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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Is the U.S. on a Dangerous Path of Alienating its Allies?

Aired January 22, 2003 - 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 VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): President Bush backed into a corner.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Saddam Hussein will not disarm the United States of America and friends of freedom will disarm Saddam Hussein.

BLITZER: As he puts the heat on Iraq, friends put the heat on him. Is the U.S. on a dangerous path of alienating its allies? I'll ask a hero from another war, Senator John McCain.

Who's targeted for terror, a CNN exclusive chilling evidence of an al Qaeda assassination campaign?

Nerve center: An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the headquarters for the war on terror and a possible war in the Persian Gulf.

Echoes of history: Never before heard tapes of JFK that might resonate in today's Oval Office.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's Wednesday, January 22, 2003. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Just five days away from a crucial report by U.N. weapons inspectors, a clearly determined President Bush is putting more pressure on Iraq, even as several key friends caution take a breath, not so fast. War they say means failure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): With the Bush administration preparing for war, even under pressure from allies to reconsider, President Bush has issued a blunt warning to any Iraqi soldier who might consider using weapons of mass destruction against invading U.S. troops or against innocent Iraqis.

BUSH: Should any Iraqi officer or soldier receive an order from Saddam Hussein or his sons or any of the killers who occupy the high levels of their government, my advice is don't follow that order because if you choose to do so when Iraq is liberated you will be treated, tried, and persecuted as a war criminal. BLITZER: U.S. officials say there's a real possibility a cornered Saddam Hussein might order the Iraqi military to use chemical or biological weapons. U.S. troops have been preparing precisely for that but that's also one reason the president's critics at home and abroad say the U.S. should avoid war.

Among the critics, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who want to give the U.N. inspectors more time. They also insist only the U.N. Security Council can authorize war.

PRES. JACQUES CHIRAC, FRANCE (through translator): As far as we are concerned war always means failure and therefore everything must be done to avoid war.

BLITZER: Secretary of State Colin Powell insists any differences with France are simply a blip in the overall relationship. But President Bush is again making clear the U.S. will go to war if necessary, even with only a limited coalition.

BUSH: If Saddam Hussein will not disarm, the United States of America and friends of freedom will disarm Saddam Hussein.

BLITZER: British Prime Minister Tony Blair remains in the president's corner.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We can not go back to a situation that we had in the 1990s when the inspectors were there or years and Saddam was effectively concealing what he was doing. The duty of Saddam is to cooperate fully with the inspections regime.

BLITZER: Chief U.N. Inspector Hans Blix, back in New York following a two day visit to Baghdad, says the Iraqis are not yet fully cooperating.

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. INSPECTOR: If you ask are they proactive, I think so far I've said no I don't think they've come to that stage yet.

BLITZER: Blix delivers his long awaited report to the U.N. Security Council on Monday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: As U.N. inspectors were out hunting for evidence of chemical and biological weapons programs today but the leader of a Baghdad mosque is charging that in one recent outing the inspectors went way too far.

Our Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson has the story from Baghdad.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL.CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this wasn't just any mosque, this is the biggest, newest, government funded mosque in Baghdad opened in May last year. The Imam of that mosque came to the information ministry here, held a press conference. He said five U.N. inspectors have gone to the mosque. They'd asked questions about its construction, about its engineering dimensions. He said this was a violation of the mosque. He said it was a provocation. He said that if the inspectors had gone there when there had been prayers on, then it would have been very dangerous for those inspectors.

He said that the Muslim world should unite its position, not only against the U.N. inspectors, but against the United States who he holds responsible for the work of the U.N. inspection teams here.

However, Wolf, we have talked with the United Nations teams here. They say they're investigating this claim. They say, however, so far they know of no teams that have visited a mosque recently -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Thanks very much.

Here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. Would you support a war with Iraq without France and Germany's support? We'll have the results later in this broadcast. Vote at cnn.com/wolf.

While you're there, I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.

Two weeks ago the Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld angered veterans and some lawmakers when he questioned the efforts of some in Congress to reinstate the military draft.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: If you think back to when we had the draft, people were brought in. They were paid some fraction of what they could make in the civilian manpower market because they were without choices.

Big categories were exempted, people who were in college, people who were teaching, people who were married. It varied from time to time but there were all kinds of exemptions and what was left was sucked into the intake, trained for a period of months, and then went out, adding no value, no advantage really to the United States Armed Services over any sustained period of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Now, the secretary has issued a rare written apology, stating, and I'm quoting: "The last thing I would want to do would be to disparage the service of those draftees. I always have had the highest respect for their service and I offer my full apology to any veteran who misinterpreted my remarks when I said them, or who may have read any of the articles or columns that have attempted to take my words and suggest they were disparaging."

Never heard before tapes of John F. Kennedy, hear what he had to say about Vietnam, the Russians, and Europe behind closed doors.

Plus, a CNN exclusive inside Central Command, we'll take you live to a critical nerve center of the military.

And, another exclusive targeted for terror. Learn about assassination, a plot by al Qaeda, and who's at risk.

But first, on this 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, today's "News Quiz."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Kennedy talking about the economy, Vietnam, America's relations with Europe and much more in 15 hours of previously classified audio tapes.

This new batch of tapes was released earlier today by the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. They were made in the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room in 1962 and 1963, and are of a particular interest given the possibility of war with Iraq and some American allies expressing opposition to war, at least for now.

Joining me now to talk about all of this, the tapes, the presidential historian Robert Dallek. His biography by the way on Kennedy will be published this spring. Professor thanks so much for joining us.

In this first audio tape, and I want our listeners to listen to it carefully, the president is in the Oval Office. He's speaking about the National Security Council and he's referring to some vicious comments he says made about the United States from the French president at that time Charles DeGaulle.

Actually, we're having a little technical problem getting those tapes. We're going to fix that problem, Professor Dallek. Stand by. We'll get to the audio tapes, never before heard audio tapes of President Kennedy. We'll also speak live with Senator McCain.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We'll get to those never before heard audio tapes of President Kennedy speaking in the Oval Office, amazing tapes. We'll get to that shortly with Professor Dallek.

BLITZER: But first, should the United States go to war with Iraq despite the objections of key allies? Is there an alternative to military force?

Joining me now, the Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, he's of course a hero who was held prisoner for more than five years in an earlier war. He's a leading member of the Armed Services Committee.

Senator, as usual, thanks very much for joining us. You've been a hawk when it comes to Iraq. Do you think the president is just about right or from your standpoint is he going too slow?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), ARMED SERVICES CMTE: I think the president is just about right. I think that the 27th there will be another report from Mr. Blix and the inspectors that I think will tell us that Saddam Hussein has not complied with the Security Council resolution. Then I think the president will make some decisions at that point.

But, again, I want to point out here the important aspect of this. The burden of proof is not on the president. The burden of proof is on Saddam Hussein.

In 1998, there was clear and total, complete, compelling evidence that he had the weapons, the laboratories. The efforts were going on. Those have to be accounted for. So far they have not been accounted for.

BLITZER: But if the U.N. inspectors, Hans Blix, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, come before the Security Council on Monday and say guess what guys we didn't find a smoking gun, despite the fact that the burden of proof is on the Iraqis to cooperate, public opinion is not necessarily going to be with the president on this.

MCCAIN: I think the public opinion obviously is always a problem for a president of the United States. But, the responsibility for the security of the United States of America rests with the president of the United States.

