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CNN Live Today

President Bush Addresses U.N. General Assembly

Aired September 21, 2004 - 09:59   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to all of you in New York City. It's going to be a fascinating morning at the United Nations. We're going to have it all for our viewers here on CNN. We will see you guys tomorrow morning.
Good morning to all of you from the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Daryn Kagan.

And pictures are now just coming in to CNN, President Bush arriving at the United Nations. You just heard Bill talking about this. We do expect the president to speak about a half-hour from now. Before that, we will hear from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Fascinating comments from both men at this point in world history.

We have a number of correspondents on the scene in New York City and all around the world to cover this story for us.

Let's start with our senior White House correspondent, John King, standing by.

John -- what do we expect to hear from the president?

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, you will hear the president say the world, whether it agreed or disagreed with the war on Iraq, must now stand by the new Interim Iraqi Government and help it fight the insurgency, help with the reconstruction effort, and help bring democracy to Iraq.

You also will hear the president talk about administration initiatives to help fight AIDS in Africa. The president will demand that the Security Council act against what he calls the genocide in Sudan.

But certainly the president's comments on Iraq are highly anticipated in this speech today.

It was two years ago in a speech to the General Assembly that the president essentially challenged the United Nations to step up to the plate and join him in confronting Saddam Hussein. The president believes the United Nations failed that test. The United Nations, of course, many in that audience believe the president failed the world and launched what the secretary-general of the U.N. recently called an "illegal war" in Iraq.

So a big challenge for the president today, addressing the world community in the middle of a re-election campaign, in which Senator Kerry, his Democratic opponent, has this week made Iraq the defining issue.

KAGAN: All right, John. We'll be back to you many times throughout the morning.

Before we hear from President Bush, we'll be hearing from the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

With more on what we will hear from the secretary-General, let's bring in our Richard Roth standing by at the U.N. -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Daryn, Kofi Annan last year said the U.N. and the world had come to a fork at the road. He's going to repeat that but say world leaders are going to have to unify on global views or else decisions may be taken for them by other people, and their citizens will be affected. He says I'm not going to prejudge decisions taken. Though a week ago, he indicated for the first time using the word "illegal," his views again on the invasion of Iraq, which ruffled U.S. feathers.

Chilly reception expected for President Bush here. Kofi Annan meeting with President Bush a short time ago. Both men meeting privately, they didn't really exchange too many words when they met. Laura Bush being very pleasant and complimentary to the secretary- general when they met in the hallways of the United Nations.

Back to you.

KAGAN: All right, Richard. You stand by with us, as well.

We want to go back to John King one more time and talk about these meetings taking place. Not only Kofi Annan, John, but also this president meeting with other world leaders. But a different group, a markedly different group of world leaders than last year at this time when he was at the United Nations. Last year, it was European leaders of France, of Germany. This time, India, Pakistan, Iraq, Japan. But no European leaders. The significance of that, please?

KING: Well, Mr. Bush is meeting with his allies in the war on terrorism. And he's meeting with them; of course, six weeks from a presidential election in which he is trying to convince the American people that he is making steady progress in the war on terrorism. That is a point of contention in the campaign.

So the president will meet with the new interim prime minister of Iraq, Mr. Allawi today, also meet with him in Washington. He will meet with the prime minister of India. He already met with the prime minister of India this morning. He will meet with the prime minister of Pakistan. He will meet with the president of Afghanistan.

Mr. Bush trying to send a message that he is making steady progress in the war on terrorism. Usama bin Laden still at large, these beheadings in Iraq obviously calling into question the administration's security policy in post-war Iraq. The president will make the case of steady progress, Daryn. Meeting with leaders he views as key allies. He will also sit down with the prime minister of Japan, and you can read into that what you will. None of the European leaders who fought with him about the war, but he is meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, of course, who has stood with this president. Mr. Bush will salute him for that -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. John King in New York City. John, thank you for that.

Let's bring Richard Roth back in and talk more about Kofi Annan. Again, we're standing by for the U.N. secretary-general to make his comments before this body.

Richard if you could expand a little bit more about the comments that Kofi Annan made in recent days. Talking and referring to the U.S.-led invasion into Iraq, as illegal. As you mentioned, not well received here in the U.S., but on the world front how shocking, and how was that received?

ROTH: Look, it wasn't shocking for the last year and a half. Kofi Annan has said that the invasion was not in, you know, not in conformity with the U.N. Charter. Did he use the word "illegal?" Not that we know of. The timing though, curious, a little baffling. But he didn't come out and say I'm going to use this interview to say that. A BBC interviewer kept hammering away at him. Secretary- general is a nice man but he certainly understands the impact of the words. He said yes, if you wish, it is illegal. This, days before he's going to host President Bush here.

Picking up on what John king said, President Jacques Chirac of France was in this very building 14 hours ago. Decided not to stay for the president's speech. He is not staying also. Next year 60- anniversary of the U.N., they'll all be here. President Bush wants to move it behind -- beyond Iraq. A lot of the other diplomats here also do. But the fact is the U.N. wants to go in and help assist the Iraqi people with elections, and no country, not one has come in and said we will offer our troops to protect the U.N. staff. Remember, a year and a half ago the U.N. staff was blown up in Baghdad. So these are the problems.

Kofi Annan knows the U.N. must change in order to be relevant. Big, high-level commission, new report, sounds boring. But if the countries don't implement that report in a year, the U.N. will seriously be at that fork in the road that Secretary-General Annan talks about. And for the United States, and the U.N., it's still going to be a very fragile relationship.

KAGAN: Let's talk about another topic here, in terms of moving beyond Iraq, and that is to Iran. A big concern that they are just one step away from developing a nuclear bomb. It would appear in some ways, people listening to hear what is said about Iraq, but the white elephant in the room. What is to be done about Iran?

ROTH: Well, Iran is certainly not here yet at the Security Council. The U.S. would like to bring it here. But I think maybe you're seeing more of the impact of that Iraq decision by the U.S. to, in its view, you know, go in to Iraq without the vote by the Security Council, although the U.S. said it already had the backing under that resolution. Not too many countries want to get tough with Iran right now. There's a deliberate process, it's in Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency. It may indeed come here.

But take a look at Sudan this weekend. The U.S. eager to place sanctions, get tough with Sudan, the world's worst humanitarian crisis. And then there, the U.S. is unable to get sanctions through the Council. They even had to take the word "sanctions" out of the resolution. They got eleven votes, four countries abstained. So the failure to get Iraq right has cost President Bush here.

John Kerry said yesterday he thinks there should be a world summit while all these world leaders are here to get them to live up to these resolutions promising aid. Many of them are coming in, they're having their meetings, they're going shopping, they're going home. That's not going to happen -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. And as we're watching pictures on the other side of the screen of these world leaders standing by waiting to hear from Kofi Annan and from President Bush. Richard, if you could talk a little bit more about the man that we will hear first. And that is Kofi Annan and the man who leads this body. I understand you prepared a report on him.

ROTH: Noble Peace prizewinner Kofi Annan, probably not running for a third term, at least he told me that. And he may be willing to certainly be more blunt in his views. He represents 180 -- 191 countries. Many people in the United States think he works for the United States. He works for everybody here. But Annan and the U.N. organization would like better relations with the United States. But they listen very closely to what was happening across town at the Republican convention.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH (voice-over): The United States and United Nations offer proof good relationships need a lot of work. The U.N. took this jab from the U.S. vice president at the Republican convention.

DICK CHENEY (R), UNITED STATES VICE PRESIDENT: Senator Kerry began his political career by saying he would like to see our troops deployed only at the directive of the United Nations.

(BOOING)

ROTH: Some of the ill will over the war in Iraq resurfaced just last week, when U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the BBC the invasion was against international law.

KOFI ANNAN:, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: I have stated clearly that it was not in conformity with the Security Council, with the U.N. Charter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was illegal?

ANNAN: Yes, if you wish.

ROTH: That set off another round of recriminations.

RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN, STATE DEPARTMENT: We respect his views. I think we've also made clear before that we don't agree.

ROTH: But after giving up on the U.N. before the war, the U.S. now needs the global organization, especially in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.N. participation is very important. Right now, because of the security situation, the U.N. is not as robustly present as all of us would like.

ROTH: So far, no other government has agreed to send troops to protect U.N. workers in Iraq. But there is cooperation between the Bush administration, and its allies on a host of other issues. The U.S. and France teamed up on a resolution to demand Syria remove its troops from Lebanon. There's also been cooperation on Sudan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: But still the differences, of course, major on Iraq. The Secretary-General Annan saying in his remarks to come today that he's not going to prejudge decisions. You can infer by that he's talking about Iraq. He wants everyone to be reminded of the importance of the rule of law, governments protecting their citizens. One U.N. official in giving a background remarks about Annan's speech saying, why can't people respect the rules?

Of course this type of dialogue at the U.N. drives some people in America crazy. The U.N. somewhat with some naivete didn't understand the dangers going back into Iraq, and the U.N. has always been for diplomacy, for talking. The U.S. Bush administration thinking that sometimes the talking has got to stop.

I saw and you see there Prime Minister Allawi, first time in the hall. He's the man on the right in the gray suit. Allawi will be speaking to the U.N. on Friday. He will be speaking to a joint session of Congress earlier this week. It is quite a startling change to see a new leader from Iraq here in the hall after more than 12, 13 years of friction, tension, wars between Iraq and most of the United Nations membership. There's a new ambassador here from Iraq. Prime Minister Allawi, when he walked in he said President Bush's remarks are important.

You're seeing other world leaders come in. They're all here for the next two weeks to give speeches and remarks. They all meet, Daryn, privately one-on-one. People sometimes feel not that much gets done. But remember, these people are scattered all over the world and sometimes the best business deals are struck one-on-one in person.

There are also important meetings of the now expanded European Union, 25 countries. And believe it or not, Daryn, the U.N. Security Council where the U.S. has a veto, they're talking about expanding it even more countries. Will that create a logjam? Will the U.N. even become more irrelevant, as the number of nations swells on the Security Council? How are you going to approve a military action with 25 countries, if you can't even do it with 15? It does get the world more involved. But what happens when one country, says the U.S., thinks it's time to go into Iraq? A couple years ago, Secretary-General Annan who will we hear live shortly in this General Assembly session was talking about humanitarian interventionism. Iraq seems to have changed that.

Back to you, Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Richard. We'll have you stand by once again.

Waiting for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to step up to the podium and address these world leaders. While we do that, let's bring in our Christiane Amanpour standing by and listening in with us from London.

And Christiane, if you could give us an idea of what world leaders will be listening in for from this speech and also from President Bush.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly from this speech there won't be a huge amount of surprise. An advance text has gone out and most people expect to get what they know that Kofi Annan will deliver. He's always gives fairly moderate speeches. Obviously calling for the rule of law, which will be the theme of this speech, to be respected around the world. And calling for the community of nations to act in conjunction with each other, instead of at loggerheads as they have on so much policy over the last several years, most notably on Iraq.

What they expect though, from President Bush, is they hope to hear from President Bush a much less bellicose tone that they have heard over the last several years. People around the world are always interested, and it directly affects them, of course, in what the U.S. president says. And in what the U.S. administration does.

Foreign policy over the last several years has caused a great deal of alarm and anxiety around the world. And there are many people who really wonder what foreign policy will be like if President Bush is re-elected. Because there is a great deal of anxiety about what is perceived as a very militarist foreign policy. At the same time, people are saying, but where is the war on terror going? Usama bin Laden has not been captured. Instead, resources have been poured into Iraq. Many analysts around the world are saying look, Iraq has become the training camp central that Afghanistan once was.

People are very anxious about what's happening in Iraq, the killings of not only U.S. personnel, but also of U.S. and other contractors who've gone there, and of Iraqis themselves. The desperate attacks against the reconstruction, which have basically prevented ordinary Iraqis from seeing real tangible reconstruction benefits. And everybody is wondering how the next barometer of change, the elections will go forward in this climate of incredible insecurity in Iraq.

KAGAN: And the chamber is filling up there as we're waiting. As the cameras panning around, we already saw the secretary-General is there. We saw Secretary of State Colin Powell. A number of world leaders. Getting closer and closer to Kofi Annan's comments there. Christiane, I want to ask you a question that I was able to ask John King just a few minutes ago. And looking at the world leaders that President Bush chose to meet with this week, as opposed to what he did last year. Last year European leaders from France, from Germany, this year India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Japan, Iraq. But no European leaders, how is that being perceived there in Britain?

AMANPOUR: Well, I think people sort of understand that there are these set pieces to a lot of these formal conferences. That last year, it was important to realign the historic U.S. and European alliance, to try to mend fences after the most terrible divisions over the Iraqi War. So that was something that really needed to happen. Having said that, you know that the president back in Istanbul at the NATO summit in the summer, called for NATO to help and possibly deploy forces to Iraq in great part to train Iraqi police and armed services. Well, the French and the Germans have just said this week that they will oppose any deployment, even a token deployment, of NATO forces to do that in Iraq. So, you know, again these tensions over how to go forward in Iraq are very visible, and they're not below the surface. They're right on the surface.

In terms of who the president is meeting with today, those are, of course, important countries. Iraq and Afghanistan are countries that the U.S. will point to as success stories. You know that the Afghans have a presidential election coming up in the beginning of October. And the Iraqi elections are forecast for next January. In Iraq, of course, many of those optimistic statements by the administration are simply belied by the facts on the ground.

India and Pakistan, important and nuclear powers that need to be kept within the fold. And the other countries that the president is meeting with, as well, deemed important and worthy of bilateral meetings. So I don't think a huge amount is being drawn from exactly who he's meeting this year as opposed to last year.

KAGAN: And then picking up on a point that Richard made just a few minutes ago. As you look forward to the credibility of this organization, as it goes in to the future on key certain topics, Richard was bringing up Iraq, where the U.N. is not willing to then go ahead and send in troops. You also have some place that you just visited very recently, Sudan, this huge humanitarian crisis taking place. And the U.N. not seeming to have the credibility or the teeth to bring about changes in that region.

AMANPOUR: Well, Kofi Annan will very clearly mention the Darfur crisis in Sudan in his speech, as he talks about the rule of law and the respect of human dignity and human right.

The Bush administration has taken a very pro-active role in Sudan over the last year or so. They have attempted to broker, and they have brokered a peace agreement between the Khartoum government and the southern rebels in Sudan. And they've also -- Colin Powell and indeed Kofi Annan himself went over to Khartoum and to Darfur in early July. The pressure needs to be kept on. And I think both the U.S. and the U.N. have the same aim in Sudan. The question, of course, is over degrees. There has been several resolutions, I think two resolutions with respect to what the Khartoum government, what sanctions the Khartoum government will face, if it doesn't meet its obligations to stop the crackdown on the rebels and therefore on the civilians in Darfur that is creating so much death and misery, and ethnic fleeing and ethnic cleansing there. So they are, you know, that is one point where they are working mostly in tandem. But it's really a country where most people agree that unless the pressure is kept on, it's not going to work. And of course some say that the U.S.' credibility is being somewhat damaged because of what's gone on in the post-war phase in Iraq.

KAGAN: Christiane Amanpour in London. Christiane, thank you. You'll be standing by listening in to all of the speeches with us, as well as Richard Roth at the U.N.

We are standing by once again for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to begin speaking at the United Nations. When that speech begins you're going to see it live right here on CNN. Right now a chance for us to fit in a quick break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We go live to New York City to the United Nations. Here's U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Mr. President, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is good to see so many countries represented here at such high level. I know this reflects your understanding that in these difficult times, the United Nations is, as you stated four years ago in the Millennium Declaration, the common and indispensable house of the human family.

Indeed, today, more than ever the world needs an effective mechanism through which to seek common solutions to common problems. That is what this organization was created for. Let's not imagine that if we fail to make good use of it, we will find any more effective instrument.

This time next year, you will be meeting to review progress in the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. By then, I hope you will be ready to take bold decisions together on the full range of issues covered in the Millennium Declaration held by the report of the eminent panel on Press, Challenges and Change, which will be available before you by the end of this year.

As I said a year ago, we have reached a fork in the road. If you, the political leaders of the world, cannot agree or reach agreement on the way forward, history will take the decisions for you, and the interests of your people may go by default.

Today I will not seek to prejudge those decisions, but to remind you of the all-important framework in which they should be taken, namely the rule of law at home and in the world.

The vision of a government of laws, not of men, is almost as old as civilization itself. In the hallway not far from this podium is a replica of the code of laws promulgated by Hammurabi more than 3,000 years ago in the land we now call Iraq.

Much of Hammurabi's Code now seems impossibly harsh. But etched into his tablets are principles of justice that have been recognized, if seldom fully implemented, by almost every human society since his time: legal protection for the poor, restraints on the strong so that they cannot oppress the weak, laws publicly enacted and known to all.

That code was a landmark in mankind's struggle to build an order where instead of might making right, right would make might.

