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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Did Saudi Security Officials Aid Killers of American Hostage? Four Marines Dead in Latest Attacks in Iraq, Defense Lawyers in Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal Seek to Question Top Officials, Man Becomes World's First Private Astronaut, Bill Clinton on Life with Hillary

Aired June 21, 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): Inside job? Did the killers of an American hostage get help from Saudi security forces?

Ambush. Four Marines dead. As the coalition counts down to the handover, Iraq's insurgents step up their attacks.

DAN SENOR, COALITION SPOKESMAN: Now there are nine days left. Pulling out all the stops.

BLITZER: Abuse and the brass.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one can suggest with a straight face that these MPs were acting alone.

BLITZER: Defense lawyers want to question the chain of command all the way to the top.

SpaceShip One.

MICHAEL MELVILL, FLEW PRIVATE SPACESHIP: It was a mind-blowing experience. It really was.

BLITZER: He's flown everything from crop dusters to fighter jets. Now he's the world's first private astronaut.

Love affair.

BILL CLINTON, FRM. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've learned that marriage with all its magic and misery, all its contentments and disappointments remains a mystery.

BLITZER: Bill Clinton on his life with Hillary.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Monday, June 21, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Coalition forces in Iraq suffered many setbacks today on multiple fronts. Paying the ultimate price, four United States Marines. The pictures you're about to see are extremely disturbing. They're also a grim reminder as we begin the last full week before the hand over of Iraqi sovereignty that there's little of it in stability.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): In Ramadi, four U.S. Marines failed to report to their commanders at a pre-determined time. When members of a quick reaction force went to investigate, they found four dead bodies.

A coalition spokesman suspects supporters of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi.

SENOR: I don't know if they were certainly behind the killing of the soldiers. But the spirit, the strategy, the sentiment is the same.

BLITZER: Fallujah was the site of an angry anti-American demonstration. Hundreds turned out to protest a U.S. air strike that destroyed several houses and killed at 18 people on Friday. Officials say the attack destroyed a terrorist safehouse.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: We had very, very strong pre-strike intelligence suggesting that that house at that location in Fallujah was occupied by members of the Zarqawi terrorist network.

BLITZER: South Korea says it will go ahead with plans to send 3,000 more troops to Iraq despite the release of this threatening videotape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please! Get out of Iraq!

BLITZER: The tape shows a South Korean civilian who was kidnapped June 17 begging for his life. His captors are demanding that South Korea withdraw troops currently serving in Iraq and promise not to send anymore.

In the Shatt al-Arab Waterway between southern Iran and Iraq, three British navy patrol boats were seized by Iran along with their crews.

KIMMITT: Three boats, eight persons from the Royal Naval Training team that was operating out of Basra departed on a mission for training with their fellows in the Iraqi navy.

BLITZER: Iran says the boat was in Iranian waters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Including the deaths confirmed today, 844 Americans have died in Iraq since the war began; 624 of them died as a result of what's officially described as hostile action; 220 have died of other causes, such as accidents.

President Bush has vowed to demolish Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison. But a U.S. military judge today declared it a crime scene barring any move to tear it down before U.S. troops are tried for their roles in the abuse scandal there. Encouraged by that ruling, defense lawyers say they want to question top U.S. officials. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour reports from Baghdad on the pre- trial hearings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are the pictures that shocked the world, sullied America's reputation and severely damaged its standing amongst Iraqis. The defense lawyer for Specialist Charles Graner, seen leering and giving the thumbs up, says he wants to question Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The secretary of defense, in waging a war on terrorism correctly, loosened the reigns somewhat on interrogators.

AMANPOUR: Attorneys for Graner and Sergeant Javal Davis will claim their clients were just following orders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how do we know that? Because high ranking individuals in government, in the military, have given statements under oath in reference to what was permissible.

AMANPOUR: Graner's attorney says he strongly believes that General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S.-led forces at the time, knew of the abuse as early as November. Not, as he claims, in January.

(on camera): The court-martial proceedings that have been going on inside this room are partly designed to staunch the flow of bad blood towards the United States. A new poll that was commissioned by the U.S.-led authorities here finds that 54 percent of Iraqis believe that all Americans behave as badly as the accused.

(voice-over): Outside Abu Ghraib, prisoners' relatives are still dissatisfied. "This court is not right," says Ali Jasan (ph), the father of a prisoner, "because the soldiers are being tried by Americans. We want the court to be held by the U.N. and neutral countries."

No trial date has been set yet. Defense lawyers say they won't be ready until October. U.S. military officials say trials could start late August.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The Pentagon has declassified memos signed by the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, which according to critics, authorized the use of torture of detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The memos will be released perhaps as soon as tomorrow. Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it was October of 2002. And desperate to get information from a high-level al Qaeda detainee, the Pentagon signed off on a get-tough approach.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Sources say the memos will show Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved a series of more aggressive interrogation techniques for use against one prisoner, Mohammed al- Kahtani, a Saudi, the so-called 20th hijacker who was supposed to be on one of the September 11 planes.

Among the techniques, water boarding in which the subject is strapped down and dunked in water or otherwise made to feel he's going to drown.

The Pentagon says the water boarding tactic was never used and that in January Rumsfeld rescinded his approval in the face of objections from some of his own lawyers. Instead, Kahtani was subjected to 20-hour interrogation sessions, given only MREs to eat and forcibly shaved.

Just last week Rumsfeld insisted no techniques he approved constituted tortured.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: That word gets used by some people in a way that is fair from their standpoint but doesn't fit a dictionary definition of the world that one would normally accept.

MCINTYRE: A human rights advocate disagrees, particularly with regards to water boarding.

ELISA MASSIMO, HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST: Water boarding fits the international and domestic definition of torture. And if the administration claims it's necessary to use it, then they ought to go to Congress and ask Congress to change the law.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Up to now the Pentagon has insisted all of the techniques employed at Guantanamo met the Geneva Conventions. But with the declassification of the documents this week, people will be able to judge for themselves -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre reporting from the Pentagon. Jamie, thank you very much.

Nine days and counting. That's how long coalition forces have until handover. In a moment, two first-hand accounts on the progress and the obstacles. Our Anderson Cooper standing by live in Baghdad. And "L.A. Times" reporter Tony Perry just back from Fallujah, elsewhere in Iraq. Both of them, they'll join me live. That's coming next.

Famous rival. Former independent Ken Starr speaking out on Bill Clinton's new book.

Breaking the space barrier. The first private spaceship takes flight. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The U.S.-led coalition in its schedule to turn over sovereignty in the next week. Just where do things stand right now? Tony Perry of the "Los Angeles Times" is joining us. We'll speak to him in just a moment. But our own Anderson Cooper is now on the ground in Baghdad. Let's talk to him first. A new pair of eyes. Anderson, Give us your sense, what are you seeing in Baghdad right now?

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": It's really interesting, Wolf, this is my first time in Baghdad. It's different than you see it on TV. I'm not sure if it's worse or better, but it's different from what I've been seeing all along this time. I spent a lot of time today just talking with Iraqis. I spent a lot of time with a taxi driver driving around the streets of Baghdad with him and also an emergency room.

Both men really have seen firsthand -- with the emergency room doctor -- both men have seen firsthand the effects of the insurgencies. The doctor constantly dealing with bullet wounds, with shrapnel wounds from improvised explosive devices and the cab driver who himself has seen firsthand improvised explosive devices. And what both men have in common, while both say there are many troubles that lay ahead, there was a sense of optimism, and a sense that no matter what happens here, it's going to be up to the Iraqis themselves, that more and more as the June 30 date approaches and after as the coalition withdraws into their own areas, it is really up to Iraqis and whether Iraqis can change their culture and change their politics and alter their hearts and their minds and move towards democracy. It is up to them.

