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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Foreign fighters pose serious threat to U.S. troops in Iraq

Aired August 20, 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.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We're watching three developments happening this hour.
A day after the suicide bus bombing in Jerusalem, Israeli tanks are on the move. Will they open fire against Palestinian targets?

Also, there's new information on the suspected serial sniper killings in West Virginia. I'll speak live with the local sheriff.

And, Arnold Schwarzenegger finally comes out swinging.

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Attack aftermath, clues in the rubble.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was not a homemade bomb.

BLITZER: Who's behind the Baghdad bombing? Was the U.S. warned?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meeting took place by some of the former regime and extremists announcing that a large scale act will take place.

BLITZER: After the bus bombing Americans now among the dead, the Palestinians vow to act against terrorism but will Israeli act first?

Recall reinforcements, bringing in the brain trust for an economic summit.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIF. GOV. CANDIDATE: All the people that have lost their jobs in the United States, half of them were lost right here in California.

BLITZER: And raging rivers in the streets of Las Vegas, dramatic rescues after a desert storm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, live from the nation's capital with correspondents from around the world. WOLF BLITZER REPORTS starts now.

BLITZER: It's Wednesday, August 20, 2003. Hello from Washington, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting. We're about to tell you about a possible new threat in Iraq that's making U.S. intelligence officials very nervous. We'll get to that in just a moment, first though the headlines.

The lead FBI agent on the scene of the Baghdad bombing says human remains have been found in the wreckage of the truck used in the attack. Special Agent Thomas Fuentes (ph) say investigators were able to comb through the area where the truck bomb detonated taking chemical samples.

Fuentes says the bomb was not homemade and contained munitions similar to those used by Saddam Hussein's armed forces. Investigators have found fragments from the mortars, the artillery shells, and a 500-pound bomb.

A key member of Iraq's governing council says it warned U.S. authorities Saddam loyalists and Islamic militants had met to plan a major terror attack on a so-called soft target in Baghdad.

Ahmed Chalabi says the council received information last week that insurgents had discussed a truck bomb attack against either the headquarters of an Iraqi political party or the United Nations. Chalabi says this information was shared with American officials.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have been pulling their employees out of Iraq. An IMF spokesman says four of the five staffers at the U.N. building in Baghdad have been flown to Jordan and the World Bank says it has suspended operations in Iraq because of the security situation evacuating 15 staffers. The United States has been counting on the two institutions to play key roles in efforts to rebuild Iraq's economy.

United Nations' staffers wounded in yesterday's bombing have been flown to Amman, Jordan for treatment and the U.N. says it has begun a partial evacuation of its Baghdad staff. While Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the U.N. will not leave Iraq, Reuters is now quoting U.N. sources as saying a decision has been made to evacuate most of the international staff in the coming weeks.

Investigators worry that the bombing may signal a campaign of large scale terror attacks in Iraq. There are suspicions that a group linked to al Qaeda may have played a part but there are also new worries. We're following the story in Baghdad, in Washington, over at the Pentagon.

Let's begin with our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, officials say there is increasing evidence that Ansar al-Islam, the radical Islamic group with ties to al Qaeda might, just might have been behind this attack.

There are two reasons, of course the sophistication of the attack and intelligence reports in the last two weeks that Ansar al-Islam might be planning something. But, CNN has learned at this hour there are much deeper worries about what might be going on inside Iraq. There are now concerns, officials say, that some of the foreign fighters that have been infiltrating into Iraq across the Syrian and the Iranian borders may pose a very serious threat.

Officials telling CNN there is high potential that some of those people are expert bomb makers and concern now that those expert bomb makers are inside Iraq and may have hooked up with radical Islamic groups. All of this would pose a significant new threat of course.

It's one of the reasons investigators are working urgently to try and find the detonator at the U.N. compound bomb site. A detonator typically is a good sign of what kind of training a bomb maker had, where they may come from, the kind of expertise that they have had in the past. They feel that is a key clue that will help them figure this puzzle out.

But these foreign fighters that have been crossing in are the type of people that may have that type of expertise, people crossing from Syria, from Iran. There is a belief now that some Saudis have entered into Iraq, as well as possibly some people with expertise from Hamas and Hezbollah.

All of this is an intelligence assessment of course. It's not a final finding. They don't know for sure. They are still combing through the site for clues. But, Ansar al-Islam may be behind all of this.

Of course, Ansar al-Islam is the radical Islamic group with ties to al Qaeda. There is a very strong belief that there were perhaps two dozen operatives in Baghdad before the war tied to al Qaeda -- excuse me, tied to Ansar al-Islam and those people may have never left.

One of the things that has investigators puzzled at the moment is the very unique nature of this bomb that fact that there were military explosives all packed -- of various types all packed inside the truck. They feel that somebody would have had to know how to wire all of that up to make it all go off at the same time and have maximum damage impact. It's another reason they think there may be an expert bomb maker behind all of this.

But, officials caution they don't know because there is also an intelligence assessment that some member of Saddam Hussein's former intelligence service, the Mukhabarat, would have had the expertise to also know how to do this so all of this on the table tonight, Wolf, all of it very worrying.

BLITZER: Indeed, a lot of important developments from our Barbara Starr, Barbara thanks very much.

The scene of the bombing is now the scene of recovery efforts and an urgent investigation. Let's go live to Baghdad. That's where we find CNN's Ben Wedeman. Ben, what's the latest that you have on the investigation? BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, first of all really the U.S. forces, as well as Iraqi rescue workers were working in the intense head in Baghdad throughout the day trying to find any possible survivors from this massive blast yesterday.

What we did see is that they pulled out one body from the ruins and it's not quite clear at this point where the death toll from this blast stands. U.N. officials are saying it may well exceed 20 people killed in the blast. As many as 86 were wounded and, as you mentioned before, many of those have been sent to Jordan for further treatment.

As far as the investigation goes, FBI investigators were combing through the ruins throughout the day. They're trying to be very careful, however, because they don't want to impede the effort to find any possible survivors.

What they did find was remnants of a truck, a Soviet-Arab built Kamaz truck. That's a very heavy truck that they believe was used to deliver this bomb. As you mentioned, the bomb contained as much as 1,000 pounds, half a ton of explosives, basically harvested from munitions from the Saddam Hussein era including this 500-pound Arab bomb that was used.

So, really, the investigation goes on but, as I said, it's a very difficult task trying to balance the needs to get clues and information with the desire of people to find any survivors if there are any in the rubble -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Ben Wedeman in Baghdad, Ben thanks very much.

The victims of yesterday's deadly bombing in Baghdad are being remembered at the United Nations in New York. Flowers are being left on the sidewalk outside the U.N. complex in their honor.

The U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the attack will not stop the U.N. from doing its work in Iraq but he says the world body will take another look at the security situation there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: When you have this kind of terrorist attack and the people perpetrating the attack are prepared to die, providing security and protection is extremely difficult.

We are all aware, we have all been aware that security has been a problem in Iraq and I know that efforts are being made to bring that under control and I hope that will succeed soon because without security quite a lot of the things that the international community wants to do cannot happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Kofi Annan cut short a trip to Europe to return to the United Nations.

So, who did it? With speculation ranging from Saddam Hussein's henchmen to al Qaeda outsiders, let's bring in our CNN Terrorism Analyst Peter Bergen to take a look at the various suspects. What's your initial assessment Peter?

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, obviously, the investigation is continuing. It's very interesting hearing about these military munitions that were used in the attack.

That sort of changes the dynamic a bit but I can't think of a lot of people who would necessarily want to mount a suicide attack who are Saddam loyalists. I don't see that at this point. That to me sounds like more of a jihadist, whether it's Ansar al-Islam as Barbara Starr suggested in the report or al Qaeda itself, whatever you want to call it, these are sort of jihadists.

And, I've talked to a wide range of U.S. counterterrorism officials who talk about in the last several months Saudis coming over the border to Iraq from Syria, Saudi dissidents. They say there are also Kuwaitis although the largest group of jihadists are in fact Saudis. They use numbers like 3,000 jihadists coming over from Saudi Arabia.

