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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Terror Warning to Americans in Kuwait; Bush Kicks Off Plan to Restructure Social Security, Warns Iran and Syria
Aired December 15, 2004 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, on the brink of an attack? A terror warning to Americans in one Persian Gulf nation.
Plus, with strong majorities in the House and the Senate, President Bush is getting ready to change all of our lives. Today he kicks off his campaign to restructure Social Security, revise the tax code and limit lawsuit awards.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): A presidential warning for Iran and Syria.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Meddling in the internal affairs of Iraq is not in their interest.
BLITZER: The search for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, his terror network was based in Falluja, but is he?
LT. GEN. LANCE SMITH, CENTCOM DEP. COMMANDING GEN.: Baghdad would be the most likely area.
BLITZER: Another merger in the cell phone business. The potential upside and the potential downside for consumers.
And some say Kevin Spacey's new movie was a labor of love. Some say it was an ego trip.
KEVIN SPACEY, ACTOR: I think the word "ego" gets a bad rap.
BLITZER: Still others say it's a stunning portrayal. Kevin Spacey is pop star Bobby Darin.
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday, December 15, 2004.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: We begin with a developing story, another terror- related warning has gone out for some Americans abroad. The United States embassy in Kuwait City says it now has credible information terrorist groups are developing what it calls near-term plans for attacks against unspecified targets in Kuwait, the launching point for most U.S. troops heading into Iraq. And it's urging Americans to use caution and maintain a low profile. About 13,000 American civilians are registered with the U.S. embassy in Kuwait. There's also word coming out right now of a new twist in the U.S.-led coalition's search for its most wanted enemy in Iraq. The terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may be right under the nose of U.S. troops in Iraq's capital, at least that's now the belief of some experts over at the Pentagon. The latest now from our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, she's joining us live -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the number two man at the U.S. Central Command, Lieutenant General Lance Smith, briefing reporters earlier today here in the Pentagon offered an unexpected assessment perhaps on the location of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist who is the most wanted man inside Iraq. Here's a bit of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: I believe he's still operating within Iraq.
QUESTION: From where at this point?
SMITH: You know, Baghdad would be the most likely area, but, you know, these guys are getting very, very good at concealing or making it difficult for us to track them and so what we use for the most part is human intelligence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Human intelligence, Wolf, indications that somebody is offering the latest information to the coalition on the location of Zarqawi and the belief that he is getting some sort of safe haven inside Iraq's capital.
Now General Smith moving on, also indicated that there is sign of progress, if you will, with one of America's old enemies, Syria, and the government of its president, Bashar al-Assad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: We have reports that the president of Syria, al-Assad, has stated categorically that he will not support those that are supporting the insurgency and reports that he has arrested something on the order of a 1,000 to 2,000 folks who have been trying to go across the border. It's difficult for us to confirm that.
STARR: Now experts we talked with after the press conference underscore what General Smith is saying about it, it is difficult to confirm it. One of the things the U.S. military still really doesn't know about Syria is how much Bashar al-Assad, the current president, controls inside that country about its support for the insurgency and how much, perhaps, he does not yet control -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thanks very much. And despite what General Smith had to say, there's widespread assessment that both of those Iraq neighbors, Syria and Iran, are believed to have provided support for the al Qaeda terror network throughout much of this ordeal. Today President Bush had some very strong language in dealing with both countries. Let's head over to the White House right now and Elaine Quijano standing by -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. Today President Bush made those remarks after a meeting with Italy's prime minister in the Oval Office. President Bush was specifically responding to comments, a question about comments by Iraq's defense minister who said he believes Iran and Syria are aiding the terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Now with Iraq's election scheduled for January 30, President Bush issued a stern warning about supporting terrorists and interfering.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: We will continue to make it clear to both Syria and Iran that -- as will other nations in our coalition, including our friend the Italian, that meddling in the internal affairs of Iraq is not in their interest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: The president also said he expects Iraq's neighbors to cooperate and work with the interim Iraqi government. While there, the president also took the opportunity to thank the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who has been a staunch ally of the president's, who has supported the administration's policy in Iraq.