Harry Truman probably did not have the nation behind him when we decided to turn back and attack from North Korea. I know that at the beginning of the Persian Gulf conflict, the American people did not support President Bush 1.

BLITZER: It was deeply divided then.

MCCAIN: It was deeply divided. Yes, the president and his State of the Union speech will talk about this issue with the American people. He will again describe the threats that we face and the reasons why he will take the action that he has to take if there is non-compliance.

BLITZER: Has the president done a good enough job to date, not only trying to win over the hearts and minds of the American public, but France, Germany, they're clearly not in his corner right now?

MCCAIN: Well, a word about our friends or allies. It's interesting to me those that used to be communist countries are most supportive. There's a real lesson there.

We all know the behavior of the German chancellor in the last elections, reprehensible, using an anti-American sentiment to win a close election. The French have always had some difficulties in our relationship and the French obviously are interested in a special relationship we had with Iraq.

But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily. That does not mean we won't experience the tragedy of the loss of some American lives. We will have an opportunity to instill a democracy in Iraq which will be an example, and perhaps force other nations in the region to move in that same direction. I am confident...

BLITZER: So, what you're saying is even if the U.S. is with Britain, a few of the central European or eastern, formerly communist block nations.

MCCAIN: And Turkey.

BLITZER: And a few others.

MCCAIN: Yes.

BLITZER: Even a limited coalition is worth it to go forward and knock out Saddam Hussein?

MCCAIN: We would far prefer that not be the case. We would prefer that everybody be solidly behind the United States if it's necessary. I want to emphasize the president has not made this decision yet. But if he does make that decision, then he has to have as his primary and sole purpose the security of the United States of America.

Saddam Hussein has not come clean. Saddam Hussein has a clear record of use of weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein, therefore, must come clean. Otherwise, the president has to consider all of his options.

BLITZER: How much time do you believe realistically is left?

MCCAIN: You know that's pure speculation on my part. I have no inside information of any kind but I would say in a matter of weeks we have to come to some kind of resolution of this issue one way or the other.

BLITZER: And you're confident that this can be done relatively quickly, relatively easily?

MCCAIN: I am convinced of that but I also want to emphasize that it has to be the last option because Americans go into harm's way. But I do not know of a soldier that's going to die for Saddam Hussein.

In 1991, on this program, I had debates with various people who said it's another Vietnam. Thousands of body bags will come home, blah, blah, blah. I said that wouldn't happen.

The United States military are the finest young men and women in the world. They're best equipped and they're best trained and they will prevail.

I do not believe that it is without danger. Scud missiles aimed at Israel with chemical or biological weapons on them, loss of young American's lives, but it will be quick and then we will see how world and American public opinion is at that time. And finally, again, the president has an opportunity next Tuesday night or Wednesday night.

BLITZER: Tuesday night.

MCCAIN: Tuesday night, and he will speak I think eloquently. This president has an ability to speak with moral clarity.

BLITZER: And what you're saying as a distinguished member of the U.S. Senate, those countries, whether it's France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, others, who might not align themselves with the U.S. in this war if the president, the commander-in-chief comes down to giving that order, what kind of consequences politically, diplomatically, from the U.S. should they anticipate?

MCCAIN: I don't know except that nothing succeeds like success, and if there is a success, and I predict there will be, that the countries in the region will breathe a sigh of relief because an individual who's invaded neighboring countries is out of power, and perhaps people all over the Middle East will heave a sigh of relief and hope because -- and fell a sensation of hope because we will instill a democracy in Iraq.

It won't be easy. It will be long. It will be difficult and it will be expensive but it will be an example to other nations in the region, including the Saudi Arabians.

BLITZER: Senator McCain, always good to see you. Thanks very much.

MCCAIN: Thank you.

BLITZER: Appreciate it.

I want to get back now to those never before heard audio tapes, audio tapes of President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office in 1963, 1962, speaking about a lot of issues including some issues very relevant to what's going on today.

Professor Robert Dallek is joining us, the presidential historian, working on a book about John F. Kennedy right now. Professor, I want you to listen to this first audio tape when the then President John F. Kennedy is speaking about Charles DeGaulle. He's getting some grief in the U.S.-French relationship apropos to what's going on today. This is 40 years ago. Professor, listen to this.

ROBERT DALLEK, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN F. KENNEDY, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They put out some pretty vicious stuff out of Paris every day. They either attack us for trying to dominate Europe or they attack us for withdrawing from Europe or that we won't use our nuclear forces or that we'll get them into a war and they're not consulted."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you make of that as you listen to it, as you read the audio? Obviously the quality of the audio is not that great.

DALLEK: Yes. Well, Wolf, we had lots of difficulties with the French then because they did not trust that we would come to their defense with nuclear weapons if the Soviet Union moved against Germany and possibly Western Europe.

And so, Kennedy tried to convince DeGaulle to stand with the United States, not to doubt our resolve, but DeGaulle had a lot of doubts about our willingness to fight a nuclear war to save Western Europe, and so Kennedy had a lot of problems with him.

BLITZER: It's not unusual for the U.S. to have troubles with the French. In this next audio tape, I want you to listen to this one as well. The then Army Chief of Staff General Earl Wheeler just back from South Vietnam briefing the president. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. EARL WHEELER, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF: The VietCong are not bleeding in this war. The South Vietnamese are bleeding. In other words, they are suffering sizable losses, but the losses suffered by the VietCong are negligible.

Out of the 20,000 odd VietCong that were killed last year, purely as a guess, I would say that not more than a half a dozen that Ho Chi Minh could care, gives a damn about. The rest of them -- that's right.

The VietCong are not bleeding. The people that are killed, except for perhaps a half a dozen battalion regimental commanders or maybe political leaders are fellows with the Vietnamese equivalent of the name of "Joe" -- and he can get plenty more of them and does."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Obviously at that time the Kennedy administration slowly escalating U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, talk about that.

DALLEK: Yes, well Kennedy increased the number of advisers in Vietnam from roughly 800 to 16,700 during his thousand days in the White House, but Kennedy was very skeptical about getting deeply involved in Vietnam.

He saw it as a bad show, a very dangerous proposition to send hundreds of thousands of American troops there, and it's my conviction from reading the record very carefully that John Kennedy never would have done what Lyndon Johnson did later.

BLITZER: Listen to this next audio tape. It's fascinating, the then President John F. Kennedy speaking with the then CIA Director John McCone, the Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, the Secretary of State Dean Rusk, they're talking about a lot of the hot spots in the world at that time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNEDY: I don't think we are in bad shape with the Soviets now. If Berlin gets difficult -- Vietnam. Cuba's almost the same position Berlin was with us for a decade.

Any action they take in Berlin, we can take an action in Cuba -- But I think that China and Latin America are our foremost dangerous areas right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you think about that professor?

DALLEK: Well, Wolf, he saw the world as beset by problems. The Chinese were a danger. Khruschev was an uncertain quantity. He was just worried constantly about foreign affairs.

This was the main focus of his administration, and actually he did very well in foreign affairs because he resolved the Cuban Missile Crisis without a war, and of course there was also the Test Ban Treaty in '63 which took us a step back from nuclear confrontation.

