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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Missing Explosives Controversy Continues

Aired October 26, 2004 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again everyone.
In case you missed it yesterday the vice president, while on the campaign, asserted that Iraq has been a remarkable success. Now, in fairness to the vice president, he did acknowledge that things aren't easy right now and won't be but then he added that overall it's been a remarkable success.

Even given the hyperbole that is inherent in a political campaign, remarkable success seems a bit over the top to me. The insurgency is growing not shrinking according to the Pentagon. Attacks on Americans and Iraqis have become so routine most don't even get reported anymore.

There is real concern the Iraqi security forces are heavily infiltrated. More American troops are going to be sent in the weeks ahead. Someday we may get to remarkable success and given the cost in lives, Iraqi and American, we can only hope we do but with all due respect to the vice president we aren't even close to remarkable success yet.

The whip begins with the politics in the war and vice versa in a state that wasn't expected to be a battleground but turned out to be, the State of Iowa, our Senior White House Correspondent John King, John start us with a headline tonight.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, there are 380 tons of explosives missing in Iraq. Senator Kerry says he wonders if there's more bad news and the White House is keeping it secret. Both the president and the vice president firing back, Mr. Cheney saying the Senator is trying to be an armchair general and not doing a very good job at it -- Aaron.

BROWN: John, thank you. We'll get to you quickly tonight.

Next to the Pentagon and the facts as we know them surrounding those missing explosives that John just mentioned, Jamie McIntyre with the watch has done the reporting and supplies the headline -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, there are real questions about whether U.S. troops knew about those high explosives and did everything they could to find them and secure them. The Pentagon is suggesting that maybe they weren't even there by the time the troops got there. We'll check the facts and see what they show.

BROWN: Jamie, thank you.

And finally to Baghdad, CNN's Karl Penhaul, there are many headlines out of there tonight, Karl, give us one or two if you will.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Explosions and assassinations as Iraqi insurgents throw down the gauntlet to U.S. Marines -- Aaron.

BROWN: Karl, thank you. We'll get back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up on the program tonight, the ailing health of the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and the political speculation it raises on the campaign trail.

And then a historic disengagement plan for Gaza is approved. Will some members of Ariel Sharon's party remain engaged?

And, at the end of the program, as always, your first look at tomorrow morning's papers, all that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin tonight with a bit of electoral math, no fools we. It isn't red states or blue states we count tonight, something simpler, days seven to go. Seven new cycles to go with them to be won or lost on matters large or small or perhaps even trivial when we look back on it all but mostly on Iraq.

So, two reports tonight with a common thread that will tease out of it more as we go along. We begin first with the Kerry side and CNN's Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Looking to swing the not yet swung, to convince the not yet decided, John Kerry tries to ease doubts about his own leadership and raise them about the president's.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. President, what else are you being silent about? What else are you keeping from the American people?

CROWLEY: Refurbishing well worn lines with the day's news, Kerry tried to ring a little more juice out of yesterday's headline about the missing 380 tons of explosives in Iraq.

KERRY: Terrorists could be helping themselves to what has been called, I quote and this is by the people who reported it missing, "the greatest explosives bonanza in history." No wonder the president thinks and said the other day that whether or not we're going to be safe is "up in the air."

CROWLEY: Added to a long list of items the candidate delineates now on a daily basis.

KERRY: Time and again this president has made the wrong decisions. Time and again he has chosen the wrong path. In virtually everything that he has said and everything that he has done, the president has demonstrated to the American people and to countries around the world that have been pushed away from the United States he has demonstrated that he is divorced from reality in Iraq.

CROWLEY: The campaign is so sure it's on to something, it rustled up an ad on the missing ammo and in the four hours it took to fly from Wisconsin to Nevada, Kerry upped the stakes.

KERRY: Because this administration didn't take the time, didn't plan, didn't think that they needed to guard the ammo dumps, those ammo dumps have been looted and raided and our kids, American young forces, are being shot up from weapons stolen from the ammo dumps that this president didn't think were important enough to guard.

CROWLEY (on camera): Kerry is finished with his so-called closing argument speeches now and the campaign reverts to more standard last minute fare. That is rallies like this one here in Nevada. There will be star attractions, of course. Look for Bruce Springsteen coming to a rally near you.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Las Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And this is Senator Kerry live tonight in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The campaign has moved on from Nevada to New Mexico, a state still in play, an important state.

KERRY: Chester, we are in awe of your service to your country.

BROWN: He's doing that series of introductions and he will launch no doubt into standard stump speech which is getting harsher by the day, Senator Kerry tonight in Albuquerque.

The Senator has been working, as has the president, a couple of major corridors. One of them includes the Midwest, Iowa and Wisconsin. The president was there. The president enjoys a slim lead there thanks by and large to strong support in the farm country of Wisconsin.

But even there the economy remains an issue. While most people support the war in Iraq, many do have concerns about how it's been run, how well their sons and their daughters at war are being protected, traveling with the president's campaign, our Senior White House Correspondent John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Rolling through farm country one week out, the race as close as can be yet the incumbent upbeat as he looks to close the deal.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're headed in the right direction in America.

KING: Here in Wisconsin and in much of the country it's a tough sell. The economy is OK, not great most places. Day-to-day news from Iraq often discouraging to say the least but Mr. Bush is the voice of optimism.

BUSH: Iraq's going to have elections. Think about how far that country has come in a brief period of time from the days of torture chambers and mass graves.

KING: This dairy farm a perfect stop for a campaign looking for favorable local coverage in the final days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what he needs some dairy cows for the ranch.

BUSH: Only you'll come and milk them.

KING: A little playful banter with reporters here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President who's responsible for the...

KING: But later no answer just a stare when asked about 380 tons of missing explosives in Iraq. Senator Kerry calls it more proof of administration incompetence. The vice president called Senator Kerry an armchair general who attacks first, checks the facts later.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is not at all clear that those explosives were even at the weapons facility when our troops arrived in the area of Baghdad. John Kerry doesn't mention that not does he mention the 400,000 tons of weapons and explosives that our troops have captured and are destroying.

KING: At his afternoon stops, the president also answered but only indirectly.

BUSH: My opponent has no plan, no vision, just a long list of complaints but a Monday morning quarterback has never led any team to victory.

KING: A playful top Bush adviser Carl Rove at this stop but the volume and intensity of the exchanges between the campaigns underscores the stakes, a dead heat race nationally and in at least a half dozen showdown states.

GOV. TOM VILSACK (D), IOWA: There are three -- two triangles. There's the Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida triangle which is certainly key but I think there's also the Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa triangle. I think that's just as important.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Seven days out the rhetoric getting even more sharp and the Bush campaign claiming it has the momentum. Tomorrow, aides say the president will issue a direct and a detailed appeal to Democrats asking them to cross over and vote Republican in this election. Even a stop in Michigan a state the president lost by five percentage points four years ago but where the polls in recent days have tightened significantly -- Aaron. BROWN: John, I want to take you back to Iraq and something that happened there today. We talked about this on the phone a bit earlier tonight. The Prime Minister Allawi in a speech before the National Assembly today said this in talking about the massacre. "Major negligence on the part of some members of the multinational forces" were to blame for the massacre. This was a shot across the bow of the United States government.

KING: It certainly was and what the White House points out is that other ministers in the Allawi government quickly came out to try to say that the prime minister perhaps went too far that he wants to wait until the investigation, the inquiry is completed and that these troops themselves, the Iraqi forces themselves, may have made a mistake by going out and putting themselves in that situation.

But the prime minister did say it. You're exactly right. And even as they try to say it's not such a big deal and that the Iraqi government itself has turned down the volume, sources within the White House do say that this is certainly not helpful. Anti-American sentiment obviously quite high already, the prime minister's remarks being played up in the Arab news media, likely to drive that anti- American sentiment up even a bit higher -- Aaron.

BROWN: John, thank you for a long day, John King our Senior White House Correspondent.

As John mentioned, the president said nothing directly about the missing explosives today. Indeed, despite a lot of fuming going on, on the campaign, on the radio and TV, all over the place, the central claim of the story itself that a huge cache of very powerful explosives was left unguarded and is likely in the hands of insurgents has not been shot down, nor we add has it been conclusively proven, the story from CNN's Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): The Pentagon acknowledges there was a window of about six weeks after the invasion of Iraq when it's possible the stockpile of high explosives could have been stolen from the sprawling Al-Qa Qaa facility south of Baghdad.

