We have to do a lot better, a much better job at recruiting, managing and training our workforce. We have to do a better job of collaborating with others.
BLITZER: The plan would redirect more than 500 agents from narcotics and other criminal investigations into counterterrorism and security. Nearly 1,000 new agents would be hired.
Separately, Attorney General John Ashcroft is revising guidelines for FBI agents in the field, giving them more authority to open investigations and conduct undercover surveillance without clearance from Washington, this change a direct result of a scathing memo sent last week from Minneapolis agent Coleen Rawley to Director Mueller.
Rawley charged that before September 11th, officials at FBI headquarters consistently denied her office's request for search warrants in the case of the alleged so-called 20th hijacker, Zacarias Moussaoui. Today, Mueller addressed Rawley's criticism directly.
MUELLER: Let me just take a moment to thank Agent Rawley for her letter. It is critically important that I hear criticisms of the organization, including criticisms of me in order to improve the organization, to improve the FBI.
BLITZER: But tackling those bureaucratic and logistical problems, experts say, is a daunting task.
OLIVER "BUCK" REVELL, FORMER ASSOCIATE DEPUTTY FBI DIRERCTOR: It requires a great deal of physical surveillance, electronic surveillance, analysis of patterns, the assimilation of information from multiple sources.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And today, word of more missed signals and for that let's go to our Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena. She joins us live. Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the FBI Director said that while providing documents for a congressional investigation into 9/11 that the FBI came across some other documents identified as possible warning signs, which the FBI may have failed to identify pre 9/11.
Now in one case, an FBI pilot noted in 1998 that there were a significant number of Middle Eastern men taking flight lessons in Oklahoma City. And in a second case, an unidentified government described only as a restricted country, attempted to purchase a flight simulator in the United States.
Now when asked whether the FBI could have prevented 9/11, Mueller responded that he could not say for sure that investigators would not just come across some lead that would have led to the hijackers, had only all the information been placed together.
Now Mueller also denied the charge that the FBI has not been completely forthcoming about information pre 9/11. Bottom line, Wolf, Mueller admits that there were red flags, but he still insists that there was no specific information warning of 9/11, back to you.
BLITZER: Audio problems hearing you. I want to apologize to our viewers for that, but we'll continue. The missed signals don't end with flight training. Here's one about the hunt for Osama bin Laden. An internal FBI memo says the bureau's so-called carnivore Internet monitoring system mishandled surveillance on bin Laden's terrorist operations.
The memo says along with the intelligence on al Qaeda, the system mistakenly picked up unauthorized outside information, leading a technician to destroy all the data, including the material on bin Laden.
New details also are emerging about what Italian officials might have known about potential attacks before September 11th. Italian newspaper reports say that as early as August, 2000, Italian officials caught alleged al Qaeda members on tape discussing a major attack against the United States.
According to transcripts one of them, a sheikh from Yemen says to the leader of a mosque, and I'll quote: "In the future, listen to the news and remember those words: Above the head. The action will be one of those strikes you will never forget. It will be a terrifying thing. It would move from south to north, from east to west. He who made this plan is a madman but a genius. It will turn you to ice."
So will a reorganized, refocused FBI do any better? In the current issue of "New Yorker" magazine, the prize-winning investigative reporter, Seymour Hersh, chronicles the missed signals and miscommunication that have marked the bureau's counter terror efforts. A short while ago, I spoke with Seymour Hersh here in our Washington Bureau.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice over): Sy Hersh, thanks for joining us. We'll get to your article in the "New Yorker" in just a moment, but what do you make of these changes today announced by the Director of the FBI Robert Mueller? Will this get the job done?
SEYMOUR HERSH, THE NEW YORKER: Well first of all, the changes are what he's been doing for six, eight months, since he took over. It will get the job eventually if they do it right, you know hire, refocus. Maybe in five years, we're going to have a top flight FBI with a whole new cast of characters, but in the short run, it's a great step because we need a guy like Mueller to change the culture, but nothing's doing to happen dramatically in the short run.
BLITZER: Five years, God knows what could happen in five years. That seems like an awful long time.
HERSH: Well maybe four. Don't hold me to that. The point is, this is a group, they've been chasing bank robbers. As somebody in the CIA said to me, they've been chasing bank robbers for 50 years, while we've been robbing banks, you know. The agency, for example, in terms of running operations -
BLITZER: The CIA?
HERSH: Yes, the CIA, in terms of running operations and sort of fudging, not worrying about getting a cop, not worrying about a collar, not worrying about arrest people. We're asking the FBI after 50, 70 years of arresting people, putting them behind bars, to be proactive, to start thinking about; no I'm not going to arrest this guy now. I'm going to play it out and see where it leads us. That's a very tough change for a lot of the people.
BLITZER: Because everybody remembers the FBI went after organized crime, drug dealers, mobsters, people like that, and now with terrorists it's a whole different kettle of worms.
