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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

U.S. Military Death's Reach 1000 Mark; A look at Bill Clinton's Heart Surgery

Aired September 07, 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.


WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now. A haunting threshold just crossed in Iraq. More than 1,000 U.S. troops have now been killed on duty.
And caught on camera. The terrorists document the torture of a Russian school.

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Baghdad battle. A rising toll for the troops and their families.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I look out the window and I say, "who is it?" and they say, "United States Army."

BLITZER: March against terror. Russians show support for President Putin. He wants support from the west.

On the trail and on edge.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: George W. Bush. "W" stands for "wrong." Wrong directions, wrong choices.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No matter how many times Senator Kerry flip-flops we were right to make America safer by removing Saddam Hussein from power.

BLITZER: Civil suit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's up to a jury to ultimately decide what she deserves in terms of fair compensation. The injury is enormous.

BLITZER: Attorneys for his accuser set their sights on Kobe Bryant.

Clinton's condition. What the doctors found and what you can find out about your heart.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, September 7, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: An upsurge of bloody fighting brings a grim milestone for U.S. troops in Iraq. Sixteen months after President Bush declared an end to major combat, a U.S. soldier has become the 1,000th American to die in Iraq.

Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, with the death toll in Iraq for U.S. military now exceeding 1,000, sources here at the Pentagon tell CNN that there is a plan to move against upper places like Fallujah which has been a stronghold for insurgents launching deadly attacks against U.S. troops.

Yesterday's attack, for instance, in Fallujah which claimed the lives of seven marines was the latest in a spike of U.S. casualties that has pushed the number of U.S. military dead in Iraq over 1,000 now and the number of wounded close to 7,000.

But the Pentagon insisted in almost every clash with the insurgents, the U.S. is inflicting far heavier casualties on its enemies killing as many as 2,500 insurgents in one month last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An insurgent attack ensued that was more sophisticated than usual. As a result our forces attacked the enemy. Five of our soldiers were wounded, one striker was destroyed and six were damaged. But numerous enemy forces were killed. This is a pattern across Iraq. The more aggressive the tactics of the insurgency the greater their loss of human life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Again, the Pentagon making the point that its coming out ahead in most of these battles. And meanwhile U.S. war planes continue to pound Fallujah, the biggest of the enemy enclaves from which U.S. commanders now believe that people like Abu Musab al- Zarqawi may be directing elements of the insurgency. Pentagon sources tell CNN that a joint U.S./Iraq plan is now in the works to launch a series of offensives aimed at eliminating so-called "no go" zones across Iraq, areas where the U.S. chooses not to patrol and the Iraqi government doesn't have control.

Today Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that the new Iraqi government gets it. He said they understand they can't have these areas in Iraq where they do not have control especially with the elections coming up in January and he hinted that those areas would be dealt with under the leadership of the Iraqi government. But again Pentagon sources tell us that there is a plan to have a coordinated offensive with Iraqi forces aimed that slowly taking out and isolating and eliminating some of these rebel strongholds -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie, when Rumsfeld met with reporters earlier today, he tried to give some sort of different interpretation of this threshold number of more than 1,000 U.S. troops having now died in Iraq and comparing it to just over 100 who were dead at the time when the president was aboard the aircraft carrier, the Abraham Lincoln when he said major combat operations were over. He put it in a broader perspective.

MCINTYRE: Well, he did. He said that -- actually he said if you want to count, he said, this 1,000 essentially as an arbitrary number, my words, but he basically said it is really a much higher toll than that if you count the entire war against terror, operations in Afghanistan, the people who have died, not to mention for instance the victims of September 11 and others of terrorism. And he said simply that this was the price of staying on the offensive and price of trying to win the war against terrorism -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, thanks very much.

The fighting has been fiercest in Sadr City. That's a Baghdad slum and a stronghold of Shiite hardliners. CNN's Diana Muriel reports from the Iraqi capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Taking on the Americans. Militiamen armed with rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles take up their positions. Hours of running battles with American forces in the sprawling northeast and Baghdad suburb of Sadr City have left dozens of Iraqi civilians dead and more than 200 wounded according to the Iraqi ministry of health.

The Americans taking losses, too. Violence flared after peace talks between local community leaders and U.S. and Iraqi authorities stalled. Fresh from fighting American forces in a three-week battle in Najaf, many of these militiamen are members of the so-called Medhi army loyal to renegade cleric Muqtada al-Sadr with their base in Sadr City.

But nowhere in Baghdad can be considered safe. Half an hour's drive from Sadr City, this was the scene Tuesday morning after the city governor's convoy was attacked. First an explosion, then gunmen raked the vehicles with bullets according to eyewitnesses, the governor escaping unhurt but three of his bodyguards were injured.

Westerners, too are targets. Gunmen in central Baghdad kidnapped two Italian female aid workers in broad daylight Tuesday. The two women, Simona Pari (ph) and Simona Toreta (ph) both age 29, are employed by Bridge To Baghdad, a UNICEF-linked project helping to rebuild schools.

Elsewhere on a highway west of Baghdad, a U.S. military truck was still burning Tuesday after coming under attack late the previous day. Monday had already claimed the lives of seven U.S. marines nine miles north of Fallujah. The city itself has been a no-go zone for U.S. troops since April.

(on camera): The already strained security situation then ratcheting up another notch here in Iraq. Insurgents not limiting their attacks to U.S. forces. Civilians, both Iraqi and Westerners it seems are in ever-increasing danger. Diana Muriel, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here is your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. "Is the death toll for U.S. forces in Iraq higher or lower than you expected?" You can vote. Go to CNN.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast. While you're there, by the way, I'd love to hear directly from you. Send me your comments any time. I will try to read some on them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column. CNN.com/wolf.

There's stunning new video out just hours ago of Russia's school hostage crisis which ended in a bloody rampage and left more than 330 people dead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The images are chilling. Hundreds of people, adults and children, being held hostage inside a school gym in the town of Beslan in southern Russia. The video, seen for the first time just hours ago on Russia's MTV, seems to have been shot by the terrorists themselves and shows what looks like explosives that survivors reported had been placed throughout the room, including some hung overhead on basketball hoops.

Other scenes show a man with his foot hovering over an apparent detonator and a woman dressed in black from head to toe. The misery of the conditions is evident with victims crammed in what they described as stifling heat, suffering unbearable thirst. Many later said they were denied water for much of the ordeal.

It is not clear if red streaks seen on the floor may be blood from a man witnesses say was killed by the terrorists and dragged across the floor.

The standoff came to a bloody and chaotic end Friday with at least 335 hostages killed, about half of them children. Russian authorities are said to be scrutinizing the tape now for any new clues to a massacre that has shaken the country to its core.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Indeed in Moscow today, there was a massive rally against terrorism. Tens of thousands of Russians stunned by these recent attacks gathered near the Kremlin in a show of mourning and rage. President Vladimir Putin has vented his anger at the west, accusing it of a double standard on terrorism for favoring negotiations with Chechen separatists. He told a meeting of visiting foreign policy experts, and I'm quoting now, "why don't you meet Osama bin Laden and invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks. Ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace. You find it possible to set some limits on your dealings with these bastards so why should we talk with people who are child killers?"

That from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Angry words, indeed.

The United States is providing aid to Russian victims of terrorism, but it's also providing comfort to Russia's enemies. Is it, at least? That's the question that Russians are asking. Let's go live to our State Department correspondent, Andrea Koppel -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as with so many things, it depends on who you ask as to which one of those answers is actually the case. But for its part the Bush administration today has been taking great pains to show its empathy for the Russian people.

Earlier today Secretary of State Powell and his deputy Richard Armitage went over to the Russian embassy here in Washington to sign a book of condolences for the victims of that school siege.

And today the State Department also announced that it would be sending $655,000 worth of medical assistance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (voice-over): As the first of two plane loads of U.S. medical supplies arrived in Beslan, the Bush administration expressed sympathy and solidarity with the Russian people.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: What's taking place in Iraq and what's taking place in Afghanistan and what's taking place in Russia are examples of the fact that there are people determined to alter the behavior of the rest of the world and how they live their lives and to terrorize them into doing that.

