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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Target: Zarqawi; Critical Reviews For Bill Clinton Book

Aired June 25, 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.


JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: in the crosshairs and on the run. Coalition forces say they almost killed the most wanted terrorist in Iraq. Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): Hunting Zarqawi. An airstrike hits an alleged hideout. Did it just miss a top terror leader?

Flare-up in Fallujah. It's a stronghold of foreign fighters. We'll get a rare look at one of them.

"AHMED," SELF-DESCRIBED FIGHTER (through translator): There are American patrols everywhere. Anywhere you want to target them, you set up with bombs, light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

WOODRUFF: His life, Bill Clinton out with a new book. They're out with critical reviews.

Palace intrigue, new revelations about Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and the other woman. Wolf will speak with former butler and author Paul Burrell.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, June 25, 2004.

WOODRUFF: Hello, I'm Judy Woodruff in Washington. Wolf is off today.

We begin with Iraq. He's boasted that he's behind the bombings and the beheadings. That has made Abu Musab al-Zarqawi a top American target. Today, a U.S. airstrike hit one of his alleged safe houses. Up to 25 people were killed. It looks as if Zarqawi was nearly one of them.

Let's turn first to our national security correspondent David Ensor -- hello, David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy.

Yes, it does appear that it was a near miss and from what we're hearing, there may be some more attempts soon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ENSOR (voice-over): Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the wanted terrorist mastermind. The official says, just as U.S. planes unleashed 500- pound precision-guided bombs, a convoy of cars pulled up at the house and a man got out. When the bombs fell, he was knocked to the ground. His guards picked him up alive and put him in a car and sped away.

The senior official says the U.S. believes the man was Zarqawi. No one else is believed to travel with so much security in the area. The massive U.S. effort now to get Zarqawi comes after a slew of terror attacks which Iraqi and American officials attribute to his network.

RICHARD ARMITAGE, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: We underestimated the degree to which this enemy had a central nervous system. And I think the attacks the other day showed that it does have a central nervous system.

PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: I'd just say I think there may be more than one central nervous system and there may be a loose coordination between them. I mean, Zarqawi clearly coordinates an organization of some size and clearly the old regime people have been coordinating with each other for years.

ENSOR: Officials declined to say, but the details described by the source suggest the U.S. may have witnesses on the ground or Predator surveillance drones over Fallujah watching for Zarqawi in particular.

In Fallujah, armed and masked militants read a statement denying that Zarqawi is in their city. "The U.S. occupying forces claim that al-Zarqawi and a group of Arab fighters are in our city to deceive the world," said one, calling it a game by the American intelligence to hit Islam and Muslims in the city.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: But U.S. officials say they have fresh intelligence indicating that Zarqawi may be using Fallujah as a base for his operations. And let me just say that the beginning of our report was that a senior defense official has told us that they believe that the airstrike this morning in Fallujah that attacked one particular safe house may have come close to hitting, but may have missed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, David Ensor, thank you very much.

Well, he is an al Qaeda ally and was backed by Osama bin Laden. But is he now a bigger threat than bin Laden?

For a closer look at Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, let's go live to Baghdad, where it is the middle of the night and CNN's Anderson Cooper.

Hello, Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, Judy. The U.S. and coalition forces have been looking for Abu Musab Zarqawi for quite a long time. I picked up this poster just yesterday from a U.S. soldier. You see his picture. The message in Arabic, Abu Musab Zarqawi kills innocent women and children and they want Iraqis to turn him in and they're offering a big reward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): The price tag on his head, $10 million, testament to Zarqawi's chilling terrorist resume. The Jordanians have wanted to get their hands on him since 2000. They say he was behind plans to blow up this hotel and other tourist sites during the millennium.

By then, Zarqawi was in Afghanistan, building up his own terrorist group and allying himself with Osama bin Laden. When he left there, say intelligence sources, he was bankrolled by al Qaeda. The Jordanians say Zarqawi was the mastermind behind the assassination of U.S. diplomat Lawrence Foley.

European intelligence sources say he's been linked to chemical weapons plots in Britain and France. Spanish investigators tied him more recently to the Madrid train bombings. And then there was the recently foiled massive plot to bomb Jordanian intelligence headquarters, possibly also with chemical weapons.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: From an operational standpoint, Zarqawi is more important than bin Laden, at least in the Middle East right now.

COOPER: Especially in Iraq, where Zarqawi has been most active, claiming credit for attacks all over the country, from Baghdad to Basra.

A letter from Zarqawi to Osama bin Laden was intercepted earlier this year, urging bin Laden to support his plan for starting a civil war in Iraq. If you agree with us on it, said the letter, we will be your readied soldiers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Most recently, of course, Zarqawi has been identified as the murderer of Nick Berg, the man who actually pulled out the knife and cut off his head. Also, his group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of a South Korean contractor and most recently for large-scale attacks across the country just yesterday. Abu Musab Zarqawi, in the opinion of coalition forces, is public enemy No. 1 here in Iraq -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Anderson, I want to ask you to go further on that. What is the feeling there about Zarqawi? Do they think they can handle him alone after the U.S. turns over sovereignty?

COOPER: There is a sense -- you hear it from a lot of Iraqi officials and also Iraqis on the street. They are looking forward to this handover at a time -- as a time when they can use new tactics, tougher tactics. I think a lot of people say there may be some sort of a step up or some sort of a big push after the June 30 date, the new government wanting to show that they can use tough methods and they are not afraid to go directly against someone like Zarqawi or other insurgents -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: OK, Anderson, thank you very much -- Anderson reporting for us live.

And Anderson is also going to be hosting his program live from Baghdad. That is "ANDERSON COOPER 360" tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 p.m. Pacific.

Well, one day after insurgents launched a series of attacks across the country, leaving close to 100 people dead, Baghdad's new leaders are vowing that the Iraqis will defend themselves.

Our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. has launched another airstrike on Fallujah, trying to crush the network of al Qaeda suspect Abu Musab Zarqawi. Iraq's new defense and interior ministers are appealing to their people for information on the terrorists. And they speak of an imminent showdown.

HAZEM SHALAN AL-KHUZAEI, IRAQI INTERIM DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): We will go and attack the enemy before it attacks us. We have plans in that regard, so that we can curtail their sabotaging efforts. We will carry out raid operations.

AMANPOUR: There were no details, no talk yet of marshal law. But the U.S. general in charge of setting up Iraq's new forces says, even after the handover, American troops won't be too far away.

LT. GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. ARMY: In some cases with them, in some cases around the corner from them, certainly, there to provide backup. One of the critical components of what must happen in the days and weeks ahead is that there must be a sense of Iraqi security forces that, if they get in trouble, coalition forces will come to the rescue, if need be.

AMANPOUR: Iraqi forces have just received an emergency delivery from the United States, 56,000 sets of body armor, with another 12,000 to follow next week, 60,000 Kevlar helmets, more than 600 radios and 1,000 vehicles, plus heavy machine guns, RPGs, and ammunition, welcome news at training bases like this one, run by a unit of the Arkansas National Guard.

LT. MICHAEL SCOTT, ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD: We've secured the freedom -- the freedom of Iraq. But it's these people, these soldiers that we're training now that are going to have to fight to keep it. And that's what we're trying to prepare them for.

AMANPOUR: American soldiers say that, with the right equipment, the Iraqis could do the job.

SGT. ANDY FLETCHER, ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD: We are working with them every day to get them prepared. Like was already mentioned, we've got one company that's already ready for missions. We've got two platoons of new recruits that we're working with. They're going to be going off to what's called their basic training.

AMANPOUR: Meantime, more Iraqi police and Army checkpoints are going up around Baghdad with U.S. military support. It's a fire wall against insurgents the U.S. admits are a serious threat.

PETRAEUS: At times, they have been able to establish new beachheads, if you will, and that's what's happened most recently, clearly, that they've been able to create basically a ring of truck bomb manufacturers around the country and they've been able to explode one a day, certainly, for several weeks. We have been attacking these guys very vigorously.