BLITZER: Was getting around Baghdad, Anderson, more difficult or less difficult than you envisioned it to be before you got there?

COOPER: It's more difficult for me personally traveling around. We have a security personnel, there are some logistical issues in that way. What you don't sort of see on TV on an every day basis is the life that continues here. The stores are open. There are movie theaters and there is life here. There are restaurants. That's not to say there's not danger here. Everybody will tell you security is the pressing issue. Everybody complains about the lack of security. They want something done about it. But what I was surprised with is just by how much life there is in Baghdad during the day.

BLITZER: Anderson Cooper in Baghdad. Anderson, thanks very much. He's going to spend the next several days there. To our viewers, a reminder, Anderson will anchor his program "ANDERSON COOPER 360." That will come live from Baghdad tonight less than two hours from now. 7:00 Eastern, 4:00 p.m. Pacific. "Anderson Cooper 360" tonight from Baghdad.

Now to Tony Perry at the "Los Angeles Times" who completed a ten- week stay in Iraq. He's joining us now from San Diego. Tony, a lot of our viewers, of course, will remember your dramatic reports from Fallujah. Give us your bottom line. When you left Iraq, was it worse than you imagined, was it better than you imagined? Give us your perspective.

TONY PERRY, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": I think it was worse than I imagined. All these situations are balanced between hopefulness and tragedy. I think the tragedy was larger than the hopefulness. The tragedy really isn't just the death and destruction, although that's bad enough. The tragedy is a sense of what could be happening to that country, could be happening to cities like Fallujah and Ramadi and a dozen other cities if there wasn't the daily violence, if there wasn't the insurgency. When I left, I thought things were a lot worse than they were even a year ago after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

BLITZER: I know our viewers will remember the reports from Fallujah. Give us your sense right now. Is this June 30 handover, the change of sovereignty, do you see any light that it might work?

PERRY: I do. That light, I think, comes when the Iraqis start talking about taking responsibility for their open security and stability. I think Anderson Cooper put his finger right on it. It is up to the Iraqis. The Marines I was with, the First Marine division that took over from army in the Sunni Triangle in mid-March started saying from day one, this has to be an Iraqi show. The stability and security issues have to be in the hands of the Iraqis. It is their country. They've got to do it. We can get it started. They have to take it from here.

So if there is light at the end of this tunnel, it is that the Iraqis are stepping forward, their army is getting reconstituted in one fashion or another. Their security forces are coming together being trained. Their leaders are stepping forward going on television saying, all right. We'll have our own country in a few weeks back. We have to do something about it. That's the optimism.

BLITZER: You were embedded with U.S. marines during that standoff in Fallujah. Four more marines dead today, as you know, outside of Baghdad in Ramadi. We saw the horrible pictures of the bodies. Give us your sense, based on the time you spent with the troops, what the morale is like for U.S. military personnel.

PERRY: Well, the marines' morale is very high. That's their culture. They maintain morale in a number of ways. They were disappointed when the marine brass cut a deal with the insurgents to stop the combat. They wanted to push it through to the end. But I think they realized in the long run that that just wasn't in the U.S. 's best interest. Morale is high. Competency is high. If there's one thing that I came away impressed with, it was the leadership and the bravery. Not so much of the officers. Yes, the officers but the enlisted young men, 19, 20, 22, 24 years old are impressive. American taxpayer's getting his dollar's worth and then some out of them.

BLITZER: Those were photos that Tony Perry -- that our viewers were seeing -- Tony, that you brought back from Iraq. Thanks very much for joining us. And thanks very much for calling us in from Fallujah during those horrible, horrible days. Tony Perry back safe and sound in California for the "L.A. Times." Thanks, Tony.

PERRY: My pleasure. BLITZER: Now to the war on terror, did the terrorists who kidnapped and beheaded the American hostage Paul Johnson have help from Saudi security forces? Saudi officials are hotly denying it but an Islamist website is claiming that al Qaeda sympathizers within the security services provided the killers with uniforms and vehicles. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joining us now live on the phone from the Saudi capital of Riyadh. What's the latest, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there's a real feeling among Saudi officials that the website making that claim is really distorting the view about Saudi security services. The view most people express here in Riyadh and around about how well or not the security services are doing. They think they are doing a good job generally. They think the crackdown on Friday night, although the security forces still haven't found Paul Johnson's body. The fact they were able to kill the head of the group who was responsible for his death, that that was a positive step.

So, broadly speaking, most people here tend to think the security forces are doing well and have been over the last year or so. They are still concerned, of course, that al Qaeda could regroup and come back and are reforming around another leader. They do feel that the disclaimer on the website is being taken far too much at face value without close enough analysis -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Is there a sense, despite the capture and killing of this other al Qaeda leader in Saudi Arabia, that another shoe is about to drop, that there will, in fact, be more terror strikes?

ROBERTSON: Al Muqrin, who was killed on Friday, really upped the pace of the attacks. Prior to the attacks had been separated -- major attacks had been separated due to the killings of leaders of al Qaeda by about six months. That's the major question mark here. Will the man who steps in behind him, who is regarded in some circles as perhaps being more analytical, less hot-headed than Al Muqrin, will he take the organization on the same track, ramp up the attacks, hands-on and bloody attacks or step back and take another approach? Really, it is an open question. There is a great deal of concern.

But that's what people are looking at, as well as looking at what can be done to improve their security in whatever lull exists -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Nic Robertson is in Riyadh for us. Nic, we'll be checking back with you, obviously, tomorrow. Thanks, Nic, very much.

And to our viewers, here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: Can Saudi Arabia be trusted on the war on terror? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.COM/WOLF. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.

You may have the right to remain silent, but there's one question you must answer if police ask. The United States Supreme Court weighs in on a controversial legal procedure. Also, more information on al Qaeda's claim that could compromise the war on terror. I'll speak with the former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen.

And M&M's in space? Proof -- a private mission escaped the pull of gravity. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Checking our justice file. Right now, the judge in the Scott Peterson murder trial allows a juror to remain on the case despite his controversial remarks. It stems from remarks juror number five made to Laci Peterson's brother. The conversation was recorded by TV cameras. Judge Alfred Delucchi has subpoenaed a copy of the tape, but allowed the juror to continue. The judge also told jurors to make sure their actions in and out of court are not misconstrued.

A pair of U.S. Supreme Court rulings today that will change all of our legal rights against -- involving HMOs and the police. Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is live in New York with more on these rulings.

First of all, the Supreme Court effectively ruled -- correct me if I'm wrong, Jeff -- that we no longer necessarily have the right to remain silent.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN'S SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's really an interesting issue, Wolf. You would have thought this issue had been settled a long time ago, but it's really a simple question. If the police have a right to stop you, do they have a right to ask you your name? The Supreme Court today said absolutely, they do. They said it's not like giving testimony. You'd have no Fifth Amendment right to refuse to give a fingerprint, to refuse to give a blood sample. This is the same thing. Your name is not testimony; it's just a fact about you.

BLITZER: And if you lie about your name, give the wrong name, that potentially could open up a whole legal conundrum for you, is that right?

TOOBIN: Well, that's right. And one of the issues is, if you're forced to give your name and what if you're prosecuted for giving a false name, isn't that more like a Fifth Amendment violation, then? That's an issue for another day. The Supreme Court hasn't ruled on that yet. But the bottom line is today, if they have a right to be there -- if the police do and if they ask you your name, you got to give it to them or you could go to jail.

BLITZER: The United States Supreme Court also made an important decision on HMOs. Tens of millions of Americans have HMOs, and this decision potentially could involve lots of money.

TOOBIN: Again, a fairly straightforward issue. If you have a lawsuit where you want to sue your HMO for doing something wrong to you -- for giving you the wrong advice, for not letting you see a specialist -- the Supreme Court said today you have to go to federal court. You can't go to state court.

