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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Mass Murders in Sudan Lead to Refugee Crisis; Confusion Reigned on 9/11; Tribe Lures Whale Away from Scientists

Aired June 17, 2004 - 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): 9/11 nightmare replayed in public for the first time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody move. Everything is OK.

BLITZER: Shock, confusion and delay. Authorities caught completely unprepared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this real world or exercise?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, this is not an exercise (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BLITZER: Al Qaeda camps, stunning new video, are they back in Afghanistan?

Baghdad bombing, dozens are dead. Is an al Qaeda ally behind this latest massacre?

Fighting famine, and fighting for refugees. I'll speak with actress and goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, June 17, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: They carried out their murderous plot with ease as U.S. authorities struggled to react. That's the grim conclusion of the 9/11 commission, which completed its public hearings today. The panel found the FAA and U.S. military were woefully unprepared, trying to improvise a homeland defense against a challenge they had never imagined and never actually ever trained for. Here are some of the horrifying moments as they played out that morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The controller told his supervisor that he thought something was seriously wrong with the plane. At this point, neither the controller nor his supervisor suspected a hijacking. At 8:24:38, the following transmission came from American 11. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be OK. We are returning to the airport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next transmission came seconds later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody move. Everything will be OK. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hearing that transmission, the controller told us he then knew it was a hijacking. At 8:34, the Boston Center controller received a third transmission from American 11.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody move, please. We're going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meanwhile, a manager from Boston Center reported that they had deciphered what they had heard in one of the first hijacker transmissions from American 11.

BOSTON CENTER: Hey, you still there?

NEW ENGLAND REGION: Yes, I am.

BOSTON CENTER: I'm going to reconfirm with, with downstairs but the -- as far as the tape, seemed to think that the guy said that we have planes. Now I don't know if it was because of the accent or if there's more than one but I'm going to reconfirm that for you and I'll get back to you real quick, OK?

NEW ENGLAND REGION: Appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have what?

BOSTON CENTER: Planes, as in plural. It sounds like we're talking to New York that there's another one aimed at the World Trade Center.

NEW ENGLAND REGION: There's another aircraft?

BOSTON CENTER: The second one just hit the Trade Center

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 8:37:52, Boston Center reached NEADS. This was the first notification received by the military at any level that American 11 had been hijacked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, boss. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) you. We have a problem here. We have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York and we need you guys to -- we need someone to scramble some F-16s up there to help us out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this real world or exercise?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, this is not an exercise (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shortly after 8:50 while NEADS personnel were still trying to locate American 11 word reached them that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several situations going on here. It's exploded big, big time. We need to get the military involved in this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Between 9:34 and 9:38, the controller observed United 93 climbing to 40,700 feet and immediately moved several aircraft out of its way. The controller continued to try to contact United 93, and asked whether the pilot could confirm that he had been hijacked. There was no response. Then at 9:39, a fifth radio transmission came over the radio frequency from United 93.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 9:46, and again two minutes later, command center updated FAA headquarters that United 93 was not, quote, "29 minutes out of Washington D.C."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we want to think about scrambling aircraft?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, God, I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a decision somebody's going to have to make probably in the next 10 minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, everybody...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Followed by another aircraft at 10:01. Command center advised FAA headquarters that one of the aircraft had seen United 93 quote, "waving his wings. The aircraft had witnessed the radical gyrations in what we believed was the hijackers' effort to defeat the passengers assault on the cockpit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, there is now on the United 93, there is a report of black smoke in the last position I gave you, 15 miles south of Johnstown.

do UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the airplane or from the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're speculating it's from the aircraft.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who hit the ground. That's what they're speculating. Speculation only.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NEADS was never able to locate United 93 on radar because it was already on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: United 93, have you got information on that yet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's down?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When did he land? Because we have confirmation...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did not land.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, he's down? Down?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somewhere up northeast of Camp David.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Northeast of Camp David?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the last report. They don't know exactly where.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The bottom line of today's version of the 9/11 investigation? U.S. authorities were unprepared, quote, as the commission put it, "in every respect." The FAA and the military failed to coordinate their responses. Confusion and miscommunication reigned.

The 9/11 Commission has also determined there was no collaborative relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda. But at a cabinet meeting earlier today, President Bush insisted there was a relationship of some sort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al Qaeda. We just say there were numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. For example, Iraqi intelligence officers met with Bin Laden, the head of al Qaeda, in the Sudan. There is numerous contacts between the two.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Later this hour we'll speak with one of the 9/11 Commissioners, former Senator Slade Gorton. Also, we'll have more of those audiotapes from two of the hijackers. You'll hear what they told the passengers aboard those hijacked aircraft.

In other news, an Iraqi terror suspect allegedly from the group tied to al Qaeda has been held for months in secret without notification of the International Committee for the Red Cross. Today, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended the move. Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, today Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said that he was just hearing (ph) what CIA Director George Tenet asked when he ordered a high value Iraqi prisoner held in secret detention at a U.S. military facility near the Baghdad Airport last October.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): The unidentified prisoner dubbed XXX by some soldiers is identified only as a high official and paramilitary leader of the Ansar al-Islam terrorist group believed to be coordinating attacks against U.S. troops. Rumsfeld denies his order was in any way aimed at covering up abuse or inhumane treatment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there an intention to hide this prisoner from the Red Cross?

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Not on my part.

MCINTYRE: But the prisoner was never registered with the Red Cross as required by the Geneva Conventions. The Pentagon now admits was a breakdown in procedure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should have registered him much sooner than we did. It didn't have it be at the very instant we brought him into our custody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Rumsfeld insists the case of the prisoner dubbed XXX was different from what was uncovered at the Abu Ghraib Prison where General Taguba found that there were ghost detainees being hidden from the Red Cross. But when asked to explain how it was different, he said he couldn't explain it -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Jamie, thank you very much.

It's been another bloody day in Baghdad. A car bomb exploded outside an Iraqi army recruiting center, killing 35 people, 145 were wounded. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Panic reigns again as yet another suicide bomber strikes at the very heart of Iraqi society, its new security forces.

At 9:00 this morning, a white vehicle packed with artillery shells exploded outside a recruiting center for the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, according to U.S. soldiers who rushed to cordon the area off and search for secondary explosives. They say that no Iraqi recruits inside the building were injured.

Innocent Iraqi civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence, as terrorists and insurgents keep up their attacks on Iraqi people, infrastructure and government officials.

This ahead of the hand-over of power to Iraq June 30. Again, Baghdad hospitals are packed with the dead and wounded, and the violence here is expected to get worse.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The realities and the stakes of that tragic morning from the perspective of a commission member. Coming up, I'll speak live with 9/11 Commissioner Slade Gorton and we'll get a minute by minute account of that day's horrible events.

Also, a new threat from al Qaeda in Afghanistan and what it may mean to the war on terror.

Later, the buzz over the new book by Bill Clinton and what he has to say about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Is al Qaeda regrouping in Afghanistan? Shocking new video first aired by Al-Jazeera seems to show terrorists in training and in action. Our Nic Robertson has been looking at the video from his monitoring station in London. Nic, first of all, what does this video suggest?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It suggests that if in fact this is al Qaeda training that they are feeling confident enough to broadcast a video of it. They are feeling confident enough to set about training in what Al-Jazeera suggests is the Afghan border or the Pakistan side of the Afghan-Pakistan border.

It suggests perhaps that the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan has not been able since September 11 to deny all that territory that they wanted to deny to al Qaeda, deny them the opportunity to train.

And it also suggests, some analysts say, that perhaps this training was taking place on the Pakistan side of the border, it perhaps suggests that the focus on the war on terrorism to catch al Qaeda is going shift towards out of Afghanistan, more-put more emphasis on Pakistan -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Well, what does it mean exactly, then, for Pakistan? What's the upshot?

ROBERTSON: Well, the upshot is that they've got a greater challenge and perhaps face greater pressure from the international coalition on the war on terrorism to do something about that border region that they've been struggling to do.