HERSH: And it's the most important kettle we have right now. We've got to, you know, these people want to hurt our children and so we have to stop them, and I think it's admirable that Mueller is taking this on. I think it's like - as somebody said to me from inside the FBI, it's like steering the Titanic. You have to move it very slowly. You can not move this group very quickly.
BLITZER: You're one of the few reporters in Washington who knows well the workings of the FBI and the CIA. You've covered both agencies extensively. Can they work together?
HERSH: They've been doing better. I think the external events, there's nothing like, you know, a common enemy to make you, to drive you together. There's still a lot of pettiness and bickering and there's still a lot of - the CIA for example does think its top dog. You know, it's always peeing down the leg of the FBI and the FBI, of course, then in response is always peeing down the leg of all the other agencies. So that's a lot of culture to get over.
BLITZER: You bring in all these analysts from the CIA into the FBI, isn't that going to cause a lot of resentment among these FBI agents?
HERSH: Sure. Of course it will. On the other hand, they're also hiring a lot of new people. They finally figured out, the FBI is finally beginning to hire linguists, more linguists and more people to do analysis that are outside experts, Ph.D.s. They've been doing a lot of promoting from within into the analyst jobs, and now they're really going to go outside and change. As I say, the big thing is, it's not going to be the same agency, and it's going to take a long time.
BLITZER: In your article in the "New Yorker" you write this: "Far from working independently and maintaining rigid communications security, the terrorists, as late as last summer, apparently mingled openly and had not yet decided which flights to target. The planning for September 11th appears to have been far more ad hoc than was at first assumed." We had assumed - the working assumption has been, these guys were brilliant and had a great plan.
HERSH: That's all we heard. The five-year sleepers were in there, incredible COMSEC (ph) was brilliant, operational security was brilliant, and then we find out, the FBI confirmed the other day, this came off a story that I learned from James Woods, the actor, who in mid summer was on a flight with four guys he thought for sure were terrorists, talked about it, reported it. The pilot and the stewardess shared his concern. They wrote letters. Nothing happened. I went to the FBI and to their credit, they were straight about it. Yes, about a dozen flights they found terrorists, not only guys from the same unit, the same cell, who flew the same plane, but guys who -
BLITZER: Some of the 19?
HERSH: The 19 they found flying, one guy was on one plane and one guy was on the second one, one guy was on the third. They were all mingling together, flying. They were casing flights. So by the middle of summer, they had to pick what target they were going to pick. They weren't sure what flights they were going to get, and also they were flying in groups that would have, if any of them had been caught, the whole thing would have come down.
BLITZER: The upshot though is you think and your sources are convinced, if better work would have been done, September 11th could have been prevented.
HERSH: Oh well, nobody can say that. The only thing we can say is that these guys were not, you know, geniuses. This is, you know, I hate to say it but the Marx Brothers might have been able to take on an airplane before 9/11. We weren't very good, and one of the things that comes out of my reporting is that you didn't have to be brilliant and spend five years sleeping and planning to take down airplanes. That's the good sign. We can get much better and make it harder for people. I happen to think al Qaeda is a very tough organization, very hard to drive out, but the people who did this did not walk on water and the FBI knows that. They agree.
BLITZER: Sy Hersh, thanks for joining us.
HERSH: Sure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And for more on the story, please go to my website, cnn.com/wolf. You'll find that angry memo to Director Mueller from the FBI whistleblower and there's an interactive timeline of other FBI embarrassments at cnn.com/wolf.
A man who's been called the second Taliban American is entitled to meet with his lawyer. A federal judge handed down that ruling today in the case of Yasser Hamdi. Our National Correspondent Bob Franken is standing by in Norfolk, Virginia. He's got the latest. Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, once Yasser Hamdi was captured in Afghanistan, he was ultimately sent to Cuba, but he claimed all along that he was an American citizen. Officials determined he had, in fact, been born in Louisiana, even though he was raised in Saudi Arabia.
So he was removed from Guantanamo and brought here to Norfolk to the Norfolk Naval Station, where he has been in the brig without contact with lawyers since April 6th, when he was brought to the United States.
The government position that he is not entitled to a lawyer because he's an enemy combatant, was really harshly put down today by the Judge Robert Dumar (ph) in the hearing that was conducted here. He put in an order saying: "Hamdi must be allowed to meet with his attorney because of fundamental justice provided under the Constitution of the United States. Had he remained in Cuba," the judge went on, "no court of the United States would have jurisdiction, but in this particular case, there is jurisdiction here."
Now the judge has set later in June, a hearing on whether Hamdi has to be released unless the government can show cause why he should continue to be held. "Perhaps" the judge said, "in this case his detention is legal, but it is not for the military alone to make the judgment."