But Pentagon officials argue it's more likely the explosives were moved as part of the pre-war dispersal ordered by Saddam Hussein. That would have come sometime after March 3, 2003, the last time the International Atomic Energy Agency checked that security seals placed on the bunkers were intact and before the war actually began March 20th.

On April 10, 2003, the day after the fall of Baghdad, troops from the 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division reached the site. No weapons under IAEA seal were found but the soldiers were advancing on Baghdad and officials acknowledge they didn't conduct a thorough inspection.

Sometime in the next month, May, 2003, the IAEA says it relayed concerns to the U.S. government about the stockpile falling into the wrong hands. Finally, on May 27th, more than six weeks after the April visit, a special U.S. exploitation team looking for weapons of mass destruction searched all 32 bunkers and 87 buildings. Again, the stockpile was not found.

Pentagon officials admit the facility was not completely secured between April 10th and May 27 and that during that time insurgents could have looted the explosives. But officials scoff at the idea the large number of heavy trucks that would be required to transport the 380 tons of missing explosives could have been moved into and out of the facility unnoticed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Aaron, what some critics in the Pentagon are having a hard time accepting is how if these stockpiles had been moved out before the invasion how the Pentagon wouldn't have known about it. After all, the Pentagon was using every means possible to monitor Iraqi troop movements, watching for the movement that could possibly indicate WMD being hidden, so how would they have not known?

Now, the Pentagon says well they did see a lot of things moving in the days and weeks before the invasion but they just can't say any of it was this cache of high explosives -- Aaron.

BROWN: Well, let me ask a couple questions. First of all, did they say that they saw a lot of big trucks, as you just described? It would take a lot of them moving from that facility before the war started someplace else or are they not that specific?

MCINTYRE: Well, they say -- they admit at this point they have not been able to come up with any imagery or any other intelligence that would indicate there was a large number of trucks moving. Of course some experts have suggested that it could have been looted with a lot of people taking a small amount but, again, the Pentagon at this point has no intelligence to back up that claim.

BROWN: At the risk of throwing you a major league curve ball, how is it...

MCINTYRE: Go right ahead.

BROWN: Thank you. It's not the first, is it? From May 27, 2003 to the time the IAEA reports to the U.S. government about this why is there a year and a half gap there?

MCINTYRE: Well, it's not really clear. We've been trying to get an answer to that. What it appears is that the new Iraqi government that's now in control and in charge of the facilities was under some pressure from the IAEA to come up with an accounting of things that were there during the regime.

And it submitted this report back on October 10th saying that all this stuff was missing and it went to the IAEA and they said they were going to keep it quiet to give the multinational forces and the Iraqi government time to try to recover it but then it was reported by "The New York Times" and then they made it public. So, but the U.S. government contends that this is the first official notification they've had that this stuff was missing.

BROWN: In the meantime, all this blame is going on. The fact is the stuff is out there somewhere and that's the terrifying part. Jamie, thank you very much, good work today, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon.

Another headline in a day that seemed chock full of headlines, the White House reportedly will ask the Congress for an additional $70 billion plus for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars next year this to cover high fuel prices and fighting the insurgency.

In Iraq today another hostage tape surfaced. This time it's a Japanese man pleading for his government to pull their small contingent of troops from Iraq or he says he will be slaughtered. "Mr. Prime Minister," he said "I'm sorry to put my head in your hands," not a great day.

From Baghdad tonight here's CNN's Karl Penhaul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL (voice-over): Roadside bombs and political slayings in a single day, in a single town, Baquba in the Sunni Triangle. A local politician at the Shiite (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and his bodyguard were gunned down, shot in the head, no sign of the attackers, no clue about the motive.

The U.S. military say close by this crater left when a car bomb exploded under a police car. And this another blast in Baquba, north of Baghdad, one policeman died, six were wounded, all this part of what Iraqi interim government and coalition military officials say is a spike in violence during Ramadan and ahead of January elections.

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): You should expect an escalation of terrorist attacks in the next few days. They think if Iraq gets better they will escalate their terrorist acts.

PENHAUL: Across the Sunni Triangle at the center of Iraq's resistance, U.S. jets pounded this house overnight Monday in Fallujah. U.S. Marines say they killed a top aide of terror chief Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, another effort to dent resistance in the rebel held city before a possible military assault. The U.S. military and Iraqi government have not outlined a time table for any attack but patience seems to be wearing thin.

ALLAWI (through translator): Our problem is not with Fallujah. This is a problem with a number of killers and terrorists who are killing the Iraqi people.

PENHAUL: A group of Fallujah rebel gunmen calling themselves the Iraqi National Resistance Regiment issued a statement saying they were ready for a fight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): All the armed factions will strike all the military and civilian targets of the occupation forces and the interim government. We will attack them with weapons and tactics they have not experienced before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: And that warning will be just another of the factors that is thrown into the mix as U.S. forces try to assess whether a full scale assault on Fallujah will, in fact, extinguish the violence or perhaps fan the flames of war -- Aaron.

BROWN: A (UNINTELLIGIBLE) choice that. Let's go back to the prime minister's comments and the view from there. Again, just so our viewers who may not have seen it, this is what Prime Minister Allawi said earlier today when talking about the massacre.

He said there was "major negligence on the part of some members of the multinational forces." That would be the Americans, the multinational forces and others, principally the Americans. What to make of it from there how is that being played in the Iraqi press? How's it being played in the Arab press?

PENHAUL: To be honest the situation here is that there was no more context than that. Prime Minister Allawi talking to the National Assembly made this statement but he didn't elaborate. He didn't say exactly what he meant. He didn't say how he felt that the U.S. forces could have protected these 44 soldiers and four drivers who were massacred close to the Iranian border over the weekend.

What we do know obviously is that the coalition forces, the U.S. forces principally are in charge of training Iraq's security forces and all this has charged the debate as to how soon the Iraqi security forces will be ready to stand on their own two feet, as we see now, right now, they still need heavy backing and judging by this protection from the coalition forces, Aaron.

BROWN: Karl, thank you very much, Karl Penhaul in Baghdad tonight.

Ahead on the program, we'll update the condition of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, how his illness almost certainly colors the political picture a week from the election.

Another important leader takes a political risk that could determine the future of his tenure and the promise for peace or the lack thereof in the Middle East. We take a break first.

From New York this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Back now to the missing explosives in Iraq and the political fallout from it, both. We're joined in Washington tonight by Tom Oliphant, Washington columnist for the "Boston Globe." He's just been on the campaign for the last seven weeks, so he's glad to be back home. Mark Mazzetti joins us as well. He writes about defense matters for "The Los Angeles Times" and we're glad to see him as well.

Mark, let me start with you. Just on the facts of this can you get us any closer to knowing whether or not once the Americans got there those explosives were, in fact, still at that site under seal?

MARK MAZZETTI, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, the Pentagon stepped back from what they were saying last night. Last night they said the 101st Airborne reached the site, looked around, saw there were no weapons and they were pretty definitive.

Today, they characterized it not as a real search of the facility. It was more of a pit stop on the way to Baghdad and that these troops weren't really looking for these explosives anyway. They were looking for weapons of mass destruction, so it's very possible that the weapons could have been there on April 10th and yet they just didn't see them.

So, that was what the Pentagon was saying today and, again, as Jamie reported, you still have this basically two month window between March and May where the theft or looting could have occurred.

BROWN: The mere fact that they -- does the mere fact that they backed off a bit from or more than a bit from where they were yesterday tell you anything about what the feeling in the Pentagon about this is?

MAZZETTI: Well, I think there was a realization today that they were a little too definitive last night. All day yesterday they put out talking points and none of the talking points mentioned anything about U.S. troops on April 10th being at the facility. Then it started to emerge in the media last night and I think Pentagon officials jumped on that media report that embedded reporters were there.

BROWN: Yes.

MAZZETTI: But today it's become a little less clear about what those troops and what that reporter embedded actually saw and I think that they are being more hesitant to be definitive at all in this matter.

BROWN: All right. Tom, as a campaign matter, as a political matter, I suppose the Kerry side would like this to take as the sort of last and final and gigantic and lethal piece of evidence of incompetence out there. As long as there is ambiguity about it is it a real issue for him, for the Senator?

TOM OLIPHANT, "THE BOSTON GLOBE": Well, I don't think it's a particularly good issue for Senator Kerry himself, Aaron, and I think his initial comment struck me as somewhat hyperbolic and if Vice President Cheney was over the top, as you put it, in his overall assessment about the situation, Senator Kerry sounded a little over the top to me today in what he had to say about all this.