KOPPEL: But while condemning last week's school hostage siege, blamed on Chechen separatist, the U.S. continues to support a political solution to the 10-year old Chechen civil war.

And although it has been two years since U.S. officials have met with Chechen leaders, just last month U.S. courts in Massachusetts granted political asylum to Chechnya's self-declared foreign minister; an overall policy Russian President Putin is now angrily calling a Cold War mentality held by some U.S. officials looking to undermine Russia's war on terrorism.

But as Secretary of State Powell hinted, the issue is delicate. And while the U.S. is not backing off its policy, it's not pushing it either.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: All parties, to include the Russian Federation, have been looking for a political solution to the crisis in Chechnya. I think President Putin was making reference to occasional visits, not one recently, but some time ago.

KOPPEL: For the U.S. there is a distinction between Chechen separatists and Chechen terrorists.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: The United States has met with people from Chechnya who have differing points of view, including points of view that differ from the Russian government. But, you know, we don't meet with terrorists.

KOPPEL: But experts say to the Russians, after three back-to- back terrorist attacks last week alone, that distinction rings hollow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Putin calling up President Bush on September 12 and giving him advice for how to fight the terrorists, Mr. Bush wouldn't listen to him then, and Mr. Putin is not going to listen to the outside community today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: As one State Department official summed it up, with all these tragedies recently in Russia, the U.S. and Russia haven't discussed the need for a political settlement over the last several weeks. But again, this official saying our view for the long term is that the political dialogue stands the best chance -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Andrea Koppel, thanks very much.

Bill Clinton's condition, how the former president bypassed a likely heart attack, and what's ahead after his surgery?

Talk about a quick recovery. He was in a super bowl a month after a quadruple bypass himself. I will speak live with former NFL coach Dan Reeves. He'll tell us what Bill Clinton is likely to go through right now.

And later, as the war in Iraq takes a rising toll, we'll hear from families of the fallen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Frances has left Florida but it has left behind huge bills. Insurance industry experts predict that when all the damage is assessed, Hurricane Frances may end up as the fifth costliest storm in U.S. history. Hurricane Charley, which hit Florida just last month, is epxected to be the second costliest.

Even though the storm has passed, flooding remains a problem. After all the weekend rain, some rivers are continuing to rise right now. Downgraded to a tropical depression late yesterday, Frances moved north into Georgia. About half a million Georgia electricity customers lost service, 300,000 of them in the Atlanta area.

Our meteorologist Orelon Sidney is over at the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta with a look at where Frances is now and the threat posed by yet another storm -- Orelon.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot, Wolf. Well, Frances now is a tropical depression, as we talked about, and it is working its way northward. The center of the storm very close to the Atlanta area. It's just about there, where my hand is. And if you take it and bisect it, you can see the southern end. There is just not a whole lot of action going on. It's all to the north.

And we do have a couple of tornado watches with several warnings that have come out throughout the afternoon. Those watches both expire at 8:00 p.m. local time tonight. Zoom in a little bit closer, you can see that the thunderstorms, especially right across the South Carolina/North Carolina state line are very strong. We also have some strong thunderstorms here to the south of Wilmington. And that's where we are going to find a little bit of rough weather tonight.

Continuing to see that heavy rainfall as well. And as Wolf talked about, we have Hurricane Ivan. This is the very latest advisory, as of 5:00 p.m. the storm is 35 miles west-southwest of Grenada. The center of the storm, the eye having just passed over Grenada. Winds now 120 miles an hour. Strong Category 3 moving to the west at 18 miles an hour.

I don't know if we can take our graphics router, PA -- I think it's PA No. 2 -- or PA No. 7, excuse me. Maybe we can take that or maybe not. I'm not sure. But I wanted to show you a little bit different perspective on the storm. Looks like we don't have that one. But I can give you a little bit of an idea of where the storm is headed. Probably going to -- there it is, probably going to continue to move on into the Caribbean, perhaps toward the Gulf of Mexico later on in the weekend.

Here though is what's left of our tropical depression. It looks like it's going to continue to bring some very heavy rains into the Southeast throughout the evening hours. The center of circulation again right there around Atlanta.

And notice we haven't had a lot of thunderstorm activity here. Most of it has been to the north and east and will continue tonight. Flood warnings and flood watches are in effect northward all the way to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. That will be in effect tonight and Wednesday -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Orelon, so just to be precise, Hurricane Ivan, which is moving now in the Caribbean, we don't expect it will hit Florida, is that the current thinking?

SIDNEY: Well, the current thinking, if you go out 96 to 120 hours, styou are probably really playing a fool's game. At 72 hours it looks like it will be somewhere around Jamaica, probably between Jamaica and the Isle of Youth. That's 72 hours out.

Some of the models after that point take it into the Gulf towards Florida. Others take it straight on into the Gulf of Mexico and even near the Yucatan Peninsula. So when you go out past three days, you're really kind of playing an unfair game with yourself. At 72 hours, though, we know it will still be in the Caribbean, it will still be strong, probably somewhere between Jamaica and, again, the Isle of Youth -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Orelon Sidney, thanks very much for that update.

In a moment, president Clinton's recovery from bypass surgery. Details of what went on inside the operating room and how you can catch the early warning signs. Information you need to know. I will speak with our medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

And also, with famed NFL coach Dan Reeves who underwent a similar quadruple bypass himself.

President Bush is on the road accusing John Kerry of flip- flopping when it comes to Iraq. Kerry complains bitterly about the U.S. Economy. We'll have the latest from the campaign trail. That's coming up as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. More now on our top story. That grim milestone reached in Iraq. More than 1, 000 U.S. Troops now dead as a result of the war more than a year ago. Only a few moments ago, the Democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, spoke out about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: Today marks a tragic mile there is stone in the war in Iraq. More than 1,000 of America's sons and daughters have now given their lives on behalf of their country, on behalf of freedom in the war on terror. I think that the first thing that every American wants to say today is how deeply we each feel the loss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: John Kerry, speaking just a few moments ago. To be precise, our count now, CNN's count, 1002 the number of troop whose have died in Iraq. Let's move on.

Bill Clinton's doctor say the former president's arteries were so severely clogged he was only weeks away, they say, from having a heart attack. Clinton is in critical condition after quadruple bypass surgery yesterday at New York's Presbyterian Hospital. Joining is now with the former president's condition, our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

What do they know about his condition today, Sanjay, what are they saying about his condition?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: He is progressing along amazing well, actually Wolf. He is already up. He is talking. He is taking some fluids in already. Still in the intensive care unit according to the Clinton folks. They're posting their updates on clintonfoundation.org. Still in the intensive care unit, probably going to move out of the intensive care unit pretty quickly.

It's really amazing to think about, Wolf. His chest was open, his heart was stopped for 73 minutes yesterday and already he's up and talking today, probably home by end of the week, Wolf.

BLITZER: Sanjay, a lot of people out there are probably going to see what happened to Bill Clinton and say, you know what? I got to get a heart test myself, a stress test or EKG or whatever. I know you have a history of heart disease in your family. What have you done?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting. I'm 34 years old as well. I'm still considered young. But with a strong family history, what a lot of people are doing is getting the numbers they can under control, their cholesterol and their blood pressure. President Clinton, alluded to the fact maybe people should get angiograms before they have symptoms. A lot of doctors aren't so sure about that, although, it may be worth while getting a test, either an EKG or a stress test to try to figure out if your heart has abnormalities.

Wolf, there are also a lot of these other scans out there nowadays, the EBT scan is one of them, electron beam tomography. I actually went and got that done as well, basicly to find out if there are any early blockages in my coronary arteries, those are the heart arteries as well. Not everyone agrees. They say what do you do with this information. Is it too much to know, perhaps? But I did it, and you can see some of the images there, Wolf. My arteries were clean, by the way.

BLITZER: Thank god for that. So, your advice to everyone, Sanjay, is if you have any problems, any chest pains, shortness of breath go to a doctor and check it out?