Now the government has 72 hours, until 1:00 p.m. Saturday to file an appeal. In the meantime, the new public defender who will be Hamdi's lawyer, if this ruling holds up, is making plans to interview him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK DUNHAM, PUBLIC DEFENDER FOR YASSER HAMDI: I'm not going to show up with my folding chair and umbrella and sit outside the brig. I'm going to wait until they tell me it's an appropriate time to come. If it looks to me like they're dragging their feet, then I might have to go back to the judge and get some additional assistance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: The judge rejected government arguments using words like "idiotic," and he went on to say in his order: "This meeting is to be in private, between Hamdi, the attorney and the interpreter without military personnel present and without any listening or recording devices of any kind being employed in any way."
You will recall that the attorney general has a ruling that in cases like that, these conversations can be monitored, so this could be another conflict. Will the Justice Department appeal?
As recently as a couple of moments ago, they had not made their decision whether they will take this on appeal. If not, on Saturday, this American Taliban, as he's so often called, Wolf, will have a counsel.
BLITZER: Bob Franken on the scene for us in Norfolk, Virginia, thanks very much.
We have a new development, news from our National Security Correspondent David Ensor. He's not reporting that the CIA Director George Tenet is scheduled to depart Washington Friday for the Middle East for consultations with Israeli and Palestinian security officials.
U.S. officials tell Ensor that Tenet will discuss the prospects for renewed security cooperation between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He'll also meet up with the Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, who is already in the region as recently as last Sunday. The Secretary of State Colin Powell said that he hoped both Burns and Tenet would be back in the Middle East by the end of this week, that from our David Ensor, our National Security Correspondent.
Meanwhile, a poisonous calamity may have been averted in Mexico, after police discovered 70 drums of deadly cyanide. Authorities say they think it's part of a shipment snatched by hijackers last month.
Police found the chemicals about 80 miles north of Mexico City. U.S. and Mexican authorities were worried about the cargo of the hijacked truck, 96 drums of highly poisonous cyanide, about ten tons.
The September 11th attacks reinvigorated the Federal Air Marshal's Program and more air marshals are now aboard U.S. commercial flights than ever before. CNN's Patty Davis takes a rare look into the training program in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Their training is secret. So is who they are and how many. But their mission is no secret, stop hijackers.
Here federal air marshals simulate fighting off attackers aboard this L-10-11 at 35,000 feet and here, bringing down a moving target in close quarters. Air marshals have been on planes since 1968, but since September 11th, sources tell us, their ranks have grown from 50 to around 1,000.
But critics charge in their zeal to protect the U.S., the government is rushing air marshals on flights without the advanced marksmanship skills they need. It's a charge the Federal Air Marshal Service denies.
THOMAS QUINN, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERVICE: They have the highest minimum standard on the standard law enforcement practical pistol course of any other federal law enforcement agency.
DAVIS: Officials invited reporters to see for themselves. On this pistol range, air marshals must score better than even Secret Service agents. Think it's easy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right in the middle of the target.
DAVIS: I don't know if I could control this on an airplane though. Pilots who want to carry guns as well argue there will never be enough air marshals to cover the more than 20,000 U.S. flights every day.
SCOTT LEWIS, ALLIED PILOTS SECURITY ALLIANCE: If you're flying on airplanes with the hopes that there are air marshals onboard your airplane to protect you in the event something goes wrong, you're living in a fool's paradise. DAVIS: The Bush Administration has said no to arming pilots. They're counting on federal air marshals being the last line of defense on a plane. Officials say they're confident with nearly 200,000 applicants, they'll find enough skilled air marshals to help stop another terrorist hijacking. Patty Davis, CNN, Atlantic City, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Our web question of the day, should there be air marshals on every flight? You can vote at my webpage, cnn.com/wolf. While you're there, let me know what you're thinking. There's a "click here" icon on the left side of the page. Send me your comments. I'll read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, by the way, where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.
A deal to compensate for the deaths of Pam Am 103 victims; coming up, the bombing took hundreds of lives and Libya is the prime suspect, but is Libya really ready to pay up? And later this hour, concerns that al Qaeda is linking up with other Islamic militants to make the war on terror even tougher. Plus, Bob Hope is celebrating a birthday, a big birthday and he's getting a West Coast honor to mark the occasion. First, our news quiz.
When Bob Hope was in Vaudeville, what two acts preceded him? Siamese Twins; The Bearded Lady; Trained Seals; Tap Dancing Toddler? The answer coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. The U.S. Government is putting a price on the head of the leaders of a militant group in the Philippines. The Abu Sayyaf group has held an American couple hostage for a year. The United States says it will pay $5 million, a reward of $5 million for any or all of the five leaders of the group believed to have links to al Qaeda.