And why that matters a lot is that state courts are a lot better for plaintiffs. You have more generous juries. You have rules that are more favorable to plaintiffs. Federal court much more favorable to insurance companies, to defendants. So, it's a big victory for insurance companies and HMOs. People who want to sue are big losers today.

BLITZER: Jeffrey Toobin explaining the United States Supreme Court to us, as he always does. Thanks, Jeff, very much.

A chilling new claim: Did al Qaeda sympathizers within the Saudi security forces help kidnap and maybe even kill Paul Johnson? A terrorist Web site says yes. Up next, we'll take a closer look.

Plus, stepping down: Connecticut's Republican governor set to resign just minutes from now. Find out why he's calling it quits.

And later, man on a mission: He's writing a new chapter in aviation history. And it is a rocket ride for the ages.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Saudi Arabia, friend or enemy? An inside look at the country's royal family and new claims of cooperation made by al Qaeda. We'll get to all of that.

First, though, a quick check of some other headlines.

Eight British sailors are now in Iranian hands after their vessels were seized on a waterway between Iran and Iraq. The Iranian Foreign Ministry says the men are being interrogated and says the action was taken after the three patrol boats crossed into Iran's territorial waters.

Connecticut's embattled Republican governor, John Rowland, will announce his resignation just minutes from now -- that word from Rowland's lawyer. The resignation is expected to be official July 1. Rowland faces a federal corruption investigation over some gifts and favors he received from friends, state contractors and state employees.

The only person with the human form of mad cow disease known to live in the United States has died. The 25-year-old woman who lived in Florida died yesterday. She was born in Britain and had lived in the U.S. 12 years. Most cases of the human form of the disease have been in Britain.

The United States government regards Saudi Arabia as a strong ally. But does al Qaeda also have allies within the Saudi security establishment?

CNN's Brian Todd has been looking into that question. He's joining us now live -- Brian. BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we began looking into that question after hearing a disturbing claim regarding the kidnapping of Paul Johnson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): A bold, chilling claim.

On an Islamist Web site, terrorists linked to al Qaeda say sympathizers within the Saudi security forces helped them kidnap American Paul Johnson. The Saudis emphatic in their response.

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, ADVISER TO SAUDI CROWN PRINCE ABDULLAH: The notion that our security forces are infiltrated by the terrorists really doesn't hold. If that were the case, they wouldn't be going after soft targets. They would be going after government installations. And we haven't seen that.

TODD: But it has long been suspected that al Qaeda has allies within the Saudi Interior Ministry, which oversees all domestic security forces.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's already the biggest open secret in the country that there are so much sympathizers there.

TODD: CNN intelligence analyst Ken Robinson says many younger Saudi police officers have ideological attachments to Osama bin Laden. But how far that alleged support travels up the Saudi food chain is an open question. Some experts say the interior minister himself, Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, a prominent member of the royal family, has long been a supporter of the conservative Wahhabist sect of Islam in Saudi Arabia and has also supported Palestinian charities found to have funneled money to terrorists groups.

At the very least, those experts say, the Interior Ministry has often looked the other way regarding al Qaeda.

JONATHAN SCHANZER, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: The Saudis have been exporting radical Islam through an infrastructure they have created in their own country. And this infrastructure has now come back to attack them.

TODD: Contacted by CNN, a Saudi spokesman says it is nonsense to say think Prince Nayef is at all complicit with al Qaeda. He says militants have in fact made several assassination attempts at that minister. He also denies claims from intelligence analysts that another agency, the Saudi religious police, known as the Mutawa, has terrorist links.

The Bush administration treads carefully, acknowledging terrorists have impersonated Saudi police, but praising the overall effort against al Qaeda.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm pleased that the Saudis are acting in such an aggressive way to get these killers and murderers and to make it clear to them that they will not be successful in their terrorist activities in Saudi Arabia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: One ominous development in this story. CNN has confirmed that the man named by al Qaeda as their new leader in Saudi Arabia is a former Saudi police prison guard. A Saudi official tells us they believe the man was fired about 10 years ago and has long been at the top of their most wanted list -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd, thanks very much for that good report.

Just where do the Saudis stand when it comes to al Qaeda?

Joining us now from New York, our world affairs analyst, the former Defense Secretary William Cohen.

Mr. Secretary, thanks very much for joining us.

What is your bottom line as far as the Saudi government is concerned right now in this war on terror?

WILLIAM COHEN, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS ANALYST: I don't think there's any question that the Saudi government is now committed to dealing as effectively as they can against the al Qaeda or those radical elements within their own country.

Their very future depends upon it. And so, therefore, they have a self-interest in cracking down. At the same time, they're going to try and walk something of a fine line to make sure that they don't act in such a way that they create even more sympathizers for al Qaeda than they currently have. But I think there is no question that there are sympathizers within the country. There are terrorists in the country. And they have an absolute dedication at this point to making sure they don't topple the royal family.

BLITZER: So this notion that among the religious police or elsewhere in the Interior Ministry, there may be moles, there may be al Qaeda sympathizers, not only sympathizers, but people who actually help al Qaeda, you are saying that's probably true?

COHEN: It's certainly possible. And they have to take every precaution in dealing with that.

No doubt that the Web site may be putting out disinformation in indicating that they had actual inside help in order to create this kind of fear on the part of the Saudi officials that they've got moles and others inside the organization that are dedicated to undermining them.

But, at the same time, they have got to take this as a real possibility. They do have sympathizers there. And they will have to keep a 360-degree watch out for them.

BLITZER: When you were defense secretary, were you pleased in the level of cooperation that you received from the Saudi government in connection with investigations of the Khobar Towers bombing or other incidents?

COHEN: I had a number of meetings and traveled certainly to Saudi Arabia to request assistance. I worked very closely with FBI Director Freeh to get as much information as possible. And he seemed to be satisfied that, at the later stages of my tenure, certainly, that they were certainly forthcoming.

Any time you have an investigation being conducted by a foreign country as such, they're always some expectation that go unmet. But I think that the Saudis were, toward the end of the investigation, very -- complying, at least, with the requests from the FBI.

BLITZER: It's a very delicate situation, the State Department urging Americans to get out, maybe 35,000 living and working there. At the same time, if they do leave, this is a win for the terrorists, isn't it?

COHEN: It is.

I think what the State Department is saying, basically, the United States can't guarantee their safety, that it remains dangerous, certainly to some degree, that they are on their own, they should not expect that the federal government, the U.S. government, can protect them, when in fact we can't.

And so the responsibility falls to the Saudi government to provide that kind of protection. But even there, it is very clear that with so many foreign workers, foreign nationals who are working in the capital and throughout the country itself, there is no way the Saudi government can actually guarantee protection.

So, they have an obligation now. That's why I think you're seeing this dedication to eliminating those elements, cracking down as hard as they can, in order to make sure that foreign nationals don't start a major exodus, and not only the United States, but other foreign nationals who are working there, an exodus out of the country, jeopardizing the industry and the regime itself.

BLITZER: The stakes are clearly enormous. We're all concerned.

William Cohen, the former defense secretary, thanks, as usual, for joining us.

COHEN: Pleasure, Wolf.

BLITZER: Blasting into the history books and breaking through barriers. All eyes today are on SpaceShipOne. We'll go live to the Mojave Desert in Southern California, our Miles O'Brien standing by for that story.

Memoirs of a president. Bill Clinton's book isn't officially out yet, but the buzz definitely is. Now a former adversary, Ken Starr, responds.

And later, precise putting. It all came down to skill on the greens at the U.S. Open. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): More clashes broke out today in the West Bank between Israeli forces and Palestinian at the site of Israel's controversial separation barrier. Israel claims it is building the structure to prevent attacks by Palestinians. But Palestinians call it an apartheid wall.