If you remember, the offense-the spring offensive to catch Osama Bin Laden and others this year has been a hammer and anvil operation. U.S. and coalition forces inside of Afghanistan pushing up against the Pakistan border. You have Pakistani forces pushing up on their side.

But what troops are saying on the ground that I was with a month ago is no push from the Pakistan side. Indeed, people coming across, attacking U.S. forces, going back inside Pakistan. The emphasis is going to be more pressure on the Pakistani government to stop al Qaeda, Taliban and others, whoever they may be, from operating within their border.

And that's a problem for the Pakistani government. They don't have broad support within that border region in Pakistan -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, our Nic Robertson in London for us. Nic, thanks very much.

Bill Clinton on why he had that notorious affair. Coming up, what Bill Clinton now says about Monica Lewinsky and other key points in his new book.

Also, the new information that came out today on the timeline of the 9/11 hijacking. Standing by live, one of the 9/11 commissioners, Slade Gorton. I'll speak with him.

And later, the refugee crisis in Sudan. What the U.N., what the world is doing about it. My special interview with the U.N.'s goodwill ambassador, Angelina Jolie. She is here in the studio, just back from Africa.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. More now on our top story. All the shocking new information released today by the 9/11 Commission. Joining us, one of those commissioners, former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton. He's a Republican.

Senator, thanks very much for joining us. I was shocked to learn today that in all of the years leading up to 9/11, U.S. military, the FAA, they never really trained for the possibility that a commercial airliner could be hijacked and used by suicide bombers as a missile.

SLADE GORTON, 9/11 COMMISSIONER: Never once. Never once.

BLITZER: Even though there was all the intelligence out there that your commission has documented in recent months that terrorists were plotting to do precisely that?

GORTON: Well, remember, Wolf, hindsight is always 20/20. And if you take, say, a dozen pieces of intelligence over a five or six year period and look back on it and say, "My gosh, why didn't anyone notice this." Then you've got to recognize that this is a dozen pieces of intelligence out of a million pieces of intelligence of all kinds that came in.

But the real problem, I think, the real cause was people didn't talk to one another, and even the Air Force didn't know what the FBI knew or what the CIA knew, lord knows the FAA didn't know. It was not in that loop, really not in that loop at all.

So yes, there was a failure of imagination, there was no question about that, but there was an even greater failure of communication.

BLITZER: Well, let me press you on that, because I'm not an intelligence analyst, I'm not an expert by any means.

But in the ten years leading up to 9/11 I had learned and most people who follow this even casually knew that terrorists had plans on their books to commandeer a plane, go into the Shalom Tower in Tel Aviv, the tallest building in Israel, go into the Eiffel Tower, in Southeast Asia, Malaysia, they had plans-this was widely reported.

GORTON: And in addition to that, of course, there was a plot that was frustrated in the Philippines not to do exactly what this was but to have a dozen suicides on airplanes blow up the airplanes in flight.

Again, I say, if you take everything that happened in these years, we wish people had a greater degree of imagination than they did. The fact is they didn't and the fact is that no one in the FAA had thought about this in advance and no one in the military had thought about them doing that.

BLITZER: Were you as surprised as I was to learn that Dick Cheney gave the order to shoot down the plane, but when he did, all the planes were then either on the ground or crashed into the Pentagon or the World Trade Center.

GORTON: No, the vice president gave the order to shoot down the planes before at least the last one had crashed. It didn't get to the pilots, who were the people who had to carry it out until well after the last plane had crashed in Pennsylvania.

BLITZER: The delay was enormous.

GORTON: There was -- well, it's enormous as we look back on it. It's not very many minutes, but they were absolutely crucial minutes.

BLITZER: Is there a discrepancy between what the commission has concluded on the connections between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's Iraq and what President Bush and Vice President Cheney say?

GORTON: Well, there would be at one time with something that Vice President Cheney said, but not with the President. It's more a difference in emphasis. Of course there were connections, there were contacts, there was correspondence between al Qaeda and Iraq. There was no participation on the part of Iraq in 9/11 period.

BLITZER: Or in any other attacks against the United States.

GORTON: Or in any other attacks on the United States that we had anything to do with.

BLITZER: And this widespread perception that's out there if you look at public opinion, the polls out there that for some reason Saddam Hussein and Iraq were behind 9/11, that's simply false.

GORTON: That perception is in error.

BLITZER: Senator Gorton, thanks for your joining us and thanks for your good work. Appreciate it very much. We look forward to the final report at the end of July. As always.

Chilling audio of the 9/11 hijackers played publicly for the very first time today. Up next, more on how that fateful day unfolded and why U.S. officials then were so confused.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: I've worked with many people in the field who spend every day of their life their and I kind of feel like I can risk a few days. They spend their lives there.

BLITZER: From actress to ambassador. Angelina Jolie on a mission to fight hunger and prevent genocide. Hear my special interview with the Academy Award-winning actress. That's later.

And a lonely, lost whale is at the heart of a dispute over whether to let nature take its course.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Ahead this half hour, new information on the 9/11 hijackings revealed in today's final public hearing on the terror attacks. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick check of the latest headlines.

Two truck drivers kidnapped weeks ago in Iraq have been set free. The two men, a Turkish citizen and an Egyptian, were turned over to Iraqi journalists near Fallujah. It's unclear whether any ransom was paid.

Yellow ribbons are up in American hostage Paul Johnson's home state of New Jersey and a candlelight vigil is planned for tonight. Johnson was kidnapped in Saudi Arabia on Saturday and his captors have threatened to kill him, apparently tomorrow unless the Saudi government agrees to release its al Qaeda prisoners.

Eight same-sex couples have filed suit in Massachusetts in the continuing battle over the right to be legally married there. They're challenging Governor Mitt Romney's use of a 91-year-old state law to block out-of-state gay and lesbian couples from being wed. Thirteen municipal clerks have joined the couples in the court fight.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's nomination for a fifth term appears to be sailing quickly through the U.S. Senate on his way to confirmation. In a voice vote, the economist was approved by the Senate Banking Committee. Greenspan's nomination is likely to move quickly through the entire Senate, as well.

An American contractor working for the CIA in Afghanistan has been indicted for assault in the death of a prisoner there. Attorney General John Ashcroft made the announcement just a short time ago here in Washington. CNN's national security correspondent, David Ensor joining us live with the latest. DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is a case where for some weeks now CIA officials have been saying they have evidence of such brutality that they thought there would be an indictment, and today there was.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): Thirty-eight-year-old David Passarro was indicted on four counts of assault in the beating of an Afghan prisoner, Abdul Wali, who later died. At the time, Passarro was a private contractor for the CIA. A former special forces soldier, he was arrested Thursday morning where he lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: During these interrogations on June 19 and June 20, 2003, it was alleged that Passarro beat Wali repeatedly using his hands and feet and a large flashlight. Wali died in a cell in Asadabad base on June 21st, 2003.

ENSOR: The base is in a remote and hazardous area near the Pakistani border where Taliban and al Qaeda fighters are frequently encountered. U.S. forces there sometimes fire grenades to keep enemies at bay. Abdul Wali, the man who died, was suspected of firing rockets at U.S. forces. CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield says as soon as his agency heard about the allegations, they were immediately reported to the Justice Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE))

ENSOR: Passarro will face trial in a federal court in North Carolina. Each of the four charges carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor with that. Thank you, David, very much.

Welcome to his his life, all 900 pages of it. Bill Clinton's weighty memoir, titled "My Life" arrives in bookstores early next week. The former president is bursting back into the spotlight. CNN's Howard Kurtz has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD KURTZ, CNN HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES" (voice-over): The weeklong media farewell for Ronald Reagan is giving way to a re- examination of another former president, and this one won't be a love fest. Bill Clinton is about to roll out his $10 million autobiography, "My Life" and it's clear that passions have not yet cooled about the 42nd president, whose record of peace and prosperity was marred by the tawdry episode that led to his impeachment.

ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": At this time, when John Kerry may need his help, Bill Clinton is being as selfish as usual, he's all for me, me, me, not worrying about John Kerry.