Libya may be willing to pay compensation for the 1988 bombing of Pam Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. There are reports an offer has been made. But as CNN's State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel reports, the situation is more than a little murky.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Mixed messaged from Libya, representatives of Moammar Gadhafi deny reports Tripoli has offered to pay compensation to the victims' families. But one of the family's attorneys says the deal was negotiated with the Libyan leader's blessing.
LEE KREINDLER, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILIES: They may be independent bankers or businessmen, asked to perform this function for the government, but there is no question in our minds whatsoever that they are legitimate and they are representatives of the Libyan Government. KOPPEL: Kreindler says Libya is offering to pay $2.7 billion or $10 million per family if U.S. and U.N. sanctions are lifted, but in order for that to happen, Libya must not only pay compensation, it must agree to cooperate in any future investigations, and more importantly, it must also accept responsibility for the Pam Am 103 bombing.
Although a Libyan intelligence agent was convicted in a Scottish court, Libya has refused to admit it ordered the 1988 bombing. But privately, U.S. and British officials say such a statement is in the works. Publicly, the State Department is keeping a poker face, insisting any Libyan offer fulfills only one of several requirements.
RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: If the families reach an understanding, acceptance of an offer by the families would be a highly significant factor in our determining whether Libya had met one of the four requirements in the U.N. resolutions.
KOPPEL (on camera): Secretary of State Powell said if true, a Libyan offer would be a step in the right direction, but if Libya actually pays compensation and if it manages to finesse a statement accepting responsibility, there is little doubt Moammar Gadhafi would be on the fast track to getting U.S. and U.N. sanctions lifted. Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Let's get some perspective now on whether the family members should accept compensation from Libya. Joining us, Susan Cohen, she lost her daughter in the flight. She rejects the idea of the offer. She joins us from Philadelphia. And Bert Ammerman, he lost his brother on Pam Am 103. He supports accepting the payment. He's in New York.
Bert, tell us why you think it's a good idea to take the money?
BERT AMMERMAN, LOST BROTHER ON PAM AM 103: I didn't say I supported it. What I said was it's a serious offer that we must consider, because as the State Department official said, they're leaving it up to the families and whether we like it or not, one of the conditions for lifting the sanctions was appropriate compensation to the families.
Where we have to feel somewhat comfortable and satisfied is that it's the attorneys of the families that have negotiated this and not the government.
So it's an issue that I'm concerned about because, if it is turned down in the end, it might give an opening for Libya to go to the U.N. on their own and say that we tried to make a good faith effort and they turned us down and then nations would try to come and support them in the U.N. to lift the sanctions anyhow.
Our government if trying to lift the sanctions also and this is an issue that we've been fighting for the last couple of years. So it's something that should be seriously looked at because the attorneys, families were represented.
BLITZER: What about that, Susan?
SUSAN COHEN, LOST DAUGHER ON PAM AM 103: I could not disagree more heartily. I think the attorneys have dollar signs in their eyes. Compensation has nothing to do with conditions. These are awful conditions. We have now -- in a sense, the families are being blackmailed and are being held hostage to this.
We should have no financial inducements for the families to line up as cheerleaders for Moammar Gadhafi to be removed from the terrorism list and to have the American sanctions, additional ones, removed. I think that is absolutely awful. I think this is nothing but a business deal, pushed by the State Department and the oil companies and the lawyers, and I have a lot of lose because I am the one who is not going to get this money.
And I'll tell you, I'd rather never have that money than be forced in a position where it looks as if I support the rehabilitation of Moammar Gadhafi, who is a terrorist and who murdered so many people in the Pam Am 103 bombing, and has committed many other crimes as well.
BLITZER: All right, Bert do you want to respond to that?
AMMERMAN: Yes. Susan's point is well taken, and Susan has every right and I respect that. But Susan speaks for herself, and what basically has to take place is there's 270 next-of-kin and families that have to make this decision, and the attorneys for the families will sit down and they will lay out what took place.
COHEN: I beg to differ with you. The attorneys did not notify the families in advance on this deal. Many of the families have not even received any information on this deal and have had no chance to talk about it before this deal was made public, and that is because they are trying to ambush the families and push this through.
This is going to involve a lot more than just what the families think. This is getting into politics, and the lawyers were not supposed to involve themselves with any conditions or any politics and they have done it.
AMMERMAN: Now, Susan, I have to disagree with you. Basically, you've got your families' attorneys representing you. They will sit down and the families in the end will make the decision because what the state...
COHEN: I'm afraid the State Department will make the ending decision.
AMMERMAN: ... Susan. No. No. Susan, I've listened, now let me finish. You've interrupted twice and I've been respectful of you and I expect the same from you, is the fact that what's taking place is that the governments are standing on the side but they're indirectly involved. There's no question about that but what Libya says... COHEN: That's not true. They are not standing on the side.
AMMERMAN: ... what Libya said was it had to be a comprehensive settlement, which means a vast majority of the families have to accept this. So in the end, the families will continue to control whether this will be agreed upon or not and that's the way it should be.