However, as Mark just pointed out, the real political problem here involves how many pieces of straw you can pile on top of the camel's back. I mean we're in the third day of this story. It began with a hideous massacre of those trainees, pictures of which were all over the country.

Then comes this and now we're dealing with the $75 billion funding request and possibly 22,000 more troops in Iraq before the elections are scheduled. This is four days now where the war in Iraq has gone from relatively quiet in the political news to white hot. Is it OK to talk about local papers for a second?

BROWN: It's always OK to talk about local papers around here.

OLIPHANT: Well, what I noticed over the weekend, my last two visits were to New Hampshire and then to Ohio, is that beginning with the first photographs of that horrible massacre this story played locally, not only in the papers but on television.

BROWN: Yes.

OLIPHANT: And that that was a material change in the media background for the politics, the very intense politics that are going on in states like that. And so, as a result instead of just these desultory trading insults back and forth campaign stories, Iraq is back in the -- on the front page and leading local newscasts and that really changes the political environment.

BROWN: Mark, let me -- maybe this is a better question for your editor than for you but how sensitive are you, I mean obviously you're working this story now. You're probably working a bunch of stories now but this one is one of them. How sensitive are you now to the timing of any story given the proximity of the presidential campaign and the fact that the story may have an impact on the campaign?

MAZZETTI: You always have to be sensitive about the timing of your stories and make sure that, you know, you're reporting in good conscience and the Bush administration certainly did not want to have Iraq the focus this last week before the election.

It's not the job of the press to get it onto the front page of the newspaper but at the same time, you know, as Tom pointed out there are a lot of -- Iraq is the story right now involving U.S. national security.

So, it's not just this. It's the security of the Iraqi security forces. It's the strained Army and it's the amount of money that's going towards Iraq. So, you're going to see a lot of Iraq stories I think over the next six days.

BROWN: Mark, good to have you with us. Tom, it's always nice to see you. Thank you both. We appreciate your time.

MAZZETTI: Thank you.

BROWN: Thank you. Coming up still on the program how once again the state of Florida could decide the election and why this time around reliable Republicans and diehard Democrats may not be so reliable or diehard anymore.

And, as always, we'll end it with morning papers.

Around the world this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: As the great political writer Yogi Berra once said, presidential elections aren't over until they're over. The 2000 election taught us that, if nothing else.

As we said at the top, with just a week to go, with every news cycle counting for the candidates, one of the stories that is sure to surface again between now and Election Day is the health of the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, William Rehnquist, whose treatment for thyroid cancer has thrown an unexpected question mark into the race.

So, reporting the story tonight, CNN's Bob Franken.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rarely will such attention be paid to a Supreme Court session featuring cases on tax law and financial liability. But this Monday, there will be an intense focus not on those arguments, but on who is there to hear them.

Will Chief Justice William Rehnquist be there on Monday? Has his health raised new questions about the nomination of up to four new justices, making it an important issue on the very last day of the campaign?

RALPH NEAS, PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY: In the political world, a day or two in a political campaign is a lifetime.

FRANKEN: Up until now, the Bush campaign has generally avoided the issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who would you choose and why?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not telling.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: I really don't have -- haven't picked anybody yet. Plus, I want them all voting for me.

FRANKEN: John Kerry has been trying to force the issue for a long time.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It was just four short years ago that the court, by one vote, decided the outcome of a race for the president.

FRANKEN: The Bush vs. Gore Florida vote decision, with Rehnquist in the 5-4 majority for Bush, left widespread the suspicion that the highest court in the land was as political as it was judicial. And now the country is bracing for a rush of new legal election challenges, possibly dragging the court, once again, into politics.

GLENN LAMMI, CHIEF COUNSEL, WASHINGTON LEGAL FOUNDATION: I think it would be unfortunate, because I think this country needs to believe in an impartial judiciary and a rule of law that's applied mutually, rather than based upon the personal views or political views judges have.

FRANKEN: The two most conservative justices, Scalia and Thomas, have been named by President Bush as his two models for the Supreme Court.

(on camera): Any controversial pick whichever presidential could turn a Senate confirmation into an epic confrontation.

Bob Franken, CNN, the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So on to Florida, the state that triggered Bush vs. Gore. Tonight, a local television station, WPLG in Miami, is reporting that as many as 58,000 -- 58,000 absentee ballots that were supposed to be mailed out to voters in Broward County, Florida, more than two weeks ago may be missing.

The Postal Service has told the station that the ballots are not stuck in the system. The elections office is re-mailing ballots to voters outside Broward County. Voters who live in the county can pick them up. It goes without saying Florida is under a microscope this time around. It's certainly in play and this time even less predictable because of who's voting for whom and who may not be.

Here's our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KERRY: Here I am in the state of Florida.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST (voice-over): John Kerry made his 14th visit to Florida last weekend. He's coming back again at week's end. President Bush made his 16th trip here this past weekend. Trust us. He'll be back. And even when they're gone, they won't be forgotten, not with at least $62 million worth of ads they're pouring into the state, whose 27 electoral votes make it by far the biggest prize up for grabs, a state where four years ago...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's the hanging chad.

GREENFIELD: Well, you remember.

(on camera): Assuming you have not been trapped in a cave these last four years, you understand why the candidates are hunting so fiercely for votes here in Florida. What may be less obvious is that both campaigns think they have significant targets of opportunity on the other guy's turf.

(voice-over): For the Bush campaign, it's the Jewish vote that's long been overwhelmingly Democratic.

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Florida may very well be the state.

GREENFIELD: Four years ago, 240,000 Florida Jews turned out. They went 4-1 for Al Gore. But this year, Bush's unswerving support for Israel has turned some Jewish voters around.

MICHAEL PUTNEY, WPLG: If George W. Bush picks off 10 percent more than he did four years ago, I think that's quite possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "This Week in South Florida."

GREENFIELD: WPLG's Michael Putney, who has covered Florida politics for 25 years, recounts this conversation at a recent gathering of Florida Jews.

PUTNEY: Fifteen, 16 people disagreed with George W. Bush on every social issue and yet, when it came to Israel, they said he's the best friend -- almost like a mantra -- he's the best friend Israel ever had. I think I have to vote for him.

GREENFIELD: The Kerry camp sent Senator Joseph Lieberman to Florida to say both candidates will protect Israel, so other issues should govern, like the president's support for faith-based agencies.

PUTNEY: I think, for a lot of Jewish voters here, that sends a chill down their spine.

GREENFIELD: For Democrats, the target is the Cuban American vote, some 450,000 strong. Bush won more than 80 percent of them last time. But more recent arrivals from Cuba are angry at the Bush administration for restricting travel and money to Cuba. If those votes shrink Bush's margin among Cuban Americans, he will likely lose the state.

But, says Florida International University's Dario Moreno, Mel Martinez's presence as the GOP's Senate nominee will help Bush keep his margin up.

DARIO MORENO, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY: He's going to bring out Cuban Americans who think it's very important as a matter of ethnic pride to elect a co-ethnic to the U.S. Senate.

GREENFIELD: Kerry's real chance with Hispanics may lie elsewhere.

MORENO: I think where Kerry might do well in Florida, at least a little bit better than Gore, is in Central Florida Hispanics.

GREENFIELD (on camera): A shift among Jewish Americans toward Bush or Cuban Americans toward Kerry would amount at most toward a few tens of thousands of votes and they might even cancel each other out. But remember the last time, the votes of six million Floridians came down to 537 votes. You can understand why neither campaign is prepared to take any chances.

Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Boca Raton, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Still to come tonight, a vote that could change the shape of Israel, a major political gamble for the prime minister and a major gamble on the road to peace, if there is one.

And later, the young soldiers in Iraq, the youngest, why they chose to serve.

A break first. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The Israeli Parliament today agreed with Prime Minister Sharon's plan to leave most of Gaza, uprooting 8,000 or so Israeli settlers living there and setting the stage for all manner of unknowables. How will those settlers be removed? Who will do the removing? Will the government fall? Will this help or hinder the road to peace, if there is a road to peace left at all?

Reporting for us tonight, CNN's John Vause.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Surrounded by an unprecedented number of bodyguards, 16 in all, Ariel Sharon arrived at the Israeli Parliament with more than his political career on the line. His life is also in danger. This freshly sprayed graffiti in Jerusalem reads, we killed Prime Minister Rabin, we'll kill Sharon as well.