MARGARET CARLSON, "TIME" MAGAZINE: The only way Clinton could help Kerry is by publishing that book on November 4. JAMES CARVILLE, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": But what? What's the angle? He had sex with an intern, OK?

KURTZ: In a wide-ranging interview with Dan Rather for "60 Minutes," Clinton was asked the inescapable question about Monica Lewinsky. Why?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did something for the worst possible reason, just because I could. I think that's about the most -- just about the most morally indefensible reason that anybody could have for doing anything, when you do something just because you could.

And I thought about it a lot, and there are lots of more sophisticated explanations, more complicated psychological explanations. But none of them are an excuse.

KURTZ: Clinton also ripped into independent counsel Ken Starr and accuses the Republicans who tried to boot him from office of an abuse of power.

"I didn't quit," he said. "I never thought of resigning, and I stood up to it and beat it back. The whole battle was a badge of honor. I don't see it as a stain, because it was illegitimate."

Want more? The media blitz intensifies next week with appearances on "Oprah," "Today," "Good Morning America," and "LARRY KING LIVE."

(on camera): Dan Rather told me he was uncomfortable asking about the Lewinsky affair and that Clinton was uncomfortable answering those questions. But he'll be answering them again and again because -- well, because that's what a former president has to do to move the product.

Howard Kurtz, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Howard Kurtz, of course, writes for the "Washington Post," as well as is the host for CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" that airs Sunday mornings at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.

Out of the Hollywood lights and into the African landscape. She's on a mission, fighting famine in Sudan. Up next, my special interview with the actress and the good will ambassador Angelina Jolie.

Plus, a species in need of protection, a plan to reunite Luna the lost whale with his family. It was all set to begin, until the canoes arrived. We'll explain.

And later, an update on a story we told you about yesterday. Elbowed aside for a foul ball, this little boy finally gets what he really wanted.

We'll get to all of that. First, though, a look at some other news making headlines "Around the World."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (voice-over): Leaders of the European Union say they're getting closer to an agreement on a constitution. The pact is supposed to overhaul the E.U.'s operations, now that it's been expanded from 15 members to 25.

Belgium verdict. A jury in Belgium has convicted a 47-year-old electrician of kidnapping and raping six young girls in the mid-1990s and murdering two of them. The abductions horrified Belgians, and a parliamentary probe later declared police bungling handicapped the investigation.

Tough language. Diplomats attending the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Austria has agreed to a strongly worded censure of Iran, accusing it of poor cooperation with inspectors. The IAEA board of governors may vote on a resolution tomorrow.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. It's the No. 1 refugee problem in the world today, and it's likely to get worse.

In the Darfur region of Sudan, many thousands also have already died in what's been described as a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Sudanese government.

Here's CNN's Zain Verjee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the crisis in the Sudan's western Darfur region is being described as Rwanda in slow motion. At least 2.2 million people are said to be at risk of dying by October this year.

Those who can, have fled to Chad.

(voice-over) In the relative safety of a camp in neighboring Chad, refugees tell of murder and rape, burning and bombardment of their villages by government forces and militia groups.

"We were in our village in Sudan," says this man, "and a plane came in and dropped bombs in the villages, like five times. We all fled in different directions, and I saw a lot of dead people."

"The children and cattle were killed," says this wounded man, "and the town was burned."

International rights group accused the Sudanese government of supporting the Janjaweed Arab militia groups that commit atrocities, a charge Khartoum denies.

DR. MUSTAFA OSMAN ISMAIL, SUDANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: The government is not supporting the militia. The militia, when they have been attacked by the rebels they respond.

VERJEE: It's not clear how many civilians have been killed, but the numbers are estimated to be between 10,000 and 30,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of the reports that I have received from a large number of sources within Darfur and within the region, is that yes, there was systemic depopulation of areas. You can also call that ethnic cleansing.

VERJEE: The U.N. secretary-general won't use the "G" word.

KOFI ANNAN, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE U.N.: I can't at this stage call it genocide.

VERJEE: Whatever you call it, up until now no one's been able to stop it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have security problems and we are partners of the government (ph). Systematic of the government, push the people from their villages.

VERJEE: More than one million people are internally displaced in Sudan's western Darfur region. About 200,000 Sudanese refugees are in the border country, Chad.

Crowded camps have already spawned diseases like cholera and measles, where there are fears it will spread like wildfire.

(on camera) Experts that I've spoken to, Wolf, about this have said that there doesn't seem to be an overall plan to deal with this crisis. The U.N., they say, doesn't have one. The Europeans and the Arabs have been silent about this. And the U.S. has really been very slow to respond.

And what they say is that the United States should now consider imposing targeted sanctions are Khartoum, and that the United Nations should consider a Darfur specific resolution to respond to the emergency.

BLITZER: Thanks, very much, Zain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And joining us now here in our Washington studio, Angelina Jolie. She's the Academy Award-winning actress, the U.N. goodwill ambassador.

Angelina, thanks very much for joining us. You just got back recently from the border between Chad and Sudan. A, why did you go there?

JOLIE: Well, I wanted to -- I think like most people, I've been hearing bits about it, but I wanted -- I wanted to try to get a more full understanding of what the situation was. And I've been working with UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency for a long time, and it's a very large humanitarian crisis -- refugee crisis. So I wanted to go.

BLITZER: This is not an easy decision, because it's dangerous along that border. Yet you were willing to go.

JOLIE: It is. I've -- but I've worked with many people in the field who spend every day of their life there, and I kind of feel like I can -- I can risk a few days. They spend their lives there, and, you know, obviously a lot of humanitarian workers have lost their lives there.

BLITZER: So what did you see when you were there? How bad is it?

JOLIE: It's -- the most frustrating thing is that there are 160,000 people who have crossed into Chad. But that is one small percentage of the people that are displaced. There's a million people estimated to be displaced inside Darfur that nobody has access to. So everybody you see coming across, you know, they feel they're the lucky ones, and they're just more concerned about everybody back there.

And, you know, there's a desperate need to -- there's the rains are going to start. It's a logistical nightmare. It's desert, there's dead animals, there's dust everywhere, there's people trying to drill wells, and there's people moving, pregnant women in convoys trying to get to safer -- you know, away from the border. It's just this rush to survive and to keep people -- you know, keep people going that they've -- that they've found and been able to -- to get in contact with.

BLITZER: I assume that the disease is awful rampant where you were. What precautions did you take?

JOLIE: I had a Yellow Fever vaccination. That was about it.

BLITZER: That was about it?

JOLIE: I had it a long time ago, yes. I don't take malaria pills. I don't -- I don't trust them.

BLITZER: All right. Because I've taken those, and they're not very pleasant...

JOLIE: Yes.

BLITZER: ... and especially if you have to do it for a long period of time. What is the single most important lesson that you learned that the world needs to learn now to deal with this crisis?

JOLIE: Well, that if, in fact -- there's been this big discussion of, is this ethnic cleansing, is this genocide, what is happening inside, why are these one people being attacked? And if they've -- they've been attacked to the extent that they are and they, you know, do not receive aid and we're not able to get to them, which has been the case, then they will be wiped out. An entire people will be wiped out if we're too late.

We all know what happened in Rwanda. A lot of people are terrified that you only call it genocide when it's too late.

BLITZER: Is it genocide yet?

JOLIE: I don't know. I'm not the expert on that. I know that every time you ask the people why they were attacked, they -- they don't know, other than from the region they were and from the background thereof. They weren't fighting; there were no hostilities between the two tribes. There was just -- they were just attacked, and they were also -- spoke of being bombed from the air.

And there's a -- you know, is the Sudanese government involved? If they are, are they going to be held accountable? How can there be discussions of a Sudanese peace talk and an agreement when you haven't included what's happening in Darfur? I don't personally understand that. So -- but mainly it's just all of us need to get together to make sure that we try to get in there, see what's going on, and get aid to these people as quickly as possible before there is a horrible, horrible statistic that suddenly wakes everybody up.

BLITZER: So your basic message is education, let the world know what's going on?