GUPTA: If you have chest pain and you a history or you have a family history or you've had high cholesterol, blood pressure, it is a good chance it may not be indigestion, it may not be reflux. This is something that's serious. The good thing about heart disease is that often times it will let you know. It will let you know ahead before you have a heart attack. Go see a doctor about it, Wolf.

BLITZER: Good advice from Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Thanks, Sanjay, very much. Let's continue -- continue with some good advice.

Joining us to talk about his own experience with heart surgery and the recovery process the former Atlanta Falcons football coach, Dan Reeves.

Like Bill Clinton, Reeves had quadruple bypass surgery in 1998. He's with us at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

First of all, are you feeling OK, coach?

DAN REEVES, FORMER NFL COACH: Boy, I feel great, Wolf. And it was great. Sanjay had some great advice for the people out there. And you know, if you have any of those symptoms, be sure you go and get your doctor to check them out.

BLITZER: Because you had plenty of symptom that is you ignored and thought you could sort of play it out and ignore them, which was very, very reckless.

REEVES: Well, when I had my first heart procedure done back in the 1990s when I would exercise I would get kind of a burning sensation in my throat, almost like when you're running and breathe in cold air. I would get that sensation. And the doctor told me that would be my signal that something was wrong with my heart.

When ever I was exercising, or my heart rate would accelerate that would be my signal. Some people it's numbness in there arm, tightness in their chest. But everybody during exercise will basicly have a symptom. Don't ignore those. And I was getting that same type of thing when I would have the national anthem prior to game, your heart rate accelerates and I'd feel that burning sensation in my throat. And I kept denying it. And finally, I asked my doctor after one our games against the New Orleans Saints.

I said why don't we wait a couple checks to get this checked out. He said that's the dumbest thing I ever heard. Go get it checked out. I did. I had blockage in all three arteries, 98 in one, 95 in another, and 80 something in the other one. I was a walking heart attack, and I was very fortunate that I mentioned it. They did bypass surgery, quadruple bypass. And a couple weeks later I was back on the field coaching and four weeks later I was fortunate enough to coach our team in the first round of the playoffs.

BLITZER: I remember those days vividly. You had the same kind of bypass surgery Bill Clinton did. Did they stop your heart?

REEVES: Well, they did. Fortunately, you don't know about it. Yes, they did. It is amazing, Wolf, what they can do. First of all, blood pressure and cholesterol are two things you need to be very conscious of. Get that checked with your doctors. If you don't know what it is, find out what it is. There's so many things through diet, through exercise you can do. And if you can't get it done with diet and exercise, there's also some medical things that they can do to really help you. They made so much progress. Don't ignore those symptoms. And exercise. Exercise is the one thing that your body will let you know if something is wrong with it.

BLITZER: What about Bill Clinton right now? You went through what he went through. What is he going through the next several days and the next few weeks? Remind our viewers what you went through.

REEVES: Well, really and truly, you start walking immediately. And you get very tired very quickly.

I can remember, you know, the first week to basically a week to 10 days, I could hardly put my hands above my head to shampoo my hair, I would get so tired. And you think, boy, I'm never going to get better. But all of sudden, the more exercise you do, if you walk 10 yards the first day, walk 11 the next day, just increase it, increase your exercise, you will starting getting a point to where you will get a little bit more energy, you will start sleeping a little bit better at night.

It is a gradual process. But it's something that takes some time. But once you get over the hump, you start making progress very quickly.

BLITZER: There has been some suggestion that people who go through this major heart bypass surgery wind up being depressed. Depression, was that a symptom -- was that something you went through? REEVES: No, I, really didn't. I think I was very fortunate. And I think that's a good point.

I think you need to have a goal. Mine was, I wanted to get back on the field as quickly as possible. So I had a goal. That's the reason I did the exercises, did everything as far as my diet was concerned to try to get as well and get as healthy as I could as quick as I possibly could. So I didn't have time to really feel depressed. But it is something that happens.

I think, if anything, I did realize that, hey, I'm no different than anybody else. I'm an athlete. I've been healthy all my life. All of a sudden, you are very vulnerable to one of the deadliest diseases that we have. And that's heart disease. It kills more people, men and women, in this country than any other disease. So it is something you need to pay attention to. But there are things. It is like, to me, kind of a new lease on life.

If you do things right, it is a warning for your and you can get healthy and feel good, hopefully, for many, many years to come.

BLITZER: And very briefly, if you have one piece of advice for Bill Clinton right now, what would that be?

REEVES: Talk to someone who has had this procedure done. That helped me a lot. Mike Ditka, Bill Parcells, guys that had been through it, talked to me and told me what to expect and how to act to certain things.

And I think that gives you a little bit confidence that, hey, I can get over this. But the main thing is exercise and try to get back on your feet as quickly as you possibly can.

BLITZER: Dan Reeves, we're glad you're feeling well. Thanks for all that excellent advice.

REEVES: OK, Wolf. Thank you for having me on.

BLITZER: Reaction coming in right now from the White House on that grim milestone in Iraq. More than 1,000 U.S. troops have been killed since the war started. We'll have that -- that story is coming up.

Plus, the long-distance barbs between George W. Bush and John Kerry intensifying right now. Up next, a complete wrap of all of today's events on the campaign trail.

Plus, the charge against him dismissed, but is it really case closed for Kobe Bryant? Why his legal troubles are not yet over.

And later, giving the ultimate for their country. As casualties mount in Iraq, families across the nation struggling with their grief.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. A war of words on the war in Iraq, that's the focus of President Bush and Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. We'll have the latest in just a few moments.

First, though, a quick check of some stories now in the news.

The U.S. death toll in Iraq passed the 1,000 mark today. A total of 1,002 Americans have died in Iraq since the war started almost 18 months ago, according to a CNN tally. The defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, noted the milestone, but said much has been achieved in the war on terror.

A bipartisan bill to implement all the major recommendations, all 41 of them, of the 9/11 Commission was introduced today in the U.S. Senate. The bill is sponsored by Republican John McCain and Democrat Joe Lieberman. It includes provisions for appointing a national intelligence director and strengthen border and transportation security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: We're safer than we were on September 11 and not yet as safe as we want to be. And the bottom line is that, if Congress adopts and the executive branch supports the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission as expressed in this legislation, we'll be safer yet. We understand in this world that there is no 100 percent safety, but we're safer than where we were and we'll be safer yet if we adopt this legislation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A month after he disclosed he is gay and promised to resign, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey is talking about publicly about his decision. Answering questions for the first time, McGreevey said his bombshell announcement last month reflected, in his words, a process of transformation and prayer. McGreevey plans to make his resignation effective November 15.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

President Bush is campaigning in the swing state of Missouri today and he's just responded to the death toll of American forces in Iraq surpassing the 1,000 mark.

For that, we turn to our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux in Columbia, Missouri -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we heard from White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan just moments ago, who is traveling with the president.

He reacted saying that we remember, honor and mourn the loss of those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend freedom. The way to honor them is to continue to pursue the war on terror, to spread freedom in the Middle East, as well as make the world safer. Now, as you know, Wolf, this is really the centerpiece of the president's campaign, that he would make the stronger commander in chief.

And the president not once, but twice, reacting to Kerry's comments that -- that what Kerry said, that Iraq was the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time, President Bush reminding voters of where that line originated, from the anti-war candidate Howard Dean.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He woke up yesterday morning with yet another new position.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: And this one is not even his own. It is that of his one- time rival Howard Dean. He even used the same words Howard Dean did, back when he supposedly disagreed with him. No matter how many times Senator Kerry flip-flops, we were right to make America safer by removing Saddam Hussein from power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, some argue, saying that this is the Bush campaign trying to recast Kerry essentially into the man that they had hoped the president would run against, that being Howard Dean.