Outside Parliament, settlers and there supporters rallied, angry that the man who sent them to the occupied territories is now telling them to leave the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the West Bank.

Sarah Zweig lives in a Gaza settlement called Gush Katif. Her sister was shot dead by Palestinian militants there two years ago. Even so, she's determined to stay with her husband and three young children.

SARAH ZWEIG, ISRAELI SETTLER: Ariel Sharon sent them Gush Katif and told them that they have to be a messenger of Israel. And now he doesn't even speak to us. He wants us just to go away.

VAUSE: The Jewish settlers in the West Bank, Like Noa Lev, there are real fears this is just beginning.

NOA LEV, ISRAELI SETTLER: It will be a model to leave other places which we certainly don't want. VAUSE (on camera): These settlers and their supporters are warning that Ariel Sharon is tearing apart the very fabric of Israeli society, possibly bringing it closer to civil war. And while the latest opinion polls show they're very much in the minority, they say they will continue to fight the disengagement plan to the bitter end.

(voice-over): The end is now one very big step closer with Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, approving the disengagement plan by a seven-vote majority, including the support of five rebellious ministers who tried at the last minute to force a national referendum, Sharon refused. But it only passed with the support of the Labor opposition.

SHIMON PERES, LABOR PARTY LEADER: I feel the decision is beginning to take shape and nobody can stop it, in spite of all the considerations and calculations. VAUSE: Almost half of Mr. Sharon's conservative Likud party voted no and the disengagement plan must still win cabinet approval before each of the four stages of withdrawal.

So, to Ariel Sharon, there are still uncertain days ahead. The protest will continue and his shaky minority government remains in danger of collapse. Regardless, on this day, at least, the man they call the bulldozer has had his way.

John Vause, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A couple other items from around the country before we head to break.

Federal investigators ruled today that American Airlines Flight 587 crashed because of pilot error. The Airbus A-300 went down, you will recall, nearly three years ago -- we'll never forget it -- shortly after takeoff from New York's Kennedy Airport. Today, the NTSB said too much pressure on the rudder pedals by the co-pilot caused the airliner's tail to snap off, sending it into a neighborhood in Queens, killing 265 people.

One health note concerning heartburn drugs taken by millions of Americans. Cure the belly and you're ruining a higher risk of pneumonia, nearly double the risk if you're taking Prilosec or Nexium or other so-called proton-pump inhibitors, this according to researchers in the Netherlands after studying more than 300,000 patients. The reason, they believe, is simple. Stomach acid kills germs. Eliminate the acid, some of those germs spread elsewhere, namely to the lungs.

Ahead on the program tonight, a generation raised in peace finds brotherhood in war.

And a generation raised on television doesn't have to wait for dawn to see the morning papers, because this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: Every night still, we're struck by the numbers that follow the names, a reminder of how young, for the most part, the troops are in Iraq these days.

The numbers that just went by, a 19-year-old, two 22-year-olds and a 24-year-old. Youth is many things. It's easy to focus on the tragedy of lives ended so young. But the young also see the world and a war through their own lens. We often wonder about how the troops on the ground feel about being there and why they ended up there.

Tonight, we listen to some of the youngest, who talked to CNN's Jane Arraf.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): These are supposed to be the best years of their lives. And for many of these young soldiers in Iraq, they believe they just might be.

A lot of the younger ones don't seem to think much about whether the United States should be here. But most are clear on why they're here.

(on camera): For a lot of younger soldiers, September 11 was a defining moment in their lives. They didn't know the Cold War. The Vietnam War was just a piece of history. For them, the attack on the World Trade Center has shaped their view of the world.

(voice-over): Many have very personal reasons for enlisting.

SPC. CHARLES COPP, U.S. ARMY: Basically, just to get out of Utah, see the world, meet new people.

ARRAF (on camera): How has it been so far for you?

COPP: Well, I've definitely seen parts of the world, so...

(LAUGHTER)

ARRAF (voice-over): This platoon, the Punishers, is part of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division, which has seen combat almost since it arrived eight months ago; 36 hours before, the soldiers were in a seven-hour firefight in Baritz (ph), near Baquba.

SGT. STEVE PETTY, U.S. ARMY: Dismount and patrol, clearing houses. It was fun.

ARRAF (on camera): It was fun?

PETTY: Yes. It rocked.

ARRAF (voice-over): And that's the surprising truth about what keeps a lot of them going. It's thrilling, that and the camaraderie. Here, 30 is considered old. Most of these younger soldiers don't have wives and kids back home. They're with each other virtually 24 hours a day. And they form the most intense friendships they'll ever have, so intense, Specialist Nicholas Cruz, who is 21, fought to rejoin his platoon buddies after being shot in the leg. They're closer to him, he says, than his family.

SPC. NICHOLAS CRUZ, U.S. ARMY: The thought of getting hit again and the thought of probably losing my life has always crossed my mind every time I roll out the gate now. It's crossed my mind before. But now it hits closer to home. But I at least know that I'm fighting for what I believe in. I'm fighting with the guys who I'd rather be with.

ARRAF: Company commander Doug Chadwick, who is 29, says the younger men seem to be from a generation different even from his.

CAPT. DOUG CHADWICK, U.S. ARMY: Who knew what to expect from them? And they come into an Army at war and have just formed bonds and performed beyond what anyone could have expected of them.

ARRAF: Jane Arraf, CNN, near Baquba, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Segment seven tonight.

We'll take a look at morning papers after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: Okeydoke, time to check morning papers from around the country and the world.

Star with "The International Herald Tribune," published by "The New York Times" in Paris. This is the story -- over here, guys -- that will lead most -- certainly most international newspapers, newspapers around the world, and a lot of American ones, too. "Israeli Parliament Backs Gaza Pullout. Victory For Sharon Doesn't Ensure Implementation" -- that would be implementation, Aaron, in English -- "of Withdrawal Plan."

A sidebar story on that, "Settlers Flock to Jerusalem in Protest." I always hesitate to say things like this. This is a very good story. It's also a very important story to the state of Israel. It's a very good story to see how the Israeli society is going to handle this. Their political story, "Hang on. Both Sides Warn Election Will Be a Wild One." Already has been.

"The Christian Science Monitor." "Behind the Looming Ballot Clash, Courts Have Issued Conflicting Rulings Over What Will Constitute Valid Provisional Vote." Do you know what a provisional vote is? If you go to your polling place, they don't have your name, you're supposed to be allowed to cast a ballot and they sort it out afterwards. In some states, you can do it anywhere in the county in the state. Some states, you have to be in your precinct. It's a mess. Why do we make it so hard for people to vote in this country? I have some theories. "Stars and Stripes." "Report: Bush Will Ask For $70 Billion in War Funds. Iraq, Afghanistan Requests Would Exceed Congress Expectations." Well, we'll see. I guarantee that will come after the election, though.

"The Washington Times," a great front page today, lots of good stuff. "Democrats Begin Suing in Florida, Charge Discrimination in Key State's Voting Law." "Economy Looms Over Vote. Analysts Give Bush Mixed Marks For Progress." This is how they handle the Iraq explosives story: "CBS Eyed '60 Minutes' Bush Bombshell," the explosives story. And that's how they do business.

Quickly, I've got time for two more. And I'm going to get them both in. "Firestorm. Witness: Police Shot Randomly at Revelers." "The Boston Herald." This is a very sad story. And a front-page picture of Manny Ramirez. He hit a home run, I think, in the first inning.

Five seconds. Oh, my goodness.

We'll do "The Chicago Tribune." By the way, the weather in Chicago -- I don't know if we've ever done this before.

(CHIMES)

BROWN: Thank you -- "splotchy."

We'll wrap it up in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Now Ms. O'Brien looks ahead to "AMERICAN MORNING" tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Aaron.

Tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING," a big day to talk about moons. The Cassini spacecraft is making its closest pass yet to Saturn's mysterious and icy moon Titan. Neil deGrasse Tyson of the Hayden Planetarium is going to join us to talk about all the secrets hidden there. And he's going to tell us about the show here on Earth, the best times and places for you to watch Wednesday's spectacular lunar eclipse.

That's CNN tomorrow, 7:00 Eastern -- Aaron.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Thank you.

I think I said "The Chicago Tribune," which was stupid, since I was holding up "The Sun-Times," which is what I do every night -- not be stupid, but hold up "The Sun-Times."

Nice to see you all again. We'll see you tomorrow with "The Sun- Times."