In North Asia, a deadly typhoon has pounded parts of Japan and South Korea with strong winds and heavy rain. Wind gusts of at least 112 miles an hour have been reported. Thousands of people in both countries have lost power. And transportation in the region has ground to a halt.

In Britain, thousands of people gathered at an ancient site this morning to welcome summer. Stonehenge, a circle of stones in Southern England, attracts crowds from around the world during the annual summer solstice.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Bill Clinton's long-awaited book, "My Life," goes on sale tomorrow, actually tonight. After midnight, some bookstores will be open, selling it. It includes Clinton's side of the personal crisis that almost ended his presidency, his affair with Monica Lewinsky and his impeachment.

With us now, the former Clinton White House counsel Jack Quinn.

Jack, thanks very much for joining us.

If you watched the interview on "60 Minutes" with Dan Rather and in the book, he really goes after Ken Starr personally for undertaking this attack against him, this impeachment process, if you will. Ken Starr has now reacted.

I want you to listen to what he says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH STARR, FORMER INDEPENDENT COUNSEL: I regret it. But, again, I understand it. There are very few individuals who are caught up in the process of criminal justice who walk out saying how much I love the prosecutor, who praise the prosecutor for discharging his or her duties. It becomes, unfortunately, frequently -- and I guess it's happened here -- very personal. I regret that. I wish it weren't that way. But I understand the human emotion behind it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: He says he regrets the personal animosity that comes through in the Clinton book. Why is Clinton so obsessed with Ken Starr right now? Ken Starr was obviously the doing the job that the courts ordered him to do.

JACK QUINN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Ken Starr's obsequiousness is -- is almost revolting.

This man went after the president in a very personal way. He crossed the boundaries of propriety. He did everything he possibly could to encourage people to tell lies about the president. And he was clearly determined to get Bill Clinton. At the end of the day, Wolf, history will treat Bill Clinton vastly better than Ken Starr.

BLITZER: All right.

Having said that, I want you to listen to this, because I was in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. I was the network television correspondent when Bill Clinton said this. And all of our viewers in the United States, around the world, will remember. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: When I was alone with Ms. Lewinsky on certain occasions in early 1996 and once in early 1997, I engaged in conduct that was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. That was from the deposition, the second clip that we showed. He clearly lied to the American people.

QUINN: Yes, he did. And he has been contrite about that.

But I can also tell you, I sat on a Sunday afternoon with Ken Starr, who was determined to bring the first lady of the United States down to the U.S. courthouse and embarrass her.

BLITZER: When she testified before the grand jury?

QUINN: He did that for political reasons. It was wrong. It was immoral, and it was unethical.

The president, I think, in this book has been, as I said, contrite, sorrowful and asking for forgiveness. Don't forget, this is a man who, that August, said, I sinned. This is a guy who is confessing his wrongdoing. God, I wish Ken Starr had an ounce of the honesty Bill Clinton has. BLITZER: When you say honesty that Bill Clinton had, he not only lied about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. He later admits -- in the book, he admits, in the deposition, he admits he lied to the American people on "60 Minutes" in '92 about his relationship with Gennifer Flowers.

QUINN: But Ken Starr will still not admit that he was politically motivated, determined to get this president, out to get him, and that he crossed every ethical boundary. And you know what? That's the reason why this man will never sit on the Supreme Court.

BLITZER: He's going to be the dean of the Pepperdine Law School. He's going out there for them.

I want you to hear what Bill Clinton said last night on "60 Minutes" with Dan Rather about when he confronted his wife about the truth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I had a sleepless night and woke her up and sat down on the side of the bed and just told her. And it was awful, but I had to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You know this man. You were the White House counsel. You worked with him. You know Mrs. Clinton, Senator Clinton now, quite well. Can you explain how this marriage managed to survive?

QUINN: I think they're two people who spent a lifetime respecting each other and in love.

And one thing I want to underscore here tonight is that the focus in the last couple of days has been about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a lie he told. We are faced right now with a presidency that lied about weapons of mass destruction, lied about a relationship between Iraq and Saddam Hussein, lied about the cost of Medicare prescription drugs.

When history looks back and realizes that, on the one hand, we were talking about personal foibles, and, on the other, taking this country to war under false pretenses, I think history will judge Bill Clinton in a very kind way.

BLITZER: Jack Quinn, we have to leave it right there, but we'll continue this discussion. Thanks very much for joining us.

QUINN: Thanks. Nice to see you.

BLITZER: And this note. You can hear what Bill Clinton has to say about his new book Thursday night on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." The former president also will be taking your phone calls, answering your questions. That's this Thursday, CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." Wednesday night, by the way, Ron Reagan, Larry King's guest, 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

History was made today high over California. Coming up, we'll tell you why this flight was so special.

And there's an old familiar name on the winner's list at Wimbledon. Stay tuned for our picture of the day. That's coming up.

First, though, a look at some stories you may have missed this past weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The bodies of a Chicago man and his two young sons turned up along the Lake Michigan shore near Kenosha, Wisconsin. They were bound with rope to each other and to sandbags. The man and the boys, ages 3 and 6, were last seen in May.

Tragic turn. An attempt to promote tourism went horribly wrong in Canada when this raft hit a rock and capsized. One man drowned. Nine others escaped injury, including the mayor of Sherbrooke, Quebec.

High style. The Olympic torch made its way through New York in spectacular style. Gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci glided above Times Square suspended from a cable.

Closing the open. South Africa's Retief Goosen won his second U.S. Open. Masters champion Phil Mickelson had the lead, but three- putted from five feet on the 17th hole to finish second.

And that's our weekend snapshot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Out of this atmosphere, just one way to describe today's historic rocket ride. SpaceShipOne became the world's first privately built manned space flight when it took off from the Mojave Desert in California.

Our space correspondent, Miles O'Brien, joining us now live from the scene.

Miles, what a ride it was.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Lou -- Lou. I'm sorry, Wolf. I was thinking about Lou Dobbs. I apologize.

Wolf, it was quite a ride. It was quite a historical moment here in the high desert of Mojave, California. Lots of records have been broken high above where I stand right now. This one stands apart because it was done by a private entity with a civilian at the controls.

Mike Melvill is his name. This is the takeoff of SpaceShipOne underneath the belly of the White Knight spacecraft. Off they went. Took them about an hour to get to altitude. And then they parted company. And Mike Melvill pulled the trigger, lit the fuse and off he went into space. He got up to space just exceeding that threshold, 100 kilometers, which is about 330,000 feet or so, and did it by only about 400 feet. When he got up there, he enjoyed the view, took a little time to do what astronauts do, Wolf, that's play with some food. He had some M&Ms, and he floated them around.

I was talking to some of the guys who were in the chase planes. And they were concerned. They didn't hear from him for about 30 seconds while he was up there. They thought there was a radio loss or perhaps worse. Their hearts started beating a little faster. It turns out he was just savoring the view and playing with the food a little bit and enjoying the ride immensely.

He came back down, glided to a landing, just as was prescribed, kind of greased it, as we say in pilot's terms, and rolled up and was embraced by the designer of this craft, Burt Rutan, along with the person who funded it, Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft. He had a few things to say about what it was like to be up there at that altitude. And he was quite impressed. As he said, it was a mind-blowing event -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Miles, thanks very much for that report. What a dramatic day out there, just the start of a new chapter in space.

And the results of our Web question of the day, that is coming up ahead.

Also, opening day at Wimbledon producing a story for the ages. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at the results, remembering this is not a scientific poll.

Our picture of the day is something no one has seen in 10 years, Martina Navratilova playing a singles match at Wimbledon. The 47- year-old tennis great defeated Colombia's Catalina Castano. So why did Navratilova put her 47-year-old body through the ordeal of a single's match? Navratilova says they bottom line answer is -- quote -- "Because I still can."