BLITZER: It's not very difficult to cross that border to get into Iraq, is it?

BERGEN: No, and obviously you're in the middle of the Middle East and you blend in very well. I mean an Afghan -- if you're in Afghanistan and you're an Arab member of al Qaeda you stick out. In Iraq you're part of the background.

So, it seems to me not only obviously the U.N. attack but also the Jordanian Embassy attack you've got to presume that al Qaeda is at the top of the list of suspects.

BLITZER: We're showing our viewers a little animation of what we believe happened when that concrete truck came up alongside of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad and obviously detonated.

The suicide bomber, we believe, was inside that truck. That seems to be in contrast to what happened at the Jordanian Embassy when the two people driving that truck at the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad they got out and it was remotely detonated.

BERGEN: Yes, so suicide attacks are a hallmark of al Qaeda, so in that case the Jordanian Embassy looks less like an al Qaeda attack. This does look like an al Qaeda attack. I think that at the end of the day I think when the investigation is done I think that you'll find that these are jihadists.

Whether they're formally part of the al Qaeda organization or not I don't know but I think this is a trend we're going to see more and more in the future, these kind of higher profile, higher value targets, which is not good news obviously for the 140,000 American troops there.

BLITZER: But what's to say that they can't form some loosely- coordinated alliance, the jihadists, the al Qaeda operatives, the Islamic fundamentalists, if you will, together with the more secular Saddam Hussein Fedayeen loyalists?

BERGEN: The alliance that was supposed to take place before the war is now taking place now is that what you're saying?

BLITZER: I'm not saying that I'm asking you?

BERGEN: Well, I think there's no reason why it shouldn't happen. I mean clearly right now they both have a common enemy in their own country or not in their own country at least in their own backyard.

BLITZER: And one of the most disturbing elements that Barbara Starr was reporting breaking this information on this program the suspicion, the fear among some in the U.S. intelligence community that now professional bomb makers, people who know how to put a bomb together, whether on a vest or in car bomb or a truck bomb are now infiltrating and they're getting into Iraq and there are a lot of soft targets as you and I know.

BERGEN: Well, I mean sadly if you look at al Qaeda they're the people with the expertise, I mean, if you look at, you know, whether it was the embassy bombing attacks in Africa or the Cole or any, these are all, you know, massive bombs.

I don't think these are the sort of things that you learn in your chemistry, you know, class at high school. These are very serious operations. So, I think again that puts you back towards al Qaeda but right now, of course, we don't know who's behind these attacks.

BLITZER: All right, Peter Bergen thanks very much for your expertise.

Here's your turn to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this: "Did the war in Iraq weaken or strengthen al Qaeda"? We'll have the results later in this broadcast. You can vote right now at cnn.com/wolf.

While you're there I'd love to hear directly 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.

Bracing for retaliation in the Middle East...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI VICE PRIME MINISTER: This will stop. Either the Palestinians will stop it or we will stop it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: An eye for an eye, a day after a suicide bombing leaves a pool of blood, what will revenge look like and what will drive the two sides further away from peace?

Also, Saddam Hussein's man interrogated. See for yourself how he was treated in custody. And, get this, flooding in the desert, the daring rescue over Las Vegas, and more rain, indeed right now may be on the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tanks on the move in Israel, what's behind a new show of force?

And, escape from near drowning is Las Vegas due for another washout? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Today it was learned that five Americans are among the dead in yesterday's bloody bus bombing in Jerusalem. Palestinian leaders have vowed to crack down by Israel may act first. Several Israeli tanks moved toward the West Bank town of Ramallah, although witnesses say they have since pulled back.

In Jerusalem, it's a painful and angry aftermath to the bombing. CNN's Jerrold Kessel reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eleven-month-old Schmoul Zagari (ph) is buried in Jerusalem. Through all the many suicide attack they've been through for many Israelis this one seems among the most painful, perhaps because of the children. Among the 20 dead, six children, three of them infants, dozens more wounded.

The bomb was so fierce some or the other bodies still haven't been identified. Only DNA testing will do that. Ultra observant Jews came in a constant stream to the site of the attack in their neighborhood to pray, to light candles, to try to cope with the grief, the pain, and the anger.

OLMERT: This will stop. Either the Palestinians will stop it or we will stop it and once we will engage in stopping it we will not stop before it's all over with.

KESSEL: As Israeli security chiefs went to their prime minister to assess Israel's options, Ariel Sharon apparently ready to hold back for now. Palestinian security chiefs met in emergency session.

The Palestinian security minister criticizing Israel for deteriorating things by attacking militants despite their ceasefire but pointing an angry finger at the Islamic radical groups who took responsibility for the bus attack.

ELIAS ZININARI, PALESTINIAN INTERIOR MIN.: The rules of the game have changed. Hamas has decided to change the rules of the game. We will have to do our job and we will do our job.

KESSEL: In Israeli cities police take extra precautions to thwart another would-be bomber as Israeli troops re-impose travel restrictions in the West Bank worrying Palestinians that the recently launched peace road map could end up on the scrap heap.

(on camera): Where many believe it may soon well end up unless something is soon done in Gaza and Ramallah, in Jerusalem, or in Washington.

Jerrold Kessel, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: President Bush spoke by phone with some of the key players in both Israel and Iraq about the latest violence.

Our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is in Crawford, Texas. She's covering the president down there. Suzanne, what happened?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, today President Bush called Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to offer his condolences but notably he did not call Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas but rather left it to his surrogates, Secretary Powell as well as his national security adviser working the phones today.

Also, John Wolf was sent back to the region, the U.S. ambassador, to deal with the peace talks there. He was also in discussions today. It has become very clear, however, that the Bush administration is squarely putting the pressure on the Palestinian Authority to act immediately, to act quickly, not only to try to enforce the ceasefire but to dismantle the terrorist organizations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: The president strongly condemned the vicious attacks or the vicious attack on innocent civilians and the two leaders said that this latest attack in Jerusalem only reinforced the need to crack down on terrorists and terrorist infrastructure. They agreed that the way forward to peace is through the dismantlement of terrorist organizations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The president also followed up on that bombing of the U.N. in Baghdad. He held a conference call, a video conference call with his national security team. Notably on that call the U.S. civil administrator inside of Iraq, Paul Bremer, as well as General Abizaid, he's the head of Central Command, to talk about strategy.

What seems to be emerging from those who I spoke with is that there is no talk of increasing U.S. troops in the area nor is there talk of expanding the U.N. role to attract countries to send other additional troops but, rather, the focus now seems to be on the Iraqi people really to push them to take a more active role in cooperating with American forces. That may even mean providing some civil security measures -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux covering the president down in Texas, thanks Suzanne very much. Al-Jazeera television is showing pictures of the capture of Iraq's former vice president. Kurdish forces nabbed Taha Yasin Ramadan this week in the northern Iraq city of Mosul. The interrogated him for a few hours and can be heard on the tape promising not to hit him. He's now being held by U.S. forces. Ramadan had a reputation as a ruthless right-hand man to Saddam Hussein.

And, a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan where there is fear the Taliban may be making a comeback. Its supporters are blamed for an explosion at the Kandahar home of President Hamid Karzai's brother. He wasn't there when it happened.

Taliban fighters also are blamed for the deaths of ten policemen this week among more than 90 killings making this the bloodiest single week since the Taliban were overthrown.

A possible, possible cocaine connection in the West Virginia sniper shootings, find out why police think drugs may be involved.

Also, defiance down south a fight over the Ten Commandments heads to the highest court in the land.

And, lights out but who's to blame, the investigation that seems to be stuck in the dark.

First, today's News Quiz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (voice-over): What city was home to the first commercial power company New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco" the answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

New developments today in the sniper attacks in West Virginia, police are now looking at possible drug connections and they've released a computer animated picture of a truck they say was involved in two of the shootings.

CNN Investigative Correspondent Art Harris is joining us now live from Charleston with more -- Art.