AMANPOUR: Up north, in Mosul, U.S. commanders say they're pleased that it was Iraqi forces who responded first to the suicide bombings that killed more than 60 people on Thursday.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Foreign fighters targeting American troops inside Iraq, a rare look at the help the insurgency is receiving. Hear from one foreign fighter who is now in coalition custody.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Mr. President, the world is a more dangerous place today. I don't know whether you can see that or not.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Why do you say that?

QUESTION: There are terrorists bombing every single day. It's now a daily event. It wasn't like that two years ago.

BUSH: What was it like September 11, 2001?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Defending his decision to invade Iraq, President Bush sticks to his guns in an often combative interview with an Irish journalist.

Also, new revelations about Princess Diana and Prince Charles from the former butler. Wolf's interview with Paul Burrell later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Terror leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi is a Jordanian, the most prominent of the foreigners who have come to Iraq to support the insurgency.

CNN has been investigating these foreign fighters and Jim Clancy gives us a rare look at one of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When the U.S. was about to invade Iraq last year, Saddam Hussein urged Muslims everywhere to come to his defense. More recently, Osama bin Laden has been calling on Muslims to go to Iraq to engage in jihad against American troops.

Just how many of these so-called foreign fighters have showed up is still a question. When we asked American military intelligence, the figure ranged from the hundreds to the thousands. About 200 third-party nationals, as the military called them, are now in coalition custody. While Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is the most well-known, a young man named Ahmed may be more typical. He's a Palestinian who lives in this refugee camp in Syria and says he's been back and forth to Iraq several times.

Most recently, he says he was fighting in the Sunni triangle. CNN obtained this interview from a German freelance journalist. The man who calls himself Ahmed spoke with our journalist on the condition his identity not be revealed.

AHMED, (through translator): There are American patrols everywhere. Anywhere you want to target them, you set up with bombs, light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

CLANCY: U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told us Iraq's borders with Syria and Iran are porous and that's how many of these fighters are getting into the country. Iraq's interior minister says he believes the most recent suicide bombings were carried out by foreign fighters. Ahmed says, if he goes back to Iraq, he would consider being a suicide bomber as well.

Jim Clancy, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: And you can see more of Jim Clancy's report tonight on "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN" at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and also this Sunday on a special live edition of "CNN PRESENTS" in an in-depth look at the future of Iraq anchored by Anderson Cooper in Baghdad. That's Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. Pacific.

One of Saudi Arabia top Islamic clerics today called on militants to lay down their weapons and accept a limited amnesty from the Saudi government. Saudi al Qaeda supporters are blamed for a series of recent attacks on foreign nationals, including the murder of America's Paul Johnson. Some Westerners have fled the country.

And as CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson reports, those who remain in Saudi Arabia are very nervous.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the fate of U.S. helicopter engineer Paul Johnson that scares expatriate Western workers here the most. These three expats are still in Saudi Arabia and want to remain anonymous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm so worried. Is somebody going to get in here? Is someone going to walk into my car, my house and try and hurt me because I have no way to defend myself? I've gotten my carpenter to make a spear. I mean, these guys have automatic weapons and I've got a spear.

ROBERTSON: Morale among this beleaguered community is low.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we see the situation like with Mr. Johnson. People readily have to make a decision. What am I going to do? I've just seen these actions taking place. They're threatening to do more. I have to say, I want to go.

ROBERTSON: The question for those that remain, is it still worth staying?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you start confining yourself to the compound and living like a prisoner, there comes a point in time where, you know, it's just not worth it and it's just -- if you're going to live like that, you might as well head out and go back to America.

ROBERTSON: Within hours of our interview, news from the Saudi authorities that foreigners can apply for gun permits.

Contacted by phone, the three say that gives them greater confidence, but they feel more needs to be done.

(on camera): While security checks here at Riyadh's main diplomatic compound are very strict, what concerns many expatriate Western workers is that, at the compounds where they live, security is not as professional or rigorous.

(voice-over): At talks planned with Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal this weekend, U.S. officials hope to improve compound security. Negotiations are continuing to allow armed private security companies to protect Western workers. And, in that context, the U.S. officials say the new gun laws are a positive step.

How quickly Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz intends to implement the new ruling is unclear, as are the details on gun licensing, import and training. By Saudi Arabia's past practices, however, he appears to be moving with haste.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Surprising that the security's been so low.

Well, families are caught in the middle of international policy. Now some are taking political action. We'll show what you they're doing.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: I saw four of your soldiers lying dead on the television the other day. A picture of four soldiers just lying there without their flak jackets.

BUSH: Listen, nobody cares more about their death than I do.

QUESTION: Is there a point at which....

BUSH: Let me finish. Let me finish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: And that's just the beginning. We'll show you more of President Bush's combative interview with Irish TV.

Plus, he says. Now she says -- Monica Lewinsky's reaction to the new Clinton memoir.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: At the end of this month, the United States begins tightening restrictions on families who travel from the U.S. to Cuba. The Bush administration says the new rules will punish Cuban President Fidel Castro's regime. Many Cubans say all they do is punish innocent people who want time with their loved ones.

Here now, CNN Havana bureau chief Lucia Newman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): It's a recurring scene at Havana's International Airport, record numbers of Cuban-Americans arriving here on charter flights, if only for just a few days, to see their families for the last time before new White House restrictions on travel to Cuba go into effect next Wednesday. Under the new rules, Cuban-Americans can only come here once every three years for a maximum of two weeks.

"This is the most horrendous crime I've ever witnessed," says this woman, "to separate families."

"The U.S. and Cuban governments take measures and we're the ones who pay," says Elena Espinosa (ph), who is waiting for her mother. Cuana Sandas (ph), who is nearly 80 years old, finally arrives. At her's home, Children The entire extended family is waiting, knowing Dona Cuana (ph) must leave before the June 30 deadline.

Her granddaughter is afraid there may not be a next time. "I adore my grandmother," she cries, "but three years is a long time and she's very old." Many Cuban-Americans like Cuana are angry. The new White House restrictions which also limit the amount of money Cuban- Americans can give their families here are built as measures to hasten the downfall of the Castro regime.

They're backed by Cuban exile hard-liners in the United States, who usually vote Republican.

(on camera): But they're not going down well among a great many of those who still have family here in Cuba. I flew in on one of the charters from Miami where a Cuban-American woman was handing out voter registration cards to the passengers in a clear effort to get out the vote against President Bush.

(voice-over): "Bush won't get any support from us," says this woman.

Most of the passengers told us they don't care about politics until it touches their families.

Lucia Newman, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: As Lucia reported, the administration's new rules do have some support here in the U.S.

We contacted South Florida Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros- Lehtinen's office for a comment. She issued this statement from earlier this month -- quote -- "I am pleased that the State Department and the administration are implementing these regulations. These new pressures on Cuba's command economy will rob the dictatorship of funds to further oppress the Cuban people. I thank the president for his leadership in bringing democracy and freedom to Cuba."

President Bush now on the road in Ireland and facing skeptics before his trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: He was a brutal dictator who posed a threat, such a threat that the United Nations voted unanimously to say, Mr. Saddam Hussein

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Indeed, Mr. President, but you didn't find the weapons of mass destruction.

BUSH: Look, may I finish?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: But not all Irish eyes are smiling at his visit. Up next, a prickly interview on Irish television.

Selling his story. Bill Clinton opens up in his new book, but is he telling the whole tale? Women from his past now respond.

And he served the princess of Wales. Now he serves up his story on stage. Wolf's interview with Paul Burrell, that's later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS" from our studios in Washington.

WOODRUFF: Welcome back. Wolf is away today.

Appeal to the allies. President Bush heads to a pair of summits looking for help in Iraq. He may find skepticism.

We'll get to that, but first, a quick check of the latest headlines.

A senior Defense -- a senior Defense Department official said Friday's strike in Fallujah came very close to killing Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. The official says however it appears the wanted mastermind escaped.