Others say that Kerry is flip-flopping on his position. Either way, the Bush campaign has seen an opening here. And we heard earlier today from Vice President Dick Cheney, campaigning in Iowa, who took it one step further.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely essential that eight weeks from today on November 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again, that we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States, and that we'll fall back into the pre-9/11 mind-set, if you will, that, in fact, these terrorist attacks are just criminal acts and that we're not really at war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, the Kerry campaign says that this is simply fear- mongering. They say it is the way for the Bush campaign and the president to avoid the real issues, that being the economy and health care -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux, traveling with the president, thanks.

John Kerry went on the offensive in North Carolina today, slamming the president over the key issues of job loss and projection of a record budget deficit this year. He says that is evidence Bush is taking the country down the wrong economic track.

CNN's Ed Henry has more from Greensboro.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Kerry visited the textile state of North Carolina as his campaign opened a new line of attack against President Bush, calling him the outsourcer in chief.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: George Bush's wrong choices were continuing to ship jobs overseas, jobs that had good wages and good benefits. And all across America, companies have been shutting their doors, downsizing the benefits to employees.

HENRY: Kerry's need for a push on pocketbook issues is clear in a new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. While the president has double- digit leads on the question of who would do a better job handling terror and Iraq, Kerry has just a three-point edge on the economy.

The senator charged that the loss of 2.7 million manufacturing jobs on Bush's watch is due, in part, to the president's support of a decades-old provision that allows U.S. companies that operate overseas to defer paying taxes on those earnings.

KERRY: Bush actually thinks it is a good idea.

HENRY: Kerry outlined a plan to close the outsourcing loophole and still cut taxes for 99 percent of U.S. companies.

Bush campaign officials strongly defend the president's record and says the Kerry plan will do virtually nothing to stop the flow of U.S. jobs overseas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry's own advisers say that his proposals won't work. And this stands in stark contrast to the president's proposals, which will address outsourcing and will address job creations and keeping jobs here.

HENRY: The Bush campaign also notes that when Kerry recently released a list of top business supporters, it included 40 outsourcers.

(on camera): John Kerry is here in North Carolina because Democrats have high hopes of carrying the swing state, especially with John Edwards on the ticket. Republicans scoff and say it is a matter of time before Democrats write this state off and focus even more resources on places like Ohio, where John Kerry is headed once again tonight.

Ed Henry, CNN, Greensboro, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The criminal case against him is closed, but now, for the first time, lawyers for Kobe Bryant's accuser are talking publicly about the case in a civil lawsuit.

Plus, families of the fallen. As the death toll in Iraq climbs, loved ones back home struggling to carry on. We'll get to all of that.

First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Palestinian medical sources say at least 15 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. The Israeli military says the target was a militant Hamas training camp. The attack came a week after Hamas bombers blew up two buses in Israel, killing 16 people.

Courageous bid. The only female candidate in a field of 17 challengers has kicked off her campaign in Afghanistan's first direct presidential election. Her decision to run has triggered fierce debate in an Islamic country where women historically have had few rights and freedom. Interim leader Hamid Karzai, who is strongly backed by the United States, is seen as the early favorite in next month's election.

Deadly weather. At least three people are believed to have been killed in flooding in Northeastern Spain. Roads and rail links have been cut in several areas, isolating thousands of villagers.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As we reported at the top of the hour, new deaths today in Iraq have pushed the U.S. military toll there to over 1,000. But that sad milestone only tells part of the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER (voice-over): For every American killed in Iraq, there are many left to grieve, parents, children, spouses, families and friends stunned and bereft in the wake of the news they prayed would never come; 22-year-old Private 1st Class Kevin Cumming was killed in a grenade attack in Baghdad August 21.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So I look at the window and I say, who is it? And they say, United States Army. And that was the end of my life. I knew they would come. I dreaded, I dreaded that moment.

BLITZER: Marine Private 1st Class Ryan Jerabek died in fighting in Anbar Province on April 6 of this year. He was 18 years old and from Oneida, Wisconsin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 8:30 in the evening, two United States Marine Corps officers came here and informed us that my son had delivered the ultimate for his country.

BLITZER: From all corners of the country and from all walks of life, they are American families bound together by grief.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Love your children and hug them and tell them you love them.

BLITZER: From Columbus, Ohio, Army 1st Lieutenant Charles Wilkins killed August 20 when a homemade bomb ripped through his Humvee near Samarra.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love him. I know he can hear me. And I know he loves us. And he's still with us and he loves us, too.

BLITZER: For thousands of other families, the struggle is not carrying on after life lost, but rebuilding lives changed. Whether physical, emotional, or both, many face a long and painful recovery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a guy who was missing both his legs and one arm. And he's walking. So if he can do it and go on with life, I don't know why anybody else can't.

BLITZER: For the first time since Vietnam, America is now seeing a sizable new generation of disabled veterans. Right or wrong, it is the cost of war. And while most can only take grim note of milestone numbers like 1,000, some find themselves crushed under the weight of the number one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The deaths include those under both -- considered both hostile and nonhostile circumstances. This note, 863 of those deaths have occurred since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations a year ago, May 1.

Kobe Bryant has won a legal battle, but not the legal war. Just ahead, tough talk from lawyers for Bryant's accuser about her civil suit.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Kobe Bryant no longer faces criminal charges, but the NBA star still faces a civil suit brought by the Colorado resort worker who says Bryant raped her. Now that the criminal case has been dropped, the woman's lawyers are free to speak out.

And, as our Brian Todd is here to report, they have plenty to say -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, they are saying a lot in public today.

It is not clear whether the strategy is to prepare for a civil trial or angle for a settlement. What is clear, these attorneys are trying to steer public attention back to one person.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Out from under his criminal case, Kobe Bryant finds his name and allegations from that fateful night still very much in play.

L. LIN WOOD, ATTORNEY FOR BRYANT ACCUSER: The injury is enormous. This young girl with live with the scars of this rape for the rest of her life.

TODD: Even with criminal charges dismissed, attorneys for Bryant's accuser are proceeding with a civil case. They're hammering on public perception, using network interviews to turn attention away from their client and toward the Lakers star.

WOOD: Kobe Bryant cannot take the Fifth Amendment. He will have to testify. We'll have an opportunity to cross-examine him in a deposition under oath. And I think that is going to change the focus of this case when people start looking at him and looking at what happened in that hotel room that night.

TODD: We called Bryant's defense attorney, Pamela Mackey, for a response. She didn't return our calls. The civil attorneys also leveled their first public criticism of the prosecution, saying Eagle County district attorney Mark Hurlbert would certainly do some things over again.

JOHN CLUNE, ATTORNEY FOR BRYANT ACCUSER: I think some of the issues on how they litigated some of the rape shield issues, I think that is probably the most significant thing that they would take a second look at and change their practice.

TODD: Since the rape shield hearings were all closed, we don't know specifically what John Clune is referring to. We tried to get the Eagle County district attorney's office to respond to the criticism. They didn't return our calls.

On another point, the civil attorneys have been merciless, citing what they call a systematic breakdown of the system.

WOOD: The criminal justice system in Eagle had miserably failed her. And she had serious doubts that she would be treated fairly.

TODD: They are referring to three incidents in which the accuser's name and sexual history were mistakenly released into the public domain by the criminal courts.

We spoke to a court official today. She told us the court admits its mistakes and takes responsibility. But she also says it is regrettable that Lin Wood and John Clune are saying these things in public. And, she says, to cite those mistakes as principal reasons why the criminal case didn't go forward is inappropriate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Lin Wood also said, if Kobe Bryant hadn't issued a statement apologizing to his accuser, the criminal case would still be alive. Now, legal experts and people who cover this trial tell us they're not sure about that and they're certainly not sure if the civil case will ever get to trial -- Wolf.

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

In just a moment, our Web question of the day: Is the death toll for U.S. forces in Iraq higher or lower than you expected? You can still vote. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results for you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in our Web question of the day. Remember, we've been asking you this question: Is the death toll for U.S. forces in Iraq higher or lower than you expected? Fifty-eight percent of you say higher; 42 percent of you say lower. But, as always, we remind you, this is not a scientific poll. You can continue to vote, by the way, on our Web site, CNN.com/Wolf.