BLITZER: All right, we have one more audio tape. This one is impressive, as our viewers will remember, at least most of our viewers. He was gunned down November, 1963. This was just before. He's already looking ahead to the '64 presidential campaign. He had hoped, of course, to run again for a second term.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNEDY: If you are running for re-election in 1964, what is it you worry about most? Recession? That is what I'm worried about. I don't think the country can take another recession. Otherwise, we are liable to get all the blame for the deficit and none of the advantage of the stimulus in the economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Sounds like it's still the economy, even 40 years ago. Talk about that little comment he just made.

DALLEK: Yes, he was very eager to get a major tax cut through the Congress in order to spur the economy forward. He was worried that there would be a recession in 1964, and so he was concerned not to enter the election of '64 with a bad economy.

But he also looked forward to the possibility that he was going to run against Barry Goldwater, and he said if we run against Goldwater we're going to get to sleep much earlier this time than we did in 1960.

BLITZER: Robert Dallek, we're looking forward to your book on Kennedy.

DALLEK: Thank you.

BLITZER: I can't wait to read it. Thanks, as usual, for joining us.

DALLEK: Thank you.

(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF BREAKING NEWS)

BLITZER: When we come back, it's a nerve center of the U.S. military, a CNN exclusive inside the home of U.S. war planners. They're at work for possible, repeat possible, conflict against Iraq.

Also, a devastating quake rocks Mexico. We'll go live to the scene for the very latest.

Plus, a Grammy Award winner busted for porn again, the trials and tribulations of R. Kelly. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer.

Coming up -- planning for war. We'll take you exclusively to a military nerve center.

(NEWS ALERT)

BLITZER: While the U.N.'s inspection program goes on in Iraq, plans for a possible war with Saddam Hussein are being drawn up at the U.S. military central command at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.

Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has been given extraordinary access to the command center. She's joining us now live with an exclusive look at the complex.

Barbara, tell us all about it.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is probably one of the busiest places in the U.S. military these days, Central Command headquarters where they monitor developments in Iraq and Afghanistan 24/7, where 44 countries are represented here, still very committed to the war on terrorism.

Today, the classified material got locked up, and CNN went inside.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): If Saddam Hussein starts moving troops towards Kuwait, if there is a firefight with the al Qaeda, the military personnel in this small windowless room will know it first. CNN was granted an exclusive look inside the Joint Operations Center at the U.S. Central Command headquarters in Florida. The first look since CENCOM began getting ready for Iraq.

There is of course another operation center on the front lines. In the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, where CENTCOM is monitoring the deployment plans for up to 250,000 troops to the region. And while there is no order yet for war, Lieutenant-General Michael DeLong, the number two at CENTCOM believes there is a clear end game.

GEN. MICHAEL DELONG, DEPUTY COMMANDER: The president has not made a decision on Iraq. What he has done is said the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq are not authorized. One way or the other, weapons of mass destruction are going to be removed from Iraq.

STARR: General DeLong now sees the war on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction irreversibly linked.

DELONG: The worst thing that could possibly happen is getting weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists. So as we talked about earlier, it's important that the weapons of mass destruction do not get in the hands of terrorists.

STARR: The 44 countries represented in the coalition here know the next step may be war with Iraq. But they are not giving up on the hunt for al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

(on camera): Do you think you'll ever know what happened to him?

DELONG: Yes, I think eventually the -- somebody is going to give him up. If he's not already dead, somebody somewhere somehow will give him up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: So, Wolf, the message is very clear. The hunt for al Qaeda, for Osama bin Laden goes on, but so does the planning for Iraq if the president gives the order to go to war --Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr on the scene for us, excellent reporting. Thanks, Barbara, very much.

And one of the most chilling aspects of bioterrorism is the possibility there could be danger in the very air we breathe. The government is now taking new steps to guard against germ warfare.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For years, they have detected carbon monoxide and other noxious pollutants. Now they will detect the likes of anthrax and smallpox. Some Environmental Protection Agency air quality monitoring stations in the nation's cities are retrofitted to pick up releases of biological weapons, starting Wednesday.

Since 9/11, medical surveillance systems have been expanded and improved to detect early any outbreaks of disease. But now filtering of the air and follow-up testing by one of the 120 CDC response laboratories could detect a bioweapon within 12 to 24 hours of its release.

PATRICK BREYSSE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENTIST: We can really do more for people if you detect it early in terms of removing people from potential for exposure and also treating those people who are exposed.

ANNOUNCER: The Olympic champion and gold medallist...

MESERVE: The system is a newer generation of the monitoring system used at Salt Lake City Olympics. Officials insist it is reliable with a low rate of false positives and false negatives. But because the monitoring stations are outside, they would not have detected the anthrax letters that went to Capitol Hill or a bioweapons release in an enclosed space like a subway.

Administration officials say there is no credible intelligence that al Qaeda has biological weapons. And although U.N. weapons inspectors are in Iraq searching for bioweapons, administration officials say the prospect of war is not why the new technology is being deployed. Nevertheless, a spokesman for the Office of Homeland Security says, "We need to be prepared for all possibilities."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Officials will not say how many of these monitors are being deployed or how many or what pathogens they will detect because they don't want potential enemies to know the country's capabilities or vulnerabilities -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, very important information. Jeanne Meserve, thanks very much for that report.

Assassination, hitmen, is al Qaeda developing a new strategy to target Americans overseas? It's another CNN exclusive; we will have that and more coming up, but first, a look at other news making headlines around the world.

The next step -- visiting South Korea, a top U.S. diplomat says it's time for the U.N. Security Council to consider sanctions against North Korea. Undersecretary Secretary of State John Bolton says deliberations may begin this week. The United States is trying to pressure the north to scrap its nuclear program.

Marked man -- a moderate Muslim leader in Indonesia is being targeted for death. Hard-line Muslims have issued a fatwa against Ulil Ubdulla (ph). They say he's committed blasphemy by declaring there's no such thing as Islamic law and that the prophet, Muhammad, was merely an historical figure, fair game for criticism.

Australian wildfires -- although the threat to Canberra has diminished, flames threaten more than a dozen smaller towns and several homes burn. Authorities think many of the fires were set deliberately. Go with the flow -- deep in the Amazon jungle, some people surf the river. Twice a day, when water flowing down a relatively shallow Brazilian river meets the ocean tide, the result is a large, powerful wave. Those who have surfed the river say there's no way to describe the thrill, but hang on to your surfboard. The water is home to snakes and piranhas.

Smokers sanctuary -- in America, some smokers are forced out of their workplaces to smoke on the street. But in some parts of Tokyo, you can't even smoke on the street. A Japanese tobacco company has come to the rescue with what it calls a smoke car. It's basically a trailer that can be parked outside office buildings that fan cigarettes. Smokers go inside. The smoke stays inside, and only the cigarettes are doing a slow burn. And that's our look around the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network achieved notoriety with massive attacks that produced body counts in the thousands. Since the United States' counter-attack, al Qaeda has been trying to regroup and there's growing evidence that it has adopted a new lower key strategy centering on assassinations. CNN national correspondent, Mike Boettcher, has been looking into the latest evidence and he has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Ahman, Jordan American diplomat, Lawrence Foley, is assassinated outside his home in late October. According to Jordanian investigators, the attack was ordered by a senior al Qaeda figure and it was to be the first in a series of assassinations in the region. And after the arrest of another al Qaeda leader, Abdul Rahman Al- Mashiri (ph) in the UAE, CNN has learned that he, too, was allegedly planning an assassination campaign. On his hit list, a U.S. diplomat in Saudi Arabia.