The State Department disputes a U.S. official's assertion that North Korea has threatened to test a nuclear weapon. The unnamed official told reporters at talks in Beijing that North Korea said it might do so unless the U.S. accepts its terms for a freeze. A State Department spokesman says several proposals though are under review.

A judge in the Michael Jackson child molestation case has denied a media request for access to sealed search warrants and grand jury transcripts. The next hearing is set for July 9. Defense attorneys may argue for dismissal of counts against the pop star.

President Bush is in Ireland, his first stop on a diplomatic tour once again overshadowed by the war in Iraq. Over the next several days he'll be meeting with allies. First the European Union followed by NATO next week trying to build new consensus for helping the new Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): A warm official welcome for President Bush in Ireland. But outside this weekend's summit venues, feelings toward the American president are frosty if not hostile.

Thousands of people are expected to protest as Mr. Bush meets with European union leaders. Officials plan to keep demonstrators far away, deploying more than one-third of the country's security forces to keep the peace.

Everything from terrorism to trade is on the Euro-American Summit agenda. But with the handover of sovereignty just five days away, Iraq will almost certainly take center stage. White House officials want to keep the focus off relations strained by the war and on rebuilding.

DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COMM. DIR.: And we put that chapter behind us, and now it's time to focus on the future. And the president's confident that the international community will come to the aid of the Iraqi people.

WOODRUFF: Mr. Bush will be asking for financial help from the EU and military help from NATO. But in an interview with Turkish television, the president himself said more NATO troops now appear unlikely.

BUSH: I think most of the NATO countries that have participated with troops are at their limit. And I think some of the NATO countries that haven't put troops in are really not interested in doing so.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: On the eve of his trip, Mr. Bush also gave an interview to the Irish Television Network RTE. Reporter Carole Coleman apparently was on the offensive a bit. Here are some excerpts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLE COLEMAN, RET IRELAND'S WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Unfortunately, the majority of our public do not welcome your visit because they're angry over Iraq, they're angry over Abu Ghraib. Are you bothered by what Irish people think?

BUSH: Listen, I hope the Irish people understand the great values of our country. And if they think that a few soldiers represents a entirety of America they don't really understand America then.

There have been great ties between Ireland and America. And got a lot of Irish-Americans here that are very proud of their heritage and their country.

But, you know, they must not understand if they're angry over Abu Ghraib, if they say this is what America represents they don't understand our country because we don't represent that. We're a compassionate country, we're a strong country, we'll defend ourselves.

But we help people and we've helped the Irish and we'll continue to do so. We've got a good relationship with Ireland.

COLEMAN: And they're angry over Iraq, as well. In particularly the continuing death toll there.

BUSH: Well I can understand that. People don't like war. But what they should be angry about is the fact that there was a brutal dictator there that had destroyed lives and put them in mass graves and had torture rooms.

Listen I wish they could see the seven men who came to see me in the Oval Office. They had their right hands cut off by Saddam Hussein because the currency had devalued when he was the leader. See?

And guess what happened? Americans saw the fact that they had their hands cut off and crosses -- or "x"s carved in their forehead. And they flew them to America and they came to my office with a new hand, grateful for the generosity of America and with Saddam Hussein's brutality in their mind.

Now, look, Saddam Hussein had -- used weapons of mass destruction against his own people, against the neighborhood. He was a brutal dictator who posed a threat. Such a threat that the United Nations voted unanimously to say, Mr. Saddam Hussein...

COLEMAN: Indeed, Mr. President, but you didn't find the weapons of mass destruction.

BUSH: Let me finish. What -- may I finish?

He said -- the United Nations said disarm or face serious consequences. That's what the United Nations said.

And guess what? He didn't disarm, he didn't disclose his arms. And therefore he faced serious consequences. But we have found the capacity for him to make a weapon. See he had the capacity to make weapons. He was dangerous.

And no one can argue that the world is better off with Saddam Hussein -- if Saddam Hussein were in power.

COLEMAN: But, Mr. President, the world is a more dangerous place today. I don't know whether you can see that or not.

BUSH: Why do you say this?

COLEMAN: There are terrorist bombings every single day. It's now a daily event. It wasn't like that two years ago.

BUSH: What was it like September the 11th, 2001? It was -- There was a relative calm.

COLEMAN: But if your response to Iraq...

BUSH: Let me finish, please. You ask the questions and I'll answer them, if you don't mind.

On September the 11th, 2001, we were attacked in an unprovoked fashion. Everybody thought the world was calm.

And then there had been bombings since then. Not because of my response to Iraq. There were bombings in Madrid. There were bombings in Istanbul. There were bombings in Bali. There were killings in Pakistan.

COLEMAN: Indeed, Mr. President. And I think Irish people understand that. But I think there is a feeling that the world has become a more dangerous place because you have taken the focus off al Qaeda and diverted it into Iraq. Do you not see the world is a more dangerous place? I saw four of your soldiers lying dead on the television the other day. A picture of four soldiers just lying there without their flak jackets...

BUSH: You know, listen, nobody cares more about their death than I do.

COLEMAN: Is there a point...

BUSH: Let me finish, please, please. Let me finish. And then you can follow up if you don't mind.

Nobody cares more about their deaths than I do. I care about it a lot. But I do believe the world is a safer place and becoming a safer place. I know that a free Iraq is going to be necessary, part of changing the world.

Listen, people -- people join terrorist organizations because there's no hope. And there's no chance to raise their families in a -- in a peaceful world where there is not freedom. And so the idea is to promote freedom and at the same time, protect our security.

And I do believe the world is becoming a better place. Absolutely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: A frank exchange of views you might call it between the president and the Irish television reporter.

President Clinton's renewed publicity in recent weeks brings with it renewed memories of his past. Up next, Monica Lewinsky speaks out on his new book. And why is Gennifer Flowers now getting a lawyer?

Plus, Diana's butler. Devoted servant, loyal friend, now the star of a one-man play. Hear what he's got to say about his new role and the royal family.

And calling it quits. Illinois Senate candidate Jack Ryan ends his political pursuit. We'll get to that.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): In Iran, a tanker truck slammed into some buses causing an explosion and fire that killed at least 71 people and injured scores more. Iranian news reports say the truck's steering mechanism may have failed.

Painful disclosure. More than a year after a plane carrying Spanish troops back from Afghanistan crashed in Turkey, families of the 62 victims have received disturbing news. Some of the bodies were misidentified. And more than 20 of them were returned to the wrong families.

Gay and Israeli. Israelis celebrated gay pride with a huge colorful parade in Tel Aviv. Estimates put the turnout in excess of 100,000.

Fire and light. Crowds turned out in Paris as the Olympic flame traveled through the city of light. The 2004 Athens Olympics start August 13.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: It's official, Jack Ryan, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Illinois, is dropping out of the race. The future of his campaign had been in doubt since allegations arose this week that he visited sex clubs with his then wife actress Jeri Ryan and pressured her to have sex in public. Jack Ryan announced his decision in a statement saying he refused to take part in what he called, quote, brutal scorched earth politics.

Well, the shadow of scandal is lengthening again with the release of former President Bill Clinton's autobiography. Women whose names arose during his presidency are speaking out.

CNN's Brian Todd joins me now with what they're saying, Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judy, these are well-known women, long associated with Bill Clinton's scandals. At the very least they claim he is, as one of them puts it, a revisionist of history and in some cases their wording is much stronger.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Bill Clinton is selling a lot of books and according to the former women in his life selling them short. Monica Lewinsky is downright mad and accuses Clinton of lying about their relationship.

To his comment to an interviewer that he had the affair with her because he could, Lewinsky tells the British tabloid "The Daily Mail," quote, "When it started it was because he wanted it to. Time after time he has been unable to tell the truth." On CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," the former president tried to explain.

WILLIAM CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I knew better than to do it. I didn't really want to do it at some level, but I could do it. It was there. And I did it. So when I say I did it because I could, if you take it out of context it sounds jolty, it's snippy and arrogant and unfeeling toward Monica Lewinsky or my family or anything else. That is not what I meant.