Many nations represented in this chamber can proudly point to founding documents of their own that embody that simple concept. And this organization, your United Nations, is founded on the same simple principle.

Yet today the rule of law is at risk around the world. Again and again we see laws shamelessly disregarded: those that ordain respect for innocent life for civilians, for the vulnerable, especially children.

ANNAN: To mention only a few flagrant and topical examples. In Iraq we see civilians massacred in cold blood, while relief workers, journalists and other noncombatants are taken hostage and put to death in the most barbarous fashion. At the same time we have seen Iraqi prisoners disgracefully abused.

In Darfur, we see whole populations displaced and their homes destroyed while rape is used as a deliberate strategy. In northern Uganda we have seen children mutilated and forced to take part in acts of unspeakable cruelty. In Beslan we have seen children taken hostage and brutally massacred.

In Israel, we see civilians, including children, deliberately targeted by Palestinian suicide bombers. And in Palestine, we see homes destroyed, lands seized and needless civilian casualties caused by Israel's excessive use of force.

And all around the world we see people being prepared for further such acts, through hate propaganda directed at Jews, Muslims, against anyone who can be identified as different from one's own group.

Excellences, no cause, no grievance, however legitimate in itself, can begin to justify such acts.

ANNAN: They put all of us to shame.

Their prevalence reflects our collective failure to uphold the rule of law and instill respect for it in our fellow men and women. We all have a duty to do whatever we can to restore that respect.

To do so, we must start from the principle that no one is above the law and no one should be denied its protection. Every nation that proclaims a rule of law at home must respect it abroad. And every nation that insists on it abroad, must enforce it at home. Yes, the rule of law starts at home, but in too many places it remains elusive. Hatred, corruption, violence and exclusion go without redress. The vulnerable lack effective recourse and the powerful manipulate laws to retain power and accumulate wealth.

At times, even the necessary fight against terrorism is allowed to encroach unnecessarily on civil liberties.

At the international level, all states, strong and weak, big and small, need a framework of fair rules which each can be confident that others will obey.

Fortunately, such a framework exists; from trade to terrorism, from the law of the sea to weapons of mass destruction, states have created an impressive body of norms and laws. This is one of our organization's proudest achievements.

And yet this framework is riddled with gaps and weaknesses. Too often it is applied selectively and enforced arbitrarily. It lacks the teeth that turn a body of laws into an effective legal system.

ANNAN: Where enforcement capacity does exist, as in the Security Council, many feel it is not always used fairly or effectively. Where the rule of law is most earnestly invoked, as in the Commission on Human Rights, those invoking it do not always practice what they preach.

Those who seek to restore legitimacy must themselves embody it. And those who invoke international law must themselves submit to it.

Just as within a country respect for the law depends on the sense that all have a say in making and implementing it, so it is in our global community. No nation must feel excluded. All must feel that international law belongs to them and protects their legitimate interests.

Rule of law as a mere concept is not enough. Laws must be put into practice and permeate the fabric of our lives.

It is by strengthening and implementing disarmament treaties, including their verification provisions, that we can best defend ourselves against the proliferation and potential use of weapons of mass destruction.

It is by applying the law that we can deny financial resources and safe havens to terrorists, an essential element in any strategy for defending and defeating terrorism.

It is by reintroducing the rule of law and confidence in its impartial application that we can hope to resuscitate societies shattered by conflict.

It is the law, including Security Council resolutions, which offers the best foundation for resolving prolonged conflicts in the Middle East, in Iraq and around the world. It is by rigorously upholding international law that we can and must fulfill our responsibility to protect innocent civilians from genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

And as I warned this assembly five years ago, history will judge us very harshly if we let ourselves be deflected from this task or we are excused from it by invocations of national sovereignty.

ANNAN: The Security Council has just requested me to appoint an independent commission to investigate reports of human rights violations in Darfur and determine whether acts of genocide have been committed. I shall do so with all speed.

But let no one treat this as a respite during which events in that devastated region continue to take their course. Regardless of the legal definition, things are happening there which must shock the conscious of every human being.

The African Union has nobly taken the lead and the responsibility in providing monitors and protective force in Darfur, as well as seeking a political settlement which alone can bring lasting peace to that society and security. But we all know the present limitations of this newborn union. We must give it every possible support.

Let no one imagine that this affair concerns Africans alone. The victims are human beings whose human rights must be sacred to all of us. We all have a duty to do whatever we can to rescue them and do it now.

Excellencies, last month I promised the Security Council that I would make the organization's work to strengthen the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies a priority for the remainder of my tenure.

ANNAN: By the same token, I urge you to do more to foster the rule of law at home and abroad. I ask all of you here today to take advantage of the arrangements we have made for you to sign treaties on the protection of civilians -- treaties that you, yourselves, negotiated -- and then go back home and implement them fully and in good faith.

And I implore you to give your full support to the measures I shall bring before you during this session to improve the security of United Nations staff. Those noncombatants who have voluntarily put themselves in harm's way to assist their fellow men and women surely deserve your protection, as well as your respect.

Throughout the world, Excellencies, the victims of violence and injustice are waiting. They are waiting for us to keep our word. They notice when we use words to mask inaction. They notice when laws that should protect them are not applied.

I believe we can restore and extend the rule of law throughout the world, but ultimately, that will depend on the hold that the law has on our consciences. This organization was founded in the ashes of a war that brought untold sorrow to mankind. Today, we must look again into our collective conscience and ask ourselves whether we are doing enough.

Excellencies, each generation has its part to play in the age-old struggle to strengthen the rule of law for all, which alone can guarantee freedom for all. Let our generation not be found wanting.

Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

KAGAN: We've been listening in to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan as he speaks at the United Nations, making a number of points as he speaks to the world leaders.

Talking in a stern voice to these leaders, as he has in the past, talking about reaching a fork in the road, warning these leaders that unless you make decisions, tough decisions for your people and for the world, as he said, if you cannot agree, history will take that decision from you.

Also, throughout much of his speech, the theme of the rule of law -- a theme that is very important to the secretary-general.

Let's bring in our U.N. correspondent Richard Roth for more on what Kofi Annan means by that and the messages as they apply to the major crises in the world right now -- Richard?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Daryn, Secretary- General Annan said he didn't want to prejudge decisions taken, a direct reference to the United States' invasion of Iraq. But then he went on in a lecture to tell the world, you know, in effect don't preach until you clean up your own act at home.

He stuck by this rule of law theme. And United Nations television, of course, you know, determines who pops up on your screen when Annan is referring to a country. So, when Kofi Annan says we must start from the principle that no nation is above the law, I mean, who do you go to? Do you show Sudan, the United States, Iran, North Korea? Where do you start? Everybody has a problem with someone right now on that world stage.

Kofi Annan, in effect, asking for help, money -- saying to the country put your money where your mouth is. If you're going to say the U.N. should go back into Iraq, we need the money. Also on Sudan, Kofi Annan's aides telling us yesterday it's a deplorable funding situation. Countries have not lived up to their promises. Thousands are dying each day, even in these organized camps.

Sudan probably was on the receiving end of most of this: world's worst humanitarian crisis according to U.S. and U.N. officials. You saw Sudan's foreign minister sitting there as Kofi Annan said what's going on there, in effect, is a horror show. Of course, the cameras didn't show the U.S. table when Kofi Annan talked about the disgraceful abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Kofi Annan's remarks will definitely be taken to heart, but as usual, it remains to be seen will all these countries actually commit to some type of action? Heavily divided still on Iraq -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Richard Roth at the United Nations. Richard, you're going to stay with us. A lot more going to take place there this morning. The president of Brazil is next, but of course, we are waiting for President Bush, as he will be addressing this General Assembly in just a few minutes.

Right now, a quick break. More with our correspondents and President Bush's words right ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's take a look at the stories that are happening now in the news.

Iran's vice president says a uranium enrichment process is underway, indicating defiance of the U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Agency. Some of the more than 40 tons of raw uranium has been converted into uranium hexachloride gas. Over the weekend, the International Atomic Energy Agency told Iran to freeze all enrichment programs. Iranian officials have repeatedly denied they plan to make nuclear weapons.

A U.N. official in Haiti says at least 500 people are dead in one city from Tropical Storm Jeanne. That number may rise as house-to- house searches continue. Most of the deaths were caused by flooding or mud slides. Floodwaters are receding, but at one time there was nine feet of water in the streets.

The nation's largest cigarette makers go on trial today. Government lawyers will begin presenting their case in federal court in Washington. It's a $280 billion civil racketeering suit alleging the tobacco industry misled Americans about the dangers of smoking. The case is expected to last six months.

And the Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to approve Congressman Porter Goss' nomination for CIA chief today. The full Senate could debate President Bush's selection later this week. Some Democrats are concerned that Goss may be too partisan a choice for the top spy job and could vote against him. But the former CIA former officer will likely win Senate approval.

And we continue our coverage from New York City and the United Nations. Any minute now President Bush expected to address the General Assembly. If you're with us, you saw live the U.N. Secretary- General Kofi Annan make his comments in the last few minutes. As we look forward to President Bush's speech, let's bring in our senior White House correspondent John King, taking a closer look at what we might hear from the president.

John, good morning once again.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. A couple of quick points. Remember two years ago it was a defiant President Bush who essentially challenged the relevance of the United Nations, saying it needed to join him in confronting Saddam Hussein. In that speech, the president said there was no doubt that Saddam Hussein had and wanted more weapons of mass destruction. Two years later, we know, of course, there are no weapons of mass destruction, at least none found as yet in Iraq, and the United States now concedes no stockpiles are likely to be found. So do not look for that defiant tone from the president today, but also look for no apology.

This president will make the case that he was right to go to war in Iraq, and that he acted because the Security Council, the United Nations Security Council failed to enforce its own resolutions, and the president implicitly, if not explicitly, will make the case that the United Nations is making the same mistake again in the Sudan, by having a debate in the Security Council and not taking action to stop what the United States now calls genocide.

So the president will defend his foreign policy. At the same time, don't look for a defiant tone. Look for a somewhat more conciliatory tone, in which the president says let's put the debate over the war behind us. There is an insurgency in Iraq. There is a new interim government that is being challenged by the day that needs political help, needs financial and reconstruction support, and needs moral support from around the world. The president making this case to the world, Daryn, and of course we are six weeks away from the presidential election. This is very much a campaign speech as well. His rival, John Kerry, said that this president has squandered U.S. standing in the world, has alienated traditional allies. The president's message today to the people back here in the United States is that he will always try diplomacy first, but that he will never sacrifice, if you will, or surrender decision-making powers in the war on terror, or any other global issue to the United Nations -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And, John, stay with us in New York City. You make a good point, Election Day six weeks from today. Also this is a day after his opponent John Kerry making an appearance in New York City, making a very strong speech, some strong comments on Iraq.

Kelly Wallace has been covering that campaign as well, and she joins us from New York City with more on that.

Kelly, good morning.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. And Senator John Kerry will no doubt be monitoring President Bush's speech to the United Nations. Senator Kerry set to leave New York City about a half hour from now and make his way to Florida for a day of campaigning.

As you've said the senator in his speech yesterday almost launching really a preemptive strike in this debate, knowing that the senator -- the president would be going before the U.N. today. And in essence, John Kerry tried to do two things. He said he may have voted for that war resolution giving the president the authority to go to war, but he is saying that the president, the way he invaded Iraq, the way he handled everything, has really been a gross miscalculation, a colossal error in judgment, and he says that if he were commander in chief now, he would be getting much more international support to ultimately start bringing some U.S. troops home.

Here's a little bit of what the senator said yesterday at NYU.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president should convene a summit meeting of the world's major powers, and of Iraqi's neighbors this week, in New York, where many leaders will attend the U.N. General Assembly. And he should insist that they make good on the U.N. resolution. He should offer potential troop contributors specific, but critical roles in training Iraqi security personnel and in securing Iraqi borders. He should give other countries a stake in Iraq's future, by encouraging them to help develop Iraq's oil resources, and by letting them bid on contracts, instead of locking them out of the reconstruction process.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And here's a little bit of what the Kerry strategy is, according to advisers. They want to sort of shift the debate away from the ouster of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and focus on what has happened ever since, focus on the events on the ground. They do believe as more Americans focus on what is happening now, more than 1,000 Americans killed, obviously concern coming even from the president's own party, well, then Democrats believe that John Kerry can start narrowing that gap in some of the polls when it comes to who do you trust more to handle Iraq, handle terrorism, handle foreign policy in general -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Kelly, thank you.

Kelly Wallace is in New York City, so is John King, and so is President Bush. He is due to speak any minute at the United Nations, addressing the General Assembly. You will see those comments live right here on CNN.

Also ahead, his family and friends knew him as an adventurer. Now relatives of Eugene Armstrong deal with the unthinkable. Family members of the two remaining Western hostages, begging for their lives to be spared.

And CBS News admits it made a mistake. But is that enough to undo the damage to the news organization's reputation? We'll look at that, straight ahead. This is CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We do expect comments from President Bush on Iraq when he addresses the General Assembly of the United Nations. That is going to happen any minute. Right now, as we stand by watching and waiting for those comments to begin, the president of Brazil at the podium, having his turn to speak to the assembly. Once again, when President Bush speaks, we will go live back to New York City.

Meanwhile, the agonizing wait goes on for news of two remaining hostages -- one is British, one is American -- after their colleague was beheaded by militants who kidnapped them.

Our senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers is following this story from Baghdad.

Walter, hello.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

We do not know if both of the remaining hostages, American Jack Hensley, and the Englishman, Kenneth John Bigley, are still alive at this point. Indeed, we have been waiting all day for yet another tragic announcement of a decapitation, a beheading. That is what the insurgents who hold these men did yesterday to another American, Eugene Armstrong. They released a videotape to an Islamist Web site.

That videotape shows Armstrong on his knees. He knew he was going to die. He was blindfolded. His hands were behind him. And standing behind him was a man reading a death sentence, more or less, saying that the execution would be in fulfillment of God's law.

Then, these Muslim militants proceeded to cut off Armstrong's head. The videotape was too -- far too graphic to show in its worst parts. But you could hear Armstrong screaming and screaming as the militants sawed off his head, decapitated him.

Again, we have no word on whether Jack Hensley is still alive or, for that matter, whether Kenneth Bigley is still alive, but we are standing by waiting to see if, indeed, the militants make good on their threat to execute one or both of these men today.

They say they are doing this because their demands have not been met. The most outstanding demand being they want the release of all Iraqi women prisoners in jails and held by the Americans. The Americans actually only hold two Iraqi detainees of the female gender.

The Iraqi prisons, we don't know how many females are there. But we can tell you this, there has been no inclination to meet the rebels' demands, the Islamist militant demands. And so, as I say, we are standing by for more bad news from one of those Islamist Web sites -- Daryn?

KAGAN: It goes beyond brutal and disgusting to say what these people are doing to the hostages.

Give us a better idea, Walter, of the kidnapping situation as it has increased in Iraq. These three men themselves, taken from the home that they were sharing.

RODGERS: What we're seeing, Daryn, is no longer ad hoc freelance kidnappings so much by criminal gangs who pick up a westerner they see on the street, throw him into a car, and then trade them up the chain until somebody wants them and sees a value to holding them. What we're seeing now are very sophisticated strikes by organized teams, anywhere from 12 to 25 guerrillas moving in very, very skillfully.

It's the tightest of military operations. They know exactly what their objective is. They have lookouts everywhere. They've cased the people they're going to kidnap. They study them. They know their habits. And when you fall into any habit in a hostile environment like this is when you're in the most danger. And that's when people get kidnapped, generally.

And what we're seeing, as I say, is increasingly sophisticated kidnapping to make a political point. And the worst of them have been by the Islamist militant group called Unification and Jihad, headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, it's believed. And he, of course, is the most wanted man in Iraq -- Daryn?

KAGAN: And as you were pointing out, absolute agony for the families and the relatives who are standing by for news. Of course, we will bring it to them and to the world as soon as it becomes available.

Walter Rodgers in Baghdad, thank you for that.

The relatives of the British and American hostages held by Unification and Jihad are pleading for their lives of the loved ones. In Atlanta, Jack Hensley's wife says that her 13-year-old daughter doesn't understand why anyone would want to hurt her dad. And Hensley asked the hostage-takers to consider the good that her husband and colleagues were doing in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTY HENSLEY, WIFE OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE: If I could just say to the captors, we are more than willing to work on this together. We don't know how to get in touch, or how we even begin to open the lines of communications, other than what, thank you, you and the media have provided for us.

But these gentlemen are truly three wonderful men who were there simply to help the Iraqi people overcome the terrible damage that had been done to them during all of this war, if you will call it that. And their intent was to provide them with a lifestyle that they deserve.