That's all the time we have. "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 21, 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): Inside job? Did the killers of an American hostage get help from Saudi security forces?

Ambush. Four Marines dead. As the coalition counts down to the handover, Iraq's insurgents step up their attacks.

DAN SENOR, COALITION SPOKESMAN: Now there are nine days left. Pulling out all the stops.

BLITZER: Abuse and the brass.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one can suggest with a straight face that these MPs were acting alone.

BLITZER: Defense lawyers want to question the chain of command all the way to the top.

SpaceShip One.

MICHAEL MELVILL, FLEW PRIVATE SPACESHIP: It was a mind-blowing experience. It really was.

BLITZER: He's flown everything from crop dusters to fighter jets. Now he's the world's first private astronaut.

Love affair.

BILL CLINTON, FRM. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've learned that marriage with all its magic and misery, all its contentments and disappointments remains a mystery.

BLITZER: Bill Clinton on his life with Hillary.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Monday, June 21, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Coalition forces in Iraq suffered many setbacks today on multiple fronts. Paying the ultimate price, four United States Marines. The pictures you're about to see are extremely disturbing. They're also a grim reminder as we begin the last full week before the hand over of Iraqi sovereignty that there's little of it in stability.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): In Ramadi, four U.S. Marines failed to report to their commanders at a pre-determined time. When members of a quick reaction force went to investigate, they found four dead bodies.

A coalition spokesman suspects supporters of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi.

SENOR: I don't know if they were certainly behind the killing of the soldiers. But the spirit, the strategy, the sentiment is the same.

BLITZER: Fallujah was the site of an angry anti-American demonstration. Hundreds turned out to protest a U.S. air strike that destroyed several houses and killed at 18 people on Friday. Officials say the attack destroyed a terrorist safehouse.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: We had very, very strong pre-strike intelligence suggesting that that house at that location in Fallujah was occupied by members of the Zarqawi terrorist network.

BLITZER: South Korea says it will go ahead with plans to send 3,000 more troops to Iraq despite the release of this threatening videotape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please! Get out of Iraq!

BLITZER: The tape shows a South Korean civilian who was kidnapped June 17 begging for his life. His captors are demanding that South Korea withdraw troops currently serving in Iraq and promise not to send anymore.

In the Shatt al-Arab Waterway between southern Iran and Iraq, three British navy patrol boats were seized by Iran along with their crews.

KIMMITT: Three boats, eight persons from the Royal Naval Training team that was operating out of Basra departed on a mission for training with their fellows in the Iraqi navy.

BLITZER: Iran says the boat was in Iranian waters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Including the deaths confirmed today, 844 Americans have died in Iraq since the war began; 624 of them died as a result of what's officially described as hostile action; 220 have died of other causes, such as accidents.

President Bush has vowed to demolish Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison. But a U.S. military judge today declared it a crime scene barring any move to tear it down before U.S. troops are tried for their roles in the abuse scandal there. Encouraged by that ruling, defense lawyers say they want to question top U.S. officials. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour reports from Baghdad on the pre- trial hearings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are the pictures that shocked the world, sullied America's reputation and severely damaged its standing amongst Iraqis. The defense lawyer for Specialist Charles Graner, seen leering and giving the thumbs up, says he wants to question Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The secretary of defense, in waging a war on terrorism correctly, loosened the reigns somewhat on interrogators.

AMANPOUR: Attorneys for Graner and Sergeant Javal Davis will claim their clients were just following orders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how do we know that? Because high ranking individuals in government, in the military, have given statements under oath in reference to what was permissible.

AMANPOUR: Graner's attorney says he strongly believes that General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S.-led forces at the time, knew of the abuse as early as November. Not, as he claims, in January.

(on camera): The court-martial proceedings that have been going on inside this room are partly designed to staunch the flow of bad blood towards the United States. A new poll that was commissioned by the U.S.-led authorities here finds that 54 percent of Iraqis believe that all Americans behave as badly as the accused.

(voice-over): Outside Abu Ghraib, prisoners' relatives are still dissatisfied. "This court is not right," says Ali Jasan (ph), the father of a prisoner, "because the soldiers are being tried by Americans. We want the court to be held by the U.N. and neutral countries."

No trial date has been set yet. Defense lawyers say they won't be ready until October. U.S. military officials say trials could start late August.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The Pentagon has declassified memos signed by the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, which according to critics, authorized the use of torture of detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The memos will be released perhaps as soon as tomorrow. Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it was October of 2002. And desperate to get information from a high-level al Qaeda detainee, the Pentagon signed off on a get-tough approach.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Sources say the memos will show Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved a series of more aggressive interrogation techniques for use against one prisoner, Mohammed al- Kahtani, a Saudi, the so-called 20th hijacker who was supposed to be on one of the September 11 planes.

Among the techniques, water boarding in which the subject is strapped down and dunked in water or otherwise made to feel he's going to drown.

The Pentagon says the water boarding tactic was never used and that in January Rumsfeld rescinded his approval in the face of objections from some of his own lawyers. Instead, Kahtani was subjected to 20-hour interrogation sessions, given only MREs to eat and forcibly shaved.

Just last week Rumsfeld insisted no techniques he approved constituted tortured.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: That word gets used by some people in a way that is fair from their standpoint but doesn't fit a dictionary definition of the world that one would normally accept.

MCINTYRE: A human rights advocate disagrees, particularly with regards to water boarding.

ELISA MASSIMO, HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST: Water boarding fits the international and domestic definition of torture. And if the administration claims it's necessary to use it, then they ought to go to Congress and ask Congress to change the law.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Up to now the Pentagon has insisted all of the techniques employed at Guantanamo met the Geneva Conventions. But with the declassification of the documents this week, people will be able to judge for themselves -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre reporting from the Pentagon. Jamie, thank you very much.

Nine days and counting. That's how long coalition forces have until handover. In a moment, two first-hand accounts on the progress and the obstacles. Our Anderson Cooper standing by live in Baghdad. And "L.A. Times" reporter Tony Perry just back from Fallujah, elsewhere in Iraq. Both of them, they'll join me live. That's coming next.

Famous rival. Former independent Ken Starr speaking out on Bill Clinton's new book.

Breaking the space barrier. The first private spaceship takes flight. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The U.S.-led coalition in its schedule to turn over sovereignty in the next week. Just where do things stand right now? Tony Perry of the "Los Angeles Times" is joining us. We'll speak to him in just a moment. But our own Anderson Cooper is now on the ground in Baghdad. Let's talk to him first. A new pair of eyes. Anderson, Give us your sense, what are you seeing in Baghdad right now?

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": It's really interesting, Wolf, this is my first time in Baghdad. It's different than you see it on TV. I'm not sure if it's worse or better, but it's different from what I've been seeing all along this time. I spent a lot of time today just talking with Iraqis. I spent a lot of time with a taxi driver driving around the streets of Baghdad with him and also an emergency room.

Both men really have seen firsthand -- with the emergency room doctor -- both men have seen firsthand the effects of the insurgencies. The doctor constantly dealing with bullet wounds, with shrapnel wounds from improvised explosive devices and the cab driver who himself has seen firsthand improvised explosive devices. And what both men have in common, while both say there are many troubles that lay ahead, there was a sense of optimism, and a sense that no matter what happens here, it's going to be up to the Iraqis themselves, that more and more as the June 30 date approaches and after as the coalition withdraws into their own areas, it is really up to Iraqis and whether Iraqis can change their culture and change their politics and alter their hearts and their minds and move towards democracy. It is up to them.

BLITZER: Was getting around Baghdad, Anderson, more difficult or less difficult than you envisioned it to be before you got there?