(on camera): For al Qaeda, assassination has long played a key role. But now it may be central to the group's new strategy.

(voice-over): This video from al Qaeda's own archives shows one of its training camps in Afghanistan where recruits learn the finer points of ambush and assassination. And al Qaeda's encyclopedia of Jihad offers even more detailed instructions on how to kill. The encyclopedia and other al Qaeda documents obtained by CNN show how to make the deadly poison ricin and recommend it for assassinations.

In a recent raid on a London flat, police discovered lab equipment and a small quantity of ricin. Authorities are not clear whether this was part of an al Qaeda operation. Rohan Gunaratna is the author of "Inside al Qaeda."

ROHAN GUNARATNA, AUTHOR, "INSIDE AL QAEDA": The tactic of assassination is very important for al Qaeda and for al Qaeda- associate groups. In fact, al Qaeda has a specialized course, a short, specialized training course in assassination.

BOETTCHER: Al Qaeda's leaders were so interested, even some investigators obsessed with assassination. They had copies of several documentaries about the Kennedy assassination in their video archive obtained last year by CNN. Pope John Paul II was perhaps the most prominent target on al Qaeda's hit list. Operatives in the Philippines planned to kill the pope during his visit to Manila in 1995, but the plan was foiled.

GUNARATNA: Al Qaeda also planned to assassinate President Clinton who was visiting the Philippines as well as Fidel Ramos, the then-president, of the Philippines.

BLITZER: There were also plots against the Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia. None succeeded. But on the eve of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon attacks, al Qaeda did assassinate a key opponent in Afghanistan.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Ahmed Shah Massoud, the legendary Afghan commander was killed two days before 9/11. Probably, see this horrific events related since Ahmed Shah Massoud was fighting the Taliban and al Qaeda. So assassination has been very much part of their armory.

BOETTCHER: Rohan Gunaratna believes al Qaeda was also behind recent attempts on the current leader of Afghanistan.

GUNARATNA: Al Qaeda's current strategy is to assassinate two world leaders, the leader of Afghanistan, President Karzai, and President Musharraf, the leader of Pakistan. It is because al Qaeda wants to create friendly governments in Pakistan and in Afghanistan.

BOETTCHER: But now, say intelligence sources, al Qaeda's leaders are once again taking their assassination campaign beyond Pakistan and Afghanistan -- the aim, to kill western diplomats and other public figures wherever they can.

Mike Boettcher, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Tomorrow, Mike Boettcher will take a closer look at the man accused of masterminding the Lawrence Foley assassination in Jordan. We'll find out how easily he continues to travel through the Middle East. And why some observers think he could become bin Laden's successor.

Devastation in Mexico, a powerful earthquake takes a deadly toll, have rescuers are scrambling to find survivors in the rubble. And a chilling story, the kidnapping of a powerful politician in Colombia. Who's holding her and why? We'll tell you. All that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Parts of central and western Mexico are scenes of death and devastation after a powerful earthquake crumbled brick walls like paper and left steel reinforcement bars scattered like straw. CNN producer, Luis Beltran, joins us now from the hard hit area of Colima.

Luis, tell our viewers what the latest information is.

LUIS BELTRAN, CNN PRODUCER: Hi, Wolf. This was the most powerful earthquake that hit Mexico in the last 18 years. It was 7.6 in the Richter scale.

Today, President Fox was here to assess the damages and he established a fund of $2 million to help for the reconstruction. More than 300 homes are in rubble right now. Sixteen blocks of downtown Colima were the most damaged. And as you can see, on this video, there is a lot of effort that will it will take to get back to how it was.

The electricity of 90 percent of the Colima population is already back, which was one of the biggest problems. The death toll is still on 21. There's more than 140 injured. And there's teams of people and volunteers and personnel from the states, from the border states, that are coming to help, to assess the damages and to help the reconstruction.

BLITZER: Is it your sense, Luis, that they're getting everything they need, the emergency rescue workers are there on the scene? Or do they need more medicine, food, water, equipment? How's it going along, the rescue effort?

BELTAN: Well, Wolf, the response from the federal government was very fast. If you can think that the earthquake was last night and President Fox has already been here. Also, the governor of the state had meetings with the municipalities' authorities. There's 10 municipalities in the state of Colima. And all of the local authorities had meetings with the governor since last night.

The authorities tell us that they are not -- they do not have problems with food or do not have problems with medicines, that they are also sufficient. And in general, the feeling that I have with the people is that the response, the official response and the volunteer response, has been very fast and very good.

BLITZER: That's good to here. CNN's Luis Beltran, thank you for joining us. Good luck to all the people behind you in this devastated area.

Now I'd like to update a compelling and frightening story that I began covering almost exactly one year ago. It's about a courageous woman named Ingrid Betancourt. She's a household name in her native Colombia and would have surely have generated a lot of headlines in the United States. But what happened to her illustrates the dangers that political leaders face just outside our borders. Her story is a true profile in courage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

INGRID BETANCOURT, COLUMBIAN SENATOR: ... to stop this alliance...

BLITZER (voice-over): On January 7, 2002, then Colombian senator and presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt sat down with me and spoke bluntly about the drug war.

BETANCOURT: My purpose is to clean the system. I think that we have to understand that if we allow this alliance between politics and drug traffickers, we are allowing terrorism not only in Columbia, but also in the world.

BLITZER: She returned to Colombia, only to be taken by armed kidnappers from a Farq (ph), a left wing group branded by the U.S. State Department as a terror organization. It's been waging a war against the Colombian government for decades.

A new documentary, "Missing Piece," debuts this week at the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah, which coincides with the Sundance Film Festival. The film shows the turmoil brought upon her family.

Nearly three months after the kidnapping, Betancourt's husband and mother, seen here, voted for her in the presidential elections hoping their public display would draw attention to her captivity. This week, her husband, Juan Carlos LeCompte, took a moment for us during media events around the new documentary to send a message to his wife.

JUAN CARLOS LECOMPTE, BETANCOURT'S HUSBAND: And we are working a lot every single day, 24 hours a day. And you just keep hanging in there. We are going to see you pretty soon, I hope.

BLITZER: The last word on Batancourt's fate came this past October when the kidnappers confirmed through the Colombian media she was still alive in their custody. But since then, no sign of Ingrid Betancourt.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) went on to win the Columbian presidency largely on a get-tough stance as far as the Farq (ph) is concerned. Now, a family and a country are worried about what that policy means for the fate of Ingrid Betancourt. For more, by the way, on the Ingrid Betancourt documentary, "Missing Piece," go to our Web site, CNN.com/Wolf.

Time is running out on your turn to weigh in on our "Web Question of The Day." Would you support a war with Iraq without France and Germany's support? Log on to CNN.com/Wolf. You still have time to vote. We'll have the results immediately when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day." Remember we've been asking you this -- would you support a war with Iraq without France and Germany's support? Look at these numbers, 35 percent so far of you say yes, 65 percent say no. You can find the exact vote tally and continue to vote by the way on our Web page, CNN.com/Wolf. This is not, of course, a scientific poll.