And they were very loved by their Iraqi neighbors. They sent gifts home to my daughter and I all the time. And they were always welcome in the Iraqi homes. These were three gentlemen who had absolutely no agenda, other than to enrich the lives of the people they were there to help. And to take their lives would serve no real purpose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has spoken with the family of hostage Ken Bigley this morning. But a Foreign Office spokesman repeated the government's stance that it does not negotiate with terrorists. Last night, Bigley's brother went on British television asking Prime Minister Tony Blair to do something that the captors might accept.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIP BIGLEY, BROTHER OF BRITISH HOSTAGE: We feel absolutely helpless. We do not have the power to save Ken's life. The death of the American hostage tonight has proved to us that if nothing is done, then the two remaining captives will die by the most horrific means.

The only person we can now beg to help us is the prime minister. Who else can we ask? There's nobody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And once again, we'll have the latest on the status of those hostages as it becomes available here at CNN.

Meanwhile, we go back to our other lead story, that of course taking place at the General Assembly. President Bush there to address world leaders and expected to begin his comments any moment, as the president of Brazil wraps up his.

According to the timeline in the agenda, President Bush up next. As we wait for the president to step up to the podium, let's bring in our senior White House correspondent John King -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, probably a stretch to call this a hostile audience. There are many friends of this president and many friends of the United States in the audience.

But certainly a skeptical audience, and a great number of we- told-you-so's, if you will, in the United Nations General Assembly. Countries that warned the United States that the war in Iraq would divide the world. Countries that warned the United States its intelligence was outdated and maybe there were no weapons of mass destruction. Countries that warned the United States that if you topple Saddam Hussein, what you would get in Iraq is political chaos.

So, the president trying to make his case before certainly what is a skeptical audience. We are told there will be no apologies from the president. Mr. Bush will say he acted in Iraq because the United Nations and its security council failed to stand up to Saddam Hussein over a more than 12-year period.

The president, though, will also defend his position in Iraq, call for support of the new Iraqi government, and try to move on. But Daryn, he will also try to deliver a more broad speech, where he says the world must continue to stand up against rogue regimes that develop nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction.

And he will focus on two humanitarian issues right now. He will promote the U.S. initiative to fight AIDS in Africa and say more international money and resources are necessary. And he also will call on the United Nations to do more to help in the Sudan. The president of the United States about to address the General Assembly.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT: Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen:

Thank you for the honor of addressing this General Assembly. The American people respect the idealism that gave life to this organization. And we respect the men and women of the U.N., who stand for peace and human rights in every part of the world. Welcome to New York City. And welcome to the United States of America.

During the past three years, I've addressed this General Assembly in a time of tragedy for our country, and in times of decision for all of us. Now we gather at a time of tremendous opportunity for the U.N., and for all peaceful nations.

For decades the circle of liberty and security and development has been expanding in our world. This progress has brought unity to Europe, self-government to Latin America and Asia and new hope to Africa.

Now we have the historic chance to widen the circle even further, to fight radicalism and terror with justice and dignity, to achieve a true peace, founded on human freedom.

BUSH: The United Nations and my country share the deepest commitments. Both the American Declaration of Independence and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaim the equal value and dignity of every human life.

That dignity is honored by the rule of law, limits on the power of the state, respect for women, protection of private property, free speech, equal justice and religious tolerance.

That dignity is dishonored by oppression, corruption, tyranny, bigotry, terrorism and all violence against the innocent.

And both of our founding documents affirm that this bright line between justice and injustice, between right and wrong, is the same in every age and every culture and every nation.

Wise governments also stand for these principles for very practical and realistic reasons.

We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression, while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace.

We know that oppressive governments support terror, while free governments fight the terrorists in their midst.

We know that free peoples embrace progress and life instead of becoming the recruits for murderous ideologies.

BUSH: Every nation that wants peace will share the benefits of a freer world. And every nation that seeks peace has an obligation to help build that world. Eventually there is no safe isolation from terror networks or failed states that shelter them or outlaw regimes or weapons of mass destruction.

Eventually there is no safety in looking away, seeking the quiet life by ignoring the struggles and oppression of others.

In this young century, our world needs a new definition of security. Our security is not merely found in spheres of influence or some balance of power, the security of our world is found in the advancing rights of mankind.

These rights are advancing across the world. And across the world, the enemies of human rights are responding with violence.

Terrorists and their allies believe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Bill of Rights and every charter of liberty ever written are lies to be burned and destroyed and forgotten.

They believe the dictators should control every mind and tongue in the Middle East and beyond.

BUSH: They believe that suicide and torture and murder are fully justified to serve any goal they declare. And they act on their beliefs.

In the last year alone, terrorists have attacked police stations and banks and commuter trains and synagogues and a school filled with children.

This month in Beslan, we saw once again how the terrorists measure their success: in the death of the innocent and in the pain of grieving families.

Svetlana Deibesov (ph) was held hostage, along with her son and her nephew. Her nephew did not survive. She recently visited the cemetery and saw what she called the little graves. She said, "I understand that there is evil in the world, but what have these little creatures done?"

Members of the United Nations, the Russian children did nothing to deserve such awful suffering and fright and death. The people of Madrid and Jerusalem and Istanbul and Baghdad have done nothing to deserve sudden and random murder.

These acts violate the standards of justice in all cultures and the principles of all religions. All civilized nations are in this struggle together, and all must fight the murderers.

We're determined to destroy terror networks wherever they operate, and the United States is grateful to every nation that is helping to seize terrorist assets, track down their operatives and disrupt their plans.

BUSH: We're determined to end the state sponsorship of terror, and my nation is grateful to all that participated in the liberation of Afghanistan.

We're determined to prevent proliferation and to enforce the demands of the world, and my nation is grateful to the soldiers of many nations who have helped to deliver the Iraqi people from an outlaw dictator.

The dictator agreed in 1991 as a condition of a cease-fire to fully comply with all Security Council resolutions, then ignored more than a decade of those resolutions.

Finally, the Security Council promised serious consequences for his defiance. And the commitments we make must have meaning. When we say serious consequences, for the sake of peace there must be serious consequences. And so a coalition of nations enforced the just demands of the world.

Defending our ideals is vital, but it is not enough. Our broader mission as U.N. members is to apply these ideals to the great issues of our time.

BUSH: Our wider goal is to promote hope and progress as the alternatives to hatred and violence. Our great purpose is to build a better world beyond the war on terror.

Because we believe in human dignity, America and many nations have established a global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

In three years, the contributing countries have funded projects in more than 90 countries and pledged a total of $5.6 billion to these efforts. America has undertaken a $15 billion effort to provide prevention and treatment and humane care in nations afflicted by AIDS, placing a special focus on 15 countries where the need is most urgent.

AIDS is the greatest health crisis of our time and our unprecedented commitment will bring new hope to those who have walked too long in the shadow of death.

Because we believe in human dignity, America and many nations have joined together to confront the evil of trafficking in human beings. We're supporting organizations that rescue the victims, passing stronger anti-trafficking laws and warning travelers that they will be held to account for supporting this modern form of slavery. Women and children should never be exploited for pleasure or greed anywhere on Earth.

Because we believe in human dignity, we should take seriously the protection life from exploitation under any pretext.

BUSH: In this session, the U.N. will consider a resolution sponsored by Costa Rica calling for a comprehensive ban on human cloning.

I support that resolution, and urge all governments to affirm a basic ethical principle: No human life should ever be produced or destroyed for the benefit of another. Because we believe in human dignity, America and many nations have changed the way we fight poverty, curb corruption and provide aid.

In 2002, we created the Monterrey Consensus, a bold approach that links new aid from developed nations to real reform in developing ones.

And through the Millennium Challenge Account, my nation is increasing our aid to developing nations that expand economic freedom and invest in the education and health of their own people.

Because we believe in human dignity, America and many nations have acted to lift the crushing burden of debt that limits the growth of developing economies and holds millions of people in poverty.

Since these efforts began in 1996, poor countries with the heaviest debt burdens have received more than $30 billion of relief. And to prevent the build-up of future debt, my country and other nations have agreed that international financial institutions should increasingly provide new aid in the forms of grants rather than loans.

Because we believe in human dignity, the world must have more effective means to stabilize regions in turmoil and to halt religious violence and ethnic cleansing.

BUSH: We must create permanent capabilities to respond to future crises.

The United States and Italy have proposed a global peace operations initiative. G-8 countries will train 75,000 peacekeepers, initially from Africa, so they can conduct operations on that continent and elsewhere. The countries of the G-8 will help this peacekeeping force with deployment and logistical needs.

At this hour, the world is witnessing terrible suffering and horrible crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan, crimes my government has concluded are genocide.

The United States played a key role in efforts to broker a cease- fire, and we're providing humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people. Rwanda and Nigeria have deployed forces in Sudan to help improve security so aid can be delivered. The Security Council adopted a resolution that supports an expanded African Union force to help prevent further bloodshed and urges the government of Sudan to stop flights by military aircraft in Darfur.

We congratulate the members of the council on this timely and necessary action. I call on the government of Sudan to honor the cease-fire it signed and to stop the killing in Darfur.

Because we believe in human dignity, peaceful nations must stand for the advance of democracy. No other system of government has done more to protect minorities, to secure the rights of labor, to raise the status of women or to channel human energy to the pursuits of peace. We've witnessed the rise of democratic governments in predominantly Hindu and Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish and Christian cultures.

BUSH: Democratic institutions have taken root in modern societies and in traditional societies.

When it comes to the desire for liberty and justice, there is no clash of civilizations. People everywhere are capable of freedom and worthy of freedom.

Finding the full promise of representative government takes time, as America has found in two centuries of debate and struggle. Nor is there only one form of representative government because democracies, by definition, take on the unique character of the peoples that create them.

Yet this much we know with certainty: The desire for freedom resides in every human heart. And that desire cannot be contained forever by prison walls or martial laws or secret police; over time and across the Earth, freedom will find a way.

Freedom is finding a way in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we must continue show our commitment to democracies in those nations. The liberty that many have won at a cost must be secured.

As members of the United Nations, we all have a stake in the success of the world's newest democracies. Not long ago, outlaw regimes in Baghdad and Kabul threatened the peace and sponsored terrorists. These regimes destabilized one of the world's most vital and most volatile regions. They brutalized their peoples in defiance of all civilized norms.

BUSH: Today the Iraqi and Afghan people are on the path to democracy and freedom. The governments that are rising will pose no threat to others. Instead of harboring terrorists, they're fighting terrorist groups. And this progress is good for the long-term security of all of us.

The Afghan people are showing extraordinary courage under difficult conditions. They're fighting to defend their nation from Taliban holdouts and helping to strike against the terrorist killers. They're reviving they're economy. They've adopted a constitution that protects the rights of all, while honoring their nation's most cherished traditions.

More than 10 million Afghan citizens, over 4 million of them women, are now registered to vote in next month's presidential election. To any who still would question whether Muslim societies can be democratic societies, the Afghan people are giving their answer.

Since the last meeting of this General Assembly, the people of Iraq have regained sovereignty. Today in this hall, the prime minister of Iraq and his delegation represent a country that has rejoined the community of nations. The government of Prime Minister Allawi has earned the support of every nation that believes in self-determination and desires peace. And under Security Council Resolutions 1511 and 1546, the world is providing that support.

BUSH: The U.N. and its member nations must respond to Prime Minister Allawi's request and do more to help build an Iraq that is secure, democratic, federal and free.

A democratic Iraq has ruthless enemies because terrorists know the stakes in that country. They know that a free Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will be a decisive blow against their ambitions for that region.

So a terrorist group associated with Al Qaeda is now one of the main groups killing the innocent in Iraq today, conducting a campaign of bombings against civilians and the beheadings of bound men.

Coalition forces now serving in Iraq are confronting the terrorists and foreign fighters so peaceful nations around the world will never have to face them within our own borders.

Our coalition is standing beside a growing Iraqi security force. The NATO alliance is providing vital training to that force. More than 35 nations have contributed money and expertise to help rebuild Iraq's infrastructure.

And as the Iraqi interim government moves toward national elections, officials from the United Nations are helping Iraqis build the infrastructure of democracy. These selfless people are doing heroic work and are carrying on the great legacy of Sergio de Mello.

As we've seen in other countries, one of the main terrorist goals is to undermine, disrupt and influence election outcomes. We can expect terrorist attacks to escalate as Afghanistan and Iraq approach national elections.

BUSH: The work ahead is demanding, but these difficulties will not shake our conviction that the future of Afghanistan and Iraq is a future of liberty. The proper response to difficulty is not to retreat; it is to prevail.

The advance of freedom always carries a cost paid by the bravest among us. America mourns the losses to our nation and to many others. And today I assure every friend of Afghanistan and Iraq and every enemy of liberty, we will stand with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq until their hopes of freedom and security are fulfilled.

These two nations will be a model for the broader Middle East, a region where millions have been denied basic human rights and simple justice. For too long, many nations, including my own, tolerated, even excused oppression in the Middle East in the name of stability. The oppression became common, but stability never arrived.

We must take a different approach. We must help the reformers of the Middle East as they work for freedom and strive to build a community of peaceful, democratic nations.

This commitment to democratic reform is essential to resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. Peace will not be achieved by Palestinian rulers who intimidate opposition, tolerate corruption and maintain ties to terrorist groups.

BUSH: The long-suffering Palestinian people deserve better. They deserve true leaders capable of creating and governing a free and peaceful Palestinian state.

Goodwill and hard effort can achieve the promise of the road map to peace. Those who would lead a new Palestinian state should adopt peaceful means to achieve the rights of their people and create the reformed institutions of a stable democracy.

Arab states should end incitement in their own media, cut off public and private funding for terrorism, and establish normal relations with Israel.

Israel should impose a settlement freeze, dismantle unauthorized outposts, end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people and avoid any actions that prejudice final negotiations.

And world leaders should withdraw all favor and support from any Palestinian ruler who fails his people and betrays their cause.

The democratic hopes we see growing in the Middle East are growing everywhere. In the words of the Burmese democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi, "We do not accept the notion that democracy is a Western value. To the contrary, democracy simply means good government rooted in responsibility, transparency and accountability."

Here at the United Nations, you know this to be true.

In recent years, this organization has helped to create a new democracy in East Timor and the U.N. has aided other nations in making the transition to self-rule.

Because I believe the advance of liberty is the path to both a safer and better world, today I propose establishing a democracy fund within the United Nations. This is a great calling for this great organization.

The fund would help countries lay the foundations of democracy by instituting the rule of law and independent courts, a free press, political parties and trade unions.

BUSH: Money from the fund would also help set up voter precincts in polling places and support the work of election monitors.

To show our commitment to the new democracy fund, the United States will make an initial contribution. I urge all other nations to contribute as well.

I have outlined a broad agenda to advance human dignity and enhance the security of all of us. The defeat of terror, the protection of human rights, the spread of prosperity, the advance of democracy: These causes, these ideals call us to great work in the world. Each of us alone can only do so much. Together we can accomplish so much more.

History will honor the high ideals of this organization. The Charter states them with clarity: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, to promote social progress and better standards of life and larger freedom.

Let history also record that our generation of leaders followed through on these ideals, even in adversity. Let history show that in a decisive decade, members of the United Nations did not grow weary in our duties or waver in meeting them.

I'm confident that this young century will be liberty's century. I believe we will rise to this moment because I know the character of so many nations and leaders represented here today, and I have faith in the transforming power of freedom.

May God bless you.

(APPLAUSE)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We've been listening to President Bush as he addresses the General Assembly of the United Nations. President Bush presenting what he sees as a positive outlook for the world, calling this a time of opportunity, saying that the U.S. shares a commitment to dignity with every human life with the United Nations. He says there is no safety, though, in looking away from the dangerous situations all around the world.

A number of topics. Touching on Iraq, of course, humanitarian issues, like AIDS, and calling for an end to any cloning research. And also taking time to look at situations in Sudan, and also the Middle East, the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Our John King, our senior White House correspondent, with the president in New York City, joins us now live from there -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, this I found noteworthy, how closely the president linked the political transition in Afghanistan to the political transition in Iraq. Mr. Bush wants the American people to view both of those military actions in Afghanistan and in Iraq as crucial elements in the global war against terrorism.

Some dispute that, saying Iraq was a war of choice. But Mr. Bush saying, yes, there are difficulties in both Afghanistan and in Iraq, as you try to move toward democratic elections. The president saying the solution, though, is not to retreat, but to show resolve and to stand with those countries as they make what he promised would be a transformation to democracies that do not threaten their neighbors, that do not have weapons of mass destruction or provide safe harbor to terrorists. Mr. Bush also using this speech to the United Nations General Assembly to again defend his very unpopular, especially in that room, decision to go to war in Iraq. Mr. Bush saying that Saddam Hussein had been told by the Security Council time and time again to conform with its resolutions, that the Security Council threatened serious consequences, and when the Security Council would not then impose those serious consequences, he decided to do that.

So no apologies from the president at all. Certainly not a defiant tone to his speech, but the president making his case that the war was the right decision and that now the international community must come together in both Afghanistan and in Iraq to help provide security and other resources for the elections.