COOPER: It's more difficult for me personally traveling around. We have a security personnel, there are some logistical issues in that way. What you don't sort of see on TV on an every day basis is the life that continues here. The stores are open. There are movie theaters and there is life here. There are restaurants. That's not to say there's not danger here. Everybody will tell you security is the pressing issue. Everybody complains about the lack of security. They want something done about it. But what I was surprised with is just by how much life there is in Baghdad during the day.

BLITZER: Anderson Cooper in Baghdad. Anderson, thanks very much. He's going to spend the next several days there. To our viewers, a reminder, Anderson will anchor his program "ANDERSON COOPER 360." That will come live from Baghdad tonight less than two hours from now. 7:00 Eastern, 4:00 p.m. Pacific. "Anderson Cooper 360" tonight from Baghdad.

Now to Tony Perry at the "Los Angeles Times" who completed a ten- week stay in Iraq. He's joining us now from San Diego. Tony, a lot of our viewers, of course, will remember your dramatic reports from Fallujah. Give us your bottom line. When you left Iraq, was it worse than you imagined, was it better than you imagined? Give us your perspective.

TONY PERRY, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": I think it was worse than I imagined. All these situations are balanced between hopefulness and tragedy. I think the tragedy was larger than the hopefulness. The tragedy really isn't just the death and destruction, although that's bad enough. The tragedy is a sense of what could be happening to that country, could be happening to cities like Fallujah and Ramadi and a dozen other cities if there wasn't the daily violence, if there wasn't the insurgency. When I left, I thought things were a lot worse than they were even a year ago after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

BLITZER: I know our viewers will remember the reports from Fallujah. Give us your sense right now. Is this June 30 handover, the change of sovereignty, do you see any light that it might work?

PERRY: I do. That light, I think, comes when the Iraqis start talking about taking responsibility for their open security and stability. I think Anderson Cooper put his finger right on it. It is up to the Iraqis. The Marines I was with, the First Marine division that took over from army in the Sunni Triangle in mid-March started saying from day one, this has to be an Iraqi show. The stability and security issues have to be in the hands of the Iraqis. It is their country. They've got to do it. We can get it started. They have to take it from here.

So if there is light at the end of this tunnel, it is that the Iraqis are stepping forward, their army is getting reconstituted in one fashion or another. Their security forces are coming together being trained. Their leaders are stepping forward going on television saying, all right. We'll have our own country in a few weeks back. We have to do something about it. That's the optimism.

BLITZER: You were embedded with U.S. marines during that standoff in Fallujah. Four more marines dead today, as you know, outside of Baghdad in Ramadi. We saw the horrible pictures of the bodies. Give us your sense, based on the time you spent with the troops, what the morale is like for U.S. military personnel.

PERRY: Well, the marines' morale is very high. That's their culture. They maintain morale in a number of ways. They were disappointed when the marine brass cut a deal with the insurgents to stop the combat. They wanted to push it through to the end. But I think they realized in the long run that that just wasn't in the U.S. 's best interest. Morale is high. Competency is high. If there's one thing that I came away impressed with, it was the leadership and the bravery. Not so much of the officers. Yes, the officers but the enlisted young men, 19, 20, 22, 24 years old are impressive. American taxpayer's getting his dollar's worth and then some out of them.

BLITZER: Those were photos that Tony Perry -- that our viewers were seeing -- Tony, that you brought back from Iraq. Thanks very much for joining us. And thanks very much for calling us in from Fallujah during those horrible, horrible days. Tony Perry back safe and sound in California for the "L.A. Times." Thanks, Tony.

PERRY: My pleasure. BLITZER: Now to the war on terror, did the terrorists who kidnapped and beheaded the American hostage Paul Johnson have help from Saudi security forces? Saudi officials are hotly denying it but an Islamist website is claiming that al Qaeda sympathizers within the security services provided the killers with uniforms and vehicles. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joining us now live on the phone from the Saudi capital of Riyadh. What's the latest, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there's a real feeling among Saudi officials that the website making that claim is really distorting the view about Saudi security services. The view most people express here in Riyadh and around about how well or not the security services are doing. They think they are doing a good job generally. They think the crackdown on Friday night, although the security forces still haven't found Paul Johnson's body. The fact they were able to kill the head of the group who was responsible for his death, that that was a positive step.

So, broadly speaking, most people here tend to think the security forces are doing well and have been over the last year or so. They are still concerned, of course, that al Qaeda could regroup and come back and are reforming around another leader. They do feel that the disclaimer on the website is being taken far too much at face value without close enough analysis -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Is there a sense, despite the capture and killing of this other al Qaeda leader in Saudi Arabia, that another shoe is about to drop, that there will, in fact, be more terror strikes?

ROBERTSON: Al Muqrin, who was killed on Friday, really upped the pace of the attacks. Prior to the attacks had been separated -- major attacks had been separated due to the killings of leaders of al Qaeda by about six months. That's the major question mark here. Will the man who steps in behind him, who is regarded in some circles as perhaps being more analytical, less hot-headed than Al Muqrin, will he take the organization on the same track, ramp up the attacks, hands-on and bloody attacks or step back and take another approach? Really, it is an open question. There is a great deal of concern.

But that's what people are looking at, as well as looking at what can be done to improve their security in whatever lull exists -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Nic Robertson is in Riyadh for us. Nic, we'll be checking back with you, obviously, tomorrow. Thanks, Nic, very much.

And to our viewers, here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: Can Saudi Arabia be trusted on the war on terror? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.COM/WOLF. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.

You may have the right to remain silent, but there's one question you must answer if police ask. The United States Supreme Court weighs in on a controversial legal procedure. Also, more information on al Qaeda's claim that could compromise the war on terror. I'll speak with the former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen.

And M&M's in space? Proof -- a private mission escaped the pull of gravity. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Checking our justice file. Right now, the judge in the Scott Peterson murder trial allows a juror to remain on the case despite his controversial remarks. It stems from remarks juror number five made to Laci Peterson's brother. The conversation was recorded by TV cameras. Judge Alfred Delucchi has subpoenaed a copy of the tape, but allowed the juror to continue. The judge also told jurors to make sure their actions in and out of court are not misconstrued.

A pair of U.S. Supreme Court rulings today that will change all of our legal rights against -- involving HMOs and the police. Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is live in New York with more on these rulings.

First of all, the Supreme Court effectively ruled -- correct me if I'm wrong, Jeff -- that we no longer necessarily have the right to remain silent.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN'S SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's really an interesting issue, Wolf. You would have thought this issue had been settled a long time ago, but it's really a simple question. If the police have a right to stop you, do they have a right to ask you your name? The Supreme Court today said absolutely, they do. They said it's not like giving testimony. You'd have no Fifth Amendment right to refuse to give a fingerprint, to refuse to give a blood sample. This is the same thing. Your name is not testimony; it's just a fact about you.

BLITZER: And if you lie about your name, give the wrong name, that potentially could open up a whole legal conundrum for you, is that right?

TOOBIN: Well, that's right. And one of the issues is, if you're forced to give your name and what if you're prosecuted for giving a false name, isn't that more like a Fifth Amendment violation, then? That's an issue for another day. The Supreme Court hasn't ruled on that yet. But the bottom line is today, if they have a right to be there -- if the police do and if they ask you your name, you got to give it to them or you could go to jail.

BLITZER: The United States Supreme Court also made an important decision on HMOs. Tens of millions of Americans have HMOs, and this decision potentially could involve lots of money.

TOOBIN: Again, a fairly straightforward issue. If you have a lawsuit where you want to sue your HMO for doing something wrong to you -- for giving you the wrong advice, for not letting you see a specialist -- the Supreme Court said today you have to go to federal court. You can't go to state court.