ART HARRIS, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a source inside the investigation tells me police now have a detailed description of the driver from a witness who saw him outside the truck.

He's six feet tall and trim, not heavy set as earlier announced, and has a beard. As sketch artist is being lined up to work with the witness to come up with a composite drawing.

Even though police have yet to learn the driver's name and no one saw him fire they say it could lead to an arrest soon. The investigator told me: "We're that close." We'll know him when we see him -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Have they actually released the sketch?

(AUDIO GAP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: (AUDIO GAP) think the killer is driving, possibly a Ford F-150 pickup. For the first time, investigators say, they can put the truck at the scene of both of the last two murders Thursday night, not just at this convenience store where the truck sped away, tires spinning, seconds after the shot was fired, but also an hour earlier at this Speedway station where a young mother was gunned down while pumping gas.

CHIEF DEPUTY PHIL MORRIS, KANAWHA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: Now we know that the individual was in the same dark colored extended cab pickup.

HARRIS: Stopped nearby in the middle of the highway.

MORRIS: Down the road from the Speedway approximately 50 to 55 yards.

HARRIS: Not only that, police say, ballistics evidence now shows the two bullets that night came from the same gun.

SHERIFF DAVE TUCKER, KANAWHA CO., WVA: That being a .22 caliber probably fired from a rifle.

HARRIS: The bullet in a third death earlier in Charleston is said to be similar as well. Finding the pickup truck will not be easy. Big trucks are popular in West Virginia. When investigators asked for a list state motor vehicle officials sent over 61,000 names.

And, on top of that, the Ford F-150 is one of the most popular vehicles to steal in this state. Officials are not ready to narrow their theories on just who the killer could be.

TUCKER: We've got to keep this open. Is it a sniper? Is it a copycat? Is it a drive-by? We don't know.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Wolf, as we just learned, police now have a detailed description of the driver from a witness who saw him outside the truck. Let me repeat. He's got a beard. He's tall, and trim, unlike the earlier description of a heavyset white male. And police are looking for him and believe when they see him, they'll know who he is.

Also, ironically, this computer generated drawing was done by the same firm that came up with that composite drawing of the Washington area white van, but police have much more confidence in this one -- Wolf. BLITZER: All right, Art Harris with the latest from Charleston, thanks Art.

Kanawha county sheriff Dave Tucker is now joining us from Charleston, West Virginia, to give us a little bit more on this case. Sheriff, thanks very much for joining us. How close are you to finding this sniper?

DAVE TUCKER, KANAWHA CO. SHERIFF: Thank you very much, Wolf. We're one step closer. We have to take this thing one step at a time.

BLITZER: Do you believe now a lone gunman is involved in all three killings?

TUCKER: According to our source, we feel that it, more or less, points down to one person, yes.

BLITZER: What is the latest on this eyewitness who may have spotted someone at the least one of those shootings?

TUCKER: Well, we sent our community policing patrol back into the area, as well as the bicycle patrol canvassing the area again talking to the people and we've come up with a little more witnesses. We've come up with more details of the individual that was seen that night.

You have to remember now, this is at night. That's why we went with the company from Australia to make a composite and tomorrow we'll have even -- hopefully we'll have even more information on that truck.

BLITZER: So you're going to try to do a sketch now of the subject is that what you are suggesting?

TUCKER: Yes, that is correct. We will be working with the individuals that will sit down and make a composite.

BLITZER: Is it your sense that there's a drug role directly involved in these sniping attacks?

TUCKER: You got to remember, when we entered into the case, we didn't know what we had. And to lay on the side of caution, we did not say that it was a sniper. We did not say it was a drive-by. And we didn't say it was a copycat because we really we didn't know what we got. So, going back into the neighborhood we found, through the people in that neighborhood, stating that drugs is playing an important part, and with that said, our investigation has merits and that's particularly what we're looking at right now.

BLITZER: Well, what possible role could drugs be? Assuming that this alleged sniper, this suspected sniper out there, is killing randomly, these individuals, he's not get anything money to go feed a drug habit or anything like that.

TUCKER: Well, I can't speculate because it's still part of the investigation, I'm sorry.

BLITZER: Because normally drugs, people would use, who are on drugs, they want to get some money to buy more drugs or whatever.

Let's move on. Sheriff, where does the investigation go from here? I know you've brought in top investigators who were involved in the greater Washington, D.C., sniper investigation. You have people from the FBI and the ATF working with you as well?

TUCKER: Yes. We have in our task force, we have federal agencies of all kinds. It's amazing this team when you see this kind of cooperation and teamwork. I think the most important thing in this particular teamwork, we all have different badges, but we're there for one cause.

BLITZER: One final question, Chief Moose, Charles Moose who led the investigation in Washington. He's now left Montgomery County, the police department, but has he been recruited? Have you consulted with him?

TUCKER: No, haven't had a chance to talk to Moose. I did watch some of the programs in some of the ongoing news articles when that was going on in D.C. No, I haven't had a chance to meet the man.

BLITZER: All right, well, he might be useful. He might be helpful, given the experience he had here the Washington area.

Sheriff tucker, thanks very much for joining us.

TUCKER: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Good luck to you and all the people in the Charleston, area.

Hollywood's main man gets specific. Arnold Schwarzenegger rolls out his economic plan. Will it make voters take him seriously? We'll go live to L.A.

Also, lights out, but who's to blame? The investigation that's still in the dark.

And flooding in the desert. Firefighters rush to the rescue as sun city goes under water.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is playing politician, but can he make it as a governor? A bit look at his big plan for California.

First, the latest headlines.

In the aftermath of yesterday's bombing of U.N. offices in Baghdad, defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says there are no immediate plans to bolster U.S. forces in Iraq. Rumsfeld says the fledgling Iraqi security forces are the best bet for securing the country in the long term. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to block an order for the state of Alabama to remove a monument inscribed with the 10 commandments from the states judicial building. Two federal courts had upheld the removal order calling the monument unconstitutional. And today is the deadline for it to be dismantled. Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore installed the monument 2 years ago. He had asked the nations high court to block the order.

Six months after a nightclub fire that killed 100 people in Rhode Island, the club's owners and the band, Great White, face federal fines for violations. OSHA levied fines of more than $85,000 on the owner of the station. The band was fined $7,000.

As Americans hit the road for Labor Day weekend, they'll likely pay more for gasoline. The federal government says it expects gas prices to jump in the next few weeks because of tighter supplies and stronger demands.

The California recall is looking less like a circus and more like a real campaign today with leading candidates speaking directly to voters and some of them even taking a stand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, ACTOR: We have everything we need, except leadership.

BLITZER: Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps under the most pressure from voters and the media, to lay out his positions on issues. A so-called economic summit today, flanked by his top advisers. On his right, former Secretary of State George Schultz, on his left, investor Warren Buffett.

WARREN BUFFETT, SCHWARZENEGGER ADVISOR: Right now California has problems. They are far from insurmountable. It's the richest state in the country. They haven't solved them in recent years. They need to solve them, and they need to solve them soon and Arnold Schwarzenegger is the man to solve them.

GEORGE SHULTZ, SCHWARZENEGGER ADVISER: You are a new and constructive force on the scene.

BLITZER: Afterwards, this bodybuilder turned actor turn candidate finally gave voters some substance they've been looking for on how he'd fix the projected $8 billion budget deficit for next year.

SCHWARZENEGGER: We must never again allow Sacramento to mortgage our children's future for unconstitutional deficit spending. We must immediately attack the operating deficit head-on. Now does this mean that we're going to make cuts, yes. Does this mean that education is on the table, no. Does this mean I'm willing to raise taxes, no.

BLITZER: Democratic governor Gray Davis, fighting for his political life, is holding a series of town meetings, beginning tonight in Hollywood. Davis' message, he's inherited the economic and energy crises. He claims he's fixing them. Instead, he's turning this into a battle of politics with a Clintonian refrain.

DAVIS: The Republicans behind this recall say they want you to oust me for past mistakes. My friends, they don't give a rip about past mistakes. This is all about control in the future.