And a reminder, you can always catch us here on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays at this time, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm also weekdays available noon Eastern here on CNN. Until tomorrow, thanks very much 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 September 7, 2004 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now. A haunting threshold just crossed in Iraq. More than 1,000 U.S. troops have now been killed on duty.
And caught on camera. The terrorists document the torture of a Russian school.

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Baghdad battle. A rising toll for the troops and their families.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I look out the window and I say, "who is it?" and they say, "United States Army."

BLITZER: March against terror. Russians show support for President Putin. He wants support from the west.

On the trail and on edge.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: George W. Bush. "W" stands for "wrong." Wrong directions, wrong choices.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No matter how many times Senator Kerry flip-flops we were right to make America safer by removing Saddam Hussein from power.

BLITZER: Civil suit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's up to a jury to ultimately decide what she deserves in terms of fair compensation. The injury is enormous.

BLITZER: Attorneys for his accuser set their sights on Kobe Bryant.

Clinton's condition. What the doctors found and what you can find out about your heart.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, September 7, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: An upsurge of bloody fighting brings a grim milestone for U.S. troops in Iraq. Sixteen months after President Bush declared an end to major combat, a U.S. soldier has become the 1,000th American to die in Iraq.

Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, with the death toll in Iraq for U.S. military now exceeding 1,000, sources here at the Pentagon tell CNN that there is a plan to move against upper places like Fallujah which has been a stronghold for insurgents launching deadly attacks against U.S. troops.

Yesterday's attack, for instance, in Fallujah which claimed the lives of seven marines was the latest in a spike of U.S. casualties that has pushed the number of U.S. military dead in Iraq over 1,000 now and the number of wounded close to 7,000.

But the Pentagon insisted in almost every clash with the insurgents, the U.S. is inflicting far heavier casualties on its enemies killing as many as 2,500 insurgents in one month last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An insurgent attack ensued that was more sophisticated than usual. As a result our forces attacked the enemy. Five of our soldiers were wounded, one striker was destroyed and six were damaged. But numerous enemy forces were killed. This is a pattern across Iraq. The more aggressive the tactics of the insurgency the greater their loss of human life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Again, the Pentagon making the point that its coming out ahead in most of these battles. And meanwhile U.S. war planes continue to pound Fallujah, the biggest of the enemy enclaves from which U.S. commanders now believe that people like Abu Musab al- Zarqawi may be directing elements of the insurgency. Pentagon sources tell CNN that a joint U.S./Iraq plan is now in the works to launch a series of offensives aimed at eliminating so-called "no go" zones across Iraq, areas where the U.S. chooses not to patrol and the Iraqi government doesn't have control.

Today Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that the new Iraqi government gets it. He said they understand they can't have these areas in Iraq where they do not have control especially with the elections coming up in January and he hinted that those areas would be dealt with under the leadership of the Iraqi government. But again Pentagon sources tell us that there is a plan to have a coordinated offensive with Iraqi forces aimed that slowly taking out and isolating and eliminating some of these rebel strongholds -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie, when Rumsfeld met with reporters earlier today, he tried to give some sort of different interpretation of this threshold number of more than 1,000 U.S. troops having now died in Iraq and comparing it to just over 100 who were dead at the time when the president was aboard the aircraft carrier, the Abraham Lincoln when he said major combat operations were over. He put it in a broader perspective.

MCINTYRE: Well, he did. He said that -- actually he said if you want to count, he said, this 1,000 essentially as an arbitrary number, my words, but he basically said it is really a much higher toll than that if you count the entire war against terror, operations in Afghanistan, the people who have died, not to mention for instance the victims of September 11 and others of terrorism. And he said simply that this was the price of staying on the offensive and price of trying to win the war against terrorism -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, thanks very much.

The fighting has been fiercest in Sadr City. That's a Baghdad slum and a stronghold of Shiite hardliners. CNN's Diana Muriel reports from the Iraqi capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Taking on the Americans. Militiamen armed with rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles take up their positions. Hours of running battles with American forces in the sprawling northeast and Baghdad suburb of Sadr City have left dozens of Iraqi civilians dead and more than 200 wounded according to the Iraqi ministry of health.

The Americans taking losses, too. Violence flared after peace talks between local community leaders and U.S. and Iraqi authorities stalled. Fresh from fighting American forces in a three-week battle in Najaf, many of these militiamen are members of the so-called Medhi army loyal to renegade cleric Muqtada al-Sadr with their base in Sadr City.

But nowhere in Baghdad can be considered safe. Half an hour's drive from Sadr City, this was the scene Tuesday morning after the city governor's convoy was attacked. First an explosion, then gunmen raked the vehicles with bullets according to eyewitnesses, the governor escaping unhurt but three of his bodyguards were injured.

Westerners, too are targets. Gunmen in central Baghdad kidnapped two Italian female aid workers in broad daylight Tuesday. The two women, Simona Pari (ph) and Simona Toreta (ph) both age 29, are employed by Bridge To Baghdad, a UNICEF-linked project helping to rebuild schools.

Elsewhere on a highway west of Baghdad, a U.S. military truck was still burning Tuesday after coming under attack late the previous day. Monday had already claimed the lives of seven U.S. marines nine miles north of Fallujah. The city itself has been a no-go zone for U.S. troops since April.

(on camera): The already strained security situation then ratcheting up another notch here in Iraq. Insurgents not limiting their attacks to U.S. forces. Civilians, both Iraqi and Westerners it seems are in ever-increasing danger. Diana Muriel, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here is your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. "Is the death toll for U.S. forces in Iraq higher or lower than you expected?" You can vote. Go to CNN.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast. While you're there, by the way, I'd love to hear directly from you. Send me your comments any time. I will try to read some on them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column. CNN.com/wolf.

There's stunning new video out just hours ago of Russia's school hostage crisis which ended in a bloody rampage and left more than 330 people dead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The images are chilling. Hundreds of people, adults and children, being held hostage inside a school gym in the town of Beslan in southern Russia. The video, seen for the first time just hours ago on Russia's MTV, seems to have been shot by the terrorists themselves and shows what looks like explosives that survivors reported had been placed throughout the room, including some hung overhead on basketball hoops.

Other scenes show a man with his foot hovering over an apparent detonator and a woman dressed in black from head to toe. The misery of the conditions is evident with victims crammed in what they described as stifling heat, suffering unbearable thirst. Many later said they were denied water for much of the ordeal.

It is not clear if red streaks seen on the floor may be blood from a man witnesses say was killed by the terrorists and dragged across the floor.

The standoff came to a bloody and chaotic end Friday with at least 335 hostages killed, about half of them children. Russian authorities are said to be scrutinizing the tape now for any new clues to a massacre that has shaken the country to its core.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Indeed in Moscow today, there was a massive rally against terrorism. Tens of thousands of Russians stunned by these recent attacks gathered near the Kremlin in a show of mourning and rage. President Vladimir Putin has vented his anger at the west, accusing it of a double standard on terrorism for favoring negotiations with Chechen separatists. He told a meeting of visiting foreign policy experts, and I'm quoting now, "why don't you meet Osama bin Laden and invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks. Ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace. You find it possible to set some limits on your dealings with these bastards so why should we talk with people who are child killers?"

That from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Angry words, indeed.

The United States is providing aid to Russian victims of terrorism, but it's also providing comfort to Russia's enemies. Is it, at least? That's the question that Russians are asking. Let's go live to our State Department correspondent, Andrea Koppel -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as with so many things, it depends on who you ask as to which one of those answers is actually the case. But for its part the Bush administration today has been taking great pains to show its empathy for the Russian people.

Earlier today Secretary of State Powell and his deputy Richard Armitage went over to the Russian embassy here in Washington to sign a book of condolences for the victims of that school siege.

And today the State Department also announced that it would be sending $655,000 worth of medical assistance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (voice-over): As the first of two plane loads of U.S. medical supplies arrived in Beslan, the Bush administration expressed sympathy and solidarity with the Russian people.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: What's taking place in Iraq and what's taking place in Afghanistan and what's taking place in Russia are examples of the fact that there are people determined to alter the behavior of the rest of the world and how they live their lives and to terrorize them into doing that.