And Mr. Bush also sticking to some other themes that are not quite so popular, saying in that speech, for example, that no government should support the Palestinian leadership if it is corrupt. The United States has for years been making that case under this Bush administration. And if you ask the White House which countries were at the top of the list that do provide more and other (ph) support, they would say France, the fierce opponent of the war in Iraq.

So Mr. Bush not backing away at all, Daryn, from his key points, especially his defense of the war in Iraq.

KAGAN: John, also, though, on that Middle East question, he did have those words for people who would support Palestinian leaders, but also some harsh words for the Israelis, calling for a freeze of settlements. This administration, some would say, have -- has had different opinions on where it stands in terms of Israeli leadership.

KING: Well, around the world, and certainly in the halls of the United Nations, the Bush administration is often accused of being lopsided in favor of Israel when it comes to the Middle East conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. So Mr. Bush, on the one hand, saying the Palestinian leadership must be -- must be changed, essentially, and must not have corruption, must support its people. But yes, that message, especially in this hall, is significant.

Mr. Bush trying to make the case that, despite zero progress, and indeed significant setbacks in the past two years, that he believes you can get back to what he calls the roadmap to peace. There are many skeptics, of course, and many skeptics who would say that Mr. Bush might say at the United Nations General Assembly that Israel must stop the settlements, but will he put pressure, public, repeated, sustained pressure on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to do that?

Ariel Sharon, of course, has said he wants to pull out of the Gaza -- the Gaza Strip and some of the West Bank. He faces his own internal political problems over that. So it is a very, very complicated issue, Daryn.

The president trying to make the case that he is willing to move that process forward. Again, come tomorrow morning, there will many -- there will be many in that hall who will say, let's see action, not just words. KAGAN: And live pictures as we watch President Bush and Mrs. Bush leave the United Nations, followed by Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Now, John, a lot of news taking place today. While the president was addressing the General Assembly, news coming from Capitol Hill.

The Senate Intelligence Committee approving the nomination of Congressman Porter Goss to be the next head of the CIA. What do you have on that?

KING: That's an important development for the Bush administration, Daryn. It includes -- excuse the loud truck backing up here in Manhattan.

Porter Goss, of course the congressman from Florida, Mr. Bush's choice to replace George Tenet as the head of the CIA, possibly could become the choice to become the new national intelligence director. Many in Washington speculating on that.

When that more powerful new national intelligence director position is created, the nomination now goes on to the full Senate. Everyone expects Porter Goss to be confirmed in relatively short order.

Some Democrats using those hearings, and will use the debate on the floor to question this administration's commitment to true intelligence reforms as called for by the 9/11 Commission. But that nomination moving, I think, even more speedily than perhaps many had anticipated just a short time ago.

KAGAN: John King in New York City. Thank you for that, for that reporting. We will be back to you. Also over to Ross at the United Nations.

Our coverage from New York City and a lot more news taking place right now. We fit in a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We want to get now some reaction to President Bush's speech in front of the U.N. General Assembly. General Wesley Clark joining us, the former presidential candidate, now a supporter of John Kerry's, joining us in Charlotte, North Carolina.

General, good morning. Good to see you.

WESLEY CLARK (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: I trust you were able to sit there and listen in to what the president had to say to the General Assembly?

CLARK: I did.

KAGAN: And were you pleased or disturbed by what you heard? CLARK: Well, I was disappointed. I had hoped we'd had -- have a stronger presentation with some new ideas that would actually reach out and try to bring greater support from the world community. We didn't hear that.

What we heard was basically the same kind of rhetoric he's been using in the campaign. It was more of a lecture, really. And the thing that's happened to us here is we did have a lot of support from within the United Nations three years ago after 9/11, but the actions by the administration in Iraq squandered that support, and even after the war was -- most of the fighting was over there in early 2003. The administration acted to exclude the United Nations, so the president's got to dig the United States out of the hole and the language, the tone, the lack of ideas, it just didn't help. He just didn't rebuild his credibility or seem capable of really bringing any new leadership to the problem of helping us succeed in the missions we've embarked on.

KAGAN: You know, it's interesting, your criticisms of the president's speech, because it seems like if you take the same comment, but change the context, that's the same criticism that a lot of people have of John Kerry, that he has not brought enough fresh ideas and vision of how he would change the situation in Iraq.

CLARK: Well, we were going to talk about the president's speech. I'm happy to compare them. For example, if you listen to what John Kerry said yesterday, he talked -- he's talked about really putting the effort on diplomacy, to bring a summit together, to bring nations in the region together for dialogue.

See, Daryn, think of it this way, there's the military on the ground in Iraq, and that's part of the problem. For the Bush administration, that seems to be the whole issue, but we're not going to have peace in Iraq until the neighboring countries in the region are willing to accept the fact that you could have a stable democratizing Iraq that doesn't threaten them. Syria and Iran are engaged in causing trouble in Iraq, and the Bush administration has to find a way to bring them on board and work with them, just the way the Clinton administration did in the Balkans with neighboring countries to the former Yugoslavia.

Not everyone always agrees on the big issues, but you have to seek out common interests. This administration's failed to do that.

And on the ground in Iraq, our military leaders there will tell you, we cannot kill everybody who is opposing us. We've got to persuade them that they don't want to fight the United States or the interim Iraqi government. We have to give openings to the political process. We haven't been very effective in doing that.

And so I think there are a lot of good ideas out there coming from John Kerry and his team, but I don't see this administration picking them up. What I see is this administration trying to, more or less, stay steady on course, keep the lid on until after the 2nd of November and not deal with the reality of the situation. The president cited progress, but the situation in both Afghanistan and Iraq is deteriorating; it's not progressing. It is getting worse.

KAGAN: Senator Kerry did give what many people considered to be a strong speech when he was at NYU yesterday. He offered up four general points of how he would deal with the situation in Iraq, four points that the Republicans say are all things that the president supports.

Let me ask you, stepping away as a Kerry supporter for a moment, rather as a former presidential candidate and a military leader, and an American, are you not frustrated that there is not stronger leadership on both sides here to try to figure out what the U.S. needs to do in Iraq?

CLARK: Well, I think John Kerry has offered good ideas, but when the bush administration says it agrees with them, it's not being very effective at -- let's take the example, training the Iraqi forces. It's not effective. It hasn't put the resources in, put the leadership on the ground, bringing other nations to bear on the problem. The Bush administration says it wants to do it, but it doesn't act in Iraq with nations in a realistic way to persuade them to join with us.

And as far as regional dialogue is concerned, John Kerry's called for this for months and months and months, and this administration has refused to talk with nations like Syria and Iran in any effective way that would bring them out of the opposing camp and get them involved in helping to create a stable, independent, peaceful Iraq.

Instead, the language is still such that what the Bush administration's done, Daryn is create a sort of dynamic of conflict in the region, in which nations like Syria and Iran believe that as soon as the United States can digest the problem of Iraq, well, they're next on the hit list, and so they've been drawn into this fight in Iraq. It's their first line of defense.

I'm not trying to justify their actions. I think they're wrong, but it's up to administration to bring these countries in and try to diffuse the atmosphere of conflict that's prevalent in the region right now. That's what the administration's not doing.

General, thank you for your opinion. General Wesley Clark, adviser to the Kerry campaign, supporter there. Thank you for your time, sir, giving us a different take on what we just heard from President Bush as he addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Now to get yet another side, we'll bring in Sean McCormack, National Security Council spokesman, joining us. It looks like you're in New York City with your boss, Condoleezza Rice.

SEAN MCCORMACK, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESMAN; Hey, Daryn.

Yes, we're here in New York City and the folks here are doing a terrific job in hosting us. We really appreciate all of the effort we put in.

KAGAN: All right, well, Condoleezza Rice has been on a number of broadcasts lately make something comments. I want to ask you not only about the president's speech, but what we're hearing from here, because obviously both of you representing this administration. She basically, and this president, trying to give a sense of progress and opportunity in Iraq. You support that idea as well?

MCCORMACK: That's exactly right, Daryn.

Look, nobody's trying to say that there aren't difficulties and real challenges in Iraq. There absolutely are, in parts of Iraq, in parts of Baghdad and the so-called Sunni Triangle. The Iraqi forces and American forces are working to take back those towns, both on the political and a military front. We saw evidence of this in Najaf and Kufa, where the Iraqi forces are now in total control of those places and they're calm.

But there's also the reality in the vast majority of Iraq, where small businesses are opening up, people are voting for city councils and local officials, and children are going to school. So none of this is to say that there aren't difficulties in Iraq. It is to say, however that there is another story out there.

KAGAN: There's one thing to call it difficulties, but when you look at the recent spate of car bombings, of hostage takings, of beheadings. There's a family right here in the Atlanta area, waiting, standing by to see if their husband and their father is still alive. You still don't see that Iraq is on the verge, as many people see it, on the verge of civil war?

MCCORMACK: No, Daryn, I think that that's a real overstatement of the case. Now, we, I don't think anybody can look at the situation of the people, the families that have loved ones in the hands of terrorists in Iraq and not take a moment and pray for them and think about their situation.

But let's remember who actually is responsible for this, people like Abu Musab Zarqawi. These are the cold-blooded killers that acted in Beslan, as the president said, in Jerusalem, in Indonesia, in Baghdad all around the world. These are the people that are responsible for these terrible acts, and that's what we're fighting in Iraq.

KAGAN: Sean, let me bring you back to the president's speech here for just a moment and a point General Clark was making. He felt that with the tone and what the president had to say that not enough is being done to draw in other people, to draw in other countries, and that is the only way that the situation is going to be solved in Iraq. How would you respond to that?

MCCORMACK: Well, the fact of the matter is there are more than 30 members of the coalition on the ground in Iraq and more members of the coalition that are providing money and expertise. So this really is an international effort. We are working with other countries to -- on specialized missions, for example, to help bring in forces to protect the U.N. as they do their work on the ground.

But just let me make the point, that no amount of talking at an international meeting or through diplomacy is going to get some of the countries that oppose our action in Iraq to contribute forces. That's just not true. To put it, I guess, the best way I can put it is that's just a red herring.

KAGAN: All right, well, we'll leave it at that, definitely different opinions on how the U.S. got in and how the U.S. is going to get out and what kind of help they need. Sean McCormack, National Security Council spokesman. Sean, thank you for your time.

MCCORMACK: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: And as the debate goes on, speaking of debates, we now know when and where George W. Bush and John Kerry will face off. The morning's most complete political wrap-up is coming for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan in Atlanta. Let's check what's happening now in the news. It is Tuesday, the 21st day of September.

President Bush, in his annual speech to the United Nations, again defended his decision to invade Iraq. Unlike his last two addresses to the world body, the president also gave a good deal of time to other issues, including the killings in Darfur.

Families of two hostages held in Iraq are pleading for the men's lives today, just hours after kidnappers beheaded a third hostage. Video showing the grizzly death of hostage Eugene Armstrong at the hands of his captors was released on an Islamic Web site.

And the Senate Intelligence Committee this hour has approved Congressman Porter Goss' nomination for CIA director. The full Senate could debate President Bush's selection later this week. Some Democrats are concerned Goss may be too partisan and could vote against him. But the former CIA officer will likely win Senate approval.

And Iran says it will go on converting uranium for enrichment. Iranian officials insist the move is for production of electricity, but the Bush administration suspects Tehran is trying to make nuclear weapons. Experts say the enrichment process, once completed, could yield enough material for nuclear bombs.

And Federal Reserve policymakers are meeting this hour. It's expected they will raise a key interest rate a quarter-point in a few hours. It would be the third increase this year.

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

If you've been spending the morning with us here on CNN, you just saw President Bush speaking to the U.N. General Assembly. "INSIDE POLITICS" anchor Judy Woodruff is with me now to talk about the president's remarks. And Judy, let's talk about that speech.

JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hey, Daryn.

KAGAN: Good morning to you.

How are these issues, especially Iraq, playing into the race for the White House?

WOODRUFF: Well, Daryn, the polls have shown throughout this year that the American people are very interested in the subject of Iraq. They're very concerned with the way the war has been going. And both President Bush and John Kerry have, at different moments in this campaign, as we know, addressed the issue.

John Kerry, major speech on it yesterday where he staked out new ground, you might say, and said more forcefully than ever before if he were president, he would not have gone to war knowing what he knows now. The Bush campaign turned right around and said this is the umpteenth position that John Kerry has taken.

Today, President Bush defending his approach on Iraq before the international body, the United Nations. The dilemma, Daryn, for John Kerry is that as problematic, as difficult, as disastrous as some people say the Iraq situation is, Kerry has not been able to capitalize is. So, you still see movement on his part in an attempt to come up with a new formulation, and he will continue to try to do that -- my assumption is right up until the election.

KAGAN: Well, and speaking of Senator Kerry, he had said he was going to use his final campaign push to talk about other issues, domestic issues like health care and the economy, but it seems that the interest in Iraq and his remarks yesterday in his speech at NYU are steering him in another direction.

WOODRUFF: Well, he has to do both, Daryn. You know, at this point, I think the Kerry people probably hoped that the senator would have -- would be doing better.

When you ask people to compare who is in a better position to handle Iraq as president, right now President Bush is well ahead of John Kerry on that. The Kerry people had hoped that they weren't going to be having to talk about it by now and that they could focus on the economy and on health care.

But the fact is they do have to talk about both. And in fairness, the Iraq situation continues to deteriorate. More Americans are killed. Just yesterday, you had the hostage beheaded, the gruesome details we learned of yesterday. More Iraqis are being killed. The insurgents seem to grow stronger.

So, there is a changing situation on the ground that I think that forces both the president and John Kerry to address it.

KAGAN: And what are we going to see later today on the expanded edition of "INSIDE POLITICS" six weeks before Election Day? WOODRUFF: Well, we are going to look at the president's address, Daryn. We're going to look at the resolution of the debates, where we learned, as you know yesterday, that the two campaigns have decided there will be three presidential, one vice presidential debate. We're going to talk about that.

We're also going to hear from a Republican senator who announced yesterday that he will not be voting for -- may not be voting for George W. Bush. His name is Lincoln Chafee. He's from Rhode Island. So, that will be interesting.

Coming up, 3:00, "INSIDE POLITICS."

KAGAN: One of those senators that tends to take different stands. It will be interesting to hear more about that. Judy, look forward to all of it. Thank you.

WOODRUFF: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: We have a lot more to cover in the last 15 minutes of our program. We'll do that after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: CBS says it will launch its own investigation to the growing scandal over the documents questioning President Bush's military service. Many experts now dismiss those documents as fakes, and CBS has now apologized for not scrutinizing their authenticity closely enough.

CBS' Dan Rather also blamed his source of the documents, a former National Guard officer who concedes he misled the network on how he gained possession of the papers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. BILL BURKETT (RET.), TEXAS AIR NATIONAL GUARD: Well, I didn't totally mislead you. I did mislead you on the one individual. You know, your staff pressured me to a point to reveal that source.

DAN RATHER, CBS NEWS ANCHOR: Well, we were trying to get the chain of possession.

BURKETT: I understand that.

RATHER: And you said you had received it from someone.

BURKETT: I understand that.

RATHER: And we did pressure you to say, well, you received it from someone...

BURKETT: Yes.

RATHER: And it's true, we pressured you, because it was a very important point for us. BURKETT: And I simply threw out a name that was basically -- it was -- I guess to get a little pressure off for a moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Burkett said he did not fake or forge documents, and he says he insisted that CBS authenticate the papers on its own.

That blame game is playing in the document's scandal. Are the president's political opponents involved? One person's name that has come up, Kerry campaign adviser Joe Lockhart. Lockhart admits talking to Bill Burkett, the man who gave the suspect documents to CBS, but he denies involvement with the memos or the story. Lockhart says the White House wants to keep the controversy alive to avoid answering legitimate questions about Bush's service.

Earlier, he appeared to CNN's American morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE LOCKHART, KERRY CAMPAIGN ADVISER: CBS did their story. I think they've been very open about answering the questions. They called me and said this guy wants to talk to you. I was happy to talk to him. It was the sort of the beginning and end of the story.

HEMMER: Hey, Joe, how common is that?

LOCKHART: Listen, Bill, you're a journalist. I think you probably know the answer to that. I'll let journalists talk about how common it is.

HEMMER: But when a suggestion for a source comes your way, I mean, here we are, 42 days away from a presidential campaign, many would think that's probably not that usual after all. How would you phrase it?

LOCKHART: I wouldn't. I think that's a question for journalists. You're one. You can answer it. You know more about how common that is than I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Lockhart also added that the Kerry campaign had nothing to do with the memos or the CBS story.

I'll be back in just a moment. A check of wall street and your forecast just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Been a big morning here at CNN and around the world. That's going to do it for, Daryn Kagan. I'll see you right back here tomorrow morning.