BLITZER: A formal campaign kickoff, Republican candidate Peter Ueberroth.

PETER UEBERROTH (R), CALIF. GOV. CANDIDATE: California has to wake up and turn toward problem solving.

BLITZER: The 1984 Olympics chairman and former baseball commissioner. To cut the state's deficit he proposes spending cuts and tax attacks amnesty, allowing people behind on taxes to pay them before they are prosecuted.

Also on the move today, Arianna Huffington, antagonist to Davis and Schwarzenegger, speaking to students on education reform. A fast- paced day of campaign events.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Just over an hour ago, a federal judge defied a request by the ACLU to delay the recall vote until March.

Our national correspondent, Bob Franken is picking up that part of the story from Los Angeles.

BOB FRANKEN, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Does that settle things legally, Wolf? Well, the answer is, when it comes to the law, nothing is really settled. And we're expecting that the ACLU will appeal a ruling that would absolutely, against its contention that the election should be delayed because of the discredited punch ballots being used in six of the populous counties of California, including Los Angeles County. But the judge firmly rejected that, no surprise. He said "the recall election, in particular, is an extraordinary and, in this case, unprecedented exercise of public sentiment." Therefore, he went on, "there is a strong public interest in promptly determining whether a particular elected official should remain in office."

And who would that elected official be, it would be Gray Davis. Of course, the recall is an effort to unelect him. This judge, Steven B. Wilson says that this election should go on, as scheduled, October 7 -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Looks like it will, at least for now, until somebody changes the decision. Thanks, Bob Franken, for that.

Two countries try to get to the bottom of the largest blackout ever in North America the probe begins with one company already under scrutiny.

Also -- defying the odds in Vegas: gripping flash-flood rescues.

But, a killer lurking off the coast of California.

First, a quick look at some other news making headlines "Around the World."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Nature's fury: torrential runs a said floodwaters through parts of Mexico City and other parts of the country. In the capitol streets flooded so quickly, drivers were caught off guard. Firefighters were called to rescue stranded motorists.

Caracas celebration: tens of thousands of people poured into the streets of Venezuela's capital to mark another step forward in their bid to drive President Hugo Chavez from power. Opposition leaders turned in almost 3 million signatures with a referendum ending his presidency. Richard Chavez vows to keeps fighting efforts to drive him from office.

Hostage homecoming: a German military plane carrying 14 Europeans who spent six months as hostages in the hands of Algerian Islamic radicals, arrived in Cologne. The nine Germans, four Swiss and one Dutch national were freed in the Saharan Desert this week.

Designer Deity: Hindus in India are observing Krishna's birthday. As part of the celebration there's something new this year at the biggest Krishna temple in New Deli. Priests asked two of India's leading designer labels to come up with outfits for their temple idols.

Pampered pandas: China is home to a couple of new baby panda. The artificially inseminated twins are getting a lot of expert attention at a giant panda nature reserve. The tiny animals were born three days

Life's a drag: more than 40, 000 drag queens and kings turn out in Copenhagen for the city's annual mermaid parade. The event's name is to promote tolerance and freedom. The main attraction at this year's parade, disco diva Gloria Gaynor, whose hits include "I Will Survive."

And that's our look "Around the World."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked, what city was home to the first commercial power company?

The answer -- San Francisco. The California Electric Light Company started in 1879 with 21 lights.

A joint investigation into the blackout that hit a large portion of the United States and Canada is now under way and already one energy company in particular is coming under scrutiny.

CNN's Jason Carroll has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham met with his Canadian counterpart, forming a joint task force from both countries to find out what knocked out power for 50 million customers last week.

SPENCER ABRAHAM, ENERGY SECRETARY: We are deeply dedicated to responsibilities we've been given to move forward aggressively and in a timely fashion to both identify what happened and how we can make sure it doesn't again.

HERB DHALIWAL, CANADA NAT. RESOURCES MIN.: We've had a very good discussion on how we can cooperate and work together as this blackout affects both our countries.

CARROLL: Investigators may not find a single event that triggered the outage. Already in question, the failure of transmission lines own by FirstEnergy corporation in Ohio, thought by some experts to be a source of the black out.

GOV. BOB TAFT (R), OHIO: I expect FirstEnergy to do everything to assess reliabilities of their systems and identify possible causes of the failure and work with state and federal authorities to take whatever steps are appropriate to prevent this from happening again.

CARROLL: Critics of the company like Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich cite past environmental problems with one of the coal plants and nuclear plant. Kucinich, asked the state to revoke the company's license.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), OHIO: The management of this company has taken the electric consumers of northeast Ohio for a ride. And the ride is over.

CARROLL: FirstEnergy says it's too early to point fingers, saying it's political and premature. The investigation has not yet begun into the cause of the blackout.

(on camera): Secretary Abrams (sic) also met with officials in both Ohio and Michigan and promised an aggressive investigation. The joint task force will also be taking over several investigations already under way. It could take months before they are able to come up with an exact cause.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And we have this just in to CNN. The State Department has issued an updated travel warning for Yemen. In a statement, officials say U.S. citizens should defer nonessential travel to Yemen. The State Department says the security threat to all U.S. citizens in Yemen remains high due to continuing efforts by al Qaeda -- and I'm quoting now -- "to reconstitute an effective operating base." It says, "This could lead to possible attacks by extremist individuals or groups against U.S. citizens, facilities, businesses and perceived interests." That just in to CNN.

When we come back, three inches of rain in just 90 minutes. A recipe for disaster and heroism in Las Vegas.

Plus, a great white shark strikes off the California coast with deadly results.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: You're looking at live pictures of Las Vegas. It's been raining ugly there. Forecast calling for isolated thunderstorms later in the day. It's been a city that's been ravaged by flash floods. In addition to that, deep floodwaters trapped several drivers, prompting dramatic rescues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): At stake, life and death. Odds too high, even in a city built on gambling. This scene, repeated over and over, as fast-rising floodwaters caught drivers by surprise.

You could see this woman's fear as she climes on the roof of her car to escape the water, only to have the vehicle swept away by the force of the flood.

Moments later, help arrives. A rescuer suspended from a helicopter sweeps in, tether in hand. He straps her to his own lifeline, and the two of them are lifted from harm's way.

The cause of it all? Powerful thunderstorms that dropped three inches of rain in just 90 minutes on some neighborhoods yesterday. Others were hit even harder.

MAYOR OSCAR GOODMAN, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: At some places, such as Fort Apache and Cheyenne, we received 2.3 inches of rain in only 20 minutes.

BLITZER: Fast-moving floodwaters quickly covered streets in the northwest part of the city, catching many drivers off guard. At one point, even the rescuers had to be rescued.

Floodwaters also inundated highways, forcing officials to close one of them. The mayor declared a state of emergency.

GOODMAN: This is a 100-year flood. I've been advised that the flood is more substantial than that which we suffered in 1999.

BLITZER: That deluge ravaged the Las Vegas Strip, killing two people and causing $20 million in damage.

Amazingly, no one died in yesterday's storm. In fact, there were no serious injuries reported at all, a testament to the skillful work of the rescue crews.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: And authorities in California confirm it was a great white shark that killed a college instructor yesterday. The victim was taking a morning swim off Avila Beach when she was attacked. She was swimming about 75 yards off shore, alongside a group of seals. A preliminary autopsy shows she bled to death.

Our hot "Web Question of the Day" is this: "Did the war in Iraq weaken or strengthen al Qaeda?" Vote now, cnn.com/wolf. The results for you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here are the results of our "Web Question of the Day." You can see them on your screen. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.

We've got some e-mail we want to read to you from our viewers.

Michael writes this, "This attack and the previous attack on the Jordanian embassy represent strikes against entities that many Iraqis believe should have supported Iraq against the United States. They were intended as punishment strikes."

Jackie sends up this, "While attacks like yesterday's are devastating, it proves that we are in Iraq now and we have to stay until the job is done."

That's all the time we have. Remember, we're on everyday, 5 p.m. Eastern as well as noon.