KOPPEL: But while condemning last week's school hostage siege, blamed on Chechen separatist, the U.S. continues to support a political solution to the 10-year old Chechen civil war.

And although it has been two years since U.S. officials have met with Chechen leaders, just last month U.S. courts in Massachusetts granted political asylum to Chechnya's self-declared foreign minister; an overall policy Russian President Putin is now angrily calling a Cold War mentality held by some U.S. officials looking to undermine Russia's war on terrorism.

But as Secretary of State Powell hinted, the issue is delicate. And while the U.S. is not backing off its policy, it's not pushing it either.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: All parties, to include the Russian Federation, have been looking for a political solution to the crisis in Chechnya. I think President Putin was making reference to occasional visits, not one recently, but some time ago.

KOPPEL: For the U.S. there is a distinction between Chechen separatists and Chechen terrorists.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: The United States has met with people from Chechnya who have differing points of view, including points of view that differ from the Russian government. But, you know, we don't meet with terrorists.

KOPPEL: But experts say to the Russians, after three back-to- back terrorist attacks last week alone, that distinction rings hollow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Putin calling up President Bush on September 12 and giving him advice for how to fight the terrorists, Mr. Bush wouldn't listen to him then, and Mr. Putin is not going to listen to the outside community today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: As one State Department official summed it up, with all these tragedies recently in Russia, the U.S. and Russia haven't discussed the need for a political settlement over the last several weeks. But again, this official saying our view for the long term is that the political dialogue stands the best chance -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Andrea Koppel, thanks very much.

Bill Clinton's condition, how the former president bypassed a likely heart attack, and what's ahead after his surgery?

Talk about a quick recovery. He was in a super bowl a month after a quadruple bypass himself. I will speak live with former NFL coach Dan Reeves. He'll tell us what Bill Clinton is likely to go through right now.

And later, as the war in Iraq takes a rising toll, we'll hear from families of the fallen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Frances has left Florida but it has left behind huge bills. Insurance industry experts predict that when all the damage is assessed, Hurricane Frances may end up as the fifth costliest storm in U.S. history. Hurricane Charley, which hit Florida just last month, is epxected to be the second costliest.

Even though the storm has passed, flooding remains a problem. After all the weekend rain, some rivers are continuing to rise right now. Downgraded to a tropical depression late yesterday, Frances moved north into Georgia. About half a million Georgia electricity customers lost service, 300,000 of them in the Atlanta area.

Our meteorologist Orelon Sidney is over at the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta with a look at where Frances is now and the threat posed by yet another storm -- Orelon.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot, Wolf. Well, Frances now is a tropical depression, as we talked about, and it is working its way northward. The center of the storm very close to the Atlanta area. It's just about there, where my hand is. And if you take it and bisect it, you can see the southern end. There is just not a whole lot of action going on. It's all to the north.

And we do have a couple of tornado watches with several warnings that have come out throughout the afternoon. Those watches both expire at 8:00 p.m. local time tonight. Zoom in a little bit closer, you can see that the thunderstorms, especially right across the South Carolina/North Carolina state line are very strong. We also have some strong thunderstorms here to the south of Wilmington. And that's where we are going to find a little bit of rough weather tonight.

Continuing to see that heavy rainfall as well. And as Wolf talked about, we have Hurricane Ivan. This is the very latest advisory, as of 5:00 p.m. the storm is 35 miles west-southwest of Grenada. The center of the storm, the eye having just passed over Grenada. Winds now 120 miles an hour. Strong Category 3 moving to the west at 18 miles an hour.

I don't know if we can take our graphics router, PA -- I think it's PA No. 2 -- or PA No. 7, excuse me. Maybe we can take that or maybe not. I'm not sure. But I wanted to show you a little bit different perspective on the storm. Looks like we don't have that one. But I can give you a little bit of an idea of where the storm is headed. Probably going to -- there it is, probably going to continue to move on into the Caribbean, perhaps toward the Gulf of Mexico later on in the weekend.

Here though is what's left of our tropical depression. It looks like it's going to continue to bring some very heavy rains into the Southeast throughout the evening hours. The center of circulation again right there around Atlanta.

And notice we haven't had a lot of thunderstorm activity here. Most of it has been to the north and east and will continue tonight. Flood warnings and flood watches are in effect northward all the way to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. That will be in effect tonight and Wednesday -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Orelon, so just to be precise, Hurricane Ivan, which is moving now in the Caribbean, we don't expect it will hit Florida, is that the current thinking?

SIDNEY: Well, the current thinking, if you go out 96 to 120 hours, styou are probably really playing a fool's game. At 72 hours it looks like it will be somewhere around Jamaica, probably between Jamaica and the Isle of Youth. That's 72 hours out.

Some of the models after that point take it into the Gulf towards Florida. Others take it straight on into the Gulf of Mexico and even near the Yucatan Peninsula. So when you go out past three days, you're really kind of playing an unfair game with yourself. At 72 hours, though, we know it will still be in the Caribbean, it will still be strong, probably somewhere between Jamaica and, again, the Isle of Youth -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Orelon Sidney, thanks very much for that update.

In a moment, president Clinton's recovery from bypass surgery. Details of what went on inside the operating room and how you can catch the early warning signs. Information you need to know. I will speak with our medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

And also, with famed NFL coach Dan Reeves who underwent a similar quadruple bypass himself.

President Bush is on the road accusing John Kerry of flip- flopping when it comes to Iraq. Kerry complains bitterly about the U.S. Economy. We'll have the latest from the campaign trail. That's coming up as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. More now on our top story. That grim milestone reached in Iraq. More than 1, 000 U.S. Troops now dead as a result of the war more than a year ago. Only a few moments ago, the Democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, spoke out about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: Today marks a tragic mile there is stone in the war in Iraq. More than 1,000 of America's sons and daughters have now given their lives on behalf of their country, on behalf of freedom in the war on terror. I think that the first thing that every American wants to say today is how deeply we each feel the loss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: John Kerry, speaking just a few moments ago. To be precise, our count now, CNN's count, 1002 the number of troop whose have died in Iraq. Let's move on.

Bill Clinton's doctor say the former president's arteries were so severely clogged he was only weeks away, they say, from having a heart attack. Clinton is in critical condition after quadruple bypass surgery yesterday at New York's Presbyterian Hospital. Joining is now with the former president's condition, our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

What do they know about his condition today, Sanjay, what are they saying about his condition?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: He is progressing along amazing well, actually Wolf. He is already up. He is talking. He is taking some fluids in already. Still in the intensive care unit according to the Clinton folks. They're posting their updates on clintonfoundation.org. Still in the intensive care unit, probably going to move out of the intensive care unit pretty quickly.

It's really amazing to think about, Wolf. His chest was open, his heart was stopped for 73 minutes yesterday and already he's up and talking today, probably home by end of the week, Wolf.

BLITZER: Sanjay, a lot of people out there are probably going to see what happened to Bill Clinton and say, you know what? I got to get a heart test myself, a stress test or EKG or whatever. I know you have a history of heart disease in your family. What have you done?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting. I'm 34 years old as well. I'm still considered young. But with a strong family history, what a lot of people are doing is getting the numbers they can under control, their cholesterol and their blood pressure. President Clinton, alluded to the fact maybe people should get angiograms before they have symptoms. A lot of doctors aren't so sure about that, although, it may be worth while getting a test, either an EKG or a stress test to try to figure out if your heart has abnormalities.

Wolf, there are also a lot of these other scans out there nowadays, the EBT scan is one of them, electron beam tomography. I actually went and got that done as well, basicly to find out if there are any early blockages in my coronary arteries, those are the heart arteries as well. Not everyone agrees. They say what do you do with this information. Is it too much to know, perhaps? But I did it, and you can see some of the images there, Wolf. My arteries were clean, by the way.

BLITZER: Thank god for that. So, your advice to everyone, Sanjay, is if you have any problems, any chest pains, shortness of breath go to a doctor and check it out?