JOLIE: Let's get into Darfur, let's see what's happening. Let's get the U.N. Security Council, anybody, all of our governments, all of our aid workers. Let's get in there and find these people and get the truth of the situation and save their lives, and then hold who's responsible accountable.

BLITZER: Well, you're doing an excellent job. You're a courageous woman. Thanks for joining us.

JOLIE: OK. Thank you for having me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A tribal chief that may have been reincarnated in a killer whale. That's anything but. Coming up, a clash between science and spirituality off the west coast of Canada. You'll want to see this.

Also ahead, a little boy gets national attention after he loses a foul baseball to a zealous fan. What's he going to get next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now back to our top story, the 9/11 commission's last public hearing. It gave us our most vivid idea yet of what was going on in the air and on the ground in the minutes before the planes hit.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, what we got today was an incredible time line issued by the 9/11 commission that really brought home for the first time the confusion and cross-signals of that tragic morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): From the earliest transmissions, a sequence of events that simply moved too fast.

PHILIP ZELIKOW, 9/11 COMMISSION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: On the morning of 9/11, the existing protocol was unsuited in every respect for what was about to happen.

TODD: Eight o'clock a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 is wheels up from Logan Airport in Boston, bound for Los Angeles. On board, 81 passengers, 11 crew members, 24,000 gallons of jet fuel.

8:14, United Airlines Flight 175 takes off from Logan, 65 passengers aboard.

8:20 a.m., American Airlines flight 77 departs from Washington Dulles airport. About that time, American Flight 11 turns off its transponder.

At 8:24:38, this transmission from American flight 11. The voice is believed to be lead hijacker Mohamed Atta. The playing of the tape is the first time it has been heard in public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be OK. We are returning to the airport.

TODD: The next transmission comes seconds later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody move. Everything will be OK. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourselves and the airplane. Just stay quiet.

TODD: Between 8:25 and 8:32 a.m., Boston air traffic controllers notify the FAA American Flight 11 has been hijacked.

8:34 a.m., this comes from the plane.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody move please. We are going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves.

TODD: Three minutes later, Boston air traffic control calls the U.S. military's northeast air defense sector.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Boston. It's MNTU (ph). We have a problem here. We have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York. And we need you guys to -- we need someone to scramble some F-16s or something up there to help us out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this real world or exercise?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. This is not an exercise. Not a chance.

TODD: 8:41 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston enters New York airspace. 8:42, United Airlines Flight 93 takes off from Newark Airport, running 40 minutes late.

Just four minutes later, 8:46:40, American Flight 11 impacts the north World Trade Center.

At 8:50 a.m., the military's northeast command is still trying to locate the airplane that's just hit the tower. That same minute, air traffic controllers hear the last transmission from Flight 77 that had just left Washington Dulles.

8:51, an air traffic controller notices a change in the transponder reading for United Flight 175, giving controllers their first indication of a second hijacking. This is the plane that will hit the second tower, and this is the same controller who'd been responsible for the first plane.

8:53 a.m., the first military planes are finally airborne, two F- 15s from Otis Air Force Base in Massachusetts, 153 miles away from New York City. Their orders, track American Flight 11, the plane that had crashed seven minutes earlier.

8:54 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77, the one from Washington Dulles, begins deviating from its flight plan. Eventually this plane will hit the Pentagon.

9 a.m., air traffic controllers in Indianapolis notify other agencies that American Flight 77 is missing and has probably crashed.

Between 9:01 and 9:02, a New York air traffic controller tells the FAA command center, quote, "We have several situations going on here. It's escalating big time."

Right about then, New York controllers spot United Flight 175.

9:03 a.m., United Flight 175 slams into the trade center's south tower.

It's virtually at the moment of impact that the military is informed of a second hijacking. 9:21 a.m., the FAA tells the military that the flight that had crashed 30 minutes earlier, American Flight 11, is still in the sky and is heading toward Washington.

Jets are ordered airborne from Langley Air Force Base in southern Virginia, but they don't take off for another seven minutes.

9:25 a.m., a combat air patrol is established over Manhattan.

9:32 a.m., a transmission from United Airlines 93, quote, "Keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb on board." This plane will crash in Pennsylvania.

9:34, word of that plane's hijacking reaches FAA headquarters. Same minute, Flight 93 starts to reverse its course and heads toward Washington. Also at 9:34, the first time the military finds out American Flight 77 is missing, and that's just by chance. 9:37, American Flight 77 strikes the Pentagon. Those fighters from Langley are still about 150 miles away.

Less than two minutes later, a voice from Flight 93, the one that will not reach its target. Hijacker Ziad Jarrah.

ZIAD JARRAH, HIJACKER: ... is the captain. Would like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board and are going back to the airport, and to have our demands. Please remain quiet.

TODD: 9:41 a.m., Flight 93's transponder signal is lost. That same minute, Boston controllers tell military commanders of a Delta jet from Boston to Las Vegas that might have been hijacked. This turns out to be wrong.

9:46, a communique states United Flight 93 is 29 minutes from Washington. Within 17 minutes that plane crashes in Shenksville, Pennsylvania.

10:07, the military's northeast command gets its first call about United Flight 93, four minutes after it crashed.

10:10 a.m., the commander of those military fighter jets that had taken off in Virginia instructs the two pilots they do not have clearance to shoot aircraft over Washington.

At that moment, that commander has no knowledge that United Flight 93 had been heading toward Washington or that it has crashed.

More that two hours later, this...

MONTE BELGER, FORMER FAA ACTING DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR: By 12:16, for the first time in the history of the FAA, our U.S. airspace was empty of all aircraft.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Clearly a morning where confusion reigned. Two crucial items we take from this hearing. The FAA didn't hear of the first hijacking until a half hour into the flight. The military didn't get its first word until nine minutes before that first plane hit the World Trade Center. So very little time to react -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Day of confusion indeed. Brian Todd, thanks very much for that timeline.

Some say he practically stole candy from a baby, so what's this Texas Rangers fan doing right now? We'll have details. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A story that's developing right now along the Pacific coast of Canada. A battle over the right thing to do for a killer whale that's been separated from his family. And by the way, he's only a killer to the salmon and the anchovies that he gorges on.

CNN's Michael Shoulder on why he's causing so much trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL SHOULDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the idyllic setting of Nootka Sound off Vancouver Island, Canada, we are watching a bitter custody dispute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just off to check on the whale.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to canoe right for now.

SHOULDER: A custody dispute over a killer whale that may be too friendly for its own good.

On one side, in their dug-out canoes, members of the Mowachaht tribe are luring Luna the whale out to sea, not to harm him, but to keep him away from the other player in this custody battle, the Canadian Department of Fisheries, which has set up netting to catch Luna and reunite him with his pod or extended family.

A few years ago when Luna was only two, he got lost. Scientists believe he was swimming with his uncle when his uncle died, and that Luna couldn't find his way back to the pod. And somehow he wound up here.

Luna, like all Orca whales, are family-centered. They rarely even leave their mothers when they're grown up, which helps explain why Luna so eagerly seeks out people, for the companionship.

The Canadian government says that's one reason this whales must return to his family in the wild, that he and the boaters could accidentally hurt each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Too friendly. I'm afraid he's going to flip somebody over.

SHOULDER: so why is the Mowachaht tribe so determined to keep Luna in this area? The current chief of the Mowachahts says his late father's spirit lives in Luna, but before his father, Chief Ambrose, died, he said he wished to come back life as a killer whale. And shortly after Chief Ambrose passed away, Luna arrived.

The only party that does not have a voice in this custody battle is Luna's family, but scientists are confident of this. If Luna could get close enough to hear the sounds of his family, Luna would make the right choice.

Michael Shoulders, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Mike.

You've probably seen this story before. From Sunday's Texas Ranger baseball game where a grown man dove in front of a four-year- old boy to snatch a foul ball. We're showing it again to you to bring you an update.

The man got so much grief he's agreed to give the ball to the boy along with a letter of apology. That, like they say, is the way the ball bounces.

A reminder: you can always catch us here on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays, 5 p.m. Eastern. I'm also -- weekdays live at noon Eastern here on CNN.