Good night for all of us.

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 October 26, 2004 - 22:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again everyone.
In case you missed it yesterday the vice president, while on the campaign, asserted that Iraq has been a remarkable success. Now, in fairness to the vice president, he did acknowledge that things aren't easy right now and won't be but then he added that overall it's been a remarkable success.

Even given the hyperbole that is inherent in a political campaign, remarkable success seems a bit over the top to me. The insurgency is growing not shrinking according to the Pentagon. Attacks on Americans and Iraqis have become so routine most don't even get reported anymore.

There is real concern the Iraqi security forces are heavily infiltrated. More American troops are going to be sent in the weeks ahead. Someday we may get to remarkable success and given the cost in lives, Iraqi and American, we can only hope we do but with all due respect to the vice president we aren't even close to remarkable success yet.

The whip begins with the politics in the war and vice versa in a state that wasn't expected to be a battleground but turned out to be, the State of Iowa, our Senior White House Correspondent John King, John start us with a headline tonight.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, there are 380 tons of explosives missing in Iraq. Senator Kerry says he wonders if there's more bad news and the White House is keeping it secret. Both the president and the vice president firing back, Mr. Cheney saying the Senator is trying to be an armchair general and not doing a very good job at it -- Aaron.

BROWN: John, thank you. We'll get to you quickly tonight.

Next to the Pentagon and the facts as we know them surrounding those missing explosives that John just mentioned, Jamie McIntyre with the watch has done the reporting and supplies the headline -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, there are real questions about whether U.S. troops knew about those high explosives and did everything they could to find them and secure them. The Pentagon is suggesting that maybe they weren't even there by the time the troops got there. We'll check the facts and see what they show.

BROWN: Jamie, thank you.

And finally to Baghdad, CNN's Karl Penhaul, there are many headlines out of there tonight, Karl, give us one or two if you will.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Explosions and assassinations as Iraqi insurgents throw down the gauntlet to U.S. Marines -- Aaron.

BROWN: Karl, thank you. We'll get back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up on the program tonight, the ailing health of the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and the political speculation it raises on the campaign trail.

And then a historic disengagement plan for Gaza is approved. Will some members of Ariel Sharon's party remain engaged?

And, at the end of the program, as always, your first look at tomorrow morning's papers, all that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin tonight with a bit of electoral math, no fools we. It isn't red states or blue states we count tonight, something simpler, days seven to go. Seven new cycles to go with them to be won or lost on matters large or small or perhaps even trivial when we look back on it all but mostly on Iraq.

So, two reports tonight with a common thread that will tease out of it more as we go along. We begin first with the Kerry side and CNN's Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Looking to swing the not yet swung, to convince the not yet decided, John Kerry tries to ease doubts about his own leadership and raise them about the president's.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. President, what else are you being silent about? What else are you keeping from the American people?

CROWLEY: Refurbishing well worn lines with the day's news, Kerry tried to ring a little more juice out of yesterday's headline about the missing 380 tons of explosives in Iraq.

KERRY: Terrorists could be helping themselves to what has been called, I quote and this is by the people who reported it missing, "the greatest explosives bonanza in history." No wonder the president thinks and said the other day that whether or not we're going to be safe is "up in the air."

CROWLEY: Added to a long list of items the candidate delineates now on a daily basis.

KERRY: Time and again this president has made the wrong decisions. Time and again he has chosen the wrong path. In virtually everything that he has said and everything that he has done, the president has demonstrated to the American people and to countries around the world that have been pushed away from the United States he has demonstrated that he is divorced from reality in Iraq.

CROWLEY: The campaign is so sure it's on to something, it rustled up an ad on the missing ammo and in the four hours it took to fly from Wisconsin to Nevada, Kerry upped the stakes.

KERRY: Because this administration didn't take the time, didn't plan, didn't think that they needed to guard the ammo dumps, those ammo dumps have been looted and raided and our kids, American young forces, are being shot up from weapons stolen from the ammo dumps that this president didn't think were important enough to guard.

CROWLEY (on camera): Kerry is finished with his so-called closing argument speeches now and the campaign reverts to more standard last minute fare. That is rallies like this one here in Nevada. There will be star attractions, of course. Look for Bruce Springsteen coming to a rally near you.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Las Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And this is Senator Kerry live tonight in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The campaign has moved on from Nevada to New Mexico, a state still in play, an important state.

KERRY: Chester, we are in awe of your service to your country.

BROWN: He's doing that series of introductions and he will launch no doubt into standard stump speech which is getting harsher by the day, Senator Kerry tonight in Albuquerque.

The Senator has been working, as has the president, a couple of major corridors. One of them includes the Midwest, Iowa and Wisconsin. The president was there. The president enjoys a slim lead there thanks by and large to strong support in the farm country of Wisconsin.

But even there the economy remains an issue. While most people support the war in Iraq, many do have concerns about how it's been run, how well their sons and their daughters at war are being protected, traveling with the president's campaign, our Senior White House Correspondent John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Rolling through farm country one week out, the race as close as can be yet the incumbent upbeat as he looks to close the deal.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're headed in the right direction in America.

KING: Here in Wisconsin and in much of the country it's a tough sell. The economy is OK, not great most places. Day-to-day news from Iraq often discouraging to say the least but Mr. Bush is the voice of optimism.

BUSH: Iraq's going to have elections. Think about how far that country has come in a brief period of time from the days of torture chambers and mass graves.

KING: This dairy farm a perfect stop for a campaign looking for favorable local coverage in the final days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what he needs some dairy cows for the ranch.

BUSH: Only you'll come and milk them.

KING: A little playful banter with reporters here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President who's responsible for the...

KING: But later no answer just a stare when asked about 380 tons of missing explosives in Iraq. Senator Kerry calls it more proof of administration incompetence. The vice president called Senator Kerry an armchair general who attacks first, checks the facts later.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is not at all clear that those explosives were even at the weapons facility when our troops arrived in the area of Baghdad. John Kerry doesn't mention that not does he mention the 400,000 tons of weapons and explosives that our troops have captured and are destroying.

KING: At his afternoon stops, the president also answered but only indirectly.

BUSH: My opponent has no plan, no vision, just a long list of complaints but a Monday morning quarterback has never led any team to victory.

KING: A playful top Bush adviser Carl Rove at this stop but the volume and intensity of the exchanges between the campaigns underscores the stakes, a dead heat race nationally and in at least a half dozen showdown states.

GOV. TOM VILSACK (D), IOWA: There are three -- two triangles. There's the Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida triangle which is certainly key but I think there's also the Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa triangle. I think that's just as important.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Seven days out the rhetoric getting even more sharp and the Bush campaign claiming it has the momentum. Tomorrow, aides say the president will issue a direct and a detailed appeal to Democrats asking them to cross over and vote Republican in this election. Even a stop in Michigan a state the president lost by five percentage points four years ago but where the polls in recent days have tightened significantly -- Aaron. BROWN: John, I want to take you back to Iraq and something that happened there today. We talked about this on the phone a bit earlier tonight. The Prime Minister Allawi in a speech before the National Assembly today said this in talking about the massacre. "Major negligence on the part of some members of the multinational forces" were to blame for the massacre. This was a shot across the bow of the United States government.

KING: It certainly was and what the White House points out is that other ministers in the Allawi government quickly came out to try to say that the prime minister perhaps went too far that he wants to wait until the investigation, the inquiry is completed and that these troops themselves, the Iraqi forces themselves, may have made a mistake by going out and putting themselves in that situation.

But the prime minister did say it. You're exactly right. And even as they try to say it's not such a big deal and that the Iraqi government itself has turned down the volume, sources within the White House do say that this is certainly not helpful. Anti-American sentiment obviously quite high already, the prime minister's remarks being played up in the Arab news media, likely to drive that anti- American sentiment up even a bit higher -- Aaron.

BROWN: John, thank you for a long day, John King our Senior White House Correspondent.

As John mentioned, the president said nothing directly about the missing explosives today. Indeed, despite a lot of fuming going on, on the campaign, on the radio and TV, all over the place, the central claim of the story itself that a huge cache of very powerful explosives was left unguarded and is likely in the hands of insurgents has not been shot down, nor we add has it been conclusively proven, the story from CNN's Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): The Pentagon acknowledges there was a window of about six weeks after the invasion of Iraq when it's possible the stockpile of high explosives could have been stolen from the sprawling Al-Qa Qaa facility south of Baghdad.