COHEN: The State Department has been in constant talks...
AMMERMAN: Not Sue Cohen.
BLITZER: Let me interrupt.
COHEN: ... with the families.
BLITZER: Let me interrupt. Susan. Susan, let me interrupt both of you. Let me bring back Susan though. What would it take for you to accept compensation from the government of Libya?
COHEN: OK. First of all, the compensation was supposed to simply be a separate, no strings attached, no deal to really in a sense force the families to support Gadhafi getting anything, just straightforward compensation. But, Libya has to also accept all the other conditions and we need a very strong statement. They are supposed to come clean. They're supposed to tell us everything they know, accept full responsibility for the bombing, and give up terrorism.
Since they are already still involved in the whole issue of getting weapons, this alone would disturb me on the whole question of terrorism. This is all part and parcel, but the idea that there were conditions, there is nothing anywhere that said there were conditions. The families were not informed of any conditions and I spoke to my lawyer as recently as a few days ago. This was never - that never came up. So all this is, is a political deal, a business deal really.
BLITZER: Bert, how much will the lawyers get of the more than $2 billion if this deal is accepted?
AMMERMAN: I would guess in the neighborhood of $900 million.
BLITZER: A lot of people will look at that and say that's outrageous.
AMMERMAN: It is outrageous, but that's what takes place when you have these type of settlements in any type of lawsuits in countries or in the world. For the lawyers to get $900 million is really something you'd have to question, but that's part and parcel of the deal.
COHEN: Well, I really don't know. There have been different attitudes to that and there have been some court cases which will question the fees of lawyers. But to me the issue is not the lawyers' fees. The issue is simply that the Libyans have not changed.
I think this deal shows they haven't changed, because the threat of simply, you know, of doing everything they're supposed to do, they have put conditions in this and it's really, if you look at it, nothing but a way of neutralizing the families and saying, you know, you now have millions of dollars riding on whether you will accept we get off the terrorism list. I will never accept that.
AMMERMAN: Wolf, can I just say one more thing.
BLITZER: I just -- I'll let you say one more thing, Bert.
AMMERMAN: OK.
BLITZER: But one of the points that's been made is that yes, Libya will offer maybe $2.5 billion to the family members of the victims of Pam Am 103, but that could be peanuts compared to the amount of money they will make if they get sanctions removed, if they can start selling their oil, if they can start doing what they want on the international market.
COHEN: That's true. They will get fortunes.
BLITZER: Bert.
AMMERMAN: Oh.
BLITZER: Bert, go ahead.
AMMERMAN: OK, basically what you're talking about here is that one of the agreements was the compensation has to take place, and I can't emphasize enough the governments were not directly involved in this, even though they will benefit by it.
But I firmly believe, whether we accept or do not accept this offer, the sanctions over the next year to two years will be lifted anyhow. They're on the fast track to doing that and I believe at some time that Libya should pay a price and this could be a financial price that we can hold them to.
BLITZER: OK. Unfortunately, Susan, unfortunately...
COHEN: I will tell you right now that I will never sell the blood of my daughter or her memory just to get Mr. Gadhafi rehabilitated.
BLITZER: Unfortunately, Susan, we have to leave it there and, of course, our deepest condolences to both of you for the enormous tragedy both of you had to endure.
AMMERMAN: Thank you.
BLITZER: And continue to endure all of these years...
COHEN: Thank you.
BLITZER: ... since 1988. Thank you very much for joining us.
And this important programming note: CNN's coverage of this story -- it's a very important story -- will continue tonight with the inside story from the attorney who helped negotiate the deal on behalf of some of the families. Lee Kreindler joins the "CROSSFIRE" crew tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific. You'll want to watch that.
Updates on this hour's top stories are straight ahead. And panic in Manhattan: Fire and smoke sent people running for cover. Coming up, find out what caused the scare.
And has a piece of the Kennedy history been found decades after it was lost at sea? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Leading our top stories, Britain's royal commandos are leading a new mission in southeastern Afghanistan. Operation Buzzard is meant to keep al Qaeda and Taliban operatives from disrupting the country's political process. The forces will seek to stop infiltrations from Pakistan, and will carry out some civil affairs tasks, including food deliveries to the local population. The Afghan grand council, the so-called Loya Jirga meets next month to choose a new transitional government.
Meantime, al Qaeda may be trying to light the fuse as two nuclear neighbors square off in south Asia. Here is our national security correspondent David Ensor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With India and Pakistan on a hair-trigger over Kashmir, is al Qaeda fomenting conflict to distract Pakistan from pursuing terrorists? U.S. officials call it a real concern, citing what they call clear links between al Qaeda and militant Islamic groups which have stepped up terrorism against Indian targets in recent weeks and months.