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





Iraq>


Aired August 20, 2003 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We're watching three developments happening this hour.
A day after the suicide bus bombing in Jerusalem, Israeli tanks are on the move. Will they open fire against Palestinian targets?

Also, there's new information on the suspected serial sniper killings in West Virginia. I'll speak live with the local sheriff.

And, Arnold Schwarzenegger finally comes out swinging.

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Attack aftermath, clues in the rubble.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was not a homemade bomb.

BLITZER: Who's behind the Baghdad bombing? Was the U.S. warned?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meeting took place by some of the former regime and extremists announcing that a large scale act will take place.

BLITZER: After the bus bombing Americans now among the dead, the Palestinians vow to act against terrorism but will Israeli act first?

Recall reinforcements, bringing in the brain trust for an economic summit.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIF. GOV. CANDIDATE: All the people that have lost their jobs in the United States, half of them were lost right here in California.

BLITZER: And raging rivers in the streets of Las Vegas, dramatic rescues after a desert storm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, live from the nation's capital with correspondents from around the world. WOLF BLITZER REPORTS starts now.

BLITZER: It's Wednesday, August 20, 2003. Hello from Washington, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting. We're about to tell you about a possible new threat in Iraq that's making U.S. intelligence officials very nervous. We'll get to that in just a moment, first though the headlines.

The lead FBI agent on the scene of the Baghdad bombing says human remains have been found in the wreckage of the truck used in the attack. Special Agent Thomas Fuentes (ph) say investigators were able to comb through the area where the truck bomb detonated taking chemical samples.

Fuentes says the bomb was not homemade and contained munitions similar to those used by Saddam Hussein's armed forces. Investigators have found fragments from the mortars, the artillery shells, and a 500-pound bomb.

A key member of Iraq's governing council says it warned U.S. authorities Saddam loyalists and Islamic militants had met to plan a major terror attack on a so-called soft target in Baghdad.

Ahmed Chalabi says the council received information last week that insurgents had discussed a truck bomb attack against either the headquarters of an Iraqi political party or the United Nations. Chalabi says this information was shared with American officials.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have been pulling their employees out of Iraq. An IMF spokesman says four of the five staffers at the U.N. building in Baghdad have been flown to Jordan and the World Bank says it has suspended operations in Iraq because of the security situation evacuating 15 staffers. The United States has been counting on the two institutions to play key roles in efforts to rebuild Iraq's economy.

United Nations' staffers wounded in yesterday's bombing have been flown to Amman, Jordan for treatment and the U.N. says it has begun a partial evacuation of its Baghdad staff. While Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the U.N. will not leave Iraq, Reuters is now quoting U.N. sources as saying a decision has been made to evacuate most of the international staff in the coming weeks.

Investigators worry that the bombing may signal a campaign of large scale terror attacks in Iraq. There are suspicions that a group linked to al Qaeda may have played a part but there are also new worries. We're following the story in Baghdad, in Washington, over at the Pentagon.

Let's begin with our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, officials say there is increasing evidence that Ansar al-Islam, the radical Islamic group with ties to al Qaeda might, just might have been behind this attack.

There are two reasons, of course the sophistication of the attack and intelligence reports in the last two weeks that Ansar al-Islam might be planning something. But, CNN has learned at this hour there are much deeper worries about what might be going on inside Iraq. There are now concerns, officials say, that some of the foreign fighters that have been infiltrating into Iraq across the Syrian and the Iranian borders may pose a very serious threat.

Officials telling CNN there is high potential that some of those people are expert bomb makers and concern now that those expert bomb makers are inside Iraq and may have hooked up with radical Islamic groups. All of this would pose a significant new threat of course.

It's one of the reasons investigators are working urgently to try and find the detonator at the U.N. compound bomb site. A detonator typically is a good sign of what kind of training a bomb maker had, where they may come from, the kind of expertise that they have had in the past. They feel that is a key clue that will help them figure this puzzle out.

But these foreign fighters that have been crossing in are the type of people that may have that type of expertise, people crossing from Syria, from Iran. There is a belief now that some Saudis have entered into Iraq, as well as possibly some people with expertise from Hamas and Hezbollah.

All of this is an intelligence assessment of course. It's not a final finding. They don't know for sure. They are still combing through the site for clues. But, Ansar al-Islam may be behind all of this.

Of course, Ansar al-Islam is the radical Islamic group with ties to al Qaeda. There is a very strong belief that there were perhaps two dozen operatives in Baghdad before the war tied to al Qaeda -- excuse me, tied to Ansar al-Islam and those people may have never left.

One of the things that has investigators puzzled at the moment is the very unique nature of this bomb that fact that there were military explosives all packed -- of various types all packed inside the truck. They feel that somebody would have had to know how to wire all of that up to make it all go off at the same time and have maximum damage impact. It's another reason they think there may be an expert bomb maker behind all of this.

But, officials caution they don't know because there is also an intelligence assessment that some member of Saddam Hussein's former intelligence service, the Mukhabarat, would have had the expertise to also know how to do this so all of this on the table tonight, Wolf, all of it very worrying.

BLITZER: Indeed, a lot of important developments from our Barbara Starr, Barbara thanks very much.

The scene of the bombing is now the scene of recovery efforts and an urgent investigation. Let's go live to Baghdad. That's where we find CNN's Ben Wedeman. Ben, what's the latest that you have on the investigation? BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, first of all really the U.S. forces, as well as Iraqi rescue workers were working in the intense head in Baghdad throughout the day trying to find any possible survivors from this massive blast yesterday.

What we did see is that they pulled out one body from the ruins and it's not quite clear at this point where the death toll from this blast stands. U.N. officials are saying it may well exceed 20 people killed in the blast. As many as 86 were wounded and, as you mentioned before, many of those have been sent to Jordan for further treatment.

As far as the investigation goes, FBI investigators were combing through the ruins throughout the day. They're trying to be very careful, however, because they don't want to impede the effort to find any possible survivors.

What they did find was remnants of a truck, a Soviet-Arab built Kamaz truck. That's a very heavy truck that they believe was used to deliver this bomb. As you mentioned, the bomb contained as much as 1,000 pounds, half a ton of explosives, basically harvested from munitions from the Saddam Hussein era including this 500-pound Arab bomb that was used.

So, really, the investigation goes on but, as I said, it's a very difficult task trying to balance the needs to get clues and information with the desire of people to find any survivors if there are any in the rubble -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Ben Wedeman in Baghdad, Ben thanks very much.

The victims of yesterday's deadly bombing in Baghdad are being remembered at the United Nations in New York. Flowers are being left on the sidewalk outside the U.N. complex in their honor.

The U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the attack will not stop the U.N. from doing its work in Iraq but he says the world body will take another look at the security situation there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: When you have this kind of terrorist attack and the people perpetrating the attack are prepared to die, providing security and protection is extremely difficult.

We are all aware, we have all been aware that security has been a problem in Iraq and I know that efforts are being made to bring that under control and I hope that will succeed soon because without security quite a lot of the things that the international community wants to do cannot happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Kofi Annan cut short a trip to Europe to return to the United Nations.

So, who did it? With speculation ranging from Saddam Hussein's henchmen to al Qaeda outsiders, let's bring in our CNN Terrorism Analyst Peter Bergen to take a look at the various suspects. What's your initial assessment Peter?

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, obviously, the investigation is continuing. It's very interesting hearing about these military munitions that were used in the attack.

That sort of changes the dynamic a bit but I can't think of a lot of people who would necessarily want to mount a suicide attack who are Saddam loyalists. I don't see that at this point. That to me sounds like more of a jihadist, whether it's Ansar al-Islam as Barbara Starr suggested in the report or al Qaeda itself, whatever you want to call it, these are sort of jihadists.

And, I've talked to a wide range of U.S. counterterrorism officials who talk about in the last several months Saudis coming over the border to Iraq from Syria, Saudi dissidents. They say there are also Kuwaitis although the largest group of jihadists are in fact Saudis. They use numbers like 3,000 jihadists coming over from Saudi Arabia.