But Pentagon officials argue it's more likely the explosives were moved as part of the pre-war dispersal ordered by Saddam Hussein. That would have come sometime after March 3, 2003, the last time the International Atomic Energy Agency checked that security seals placed on the bunkers were intact and before the war actually began March 20th.

On April 10, 2003, the day after the fall of Baghdad, troops from the 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division reached the site. No weapons under IAEA seal were found but the soldiers were advancing on Baghdad and officials acknowledge they didn't conduct a thorough inspection.

Sometime in the next month, May, 2003, the IAEA says it relayed concerns to the U.S. government about the stockpile falling into the wrong hands. Finally, on May 27th, more than six weeks after the April visit, a special U.S. exploitation team looking for weapons of mass destruction searched all 32 bunkers and 87 buildings. Again, the stockpile was not found.

Pentagon officials admit the facility was not completely secured between April 10th and May 27 and that during that time insurgents could have looted the explosives. But officials scoff at the idea the large number of heavy trucks that would be required to transport the 380 tons of missing explosives could have been moved into and out of the facility unnoticed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Aaron, what some critics in the Pentagon are having a hard time accepting is how if these stockpiles had been moved out before the invasion how the Pentagon wouldn't have known about it. After all, the Pentagon was using every means possible to monitor Iraqi troop movements, watching for the movement that could possibly indicate WMD being hidden, so how would they have not known?

Now, the Pentagon says well they did see a lot of things moving in the days and weeks before the invasion but they just can't say any of it was this cache of high explosives -- Aaron.

BROWN: Well, let me ask a couple questions. First of all, did they say that they saw a lot of big trucks, as you just described? It would take a lot of them moving from that facility before the war started someplace else or are they not that specific?

MCINTYRE: Well, they say -- they admit at this point they have not been able to come up with any imagery or any other intelligence that would indicate there was a large number of trucks moving. Of course some experts have suggested that it could have been looted with a lot of people taking a small amount but, again, the Pentagon at this point has no intelligence to back up that claim.

BROWN: At the risk of throwing you a major league curve ball, how is it...

MCINTYRE: Go right ahead.

BROWN: Thank you. It's not the first, is it? From May 27, 2003 to the time the IAEA reports to the U.S. government about this why is there a year and a half gap there?

MCINTYRE: Well, it's not really clear. We've been trying to get an answer to that. What it appears is that the new Iraqi government that's now in control and in charge of the facilities was under some pressure from the IAEA to come up with an accounting of things that were there during the regime.

And it submitted this report back on October 10th saying that all this stuff was missing and it went to the IAEA and they said they were going to keep it quiet to give the multinational forces and the Iraqi government time to try to recover it but then it was reported by "The New York Times" and then they made it public. So, but the U.S. government contends that this is the first official notification they've had that this stuff was missing.

BROWN: In the meantime, all this blame is going on. The fact is the stuff is out there somewhere and that's the terrifying part. Jamie, thank you very much, good work today, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon.

Another headline in a day that seemed chock full of headlines, the White House reportedly will ask the Congress for an additional $70 billion plus for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars next year this to cover high fuel prices and fighting the insurgency.

In Iraq today another hostage tape surfaced. This time it's a Japanese man pleading for his government to pull their small contingent of troops from Iraq or he says he will be slaughtered. "Mr. Prime Minister," he said "I'm sorry to put my head in your hands," not a great day.

From Baghdad tonight here's CNN's Karl Penhaul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL (voice-over): Roadside bombs and political slayings in a single day, in a single town, Baquba in the Sunni Triangle. A local politician at the Shiite (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and his bodyguard were gunned down, shot in the head, no sign of the attackers, no clue about the motive.

The U.S. military say close by this crater left when a car bomb exploded under a police car. And this another blast in Baquba, north of Baghdad, one policeman died, six were wounded, all this part of what Iraqi interim government and coalition military officials say is a spike in violence during Ramadan and ahead of January elections.

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): You should expect an escalation of terrorist attacks in the next few days. They think if Iraq gets better they will escalate their terrorist acts.

PENHAUL: Across the Sunni Triangle at the center of Iraq's resistance, U.S. jets pounded this house overnight Monday in Fallujah. U.S. Marines say they killed a top aide of terror chief Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, another effort to dent resistance in the rebel held city before a possible military assault. The U.S. military and Iraqi government have not outlined a time table for any attack but patience seems to be wearing thin.

ALLAWI (through translator): Our problem is not with Fallujah. This is a problem with a number of killers and terrorists who are killing the Iraqi people.

PENHAUL: A group of Fallujah rebel gunmen calling themselves the Iraqi National Resistance Regiment issued a statement saying they were ready for a fight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): All the armed factions will strike all the military and civilian targets of the occupation forces and the interim government. We will attack them with weapons and tactics they have not experienced before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: And that warning will be just another of the factors that is thrown into the mix as U.S. forces try to assess whether a full scale assault on Fallujah will, in fact, extinguish the violence or perhaps fan the flames of war -- Aaron.

BROWN: A (UNINTELLIGIBLE) choice that. Let's go back to the prime minister's comments and the view from there. Again, just so our viewers who may not have seen it, this is what Prime Minister Allawi said earlier today when talking about the massacre.

He said there was "major negligence on the part of some members of the multinational forces." That would be the Americans, the multinational forces and others, principally the Americans. What to make of it from there how is that being played in the Iraqi press? How's it being played in the Arab press?

PENHAUL: To be honest the situation here is that there was no more context than that. Prime Minister Allawi talking to the National Assembly made this statement but he didn't elaborate. He didn't say exactly what he meant. He didn't say how he felt that the U.S. forces could have protected these 44 soldiers and four drivers who were massacred close to the Iranian border over the weekend.

What we do know obviously is that the coalition forces, the U.S. forces principally are in charge of training Iraq's security forces and all this has charged the debate as to how soon the Iraqi security forces will be ready to stand on their own two feet, as we see now, right now, they still need heavy backing and judging by this protection from the coalition forces, Aaron.

BROWN: Karl, thank you very much, Karl Penhaul in Baghdad tonight.

Ahead on the program, we'll update the condition of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, how his illness almost certainly colors the political picture a week from the election.

Another important leader takes a political risk that could determine the future of his tenure and the promise for peace or the lack thereof in the Middle East. We take a break first.

From New York this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Back now to the missing explosives in Iraq and the political fallout from it, both. We're joined in Washington tonight by Tom Oliphant, Washington columnist for the "Boston Globe." He's just been on the campaign for the last seven weeks, so he's glad to be back home. Mark Mazzetti joins us as well. He writes about defense matters for "The Los Angeles Times" and we're glad to see him as well.

Mark, let me start with you. Just on the facts of this can you get us any closer to knowing whether or not once the Americans got there those explosives were, in fact, still at that site under seal?

MARK MAZZETTI, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, the Pentagon stepped back from what they were saying last night. Last night they said the 101st Airborne reached the site, looked around, saw there were no weapons and they were pretty definitive.

Today, they characterized it not as a real search of the facility. It was more of a pit stop on the way to Baghdad and that these troops weren't really looking for these explosives anyway. They were looking for weapons of mass destruction, so it's very possible that the weapons could have been there on April 10th and yet they just didn't see them.

So, that was what the Pentagon was saying today and, again, as Jamie reported, you still have this basically two month window between March and May where the theft or looting could have occurred.

BROWN: The mere fact that they -- does the mere fact that they backed off a bit from or more than a bit from where they were yesterday tell you anything about what the feeling in the Pentagon about this is?

MAZZETTI: Well, I think there was a realization today that they were a little too definitive last night. All day yesterday they put out talking points and none of the talking points mentioned anything about U.S. troops on April 10th being at the facility. Then it started to emerge in the media last night and I think Pentagon officials jumped on that media report that embedded reporters were there.

BROWN: Yes.

MAZZETTI: But today it's become a little less clear about what those troops and what that reporter embedded actually saw and I think that they are being more hesitant to be definitive at all in this matter.

BROWN: All right. Tom, as a campaign matter, as a political matter, I suppose the Kerry side would like this to take as the sort of last and final and gigantic and lethal piece of evidence of incompetence out there. As long as there is ambiguity about it is it a real issue for him, for the Senator?

TOM OLIPHANT, "THE BOSTON GLOBE": Well, I don't think it's a particularly good issue for Senator Kerry himself, Aaron, and I think his initial comment struck me as somewhat hyperbolic and if Vice President Cheney was over the top, as you put it, in his overall assessment about the situation, Senator Kerry sounded a little over the top to me today in what he had to say about all this.