And that, Wolf, will be very important as the president looks ahead to mend some fences with the European allies in his second term. The president planning a trip in February to do just that. But this a signal that the president did move forward on Iraq with the support of some in the international community -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Elaine Quijano at the White House, thank you, Elaine.
Just weeks ahead of election day in Iraq and we have some significant political developments there to tell you about. Two big name political leaders in Iraq, the interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, himself a Shiite, and the Sunni statesman, Adnan Pachachi, have joined the race for a transitional national assembly. And on this first day of campaigning for the elections, insurgents launched a deadly new attack in Karbala.
CNN's Karl Penhaul reports from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Banners draped in a Baghdad street mark the official start of political campaigning for Iraq's first free elections in half a century. Another poster reads "strong leadership." That's for Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.
He formally announced his candidacy for the January 30th ballot at a morning press conference.
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In the middle of this situation and as Iraq is on the threshold of a new era, when its people will practice for the first time in history their right to elections, we announce our participation in the democratic process. .
PENHAUL: Allawi's name is on top of a slate of 240 names spanning the ethnic and religious divides. Once elected the national assembly will choose a new president and prime minister and draft a new constitution.
Violence is slowing election preparations, but in this eastern suburb of the capital, citizens were still busy registering Wednesday for the voter roll.
ALI FARAJ (through translator): God willing the elections will be pure and honest.
PENHAUL: This neighborhood is a stronghold of Iraq's Shias, who make up around 65 percent of the population. Their spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has endorsed a united Shia front, which would seem to be a logical frontrunner for elections since Shias are the majority.
Sistani is a virtual recluse who stays out of the public eye and party politics, so the Shia block is headed by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, former head of the Badr Brigade, a militia which Iran funded and trained in a bid to stir up a rebellion against Saddam Hussein.
Meanwhile some Sunnis continue calling for an election boycott. They were long favored with prominent positions in Saddam's regime, but outnumbered two to one by the Shias.
DR. HARITH AL-DARI, ASSN. OF ISLAMIC SCHOLARS (through translator): We don't care about the elections. We haven't asked for elections. In the final analysis they don't serve Iraq.
PENHAUL: Such disputes along with continuing violence raise the question whether elections will allow Iraq to make a clean break from the past or simply increase tensions.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Here in Washington President Bush is preparing to begin a second term and as he does so he's getting ready to make some changes that could dramatically affect all of us, especially when it comes to bread and butter issues. The White House is putting the spotlight on those issues with a two-day conference aimed at promoting private -- partial privatization of Social Security and tax simplification. CNN's Kathleen Hays has been covering this from day one. She is joining us now live with details -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it was quite an interesting day. The Bush team saying it got the economy back on its feet in the president's first term by doing things like cutting taxes. Now in the second term they say it's time to follow through to secure the nation's economic future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAYS (voice-over): President Bush came out swinging on day one of his economic summit, kicking off an aggressive PR campaign to sell his ambitious second-term agenda to the American public. At a morning press conference the president was adamant. Any plan to reform Social Security must allow workers to start investing some of their own retirement money in the markets.
BUSH: I believe one way to help make sure the system meets the needs of a younger generation is to allow younger workers to take some of their own taxes and invest in personal savings account under certain conditions.
HAYS: Vice President Dick Cheney kicked off the summit saying that Congress must make the tax cuts of Bush's first four years in office permanent. Not to do so would damage the U.S. economy. And the president is dead set on simplifying the mammoth U.S. tax code so that small businesses can file more cheaply and easily and even average Americans can do their own taxes. In an afternoon appearance, the president was passionate on the need to reform the nation's legal system because he believes it's crippling businesses of all sizes and especially driving up the cost of medical care.
BUSH: I intend to take a legislative package to Congress which says we expect the House and the Senate to pass meaningful liability reform on asbestos, on class action, and medical liability.
HAYS: No naysayers at the summit. The panel selected all shared the president's vision, but Democrats were quick to take shots at the president's agenda starting with Social Security.