Until tomorrow, thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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 June 17, 2004 - 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): 9/11 nightmare replayed in public for the first time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody move. Everything is OK.

BLITZER: Shock, confusion and delay. Authorities caught completely unprepared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this real world or exercise?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, this is not an exercise (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BLITZER: Al Qaeda camps, stunning new video, are they back in Afghanistan?

Baghdad bombing, dozens are dead. Is an al Qaeda ally behind this latest massacre?

Fighting famine, and fighting for refugees. I'll speak with actress and goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, June 17, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: They carried out their murderous plot with ease as U.S. authorities struggled to react. That's the grim conclusion of the 9/11 commission, which completed its public hearings today. The panel found the FAA and U.S. military were woefully unprepared, trying to improvise a homeland defense against a challenge they had never imagined and never actually ever trained for. Here are some of the horrifying moments as they played out that morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The controller told his supervisor that he thought something was seriously wrong with the plane. At this point, neither the controller nor his supervisor suspected a hijacking. At 8:24:38, the following transmission came from American 11. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be OK. We are returning to the airport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next transmission came seconds later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody move. Everything will be OK. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hearing that transmission, the controller told us he then knew it was a hijacking. At 8:34, the Boston Center controller received a third transmission from American 11.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody move, please. We're going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meanwhile, a manager from Boston Center reported that they had deciphered what they had heard in one of the first hijacker transmissions from American 11.

BOSTON CENTER: Hey, you still there?

NEW ENGLAND REGION: Yes, I am.

BOSTON CENTER: I'm going to reconfirm with, with downstairs but the -- as far as the tape, seemed to think that the guy said that we have planes. Now I don't know if it was because of the accent or if there's more than one but I'm going to reconfirm that for you and I'll get back to you real quick, OK?

NEW ENGLAND REGION: Appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have what?

BOSTON CENTER: Planes, as in plural. It sounds like we're talking to New York that there's another one aimed at the World Trade Center.

NEW ENGLAND REGION: There's another aircraft?

BOSTON CENTER: The second one just hit the Trade Center

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 8:37:52, Boston Center reached NEADS. This was the first notification received by the military at any level that American 11 had been hijacked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, boss. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) you. We have a problem here. We have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York and we need you guys to -- we need someone to scramble some F-16s up there to help us out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this real world or exercise?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, this is not an exercise (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shortly after 8:50 while NEADS personnel were still trying to locate American 11 word reached them that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several situations going on here. It's exploded big, big time. We need to get the military involved in this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Between 9:34 and 9:38, the controller observed United 93 climbing to 40,700 feet and immediately moved several aircraft out of its way. The controller continued to try to contact United 93, and asked whether the pilot could confirm that he had been hijacked. There was no response. Then at 9:39, a fifth radio transmission came over the radio frequency from United 93.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 9:46, and again two minutes later, command center updated FAA headquarters that United 93 was not, quote, "29 minutes out of Washington D.C."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we want to think about scrambling aircraft?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, God, I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a decision somebody's going to have to make probably in the next 10 minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, everybody...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Followed by another aircraft at 10:01. Command center advised FAA headquarters that one of the aircraft had seen United 93 quote, "waving his wings. The aircraft had witnessed the radical gyrations in what we believed was the hijackers' effort to defeat the passengers assault on the cockpit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, there is now on the United 93, there is a report of black smoke in the last position I gave you, 15 miles south of Johnstown.

do UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the airplane or from the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're speculating it's from the aircraft.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who hit the ground. That's what they're speculating. Speculation only.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NEADS was never able to locate United 93 on radar because it was already on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: United 93, have you got information on that yet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's down?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When did he land? Because we have confirmation...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did not land.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, he's down? Down?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somewhere up northeast of Camp David.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Northeast of Camp David?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the last report. They don't know exactly where.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The bottom line of today's version of the 9/11 investigation? U.S. authorities were unprepared, quote, as the commission put it, "in every respect." The FAA and the military failed to coordinate their responses. Confusion and miscommunication reigned.

The 9/11 Commission has also determined there was no collaborative relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda. But at a cabinet meeting earlier today, President Bush insisted there was a relationship of some sort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al Qaeda. We just say there were numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. For example, Iraqi intelligence officers met with Bin Laden, the head of al Qaeda, in the Sudan. There is numerous contacts between the two.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Later this hour we'll speak with one of the 9/11 Commissioners, former Senator Slade Gorton. Also, we'll have more of those audiotapes from two of the hijackers. You'll hear what they told the passengers aboard those hijacked aircraft.

In other news, an Iraqi terror suspect allegedly from the group tied to al Qaeda has been held for months in secret without notification of the International Committee for the Red Cross. Today, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended the move. Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, today Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said that he was just hearing (ph) what CIA Director George Tenet asked when he ordered a high value Iraqi prisoner held in secret detention at a U.S. military facility near the Baghdad Airport last October.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): The unidentified prisoner dubbed XXX by some soldiers is identified only as a high official and paramilitary leader of the Ansar al-Islam terrorist group believed to be coordinating attacks against U.S. troops. Rumsfeld denies his order was in any way aimed at covering up abuse or inhumane treatment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there an intention to hide this prisoner from the Red Cross?

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Not on my part.

MCINTYRE: But the prisoner was never registered with the Red Cross as required by the Geneva Conventions. The Pentagon now admits was a breakdown in procedure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should have registered him much sooner than we did. It didn't have it be at the very instant we brought him into our custody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Rumsfeld insists the case of the prisoner dubbed XXX was different from what was uncovered at the Abu Ghraib Prison where General Taguba found that there were ghost detainees being hidden from the Red Cross. But when asked to explain how it was different, he said he couldn't explain it -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Jamie, thank you very much.

It's been another bloody day in Baghdad. A car bomb exploded outside an Iraqi army recruiting center, killing 35 people, 145 were wounded. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Panic reigns again as yet another suicide bomber strikes at the very heart of Iraqi society, its new security forces.

At 9:00 this morning, a white vehicle packed with artillery shells exploded outside a recruiting center for the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, according to U.S. soldiers who rushed to cordon the area off and search for secondary explosives. They say that no Iraqi recruits inside the building were injured.

Innocent Iraqi civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence, as terrorists and insurgents keep up their attacks on Iraqi people, infrastructure and government officials.

This ahead of the hand-over of power to Iraq June 30. Again, Baghdad hospitals are packed with the dead and wounded, and the violence here is expected to get worse.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The realities and the stakes of that tragic morning from the perspective of a commission member. Coming up, I'll speak live with 9/11 Commissioner Slade Gorton and we'll get a minute by minute account of that day's horrible events.

Also, a new threat from al Qaeda in Afghanistan and what it may mean to the war on terror.

Later, the buzz over the new book by Bill Clinton and what he has to say about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Is al Qaeda regrouping in Afghanistan? Shocking new video first aired by Al-Jazeera seems to show terrorists in training and in action. Our Nic Robertson has been looking at the video from his monitoring station in London. Nic, first of all, what does this video suggest?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It suggests that if in fact this is al Qaeda training that they are feeling confident enough to broadcast a video of it. They are feeling confident enough to set about training in what Al-Jazeera suggests is the Afghan border or the Pakistan side of the Afghan-Pakistan border.

It suggests perhaps that the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan has not been able since September 11 to deny all that territory that they wanted to deny to al Qaeda, deny them the opportunity to train.

And it also suggests, some analysts say, that perhaps this training was taking place on the Pakistan side of the border, it perhaps suggests that the focus on the war on terrorism to catch al Qaeda is going shift towards out of Afghanistan, more-put more emphasis on Pakistan -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Well, what does it mean exactly, then, for Pakistan? What's the upshot?

ROBERTSON: Well, the upshot is that they've got a greater challenge and perhaps face greater pressure from the international coalition on the war on terrorism to do something about that border region that they've been struggling to do.

If you remember, the offense-the spring offensive to catch Osama Bin Laden and others this year has been a hammer and anvil operation. U.S. and coalition forces inside of Afghanistan pushing up against the Pakistan border. You have Pakistani forces pushing up on their side.