And why that matters a lot is that state courts are a lot better for plaintiffs. You have more generous juries. You have rules that are more favorable to plaintiffs. Federal court much more favorable to insurance companies, to defendants. So, it's a big victory for insurance companies and HMOs. People who want to sue are big losers today.

BLITZER: Jeffrey Toobin explaining the United States Supreme Court to us, as he always does. Thanks, Jeff, very much.

A chilling new claim: Did al Qaeda sympathizers within the Saudi security forces help kidnap and maybe even kill Paul Johnson? A terrorist Web site says yes. Up next, we'll take a closer look.

Plus, stepping down: Connecticut's Republican governor set to resign just minutes from now. Find out why he's calling it quits.

And later, man on a mission: He's writing a new chapter in aviation history. And it is a rocket ride for the ages.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Saudi Arabia, friend or enemy? An inside look at the country's royal family and new claims of cooperation made by al Qaeda. We'll get to all of that.

First, though, a quick check of some other headlines.

Eight British sailors are now in Iranian hands after their vessels were seized on a waterway between Iran and Iraq. The Iranian Foreign Ministry says the men are being interrogated and says the action was taken after the three patrol boats crossed into Iran's territorial waters.

Connecticut's embattled Republican governor, John Rowland, will announce his resignation just minutes from now -- that word from Rowland's lawyer. The resignation is expected to be official July 1. Rowland faces a federal corruption investigation over some gifts and favors he received from friends, state contractors and state employees.

The only person with the human form of mad cow disease known to live in the United States has died. The 25-year-old woman who lived in Florida died yesterday. She was born in Britain and had lived in the U.S. 12 years. Most cases of the human form of the disease have been in Britain.

The United States government regards Saudi Arabia as a strong ally. But does al Qaeda also have allies within the Saudi security establishment?

CNN's Brian Todd has been looking into that question. He's joining us now live -- Brian. BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we began looking into that question after hearing a disturbing claim regarding the kidnapping of Paul Johnson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): A bold, chilling claim.

On an Islamist Web site, terrorists linked to al Qaeda say sympathizers within the Saudi security forces helped them kidnap American Paul Johnson. The Saudis emphatic in their response.

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, ADVISER TO SAUDI CROWN PRINCE ABDULLAH: The notion that our security forces are infiltrated by the terrorists really doesn't hold. If that were the case, they wouldn't be going after soft targets. They would be going after government installations. And we haven't seen that.

TODD: But it has long been suspected that al Qaeda has allies within the Saudi Interior Ministry, which oversees all domestic security forces.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's already the biggest open secret in the country that there are so much sympathizers there.

TODD: CNN intelligence analyst Ken Robinson says many younger Saudi police officers have ideological attachments to Osama bin Laden. But how far that alleged support travels up the Saudi food chain is an open question. Some experts say the interior minister himself, Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, a prominent member of the royal family, has long been a supporter of the conservative Wahhabist sect of Islam in Saudi Arabia and has also supported Palestinian charities found to have funneled money to terrorists groups.

At the very least, those experts say, the Interior Ministry has often looked the other way regarding al Qaeda.

JONATHAN SCHANZER, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: The Saudis have been exporting radical Islam through an infrastructure they have created in their own country. And this infrastructure has now come back to attack them.

TODD: Contacted by CNN, a Saudi spokesman says it is nonsense to say think Prince Nayef is at all complicit with al Qaeda. He says militants have in fact made several assassination attempts at that minister. He also denies claims from intelligence analysts that another agency, the Saudi religious police, known as the Mutawa, has terrorist links.

The Bush administration treads carefully, acknowledging terrorists have impersonated Saudi police, but praising the overall effort against al Qaeda.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm pleased that the Saudis are acting in such an aggressive way to get these killers and murderers and to make it clear to them that they will not be successful in their terrorist activities in Saudi Arabia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: One ominous development in this story. CNN has confirmed that the man named by al Qaeda as their new leader in Saudi Arabia is a former Saudi police prison guard. A Saudi official tells us they believe the man was fired about 10 years ago and has long been at the top of their most wanted list -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd, thanks very much for that good report.

Just where do the Saudis stand when it comes to al Qaeda?

Joining us now from New York, our world affairs analyst, the former Defense Secretary William Cohen.

Mr. Secretary, thanks very much for joining us.

What is your bottom line as far as the Saudi government is concerned right now in this war on terror?

WILLIAM COHEN, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS ANALYST: I don't think there's any question that the Saudi government is now committed to dealing as effectively as they can against the al Qaeda or those radical elements within their own country.

Their very future depends upon it. And so, therefore, they have a self-interest in cracking down. At the same time, they're going to try and walk something of a fine line to make sure that they don't act in such a way that they create even more sympathizers for al Qaeda than they currently have. But I think there is no question that there are sympathizers within the country. There are terrorists in the country. And they have an absolute dedication at this point to making sure they don't topple the royal family.

BLITZER: So this notion that among the religious police or elsewhere in the Interior Ministry, there may be moles, there may be al Qaeda sympathizers, not only sympathizers, but people who actually help al Qaeda, you are saying that's probably true?

COHEN: It's certainly possible. And they have to take every precaution in dealing with that.

No doubt that the Web site may be putting out disinformation in indicating that they had actual inside help in order to create this kind of fear on the part of the Saudi officials that they've got moles and others inside the organization that are dedicated to undermining them.

But, at the same time, they have got to take this as a real possibility. They do have sympathizers there. And they will have to keep a 360-degree watch out for them.

BLITZER: When you were defense secretary, were you pleased in the level of cooperation that you received from the Saudi government in connection with investigations of the Khobar Towers bombing or other incidents?

COHEN: I had a number of meetings and traveled certainly to Saudi Arabia to request assistance. I worked very closely with FBI Director Freeh to get as much information as possible. And he seemed to be satisfied that, at the later stages of my tenure, certainly, that they were certainly forthcoming.

Any time you have an investigation being conducted by a foreign country as such, they're always some expectation that go unmet. But I think that the Saudis were, toward the end of the investigation, very -- complying, at least, with the requests from the FBI.

BLITZER: It's a very delicate situation, the State Department urging Americans to get out, maybe 35,000 living and working there. At the same time, if they do leave, this is a win for the terrorists, isn't it?

COHEN: It is.

I think what the State Department is saying, basically, the United States can't guarantee their safety, that it remains dangerous, certainly to some degree, that they are on their own, they should not expect that the federal government, the U.S. government, can protect them, when in fact we can't.

And so the responsibility falls to the Saudi government to provide that kind of protection. But even there, it is very clear that with so many foreign workers, foreign nationals who are working in the capital and throughout the country itself, there is no way the Saudi government can actually guarantee protection.

So, they have an obligation now. That's why I think you're seeing this dedication to eliminating those elements, cracking down as hard as they can, in order to make sure that foreign nationals don't start a major exodus, and not only the United States, but other foreign nationals who are working there, an exodus out of the country, jeopardizing the industry and the regime itself.

BLITZER: The stakes are clearly enormous. We're all concerned.

William Cohen, the former defense secretary, thanks, as usual, for joining us.

COHEN: Pleasure, Wolf.

BLITZER: Blasting into the history books and breaking through barriers. All eyes today are on SpaceShipOne. We'll go live to the Mojave Desert in Southern California, our Miles O'Brien standing by for that story.

Memoirs of a president. Bill Clinton's book isn't officially out yet, but the buzz definitely is. Now a former adversary, Ken Starr, responds.

And later, precise putting. It all came down to skill on the greens at the U.S. Open. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): More clashes broke out today in the West Bank between Israeli forces and Palestinian at the site of Israel's controversial separation barrier. Israel claims it is building the structure to prevent attacks by Palestinians. But Palestinians call it an apartheid wall.