That's all the time we have. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" is up next. Jan Hopkins sitting in tonight for Lou.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 22, 2003 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): President Bush backed into a corner.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Saddam Hussein will not disarm the United States of America and friends of freedom will disarm Saddam Hussein.

BLITZER: As he puts the heat on Iraq, friends put the heat on him. Is the U.S. on a dangerous path of alienating its allies? I'll ask a hero from another war, Senator John McCain.

Who's targeted for terror, a CNN exclusive chilling evidence of an al Qaeda assassination campaign?

Nerve center: An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the headquarters for the war on terror and a possible war in the Persian Gulf.

Echoes of history: Never before heard tapes of JFK that might resonate in today's Oval Office.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's Wednesday, January 22, 2003. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Just five days away from a crucial report by U.N. weapons inspectors, a clearly determined President Bush is putting more pressure on Iraq, even as several key friends caution take a breath, not so fast. War they say means failure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): With the Bush administration preparing for war, even under pressure from allies to reconsider, President Bush has issued a blunt warning to any Iraqi soldier who might consider using weapons of mass destruction against invading U.S. troops or against innocent Iraqis.

BUSH: Should any Iraqi officer or soldier receive an order from Saddam Hussein or his sons or any of the killers who occupy the high levels of their government, my advice is don't follow that order because if you choose to do so when Iraq is liberated you will be treated, tried, and persecuted as a war criminal. BLITZER: U.S. officials say there's a real possibility a cornered Saddam Hussein might order the Iraqi military to use chemical or biological weapons. U.S. troops have been preparing precisely for that but that's also one reason the president's critics at home and abroad say the U.S. should avoid war.

Among the critics, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who want to give the U.N. inspectors more time. They also insist only the U.N. Security Council can authorize war.

PRES. JACQUES CHIRAC, FRANCE (through translator): As far as we are concerned war always means failure and therefore everything must be done to avoid war.

BLITZER: Secretary of State Colin Powell insists any differences with France are simply a blip in the overall relationship. But President Bush is again making clear the U.S. will go to war if necessary, even with only a limited coalition.

BUSH: If Saddam Hussein will not disarm, the United States of America and friends of freedom will disarm Saddam Hussein.

BLITZER: British Prime Minister Tony Blair remains in the president's corner.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We can not go back to a situation that we had in the 1990s when the inspectors were there or years and Saddam was effectively concealing what he was doing. The duty of Saddam is to cooperate fully with the inspections regime.

BLITZER: Chief U.N. Inspector Hans Blix, back in New York following a two day visit to Baghdad, says the Iraqis are not yet fully cooperating.

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. INSPECTOR: If you ask are they proactive, I think so far I've said no I don't think they've come to that stage yet.

BLITZER: Blix delivers his long awaited report to the U.N. Security Council on Monday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: As U.N. inspectors were out hunting for evidence of chemical and biological weapons programs today but the leader of a Baghdad mosque is charging that in one recent outing the inspectors went way too far.

Our Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson has the story from Baghdad.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL.CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this wasn't just any mosque, this is the biggest, newest, government funded mosque in Baghdad opened in May last year. The Imam of that mosque came to the information ministry here, held a press conference. He said five U.N. inspectors have gone to the mosque. They'd asked questions about its construction, about its engineering dimensions. He said this was a violation of the mosque. He said it was a provocation. He said that if the inspectors had gone there when there had been prayers on, then it would have been very dangerous for those inspectors.

He said that the Muslim world should unite its position, not only against the U.N. inspectors, but against the United States who he holds responsible for the work of the U.N. inspection teams here.

However, Wolf, we have talked with the United Nations teams here. They say they're investigating this claim. They say, however, so far they know of no teams that have visited a mosque recently -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Thanks very much.

Here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. Would you support a war with Iraq without France and Germany's support? We'll have the results later in this broadcast. Vote at cnn.com/wolf.

While you're there, I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.

Two weeks ago the Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld angered veterans and some lawmakers when he questioned the efforts of some in Congress to reinstate the military draft.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: If you think back to when we had the draft, people were brought in. They were paid some fraction of what they could make in the civilian manpower market because they were without choices.

Big categories were exempted, people who were in college, people who were teaching, people who were married. It varied from time to time but there were all kinds of exemptions and what was left was sucked into the intake, trained for a period of months, and then went out, adding no value, no advantage really to the United States Armed Services over any sustained period of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Now, the secretary has issued a rare written apology, stating, and I'm quoting: "The last thing I would want to do would be to disparage the service of those draftees. I always have had the highest respect for their service and I offer my full apology to any veteran who misinterpreted my remarks when I said them, or who may have read any of the articles or columns that have attempted to take my words and suggest they were disparaging."

Never heard before tapes of John F. Kennedy, hear what he had to say about Vietnam, the Russians, and Europe behind closed doors.

Plus, a CNN exclusive inside Central Command, we'll take you live to a critical nerve center of the military.

And, another exclusive targeted for terror. Learn about assassination, a plot by al Qaeda, and who's at risk.

But first, on this 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, today's "News Quiz."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Kennedy talking about the economy, Vietnam, America's relations with Europe and much more in 15 hours of previously classified audio tapes.

This new batch of tapes was released earlier today by the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. They were made in the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room in 1962 and 1963, and are of a particular interest given the possibility of war with Iraq and some American allies expressing opposition to war, at least for now.

Joining me now to talk about all of this, the tapes, the presidential historian Robert Dallek. His biography by the way on Kennedy will be published this spring. Professor thanks so much for joining us.

In this first audio tape, and I want our listeners to listen to it carefully, the president is in the Oval Office. He's speaking about the National Security Council and he's referring to some vicious comments he says made about the United States from the French president at that time Charles DeGaulle.

Actually, we're having a little technical problem getting those tapes. We're going to fix that problem, Professor Dallek. Stand by. We'll get to the audio tapes, never before heard audio tapes of President Kennedy. We'll also speak live with Senator McCain.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We'll get to those never before heard audio tapes of President Kennedy speaking in the Oval Office, amazing tapes. We'll get to that shortly with Professor Dallek.

BLITZER: But first, should the United States go to war with Iraq despite the objections of key allies? Is there an alternative to military force?

Joining me now, the Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, he's of course a hero who was held prisoner for more than five years in an earlier war. He's a leading member of the Armed Services Committee.

Senator, as usual, thanks very much for joining us. You've been a hawk when it comes to Iraq. Do you think the president is just about right or from your standpoint is he going too slow?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), ARMED SERVICES CMTE: I think the president is just about right. I think that the 27th there will be another report from Mr. Blix and the inspectors that I think will tell us that Saddam Hussein has not complied with the Security Council resolution. Then I think the president will make some decisions at that point.

But, again, I want to point out here the important aspect of this. The burden of proof is not on the president. The burden of proof is on Saddam Hussein.

In 1998, there was clear and total, complete, compelling evidence that he had the weapons, the laboratories. The efforts were going on. Those have to be accounted for. So far they have not been accounted for.

BLITZER: But if the U.N. inspectors, Hans Blix, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, come before the Security Council on Monday and say guess what guys we didn't find a smoking gun, despite the fact that the burden of proof is on the Iraqis to cooperate, public opinion is not necessarily going to be with the president on this.

MCCAIN: I think the public opinion obviously is always a problem for a president of the United States. But, the responsibility for the security of the United States of America rests with the president of the United States.