KARL INDERFURTH, FMR. ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: They want to see these countries go to war because Musharraf is certainly on al Qaeda's most wanted list, because he has sided with the U.S. in the war on terrorism. And they clearly support the jihadis who are trying to wrestle Kashmir away from India.
ENSOR: As tensions have increased, Pakistan has continued to transfer forces from the border with Afghanistan, where they were looking for al Qaeda and Taliban remnants, to the border with India.
There's no evidence connecting al Qaeda to the militants' attack on the Indian parliament last December, or subsequent attacks on Indian targets, though U.S. officials say some of the groups believed involved have links to bin Laden and may be coordinating their actions.
Al Qaeda may also be attempting through allies to destabilize the nuclear-armed government of America's key ally Pervez Musharraf. There are signs, say U.S. and Pakistani officials, that the May 8 bombing of a bus in Karachi that killed 14 people, most of them French, can be linked to al Qaeda. U.S. officials say many al Qaeda members, possibly including bin Laden, remain in the area of the Afghan-Pakistani border. But they confirm Pakistani intelligence officials' statements that some al Qaeda members have now move into major Pakistani cities throughout the country, making them even more difficult to track down.
INDERFURTH: It makes that war on terrorism much more complicated.
ENSOR (on camera): As the U.S. and European governments struggle to avert a war on the Indian subcontinent, it appears that America's nemesis, al Qaeda, may be among those pushing in the opposite direction.
David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: More than eight months after the World Trade Center attacks, many New Yorkers, understandably, remain jittery. Overheated utility wires produced some underground explosions today, causing at least three manhole covers to pop out in the street near the Empire State Building. People, as you can see, ran for cover. The confusion sparked some temporary fluctuations in the financial markets before authorities sounded the all-clear.
The last beam from the World Trade Center will be moved away from Ground Zero tomorrow. During a ceremony yesterday, the 30-foot steel pillar was dismantled, placed on a flat-bed truck and draped with an American flag. It will be removed from the site during another ceremony tomorrow, marking the end of the World Trade Center recovery effort. CNN will carry that ceremony live, 10:00 a.m. Eastern, 7:00 a.m. Pacific.
A series of tests is underway that could decide the fate of a troubled aircraft. Twenty-three Marines have died in two fatal flights on V-22 Ospreys, which used tilt rotors, letting it take off like a helicopter and fly like a plane.
Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports from the test site in Maryland.
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JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the Patuxent Naval Air Station, V-22 begins a series of make-or- break tests following a 16-month overhaul. In 2000, the tilt-rotor aircraft was grounded after two crashes killed 23 Marines and a subsequent scandal involving falsified maintenance records.
(on camera): What have you done to fix this plane?
COL. DAN SCHULTZ, V-22 PROGRAM MANAGER: Well, we fixed the hydraulic system; we fixed the electrical system; we fixed all the line clearance. We looked at all of the software, both in product and process. We've checked this airplane from the nose to the tail, no stone left unturned.
MCINTYRE: How confident are you this is going to be safe when Marines get back in?
SCHULTZ: We don't think that there's anything left to do. We've looked at every piece of it, and we're very confident this airplane's ready to fly.
MCINTYRE: The future of the V-22 very much depends on these tests. The failure of a single system won't necessarily kill the program, but if it turns out there's a program with the aerodynamics, the flight characteristics of the tilt-rotor technology, that will be a show-stopper.
(voice-over): The Marines argue the V-22 would have been invaluable in Afghanistan, with twice the speed and range as the Vietnam-era CH-47s, which required multiple midair refuelings to ferry troops to combat. But testing still must show if the much heavier V- 22 can hover as safely in thin mountain air.
TOM MACDONALD, BOEING V-22 TEST PILOT: We haven't done a lot of testing in that kind of circumstance. We are going to be doing more testing.
MCINTYRE: Perhaps the biggest question: Is the V-22's design too susceptible to losing lift in a steep descent, the cause of the most deadly crash two years ago. The tests will tell.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Patuxent Naval Air Station.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And a shooting inside a Midwest courtroom -- that's coming up in our "Justice Files." And as part of President John F. Kennedy's past surfaces, we'll tell you about a discovery in the South Seas.
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BLITZER: It was a story that launched John F. Kennedy's political career almost two decades before he became president. His exploits aboard PT-109 during World War II became the stuff of legend, including a major motion picture. Now there's news on the fate of that patrol boat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Explorer Robert Ballard told a Solomon Islands radio station that the remains of the famous PT-109, the patrol boat captained by John F. Kennedy in World War II, were found off the islands last week. Ballard said that he and his team found the wreckage, but "National Geographic" then released a statement from Ballard saying, quote: "While promising, the expedition findings are inconclusive at this time. We will review the results with naval experts over the next several weeks." John F. Kennedy was a Navy lieutenant leading a patrol when PT- 109 was sliced in half by a Japanese destroyer in August of 1943. Two crew members died, but Kennedy and 10 other survivors swam several hours to an island nearby. Kennedy is credited with saving the life of one injured survivor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And John F. Kennedy would have turned 85 years old today.