Right now, Wolf Blitzer takes over. He is in New York City today.

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 21, 2004 - 09:59   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to all of you in New York City. It's going to be a fascinating morning at the United Nations. We're going to have it all for our viewers here on CNN. We will see you guys tomorrow morning.
Good morning to all of you from the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Daryn Kagan.

And pictures are now just coming in to CNN, President Bush arriving at the United Nations. You just heard Bill talking about this. We do expect the president to speak about a half-hour from now. Before that, we will hear from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Fascinating comments from both men at this point in world history.

We have a number of correspondents on the scene in New York City and all around the world to cover this story for us.

Let's start with our senior White House correspondent, John King, standing by.

John -- what do we expect to hear from the president?

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, you will hear the president say the world, whether it agreed or disagreed with the war on Iraq, must now stand by the new Interim Iraqi Government and help it fight the insurgency, help with the reconstruction effort, and help bring democracy to Iraq.

You also will hear the president talk about administration initiatives to help fight AIDS in Africa. The president will demand that the Security Council act against what he calls the genocide in Sudan.

But certainly the president's comments on Iraq are highly anticipated in this speech today.

It was two years ago in a speech to the General Assembly that the president essentially challenged the United Nations to step up to the plate and join him in confronting Saddam Hussein. The president believes the United Nations failed that test. The United Nations, of course, many in that audience believe the president failed the world and launched what the secretary-general of the U.N. recently called an "illegal war" in Iraq.

So a big challenge for the president today, addressing the world community in the middle of a re-election campaign, in which Senator Kerry, his Democratic opponent, has this week made Iraq the defining issue.

KAGAN: All right, John. We'll be back to you many times throughout the morning.

Before we hear from President Bush, we'll be hearing from the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

With more on what we will hear from the secretary-General, let's bring in our Richard Roth standing by at the U.N. -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Daryn, Kofi Annan last year said the U.N. and the world had come to a fork at the road. He's going to repeat that but say world leaders are going to have to unify on global views or else decisions may be taken for them by other people, and their citizens will be affected. He says I'm not going to prejudge decisions taken. Though a week ago, he indicated for the first time using the word "illegal," his views again on the invasion of Iraq, which ruffled U.S. feathers.

Chilly reception expected for President Bush here. Kofi Annan meeting with President Bush a short time ago. Both men meeting privately, they didn't really exchange too many words when they met. Laura Bush being very pleasant and complimentary to the secretary- general when they met in the hallways of the United Nations.

Back to you.

KAGAN: All right, Richard. You stand by with us, as well.

We want to go back to John King one more time and talk about these meetings taking place. Not only Kofi Annan, John, but also this president meeting with other world leaders. But a different group, a markedly different group of world leaders than last year at this time when he was at the United Nations. Last year, it was European leaders of France, of Germany. This time, India, Pakistan, Iraq, Japan. But no European leaders. The significance of that, please?

KING: Well, Mr. Bush is meeting with his allies in the war on terrorism. And he's meeting with them; of course, six weeks from a presidential election in which he is trying to convince the American people that he is making steady progress in the war on terrorism. That is a point of contention in the campaign.

So the president will meet with the new interim prime minister of Iraq, Mr. Allawi today, also meet with him in Washington. He will meet with the prime minister of India. He already met with the prime minister of India this morning. He will meet with the prime minister of Pakistan. He will meet with the president of Afghanistan.

Mr. Bush trying to send a message that he is making steady progress in the war on terrorism. Usama bin Laden still at large, these beheadings in Iraq obviously calling into question the administration's security policy in post-war Iraq. The president will make the case of steady progress, Daryn. Meeting with leaders he views as key allies. He will also sit down with the prime minister of Japan, and you can read into that what you will. None of the European leaders who fought with him about the war, but he is meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, of course, who has stood with this president. Mr. Bush will salute him for that -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. John King in New York City. John, thank you for that.

Let's bring Richard Roth back in and talk more about Kofi Annan. Again, we're standing by for the U.N. secretary-general to make his comments before this body.

Richard if you could expand a little bit more about the comments that Kofi Annan made in recent days. Talking and referring to the U.S.-led invasion into Iraq, as illegal. As you mentioned, not well received here in the U.S., but on the world front how shocking, and how was that received?

ROTH: Look, it wasn't shocking for the last year and a half. Kofi Annan has said that the invasion was not in, you know, not in conformity with the U.N. Charter. Did he use the word "illegal?" Not that we know of. The timing though, curious, a little baffling. But he didn't come out and say I'm going to use this interview to say that. A BBC interviewer kept hammering away at him. Secretary- general is a nice man but he certainly understands the impact of the words. He said yes, if you wish, it is illegal. This, days before he's going to host President Bush here.

Picking up on what John king said, President Jacques Chirac of France was in this very building 14 hours ago. Decided not to stay for the president's speech. He is not staying also. Next year 60- anniversary of the U.N., they'll all be here. President Bush wants to move it behind -- beyond Iraq. A lot of the other diplomats here also do. But the fact is the U.N. wants to go in and help assist the Iraqi people with elections, and no country, not one has come in and said we will offer our troops to protect the U.N. staff. Remember, a year and a half ago the U.N. staff was blown up in Baghdad. So these are the problems.

Kofi Annan knows the U.N. must change in order to be relevant. Big, high-level commission, new report, sounds boring. But if the countries don't implement that report in a year, the U.N. will seriously be at that fork in the road that Secretary-General Annan talks about. And for the United States, and the U.N., it's still going to be a very fragile relationship.

KAGAN: Let's talk about another topic here, in terms of moving beyond Iraq, and that is to Iran. A big concern that they are just one step away from developing a nuclear bomb. It would appear in some ways, people listening to hear what is said about Iraq, but the white elephant in the room. What is to be done about Iran?

ROTH: Well, Iran is certainly not here yet at the Security Council. The U.S. would like to bring it here. But I think maybe you're seeing more of the impact of that Iraq decision by the U.S. to, in its view, you know, go in to Iraq without the vote by the Security Council, although the U.S. said it already had the backing under that resolution. Not too many countries want to get tough with Iran right now. There's a deliberate process, it's in Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency. It may indeed come here.

But take a look at Sudan this weekend. The U.S. eager to place sanctions, get tough with Sudan, the world's worst humanitarian crisis. And then there, the U.S. is unable to get sanctions through the Council. They even had to take the word "sanctions" out of the resolution. They got eleven votes, four countries abstained. So the failure to get Iraq right has cost President Bush here.

John Kerry said yesterday he thinks there should be a world summit while all these world leaders are here to get them to live up to these resolutions promising aid. Many of them are coming in, they're having their meetings, they're going shopping, they're going home. That's not going to happen -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. And as we're watching pictures on the other side of the screen of these world leaders standing by waiting to hear from Kofi Annan and from President Bush. Richard, if you could talk a little bit more about the man that we will hear first. And that is Kofi Annan and the man who leads this body. I understand you prepared a report on him.

ROTH: Noble Peace prizewinner Kofi Annan, probably not running for a third term, at least he told me that. And he may be willing to certainly be more blunt in his views. He represents 180 -- 191 countries. Many people in the United States think he works for the United States. He works for everybody here. But Annan and the U.N. organization would like better relations with the United States. But they listen very closely to what was happening across town at the Republican convention.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH (voice-over): The United States and United Nations offer proof good relationships need a lot of work. The U.N. took this jab from the U.S. vice president at the Republican convention.

DICK CHENEY (R), UNITED STATES VICE PRESIDENT: Senator Kerry began his political career by saying he would like to see our troops deployed only at the directive of the United Nations.

(BOOING)

ROTH: Some of the ill will over the war in Iraq resurfaced just last week, when U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the BBC the invasion was against international law.

KOFI ANNAN:, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: I have stated clearly that it was not in conformity with the Security Council, with the U.N. Charter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was illegal?

ANNAN: Yes, if you wish.

ROTH: That set off another round of recriminations.

RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN, STATE DEPARTMENT: We respect his views. I think we've also made clear before that we don't agree.

ROTH: But after giving up on the U.N. before the war, the U.S. now needs the global organization, especially in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.N. participation is very important. Right now, because of the security situation, the U.N. is not as robustly present as all of us would like.

ROTH: So far, no other government has agreed to send troops to protect U.N. workers in Iraq. But there is cooperation between the Bush administration, and its allies on a host of other issues. The U.S. and France teamed up on a resolution to demand Syria remove its troops from Lebanon. There's also been cooperation on Sudan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: But still the differences, of course, major on Iraq. The Secretary-General Annan saying in his remarks to come today that he's not going to prejudge decisions. You can infer by that he's talking about Iraq. He wants everyone to be reminded of the importance of the rule of law, governments protecting their citizens. One U.N. official in giving a background remarks about Annan's speech saying, why can't people respect the rules?

Of course this type of dialogue at the U.N. drives some people in America crazy. The U.N. somewhat with some naivete didn't understand the dangers going back into Iraq, and the U.N. has always been for diplomacy, for talking. The U.S. Bush administration thinking that sometimes the talking has got to stop.

I saw and you see there Prime Minister Allawi, first time in the hall. He's the man on the right in the gray suit. Allawi will be speaking to the U.N. on Friday. He will be speaking to a joint session of Congress earlier this week. It is quite a startling change to see a new leader from Iraq here in the hall after more than 12, 13 years of friction, tension, wars between Iraq and most of the United Nations membership. There's a new ambassador here from Iraq. Prime Minister Allawi, when he walked in he said President Bush's remarks are important.

You're seeing other world leaders come in. They're all here for the next two weeks to give speeches and remarks. They all meet, Daryn, privately one-on-one. People sometimes feel not that much gets done. But remember, these people are scattered all over the world and sometimes the best business deals are struck one-on-one in person.

There are also important meetings of the now expanded European Union, 25 countries. And believe it or not, Daryn, the U.N. Security Council where the U.S. has a veto, they're talking about expanding it even more countries. Will that create a logjam? Will the U.N. even become more irrelevant, as the number of nations swells on the Security Council? How are you going to approve a military action with 25 countries, if you can't even do it with 15? It does get the world more involved. But what happens when one country, says the U.S., thinks it's time to go into Iraq? A couple years ago, Secretary-General Annan who will we hear live shortly in this General Assembly session was talking about humanitarian interventionism. Iraq seems to have changed that.

Back to you, Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Richard. We'll have you stand by once again.

Waiting for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to step up to the podium and address these world leaders. While we do that, let's bring in our Christiane Amanpour standing by and listening in with us from London.

And Christiane, if you could give us an idea of what world leaders will be listening in for from this speech and also from President Bush.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly from this speech there won't be a huge amount of surprise. An advance text has gone out and most people expect to get what they know that Kofi Annan will deliver. He's always gives fairly moderate speeches. Obviously calling for the rule of law, which will be the theme of this speech, to be respected around the world. And calling for the community of nations to act in conjunction with each other, instead of at loggerheads as they have on so much policy over the last several years, most notably on Iraq.

What they expect though, from President Bush, is they hope to hear from President Bush a much less bellicose tone that they have heard over the last several years. People around the world are always interested, and it directly affects them, of course, in what the U.S. president says. And in what the U.S. administration does.

Foreign policy over the last several years has caused a great deal of alarm and anxiety around the world. And there are many people who really wonder what foreign policy will be like if President Bush is re-elected. Because there is a great deal of anxiety about what is perceived as a very militarist foreign policy. At the same time, people are saying, but where is the war on terror going? Usama bin Laden has not been captured. Instead, resources have been poured into Iraq. Many analysts around the world are saying look, Iraq has become the training camp central that Afghanistan once was.

People are very anxious about what's happening in Iraq, the killings of not only U.S. personnel, but also of U.S. and other contractors who've gone there, and of Iraqis themselves. The desperate attacks against the reconstruction, which have basically prevented ordinary Iraqis from seeing real tangible reconstruction benefits. And everybody is wondering how the next barometer of change, the elections will go forward in this climate of incredible insecurity in Iraq.

KAGAN: And the chamber is filling up there as we're waiting. As the cameras panning around, we already saw the secretary-General is there. We saw Secretary of State Colin Powell. A number of world leaders. Getting closer and closer to Kofi Annan's comments there. Christiane, I want to ask you a question that I was able to ask John King just a few minutes ago. And looking at the world leaders that President Bush chose to meet with this week, as opposed to what he did last year. Last year European leaders from France, from Germany, this year India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Japan, Iraq. But no European leaders, how is that being perceived there in Britain?

AMANPOUR: Well, I think people sort of understand that there are these set pieces to a lot of these formal conferences. That last year, it was important to realign the historic U.S. and European alliance, to try to mend fences after the most terrible divisions over the Iraqi War. So that was something that really needed to happen. Having said that, you know that the president back in Istanbul at the NATO summit in the summer, called for NATO to help and possibly deploy forces to Iraq in great part to train Iraqi police and armed services. Well, the French and the Germans have just said this week that they will oppose any deployment, even a token deployment, of NATO forces to do that in Iraq. So, you know, again these tensions over how to go forward in Iraq are very visible, and they're not below the surface. They're right on the surface.

In terms of who the president is meeting with today, those are, of course, important countries. Iraq and Afghanistan are countries that the U.S. will point to as success stories. You know that the Afghans have a presidential election coming up in the beginning of October. And the Iraqi elections are forecast for next January. In Iraq, of course, many of those optimistic statements by the administration are simply belied by the facts on the ground.

India and Pakistan, important and nuclear powers that need to be kept within the fold. And the other countries that the president is meeting with, as well, deemed important and worthy of bilateral meetings. So I don't think a huge amount is being drawn from exactly who he's meeting this year as opposed to last year.

KAGAN: And then picking up on a point that Richard made just a few minutes ago. As you look forward to the credibility of this organization, as it goes in to the future on key certain topics, Richard was bringing up Iraq, where the U.N. is not willing to then go ahead and send in troops. You also have some place that you just visited very recently, Sudan, this huge humanitarian crisis taking place. And the U.N. not seeming to have the credibility or the teeth to bring about changes in that region.

AMANPOUR: Well, Kofi Annan will very clearly mention the Darfur crisis in Sudan in his speech, as he talks about the rule of law and the respect of human dignity and human right.

The Bush administration has taken a very pro-active role in Sudan over the last year or so. They have attempted to broker, and they have brokered a peace agreement between the Khartoum government and the southern rebels in Sudan. And they've also -- Colin Powell and indeed Kofi Annan himself went over to Khartoum and to Darfur in early July. The pressure needs to be kept on. And I think both the U.S. and the U.N. have the same aim in Sudan. The question, of course, is over degrees. There has been several resolutions, I think two resolutions with respect to what the Khartoum government, what sanctions the Khartoum government will face, if it doesn't meet its obligations to stop the crackdown on the rebels and therefore on the civilians in Darfur that is creating so much death and misery, and ethnic fleeing and ethnic cleansing there. So they are, you know, that is one point where they are working mostly in tandem. But it's really a country where most people agree that unless the pressure is kept on, it's not going to work. And of course some say that the U.S.' credibility is being somewhat damaged because of what's gone on in the post-war phase in Iraq.

KAGAN: Christiane Amanpour in London. Christiane, thank you. You'll be standing by listening in to all of the speeches with us, as well as Richard Roth at the U.N.

We are standing by once again for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to begin speaking at the United Nations. When that speech begins you're going to see it live right here on CNN. Right now a chance for us to fit in a quick break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We go live to New York City to the United Nations. Here's U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Mr. President, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is good to see so many countries represented here at such high level. I know this reflects your understanding that in these difficult times, the United Nations is, as you stated four years ago in the Millennium Declaration, the common and indispensable house of the human family.

Indeed, today, more than ever the world needs an effective mechanism through which to seek common solutions to common problems. That is what this organization was created for. Let's not imagine that if we fail to make good use of it, we will find any more effective instrument.

This time next year, you will be meeting to review progress in the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. By then, I hope you will be ready to take bold decisions together on the full range of issues covered in the Millennium Declaration held by the report of the eminent panel on Press, Challenges and Change, which will be available before you by the end of this year.

As I said a year ago, we have reached a fork in the road. If you, the political leaders of the world, cannot agree or reach agreement on the way forward, history will take the decisions for you, and the interests of your people may go by default.

Today I will not seek to prejudge those decisions, but to remind you of the all-important framework in which they should be taken, namely the rule of law at home and in the world.

The vision of a government of laws, not of men, is almost as old as civilization itself. In the hallway not far from this podium is a replica of the code of laws promulgated by Hammurabi more than 3,000 years ago in the land we now call Iraq.

Much of Hammurabi's Code now seems impossibly harsh. But etched into his tablets are principles of justice that have been recognized, if seldom fully implemented, by almost every human society since his time: legal protection for the poor, restraints on the strong so that they cannot oppress the weak, laws publicly enacted and known to all.

That code was a landmark in mankind's struggle to build an order where instead of might making right, right would make might.