GUPTA: If you have chest pain and you a history or you have a family history or you've had high cholesterol, blood pressure, it is a good chance it may not be indigestion, it may not be reflux. This is something that's serious. The good thing about heart disease is that often times it will let you know. It will let you know ahead before you have a heart attack. Go see a doctor about it, Wolf.

BLITZER: Good advice from Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Thanks, Sanjay, very much. Let's continue -- continue with some good advice.

Joining us to talk about his own experience with heart surgery and the recovery process the former Atlanta Falcons football coach, Dan Reeves.

Like Bill Clinton, Reeves had quadruple bypass surgery in 1998. He's with us at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

First of all, are you feeling OK, coach?

DAN REEVES, FORMER NFL COACH: Boy, I feel great, Wolf. And it was great. Sanjay had some great advice for the people out there. And you know, if you have any of those symptoms, be sure you go and get your doctor to check them out.

BLITZER: Because you had plenty of symptom that is you ignored and thought you could sort of play it out and ignore them, which was very, very reckless.

REEVES: Well, when I had my first heart procedure done back in the 1990s when I would exercise I would get kind of a burning sensation in my throat, almost like when you're running and breathe in cold air. I would get that sensation. And the doctor told me that would be my signal that something was wrong with my heart.

When ever I was exercising, or my heart rate would accelerate that would be my signal. Some people it's numbness in there arm, tightness in their chest. But everybody during exercise will basicly have a symptom. Don't ignore those. And I was getting that same type of thing when I would have the national anthem prior to game, your heart rate accelerates and I'd feel that burning sensation in my throat. And I kept denying it. And finally, I asked my doctor after one our games against the New Orleans Saints.

I said why don't we wait a couple checks to get this checked out. He said that's the dumbest thing I ever heard. Go get it checked out. I did. I had blockage in all three arteries, 98 in one, 95 in another, and 80 something in the other one. I was a walking heart attack, and I was very fortunate that I mentioned it. They did bypass surgery, quadruple bypass. And a couple weeks later I was back on the field coaching and four weeks later I was fortunate enough to coach our team in the first round of the playoffs.

BLITZER: I remember those days vividly. You had the same kind of bypass surgery Bill Clinton did. Did they stop your heart?

REEVES: Well, they did. Fortunately, you don't know about it. Yes, they did. It is amazing, Wolf, what they can do. First of all, blood pressure and cholesterol are two things you need to be very conscious of. Get that checked with your doctors. If you don't know what it is, find out what it is. There's so many things through diet, through exercise you can do. And if you can't get it done with diet and exercise, there's also some medical things that they can do to really help you. They made so much progress. Don't ignore those symptoms. And exercise. Exercise is the one thing that your body will let you know if something is wrong with it.

BLITZER: What about Bill Clinton right now? You went through what he went through. What is he going through the next several days and the next few weeks? Remind our viewers what you went through.

REEVES: Well, really and truly, you start walking immediately. And you get very tired very quickly.

I can remember, you know, the first week to basically a week to 10 days, I could hardly put my hands above my head to shampoo my hair, I would get so tired. And you think, boy, I'm never going to get better. But all of sudden, the more exercise you do, if you walk 10 yards the first day, walk 11 the next day, just increase it, increase your exercise, you will starting getting a point to where you will get a little bit more energy, you will start sleeping a little bit better at night.

It is a gradual process. But it's something that takes some time. But once you get over the hump, you start making progress very quickly.

BLITZER: There has been some suggestion that people who go through this major heart bypass surgery wind up being depressed. Depression, was that a symptom -- was that something you went through? REEVES: No, I, really didn't. I think I was very fortunate. And I think that's a good point.

I think you need to have a goal. Mine was, I wanted to get back on the field as quickly as possible. So I had a goal. That's the reason I did the exercises, did everything as far as my diet was concerned to try to get as well and get as healthy as I could as quick as I possibly could. So I didn't have time to really feel depressed. But it is something that happens.

I think, if anything, I did realize that, hey, I'm no different than anybody else. I'm an athlete. I've been healthy all my life. All of a sudden, you are very vulnerable to one of the deadliest diseases that we have. And that's heart disease. It kills more people, men and women, in this country than any other disease. So it is something you need to pay attention to. But there are things. It is like, to me, kind of a new lease on life.

If you do things right, it is a warning for your and you can get healthy and feel good, hopefully, for many, many years to come.

BLITZER: And very briefly, if you have one piece of advice for Bill Clinton right now, what would that be?

REEVES: Talk to someone who has had this procedure done. That helped me a lot. Mike Ditka, Bill Parcells, guys that had been through it, talked to me and told me what to expect and how to act to certain things.

And I think that gives you a little bit confidence that, hey, I can get over this. But the main thing is exercise and try to get back on your feet as quickly as you possibly can.

BLITZER: Dan Reeves, we're glad you're feeling well. Thanks for all that excellent advice.

REEVES: OK, Wolf. Thank you for having me on.

BLITZER: Reaction coming in right now from the White House on that grim milestone in Iraq. More than 1,000 U.S. troops have been killed since the war started. We'll have that -- that story is coming up.

Plus, the long-distance barbs between George W. Bush and John Kerry intensifying right now. Up next, a complete wrap of all of today's events on the campaign trail.

Plus, the charge against him dismissed, but is it really case closed for Kobe Bryant? Why his legal troubles are not yet over.

And later, giving the ultimate for their country. As casualties mount in Iraq, families across the nation struggling with their grief.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. A war of words on the war in Iraq, that's the focus of President Bush and Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. We'll have the latest in just a few moments.

First, though, a quick check of some stories now in the news.

The U.S. death toll in Iraq passed the 1,000 mark today. A total of 1,002 Americans have died in Iraq since the war started almost 18 months ago, according to a CNN tally. The defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, noted the milestone, but said much has been achieved in the war on terror.

A bipartisan bill to implement all the major recommendations, all 41 of them, of the 9/11 Commission was introduced today in the U.S. Senate. The bill is sponsored by Republican John McCain and Democrat Joe Lieberman. It includes provisions for appointing a national intelligence director and strengthen border and transportation security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: We're safer than we were on September 11 and not yet as safe as we want to be. And the bottom line is that, if Congress adopts and the executive branch supports the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission as expressed in this legislation, we'll be safer yet. We understand in this world that there is no 100 percent safety, but we're safer than where we were and we'll be safer yet if we adopt this legislation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A month after he disclosed he is gay and promised to resign, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey is talking about publicly about his decision. Answering questions for the first time, McGreevey said his bombshell announcement last month reflected, in his words, a process of transformation and prayer. McGreevey plans to make his resignation effective November 15.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

President Bush is campaigning in the swing state of Missouri today and he's just responded to the death toll of American forces in Iraq surpassing the 1,000 mark.

For that, we turn to our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux in Columbia, Missouri -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we heard from White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan just moments ago, who is traveling with the president.

He reacted saying that we remember, honor and mourn the loss of those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend freedom. The way to honor them is to continue to pursue the war on terror, to spread freedom in the Middle East, as well as make the world safer. Now, as you know, Wolf, this is really the centerpiece of the president's campaign, that he would make the stronger commander in chief.

And the president not once, but twice, reacting to Kerry's comments that -- that what Kerry said, that Iraq was the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time, President Bush reminding voters of where that line originated, from the anti-war candidate Howard Dean.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He woke up yesterday morning with yet another new position.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: And this one is not even his own. It is that of his one- time rival Howard Dean. He even used the same words Howard Dean did, back when he supposedly disagreed with him. No matter how many times Senator Kerry flip-flops, we were right to make America safer by removing Saddam Hussein from power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, some argue, saying that this is the Bush campaign trying to recast Kerry essentially into the man that they had hoped the president would run against, that being Howard Dean.

Others say that Kerry is flip-flopping on his position. Either way, the Bush campaign has seen an opening here. And we heard earlier today from Vice President Dick Cheney, campaigning in Iowa, who took it one step further.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely essential that eight weeks from today on November 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again, that we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States, and that we'll fall back into the pre-9/11 mind-set, if you will, that, in fact, these terrorist attacks are just criminal acts and that we're not really at war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, the Kerry campaign says that this is simply fear- mongering. They say it is the way for the Bush campaign and the president to avoid the real issues, that being the economy and health care -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux, traveling with the president, thanks.