TODD: To what she interpreted as suggestions from Clinton that the relationship was purely physical, Lewinsky tells "The Daily Mail," quote, "He talked about it as though I had laid it all out there for the taking. I was the buffet, and he just couldn't resist the desert. That's not how it was. This was a mutual relationship. Mutual on all levels."

Paula Jones also resurfaces. Jones claimed Clinton made a sexual advance toward her in a hotel room when he was governor of Arkansas. Clinton denied the claim, but Jones' lawsuit triggered the Lewinsky scandal and the impeachment proceedings.

Wednesday on the Sean Hannity radio program, Jones leveled a serious personal accusation, quote, "People with sex addiction habits or whatever would absolutely do anything, but this was his motto. You know, he did this. And he had the state troopers pull out different people from crowds and stuff. And I'm still just flabbergasted that a lot of the women did not come forward. I guess they were scared."

The parade continues with a name from the even more distant past, Gennifer Flowers. In his book, Clinton denied Flowers' claim of a long-term affair, quote, "The fact is, there was no 12 year affair." Now, through her attorneys at the Group Judicial Watch Flowers issued a statement reading in part, "I am sickened by continue disregard for the truth. Bill Clinton pretends to be contrite, but he continues to bare false witness against his neighbor. He is a national disgrace."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: And Monica Lewinsky also gave an interview to a British TV network saying many of the same things she said in print, adding in the network interview that once the affair with Clinton became public and he was trying to protect his presidency, quote, "He destroyed me." Now, we tried repeatedly to get a response from the former president to all of these comments. Our phone calls and e-mails to his office were not returned -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: This debate just goes on and on. Doesn't it?

TODD: It will for a while.

WOODRUFF: Brian, thank you very much.

Well, Vice President Dick Cheney responded today to reports that he used an expletive during an argument at the Capitol with Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, who has criticized Cheney over his former links with Halliburton, a major Pentagon contractor. Appearing on Fox News Cheney called Leahy quote, "The type of individual who will make those kind of charges and then come up as though he is your best friend." Still quoting Cheney," I express in no uncertain terms my views of his conduct and I walked away." And ask if he actually cursed at Cheney -- at Leahy, Cheney replied, quote, "probably." Cheney says he doesn't have any regrets. Hmm.

Well, seven years after princess Diana's death that debate continues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PAUL BURRELL, DIANA'S BUTLER: I was there. I witnessed this part of history. It's part of my life too, and so I have a responsibility to the princess' memory to make those facts known.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, is he keeping Diana's memory alive or betraying it?

We'll hear Wolf's interview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Almost seven years after she died in a car wreck in Paris Britain's Princess Diana continues to hold a fascination for many people around the world. New assertions about her life and death continue to appear. Many of them come from her former butler, Paul Burrell. Wolf Blitzer takes a look at Burrell and some of the things he has said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Princess Diana called Paul Burrell her rock. But after she died in a car crash in 1997 the former royal servant became, some believe, a porous rock.

In his 2003 book "A Royal Duty" Burrell wrote about Diana's broken marriage to Prince Charles. Burrell wrote that ten months before her death Diana suspected someone was trying to kill her by staging a car crash. Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, called the book a betrayal.

But when the paper back edition came out this spring a new chapter was added containing more assertions from Burrell. He said Charles had told Diana he never loved her. Burrell also said there was a five-year pact between Charles and his father, Prince Philip. Philip allegedly told Charles that if the marriage with Diana didn't work out by then Charles could go back to his long-time love, Camilla Parker Bowles.

Now Burrell is going on stage with his accusations. He says his one-man show is his latest effort to keep Diana's memory alive, but "The Daily Telegraph" newspaper described the lightly attended London performance as "sweet, sickly and leaving a nasty taste."

Burrell appeared on stage in New York this week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Well, earlier this week, wolf talked with Paul Burrell. They spoke about his memories of Princess Diana and about his book "A Royal Duty."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Paul Burrell, thanks very much for joining us. First, why the one-man stage program now?

PAUL BURRELL, FORMER BUTLER TO PRINCESS DIANA: Well, because so much has happened to me in the last year or so since the book was published. My producer said why don't you come to New York and have a audience with people so that they can ask you questions and you can have an interaction with the general public.

I think it's to dispel all the myths and lies that have been written about me recently.

BLITZER: Let's talk about the most explosive allegation you make in the new chapter , in the paper back edition of the book that Prince Charles told Princess Diana he never loved her.

BURRELL: That's right. In an argument one day the prince turned around her and said, "Well, I never loved you anyway. And my father said if the marriage wasn't working in five years, I could return to Camilla."

Now how do you think she felt about that? She fired off a letter to the Duke of Edinburgh and said, "This makes me feel as if i was on sale or return basis to the royal family and I was only here to provide an heir and spare." She was devastated.

BLITZER: Were you an eyewitness to that exchange?

BURRELL: No, the princess told me about it.

BLITZER: And at the time you wrote it down contemporaneously?

BURRELL: Yes, I kept a diary and notes and I saw letters which the princess showed me that she'd written to the Duke of Edinburgh and letters that he responded.

BLITZER: In the book the most explosive old charge that you had made, which I wanted to get your sense if you've got any new information on this, was that she feared there would be a car crash staged in attempt to kill her. What new information, if any, do you have on that charge?

BURRELL: Well, I've been helping the police with their inquiries. I've had two very lengthy meetings with the investigators who are investigating (AUDIO GAP) surrounding the princess' death.

And they have to take that very seriously because they were her thoughts and feelings at the time. She wrote them in her own hand. So it's up to them now to investigate that. And the royal coroner is investigating it.

I knew what the princess felt and thought before she died. And I know what I saw in Paris. But I don't know what happened in between. And I think, you know, rather than undermine that inquiry which is ongoing we should wait and find out when he makes it public.

BLITZER: Well, what do you personally believe? Was this an accident, a coincidence that it was a car chase? Or was she murdered? BURRELL: So many unanswered questions. It would be foolish of me to make a decision on that because I don't know the answers to the questions. So many questions.

Why did it take an hour for the princess to get from the accident to the hospital? Why were all the cameras switched off in the tunnel? You know, so many suspicious things happened in Paris on that night. They have to be investigated properly. And we'll wait and find the correct -- go through the correct procedure.

BLITZER: So many people, of course, as you well know, raising questions about your personal motives in making all this public. I know there's been some angry reaction from the royal family. But what do you say to them?

BURRELL: I'm attached to an icon and a phenomenon of modern times. This is what I know best. I was there. I witnessed this part of history. It's part of my life too. And so I have a responsibility to the princess' memory to make those facts known.

Listen, if I'd gone to the royal family with all these facts before I published the book do you think they would have let me print the book? It had to come out in the public domain. It is a matter of public interest.

BLITZER: And you believe Princess Diana would have wanted you to do this?

BURRELL: Knowing her so well, knowing her throughout the years when I stood in her corner when -- remember, she was stripped of her title, she was rejected and abandoned, I stood there with her. And I think yes, she would want the truth to be known.

BLITZER: Paul Burrell, thanks very much for joining us.

BURRELL: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Well speaking of public interest, pop star Britney Spears is getting married again. CNN has confirmed that the 22-year- old is engaged to dancer Kevin Federling. You might remember that she married a childhood friend in Las Vegas about six months ago. That was annulled almost immediately. Spears had also recently had knee surgery which caused her to cancel her upcoming concert tour.

In a moment, taking flight. How these Afghans are learning to rise above their fears.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Finally, we take you to Afghanistan for one of loftier "Pictures of the Day," you might say. Three German paragliding instructors are in Kabul to give free lessons to any Afghans who want to learn to soar. One 20-something Afghan woman says she wants to be pilot and figures paragliding is here first step. We wish her well. A reminder, you can always catch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays at this time, 5:00 Eastern, and also at noon Eastern. And tune into "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. This weekend Secretary of State Colin Powell will be a special guest ahead of the handover in Iraq. Also, an exclusive interview with former presidential candidate Howard Dean.