But what troops are saying on the ground that I was with a month ago is no push from the Pakistan side. Indeed, people coming across, attacking U.S. forces, going back inside Pakistan. The emphasis is going to be more pressure on the Pakistani government to stop al Qaeda, Taliban and others, whoever they may be, from operating within their border.

And that's a problem for the Pakistani government. They don't have broad support within that border region in Pakistan -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, our Nic Robertson in London for us. Nic, thanks very much.

Bill Clinton on why he had that notorious affair. Coming up, what Bill Clinton now says about Monica Lewinsky and other key points in his new book.

Also, the new information that came out today on the timeline of the 9/11 hijacking. Standing by live, one of the 9/11 commissioners, Slade Gorton. I'll speak with him.

And later, the refugee crisis in Sudan. What the U.N., what the world is doing about it. My special interview with the U.N.'s goodwill ambassador, Angelina Jolie. She is here in the studio, just back from Africa.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. More now on our top story. All the shocking new information released today by the 9/11 Commission. Joining us, one of those commissioners, former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton. He's a Republican.

Senator, thanks very much for joining us. I was shocked to learn today that in all of the years leading up to 9/11, U.S. military, the FAA, they never really trained for the possibility that a commercial airliner could be hijacked and used by suicide bombers as a missile.

SLADE GORTON, 9/11 COMMISSIONER: Never once. Never once.

BLITZER: Even though there was all the intelligence out there that your commission has documented in recent months that terrorists were plotting to do precisely that?

GORTON: Well, remember, Wolf, hindsight is always 20/20. And if you take, say, a dozen pieces of intelligence over a five or six year period and look back on it and say, "My gosh, why didn't anyone notice this." Then you've got to recognize that this is a dozen pieces of intelligence out of a million pieces of intelligence of all kinds that came in.

But the real problem, I think, the real cause was people didn't talk to one another, and even the Air Force didn't know what the FBI knew or what the CIA knew, lord knows the FAA didn't know. It was not in that loop, really not in that loop at all.

So yes, there was a failure of imagination, there was no question about that, but there was an even greater failure of communication.

BLITZER: Well, let me press you on that, because I'm not an intelligence analyst, I'm not an expert by any means.

But in the ten years leading up to 9/11 I had learned and most people who follow this even casually knew that terrorists had plans on their books to commandeer a plane, go into the Shalom Tower in Tel Aviv, the tallest building in Israel, go into the Eiffel Tower, in Southeast Asia, Malaysia, they had plans-this was widely reported.

GORTON: And in addition to that, of course, there was a plot that was frustrated in the Philippines not to do exactly what this was but to have a dozen suicides on airplanes blow up the airplanes in flight.

Again, I say, if you take everything that happened in these years, we wish people had a greater degree of imagination than they did. The fact is they didn't and the fact is that no one in the FAA had thought about this in advance and no one in the military had thought about them doing that.

BLITZER: Were you as surprised as I was to learn that Dick Cheney gave the order to shoot down the plane, but when he did, all the planes were then either on the ground or crashed into the Pentagon or the World Trade Center.

GORTON: No, the vice president gave the order to shoot down the planes before at least the last one had crashed. It didn't get to the pilots, who were the people who had to carry it out until well after the last plane had crashed in Pennsylvania.

BLITZER: The delay was enormous.

GORTON: There was -- well, it's enormous as we look back on it. It's not very many minutes, but they were absolutely crucial minutes.

BLITZER: Is there a discrepancy between what the commission has concluded on the connections between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's Iraq and what President Bush and Vice President Cheney say?

GORTON: Well, there would be at one time with something that Vice President Cheney said, but not with the President. It's more a difference in emphasis. Of course there were connections, there were contacts, there was correspondence between al Qaeda and Iraq. There was no participation on the part of Iraq in 9/11 period.

BLITZER: Or in any other attacks against the United States.

GORTON: Or in any other attacks on the United States that we had anything to do with.

BLITZER: And this widespread perception that's out there if you look at public opinion, the polls out there that for some reason Saddam Hussein and Iraq were behind 9/11, that's simply false.

GORTON: That perception is in error.

BLITZER: Senator Gorton, thanks for your joining us and thanks for your good work. Appreciate it very much. We look forward to the final report at the end of July. As always.

Chilling audio of the 9/11 hijackers played publicly for the very first time today. Up next, more on how that fateful day unfolded and why U.S. officials then were so confused.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: I've worked with many people in the field who spend every day of their life their and I kind of feel like I can risk a few days. They spend their lives there.

BLITZER: From actress to ambassador. Angelina Jolie on a mission to fight hunger and prevent genocide. Hear my special interview with the Academy Award-winning actress. That's later.

And a lonely, lost whale is at the heart of a dispute over whether to let nature take its course.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Ahead this half hour, new information on the 9/11 hijackings revealed in today's final public hearing on the terror attacks. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick check of the latest headlines.

Two truck drivers kidnapped weeks ago in Iraq have been set free. The two men, a Turkish citizen and an Egyptian, were turned over to Iraqi journalists near Fallujah. It's unclear whether any ransom was paid.

Yellow ribbons are up in American hostage Paul Johnson's home state of New Jersey and a candlelight vigil is planned for tonight. Johnson was kidnapped in Saudi Arabia on Saturday and his captors have threatened to kill him, apparently tomorrow unless the Saudi government agrees to release its al Qaeda prisoners.

Eight same-sex couples have filed suit in Massachusetts in the continuing battle over the right to be legally married there. They're challenging Governor Mitt Romney's use of a 91-year-old state law to block out-of-state gay and lesbian couples from being wed. Thirteen municipal clerks have joined the couples in the court fight.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's nomination for a fifth term appears to be sailing quickly through the U.S. Senate on his way to confirmation. In a voice vote, the economist was approved by the Senate Banking Committee. Greenspan's nomination is likely to move quickly through the entire Senate, as well.

An American contractor working for the CIA in Afghanistan has been indicted for assault in the death of a prisoner there. Attorney General John Ashcroft made the announcement just a short time ago here in Washington. CNN's national security correspondent, David Ensor joining us live with the latest. DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is a case where for some weeks now CIA officials have been saying they have evidence of such brutality that they thought there would be an indictment, and today there was.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): Thirty-eight-year-old David Passarro was indicted on four counts of assault in the beating of an Afghan prisoner, Abdul Wali, who later died. At the time, Passarro was a private contractor for the CIA. A former special forces soldier, he was arrested Thursday morning where he lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: During these interrogations on June 19 and June 20, 2003, it was alleged that Passarro beat Wali repeatedly using his hands and feet and a large flashlight. Wali died in a cell in Asadabad base on June 21st, 2003.

ENSOR: The base is in a remote and hazardous area near the Pakistani border where Taliban and al Qaeda fighters are frequently encountered. U.S. forces there sometimes fire grenades to keep enemies at bay. Abdul Wali, the man who died, was suspected of firing rockets at U.S. forces. CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield says as soon as his agency heard about the allegations, they were immediately reported to the Justice Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE))

ENSOR: Passarro will face trial in a federal court in North Carolina. Each of the four charges carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor with that. Thank you, David, very much.

Welcome to his his life, all 900 pages of it. Bill Clinton's weighty memoir, titled "My Life" arrives in bookstores early next week. The former president is bursting back into the spotlight. CNN's Howard Kurtz has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD KURTZ, CNN HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES" (voice-over): The weeklong media farewell for Ronald Reagan is giving way to a re- examination of another former president, and this one won't be a love fest. Bill Clinton is about to roll out his $10 million autobiography, "My Life" and it's clear that passions have not yet cooled about the 42nd president, whose record of peace and prosperity was marred by the tawdry episode that led to his impeachment.

ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": At this time, when John Kerry may need his help, Bill Clinton is being as selfish as usual, he's all for me, me, me, not worrying about John Kerry.

MARGARET CARLSON, "TIME" MAGAZINE: The only way Clinton could help Kerry is by publishing that book on November 4. JAMES CARVILLE, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": But what? What's the angle? He had sex with an intern, OK?