John Kerry went on the offensive in North Carolina today, slamming the president over the key issues of job loss and projection of a record budget deficit this year. He says that is evidence Bush is taking the country down the wrong economic track.

CNN's Ed Henry has more from Greensboro.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Kerry visited the textile state of North Carolina as his campaign opened a new line of attack against President Bush, calling him the outsourcer in chief.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: George Bush's wrong choices were continuing to ship jobs overseas, jobs that had good wages and good benefits. And all across America, companies have been shutting their doors, downsizing the benefits to employees.

HENRY: Kerry's need for a push on pocketbook issues is clear in a new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. While the president has double- digit leads on the question of who would do a better job handling terror and Iraq, Kerry has just a three-point edge on the economy.

The senator charged that the loss of 2.7 million manufacturing jobs on Bush's watch is due, in part, to the president's support of a decades-old provision that allows U.S. companies that operate overseas to defer paying taxes on those earnings.

KERRY: Bush actually thinks it is a good idea.

HENRY: Kerry outlined a plan to close the outsourcing loophole and still cut taxes for 99 percent of U.S. companies.

Bush campaign officials strongly defend the president's record and says the Kerry plan will do virtually nothing to stop the flow of U.S. jobs overseas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry's own advisers say that his proposals won't work. And this stands in stark contrast to the president's proposals, which will address outsourcing and will address job creations and keeping jobs here.

HENRY: The Bush campaign also notes that when Kerry recently released a list of top business supporters, it included 40 outsourcers.

(on camera): John Kerry is here in North Carolina because Democrats have high hopes of carrying the swing state, especially with John Edwards on the ticket. Republicans scoff and say it is a matter of time before Democrats write this state off and focus even more resources on places like Ohio, where John Kerry is headed once again tonight.

Ed Henry, CNN, Greensboro, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The criminal case against him is closed, but now, for the first time, lawyers for Kobe Bryant's accuser are talking publicly about the case in a civil lawsuit.

Plus, families of the fallen. As the death toll in Iraq climbs, loved ones back home struggling to carry on. We'll get to all of that.

First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Palestinian medical sources say at least 15 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. The Israeli military says the target was a militant Hamas training camp. The attack came a week after Hamas bombers blew up two buses in Israel, killing 16 people.

Courageous bid. The only female candidate in a field of 17 challengers has kicked off her campaign in Afghanistan's first direct presidential election. Her decision to run has triggered fierce debate in an Islamic country where women historically have had few rights and freedom. Interim leader Hamid Karzai, who is strongly backed by the United States, is seen as the early favorite in next month's election.

Deadly weather. At least three people are believed to have been killed in flooding in Northeastern Spain. Roads and rail links have been cut in several areas, isolating thousands of villagers.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As we reported at the top of the hour, new deaths today in Iraq have pushed the U.S. military toll there to over 1,000. But that sad milestone only tells part of the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER (voice-over): For every American killed in Iraq, there are many left to grieve, parents, children, spouses, families and friends stunned and bereft in the wake of the news they prayed would never come; 22-year-old Private 1st Class Kevin Cumming was killed in a grenade attack in Baghdad August 21.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So I look at the window and I say, who is it? And they say, United States Army. And that was the end of my life. I knew they would come. I dreaded, I dreaded that moment.

BLITZER: Marine Private 1st Class Ryan Jerabek died in fighting in Anbar Province on April 6 of this year. He was 18 years old and from Oneida, Wisconsin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 8:30 in the evening, two United States Marine Corps officers came here and informed us that my son had delivered the ultimate for his country.

BLITZER: From all corners of the country and from all walks of life, they are American families bound together by grief.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Love your children and hug them and tell them you love them.

BLITZER: From Columbus, Ohio, Army 1st Lieutenant Charles Wilkins killed August 20 when a homemade bomb ripped through his Humvee near Samarra.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love him. I know he can hear me. And I know he loves us. And he's still with us and he loves us, too.

BLITZER: For thousands of other families, the struggle is not carrying on after life lost, but rebuilding lives changed. Whether physical, emotional, or both, many face a long and painful recovery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a guy who was missing both his legs and one arm. And he's walking. So if he can do it and go on with life, I don't know why anybody else can't.

BLITZER: For the first time since Vietnam, America is now seeing a sizable new generation of disabled veterans. Right or wrong, it is the cost of war. And while most can only take grim note of milestone numbers like 1,000, some find themselves crushed under the weight of the number one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The deaths include those under both -- considered both hostile and nonhostile circumstances. This note, 863 of those deaths have occurred since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations a year ago, May 1.

Kobe Bryant has won a legal battle, but not the legal war. Just ahead, tough talk from lawyers for Bryant's accuser about her civil suit.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Kobe Bryant no longer faces criminal charges, but the NBA star still faces a civil suit brought by the Colorado resort worker who says Bryant raped her. Now that the criminal case has been dropped, the woman's lawyers are free to speak out.

And, as our Brian Todd is here to report, they have plenty to say -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, they are saying a lot in public today.

It is not clear whether the strategy is to prepare for a civil trial or angle for a settlement. What is clear, these attorneys are trying to steer public attention back to one person.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Out from under his criminal case, Kobe Bryant finds his name and allegations from that fateful night still very much in play.

L. LIN WOOD, ATTORNEY FOR BRYANT ACCUSER: The injury is enormous. This young girl with live with the scars of this rape for the rest of her life.

TODD: Even with criminal charges dismissed, attorneys for Bryant's accuser are proceeding with a civil case. They're hammering on public perception, using network interviews to turn attention away from their client and toward the Lakers star.

WOOD: Kobe Bryant cannot take the Fifth Amendment. He will have to testify. We'll have an opportunity to cross-examine him in a deposition under oath. And I think that is going to change the focus of this case when people start looking at him and looking at what happened in that hotel room that night.

TODD: We called Bryant's defense attorney, Pamela Mackey, for a response. She didn't return our calls. The civil attorneys also leveled their first public criticism of the prosecution, saying Eagle County district attorney Mark Hurlbert would certainly do some things over again.

JOHN CLUNE, ATTORNEY FOR BRYANT ACCUSER: I think some of the issues on how they litigated some of the rape shield issues, I think that is probably the most significant thing that they would take a second look at and change their practice.

TODD: Since the rape shield hearings were all closed, we don't know specifically what John Clune is referring to. We tried to get the Eagle County district attorney's office to respond to the criticism. They didn't return our calls.

On another point, the civil attorneys have been merciless, citing what they call a systematic breakdown of the system.

WOOD: The criminal justice system in Eagle had miserably failed her. And she had serious doubts that she would be treated fairly.

TODD: They are referring to three incidents in which the accuser's name and sexual history were mistakenly released into the public domain by the criminal courts.

We spoke to a court official today. She told us the court admits its mistakes and takes responsibility. But she also says it is regrettable that Lin Wood and John Clune are saying these things in public. And, she says, to cite those mistakes as principal reasons why the criminal case didn't go forward is inappropriate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Lin Wood also said, if Kobe Bryant hadn't issued a statement apologizing to his accuser, the criminal case would still be alive. Now, legal experts and people who cover this trial tell us they're not sure about that and they're certainly not sure if the civil case will ever get to trial -- Wolf.

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

In just a moment, our Web question of the day: Is the death toll for U.S. forces in Iraq higher or lower than you expected? You can still vote. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results for you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in our Web question of the day. Remember, we've been asking you this question: Is the death toll for U.S. forces in Iraq higher or lower than you expected? Fifty-eight percent of you say higher; 42 percent of you say lower. But, as always, we remind you, this is not a scientific poll. You can continue to vote, by the way, on our Web site, CNN.com/Wolf.

And a reminder, you can always catch us here on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays at this time, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm also weekdays available noon Eastern here on CNN. Until tomorrow, thanks very much for joining us.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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