Many nations represented in this chamber can proudly point to founding documents of their own that embody that simple concept. And this organization, your United Nations, is founded on the same simple principle.

Yet today the rule of law is at risk around the world. Again and again we see laws shamelessly disregarded: those that ordain respect for innocent life for civilians, for the vulnerable, especially children.

ANNAN: To mention only a few flagrant and topical examples. In Iraq we see civilians massacred in cold blood, while relief workers, journalists and other noncombatants are taken hostage and put to death in the most barbarous fashion. At the same time we have seen Iraqi prisoners disgracefully abused.

In Darfur, we see whole populations displaced and their homes destroyed while rape is used as a deliberate strategy. In northern Uganda we have seen children mutilated and forced to take part in acts of unspeakable cruelty. In Beslan we have seen children taken hostage and brutally massacred.

In Israel, we see civilians, including children, deliberately targeted by Palestinian suicide bombers. And in Palestine, we see homes destroyed, lands seized and needless civilian casualties caused by Israel's excessive use of force.

And all around the world we see people being prepared for further such acts, through hate propaganda directed at Jews, Muslims, against anyone who can be identified as different from one's own group.

Excellences, no cause, no grievance, however legitimate in itself, can begin to justify such acts.

ANNAN: They put all of us to shame.

Their prevalence reflects our collective failure to uphold the rule of law and instill respect for it in our fellow men and women. We all have a duty to do whatever we can to restore that respect.

To do so, we must start from the principle that no one is above the law and no one should be denied its protection. Every nation that proclaims a rule of law at home must respect it abroad. And every nation that insists on it abroad, must enforce it at home. Yes, the rule of law starts at home, but in too many places it remains elusive. Hatred, corruption, violence and exclusion go without redress. The vulnerable lack effective recourse and the powerful manipulate laws to retain power and accumulate wealth.

At times, even the necessary fight against terrorism is allowed to encroach unnecessarily on civil liberties.

At the international level, all states, strong and weak, big and small, need a framework of fair rules which each can be confident that others will obey.

Fortunately, such a framework exists; from trade to terrorism, from the law of the sea to weapons of mass destruction, states have created an impressive body of norms and laws. This is one of our organization's proudest achievements.

And yet this framework is riddled with gaps and weaknesses. Too often it is applied selectively and enforced arbitrarily. It lacks the teeth that turn a body of laws into an effective legal system.

ANNAN: Where enforcement capacity does exist, as in the Security Council, many feel it is not always used fairly or effectively. Where the rule of law is most earnestly invoked, as in the Commission on Human Rights, those invoking it do not always practice what they preach.

Those who seek to restore legitimacy must themselves embody it. And those who invoke international law must themselves submit to it.

Just as within a country respect for the law depends on the sense that all have a say in making and implementing it, so it is in our global community. No nation must feel excluded. All must feel that international law belongs to them and protects their legitimate interests.

Rule of law as a mere concept is not enough. Laws must be put into practice and permeate the fabric of our lives.

It is by strengthening and implementing disarmament treaties, including their verification provisions, that we can best defend ourselves against the proliferation and potential use of weapons of mass destruction.

It is by applying the law that we can deny financial resources and safe havens to terrorists, an essential element in any strategy for defending and defeating terrorism.

It is by reintroducing the rule of law and confidence in its impartial application that we can hope to resuscitate societies shattered by conflict.

It is the law, including Security Council resolutions, which offers the best foundation for resolving prolonged conflicts in the Middle East, in Iraq and around the world. It is by rigorously upholding international law that we can and must fulfill our responsibility to protect innocent civilians from genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

And as I warned this assembly five years ago, history will judge us very harshly if we let ourselves be deflected from this task or we are excused from it by invocations of national sovereignty.

ANNAN: The Security Council has just requested me to appoint an independent commission to investigate reports of human rights violations in Darfur and determine whether acts of genocide have been committed. I shall do so with all speed.

But let no one treat this as a respite during which events in that devastated region continue to take their course. Regardless of the legal definition, things are happening there which must shock the conscious of every human being.

The African Union has nobly taken the lead and the responsibility in providing monitors and protective force in Darfur, as well as seeking a political settlement which alone can bring lasting peace to that society and security. But we all know the present limitations of this newborn union. We must give it every possible support.

Let no one imagine that this affair concerns Africans alone. The victims are human beings whose human rights must be sacred to all of us. We all have a duty to do whatever we can to rescue them and do it now.

Excellencies, last month I promised the Security Council that I would make the organization's work to strengthen the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies a priority for the remainder of my tenure.

ANNAN: By the same token, I urge you to do more to foster the rule of law at home and abroad. I ask all of you here today to take advantage of the arrangements we have made for you to sign treaties on the protection of civilians -- treaties that you, yourselves, negotiated -- and then go back home and implement them fully and in good faith.

And I implore you to give your full support to the measures I shall bring before you during this session to improve the security of United Nations staff. Those noncombatants who have voluntarily put themselves in harm's way to assist their fellow men and women surely deserve your protection, as well as your respect.

Throughout the world, Excellencies, the victims of violence and injustice are waiting. They are waiting for us to keep our word. They notice when we use words to mask inaction. They notice when laws that should protect them are not applied.

I believe we can restore and extend the rule of law throughout the world, but ultimately, that will depend on the hold that the law has on our consciences. This organization was founded in the ashes of a war that brought untold sorrow to mankind. Today, we must look again into our collective conscience and ask ourselves whether we are doing enough.

Excellencies, each generation has its part to play in the age-old struggle to strengthen the rule of law for all, which alone can guarantee freedom for all. Let our generation not be found wanting.

Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

KAGAN: We've been listening in to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan as he speaks at the United Nations, making a number of points as he speaks to the world leaders.

Talking in a stern voice to these leaders, as he has in the past, talking about reaching a fork in the road, warning these leaders that unless you make decisions, tough decisions for your people and for the world, as he said, if you cannot agree, history will take that decision from you.

Also, throughout much of his speech, the theme of the rule of law -- a theme that is very important to the secretary-general.

Let's bring in our U.N. correspondent Richard Roth for more on what Kofi Annan means by that and the messages as they apply to the major crises in the world right now -- Richard?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Daryn, Secretary- General Annan said he didn't want to prejudge decisions taken, a direct reference to the United States' invasion of Iraq. But then he went on in a lecture to tell the world, you know, in effect don't preach until you clean up your own act at home.

He stuck by this rule of law theme. And United Nations television, of course, you know, determines who pops up on your screen when Annan is referring to a country. So, when Kofi Annan says we must start from the principle that no nation is above the law, I mean, who do you go to? Do you show Sudan, the United States, Iran, North Korea? Where do you start? Everybody has a problem with someone right now on that world stage.

Kofi Annan, in effect, asking for help, money -- saying to the country put your money where your mouth is. If you're going to say the U.N. should go back into Iraq, we need the money. Also on Sudan, Kofi Annan's aides telling us yesterday it's a deplorable funding situation. Countries have not lived up to their promises. Thousands are dying each day, even in these organized camps.

Sudan probably was on the receiving end of most of this: world's worst humanitarian crisis according to U.S. and U.N. officials. You saw Sudan's foreign minister sitting there as Kofi Annan said what's going on there, in effect, is a horror show. Of course, the cameras didn't show the U.S. table when Kofi Annan talked about the disgraceful abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Kofi Annan's remarks will definitely be taken to heart, but as usual, it remains to be seen will all these countries actually commit to some type of action? Heavily divided still on Iraq -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Richard Roth at the United Nations. Richard, you're going to stay with us. A lot more going to take place there this morning. The president of Brazil is next, but of course, we are waiting for President Bush, as he will be addressing this General Assembly in just a few minutes.

Right now, a quick break. More with our correspondents and President Bush's words right ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's take a look at the stories that are happening now in the news.

Iran's vice president says a uranium enrichment process is underway, indicating defiance of the U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Agency. Some of the more than 40 tons of raw uranium has been converted into uranium hexachloride gas. Over the weekend, the International Atomic Energy Agency told Iran to freeze all enrichment programs. Iranian officials have repeatedly denied they plan to make nuclear weapons.

A U.N. official in Haiti says at least 500 people are dead in one city from Tropical Storm Jeanne. That number may rise as house-to- house searches continue. Most of the deaths were caused by flooding or mud slides. Floodwaters are receding, but at one time there was nine feet of water in the streets.

The nation's largest cigarette makers go on trial today. Government lawyers will begin presenting their case in federal court in Washington. It's a $280 billion civil racketeering suit alleging the tobacco industry misled Americans about the dangers of smoking. The case is expected to last six months.

And the Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to approve Congressman Porter Goss' nomination for CIA chief today. The full Senate could debate President Bush's selection later this week. Some Democrats are concerned that Goss may be too partisan a choice for the top spy job and could vote against him. But the former CIA former officer will likely win Senate approval.

And we continue our coverage from New York City and the United Nations. Any minute now President Bush expected to address the General Assembly. If you're with us, you saw live the U.N. Secretary- General Kofi Annan make his comments in the last few minutes. As we look forward to President Bush's speech, let's bring in our senior White House correspondent John King, taking a closer look at what we might hear from the president.

John, good morning once again.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. A couple of quick points. Remember two years ago it was a defiant President Bush who essentially challenged the relevance of the United Nations, saying it needed to join him in confronting Saddam Hussein. In that speech, the president said there was no doubt that Saddam Hussein had and wanted more weapons of mass destruction. Two years later, we know, of course, there are no weapons of mass destruction, at least none found as yet in Iraq, and the United States now concedes no stockpiles are likely to be found. So do not look for that defiant tone from the president today, but also look for no apology.

This president will make the case that he was right to go to war in Iraq, and that he acted because the Security Council, the United Nations Security Council failed to enforce its own resolutions, and the president implicitly, if not explicitly, will make the case that the United Nations is making the same mistake again in the Sudan, by having a debate in the Security Council and not taking action to stop what the United States now calls genocide.

So the president will defend his foreign policy. At the same time, don't look for a defiant tone. Look for a somewhat more conciliatory tone, in which the president says let's put the debate over the war behind us. There is an insurgency in Iraq. There is a new interim government that is being challenged by the day that needs political help, needs financial and reconstruction support, and needs moral support from around the world. The president making this case to the world, Daryn, and of course we are six weeks away from the presidential election. This is very much a campaign speech as well. His rival, John Kerry, said that this president has squandered U.S. standing in the world, has alienated traditional allies. The president's message today to the people back here in the United States is that he will always try diplomacy first, but that he will never sacrifice, if you will, or surrender decision-making powers in the war on terror, or any other global issue to the United Nations -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And, John, stay with us in New York City. You make a good point, Election Day six weeks from today. Also this is a day after his opponent John Kerry making an appearance in New York City, making a very strong speech, some strong comments on Iraq.

Kelly Wallace has been covering that campaign as well, and she joins us from New York City with more on that.

Kelly, good morning.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. And Senator John Kerry will no doubt be monitoring President Bush's speech to the United Nations. Senator Kerry set to leave New York City about a half hour from now and make his way to Florida for a day of campaigning.

As you've said the senator in his speech yesterday almost launching really a preemptive strike in this debate, knowing that the senator -- the president would be going before the U.N. today. And in essence, John Kerry tried to do two things. He said he may have voted for that war resolution giving the president the authority to go to war, but he is saying that the president, the way he invaded Iraq, the way he handled everything, has really been a gross miscalculation, a colossal error in judgment, and he says that if he were commander in chief now, he would be getting much more international support to ultimately start bringing some U.S. troops home.

Here's a little bit of what the senator said yesterday at NYU.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president should convene a summit meeting of the world's major powers, and of Iraqi's neighbors this week, in New York, where many leaders will attend the U.N. General Assembly. And he should insist that they make good on the U.N. resolution. He should offer potential troop contributors specific, but critical roles in training Iraqi security personnel and in securing Iraqi borders. He should give other countries a stake in Iraq's future, by encouraging them to help develop Iraq's oil resources, and by letting them bid on contracts, instead of locking them out of the reconstruction process.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And here's a little bit of what the Kerry strategy is, according to advisers. They want to sort of shift the debate away from the ouster of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and focus on what has happened ever since, focus on the events on the ground. They do believe as more Americans focus on what is happening now, more than 1,000 Americans killed, obviously concern coming even from the president's own party, well, then Democrats believe that John Kerry can start narrowing that gap in some of the polls when it comes to who do you trust more to handle Iraq, handle terrorism, handle foreign policy in general -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Kelly, thank you.

Kelly Wallace is in New York City, so is John King, and so is President Bush. He is due to speak any minute at the United Nations, addressing the General Assembly. You will see those comments live right here on CNN.

Also ahead, his family and friends knew him as an adventurer. Now relatives of Eugene Armstrong deal with the unthinkable. Family members of the two remaining Western hostages, begging for their lives to be spared.

And CBS News admits it made a mistake. But is that enough to undo the damage to the news organization's reputation? We'll look at that, straight ahead. This is CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We do expect comments from President Bush on Iraq when he addresses the General Assembly of the United Nations. That is going to happen any minute. Right now, as we stand by watching and waiting for those comments to begin, the president of Brazil at the podium, having his turn to speak to the assembly. Once again, when President Bush speaks, we will go live back to New York City.

Meanwhile, the agonizing wait goes on for news of two remaining hostages -- one is British, one is American -- after their colleague was beheaded by militants who kidnapped them.

Our senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers is following this story from Baghdad.

Walter, hello.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

We do not know if both of the remaining hostages, American Jack Hensley, and the Englishman, Kenneth John Bigley, are still alive at this point. Indeed, we have been waiting all day for yet another tragic announcement of a decapitation, a beheading. That is what the insurgents who hold these men did yesterday to another American, Eugene Armstrong. They released a videotape to an Islamist Web site.

That videotape shows Armstrong on his knees. He knew he was going to die. He was blindfolded. His hands were behind him. And standing behind him was a man reading a death sentence, more or less, saying that the execution would be in fulfillment of God's law.

Then, these Muslim militants proceeded to cut off Armstrong's head. The videotape was too -- far too graphic to show in its worst parts. But you could hear Armstrong screaming and screaming as the militants sawed off his head, decapitated him.

Again, we have no word on whether Jack Hensley is still alive or, for that matter, whether Kenneth Bigley is still alive, but we are standing by waiting to see if, indeed, the militants make good on their threat to execute one or both of these men today.

They say they are doing this because their demands have not been met. The most outstanding demand being they want the release of all Iraqi women prisoners in jails and held by the Americans. The Americans actually only hold two Iraqi detainees of the female gender.

The Iraqi prisons, we don't know how many females are there. But we can tell you this, there has been no inclination to meet the rebels' demands, the Islamist militant demands. And so, as I say, we are standing by for more bad news from one of those Islamist Web sites -- Daryn?

KAGAN: It goes beyond brutal and disgusting to say what these people are doing to the hostages.

Give us a better idea, Walter, of the kidnapping situation as it has increased in Iraq. These three men themselves, taken from the home that they were sharing.

RODGERS: What we're seeing, Daryn, is no longer ad hoc freelance kidnappings so much by criminal gangs who pick up a westerner they see on the street, throw him into a car, and then trade them up the chain until somebody wants them and sees a value to holding them. What we're seeing now are very sophisticated strikes by organized teams, anywhere from 12 to 25 guerrillas moving in very, very skillfully.

It's the tightest of military operations. They know exactly what their objective is. They have lookouts everywhere. They've cased the people they're going to kidnap. They study them. They know their habits. And when you fall into any habit in a hostile environment like this is when you're in the most danger. And that's when people get kidnapped, generally.

And what we're seeing, as I say, is increasingly sophisticated kidnapping to make a political point. And the worst of them have been by the Islamist militant group called Unification and Jihad, headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, it's believed. And he, of course, is the most wanted man in Iraq -- Daryn?

KAGAN: And as you were pointing out, absolute agony for the families and the relatives who are standing by for news. Of course, we will bring it to them and to the world as soon as it becomes available.

Walter Rodgers in Baghdad, thank you for that.

The relatives of the British and American hostages held by Unification and Jihad are pleading for their lives of the loved ones. In Atlanta, Jack Hensley's wife says that her 13-year-old daughter doesn't understand why anyone would want to hurt her dad. And Hensley asked the hostage-takers to consider the good that her husband and colleagues were doing in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTY HENSLEY, WIFE OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE: If I could just say to the captors, we are more than willing to work on this together. We don't know how to get in touch, or how we even begin to open the lines of communications, other than what, thank you, you and the media have provided for us.

But these gentlemen are truly three wonderful men who were there simply to help the Iraqi people overcome the terrible damage that had been done to them during all of this war, if you will call it that. And their intent was to provide them with a lifestyle that they deserve.