Until then, thanks for joining us. "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 25, 2004 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: in the crosshairs and on the run. Coalition forces say they almost killed the most wanted terrorist in Iraq. Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): Hunting Zarqawi. An airstrike hits an alleged hideout. Did it just miss a top terror leader?

Flare-up in Fallujah. It's a stronghold of foreign fighters. We'll get a rare look at one of them.

"AHMED," SELF-DESCRIBED FIGHTER (through translator): There are American patrols everywhere. Anywhere you want to target them, you set up with bombs, light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

WOODRUFF: His life, Bill Clinton out with a new book. They're out with critical reviews.

Palace intrigue, new revelations about Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and the other woman. Wolf will speak with former butler and author Paul Burrell.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, June 25, 2004.

WOODRUFF: Hello, I'm Judy Woodruff in Washington. Wolf is off today.

We begin with Iraq. He's boasted that he's behind the bombings and the beheadings. That has made Abu Musab al-Zarqawi a top American target. Today, a U.S. airstrike hit one of his alleged safe houses. Up to 25 people were killed. It looks as if Zarqawi was nearly one of them.

Let's turn first to our national security correspondent David Ensor -- hello, David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy.

Yes, it does appear that it was a near miss and from what we're hearing, there may be some more attempts soon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ENSOR (voice-over): Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the wanted terrorist mastermind. The official says, just as U.S. planes unleashed 500- pound precision-guided bombs, a convoy of cars pulled up at the house and a man got out. When the bombs fell, he was knocked to the ground. His guards picked him up alive and put him in a car and sped away.

The senior official says the U.S. believes the man was Zarqawi. No one else is believed to travel with so much security in the area. The massive U.S. effort now to get Zarqawi comes after a slew of terror attacks which Iraqi and American officials attribute to his network.

RICHARD ARMITAGE, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: We underestimated the degree to which this enemy had a central nervous system. And I think the attacks the other day showed that it does have a central nervous system.

PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: I'd just say I think there may be more than one central nervous system and there may be a loose coordination between them. I mean, Zarqawi clearly coordinates an organization of some size and clearly the old regime people have been coordinating with each other for years.

ENSOR: Officials declined to say, but the details described by the source suggest the U.S. may have witnesses on the ground or Predator surveillance drones over Fallujah watching for Zarqawi in particular.

In Fallujah, armed and masked militants read a statement denying that Zarqawi is in their city. "The U.S. occupying forces claim that al-Zarqawi and a group of Arab fighters are in our city to deceive the world," said one, calling it a game by the American intelligence to hit Islam and Muslims in the city.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: But U.S. officials say they have fresh intelligence indicating that Zarqawi may be using Fallujah as a base for his operations. And let me just say that the beginning of our report was that a senior defense official has told us that they believe that the airstrike this morning in Fallujah that attacked one particular safe house may have come close to hitting, but may have missed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, David Ensor, thank you very much.

Well, he is an al Qaeda ally and was backed by Osama bin Laden. But is he now a bigger threat than bin Laden?

For a closer look at Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, let's go live to Baghdad, where it is the middle of the night and CNN's Anderson Cooper.

Hello, Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, Judy. The U.S. and coalition forces have been looking for Abu Musab Zarqawi for quite a long time. I picked up this poster just yesterday from a U.S. soldier. You see his picture. The message in Arabic, Abu Musab Zarqawi kills innocent women and children and they want Iraqis to turn him in and they're offering a big reward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): The price tag on his head, $10 million, testament to Zarqawi's chilling terrorist resume. The Jordanians have wanted to get their hands on him since 2000. They say he was behind plans to blow up this hotel and other tourist sites during the millennium.

By then, Zarqawi was in Afghanistan, building up his own terrorist group and allying himself with Osama bin Laden. When he left there, say intelligence sources, he was bankrolled by al Qaeda. The Jordanians say Zarqawi was the mastermind behind the assassination of U.S. diplomat Lawrence Foley.

European intelligence sources say he's been linked to chemical weapons plots in Britain and France. Spanish investigators tied him more recently to the Madrid train bombings. And then there was the recently foiled massive plot to bomb Jordanian intelligence headquarters, possibly also with chemical weapons.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: From an operational standpoint, Zarqawi is more important than bin Laden, at least in the Middle East right now.

COOPER: Especially in Iraq, where Zarqawi has been most active, claiming credit for attacks all over the country, from Baghdad to Basra.

A letter from Zarqawi to Osama bin Laden was intercepted earlier this year, urging bin Laden to support his plan for starting a civil war in Iraq. If you agree with us on it, said the letter, we will be your readied soldiers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Most recently, of course, Zarqawi has been identified as the murderer of Nick Berg, the man who actually pulled out the knife and cut off his head. Also, his group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of a South Korean contractor and most recently for large-scale attacks across the country just yesterday. Abu Musab Zarqawi, in the opinion of coalition forces, is public enemy No. 1 here in Iraq -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Anderson, I want to ask you to go further on that. What is the feeling there about Zarqawi? Do they think they can handle him alone after the U.S. turns over sovereignty?

COOPER: There is a sense -- you hear it from a lot of Iraqi officials and also Iraqis on the street. They are looking forward to this handover at a time -- as a time when they can use new tactics, tougher tactics. I think a lot of people say there may be some sort of a step up or some sort of a big push after the June 30 date, the new government wanting to show that they can use tough methods and they are not afraid to go directly against someone like Zarqawi or other insurgents -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: OK, Anderson, thank you very much -- Anderson reporting for us live.

And Anderson is also going to be hosting his program live from Baghdad. That is "ANDERSON COOPER 360" tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 p.m. Pacific.

Well, one day after insurgents launched a series of attacks across the country, leaving close to 100 people dead, Baghdad's new leaders are vowing that the Iraqis will defend themselves.

Our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. has launched another airstrike on Fallujah, trying to crush the network of al Qaeda suspect Abu Musab Zarqawi. Iraq's new defense and interior ministers are appealing to their people for information on the terrorists. And they speak of an imminent showdown.

HAZEM SHALAN AL-KHUZAEI, IRAQI INTERIM DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): We will go and attack the enemy before it attacks us. We have plans in that regard, so that we can curtail their sabotaging efforts. We will carry out raid operations.

AMANPOUR: There were no details, no talk yet of marshal law. But the U.S. general in charge of setting up Iraq's new forces says, even after the handover, American troops won't be too far away.

LT. GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. ARMY: In some cases with them, in some cases around the corner from them, certainly, there to provide backup. One of the critical components of what must happen in the days and weeks ahead is that there must be a sense of Iraqi security forces that, if they get in trouble, coalition forces will come to the rescue, if need be.

AMANPOUR: Iraqi forces have just received an emergency delivery from the United States, 56,000 sets of body armor, with another 12,000 to follow next week, 60,000 Kevlar helmets, more than 600 radios and 1,000 vehicles, plus heavy machine guns, RPGs, and ammunition, welcome news at training bases like this one, run by a unit of the Arkansas National Guard.

LT. MICHAEL SCOTT, ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD: We've secured the freedom -- the freedom of Iraq. But it's these people, these soldiers that we're training now that are going to have to fight to keep it. And that's what we're trying to prepare them for.

AMANPOUR: American soldiers say that, with the right equipment, the Iraqis could do the job.

SGT. ANDY FLETCHER, ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD: We are working with them every day to get them prepared. Like was already mentioned, we've got one company that's already ready for missions. We've got two platoons of new recruits that we're working with. They're going to be going off to what's called their basic training.

AMANPOUR: Meantime, more Iraqi police and Army checkpoints are going up around Baghdad with U.S. military support. It's a fire wall against insurgents the U.S. admits are a serious threat.

PETRAEUS: At times, they have been able to establish new beachheads, if you will, and that's what's happened most recently, clearly, that they've been able to create basically a ring of truck bomb manufacturers around the country and they've been able to explode one a day, certainly, for several weeks. We have been attacking these guys very vigorously.