However, as Mark just pointed out, the real political problem here involves how many pieces of straw you can pile on top of the camel's back. I mean we're in the third day of this story. It began with a hideous massacre of those trainees, pictures of which were all over the country.

Then comes this and now we're dealing with the $75 billion funding request and possibly 22,000 more troops in Iraq before the elections are scheduled. This is four days now where the war in Iraq has gone from relatively quiet in the political news to white hot. Is it OK to talk about local papers for a second?

BROWN: It's always OK to talk about local papers around here.

OLIPHANT: Well, what I noticed over the weekend, my last two visits were to New Hampshire and then to Ohio, is that beginning with the first photographs of that horrible massacre this story played locally, not only in the papers but on television.

BROWN: Yes.

OLIPHANT: And that that was a material change in the media background for the politics, the very intense politics that are going on in states like that. And so, as a result instead of just these desultory trading insults back and forth campaign stories, Iraq is back in the -- on the front page and leading local newscasts and that really changes the political environment.

BROWN: Mark, let me -- maybe this is a better question for your editor than for you but how sensitive are you, I mean obviously you're working this story now. You're probably working a bunch of stories now but this one is one of them. How sensitive are you now to the timing of any story given the proximity of the presidential campaign and the fact that the story may have an impact on the campaign?

MAZZETTI: You always have to be sensitive about the timing of your stories and make sure that, you know, you're reporting in good conscience and the Bush administration certainly did not want to have Iraq the focus this last week before the election.

It's not the job of the press to get it onto the front page of the newspaper but at the same time, you know, as Tom pointed out there are a lot of -- Iraq is the story right now involving U.S. national security.

So, it's not just this. It's the security of the Iraqi security forces. It's the strained Army and it's the amount of money that's going towards Iraq. So, you're going to see a lot of Iraq stories I think over the next six days.

BROWN: Mark, good to have you with us. Tom, it's always nice to see you. Thank you both. We appreciate your time.

MAZZETTI: Thank you.

BROWN: Thank you. Coming up still on the program how once again the state of Florida could decide the election and why this time around reliable Republicans and diehard Democrats may not be so reliable or diehard anymore.

And, as always, we'll end it with morning papers.

Around the world this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: As the great political writer Yogi Berra once said, presidential elections aren't over until they're over. The 2000 election taught us that, if nothing else.

As we said at the top, with just a week to go, with every news cycle counting for the candidates, one of the stories that is sure to surface again between now and Election Day is the health of the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, William Rehnquist, whose treatment for thyroid cancer has thrown an unexpected question mark into the race.

So, reporting the story tonight, CNN's Bob Franken.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rarely will such attention be paid to a Supreme Court session featuring cases on tax law and financial liability. But this Monday, there will be an intense focus not on those arguments, but on who is there to hear them.

Will Chief Justice William Rehnquist be there on Monday? Has his health raised new questions about the nomination of up to four new justices, making it an important issue on the very last day of the campaign?

RALPH NEAS, PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY: In the political world, a day or two in a political campaign is a lifetime.

FRANKEN: Up until now, the Bush campaign has generally avoided the issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who would you choose and why?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not telling.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: I really don't have -- haven't picked anybody yet. Plus, I want them all voting for me.

FRANKEN: John Kerry has been trying to force the issue for a long time.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It was just four short years ago that the court, by one vote, decided the outcome of a race for the president.

FRANKEN: The Bush vs. Gore Florida vote decision, with Rehnquist in the 5-4 majority for Bush, left widespread the suspicion that the highest court in the land was as political as it was judicial. And now the country is bracing for a rush of new legal election challenges, possibly dragging the court, once again, into politics.

GLENN LAMMI, CHIEF COUNSEL, WASHINGTON LEGAL FOUNDATION: I think it would be unfortunate, because I think this country needs to believe in an impartial judiciary and a rule of law that's applied mutually, rather than based upon the personal views or political views judges have.

FRANKEN: The two most conservative justices, Scalia and Thomas, have been named by President Bush as his two models for the Supreme Court.

(on camera): Any controversial pick whichever presidential could turn a Senate confirmation into an epic confrontation.

Bob Franken, CNN, the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So on to Florida, the state that triggered Bush vs. Gore. Tonight, a local television station, WPLG in Miami, is reporting that as many as 58,000 -- 58,000 absentee ballots that were supposed to be mailed out to voters in Broward County, Florida, more than two weeks ago may be missing.

The Postal Service has told the station that the ballots are not stuck in the system. The elections office is re-mailing ballots to voters outside Broward County. Voters who live in the county can pick them up. It goes without saying Florida is under a microscope this time around. It's certainly in play and this time even less predictable because of who's voting for whom and who may not be.

Here's our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KERRY: Here I am in the state of Florida.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST (voice-over): John Kerry made his 14th visit to Florida last weekend. He's coming back again at week's end. President Bush made his 16th trip here this past weekend. Trust us. He'll be back. And even when they're gone, they won't be forgotten, not with at least $62 million worth of ads they're pouring into the state, whose 27 electoral votes make it by far the biggest prize up for grabs, a state where four years ago...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's the hanging chad.

GREENFIELD: Well, you remember.

(on camera): Assuming you have not been trapped in a cave these last four years, you understand why the candidates are hunting so fiercely for votes here in Florida. What may be less obvious is that both campaigns think they have significant targets of opportunity on the other guy's turf.

(voice-over): For the Bush campaign, it's the Jewish vote that's long been overwhelmingly Democratic.

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Florida may very well be the state.

GREENFIELD: Four years ago, 240,000 Florida Jews turned out. They went 4-1 for Al Gore. But this year, Bush's unswerving support for Israel has turned some Jewish voters around.

MICHAEL PUTNEY, WPLG: If George W. Bush picks off 10 percent more than he did four years ago, I think that's quite possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "This Week in South Florida."

GREENFIELD: WPLG's Michael Putney, who has covered Florida politics for 25 years, recounts this conversation at a recent gathering of Florida Jews.

PUTNEY: Fifteen, 16 people disagreed with George W. Bush on every social issue and yet, when it came to Israel, they said he's the best friend -- almost like a mantra -- he's the best friend Israel ever had. I think I have to vote for him.

GREENFIELD: The Kerry camp sent Senator Joseph Lieberman to Florida to say both candidates will protect Israel, so other issues should govern, like the president's support for faith-based agencies.

PUTNEY: I think, for a lot of Jewish voters here, that sends a chill down their spine.

GREENFIELD: For Democrats, the target is the Cuban American vote, some 450,000 strong. Bush won more than 80 percent of them last time. But more recent arrivals from Cuba are angry at the Bush administration for restricting travel and money to Cuba. If those votes shrink Bush's margin among Cuban Americans, he will likely lose the state.

But, says Florida International University's Dario Moreno, Mel Martinez's presence as the GOP's Senate nominee will help Bush keep his margin up.

DARIO MORENO, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY: He's going to bring out Cuban Americans who think it's very important as a matter of ethnic pride to elect a co-ethnic to the U.S. Senate.

GREENFIELD: Kerry's real chance with Hispanics may lie elsewhere.

MORENO: I think where Kerry might do well in Florida, at least a little bit better than Gore, is in Central Florida Hispanics.

GREENFIELD (on camera): A shift among Jewish Americans toward Bush or Cuban Americans toward Kerry would amount at most toward a few tens of thousands of votes and they might even cancel each other out. But remember the last time, the votes of six million Floridians came down to 537 votes. You can understand why neither campaign is prepared to take any chances.

Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Boca Raton, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Still to come tonight, a vote that could change the shape of Israel, a major political gamble for the prime minister and a major gamble on the road to peace, if there is one.

And later, the young soldiers in Iraq, the youngest, why they chose to serve.

A break first. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The Israeli Parliament today agreed with Prime Minister Sharon's plan to leave most of Gaza, uprooting 8,000 or so Israeli settlers living there and setting the stage for all manner of unknowables. How will those settlers be removed? Who will do the removing? Will the government fall? Will this help or hinder the road to peace, if there is a road to peace left at all?

Reporting for us tonight, CNN's John Vause.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Surrounded by an unprecedented number of bodyguards, 16 in all, Ariel Sharon arrived at the Israeli Parliament with more than his political career on the line. His life is also in danger. This freshly sprayed graffiti in Jerusalem reads, we killed Prime Minister Rabin, we'll kill Sharon as well.