Harry Truman probably did not have the nation behind him when we decided to turn back and attack from North Korea. I know that at the beginning of the Persian Gulf conflict, the American people did not support President Bush 1.

BLITZER: It was deeply divided then.

MCCAIN: It was deeply divided. Yes, the president and his State of the Union speech will talk about this issue with the American people. He will again describe the threats that we face and the reasons why he will take the action that he has to take if there is non-compliance.

BLITZER: Has the president done a good enough job to date, not only trying to win over the hearts and minds of the American public, but France, Germany, they're clearly not in his corner right now?

MCCAIN: Well, a word about our friends or allies. It's interesting to me those that used to be communist countries are most supportive. There's a real lesson there.

We all know the behavior of the German chancellor in the last elections, reprehensible, using an anti-American sentiment to win a close election. The French have always had some difficulties in our relationship and the French obviously are interested in a special relationship we had with Iraq.

But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily. That does not mean we won't experience the tragedy of the loss of some American lives. We will have an opportunity to instill a democracy in Iraq which will be an example, and perhaps force other nations in the region to move in that same direction. I am confident...

BLITZER: So, what you're saying is even if the U.S. is with Britain, a few of the central European or eastern, formerly communist block nations.

MCCAIN: And Turkey.

BLITZER: And a few others.

MCCAIN: Yes.

BLITZER: Even a limited coalition is worth it to go forward and knock out Saddam Hussein?

MCCAIN: We would far prefer that not be the case. We would prefer that everybody be solidly behind the United States if it's necessary. I want to emphasize the president has not made this decision yet. But if he does make that decision, then he has to have as his primary and sole purpose the security of the United States of America.

Saddam Hussein has not come clean. Saddam Hussein has a clear record of use of weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein, therefore, must come clean. Otherwise, the president has to consider all of his options.

BLITZER: How much time do you believe realistically is left?

MCCAIN: You know that's pure speculation on my part. I have no inside information of any kind but I would say in a matter of weeks we have to come to some kind of resolution of this issue one way or the other.

BLITZER: And you're confident that this can be done relatively quickly, relatively easily?

MCCAIN: I am convinced of that but I also want to emphasize that it has to be the last option because Americans go into harm's way. But I do not know of a soldier that's going to die for Saddam Hussein.

In 1991, on this program, I had debates with various people who said it's another Vietnam. Thousands of body bags will come home, blah, blah, blah. I said that wouldn't happen.

The United States military are the finest young men and women in the world. They're best equipped and they're best trained and they will prevail.

I do not believe that it is without danger. Scud missiles aimed at Israel with chemical or biological weapons on them, loss of young American's lives, but it will be quick and then we will see how world and American public opinion is at that time. And finally, again, the president has an opportunity next Tuesday night or Wednesday night.

BLITZER: Tuesday night.

MCCAIN: Tuesday night, and he will speak I think eloquently. This president has an ability to speak with moral clarity.

BLITZER: And what you're saying as a distinguished member of the U.S. Senate, those countries, whether it's France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, others, who might not align themselves with the U.S. in this war if the president, the commander-in-chief comes down to giving that order, what kind of consequences politically, diplomatically, from the U.S. should they anticipate?

MCCAIN: I don't know except that nothing succeeds like success, and if there is a success, and I predict there will be, that the countries in the region will breathe a sigh of relief because an individual who's invaded neighboring countries is out of power, and perhaps people all over the Middle East will heave a sigh of relief and hope because -- and fell a sensation of hope because we will instill a democracy in Iraq.

It won't be easy. It will be long. It will be difficult and it will be expensive but it will be an example to other nations in the region, including the Saudi Arabians.

BLITZER: Senator McCain, always good to see you. Thanks very much.

MCCAIN: Thank you.

BLITZER: Appreciate it.

I want to get back now to those never before heard audio tapes, audio tapes of President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office in 1963, 1962, speaking about a lot of issues including some issues very relevant to what's going on today.

Professor Robert Dallek is joining us, the presidential historian, working on a book about John F. Kennedy right now. Professor, I want you to listen to this first audio tape when the then President John F. Kennedy is speaking about Charles DeGaulle. He's getting some grief in the U.S.-French relationship apropos to what's going on today. This is 40 years ago. Professor, listen to this.

ROBERT DALLEK, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN F. KENNEDY, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They put out some pretty vicious stuff out of Paris every day. They either attack us for trying to dominate Europe or they attack us for withdrawing from Europe or that we won't use our nuclear forces or that we'll get them into a war and they're not consulted."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you make of that as you listen to it, as you read the audio? Obviously the quality of the audio is not that great.

DALLEK: Yes. Well, Wolf, we had lots of difficulties with the French then because they did not trust that we would come to their defense with nuclear weapons if the Soviet Union moved against Germany and possibly Western Europe.

And so, Kennedy tried to convince DeGaulle to stand with the United States, not to doubt our resolve, but DeGaulle had a lot of doubts about our willingness to fight a nuclear war to save Western Europe, and so Kennedy had a lot of problems with him.

BLITZER: It's not unusual for the U.S. to have troubles with the French. In this next audio tape, I want you to listen to this one as well. The then Army Chief of Staff General Earl Wheeler just back from South Vietnam briefing the president. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. EARL WHEELER, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF: The VietCong are not bleeding in this war. The South Vietnamese are bleeding. In other words, they are suffering sizable losses, but the losses suffered by the VietCong are negligible.

Out of the 20,000 odd VietCong that were killed last year, purely as a guess, I would say that not more than a half a dozen that Ho Chi Minh could care, gives a damn about. The rest of them -- that's right.

The VietCong are not bleeding. The people that are killed, except for perhaps a half a dozen battalion regimental commanders or maybe political leaders are fellows with the Vietnamese equivalent of the name of "Joe" -- and he can get plenty more of them and does."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Obviously at that time the Kennedy administration slowly escalating U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, talk about that.

DALLEK: Yes, well Kennedy increased the number of advisers in Vietnam from roughly 800 to 16,700 during his thousand days in the White House, but Kennedy was very skeptical about getting deeply involved in Vietnam.

He saw it as a bad show, a very dangerous proposition to send hundreds of thousands of American troops there, and it's my conviction from reading the record very carefully that John Kennedy never would have done what Lyndon Johnson did later.

BLITZER: Listen to this next audio tape. It's fascinating, the then President John F. Kennedy speaking with the then CIA Director John McCone, the Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, the Secretary of State Dean Rusk, they're talking about a lot of the hot spots in the world at that time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNEDY: I don't think we are in bad shape with the Soviets now. If Berlin gets difficult -- Vietnam. Cuba's almost the same position Berlin was with us for a decade.

Any action they take in Berlin, we can take an action in Cuba -- But I think that China and Latin America are our foremost dangerous areas right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you think about that professor?

DALLEK: Well, Wolf, he saw the world as beset by problems. The Chinese were a danger. Khruschev was an uncertain quantity. He was just worried constantly about foreign affairs.

This was the main focus of his administration, and actually he did very well in foreign affairs because he resolved the Cuban Missile Crisis without a war, and of course there was also the Test Ban Treaty in '63 which took us a step back from nuclear confrontation.