GENE SPERLING, FMR. CLINTON ADVISER: What really upsets me is that President Bush calls for this more risk in Social Security and pretends that individual accounts is what will make Social Security solvent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAYS: Other powerful groups are also lining up to oppose Bush's plan to set up private Social Security accounts like the AARP which represents millions of retired people and organized labor headed by the AFL-CIO. One of his advisers said he's got the wind at his back, he's moving ahead but it doesn't look like smooth sailing.
BLITZER: It will be a rough year or two to see whether or not any of these proposals get off the ground. Thank you very much, Kathleen, for that report. We'll follow up, the communications director over at the White House Dan Bartlett is standing by to join us live. We'll ask him questions on these sensitive subjects.
A commuter's nightmare. A public bus hijacked while traveling in a suburban neighborhood. The hijackers threatening to blow up the bus if their demands are not met. We'll have the latest.
Missile defense failure. Testing of a national system shows a major weakness. Is the United States prepared to protect itself against a missile strike? And later...
Forgotten by some generations megastar Bobby Darin's music is now brought back to life. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A tense and dangerous drama is still playing out on the streets of Athens, Greece. Hijackers who stormed a commuter bus in the Greek capital hours ago are still holding some of them captive. Some of the passengers, that is. The latest now from CNN's Alessio Vinci. He is joining us in Athens -- Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf. The hijackers are currently holding still six hostages after having released 17 of them throughout this day and they are demanding $1.3 million ransom, a safe passage to the airport here and then a flight to Moscow and should those demands not be met by 8:00 tomorrow morning, it's about less than eight hours from now they say they will blow up the plane. When one of the hostagetakers identifying himself as Hassan called in to a local TV station here and spoke to a local anchor. Here is an excerpt of that conversation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): Good evening, Stella, can you hear me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, I can hear you, are you Hassan?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you intend from here on in?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will wait until 8:00 in the morning tomorrow when the banks open to wait for the money and the driver.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Up until now you have let out quite a few people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but I'm not going to let any more go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why won't you let any more go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not letting any others. I'm off. Bye. I'm not let anymore go.
VINCI: Wolf, of course, the hijackers have threatened to blow up the bus and not the plane. Currently the police officials are also questioning some of the released hostages because they obviously are trying to find out more of who they have to deal with. They have established the fact that the two hijackers are Albanians but they have not identified them whether they are criminals or whether they have any criminal record, what they are ruling out at this time is international terrorism. BLITZER: CNN's Alessio Vinci reporting for us from Athens. Alessio, thank you very much.
Are buses in the United States safe from this type of terror attack that is taking place right now in Greece? With us now from the CNN Center our law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks. What's the bottom line on the safety of buses, this kind of situation unfolding here on our streets, Mike?
MIKE BROOKS: Wolf, unfortunately buses are probably one of the most vulnerable types of transportation that we have in this country. There's no passenger screening and no baggage screening. Nothing at all like that. Commuter buses, the regular buses you see on the street, nothing at all happens to the buses here. Greyhound, trailways and those kind of things that go across the country. They're now demanding identification. So they are doing a little bit of something, but they're still extremely vulnerable here in the United States and one of the other things, Wolf, we see here in Atlanta, in New York, Washington D.C., are the regular city buses that have the advertisements all of the way around the buses. They're called full wraps. When there is a bus with all of that advertising on it, if something like this had happened in a bus like that the hostage rescue people could not see inside at all. They're extremely dangerous and security people really don't like them on the commuter buses.
BLITZER: I suspect the people will take a second look at this whole situation right now. Mike Brooks reporting for us. Thank you, Mike, very much.
al Qaeda's reach. Is the terror group capable of another 9/11- style attack?
And anthrax response. How the U.S. government plans to protect Americans in the event of a future attack.
Mobile merger and the impact on all of us. Will the Sprint- Nextel union cause a rise in our cell phone bills?
Danger at the pump. Look at this. Flames erupt as a woman fills up her car's gasoline tank. We'll explain what happened and how this can be prevented. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. More now on the White House economic conference that began today focusing in on President Bush's second term economic agenda. The White House communications director Dan Bartlett joining us from the north lawn of the White House. Thanks very much for joining us.
DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Thanks for having me, Wolf.
BLITZER: Let's talk Social Security for a moment. Some experts are suggesting that it could cause for changes the president envisages some $2 trillion over a decade. Where is that money supposed to come from? Raising taxes or just increasing the budget deficit?
BARTLETT: Well, Wolf, as you know, the Social Security trustees and other experts on both sides of the aisle have looked at the issue of Social Security and what their conclusion is is basically is that after 2018 the system goes from the black to the red. That means that we're taking, we have payments going out that we can't afford to pay. So what we're seeing is that the inaction, the fact of the matter is if we don't take action and if we don't do anything to stop the status quo, many Americans and future generations will feel the pain of either higher taxes or benefit cuts for that matter.
So what President Bush is saying is he thinks both parties ought to come together. We ought to look at the whole system, look at some comprehensive reforms and he believes that personal retirement accounts could be a strong part of that reform solution and the very aspect of this, the very speculation you're talking about as far as what would comprise the personal accounts is something that we're going to work with (UNINTELLIGIBLE) but what the fact of the matter is any costs you're talking about are costs that are already baked into the system. If you think about it there are $10.4 trillion worth of liabilities that are currently on the books that we owe to future retirees. What we're saying we ought to do is we ought to look at some funding mechanism or financing of that by moving some of those liabilities up, but that is not new and current liabilities. They are already baked into the system.
BLITZER: Is there a price tag though for the changes? Some experts say $2 trillion over ten years for these significant change, these private accounts to get off the ground. What is the price tag for that change?
BARTLETT: That depends on a lot of different assumptions and I think those assumptions are wildly on the high end. We'll see what the specific nature of any proposal, that means the size of the account, how it's phased in. How it is enacted. Those are all of the things that President Bush will talk about. One thing President Bush as he said earlier today, we're not going to negotiate all of the details with ourselves. What we are going to do is negotiate and have an honest debate with the United States Congress and then put forward a responsible plan. President Bush understands his responsibility in this. He will take this issue to the American people. He's already done so. We'll continue to educate the public. The conference we're talking about today and tomorrow is doing just that. He will take other opportunities to do the exact same thing because it is a critical issue. He'll put forward more specificity in the coming years as we work with Congress on this issue.
BLITZER: What about taxes? He wants to simplify the tax code. Is he considering a flat tax? That would make it pretty simple. Is that one of the options on his agenda?
BARTLETT: What we're doing right now is putting together a tax reform panel and what this panel will be comprised of is experts and people who are users of the tax code in real America and that panel is going to come forward. It takes several months to put forth some proposal to the secretary of Treasury. The Treasury then can analyze the proposals and give those to the president and the administration. President Bush has made clear, we should simplify the tax code and one of the anchors on our economy as we go forward is the fact that we're not as competitive -- the fear that we can't be as competitive as other countries because of our tax code. There are a lot of different ways to skin the cat. We do think it ought to be more fair. We do think it can be more simple. Flat tax is something that's been proposed in previous reform efforts. It's something I'm sure the panel will look at but we'll wait and not prejudge the conclusions of the panel.
BLITZER: What about a national sales tax?
BARTLETT: Again, President Bush will let the panel do its work. We're not going to negotiate the details now. He has some pretty strong principles out there. We should make it a more fair system and a more simple system, make it easier for taxpayers to comply with the IRS. And we ought to do pro-growth economic policies that continue to grow our economy which obviously we'd rule out the fact that we shouldn't be raising taxes on the American people.
BLITZER: While I have you, a couple of political questions. Bernard Kerik, the nomination to be secretary of homeland security. How did this thing get so screwed up?
BARTLETT: Well, it's an unfortunate situation and Mr. Kerik himself has apologized and said it was a mistake he'd made. If you look at it, Wolf, if you look at the course of the administration, we have a pretty good track record. We have the one situation at the beginning of the administration with Linda Chavez, then we had the situation here with Bernie Kerik. We've had hundreds if not over a thousand other appointments made in which we've had no problems. That's because we do have a thorough vetting process. In this case, the process is working. We didn't even get to the point in which there is a hearing, in which the information was brought to our attention and Mr. Kerik withdrew has name.