AMANPOUR: Up north, in Mosul, U.S. commanders say they're pleased that it was Iraqi forces who responded first to the suicide bombings that killed more than 60 people on Thursday.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Foreign fighters targeting American troops inside Iraq, a rare look at the help the insurgency is receiving. Hear from one foreign fighter who is now in coalition custody.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Mr. President, the world is a more dangerous place today. I don't know whether you can see that or not.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Why do you say that?

QUESTION: There are terrorists bombing every single day. It's now a daily event. It wasn't like that two years ago.

BUSH: What was it like September 11, 2001?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Defending his decision to invade Iraq, President Bush sticks to his guns in an often combative interview with an Irish journalist.

Also, new revelations about Princess Diana and Prince Charles from the former butler. Wolf's interview with Paul Burrell later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Terror leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi is a Jordanian, the most prominent of the foreigners who have come to Iraq to support the insurgency.

CNN has been investigating these foreign fighters and Jim Clancy gives us a rare look at one of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When the U.S. was about to invade Iraq last year, Saddam Hussein urged Muslims everywhere to come to his defense. More recently, Osama bin Laden has been calling on Muslims to go to Iraq to engage in jihad against American troops.

Just how many of these so-called foreign fighters have showed up is still a question. When we asked American military intelligence, the figure ranged from the hundreds to the thousands. About 200 third-party nationals, as the military called them, are now in coalition custody. While Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is the most well-known, a young man named Ahmed may be more typical. He's a Palestinian who lives in this refugee camp in Syria and says he's been back and forth to Iraq several times.

Most recently, he says he was fighting in the Sunni triangle. CNN obtained this interview from a German freelance journalist. The man who calls himself Ahmed spoke with our journalist on the condition his identity not be revealed.

AHMED, (through translator): There are American patrols everywhere. Anywhere you want to target them, you set up with bombs, light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

CLANCY: U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told us Iraq's borders with Syria and Iran are porous and that's how many of these fighters are getting into the country. Iraq's interior minister says he believes the most recent suicide bombings were carried out by foreign fighters. Ahmed says, if he goes back to Iraq, he would consider being a suicide bomber as well.

Jim Clancy, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: And you can see more of Jim Clancy's report tonight on "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN" at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and also this Sunday on a special live edition of "CNN PRESENTS" in an in-depth look at the future of Iraq anchored by Anderson Cooper in Baghdad. That's Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. Pacific.

One of Saudi Arabia top Islamic clerics today called on militants to lay down their weapons and accept a limited amnesty from the Saudi government. Saudi al Qaeda supporters are blamed for a series of recent attacks on foreign nationals, including the murder of America's Paul Johnson. Some Westerners have fled the country.

And as CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson reports, those who remain in Saudi Arabia are very nervous.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the fate of U.S. helicopter engineer Paul Johnson that scares expatriate Western workers here the most. These three expats are still in Saudi Arabia and want to remain anonymous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm so worried. Is somebody going to get in here? Is someone going to walk into my car, my house and try and hurt me because I have no way to defend myself? I've gotten my carpenter to make a spear. I mean, these guys have automatic weapons and I've got a spear.

ROBERTSON: Morale among this beleaguered community is low.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we see the situation like with Mr. Johnson. People readily have to make a decision. What am I going to do? I've just seen these actions taking place. They're threatening to do more. I have to say, I want to go.

ROBERTSON: The question for those that remain, is it still worth staying?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you start confining yourself to the compound and living like a prisoner, there comes a point in time where, you know, it's just not worth it and it's just -- if you're going to live like that, you might as well head out and go back to America.

ROBERTSON: Within hours of our interview, news from the Saudi authorities that foreigners can apply for gun permits.

Contacted by phone, the three say that gives them greater confidence, but they feel more needs to be done.

(on camera): While security checks here at Riyadh's main diplomatic compound are very strict, what concerns many expatriate Western workers is that, at the compounds where they live, security is not as professional or rigorous.

(voice-over): At talks planned with Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal this weekend, U.S. officials hope to improve compound security. Negotiations are continuing to allow armed private security companies to protect Western workers. And, in that context, the U.S. officials say the new gun laws are a positive step.

How quickly Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz intends to implement the new ruling is unclear, as are the details on gun licensing, import and training. By Saudi Arabia's past practices, however, he appears to be moving with haste.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Surprising that the security's been so low.

Well, families are caught in the middle of international policy. Now some are taking political action. We'll show what you they're doing.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: I saw four of your soldiers lying dead on the television the other day. A picture of four soldiers just lying there without their flak jackets.

BUSH: Listen, nobody cares more about their death than I do.

QUESTION: Is there a point at which....

BUSH: Let me finish. Let me finish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: And that's just the beginning. We'll show you more of President Bush's combative interview with Irish TV.

Plus, he says. Now she says -- Monica Lewinsky's reaction to the new Clinton memoir.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: At the end of this month, the United States begins tightening restrictions on families who travel from the U.S. to Cuba. The Bush administration says the new rules will punish Cuban President Fidel Castro's regime. Many Cubans say all they do is punish innocent people who want time with their loved ones.

Here now, CNN Havana bureau chief Lucia Newman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): It's a recurring scene at Havana's International Airport, record numbers of Cuban-Americans arriving here on charter flights, if only for just a few days, to see their families for the last time before new White House restrictions on travel to Cuba go into effect next Wednesday. Under the new rules, Cuban-Americans can only come here once every three years for a maximum of two weeks.

"This is the most horrendous crime I've ever witnessed," says this woman, "to separate families."

"The U.S. and Cuban governments take measures and we're the ones who pay," says Elena Espinosa (ph), who is waiting for her mother. Cuana Sandas (ph), who is nearly 80 years old, finally arrives. At her's home, Children The entire extended family is waiting, knowing Dona Cuana (ph) must leave before the June 30 deadline.

Her granddaughter is afraid there may not be a next time. "I adore my grandmother," she cries, "but three years is a long time and she's very old." Many Cuban-Americans like Cuana are angry. The new White House restrictions which also limit the amount of money Cuban- Americans can give their families here are built as measures to hasten the downfall of the Castro regime.

They're backed by Cuban exile hard-liners in the United States, who usually vote Republican.

(on camera): But they're not going down well among a great many of those who still have family here in Cuba. I flew in on one of the charters from Miami where a Cuban-American woman was handing out voter registration cards to the passengers in a clear effort to get out the vote against President Bush.

(voice-over): "Bush won't get any support from us," says this woman.

Most of the passengers told us they don't care about politics until it touches their families.

Lucia Newman, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: As Lucia reported, the administration's new rules do have some support here in the U.S.

We contacted South Florida Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros- Lehtinen's office for a comment. She issued this statement from earlier this month -- quote -- "I am pleased that the State Department and the administration are implementing these regulations. These new pressures on Cuba's command economy will rob the dictatorship of funds to further oppress the Cuban people. I thank the president for his leadership in bringing democracy and freedom to Cuba."

President Bush now on the road in Ireland and facing skeptics before his trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: He was a brutal dictator who posed a threat, such a threat that the United Nations voted unanimously to say, Mr. Saddam Hussein

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Indeed, Mr. President, but you didn't find the weapons of mass destruction.

BUSH: Look, may I finish?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: But not all Irish eyes are smiling at his visit. Up next, a prickly interview on Irish television.

Selling his story. Bill Clinton opens up in his new book, but is he telling the whole tale? Women from his past now respond.

And he served the princess of Wales. Now he serves up his story on stage. Wolf's interview with Paul Burrell, that's later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS" from our studios in Washington.

WOODRUFF: Welcome back. Wolf is away today.

Appeal to the allies. President Bush heads to a pair of summits looking for help in Iraq. He may find skepticism.

We'll get to that, but first, a quick check of the latest headlines.

A senior Defense -- a senior Defense Department official said Friday's strike in Fallujah came very close to killing Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. The official says however it appears the wanted mastermind escaped.