In North Asia, a deadly typhoon has pounded parts of Japan and South Korea with strong winds and heavy rain. Wind gusts of at least 112 miles an hour have been reported. Thousands of people in both countries have lost power. And transportation in the region has ground to a halt.

In Britain, thousands of people gathered at an ancient site this morning to welcome summer. Stonehenge, a circle of stones in Southern England, attracts crowds from around the world during the annual summer solstice.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Bill Clinton's long-awaited book, "My Life," goes on sale tomorrow, actually tonight. After midnight, some bookstores will be open, selling it. It includes Clinton's side of the personal crisis that almost ended his presidency, his affair with Monica Lewinsky and his impeachment.

With us now, the former Clinton White House counsel Jack Quinn.

Jack, thanks very much for joining us.

If you watched the interview on "60 Minutes" with Dan Rather and in the book, he really goes after Ken Starr personally for undertaking this attack against him, this impeachment process, if you will. Ken Starr has now reacted.

I want you to listen to what he says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH STARR, FORMER INDEPENDENT COUNSEL: I regret it. But, again, I understand it. There are very few individuals who are caught up in the process of criminal justice who walk out saying how much I love the prosecutor, who praise the prosecutor for discharging his or her duties. It becomes, unfortunately, frequently -- and I guess it's happened here -- very personal. I regret that. I wish it weren't that way. But I understand the human emotion behind it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: He says he regrets the personal animosity that comes through in the Clinton book. Why is Clinton so obsessed with Ken Starr right now? Ken Starr was obviously the doing the job that the courts ordered him to do.

JACK QUINN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Ken Starr's obsequiousness is -- is almost revolting.

This man went after the president in a very personal way. He crossed the boundaries of propriety. He did everything he possibly could to encourage people to tell lies about the president. And he was clearly determined to get Bill Clinton. At the end of the day, Wolf, history will treat Bill Clinton vastly better than Ken Starr.

BLITZER: All right.

Having said that, I want you to listen to this, because I was in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. I was the network television correspondent when Bill Clinton said this. And all of our viewers in the United States, around the world, will remember. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: When I was alone with Ms. Lewinsky on certain occasions in early 1996 and once in early 1997, I engaged in conduct that was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. That was from the deposition, the second clip that we showed. He clearly lied to the American people.

QUINN: Yes, he did. And he has been contrite about that.

But I can also tell you, I sat on a Sunday afternoon with Ken Starr, who was determined to bring the first lady of the United States down to the U.S. courthouse and embarrass her.

BLITZER: When she testified before the grand jury?

QUINN: He did that for political reasons. It was wrong. It was immoral, and it was unethical.

The president, I think, in this book has been, as I said, contrite, sorrowful and asking for forgiveness. Don't forget, this is a man who, that August, said, I sinned. This is a guy who is confessing his wrongdoing. God, I wish Ken Starr had an ounce of the honesty Bill Clinton has. BLITZER: When you say honesty that Bill Clinton had, he not only lied about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. He later admits -- in the book, he admits, in the deposition, he admits he lied to the American people on "60 Minutes" in '92 about his relationship with Gennifer Flowers.

QUINN: But Ken Starr will still not admit that he was politically motivated, determined to get this president, out to get him, and that he crossed every ethical boundary. And you know what? That's the reason why this man will never sit on the Supreme Court.

BLITZER: He's going to be the dean of the Pepperdine Law School. He's going out there for them.

I want you to hear what Bill Clinton said last night on "60 Minutes" with Dan Rather about when he confronted his wife about the truth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I had a sleepless night and woke her up and sat down on the side of the bed and just told her. And it was awful, but I had to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You know this man. You were the White House counsel. You worked with him. You know Mrs. Clinton, Senator Clinton now, quite well. Can you explain how this marriage managed to survive?

QUINN: I think they're two people who spent a lifetime respecting each other and in love.

And one thing I want to underscore here tonight is that the focus in the last couple of days has been about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a lie he told. We are faced right now with a presidency that lied about weapons of mass destruction, lied about a relationship between Iraq and Saddam Hussein, lied about the cost of Medicare prescription drugs.

When history looks back and realizes that, on the one hand, we were talking about personal foibles, and, on the other, taking this country to war under false pretenses, I think history will judge Bill Clinton in a very kind way.

BLITZER: Jack Quinn, we have to leave it right there, but we'll continue this discussion. Thanks very much for joining us.

QUINN: Thanks. Nice to see you.

BLITZER: And this note. You can hear what Bill Clinton has to say about his new book Thursday night on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." The former president also will be taking your phone calls, answering your questions. That's this Thursday, CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." Wednesday night, by the way, Ron Reagan, Larry King's guest, 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

History was made today high over California. Coming up, we'll tell you why this flight was so special.

And there's an old familiar name on the winner's list at Wimbledon. Stay tuned for our picture of the day. That's coming up.

First, though, a look at some stories you may have missed this past weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The bodies of a Chicago man and his two young sons turned up along the Lake Michigan shore near Kenosha, Wisconsin. They were bound with rope to each other and to sandbags. The man and the boys, ages 3 and 6, were last seen in May.

Tragic turn. An attempt to promote tourism went horribly wrong in Canada when this raft hit a rock and capsized. One man drowned. Nine others escaped injury, including the mayor of Sherbrooke, Quebec.

High style. The Olympic torch made its way through New York in spectacular style. Gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci glided above Times Square suspended from a cable.

Closing the open. South Africa's Retief Goosen won his second U.S. Open. Masters champion Phil Mickelson had the lead, but three- putted from five feet on the 17th hole to finish second.

And that's our weekend snapshot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Out of this atmosphere, just one way to describe today's historic rocket ride. SpaceShipOne became the world's first privately built manned space flight when it took off from the Mojave Desert in California.

Our space correspondent, Miles O'Brien, joining us now live from the scene.

Miles, what a ride it was.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Lou -- Lou. I'm sorry, Wolf. I was thinking about Lou Dobbs. I apologize.

Wolf, it was quite a ride. It was quite a historical moment here in the high desert of Mojave, California. Lots of records have been broken high above where I stand right now. This one stands apart because it was done by a private entity with a civilian at the controls.

Mike Melvill is his name. This is the takeoff of SpaceShipOne underneath the belly of the White Knight spacecraft. Off they went. Took them about an hour to get to altitude. And then they parted company. And Mike Melvill pulled the trigger, lit the fuse and off he went into space. He got up to space just exceeding that threshold, 100 kilometers, which is about 330,000 feet or so, and did it by only about 400 feet. When he got up there, he enjoyed the view, took a little time to do what astronauts do, Wolf, that's play with some food. He had some M&Ms, and he floated them around.

I was talking to some of the guys who were in the chase planes. And they were concerned. They didn't hear from him for about 30 seconds while he was up there. They thought there was a radio loss or perhaps worse. Their hearts started beating a little faster. It turns out he was just savoring the view and playing with the food a little bit and enjoying the ride immensely.

He came back down, glided to a landing, just as was prescribed, kind of greased it, as we say in pilot's terms, and rolled up and was embraced by the designer of this craft, Burt Rutan, along with the person who funded it, Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft. He had a few things to say about what it was like to be up there at that altitude. And he was quite impressed. As he said, it was a mind-blowing event -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Miles, thanks very much for that report. What a dramatic day out there, just the start of a new chapter in space.

And the results of our Web question of the day, that is coming up ahead.

Also, opening day at Wimbledon producing a story for the ages. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at the results, remembering this is not a scientific poll.

Our picture of the day is something no one has seen in 10 years, Martina Navratilova playing a singles match at Wimbledon. The 47- year-old tennis great defeated Colombia's Catalina Castano. So why did Navratilova put her 47-year-old body through the ordeal of a single's match? Navratilova says they bottom line answer is -- quote -- "Because I still can."

That's all the time we have. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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