BLITZER: It's not very difficult to cross that border to get into Iraq, is it?

BERGEN: No, and obviously you're in the middle of the Middle East and you blend in very well. I mean an Afghan -- if you're in Afghanistan and you're an Arab member of al Qaeda you stick out. In Iraq you're part of the background.

So, it seems to me not only obviously the U.N. attack but also the Jordanian Embassy attack you've got to presume that al Qaeda is at the top of the list of suspects.

BLITZER: We're showing our viewers a little animation of what we believe happened when that concrete truck came up alongside of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad and obviously detonated.

The suicide bomber, we believe, was inside that truck. That seems to be in contrast to what happened at the Jordanian Embassy when the two people driving that truck at the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad they got out and it was remotely detonated.

BERGEN: Yes, so suicide attacks are a hallmark of al Qaeda, so in that case the Jordanian Embassy looks less like an al Qaeda attack. This does look like an al Qaeda attack. I think that at the end of the day I think when the investigation is done I think that you'll find that these are jihadists.

Whether they're formally part of the al Qaeda organization or not I don't know but I think this is a trend we're going to see more and more in the future, these kind of higher profile, higher value targets, which is not good news obviously for the 140,000 American troops there.

BLITZER: But what's to say that they can't form some loosely- coordinated alliance, the jihadists, the al Qaeda operatives, the Islamic fundamentalists, if you will, together with the more secular Saddam Hussein Fedayeen loyalists?

BERGEN: The alliance that was supposed to take place before the war is now taking place now is that what you're saying?

BLITZER: I'm not saying that I'm asking you?

BERGEN: Well, I think there's no reason why it shouldn't happen. I mean clearly right now they both have a common enemy in their own country or not in their own country at least in their own backyard.

BLITZER: And one of the most disturbing elements that Barbara Starr was reporting breaking this information on this program the suspicion, the fear among some in the U.S. intelligence community that now professional bomb makers, people who know how to put a bomb together, whether on a vest or in car bomb or a truck bomb are now infiltrating and they're getting into Iraq and there are a lot of soft targets as you and I know.

BERGEN: Well, I mean sadly if you look at al Qaeda they're the people with the expertise, I mean, if you look at, you know, whether it was the embassy bombing attacks in Africa or the Cole or any, these are all, you know, massive bombs.

I don't think these are the sort of things that you learn in your chemistry, you know, class at high school. These are very serious operations. So, I think again that puts you back towards al Qaeda but right now, of course, we don't know who's behind these attacks.

BLITZER: All right, Peter Bergen thanks very much for your expertise.

Here's your turn to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this: "Did the war in Iraq weaken or strengthen al Qaeda"? We'll have the results later in this broadcast. You can vote right now at cnn.com/wolf.

While you're there I'd love to hear directly 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.

Bracing for retaliation in the Middle East...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI VICE PRIME MINISTER: This will stop. Either the Palestinians will stop it or we will stop it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: An eye for an eye, a day after a suicide bombing leaves a pool of blood, what will revenge look like and what will drive the two sides further away from peace?

Also, Saddam Hussein's man interrogated. See for yourself how he was treated in custody. And, get this, flooding in the desert, the daring rescue over Las Vegas, and more rain, indeed right now may be on the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tanks on the move in Israel, what's behind a new show of force?

And, escape from near drowning is Las Vegas due for another washout? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Today it was learned that five Americans are among the dead in yesterday's bloody bus bombing in Jerusalem. Palestinian leaders have vowed to crack down by Israel may act first. Several Israeli tanks moved toward the West Bank town of Ramallah, although witnesses say they have since pulled back.

In Jerusalem, it's a painful and angry aftermath to the bombing. CNN's Jerrold Kessel reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eleven-month-old Schmoul Zagari (ph) is buried in Jerusalem. Through all the many suicide attack they've been through for many Israelis this one seems among the most painful, perhaps because of the children. Among the 20 dead, six children, three of them infants, dozens more wounded.

The bomb was so fierce some or the other bodies still haven't been identified. Only DNA testing will do that. Ultra observant Jews came in a constant stream to the site of the attack in their neighborhood to pray, to light candles, to try to cope with the grief, the pain, and the anger.

OLMERT: This will stop. Either the Palestinians will stop it or we will stop it and once we will engage in stopping it we will not stop before it's all over with.

KESSEL: As Israeli security chiefs went to their prime minister to assess Israel's options, Ariel Sharon apparently ready to hold back for now. Palestinian security chiefs met in emergency session.

The Palestinian security minister criticizing Israel for deteriorating things by attacking militants despite their ceasefire but pointing an angry finger at the Islamic radical groups who took responsibility for the bus attack.

ELIAS ZININARI, PALESTINIAN INTERIOR MIN.: The rules of the game have changed. Hamas has decided to change the rules of the game. We will have to do our job and we will do our job.

KESSEL: In Israeli cities police take extra precautions to thwart another would-be bomber as Israeli troops re-impose travel restrictions in the West Bank worrying Palestinians that the recently launched peace road map could end up on the scrap heap.

(on camera): Where many believe it may soon well end up unless something is soon done in Gaza and Ramallah, in Jerusalem, or in Washington.

Jerrold Kessel, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: President Bush spoke by phone with some of the key players in both Israel and Iraq about the latest violence.

Our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is in Crawford, Texas. She's covering the president down there. Suzanne, what happened?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, today President Bush called Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to offer his condolences but notably he did not call Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas but rather left it to his surrogates, Secretary Powell as well as his national security adviser working the phones today.

Also, John Wolf was sent back to the region, the U.S. ambassador, to deal with the peace talks there. He was also in discussions today. It has become very clear, however, that the Bush administration is squarely putting the pressure on the Palestinian Authority to act immediately, to act quickly, not only to try to enforce the ceasefire but to dismantle the terrorist organizations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: The president strongly condemned the vicious attacks or the vicious attack on innocent civilians and the two leaders said that this latest attack in Jerusalem only reinforced the need to crack down on terrorists and terrorist infrastructure. They agreed that the way forward to peace is through the dismantlement of terrorist organizations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The president also followed up on that bombing of the U.N. in Baghdad. He held a conference call, a video conference call with his national security team. Notably on that call the U.S. civil administrator inside of Iraq, Paul Bremer, as well as General Abizaid, he's the head of Central Command, to talk about strategy.

What seems to be emerging from those who I spoke with is that there is no talk of increasing U.S. troops in the area nor is there talk of expanding the U.N. role to attract countries to send other additional troops but, rather, the focus now seems to be on the Iraqi people really to push them to take a more active role in cooperating with American forces. That may even mean providing some civil security measures -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux covering the president down in Texas, thanks Suzanne very much. Al-Jazeera television is showing pictures of the capture of Iraq's former vice president. Kurdish forces nabbed Taha Yasin Ramadan this week in the northern Iraq city of Mosul. The interrogated him for a few hours and can be heard on the tape promising not to hit him. He's now being held by U.S. forces. Ramadan had a reputation as a ruthless right-hand man to Saddam Hussein.

And, a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan where there is fear the Taliban may be making a comeback. Its supporters are blamed for an explosion at the Kandahar home of President Hamid Karzai's brother. He wasn't there when it happened.

Taliban fighters also are blamed for the deaths of ten policemen this week among more than 90 killings making this the bloodiest single week since the Taliban were overthrown.

A possible, possible cocaine connection in the West Virginia sniper shootings, find out why police think drugs may be involved.

Also, defiance down south a fight over the Ten Commandments heads to the highest court in the land.

And, lights out but who's to blame, the investigation that seems to be stuck in the dark.

First, today's News Quiz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (voice-over): What city was home to the first commercial power company New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco" the answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

New developments today in the sniper attacks in West Virginia, police are now looking at possible drug connections and they've released a computer animated picture of a truck they say was involved in two of the shootings.

CNN Investigative Correspondent Art Harris is joining us now live from Charleston with more -- Art.