And they were very loved by their Iraqi neighbors. They sent gifts home to my daughter and I all the time. And they were always welcome in the Iraqi homes. These were three gentlemen who had absolutely no agenda, other than to enrich the lives of the people they were there to help. And to take their lives would serve no real purpose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has spoken with the family of hostage Ken Bigley this morning. But a Foreign Office spokesman repeated the government's stance that it does not negotiate with terrorists. Last night, Bigley's brother went on British television asking Prime Minister Tony Blair to do something that the captors might accept.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIP BIGLEY, BROTHER OF BRITISH HOSTAGE: We feel absolutely helpless. We do not have the power to save Ken's life. The death of the American hostage tonight has proved to us that if nothing is done, then the two remaining captives will die by the most horrific means.

The only person we can now beg to help us is the prime minister. Who else can we ask? There's nobody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And once again, we'll have the latest on the status of those hostages as it becomes available here at CNN.

Meanwhile, we go back to our other lead story, that of course taking place at the General Assembly. President Bush there to address world leaders and expected to begin his comments any moment, as the president of Brazil wraps up his.

According to the timeline in the agenda, President Bush up next. As we wait for the president to step up to the podium, let's bring in our senior White House correspondent John King -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, probably a stretch to call this a hostile audience. There are many friends of this president and many friends of the United States in the audience.

But certainly a skeptical audience, and a great number of we- told-you-so's, if you will, in the United Nations General Assembly. Countries that warned the United States that the war in Iraq would divide the world. Countries that warned the United States its intelligence was outdated and maybe there were no weapons of mass destruction. Countries that warned the United States that if you topple Saddam Hussein, what you would get in Iraq is political chaos.

So, the president trying to make his case before certainly what is a skeptical audience. We are told there will be no apologies from the president. Mr. Bush will say he acted in Iraq because the United Nations and its security council failed to stand up to Saddam Hussein over a more than 12-year period.

The president, though, will also defend his position in Iraq, call for support of the new Iraqi government, and try to move on. But Daryn, he will also try to deliver a more broad speech, where he says the world must continue to stand up against rogue regimes that develop nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction.

And he will focus on two humanitarian issues right now. He will promote the U.S. initiative to fight AIDS in Africa and say more international money and resources are necessary. And he also will call on the United Nations to do more to help in the Sudan. The president of the United States about to address the General Assembly.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT: Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen:

Thank you for the honor of addressing this General Assembly. The American people respect the idealism that gave life to this organization. And we respect the men and women of the U.N., who stand for peace and human rights in every part of the world. Welcome to New York City. And welcome to the United States of America.

During the past three years, I've addressed this General Assembly in a time of tragedy for our country, and in times of decision for all of us. Now we gather at a time of tremendous opportunity for the U.N., and for all peaceful nations.

For decades the circle of liberty and security and development has been expanding in our world. This progress has brought unity to Europe, self-government to Latin America and Asia and new hope to Africa.

Now we have the historic chance to widen the circle even further, to fight radicalism and terror with justice and dignity, to achieve a true peace, founded on human freedom.

BUSH: The United Nations and my country share the deepest commitments. Both the American Declaration of Independence and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaim the equal value and dignity of every human life.

That dignity is honored by the rule of law, limits on the power of the state, respect for women, protection of private property, free speech, equal justice and religious tolerance.

That dignity is dishonored by oppression, corruption, tyranny, bigotry, terrorism and all violence against the innocent.

And both of our founding documents affirm that this bright line between justice and injustice, between right and wrong, is the same in every age and every culture and every nation.

Wise governments also stand for these principles for very practical and realistic reasons.

We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression, while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace.

We know that oppressive governments support terror, while free governments fight the terrorists in their midst.

We know that free peoples embrace progress and life instead of becoming the recruits for murderous ideologies.

BUSH: Every nation that wants peace will share the benefits of a freer world. And every nation that seeks peace has an obligation to help build that world. Eventually there is no safe isolation from terror networks or failed states that shelter them or outlaw regimes or weapons of mass destruction.

Eventually there is no safety in looking away, seeking the quiet life by ignoring the struggles and oppression of others.

In this young century, our world needs a new definition of security. Our security is not merely found in spheres of influence or some balance of power, the security of our world is found in the advancing rights of mankind.

These rights are advancing across the world. And across the world, the enemies of human rights are responding with violence.

Terrorists and their allies believe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Bill of Rights and every charter of liberty ever written are lies to be burned and destroyed and forgotten.

They believe the dictators should control every mind and tongue in the Middle East and beyond.

BUSH: They believe that suicide and torture and murder are fully justified to serve any goal they declare. And they act on their beliefs.

In the last year alone, terrorists have attacked police stations and banks and commuter trains and synagogues and a school filled with children.

This month in Beslan, we saw once again how the terrorists measure their success: in the death of the innocent and in the pain of grieving families.

Svetlana Deibesov (ph) was held hostage, along with her son and her nephew. Her nephew did not survive. She recently visited the cemetery and saw what she called the little graves. She said, "I understand that there is evil in the world, but what have these little creatures done?"

Members of the United Nations, the Russian children did nothing to deserve such awful suffering and fright and death. The people of Madrid and Jerusalem and Istanbul and Baghdad have done nothing to deserve sudden and random murder.

These acts violate the standards of justice in all cultures and the principles of all religions. All civilized nations are in this struggle together, and all must fight the murderers.

We're determined to destroy terror networks wherever they operate, and the United States is grateful to every nation that is helping to seize terrorist assets, track down their operatives and disrupt their plans.

BUSH: We're determined to end the state sponsorship of terror, and my nation is grateful to all that participated in the liberation of Afghanistan.

We're determined to prevent proliferation and to enforce the demands of the world, and my nation is grateful to the soldiers of many nations who have helped to deliver the Iraqi people from an outlaw dictator.

The dictator agreed in 1991 as a condition of a cease-fire to fully comply with all Security Council resolutions, then ignored more than a decade of those resolutions.

Finally, the Security Council promised serious consequences for his defiance. And the commitments we make must have meaning. When we say serious consequences, for the sake of peace there must be serious consequences. And so a coalition of nations enforced the just demands of the world.

Defending our ideals is vital, but it is not enough. Our broader mission as U.N. members is to apply these ideals to the great issues of our time.

BUSH: Our wider goal is to promote hope and progress as the alternatives to hatred and violence. Our great purpose is to build a better world beyond the war on terror.

Because we believe in human dignity, America and many nations have established a global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

In three years, the contributing countries have funded projects in more than 90 countries and pledged a total of $5.6 billion to these efforts. America has undertaken a $15 billion effort to provide prevention and treatment and humane care in nations afflicted by AIDS, placing a special focus on 15 countries where the need is most urgent.

AIDS is the greatest health crisis of our time and our unprecedented commitment will bring new hope to those who have walked too long in the shadow of death.

Because we believe in human dignity, America and many nations have joined together to confront the evil of trafficking in human beings. We're supporting organizations that rescue the victims, passing stronger anti-trafficking laws and warning travelers that they will be held to account for supporting this modern form of slavery. Women and children should never be exploited for pleasure or greed anywhere on Earth.

Because we believe in human dignity, we should take seriously the protection life from exploitation under any pretext.

BUSH: In this session, the U.N. will consider a resolution sponsored by Costa Rica calling for a comprehensive ban on human cloning.

I support that resolution, and urge all governments to affirm a basic ethical principle: No human life should ever be produced or destroyed for the benefit of another. Because we believe in human dignity, America and many nations have changed the way we fight poverty, curb corruption and provide aid.

In 2002, we created the Monterrey Consensus, a bold approach that links new aid from developed nations to real reform in developing ones.

And through the Millennium Challenge Account, my nation is increasing our aid to developing nations that expand economic freedom and invest in the education and health of their own people.

Because we believe in human dignity, America and many nations have acted to lift the crushing burden of debt that limits the growth of developing economies and holds millions of people in poverty.

Since these efforts began in 1996, poor countries with the heaviest debt burdens have received more than $30 billion of relief. And to prevent the build-up of future debt, my country and other nations have agreed that international financial institutions should increasingly provide new aid in the forms of grants rather than loans.

Because we believe in human dignity, the world must have more effective means to stabilize regions in turmoil and to halt religious violence and ethnic cleansing.

BUSH: We must create permanent capabilities to respond to future crises.

The United States and Italy have proposed a global peace operations initiative. G-8 countries will train 75,000 peacekeepers, initially from Africa, so they can conduct operations on that continent and elsewhere. The countries of the G-8 will help this peacekeeping force with deployment and logistical needs.

At this hour, the world is witnessing terrible suffering and horrible crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan, crimes my government has concluded are genocide.

The United States played a key role in efforts to broker a cease- fire, and we're providing humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people. Rwanda and Nigeria have deployed forces in Sudan to help improve security so aid can be delivered. The Security Council adopted a resolution that supports an expanded African Union force to help prevent further bloodshed and urges the government of Sudan to stop flights by military aircraft in Darfur.

We congratulate the members of the council on this timely and necessary action. I call on the government of Sudan to honor the cease-fire it signed and to stop the killing in Darfur.

Because we believe in human dignity, peaceful nations must stand for the advance of democracy. No other system of government has done more to protect minorities, to secure the rights of labor, to raise the status of women or to channel human energy to the pursuits of peace. We've witnessed the rise of democratic governments in predominantly Hindu and Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish and Christian cultures.

BUSH: Democratic institutions have taken root in modern societies and in traditional societies.

When it comes to the desire for liberty and justice, there is no clash of civilizations. People everywhere are capable of freedom and worthy of freedom.

Finding the full promise of representative government takes time, as America has found in two centuries of debate and struggle. Nor is there only one form of representative government because democracies, by definition, take on the unique character of the peoples that create them.

Yet this much we know with certainty: The desire for freedom resides in every human heart. And that desire cannot be contained forever by prison walls or martial laws or secret police; over time and across the Earth, freedom will find a way.

Freedom is finding a way in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we must continue show our commitment to democracies in those nations. The liberty that many have won at a cost must be secured.

As members of the United Nations, we all have a stake in the success of the world's newest democracies. Not long ago, outlaw regimes in Baghdad and Kabul threatened the peace and sponsored terrorists. These regimes destabilized one of the world's most vital and most volatile regions. They brutalized their peoples in defiance of all civilized norms.

BUSH: Today the Iraqi and Afghan people are on the path to democracy and freedom. The governments that are rising will pose no threat to others. Instead of harboring terrorists, they're fighting terrorist groups. And this progress is good for the long-term security of all of us.

The Afghan people are showing extraordinary courage under difficult conditions. They're fighting to defend their nation from Taliban holdouts and helping to strike against the terrorist killers. They're reviving they're economy. They've adopted a constitution that protects the rights of all, while honoring their nation's most cherished traditions.

More than 10 million Afghan citizens, over 4 million of them women, are now registered to vote in next month's presidential election. To any who still would question whether Muslim societies can be democratic societies, the Afghan people are giving their answer.

Since the last meeting of this General Assembly, the people of Iraq have regained sovereignty. Today in this hall, the prime minister of Iraq and his delegation represent a country that has rejoined the community of nations. The government of Prime Minister Allawi has earned the support of every nation that believes in self-determination and desires peace. And under Security Council Resolutions 1511 and 1546, the world is providing that support.

BUSH: The U.N. and its member nations must respond to Prime Minister Allawi's request and do more to help build an Iraq that is secure, democratic, federal and free.

A democratic Iraq has ruthless enemies because terrorists know the stakes in that country. They know that a free Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will be a decisive blow against their ambitions for that region.

So a terrorist group associated with Al Qaeda is now one of the main groups killing the innocent in Iraq today, conducting a campaign of bombings against civilians and the beheadings of bound men.

Coalition forces now serving in Iraq are confronting the terrorists and foreign fighters so peaceful nations around the world will never have to face them within our own borders.

Our coalition is standing beside a growing Iraqi security force. The NATO alliance is providing vital training to that force. More than 35 nations have contributed money and expertise to help rebuild Iraq's infrastructure.

And as the Iraqi interim government moves toward national elections, officials from the United Nations are helping Iraqis build the infrastructure of democracy. These selfless people are doing heroic work and are carrying on the great legacy of Sergio de Mello.

As we've seen in other countries, one of the main terrorist goals is to undermine, disrupt and influence election outcomes. We can expect terrorist attacks to escalate as Afghanistan and Iraq approach national elections.

BUSH: The work ahead is demanding, but these difficulties will not shake our conviction that the future of Afghanistan and Iraq is a future of liberty. The proper response to difficulty is not to retreat; it is to prevail.

The advance of freedom always carries a cost paid by the bravest among us. America mourns the losses to our nation and to many others. And today I assure every friend of Afghanistan and Iraq and every enemy of liberty, we will stand with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq until their hopes of freedom and security are fulfilled.

These two nations will be a model for the broader Middle East, a region where millions have been denied basic human rights and simple justice. For too long, many nations, including my own, tolerated, even excused oppression in the Middle East in the name of stability. The oppression became common, but stability never arrived.

We must take a different approach. We must help the reformers of the Middle East as they work for freedom and strive to build a community of peaceful, democratic nations.

This commitment to democratic reform is essential to resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. Peace will not be achieved by Palestinian rulers who intimidate opposition, tolerate corruption and maintain ties to terrorist groups.

BUSH: The long-suffering Palestinian people deserve better. They deserve true leaders capable of creating and governing a free and peaceful Palestinian state.

Goodwill and hard effort can achieve the promise of the road map to peace. Those who would lead a new Palestinian state should adopt peaceful means to achieve the rights of their people and create the reformed institutions of a stable democracy.

Arab states should end incitement in their own media, cut off public and private funding for terrorism, and establish normal relations with Israel.

Israel should impose a settlement freeze, dismantle unauthorized outposts, end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people and avoid any actions that prejudice final negotiations.

And world leaders should withdraw all favor and support from any Palestinian ruler who fails his people and betrays their cause.

The democratic hopes we see growing in the Middle East are growing everywhere. In the words of the Burmese democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi, "We do not accept the notion that democracy is a Western value. To the contrary, democracy simply means good government rooted in responsibility, transparency and accountability."

Here at the United Nations, you know this to be true.

In recent years, this organization has helped to create a new democracy in East Timor and the U.N. has aided other nations in making the transition to self-rule.

Because I believe the advance of liberty is the path to both a safer and better world, today I propose establishing a democracy fund within the United Nations. This is a great calling for this great organization.

The fund would help countries lay the foundations of democracy by instituting the rule of law and independent courts, a free press, political parties and trade unions.

BUSH: Money from the fund would also help set up voter precincts in polling places and support the work of election monitors.

To show our commitment to the new democracy fund, the United States will make an initial contribution. I urge all other nations to contribute as well.

I have outlined a broad agenda to advance human dignity and enhance the security of all of us. The defeat of terror, the protection of human rights, the spread of prosperity, the advance of democracy: These causes, these ideals call us to great work in the world. Each of us alone can only do so much. Together we can accomplish so much more.

History will honor the high ideals of this organization. The Charter states them with clarity: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, to promote social progress and better standards of life and larger freedom.

Let history also record that our generation of leaders followed through on these ideals, even in adversity. Let history show that in a decisive decade, members of the United Nations did not grow weary in our duties or waver in meeting them.

I'm confident that this young century will be liberty's century. I believe we will rise to this moment because I know the character of so many nations and leaders represented here today, and I have faith in the transforming power of freedom.

May God bless you.

(APPLAUSE)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We've been listening to President Bush as he addresses the General Assembly of the United Nations. President Bush presenting what he sees as a positive outlook for the world, calling this a time of opportunity, saying that the U.S. shares a commitment to dignity with every human life with the United Nations. He says there is no safety, though, in looking away from the dangerous situations all around the world.

A number of topics. Touching on Iraq, of course, humanitarian issues, like AIDS, and calling for an end to any cloning research. And also taking time to look at situations in Sudan, and also the Middle East, the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Our John King, our senior White House correspondent, with the president in New York City, joins us now live from there -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, this I found noteworthy, how closely the president linked the political transition in Afghanistan to the political transition in Iraq. Mr. Bush wants the American people to view both of those military actions in Afghanistan and in Iraq as crucial elements in the global war against terrorism.

Some dispute that, saying Iraq was a war of choice. But Mr. Bush saying, yes, there are difficulties in both Afghanistan and in Iraq, as you try to move toward democratic elections. The president saying the solution, though, is not to retreat, but to show resolve and to stand with those countries as they make what he promised would be a transformation to democracies that do not threaten their neighbors, that do not have weapons of mass destruction or provide safe harbor to terrorists. Mr. Bush also using this speech to the United Nations General Assembly to again defend his very unpopular, especially in that room, decision to go to war in Iraq. Mr. Bush saying that Saddam Hussein had been told by the Security Council time and time again to conform with its resolutions, that the Security Council threatened serious consequences, and when the Security Council would not then impose those serious consequences, he decided to do that.

So no apologies from the president at all. Certainly not a defiant tone to his speech, but the president making his case that the war was the right decision and that now the international community must come together in both Afghanistan and in Iraq to help provide security and other resources for the elections.