KURTZ: In a wide-ranging interview with Dan Rather for "60 Minutes," Clinton was asked the inescapable question about Monica Lewinsky. Why?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did something for the worst possible reason, just because I could. I think that's about the most -- just about the most morally indefensible reason that anybody could have for doing anything, when you do something just because you could.

And I thought about it a lot, and there are lots of more sophisticated explanations, more complicated psychological explanations. But none of them are an excuse.

KURTZ: Clinton also ripped into independent counsel Ken Starr and accuses the Republicans who tried to boot him from office of an abuse of power.

"I didn't quit," he said. "I never thought of resigning, and I stood up to it and beat it back. The whole battle was a badge of honor. I don't see it as a stain, because it was illegitimate."

Want more? The media blitz intensifies next week with appearances on "Oprah," "Today," "Good Morning America," and "LARRY KING LIVE."

(on camera): Dan Rather told me he was uncomfortable asking about the Lewinsky affair and that Clinton was uncomfortable answering those questions. But he'll be answering them again and again because -- well, because that's what a former president has to do to move the product.

Howard Kurtz, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Howard Kurtz, of course, writes for the "Washington Post," as well as is the host for CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" that airs Sunday mornings at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.

Out of the Hollywood lights and into the African landscape. She's on a mission, fighting famine in Sudan. Up next, my special interview with the actress and the good will ambassador Angelina Jolie.

Plus, a species in need of protection, a plan to reunite Luna the lost whale with his family. It was all set to begin, until the canoes arrived. We'll explain.

And later, an update on a story we told you about yesterday. Elbowed aside for a foul ball, this little boy finally gets what he really wanted.

We'll get to all of that. First, though, a look at some other news making headlines "Around the World."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (voice-over): Leaders of the European Union say they're getting closer to an agreement on a constitution. The pact is supposed to overhaul the E.U.'s operations, now that it's been expanded from 15 members to 25.

Belgium verdict. A jury in Belgium has convicted a 47-year-old electrician of kidnapping and raping six young girls in the mid-1990s and murdering two of them. The abductions horrified Belgians, and a parliamentary probe later declared police bungling handicapped the investigation.

Tough language. Diplomats attending the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Austria has agreed to a strongly worded censure of Iran, accusing it of poor cooperation with inspectors. The IAEA board of governors may vote on a resolution tomorrow.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. It's the No. 1 refugee problem in the world today, and it's likely to get worse.

In the Darfur region of Sudan, many thousands also have already died in what's been described as a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Sudanese government.

Here's CNN's Zain Verjee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the crisis in the Sudan's western Darfur region is being described as Rwanda in slow motion. At least 2.2 million people are said to be at risk of dying by October this year.

Those who can, have fled to Chad.

(voice-over) In the relative safety of a camp in neighboring Chad, refugees tell of murder and rape, burning and bombardment of their villages by government forces and militia groups.

"We were in our village in Sudan," says this man, "and a plane came in and dropped bombs in the villages, like five times. We all fled in different directions, and I saw a lot of dead people."

"The children and cattle were killed," says this wounded man, "and the town was burned."

International rights group accused the Sudanese government of supporting the Janjaweed Arab militia groups that commit atrocities, a charge Khartoum denies.

DR. MUSTAFA OSMAN ISMAIL, SUDANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: The government is not supporting the militia. The militia, when they have been attacked by the rebels they respond.

VERJEE: It's not clear how many civilians have been killed, but the numbers are estimated to be between 10,000 and 30,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of the reports that I have received from a large number of sources within Darfur and within the region, is that yes, there was systemic depopulation of areas. You can also call that ethnic cleansing.

VERJEE: The U.N. secretary-general won't use the "G" word.

KOFI ANNAN, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE U.N.: I can't at this stage call it genocide.

VERJEE: Whatever you call it, up until now no one's been able to stop it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have security problems and we are partners of the government (ph). Systematic of the government, push the people from their villages.

VERJEE: More than one million people are internally displaced in Sudan's western Darfur region. About 200,000 Sudanese refugees are in the border country, Chad.

Crowded camps have already spawned diseases like cholera and measles, where there are fears it will spread like wildfire.

(on camera) Experts that I've spoken to, Wolf, about this have said that there doesn't seem to be an overall plan to deal with this crisis. The U.N., they say, doesn't have one. The Europeans and the Arabs have been silent about this. And the U.S. has really been very slow to respond.

And what they say is that the United States should now consider imposing targeted sanctions are Khartoum, and that the United Nations should consider a Darfur specific resolution to respond to the emergency.

BLITZER: Thanks, very much, Zain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And joining us now here in our Washington studio, Angelina Jolie. She's the Academy Award-winning actress, the U.N. goodwill ambassador.

Angelina, thanks very much for joining us. You just got back recently from the border between Chad and Sudan. A, why did you go there?

JOLIE: Well, I wanted to -- I think like most people, I've been hearing bits about it, but I wanted -- I wanted to try to get a more full understanding of what the situation was. And I've been working with UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency for a long time, and it's a very large humanitarian crisis -- refugee crisis. So I wanted to go.

BLITZER: This is not an easy decision, because it's dangerous along that border. Yet you were willing to go.

JOLIE: It is. I've -- but I've worked with many people in the field who spend every day of their life there, and I kind of feel like I can -- I can risk a few days. They spend their lives there, and, you know, obviously a lot of humanitarian workers have lost their lives there.

BLITZER: So what did you see when you were there? How bad is it?

JOLIE: It's -- the most frustrating thing is that there are 160,000 people who have crossed into Chad. But that is one small percentage of the people that are displaced. There's a million people estimated to be displaced inside Darfur that nobody has access to. So everybody you see coming across, you know, they feel they're the lucky ones, and they're just more concerned about everybody back there.

And, you know, there's a desperate need to -- there's the rains are going to start. It's a logistical nightmare. It's desert, there's dead animals, there's dust everywhere, there's people trying to drill wells, and there's people moving, pregnant women in convoys trying to get to safer -- you know, away from the border. It's just this rush to survive and to keep people -- you know, keep people going that they've -- that they've found and been able to -- to get in contact with.

BLITZER: I assume that the disease is awful rampant where you were. What precautions did you take?

JOLIE: I had a Yellow Fever vaccination. That was about it.

BLITZER: That was about it?

JOLIE: I had it a long time ago, yes. I don't take malaria pills. I don't -- I don't trust them.

BLITZER: All right. Because I've taken those, and they're not very pleasant...

JOLIE: Yes.

BLITZER: ... and especially if you have to do it for a long period of time. What is the single most important lesson that you learned that the world needs to learn now to deal with this crisis?

JOLIE: Well, that if, in fact -- there's been this big discussion of, is this ethnic cleansing, is this genocide, what is happening inside, why are these one people being attacked? And if they've -- they've been attacked to the extent that they are and they, you know, do not receive aid and we're not able to get to them, which has been the case, then they will be wiped out. An entire people will be wiped out if we're too late.

We all know what happened in Rwanda. A lot of people are terrified that you only call it genocide when it's too late.

BLITZER: Is it genocide yet?

JOLIE: I don't know. I'm not the expert on that. I know that every time you ask the people why they were attacked, they -- they don't know, other than from the region they were and from the background thereof. They weren't fighting; there were no hostilities between the two tribes. There was just -- they were just attacked, and they were also -- spoke of being bombed from the air.

And there's a -- you know, is the Sudanese government involved? If they are, are they going to be held accountable? How can there be discussions of a Sudanese peace talk and an agreement when you haven't included what's happening in Darfur? I don't personally understand that. So -- but mainly it's just all of us need to get together to make sure that we try to get in there, see what's going on, and get aid to these people as quickly as possible before there is a horrible, horrible statistic that suddenly wakes everybody up.

BLITZER: So your basic message is education, let the world know what's going on?

JOLIE: Let's get into Darfur, let's see what's happening. Let's get the U.N. Security Council, anybody, all of our governments, all of our aid workers. Let's get in there and find these people and get the truth of the situation and save their lives, and then hold who's responsible accountable.