The State Department disputes a U.S. official's assertion that North Korea has threatened to test a nuclear weapon. The unnamed official told reporters at talks in Beijing that North Korea said it might do so unless the U.S. accepts its terms for a freeze. A State Department spokesman says several proposals though are under review.

A judge in the Michael Jackson child molestation case has denied a media request for access to sealed search warrants and grand jury transcripts. The next hearing is set for July 9. Defense attorneys may argue for dismissal of counts against the pop star.

President Bush is in Ireland, his first stop on a diplomatic tour once again overshadowed by the war in Iraq. Over the next several days he'll be meeting with allies. First the European Union followed by NATO next week trying to build new consensus for helping the new Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): A warm official welcome for President Bush in Ireland. But outside this weekend's summit venues, feelings toward the American president are frosty if not hostile.

Thousands of people are expected to protest as Mr. Bush meets with European union leaders. Officials plan to keep demonstrators far away, deploying more than one-third of the country's security forces to keep the peace.

Everything from terrorism to trade is on the Euro-American Summit agenda. But with the handover of sovereignty just five days away, Iraq will almost certainly take center stage. White House officials want to keep the focus off relations strained by the war and on rebuilding.

DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COMM. DIR.: And we put that chapter behind us, and now it's time to focus on the future. And the president's confident that the international community will come to the aid of the Iraqi people.

WOODRUFF: Mr. Bush will be asking for financial help from the EU and military help from NATO. But in an interview with Turkish television, the president himself said more NATO troops now appear unlikely.

BUSH: I think most of the NATO countries that have participated with troops are at their limit. And I think some of the NATO countries that haven't put troops in are really not interested in doing so.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: On the eve of his trip, Mr. Bush also gave an interview to the Irish Television Network RTE. Reporter Carole Coleman apparently was on the offensive a bit. Here are some excerpts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLE COLEMAN, RET IRELAND'S WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Unfortunately, the majority of our public do not welcome your visit because they're angry over Iraq, they're angry over Abu Ghraib. Are you bothered by what Irish people think?

BUSH: Listen, I hope the Irish people understand the great values of our country. And if they think that a few soldiers represents a entirety of America they don't really understand America then.

There have been great ties between Ireland and America. And got a lot of Irish-Americans here that are very proud of their heritage and their country.

But, you know, they must not understand if they're angry over Abu Ghraib, if they say this is what America represents they don't understand our country because we don't represent that. We're a compassionate country, we're a strong country, we'll defend ourselves.

But we help people and we've helped the Irish and we'll continue to do so. We've got a good relationship with Ireland.

COLEMAN: And they're angry over Iraq, as well. In particularly the continuing death toll there.

BUSH: Well I can understand that. People don't like war. But what they should be angry about is the fact that there was a brutal dictator there that had destroyed lives and put them in mass graves and had torture rooms.

Listen I wish they could see the seven men who came to see me in the Oval Office. They had their right hands cut off by Saddam Hussein because the currency had devalued when he was the leader. See?

And guess what happened? Americans saw the fact that they had their hands cut off and crosses -- or "x"s carved in their forehead. And they flew them to America and they came to my office with a new hand, grateful for the generosity of America and with Saddam Hussein's brutality in their mind.

Now, look, Saddam Hussein had -- used weapons of mass destruction against his own people, against the neighborhood. He was a brutal dictator who posed a threat. Such a threat that the United Nations voted unanimously to say, Mr. Saddam Hussein...

COLEMAN: Indeed, Mr. President, but you didn't find the weapons of mass destruction.

BUSH: Let me finish. What -- may I finish?

He said -- the United Nations said disarm or face serious consequences. That's what the United Nations said.

And guess what? He didn't disarm, he didn't disclose his arms. And therefore he faced serious consequences. But we have found the capacity for him to make a weapon. See he had the capacity to make weapons. He was dangerous.

And no one can argue that the world is better off with Saddam Hussein -- if Saddam Hussein were in power.

COLEMAN: But, Mr. President, the world is a more dangerous place today. I don't know whether you can see that or not.

BUSH: Why do you say this?

COLEMAN: There are terrorist bombings every single day. It's now a daily event. It wasn't like that two years ago.

BUSH: What was it like September the 11th, 2001? It was -- There was a relative calm.

COLEMAN: But if your response to Iraq...

BUSH: Let me finish, please. You ask the questions and I'll answer them, if you don't mind.

On September the 11th, 2001, we were attacked in an unprovoked fashion. Everybody thought the world was calm.

And then there had been bombings since then. Not because of my response to Iraq. There were bombings in Madrid. There were bombings in Istanbul. There were bombings in Bali. There were killings in Pakistan.

COLEMAN: Indeed, Mr. President. And I think Irish people understand that. But I think there is a feeling that the world has become a more dangerous place because you have taken the focus off al Qaeda and diverted it into Iraq. Do you not see the world is a more dangerous place? I saw four of your soldiers lying dead on the television the other day. A picture of four soldiers just lying there without their flak jackets...

BUSH: You know, listen, nobody cares more about their death than I do.

COLEMAN: Is there a point...

BUSH: Let me finish, please, please. Let me finish. And then you can follow up if you don't mind.

Nobody cares more about their deaths than I do. I care about it a lot. But I do believe the world is a safer place and becoming a safer place. I know that a free Iraq is going to be necessary, part of changing the world.

Listen, people -- people join terrorist organizations because there's no hope. And there's no chance to raise their families in a -- in a peaceful world where there is not freedom. And so the idea is to promote freedom and at the same time, protect our security.

And I do believe the world is becoming a better place. Absolutely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: A frank exchange of views you might call it between the president and the Irish television reporter.

President Clinton's renewed publicity in recent weeks brings with it renewed memories of his past. Up next, Monica Lewinsky speaks out on his new book. And why is Gennifer Flowers now getting a lawyer?

Plus, Diana's butler. Devoted servant, loyal friend, now the star of a one-man play. Hear what he's got to say about his new role and the royal family.

And calling it quits. Illinois Senate candidate Jack Ryan ends his political pursuit. We'll get to that.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): In Iran, a tanker truck slammed into some buses causing an explosion and fire that killed at least 71 people and injured scores more. Iranian news reports say the truck's steering mechanism may have failed.

Painful disclosure. More than a year after a plane carrying Spanish troops back from Afghanistan crashed in Turkey, families of the 62 victims have received disturbing news. Some of the bodies were misidentified. And more than 20 of them were returned to the wrong families.

Gay and Israeli. Israelis celebrated gay pride with a huge colorful parade in Tel Aviv. Estimates put the turnout in excess of 100,000.

Fire and light. Crowds turned out in Paris as the Olympic flame traveled through the city of light. The 2004 Athens Olympics start August 13.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: It's official, Jack Ryan, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Illinois, is dropping out of the race. The future of his campaign had been in doubt since allegations arose this week that he visited sex clubs with his then wife actress Jeri Ryan and pressured her to have sex in public. Jack Ryan announced his decision in a statement saying he refused to take part in what he called, quote, brutal scorched earth politics.

Well, the shadow of scandal is lengthening again with the release of former President Bill Clinton's autobiography. Women whose names arose during his presidency are speaking out.

CNN's Brian Todd joins me now with what they're saying, Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judy, these are well-known women, long associated with Bill Clinton's scandals. At the very least they claim he is, as one of them puts it, a revisionist of history and in some cases their wording is much stronger.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Bill Clinton is selling a lot of books and according to the former women in his life selling them short. Monica Lewinsky is downright mad and accuses Clinton of lying about their relationship.

To his comment to an interviewer that he had the affair with her because he could, Lewinsky tells the British tabloid "The Daily Mail," quote, "When it started it was because he wanted it to. Time after time he has been unable to tell the truth." On CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," the former president tried to explain.

WILLIAM CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I knew better than to do it. I didn't really want to do it at some level, but I could do it. It was there. And I did it. So when I say I did it because I could, if you take it out of context it sounds jolty, it's snippy and arrogant and unfeeling toward Monica Lewinsky or my family or anything else. That is not what I meant.