ART HARRIS, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a source inside the investigation tells me police now have a detailed description of the driver from a witness who saw him outside the truck.

He's six feet tall and trim, not heavy set as earlier announced, and has a beard. As sketch artist is being lined up to work with the witness to come up with a composite drawing.

Even though police have yet to learn the driver's name and no one saw him fire they say it could lead to an arrest soon. The investigator told me: "We're that close." We'll know him when we see him -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Have they actually released the sketch?

(AUDIO GAP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: (AUDIO GAP) think the killer is driving, possibly a Ford F-150 pickup. For the first time, investigators say, they can put the truck at the scene of both of the last two murders Thursday night, not just at this convenience store where the truck sped away, tires spinning, seconds after the shot was fired, but also an hour earlier at this Speedway station where a young mother was gunned down while pumping gas.

CHIEF DEPUTY PHIL MORRIS, KANAWHA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: Now we know that the individual was in the same dark colored extended cab pickup.

HARRIS: Stopped nearby in the middle of the highway.

MORRIS: Down the road from the Speedway approximately 50 to 55 yards.

HARRIS: Not only that, police say, ballistics evidence now shows the two bullets that night came from the same gun.

SHERIFF DAVE TUCKER, KANAWHA CO., WVA: That being a .22 caliber probably fired from a rifle.

HARRIS: The bullet in a third death earlier in Charleston is said to be similar as well. Finding the pickup truck will not be easy. Big trucks are popular in West Virginia. When investigators asked for a list state motor vehicle officials sent over 61,000 names.

And, on top of that, the Ford F-150 is one of the most popular vehicles to steal in this state. Officials are not ready to narrow their theories on just who the killer could be.

TUCKER: We've got to keep this open. Is it a sniper? Is it a copycat? Is it a drive-by? We don't know.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Wolf, as we just learned, police now have a detailed description of the driver from a witness who saw him outside the truck. Let me repeat. He's got a beard. He's tall, and trim, unlike the earlier description of a heavyset white male. And police are looking for him and believe when they see him, they'll know who he is.

Also, ironically, this computer generated drawing was done by the same firm that came up with that composite drawing of the Washington area white van, but police have much more confidence in this one -- Wolf. BLITZER: All right, Art Harris with the latest from Charleston, thanks Art.

Kanawha county sheriff Dave Tucker is now joining us from Charleston, West Virginia, to give us a little bit more on this case. Sheriff, thanks very much for joining us. How close are you to finding this sniper?

DAVE TUCKER, KANAWHA CO. SHERIFF: Thank you very much, Wolf. We're one step closer. We have to take this thing one step at a time.

BLITZER: Do you believe now a lone gunman is involved in all three killings?

TUCKER: According to our source, we feel that it, more or less, points down to one person, yes.

BLITZER: What is the latest on this eyewitness who may have spotted someone at the least one of those shootings?

TUCKER: Well, we sent our community policing patrol back into the area, as well as the bicycle patrol canvassing the area again talking to the people and we've come up with a little more witnesses. We've come up with more details of the individual that was seen that night.

You have to remember now, this is at night. That's why we went with the company from Australia to make a composite and tomorrow we'll have even -- hopefully we'll have even more information on that truck.

BLITZER: So you're going to try to do a sketch now of the subject is that what you are suggesting?

TUCKER: Yes, that is correct. We will be working with the individuals that will sit down and make a composite.

BLITZER: Is it your sense that there's a drug role directly involved in these sniping attacks?

TUCKER: You got to remember, when we entered into the case, we didn't know what we had. And to lay on the side of caution, we did not say that it was a sniper. We did not say it was a drive-by. And we didn't say it was a copycat because we really we didn't know what we got. So, going back into the neighborhood we found, through the people in that neighborhood, stating that drugs is playing an important part, and with that said, our investigation has merits and that's particularly what we're looking at right now.

BLITZER: Well, what possible role could drugs be? Assuming that this alleged sniper, this suspected sniper out there, is killing randomly, these individuals, he's not get anything money to go feed a drug habit or anything like that.

TUCKER: Well, I can't speculate because it's still part of the investigation, I'm sorry.

BLITZER: Because normally drugs, people would use, who are on drugs, they want to get some money to buy more drugs or whatever.

Let's move on. Sheriff, where does the investigation go from here? I know you've brought in top investigators who were involved in the greater Washington, D.C., sniper investigation. You have people from the FBI and the ATF working with you as well?

TUCKER: Yes. We have in our task force, we have federal agencies of all kinds. It's amazing this team when you see this kind of cooperation and teamwork. I think the most important thing in this particular teamwork, we all have different badges, but we're there for one cause.

BLITZER: One final question, Chief Moose, Charles Moose who led the investigation in Washington. He's now left Montgomery County, the police department, but has he been recruited? Have you consulted with him?

TUCKER: No, haven't had a chance to talk to Moose. I did watch some of the programs in some of the ongoing news articles when that was going on in D.C. No, I haven't had a chance to meet the man.

BLITZER: All right, well, he might be useful. He might be helpful, given the experience he had here the Washington area.

Sheriff tucker, thanks very much for joining us.

TUCKER: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Good luck to you and all the people in the Charleston, area.

Hollywood's main man gets specific. Arnold Schwarzenegger rolls out his economic plan. Will it make voters take him seriously? We'll go live to L.A.

Also, lights out, but who's to blame? The investigation that's still in the dark.

And flooding in the desert. Firefighters rush to the rescue as sun city goes under water.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is playing politician, but can he make it as a governor? A bit look at his big plan for California.

First, the latest headlines.

In the aftermath of yesterday's bombing of U.N. offices in Baghdad, defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says there are no immediate plans to bolster U.S. forces in Iraq. Rumsfeld says the fledgling Iraqi security forces are the best bet for securing the country in the long term. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to block an order for the state of Alabama to remove a monument inscribed with the 10 commandments from the states judicial building. Two federal courts had upheld the removal order calling the monument unconstitutional. And today is the deadline for it to be dismantled. Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore installed the monument 2 years ago. He had asked the nations high court to block the order.

Six months after a nightclub fire that killed 100 people in Rhode Island, the club's owners and the band, Great White, face federal fines for violations. OSHA levied fines of more than $85,000 on the owner of the station. The band was fined $7,000.

As Americans hit the road for Labor Day weekend, they'll likely pay more for gasoline. The federal government says it expects gas prices to jump in the next few weeks because of tighter supplies and stronger demands.

The California recall is looking less like a circus and more like a real campaign today with leading candidates speaking directly to voters and some of them even taking a stand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, ACTOR: We have everything we need, except leadership.

BLITZER: Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps under the most pressure from voters and the media, to lay out his positions on issues. A so-called economic summit today, flanked by his top advisers. On his right, former Secretary of State George Schultz, on his left, investor Warren Buffett.

WARREN BUFFETT, SCHWARZENEGGER ADVISOR: Right now California has problems. They are far from insurmountable. It's the richest state in the country. They haven't solved them in recent years. They need to solve them, and they need to solve them soon and Arnold Schwarzenegger is the man to solve them.

GEORGE SHULTZ, SCHWARZENEGGER ADVISER: You are a new and constructive force on the scene.

BLITZER: Afterwards, this bodybuilder turned actor turn candidate finally gave voters some substance they've been looking for on how he'd fix the projected $8 billion budget deficit for next year.

SCHWARZENEGGER: We must never again allow Sacramento to mortgage our children's future for unconstitutional deficit spending. We must immediately attack the operating deficit head-on. Now does this mean that we're going to make cuts, yes. Does this mean that education is on the table, no. Does this mean I'm willing to raise taxes, no.

BLITZER: Democratic governor Gray Davis, fighting for his political life, is holding a series of town meetings, beginning tonight in Hollywood. Davis' message, he's inherited the economic and energy crises. He claims he's fixing them. Instead, he's turning this into a battle of politics with a Clintonian refrain.

DAVIS: The Republicans behind this recall say they want you to oust me for past mistakes. My friends, they don't give a rip about past mistakes. This is all about control in the future.