BLITZER: All right, we have one more audio tape. This one is impressive, as our viewers will remember, at least most of our viewers. He was gunned down November, 1963. This was just before. He's already looking ahead to the '64 presidential campaign. He had hoped, of course, to run again for a second term.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNEDY: If you are running for re-election in 1964, what is it you worry about most? Recession? That is what I'm worried about. I don't think the country can take another recession. Otherwise, we are liable to get all the blame for the deficit and none of the advantage of the stimulus in the economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Sounds like it's still the economy, even 40 years ago. Talk about that little comment he just made.

DALLEK: Yes, he was very eager to get a major tax cut through the Congress in order to spur the economy forward. He was worried that there would be a recession in 1964, and so he was concerned not to enter the election of '64 with a bad economy.

But he also looked forward to the possibility that he was going to run against Barry Goldwater, and he said if we run against Goldwater we're going to get to sleep much earlier this time than we did in 1960.

BLITZER: Robert Dallek, we're looking forward to your book on Kennedy.

DALLEK: Thank you.

BLITZER: I can't wait to read it. Thanks, as usual, for joining us.

DALLEK: Thank you.

(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF BREAKING NEWS)

BLITZER: When we come back, it's a nerve center of the U.S. military, a CNN exclusive inside the home of U.S. war planners. They're at work for possible, repeat possible, conflict against Iraq.

Also, a devastating quake rocks Mexico. We'll go live to the scene for the very latest.

Plus, a Grammy Award winner busted for porn again, the trials and tribulations of R. Kelly. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer.

Coming up -- planning for war. We'll take you exclusively to a military nerve center.

(NEWS ALERT)

BLITZER: While the U.N.'s inspection program goes on in Iraq, plans for a possible war with Saddam Hussein are being drawn up at the U.S. military central command at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.

Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has been given extraordinary access to the command center. She's joining us now live with an exclusive look at the complex.

Barbara, tell us all about it.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is probably one of the busiest places in the U.S. military these days, Central Command headquarters where they monitor developments in Iraq and Afghanistan 24/7, where 44 countries are represented here, still very committed to the war on terrorism.

Today, the classified material got locked up, and CNN went inside.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): If Saddam Hussein starts moving troops towards Kuwait, if there is a firefight with the al Qaeda, the military personnel in this small windowless room will know it first. CNN was granted an exclusive look inside the Joint Operations Center at the U.S. Central Command headquarters in Florida. The first look since CENCOM began getting ready for Iraq.

There is of course another operation center on the front lines. In the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, where CENTCOM is monitoring the deployment plans for up to 250,000 troops to the region. And while there is no order yet for war, Lieutenant-General Michael DeLong, the number two at CENTCOM believes there is a clear end game.

GEN. MICHAEL DELONG, DEPUTY COMMANDER: The president has not made a decision on Iraq. What he has done is said the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq are not authorized. One way or the other, weapons of mass destruction are going to be removed from Iraq.

STARR: General DeLong now sees the war on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction irreversibly linked.

DELONG: The worst thing that could possibly happen is getting weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists. So as we talked about earlier, it's important that the weapons of mass destruction do not get in the hands of terrorists.

STARR: The 44 countries represented in the coalition here know the next step may be war with Iraq. But they are not giving up on the hunt for al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

(on camera): Do you think you'll ever know what happened to him?

DELONG: Yes, I think eventually the -- somebody is going to give him up. If he's not already dead, somebody somewhere somehow will give him up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: So, Wolf, the message is very clear. The hunt for al Qaeda, for Osama bin Laden goes on, but so does the planning for Iraq if the president gives the order to go to war --Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr on the scene for us, excellent reporting. Thanks, Barbara, very much.

And one of the most chilling aspects of bioterrorism is the possibility there could be danger in the very air we breathe. The government is now taking new steps to guard against germ warfare.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For years, they have detected carbon monoxide and other noxious pollutants. Now they will detect the likes of anthrax and smallpox. Some Environmental Protection Agency air quality monitoring stations in the nation's cities are retrofitted to pick up releases of biological weapons, starting Wednesday.

Since 9/11, medical surveillance systems have been expanded and improved to detect early any outbreaks of disease. But now filtering of the air and follow-up testing by one of the 120 CDC response laboratories could detect a bioweapon within 12 to 24 hours of its release.

PATRICK BREYSSE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENTIST: We can really do more for people if you detect it early in terms of removing people from potential for exposure and also treating those people who are exposed.

ANNOUNCER: The Olympic champion and gold medallist...

MESERVE: The system is a newer generation of the monitoring system used at Salt Lake City Olympics. Officials insist it is reliable with a low rate of false positives and false negatives. But because the monitoring stations are outside, they would not have detected the anthrax letters that went to Capitol Hill or a bioweapons release in an enclosed space like a subway.

Administration officials say there is no credible intelligence that al Qaeda has biological weapons. And although U.N. weapons inspectors are in Iraq searching for bioweapons, administration officials say the prospect of war is not why the new technology is being deployed. Nevertheless, a spokesman for the Office of Homeland Security says, "We need to be prepared for all possibilities."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Officials will not say how many of these monitors are being deployed or how many or what pathogens they will detect because they don't want potential enemies to know the country's capabilities or vulnerabilities -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, very important information. Jeanne Meserve, thanks very much for that report.

Assassination, hitmen, is al Qaeda developing a new strategy to target Americans overseas? It's another CNN exclusive; we will have that and more coming up, but first, a look at other news making headlines around the world.

The next step -- visiting South Korea, a top U.S. diplomat says it's time for the U.N. Security Council to consider sanctions against North Korea. Undersecretary Secretary of State John Bolton says deliberations may begin this week. The United States is trying to pressure the north to scrap its nuclear program.

Marked man -- a moderate Muslim leader in Indonesia is being targeted for death. Hard-line Muslims have issued a fatwa against Ulil Ubdulla (ph). They say he's committed blasphemy by declaring there's no such thing as Islamic law and that the prophet, Muhammad, was merely an historical figure, fair game for criticism.

Australian wildfires -- although the threat to Canberra has diminished, flames threaten more than a dozen smaller towns and several homes burn. Authorities think many of the fires were set deliberately. Go with the flow -- deep in the Amazon jungle, some people surf the river. Twice a day, when water flowing down a relatively shallow Brazilian river meets the ocean tide, the result is a large, powerful wave. Those who have surfed the river say there's no way to describe the thrill, but hang on to your surfboard. The water is home to snakes and piranhas.

Smokers sanctuary -- in America, some smokers are forced out of their workplaces to smoke on the street. But in some parts of Tokyo, you can't even smoke on the street. A Japanese tobacco company has come to the rescue with what it calls a smoke car. It's basically a trailer that can be parked outside office buildings that fan cigarettes. Smokers go inside. The smoke stays inside, and only the cigarettes are doing a slow burn. And that's our look around the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network achieved notoriety with massive attacks that produced body counts in the thousands. Since the United States' counter-attack, al Qaeda has been trying to regroup and there's growing evidence that it has adopted a new lower key strategy centering on assassinations. CNN national correspondent, Mike Boettcher, has been looking into the latest evidence and he has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Ahman, Jordan American diplomat, Lawrence Foley, is assassinated outside his home in late October. According to Jordanian investigators, the attack was ordered by a senior al Qaeda figure and it was to be the first in a series of assassinations in the region. And after the arrest of another al Qaeda leader, Abdul Rahman Al- Mashiri (ph) in the UAE, CNN has learned that he, too, was allegedly planning an assassination campaign. On his hit list, a U.S. diplomat in Saudi Arabia.