Outside Parliament, settlers and there supporters rallied, angry that the man who sent them to the occupied territories is now telling them to leave the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the West Bank.

Sarah Zweig lives in a Gaza settlement called Gush Katif. Her sister was shot dead by Palestinian militants there two years ago. Even so, she's determined to stay with her husband and three young children.

SARAH ZWEIG, ISRAELI SETTLER: Ariel Sharon sent them Gush Katif and told them that they have to be a messenger of Israel. And now he doesn't even speak to us. He wants us just to go away.

VAUSE: The Jewish settlers in the West Bank, Like Noa Lev, there are real fears this is just beginning.

NOA LEV, ISRAELI SETTLER: It will be a model to leave other places which we certainly don't want. VAUSE (on camera): These settlers and their supporters are warning that Ariel Sharon is tearing apart the very fabric of Israeli society, possibly bringing it closer to civil war. And while the latest opinion polls show they're very much in the minority, they say they will continue to fight the disengagement plan to the bitter end.

(voice-over): The end is now one very big step closer with Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, approving the disengagement plan by a seven-vote majority, including the support of five rebellious ministers who tried at the last minute to force a national referendum, Sharon refused. But it only passed with the support of the Labor opposition.

SHIMON PERES, LABOR PARTY LEADER: I feel the decision is beginning to take shape and nobody can stop it, in spite of all the considerations and calculations. VAUSE: Almost half of Mr. Sharon's conservative Likud party voted no and the disengagement plan must still win cabinet approval before each of the four stages of withdrawal.

So, to Ariel Sharon, there are still uncertain days ahead. The protest will continue and his shaky minority government remains in danger of collapse. Regardless, on this day, at least, the man they call the bulldozer has had his way.

John Vause, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A couple other items from around the country before we head to break.

Federal investigators ruled today that American Airlines Flight 587 crashed because of pilot error. The Airbus A-300 went down, you will recall, nearly three years ago -- we'll never forget it -- shortly after takeoff from New York's Kennedy Airport. Today, the NTSB said too much pressure on the rudder pedals by the co-pilot caused the airliner's tail to snap off, sending it into a neighborhood in Queens, killing 265 people.

One health note concerning heartburn drugs taken by millions of Americans. Cure the belly and you're ruining a higher risk of pneumonia, nearly double the risk if you're taking Prilosec or Nexium or other so-called proton-pump inhibitors, this according to researchers in the Netherlands after studying more than 300,000 patients. The reason, they believe, is simple. Stomach acid kills germs. Eliminate the acid, some of those germs spread elsewhere, namely to the lungs.

Ahead on the program tonight, a generation raised in peace finds brotherhood in war.

And a generation raised on television doesn't have to wait for dawn to see the morning papers, because this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: Every night still, we're struck by the numbers that follow the names, a reminder of how young, for the most part, the troops are in Iraq these days.

The numbers that just went by, a 19-year-old, two 22-year-olds and a 24-year-old. Youth is many things. It's easy to focus on the tragedy of lives ended so young. But the young also see the world and a war through their own lens. We often wonder about how the troops on the ground feel about being there and why they ended up there.

Tonight, we listen to some of the youngest, who talked to CNN's Jane Arraf.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): These are supposed to be the best years of their lives. And for many of these young soldiers in Iraq, they believe they just might be.

A lot of the younger ones don't seem to think much about whether the United States should be here. But most are clear on why they're here.

(on camera): For a lot of younger soldiers, September 11 was a defining moment in their lives. They didn't know the Cold War. The Vietnam War was just a piece of history. For them, the attack on the World Trade Center has shaped their view of the world.

(voice-over): Many have very personal reasons for enlisting.

SPC. CHARLES COPP, U.S. ARMY: Basically, just to get out of Utah, see the world, meet new people.

ARRAF (on camera): How has it been so far for you?

COPP: Well, I've definitely seen parts of the world, so...

(LAUGHTER)

ARRAF (voice-over): This platoon, the Punishers, is part of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division, which has seen combat almost since it arrived eight months ago; 36 hours before, the soldiers were in a seven-hour firefight in Baritz (ph), near Baquba.

SGT. STEVE PETTY, U.S. ARMY: Dismount and patrol, clearing houses. It was fun.

ARRAF (on camera): It was fun?

PETTY: Yes. It rocked.

ARRAF (voice-over): And that's the surprising truth about what keeps a lot of them going. It's thrilling, that and the camaraderie. Here, 30 is considered old. Most of these younger soldiers don't have wives and kids back home. They're with each other virtually 24 hours a day. And they form the most intense friendships they'll ever have, so intense, Specialist Nicholas Cruz, who is 21, fought to rejoin his platoon buddies after being shot in the leg. They're closer to him, he says, than his family.

SPC. NICHOLAS CRUZ, U.S. ARMY: The thought of getting hit again and the thought of probably losing my life has always crossed my mind every time I roll out the gate now. It's crossed my mind before. But now it hits closer to home. But I at least know that I'm fighting for what I believe in. I'm fighting with the guys who I'd rather be with.

ARRAF: Company commander Doug Chadwick, who is 29, says the younger men seem to be from a generation different even from his.

CAPT. DOUG CHADWICK, U.S. ARMY: Who knew what to expect from them? And they come into an Army at war and have just formed bonds and performed beyond what anyone could have expected of them.

ARRAF: Jane Arraf, CNN, near Baquba, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Segment seven tonight.

We'll take a look at morning papers after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: Okeydoke, time to check morning papers from around the country and the world.

Star with "The International Herald Tribune," published by "The New York Times" in Paris. This is the story -- over here, guys -- that will lead most -- certainly most international newspapers, newspapers around the world, and a lot of American ones, too. "Israeli Parliament Backs Gaza Pullout. Victory For Sharon Doesn't Ensure Implementation" -- that would be implementation, Aaron, in English -- "of Withdrawal Plan."

A sidebar story on that, "Settlers Flock to Jerusalem in Protest." I always hesitate to say things like this. This is a very good story. It's also a very important story to the state of Israel. It's a very good story to see how the Israeli society is going to handle this. Their political story, "Hang on. Both Sides Warn Election Will Be a Wild One." Already has been.

"The Christian Science Monitor." "Behind the Looming Ballot Clash, Courts Have Issued Conflicting Rulings Over What Will Constitute Valid Provisional Vote." Do you know what a provisional vote is? If you go to your polling place, they don't have your name, you're supposed to be allowed to cast a ballot and they sort it out afterwards. In some states, you can do it anywhere in the county in the state. Some states, you have to be in your precinct. It's a mess. Why do we make it so hard for people to vote in this country? I have some theories. "Stars and Stripes." "Report: Bush Will Ask For $70 Billion in War Funds. Iraq, Afghanistan Requests Would Exceed Congress Expectations." Well, we'll see. I guarantee that will come after the election, though.

"The Washington Times," a great front page today, lots of good stuff. "Democrats Begin Suing in Florida, Charge Discrimination in Key State's Voting Law." "Economy Looms Over Vote. Analysts Give Bush Mixed Marks For Progress." This is how they handle the Iraq explosives story: "CBS Eyed '60 Minutes' Bush Bombshell," the explosives story. And that's how they do business.

Quickly, I've got time for two more. And I'm going to get them both in. "Firestorm. Witness: Police Shot Randomly at Revelers." "The Boston Herald." This is a very sad story. And a front-page picture of Manny Ramirez. He hit a home run, I think, in the first inning.

Five seconds. Oh, my goodness.

We'll do "The Chicago Tribune." By the way, the weather in Chicago -- I don't know if we've ever done this before.

(CHIMES)

BROWN: Thank you -- "splotchy."

We'll wrap it up in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Now Ms. O'Brien looks ahead to "AMERICAN MORNING" tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Aaron.

Tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING," a big day to talk about moons. The Cassini spacecraft is making its closest pass yet to Saturn's mysterious and icy moon Titan. Neil deGrasse Tyson of the Hayden Planetarium is going to join us to talk about all the secrets hidden there. And he's going to tell us about the show here on Earth, the best times and places for you to watch Wednesday's spectacular lunar eclipse.

That's CNN tomorrow, 7:00 Eastern -- Aaron.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Thank you.

I think I said "The Chicago Tribune," which was stupid, since I was holding up "The Sun-Times," which is what I do every night -- not be stupid, but hold up "The Sun-Times."

Nice to see you all again. We'll see you tomorrow with "The Sun- Times."

Good night for all of us.

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