Now to some stories in today's "Justice Files." A struggle for a gun during a murder trial wound up with the defendant getting shot and killed, and a deputy getting hit in the leg. The defendant in the case, sitting (ph) in a Wisconsin courtroom, made a grab for the bailiff's gun after the jury came back with its verdict. The deputy was wounded. A police detective shot the 20-year-old defendant.
Sara Lee Foods says it will pay to settle a racial harassment lawsuit brought by 139 African-American workers. The company will pay $3.5 million. People who used to work at the Ballpark Franks plant in Philadelphia say white employees wore hoods and pretended to be Ku Klux Klan members. The black workers say they were also subjected to racial slurs and racist cartoons.
Bob Hope has made it almost to the century mark. We'll have a tribute from a comic to a master of the art of laughing as we mark Bob Hope's birthday. Joining us will be Al Franken, one of my personal favorites.
And that outrageous family, the Osbournes, are making media waves again. That's all after the break.
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BLITZER: Earlier we asked: When Bob Hope was in Vaudeville, what two acts preceded him?
America's most celebrated entertainer once played third fiddle to Siamese twins and trained seals.
Since 1909, Bob Hope has told jokes, danced and acted his way to become a top star on stage, in radio, television and film. He's also entertained U.S. troops around the world. Hope celebrates his 99th birthday today, and decades of making a lot of people laugh.
Let's take a little look:
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, let's hear it for him, Bob Hope!
(APPLAUSE)
BOB HOPE, COMEDIAN: Come on down. I don't think they're on our side, are they?
Nice watching you (ph).
That's a nice (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
You know that Milli Vanilli had planned to be over here Thanksgiving when President Bush was here, but they were afraid people would know whose lips to read.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Comedian and author Al Franken, whose latest book is "Oh, The Things I Know," joins me now to talk about the impact of Bob Hope.
Al, thanks for joining us.
He influenced, you have to admit, a lot of comedians.
AL FRANKEN, COMEDIAN/AUTHOR: He really did. And his film work was very influential. Woody Allen basically said that he completely adopted his character from the movie, sort of the cowardly Lothario, and -- who backed out of the room a lot. And he sort of gave a lot of hope to a lot of us cowards as someone we could admire.
BLITZER: You know, we did some research. He did -- let's get this straight -- 54 movies. I've seen a lot of them; one of my favorites was "The Road to Morocco." What about you? What were your favorites?
FRANKEN: Well, I loved the road pictures. And -- but I love some of those musicals, too. He was actually an amazing song and dance man, and just an amazingly versatile performer. And of course there is the whole USO stuff that he started doing in World War II.
BLITZER: And Americans, of course, love Bob Hope. In large part not only because of the films and the radio, everything else, but also because of the USO tours.
You recently did a USO tour yourself, so you can better appreciate what he did. He did 60 tours; how many have you done, Al?
FRANKEN: He's done more tours -- USO tours -- and more movies than I have. I've done three USO tours. And, you know, it's -- I'm of the generation where I was an anti-Vietnam War activist. And I remember a lot of people in my generation sort of held that against Bob Hope. And I think that having done USO tours and having thought back to that time, I realize what a great thing he was doing. And we were a very divided country then. And he -- what he was doing, those troops just love it when you come over there. They're the most appreciative audience.
And he, of course, did this in Korea, he did it in World War II. And I think that was a period where Americans were very divided and forgot how much our -- how proud we should be of our troops, even though at the time they -- the war was, in some of our beliefs, an immoral war. We still didn't respect our troops the way we should, except that he did. And he brought a lot of joy to them. BLITZER: And I can assure you, as you know personally -- and I can speak as a former Pentagon reporter -- the troops out there love, love these USO entertainers who do go out and give them a little bit of sunshine...
FRANKEN: They're a great audience, and it's a real privilege to do it whenever you do it. But he was...
BLITZER: Did you have any beautiful, young starlets with you, like Bob Hope used to have?
FRANKEN: Yes. I traveled with the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, the New England Patriot cheerleaders. And believe it or not, the troops are usually more excited to see them than me.
BLITZER: I find that hard to believe, you know.
FRANKEN: Yes, if you can believe that.
And -- but he used to tell -- I remember once he told a joke, and I can't remember where in Vietnam it was -- but he said, guys the American people are behind you 50 percent. And I remember that he -- even in those times, even during that very, very controversial war, it would acknowledge what was going on. And I think what he did should be -- there should be revisiting it by our generation.
BLITZER: Yes. You know, we all, of course, love Bob Hope. It's hard to believe, though -- and we only have a few seconds left -- in his day he was considered on the edge. He was a little edgy as a comedian, wasn't he?