BLITZER: A formal campaign kickoff, Republican candidate Peter Ueberroth.

PETER UEBERROTH (R), CALIF. GOV. CANDIDATE: California has to wake up and turn toward problem solving.

BLITZER: The 1984 Olympics chairman and former baseball commissioner. To cut the state's deficit he proposes spending cuts and tax attacks amnesty, allowing people behind on taxes to pay them before they are prosecuted.

Also on the move today, Arianna Huffington, antagonist to Davis and Schwarzenegger, speaking to students on education reform. A fast- paced day of campaign events.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Just over an hour ago, a federal judge defied a request by the ACLU to delay the recall vote until March.

Our national correspondent, Bob Franken is picking up that part of the story from Los Angeles.

BOB FRANKEN, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Does that settle things legally, Wolf? Well, the answer is, when it comes to the law, nothing is really settled. And we're expecting that the ACLU will appeal a ruling that would absolutely, against its contention that the election should be delayed because of the discredited punch ballots being used in six of the populous counties of California, including Los Angeles County. But the judge firmly rejected that, no surprise. He said "the recall election, in particular, is an extraordinary and, in this case, unprecedented exercise of public sentiment." Therefore, he went on, "there is a strong public interest in promptly determining whether a particular elected official should remain in office."

And who would that elected official be, it would be Gray Davis. Of course, the recall is an effort to unelect him. This judge, Steven B. Wilson says that this election should go on, as scheduled, October 7 -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Looks like it will, at least for now, until somebody changes the decision. Thanks, Bob Franken, for that.

Two countries try to get to the bottom of the largest blackout ever in North America the probe begins with one company already under scrutiny.

Also -- defying the odds in Vegas: gripping flash-flood rescues.

But, a killer lurking off the coast of California.

First, a quick look at some other news making headlines "Around the World."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Nature's fury: torrential runs a said floodwaters through parts of Mexico City and other parts of the country. In the capitol streets flooded so quickly, drivers were caught off guard. Firefighters were called to rescue stranded motorists.

Caracas celebration: tens of thousands of people poured into the streets of Venezuela's capital to mark another step forward in their bid to drive President Hugo Chavez from power. Opposition leaders turned in almost 3 million signatures with a referendum ending his presidency. Richard Chavez vows to keeps fighting efforts to drive him from office.

Hostage homecoming: a German military plane carrying 14 Europeans who spent six months as hostages in the hands of Algerian Islamic radicals, arrived in Cologne. The nine Germans, four Swiss and one Dutch national were freed in the Saharan Desert this week.

Designer Deity: Hindus in India are observing Krishna's birthday. As part of the celebration there's something new this year at the biggest Krishna temple in New Deli. Priests asked two of India's leading designer labels to come up with outfits for their temple idols.

Pampered pandas: China is home to a couple of new baby panda. The artificially inseminated twins are getting a lot of expert attention at a giant panda nature reserve. The tiny animals were born three days

Life's a drag: more than 40, 000 drag queens and kings turn out in Copenhagen for the city's annual mermaid parade. The event's name is to promote tolerance and freedom. The main attraction at this year's parade, disco diva Gloria Gaynor, whose hits include "I Will Survive."

And that's our look "Around the World."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked, what city was home to the first commercial power company?

The answer -- San Francisco. The California Electric Light Company started in 1879 with 21 lights.

A joint investigation into the blackout that hit a large portion of the United States and Canada is now under way and already one energy company in particular is coming under scrutiny.

CNN's Jason Carroll has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham met with his Canadian counterpart, forming a joint task force from both countries to find out what knocked out power for 50 million customers last week.

SPENCER ABRAHAM, ENERGY SECRETARY: We are deeply dedicated to responsibilities we've been given to move forward aggressively and in a timely fashion to both identify what happened and how we can make sure it doesn't again.

HERB DHALIWAL, CANADA NAT. RESOURCES MIN.: We've had a very good discussion on how we can cooperate and work together as this blackout affects both our countries.

CARROLL: Investigators may not find a single event that triggered the outage. Already in question, the failure of transmission lines own by FirstEnergy corporation in Ohio, thought by some experts to be a source of the black out.

GOV. BOB TAFT (R), OHIO: I expect FirstEnergy to do everything to assess reliabilities of their systems and identify possible causes of the failure and work with state and federal authorities to take whatever steps are appropriate to prevent this from happening again.

CARROLL: Critics of the company like Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich cite past environmental problems with one of the coal plants and nuclear plant. Kucinich, asked the state to revoke the company's license.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), OHIO: The management of this company has taken the electric consumers of northeast Ohio for a ride. And the ride is over.

CARROLL: FirstEnergy says it's too early to point fingers, saying it's political and premature. The investigation has not yet begun into the cause of the blackout.

(on camera): Secretary Abrams (sic) also met with officials in both Ohio and Michigan and promised an aggressive investigation. The joint task force will also be taking over several investigations already under way. It could take months before they are able to come up with an exact cause.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And we have this just in to CNN. The State Department has issued an updated travel warning for Yemen. In a statement, officials say U.S. citizens should defer nonessential travel to Yemen. The State Department says the security threat to all U.S. citizens in Yemen remains high due to continuing efforts by al Qaeda -- and I'm quoting now -- "to reconstitute an effective operating base." It says, "This could lead to possible attacks by extremist individuals or groups against U.S. citizens, facilities, businesses and perceived interests." That just in to CNN.

When we come back, three inches of rain in just 90 minutes. A recipe for disaster and heroism in Las Vegas.

Plus, a great white shark strikes off the California coast with deadly results.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: You're looking at live pictures of Las Vegas. It's been raining ugly there. Forecast calling for isolated thunderstorms later in the day. It's been a city that's been ravaged by flash floods. In addition to that, deep floodwaters trapped several drivers, prompting dramatic rescues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): At stake, life and death. Odds too high, even in a city built on gambling. This scene, repeated over and over, as fast-rising floodwaters caught drivers by surprise.

You could see this woman's fear as she climes on the roof of her car to escape the water, only to have the vehicle swept away by the force of the flood.

Moments later, help arrives. A rescuer suspended from a helicopter sweeps in, tether in hand. He straps her to his own lifeline, and the two of them are lifted from harm's way.

The cause of it all? Powerful thunderstorms that dropped three inches of rain in just 90 minutes on some neighborhoods yesterday. Others were hit even harder.

MAYOR OSCAR GOODMAN, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: At some places, such as Fort Apache and Cheyenne, we received 2.3 inches of rain in only 20 minutes.

BLITZER: Fast-moving floodwaters quickly covered streets in the northwest part of the city, catching many drivers off guard. At one point, even the rescuers had to be rescued.

Floodwaters also inundated highways, forcing officials to close one of them. The mayor declared a state of emergency.

GOODMAN: This is a 100-year flood. I've been advised that the flood is more substantial than that which we suffered in 1999.

BLITZER: That deluge ravaged the Las Vegas Strip, killing two people and causing $20 million in damage.

Amazingly, no one died in yesterday's storm. In fact, there were no serious injuries reported at all, a testament to the skillful work of the rescue crews.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: And authorities in California confirm it was a great white shark that killed a college instructor yesterday. The victim was taking a morning swim off Avila Beach when she was attacked. She was swimming about 75 yards off shore, alongside a group of seals. A preliminary autopsy shows she bled to death.

Our hot "Web Question of the Day" is this: "Did the war in Iraq weaken or strengthen al Qaeda?" Vote now, cnn.com/wolf. The results for you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here are the results of our "Web Question of the Day." You can see them on your screen. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.

We've got some e-mail we want to read to you from our viewers.

Michael writes this, "This attack and the previous attack on the Jordanian embassy represent strikes against entities that many Iraqis believe should have supported Iraq against the United States. They were intended as punishment strikes."

Jackie sends up this, "While attacks like yesterday's are devastating, it proves that we are in Iraq now and we have to stay until the job is done."

That's all the time we have. Remember, we're on everyday, 5 p.m. Eastern as well as noon.

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