TODD: To what she interpreted as suggestions from Clinton that the relationship was purely physical, Lewinsky tells "The Daily Mail," quote, "He talked about it as though I had laid it all out there for the taking. I was the buffet, and he just couldn't resist the desert. That's not how it was. This was a mutual relationship. Mutual on all levels."

Paula Jones also resurfaces. Jones claimed Clinton made a sexual advance toward her in a hotel room when he was governor of Arkansas. Clinton denied the claim, but Jones' lawsuit triggered the Lewinsky scandal and the impeachment proceedings.

Wednesday on the Sean Hannity radio program, Jones leveled a serious personal accusation, quote, "People with sex addiction habits or whatever would absolutely do anything, but this was his motto. You know, he did this. And he had the state troopers pull out different people from crowds and stuff. And I'm still just flabbergasted that a lot of the women did not come forward. I guess they were scared."

The parade continues with a name from the even more distant past, Gennifer Flowers. In his book, Clinton denied Flowers' claim of a long-term affair, quote, "The fact is, there was no 12 year affair." Now, through her attorneys at the Group Judicial Watch Flowers issued a statement reading in part, "I am sickened by continue disregard for the truth. Bill Clinton pretends to be contrite, but he continues to bare false witness against his neighbor. He is a national disgrace."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: And Monica Lewinsky also gave an interview to a British TV network saying many of the same things she said in print, adding in the network interview that once the affair with Clinton became public and he was trying to protect his presidency, quote, "He destroyed me." Now, we tried repeatedly to get a response from the former president to all of these comments. Our phone calls and e-mails to his office were not returned -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: This debate just goes on and on. Doesn't it?

TODD: It will for a while.

WOODRUFF: Brian, thank you very much.

Well, Vice President Dick Cheney responded today to reports that he used an expletive during an argument at the Capitol with Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, who has criticized Cheney over his former links with Halliburton, a major Pentagon contractor. Appearing on Fox News Cheney called Leahy quote, "The type of individual who will make those kind of charges and then come up as though he is your best friend." Still quoting Cheney," I express in no uncertain terms my views of his conduct and I walked away." And ask if he actually cursed at Cheney -- at Leahy, Cheney replied, quote, "probably." Cheney says he doesn't have any regrets. Hmm.

Well, seven years after princess Diana's death that debate continues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PAUL BURRELL, DIANA'S BUTLER: I was there. I witnessed this part of history. It's part of my life too, and so I have a responsibility to the princess' memory to make those facts known.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, is he keeping Diana's memory alive or betraying it?

We'll hear Wolf's interview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Almost seven years after she died in a car wreck in Paris Britain's Princess Diana continues to hold a fascination for many people around the world. New assertions about her life and death continue to appear. Many of them come from her former butler, Paul Burrell. Wolf Blitzer takes a look at Burrell and some of the things he has said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Princess Diana called Paul Burrell her rock. But after she died in a car crash in 1997 the former royal servant became, some believe, a porous rock.

In his 2003 book "A Royal Duty" Burrell wrote about Diana's broken marriage to Prince Charles. Burrell wrote that ten months before her death Diana suspected someone was trying to kill her by staging a car crash. Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, called the book a betrayal.

But when the paper back edition came out this spring a new chapter was added containing more assertions from Burrell. He said Charles had told Diana he never loved her. Burrell also said there was a five-year pact between Charles and his father, Prince Philip. Philip allegedly told Charles that if the marriage with Diana didn't work out by then Charles could go back to his long-time love, Camilla Parker Bowles.

Now Burrell is going on stage with his accusations. He says his one-man show is his latest effort to keep Diana's memory alive, but "The Daily Telegraph" newspaper described the lightly attended London performance as "sweet, sickly and leaving a nasty taste."

Burrell appeared on stage in New York this week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Well, earlier this week, wolf talked with Paul Burrell. They spoke about his memories of Princess Diana and about his book "A Royal Duty."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Paul Burrell, thanks very much for joining us. First, why the one-man stage program now?

PAUL BURRELL, FORMER BUTLER TO PRINCESS DIANA: Well, because so much has happened to me in the last year or so since the book was published. My producer said why don't you come to New York and have a audience with people so that they can ask you questions and you can have an interaction with the general public.

I think it's to dispel all the myths and lies that have been written about me recently.

BLITZER: Let's talk about the most explosive allegation you make in the new chapter , in the paper back edition of the book that Prince Charles told Princess Diana he never loved her.

BURRELL: That's right. In an argument one day the prince turned around her and said, "Well, I never loved you anyway. And my father said if the marriage wasn't working in five years, I could return to Camilla."

Now how do you think she felt about that? She fired off a letter to the Duke of Edinburgh and said, "This makes me feel as if i was on sale or return basis to the royal family and I was only here to provide an heir and spare." She was devastated.

BLITZER: Were you an eyewitness to that exchange?

BURRELL: No, the princess told me about it.

BLITZER: And at the time you wrote it down contemporaneously?

BURRELL: Yes, I kept a diary and notes and I saw letters which the princess showed me that she'd written to the Duke of Edinburgh and letters that he responded.

BLITZER: In the book the most explosive old charge that you had made, which I wanted to get your sense if you've got any new information on this, was that she feared there would be a car crash staged in attempt to kill her. What new information, if any, do you have on that charge?

BURRELL: Well, I've been helping the police with their inquiries. I've had two very lengthy meetings with the investigators who are investigating (AUDIO GAP) surrounding the princess' death.

And they have to take that very seriously because they were her thoughts and feelings at the time. She wrote them in her own hand. So it's up to them now to investigate that. And the royal coroner is investigating it.

I knew what the princess felt and thought before she died. And I know what I saw in Paris. But I don't know what happened in between. And I think, you know, rather than undermine that inquiry which is ongoing we should wait and find out when he makes it public.

BLITZER: Well, what do you personally believe? Was this an accident, a coincidence that it was a car chase? Or was she murdered? BURRELL: So many unanswered questions. It would be foolish of me to make a decision on that because I don't know the answers to the questions. So many questions.

Why did it take an hour for the princess to get from the accident to the hospital? Why were all the cameras switched off in the tunnel? You know, so many suspicious things happened in Paris on that night. They have to be investigated properly. And we'll wait and find the correct -- go through the correct procedure.

BLITZER: So many people, of course, as you well know, raising questions about your personal motives in making all this public. I know there's been some angry reaction from the royal family. But what do you say to them?

BURRELL: I'm attached to an icon and a phenomenon of modern times. This is what I know best. I was there. I witnessed this part of history. It's part of my life too. And so I have a responsibility to the princess' memory to make those facts known.

Listen, if I'd gone to the royal family with all these facts before I published the book do you think they would have let me print the book? It had to come out in the public domain. It is a matter of public interest.

BLITZER: And you believe Princess Diana would have wanted you to do this?

BURRELL: Knowing her so well, knowing her throughout the years when I stood in her corner when -- remember, she was stripped of her title, she was rejected and abandoned, I stood there with her. And I think yes, she would want the truth to be known.

BLITZER: Paul Burrell, thanks very much for joining us.

BURRELL: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Well speaking of public interest, pop star Britney Spears is getting married again. CNN has confirmed that the 22-year- old is engaged to dancer Kevin Federling. You might remember that she married a childhood friend in Las Vegas about six months ago. That was annulled almost immediately. Spears had also recently had knee surgery which caused her to cancel her upcoming concert tour.

In a moment, taking flight. How these Afghans are learning to rise above their fears.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Finally, we take you to Afghanistan for one of loftier "Pictures of the Day," you might say. Three German paragliding instructors are in Kabul to give free lessons to any Afghans who want to learn to soar. One 20-something Afghan woman says she wants to be pilot and figures paragliding is here first step. We wish her well. A reminder, you can always catch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays at this time, 5:00 Eastern, and also at noon Eastern. And tune into "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. This weekend Secretary of State Colin Powell will be a special guest ahead of the handover in Iraq. Also, an exclusive interview with former presidential candidate Howard Dean.

Until then, thanks for joining us. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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