(on camera): For al Qaeda, assassination has long played a key role. But now it may be central to the group's new strategy.

(voice-over): This video from al Qaeda's own archives shows one of its training camps in Afghanistan where recruits learn the finer points of ambush and assassination. And al Qaeda's encyclopedia of Jihad offers even more detailed instructions on how to kill. The encyclopedia and other al Qaeda documents obtained by CNN show how to make the deadly poison ricin and recommend it for assassinations.

In a recent raid on a London flat, police discovered lab equipment and a small quantity of ricin. Authorities are not clear whether this was part of an al Qaeda operation. Rohan Gunaratna is the author of "Inside al Qaeda."

ROHAN GUNARATNA, AUTHOR, "INSIDE AL QAEDA": The tactic of assassination is very important for al Qaeda and for al Qaeda- associate groups. In fact, al Qaeda has a specialized course, a short, specialized training course in assassination.

BOETTCHER: Al Qaeda's leaders were so interested, even some investigators obsessed with assassination. They had copies of several documentaries about the Kennedy assassination in their video archive obtained last year by CNN. Pope John Paul II was perhaps the most prominent target on al Qaeda's hit list. Operatives in the Philippines planned to kill the pope during his visit to Manila in 1995, but the plan was foiled.

GUNARATNA: Al Qaeda also planned to assassinate President Clinton who was visiting the Philippines as well as Fidel Ramos, the then-president, of the Philippines.

BLITZER: There were also plots against the Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia. None succeeded. But on the eve of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon attacks, al Qaeda did assassinate a key opponent in Afghanistan.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Ahmed Shah Massoud, the legendary Afghan commander was killed two days before 9/11. Probably, see this horrific events related since Ahmed Shah Massoud was fighting the Taliban and al Qaeda. So assassination has been very much part of their armory.

BOETTCHER: Rohan Gunaratna believes al Qaeda was also behind recent attempts on the current leader of Afghanistan.

GUNARATNA: Al Qaeda's current strategy is to assassinate two world leaders, the leader of Afghanistan, President Karzai, and President Musharraf, the leader of Pakistan. It is because al Qaeda wants to create friendly governments in Pakistan and in Afghanistan.

BOETTCHER: But now, say intelligence sources, al Qaeda's leaders are once again taking their assassination campaign beyond Pakistan and Afghanistan -- the aim, to kill western diplomats and other public figures wherever they can.

Mike Boettcher, CNN, Kabul.

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BLITZER: Tomorrow, Mike Boettcher will take a closer look at the man accused of masterminding the Lawrence Foley assassination in Jordan. We'll find out how easily he continues to travel through the Middle East. And why some observers think he could become bin Laden's successor.

Devastation in Mexico, a powerful earthquake takes a deadly toll, have rescuers are scrambling to find survivors in the rubble. And a chilling story, the kidnapping of a powerful politician in Colombia. Who's holding her and why? We'll tell you. All that just ahead.

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BLITZER: Parts of central and western Mexico are scenes of death and devastation after a powerful earthquake crumbled brick walls like paper and left steel reinforcement bars scattered like straw. CNN producer, Luis Beltran, joins us now from the hard hit area of Colima.

Luis, tell our viewers what the latest information is.

LUIS BELTRAN, CNN PRODUCER: Hi, Wolf. This was the most powerful earthquake that hit Mexico in the last 18 years. It was 7.6 in the Richter scale.

Today, President Fox was here to assess the damages and he established a fund of $2 million to help for the reconstruction. More than 300 homes are in rubble right now. Sixteen blocks of downtown Colima were the most damaged. And as you can see, on this video, there is a lot of effort that will it will take to get back to how it was.

The electricity of 90 percent of the Colima population is already back, which was one of the biggest problems. The death toll is still on 21. There's more than 140 injured. And there's teams of people and volunteers and personnel from the states, from the border states, that are coming to help, to assess the damages and to help the reconstruction.

BLITZER: Is it your sense, Luis, that they're getting everything they need, the emergency rescue workers are there on the scene? Or do they need more medicine, food, water, equipment? How's it going along, the rescue effort?

BELTAN: Well, Wolf, the response from the federal government was very fast. If you can think that the earthquake was last night and President Fox has already been here. Also, the governor of the state had meetings with the municipalities' authorities. There's 10 municipalities in the state of Colima. And all of the local authorities had meetings with the governor since last night.

The authorities tell us that they are not -- they do not have problems with food or do not have problems with medicines, that they are also sufficient. And in general, the feeling that I have with the people is that the response, the official response and the volunteer response, has been very fast and very good.

BLITZER: That's good to here. CNN's Luis Beltran, thank you for joining us. Good luck to all the people behind you in this devastated area.

Now I'd like to update a compelling and frightening story that I began covering almost exactly one year ago. It's about a courageous woman named Ingrid Betancourt. She's a household name in her native Colombia and would have surely have generated a lot of headlines in the United States. But what happened to her illustrates the dangers that political leaders face just outside our borders. Her story is a true profile in courage.

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INGRID BETANCOURT, COLUMBIAN SENATOR: ... to stop this alliance...

BLITZER (voice-over): On January 7, 2002, then Colombian senator and presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt sat down with me and spoke bluntly about the drug war.

BETANCOURT: My purpose is to clean the system. I think that we have to understand that if we allow this alliance between politics and drug traffickers, we are allowing terrorism not only in Columbia, but also in the world.

BLITZER: She returned to Colombia, only to be taken by armed kidnappers from a Farq (ph), a left wing group branded by the U.S. State Department as a terror organization. It's been waging a war against the Colombian government for decades.

A new documentary, "Missing Piece," debuts this week at the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah, which coincides with the Sundance Film Festival. The film shows the turmoil brought upon her family.

Nearly three months after the kidnapping, Betancourt's husband and mother, seen here, voted for her in the presidential elections hoping their public display would draw attention to her captivity. This week, her husband, Juan Carlos LeCompte, took a moment for us during media events around the new documentary to send a message to his wife.

JUAN CARLOS LECOMPTE, BETANCOURT'S HUSBAND: And we are working a lot every single day, 24 hours a day. And you just keep hanging in there. We are going to see you pretty soon, I hope.

BLITZER: The last word on Batancourt's fate came this past October when the kidnappers confirmed through the Colombian media she was still alive in their custody. But since then, no sign of Ingrid Betancourt.

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BLITZER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) went on to win the Columbian presidency largely on a get-tough stance as far as the Farq (ph) is concerned. Now, a family and a country are worried about what that policy means for the fate of Ingrid Betancourt. For more, by the way, on the Ingrid Betancourt documentary, "Missing Piece," go to our Web site, CNN.com/Wolf.

Time is running out on your turn to weigh in on our "Web Question of The Day." Would you support a war with Iraq without France and Germany's support? Log on to CNN.com/Wolf. You still have time to vote. We'll have the results immediately when we come back.

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BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day." Remember we've been asking you this -- would you support a war with Iraq without France and Germany's support? Look at these numbers, 35 percent so far of you say yes, 65 percent say no. You can find the exact vote tally and continue to vote by the way on our Web page, CNN.com/Wolf. This is not, of course, a scientific poll.

That's all the time we have. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" is up next. Jan Hopkins sitting in tonight for Lou.

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