FRANKEN: Well, that happens, you know. Yes, he was on the edge toward the beginning and middle, and then he got, to some people's way of thinking, a little corny. But gee, he's -- you know, he's 99 years old. Next year at this time, he'll have his 100th birthday, and you'll have someone on -- there will be a huge hour, hopefully, on your show to -- dedicated to Bob Hope.
BLITZER: I can assure you, on his 100th birthday we'll do a lot more than that. Al Franken, as usual, thanks for joining us. And to Bob Hope and all of Bob Hope's family and friends, happy birthday. Happy 99th to Bob Hope. We hope you live many, many more happy and healthy years.
The first family of rock 'n' roll will come back for a second season on MTV. The music network says the heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his family will be featured in, get this, 20 new episodes. The exploits of the often-unintelligible Ozzy became one of cable television's biggest hits this year.
Up next, my e-mail bag. Some of you had some strong statements about our lead story yesterday: baseball and steroids. And baseball players respond to the allegations that half of them take the performance enhancers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Let's go to New York now and get a preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE." That, of course, begins right at the top of the hour -- Lou.
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "MONEYLINE": Wolf, thank you.
Coming up next, as you've been reporting, Wolf, the FBI today unveiled a dramatic reorganization. We'll tell you about those changes, whether those changes are substance or public relations, and how much it will cost taxpayers.
The SEC today targeted a new company. The SEC launched an investigation into Haliburton during the years Vice President Dick Cheney served as chief executive officer. We'll have that story for you, and the very latest on the Andersen trial in Houston.
And tonight, "The Dobbs List." I'll be talking with author Richard Brookhiser about his book, "America's First Dynasty: The Adamses."
All of that, a lot more ahead. Please join us. Now back to Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much Lou, we will. And you heard it here first yesterday. A new "Sports Illustrated" cover story uncovers stories of widespread use of steroids in major league baseball with former national league MVP Ken Caminiti saying he was on the muscle- building drugs, and that at least half of all players use them. There's mixed reaction in and around the dugouts.
More now from CNN's Ray D'Alessio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Detraction, lock- outs, player strikes: America's pastime has taken many body blows over the years, and now you can add the alleged widespread use of illegal steroids.
BRIAN JORDAN, LOS ANGELES DODGERS: It doesn't surprise me. I mean, sports are sports. Guys are always trying to get the upper hand and really enhance their bodies any way they can. And if you've got to do it illegally to stay in the game, a lot of guys are doing that.
MIKE MORDECAI, MONTREAL EXPOS: It really doesn't bother me, not one way or another. I mean, if that's what guys want to do, I mean, that's their prerogative.
JOHN SMOLTZ, ATLANTA BRAVES: And you see the guys going out there who typically aren't home run hitters, and then all of a sudden become the dominant home run hitters, I think it's going to go around quickly that guys are going to try it or experiment to get whether it's the bucks or the numbers, or a better baseball player.
ROB MANFRED, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: The commissioner's policy bans the use of steroids at the major league level. The problem is, because testing for steroids is a mandatory topic of bargaining, we've never been able to get an agreement with the players' association that would allow us to test and find out who is using steroids.
TOM GLAVINE, ATLANTA BRAVES: And I'm not naive enough to think, either, that if, you know, we say hey, you can test for steroids that other things aren't going to creep into the mix. But, you know, I think that it definitely needs to be discussed because, yes, those of us who don't do it, you know, we feel like we're not on an even playing field. And that's something that shouldn't happen.
D'ALESSIO: Baseball's current proposal to the players' association would require all players to be tested for steroid use three times per year. However, baseball also admits there hasn't been a lot of discussion on steroid use because it wasn't a major issue eight years ago when the last collective bargaining agreement was made.
For CNN, I'm Ray D'Alessio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And since we reported the story 24 hours ago, our exclusive report, we've had lots of feedback, lots of e-mail from you.
Let's begin with Carol. She writes this: "I think that athletes should be drug tested. I have to be tested to sit at a desk all day making $12 an hour. These athletes are making millions, and they are supposed to be role models for the next generation of athletes."
Dianne adds this: "Wolf, what's the big deal with professional athletes and steroids? Even if they are taking them, they still have to have a high degree of skill. They're adults, and know the dangers of drugs. I say, let them do as they please; they will anyway."
And one additional note from Chris: "Professional athletes taking steroids? Shock! Horror! Yawn. Perhaps you might consider leading an upcoming broadcast with one of these exclusive -- these stories exclusive: The sky is blue. Or exclusive: Water is wet."
Chris, you didn't like our story yesterday.
Let's get the results of our Web question of the day. Earlier we asked: Should there be air marshals on every flight? Most of you, 78 percent, say yes, while 22 percent of you say no. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.
That's our program today. Tomorrow: the recovery effort in New York at Ground Zero ending. I'll speak with the former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Until then, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now.
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