BLITZER: Well, you're doing an excellent job. You're a courageous woman. Thanks for joining us.

JOLIE: OK. Thank you for having me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A tribal chief that may have been reincarnated in a killer whale. That's anything but. Coming up, a clash between science and spirituality off the west coast of Canada. You'll want to see this.

Also ahead, a little boy gets national attention after he loses a foul baseball to a zealous fan. What's he going to get next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now back to our top story, the 9/11 commission's last public hearing. It gave us our most vivid idea yet of what was going on in the air and on the ground in the minutes before the planes hit.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, what we got today was an incredible time line issued by the 9/11 commission that really brought home for the first time the confusion and cross-signals of that tragic morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): From the earliest transmissions, a sequence of events that simply moved too fast.

PHILIP ZELIKOW, 9/11 COMMISSION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: On the morning of 9/11, the existing protocol was unsuited in every respect for what was about to happen.

TODD: Eight o'clock a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 is wheels up from Logan Airport in Boston, bound for Los Angeles. On board, 81 passengers, 11 crew members, 24,000 gallons of jet fuel.

8:14, United Airlines Flight 175 takes off from Logan, 65 passengers aboard.

8:20 a.m., American Airlines flight 77 departs from Washington Dulles airport. About that time, American Flight 11 turns off its transponder.

At 8:24:38, this transmission from American flight 11. The voice is believed to be lead hijacker Mohamed Atta. The playing of the tape is the first time it has been heard in public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be OK. We are returning to the airport.

TODD: The next transmission comes seconds later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody move. Everything will be OK. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourselves and the airplane. Just stay quiet.

TODD: Between 8:25 and 8:32 a.m., Boston air traffic controllers notify the FAA American Flight 11 has been hijacked.

8:34 a.m., this comes from the plane.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody move please. We are going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves.

TODD: Three minutes later, Boston air traffic control calls the U.S. military's northeast air defense sector.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Boston. It's MNTU (ph). We have a problem here. We have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York. And we need you guys to -- we need someone to scramble some F-16s or something up there to help us out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this real world or exercise?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. This is not an exercise. Not a chance.

TODD: 8:41 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston enters New York airspace. 8:42, United Airlines Flight 93 takes off from Newark Airport, running 40 minutes late.

Just four minutes later, 8:46:40, American Flight 11 impacts the north World Trade Center.

At 8:50 a.m., the military's northeast command is still trying to locate the airplane that's just hit the tower. That same minute, air traffic controllers hear the last transmission from Flight 77 that had just left Washington Dulles.

8:51, an air traffic controller notices a change in the transponder reading for United Flight 175, giving controllers their first indication of a second hijacking. This is the plane that will hit the second tower, and this is the same controller who'd been responsible for the first plane.

8:53 a.m., the first military planes are finally airborne, two F- 15s from Otis Air Force Base in Massachusetts, 153 miles away from New York City. Their orders, track American Flight 11, the plane that had crashed seven minutes earlier.

8:54 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77, the one from Washington Dulles, begins deviating from its flight plan. Eventually this plane will hit the Pentagon.

9 a.m., air traffic controllers in Indianapolis notify other agencies that American Flight 77 is missing and has probably crashed.

Between 9:01 and 9:02, a New York air traffic controller tells the FAA command center, quote, "We have several situations going on here. It's escalating big time."

Right about then, New York controllers spot United Flight 175.

9:03 a.m., United Flight 175 slams into the trade center's south tower.

It's virtually at the moment of impact that the military is informed of a second hijacking. 9:21 a.m., the FAA tells the military that the flight that had crashed 30 minutes earlier, American Flight 11, is still in the sky and is heading toward Washington.

Jets are ordered airborne from Langley Air Force Base in southern Virginia, but they don't take off for another seven minutes.

9:25 a.m., a combat air patrol is established over Manhattan.

9:32 a.m., a transmission from United Airlines 93, quote, "Keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb on board." This plane will crash in Pennsylvania.

9:34, word of that plane's hijacking reaches FAA headquarters. Same minute, Flight 93 starts to reverse its course and heads toward Washington. Also at 9:34, the first time the military finds out American Flight 77 is missing, and that's just by chance. 9:37, American Flight 77 strikes the Pentagon. Those fighters from Langley are still about 150 miles away.

Less than two minutes later, a voice from Flight 93, the one that will not reach its target. Hijacker Ziad Jarrah.

ZIAD JARRAH, HIJACKER: ... is the captain. Would like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board and are going back to the airport, and to have our demands. Please remain quiet.

TODD: 9:41 a.m., Flight 93's transponder signal is lost. That same minute, Boston controllers tell military commanders of a Delta jet from Boston to Las Vegas that might have been hijacked. This turns out to be wrong.

9:46, a communique states United Flight 93 is 29 minutes from Washington. Within 17 minutes that plane crashes in Shenksville, Pennsylvania.

10:07, the military's northeast command gets its first call about United Flight 93, four minutes after it crashed.

10:10 a.m., the commander of those military fighter jets that had taken off in Virginia instructs the two pilots they do not have clearance to shoot aircraft over Washington.

At that moment, that commander has no knowledge that United Flight 93 had been heading toward Washington or that it has crashed.

More that two hours later, this...

MONTE BELGER, FORMER FAA ACTING DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR: By 12:16, for the first time in the history of the FAA, our U.S. airspace was empty of all aircraft.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Clearly a morning where confusion reigned. Two crucial items we take from this hearing. The FAA didn't hear of the first hijacking until a half hour into the flight. The military didn't get its first word until nine minutes before that first plane hit the World Trade Center. So very little time to react -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Day of confusion indeed. Brian Todd, thanks very much for that timeline.

Some say he practically stole candy from a baby, so what's this Texas Rangers fan doing right now? We'll have details. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A story that's developing right now along the Pacific coast of Canada. A battle over the right thing to do for a killer whale that's been separated from his family. And by the way, he's only a killer to the salmon and the anchovies that he gorges on.

CNN's Michael Shoulder on why he's causing so much trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL SHOULDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the idyllic setting of Nootka Sound off Vancouver Island, Canada, we are watching a bitter custody dispute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just off to check on the whale.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to canoe right for now.

SHOULDER: A custody dispute over a killer whale that may be too friendly for its own good.

On one side, in their dug-out canoes, members of the Mowachaht tribe are luring Luna the whale out to sea, not to harm him, but to keep him away from the other player in this custody battle, the Canadian Department of Fisheries, which has set up netting to catch Luna and reunite him with his pod or extended family.

A few years ago when Luna was only two, he got lost. Scientists believe he was swimming with his uncle when his uncle died, and that Luna couldn't find his way back to the pod. And somehow he wound up here.

Luna, like all Orca whales, are family-centered. They rarely even leave their mothers when they're grown up, which helps explain why Luna so eagerly seeks out people, for the companionship.

The Canadian government says that's one reason this whales must return to his family in the wild, that he and the boaters could accidentally hurt each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Too friendly. I'm afraid he's going to flip somebody over.

SHOULDER: so why is the Mowachaht tribe so determined to keep Luna in this area? The current chief of the Mowachahts says his late father's spirit lives in Luna, but before his father, Chief Ambrose, died, he said he wished to come back life as a killer whale. And shortly after Chief Ambrose passed away, Luna arrived.

The only party that does not have a voice in this custody battle is Luna's family, but scientists are confident of this. If Luna could get close enough to hear the sounds of his family, Luna would make the right choice.

Michael Shoulders, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Mike.

You've probably seen this story before. From Sunday's Texas Ranger baseball game where a grown man dove in front of a four-year- old boy to snatch a foul ball. We're showing it again to you to bring you an update.

The man got so much grief he's agreed to give the ball to the boy along with a letter of apology. That, like they say, is the way the ball bounces.

A reminder: you can always catch us here on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays, 5 p.m. Eastern. I'm also -- weekdays live at noon Eastern here on CNN.

Until tomorrow, thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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