And Mr. Bush also sticking to some other themes that are not quite so popular, saying in that speech, for example, that no government should support the Palestinian leadership if it is corrupt. The United States has for years been making that case under this Bush administration. And if you ask the White House which countries were at the top of the list that do provide more and other (ph) support, they would say France, the fierce opponent of the war in Iraq.

So Mr. Bush not backing away at all, Daryn, from his key points, especially his defense of the war in Iraq.

KAGAN: John, also, though, on that Middle East question, he did have those words for people who would support Palestinian leaders, but also some harsh words for the Israelis, calling for a freeze of settlements. This administration, some would say, have -- has had different opinions on where it stands in terms of Israeli leadership.

KING: Well, around the world, and certainly in the halls of the United Nations, the Bush administration is often accused of being lopsided in favor of Israel when it comes to the Middle East conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. So Mr. Bush, on the one hand, saying the Palestinian leadership must be -- must be changed, essentially, and must not have corruption, must support its people. But yes, that message, especially in this hall, is significant.

Mr. Bush trying to make the case that, despite zero progress, and indeed significant setbacks in the past two years, that he believes you can get back to what he calls the roadmap to peace. There are many skeptics, of course, and many skeptics who would say that Mr. Bush might say at the United Nations General Assembly that Israel must stop the settlements, but will he put pressure, public, repeated, sustained pressure on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to do that?

Ariel Sharon, of course, has said he wants to pull out of the Gaza -- the Gaza Strip and some of the West Bank. He faces his own internal political problems over that. So it is a very, very complicated issue, Daryn.

The president trying to make the case that he is willing to move that process forward. Again, come tomorrow morning, there will many -- there will be many in that hall who will say, let's see action, not just words. KAGAN: And live pictures as we watch President Bush and Mrs. Bush leave the United Nations, followed by Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Now, John, a lot of news taking place today. While the president was addressing the General Assembly, news coming from Capitol Hill.

The Senate Intelligence Committee approving the nomination of Congressman Porter Goss to be the next head of the CIA. What do you have on that?

KING: That's an important development for the Bush administration, Daryn. It includes -- excuse the loud truck backing up here in Manhattan.

Porter Goss, of course the congressman from Florida, Mr. Bush's choice to replace George Tenet as the head of the CIA, possibly could become the choice to become the new national intelligence director. Many in Washington speculating on that.

When that more powerful new national intelligence director position is created, the nomination now goes on to the full Senate. Everyone expects Porter Goss to be confirmed in relatively short order.

Some Democrats using those hearings, and will use the debate on the floor to question this administration's commitment to true intelligence reforms as called for by the 9/11 Commission. But that nomination moving, I think, even more speedily than perhaps many had anticipated just a short time ago.

KAGAN: John King in New York City. Thank you for that, for that reporting. We will be back to you. Also over to Ross at the United Nations.

Our coverage from New York City and a lot more news taking place right now. We fit in a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We want to get now some reaction to President Bush's speech in front of the U.N. General Assembly. General Wesley Clark joining us, the former presidential candidate, now a supporter of John Kerry's, joining us in Charlotte, North Carolina.

General, good morning. Good to see you.

WESLEY CLARK (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: I trust you were able to sit there and listen in to what the president had to say to the General Assembly?

CLARK: I did.

KAGAN: And were you pleased or disturbed by what you heard? CLARK: Well, I was disappointed. I had hoped we'd had -- have a stronger presentation with some new ideas that would actually reach out and try to bring greater support from the world community. We didn't hear that.

What we heard was basically the same kind of rhetoric he's been using in the campaign. It was more of a lecture, really. And the thing that's happened to us here is we did have a lot of support from within the United Nations three years ago after 9/11, but the actions by the administration in Iraq squandered that support, and even after the war was -- most of the fighting was over there in early 2003. The administration acted to exclude the United Nations, so the president's got to dig the United States out of the hole and the language, the tone, the lack of ideas, it just didn't help. He just didn't rebuild his credibility or seem capable of really bringing any new leadership to the problem of helping us succeed in the missions we've embarked on.

KAGAN: You know, it's interesting, your criticisms of the president's speech, because it seems like if you take the same comment, but change the context, that's the same criticism that a lot of people have of John Kerry, that he has not brought enough fresh ideas and vision of how he would change the situation in Iraq.

CLARK: Well, we were going to talk about the president's speech. I'm happy to compare them. For example, if you listen to what John Kerry said yesterday, he talked -- he's talked about really putting the effort on diplomacy, to bring a summit together, to bring nations in the region together for dialogue.

See, Daryn, think of it this way, there's the military on the ground in Iraq, and that's part of the problem. For the Bush administration, that seems to be the whole issue, but we're not going to have peace in Iraq until the neighboring countries in the region are willing to accept the fact that you could have a stable democratizing Iraq that doesn't threaten them. Syria and Iran are engaged in causing trouble in Iraq, and the Bush administration has to find a way to bring them on board and work with them, just the way the Clinton administration did in the Balkans with neighboring countries to the former Yugoslavia.

Not everyone always agrees on the big issues, but you have to seek out common interests. This administration's failed to do that.

And on the ground in Iraq, our military leaders there will tell you, we cannot kill everybody who is opposing us. We've got to persuade them that they don't want to fight the United States or the interim Iraqi government. We have to give openings to the political process. We haven't been very effective in doing that.

And so I think there are a lot of good ideas out there coming from John Kerry and his team, but I don't see this administration picking them up. What I see is this administration trying to, more or less, stay steady on course, keep the lid on until after the 2nd of November and not deal with the reality of the situation. The president cited progress, but the situation in both Afghanistan and Iraq is deteriorating; it's not progressing. It is getting worse.

KAGAN: Senator Kerry did give what many people considered to be a strong speech when he was at NYU yesterday. He offered up four general points of how he would deal with the situation in Iraq, four points that the Republicans say are all things that the president supports.

Let me ask you, stepping away as a Kerry supporter for a moment, rather as a former presidential candidate and a military leader, and an American, are you not frustrated that there is not stronger leadership on both sides here to try to figure out what the U.S. needs to do in Iraq?

CLARK: Well, I think John Kerry has offered good ideas, but when the bush administration says it agrees with them, it's not being very effective at -- let's take the example, training the Iraqi forces. It's not effective. It hasn't put the resources in, put the leadership on the ground, bringing other nations to bear on the problem. The Bush administration says it wants to do it, but it doesn't act in Iraq with nations in a realistic way to persuade them to join with us.

And as far as regional dialogue is concerned, John Kerry's called for this for months and months and months, and this administration has refused to talk with nations like Syria and Iran in any effective way that would bring them out of the opposing camp and get them involved in helping to create a stable, independent, peaceful Iraq.

Instead, the language is still such that what the Bush administration's done, Daryn is create a sort of dynamic of conflict in the region, in which nations like Syria and Iran believe that as soon as the United States can digest the problem of Iraq, well, they're next on the hit list, and so they've been drawn into this fight in Iraq. It's their first line of defense.

I'm not trying to justify their actions. I think they're wrong, but it's up to administration to bring these countries in and try to diffuse the atmosphere of conflict that's prevalent in the region right now. That's what the administration's not doing.

General, thank you for your opinion. General Wesley Clark, adviser to the Kerry campaign, supporter there. Thank you for your time, sir, giving us a different take on what we just heard from President Bush as he addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Now to get yet another side, we'll bring in Sean McCormack, National Security Council spokesman, joining us. It looks like you're in New York City with your boss, Condoleezza Rice.

SEAN MCCORMACK, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESMAN; Hey, Daryn.

Yes, we're here in New York City and the folks here are doing a terrific job in hosting us. We really appreciate all of the effort we put in.

KAGAN: All right, well, Condoleezza Rice has been on a number of broadcasts lately make something comments. I want to ask you not only about the president's speech, but what we're hearing from here, because obviously both of you representing this administration. She basically, and this president, trying to give a sense of progress and opportunity in Iraq. You support that idea as well?

MCCORMACK: That's exactly right, Daryn.

Look, nobody's trying to say that there aren't difficulties and real challenges in Iraq. There absolutely are, in parts of Iraq, in parts of Baghdad and the so-called Sunni Triangle. The Iraqi forces and American forces are working to take back those towns, both on the political and a military front. We saw evidence of this in Najaf and Kufa, where the Iraqi forces are now in total control of those places and they're calm.

But there's also the reality in the vast majority of Iraq, where small businesses are opening up, people are voting for city councils and local officials, and children are going to school. So none of this is to say that there aren't difficulties in Iraq. It is to say, however that there is another story out there.

KAGAN: There's one thing to call it difficulties, but when you look at the recent spate of car bombings, of hostage takings, of beheadings. There's a family right here in the Atlanta area, waiting, standing by to see if their husband and their father is still alive. You still don't see that Iraq is on the verge, as many people see it, on the verge of civil war?

MCCORMACK: No, Daryn, I think that that's a real overstatement of the case. Now, we, I don't think anybody can look at the situation of the people, the families that have loved ones in the hands of terrorists in Iraq and not take a moment and pray for them and think about their situation.

But let's remember who actually is responsible for this, people like Abu Musab Zarqawi. These are the cold-blooded killers that acted in Beslan, as the president said, in Jerusalem, in Indonesia, in Baghdad all around the world. These are the people that are responsible for these terrible acts, and that's what we're fighting in Iraq.

KAGAN: Sean, let me bring you back to the president's speech here for just a moment and a point General Clark was making. He felt that with the tone and what the president had to say that not enough is being done to draw in other people, to draw in other countries, and that is the only way that the situation is going to be solved in Iraq. How would you respond to that?

MCCORMACK: Well, the fact of the matter is there are more than 30 members of the coalition on the ground in Iraq and more members of the coalition that are providing money and expertise. So this really is an international effort. We are working with other countries to -- on specialized missions, for example, to help bring in forces to protect the U.N. as they do their work on the ground.

But just let me make the point, that no amount of talking at an international meeting or through diplomacy is going to get some of the countries that oppose our action in Iraq to contribute forces. That's just not true. To put it, I guess, the best way I can put it is that's just a red herring.

KAGAN: All right, well, we'll leave it at that, definitely different opinions on how the U.S. got in and how the U.S. is going to get out and what kind of help they need. Sean McCormack, National Security Council spokesman. Sean, thank you for your time.

MCCORMACK: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: And as the debate goes on, speaking of debates, we now know when and where George W. Bush and John Kerry will face off. The morning's most complete political wrap-up is coming for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan in Atlanta. Let's check what's happening now in the news. It is Tuesday, the 21st day of September.

President Bush, in his annual speech to the United Nations, again defended his decision to invade Iraq. Unlike his last two addresses to the world body, the president also gave a good deal of time to other issues, including the killings in Darfur.

Families of two hostages held in Iraq are pleading for the men's lives today, just hours after kidnappers beheaded a third hostage. Video showing the grizzly death of hostage Eugene Armstrong at the hands of his captors was released on an Islamic Web site.

And the Senate Intelligence Committee this hour has approved Congressman Porter Goss' nomination for CIA director. The full Senate could debate President Bush's selection later this week. Some Democrats are concerned Goss may be too partisan and could vote against him. But the former CIA officer will likely win Senate approval.

And Iran says it will go on converting uranium for enrichment. Iranian officials insist the move is for production of electricity, but the Bush administration suspects Tehran is trying to make nuclear weapons. Experts say the enrichment process, once completed, could yield enough material for nuclear bombs.

And Federal Reserve policymakers are meeting this hour. It's expected they will raise a key interest rate a quarter-point in a few hours. It would be the third increase this year.

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

If you've been spending the morning with us here on CNN, you just saw President Bush speaking to the U.N. General Assembly. "INSIDE POLITICS" anchor Judy Woodruff is with me now to talk about the president's remarks. And Judy, let's talk about that speech.

JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hey, Daryn.

KAGAN: Good morning to you.

How are these issues, especially Iraq, playing into the race for the White House?

WOODRUFF: Well, Daryn, the polls have shown throughout this year that the American people are very interested in the subject of Iraq. They're very concerned with the way the war has been going. And both President Bush and John Kerry have, at different moments in this campaign, as we know, addressed the issue.

John Kerry, major speech on it yesterday where he staked out new ground, you might say, and said more forcefully than ever before if he were president, he would not have gone to war knowing what he knows now. The Bush campaign turned right around and said this is the umpteenth position that John Kerry has taken.

Today, President Bush defending his approach on Iraq before the international body, the United Nations. The dilemma, Daryn, for John Kerry is that as problematic, as difficult, as disastrous as some people say the Iraq situation is, Kerry has not been able to capitalize is. So, you still see movement on his part in an attempt to come up with a new formulation, and he will continue to try to do that -- my assumption is right up until the election.

KAGAN: Well, and speaking of Senator Kerry, he had said he was going to use his final campaign push to talk about other issues, domestic issues like health care and the economy, but it seems that the interest in Iraq and his remarks yesterday in his speech at NYU are steering him in another direction.

WOODRUFF: Well, he has to do both, Daryn. You know, at this point, I think the Kerry people probably hoped that the senator would have -- would be doing better.

When you ask people to compare who is in a better position to handle Iraq as president, right now President Bush is well ahead of John Kerry on that. The Kerry people had hoped that they weren't going to be having to talk about it by now and that they could focus on the economy and on health care.

But the fact is they do have to talk about both. And in fairness, the Iraq situation continues to deteriorate. More Americans are killed. Just yesterday, you had the hostage beheaded, the gruesome details we learned of yesterday. More Iraqis are being killed. The insurgents seem to grow stronger.

So, there is a changing situation on the ground that I think that forces both the president and John Kerry to address it.

KAGAN: And what are we going to see later today on the expanded edition of "INSIDE POLITICS" six weeks before Election Day? WOODRUFF: Well, we are going to look at the president's address, Daryn. We're going to look at the resolution of the debates, where we learned, as you know yesterday, that the two campaigns have decided there will be three presidential, one vice presidential debate. We're going to talk about that.

We're also going to hear from a Republican senator who announced yesterday that he will not be voting for -- may not be voting for George W. Bush. His name is Lincoln Chafee. He's from Rhode Island. So, that will be interesting.

Coming up, 3:00, "INSIDE POLITICS."

KAGAN: One of those senators that tends to take different stands. It will be interesting to hear more about that. Judy, look forward to all of it. Thank you.

WOODRUFF: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: We have a lot more to cover in the last 15 minutes of our program. We'll do that after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: CBS says it will launch its own investigation to the growing scandal over the documents questioning President Bush's military service. Many experts now dismiss those documents as fakes, and CBS has now apologized for not scrutinizing their authenticity closely enough.

CBS' Dan Rather also blamed his source of the documents, a former National Guard officer who concedes he misled the network on how he gained possession of the papers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. BILL BURKETT (RET.), TEXAS AIR NATIONAL GUARD: Well, I didn't totally mislead you. I did mislead you on the one individual. You know, your staff pressured me to a point to reveal that source.

DAN RATHER, CBS NEWS ANCHOR: Well, we were trying to get the chain of possession.

BURKETT: I understand that.

RATHER: And you said you had received it from someone.

BURKETT: I understand that.

RATHER: And we did pressure you to say, well, you received it from someone...

BURKETT: Yes.

RATHER: And it's true, we pressured you, because it was a very important point for us. BURKETT: And I simply threw out a name that was basically -- it was -- I guess to get a little pressure off for a moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Burkett said he did not fake or forge documents, and he says he insisted that CBS authenticate the papers on its own.

That blame game is playing in the document's scandal. Are the president's political opponents involved? One person's name that has come up, Kerry campaign adviser Joe Lockhart. Lockhart admits talking to Bill Burkett, the man who gave the suspect documents to CBS, but he denies involvement with the memos or the story. Lockhart says the White House wants to keep the controversy alive to avoid answering legitimate questions about Bush's service.

Earlier, he appeared to CNN's American morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE LOCKHART, KERRY CAMPAIGN ADVISER: CBS did their story. I think they've been very open about answering the questions. They called me and said this guy wants to talk to you. I was happy to talk to him. It was the sort of the beginning and end of the story.

HEMMER: Hey, Joe, how common is that?

LOCKHART: Listen, Bill, you're a journalist. I think you probably know the answer to that. I'll let journalists talk about how common it is.

HEMMER: But when a suggestion for a source comes your way, I mean, here we are, 42 days away from a presidential campaign, many would think that's probably not that usual after all. How would you phrase it?

LOCKHART: I wouldn't. I think that's a question for journalists. You're one. You can answer it. You know more about how common that is than I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Lockhart also added that the Kerry campaign had nothing to do with the memos or the CBS story.

I'll be back in just a moment. A check of wall street and your forecast just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Been a big morning here at CNN and around the world. That's going to do it for, Daryn Kagan. I'll see you right back here tomorrow morning.

Right now, Wolf Blitzer takes over. He is in New York City today.

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