So it's unfortunate and we're disappointed by it, but we're now focused on the future and we're focused on what we can do to get the right person for the job. Because it's a big challenging task that is a critical aspect of our government's responsibility and President Bush is taking a careful look at it to make sure we have the right person.
BLITZER: One final question. Have you offered the job to Joe Lieberman, the Democratic senator from Connecticut?
BARTLETT: I'm not in a position to talk about any personnel matters whether it be anybody from Congress or from elsewhere outside office. There's a lot of speculation going on in Washington and to respect President Bush's authority and capability for picking the right people, I'm not going to get into if their was or there wasn't for any person including the person you just mentioned.
BLITZER: But in principle, would the president be open to that?
BARTLETT: I'm not going to get into speaking on behalf of the president when it comes to the issue of personnel. If we have something to announce as many people know we'll make that clear.
BLITZER: We'll be there ready for the announcement.
Thanks for spending time with us.
BARTLETT: Thanks, Wolf.
Mission unaccomplished. The test of the national missile defense system designed to keep America safe failed. Will it ever get off the ground.
Horrifying new pictures of a gas station fire. What happened and how to keep yourself safe at the pump. This is information you need to know. Plus this.
Kevin Spacey is Bobby Darin. A new movie bringing crooner music back to life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
Al Qaeda's next strike, information on what's becoming the new staging ground for terror attacks in the United States.
First, though, a quick check of some other stories now in the news.
Time Warner has agreed to pay $210 million in a settlement with the Justice Department. It stems from allegations of accounting fraud in the AOL division. Time Warner is also the parent company of CNN.
U.S. Army officials say they plan to spend lots more money, billions of dollars over the next several months, to armor all U.S. Army vehicles in Iraq. The announcement comes a week after a soldier thrust the issue into the headlines with a question to the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, in a town hall style meeting in Kuwait.
Security is being increased at Los Angeles International Airport to protect planes from shoulder-launched missiles. Officials say they plan to expand surveillance, fences and patrols, as well as training for security personnel. They say the move is not tied to a specific threats, but they note similar attacks overseas.
A setback today for the Bush administration's national missile defense plan.
Our national security correspondent David Ensor is joining us now live with details on this story -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it was a technical setback, but it was also possibly a political setback as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, mark.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Though not all past tests have hit their target, at least the rockets got off the ground. Not this time. The first test in nearly two years of the multibillion dollar defense system failed because the interceptor missile on the Marshall Islands shut down due, official says, to an unknown anomaly in its system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took them two years to prepare for this test. And to have it fail the way it did, where the interceptor didn't even get off the ground, is a big setback.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I wouldn't consider it a failure. I consider it sort of a nontest.
ENSOR: The setback came 16 minutes after a mock warhead was successfully launched from Kodiak, Alaska, as the target for the interceptor that never flew. The Pentagon spent about $3.3 billion this year alone on ground-based national missile defense. Critics call it a waste of taxpayer dollars.
They say, even if the latest test had been successful, it would not have proven the system can work because the conditions were not realistic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have information. The defender has information that no enemy would ever give us, including on the reentry vehicle, the target reentry vehicle, a beacon that is saying, here I am, here I am.
ENSOR: But proponents argue, with North Korea developing nuclear weapons and missiles, the best course is to deploy a system and then work out the kinks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that something is better than nothing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: Two years ago, President Bush declared he intended to have a limited operational system in place by the end of this year. That's in two weeks. There are interceptor missiles now in Alaska and California, but this latest test suggests they may not be ready for prime time -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, David Ensor, thanks very much for that report.
Three years after a series of still unsolved anthrax attacks right here in the United States, there's now some new thinking about how to protect Americans from similar attacks in the future.
Our national correspondent Bob Franken looks at the findings of a study released today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No one has to convince postal worker Leroy Richmond that antibiotics can work against anthrax. He's living proof.
LEROY RICHMOND, ANTHRAX SURVIVOR: Immediately, they put me on Cipro. And then they put me on doxycycline, two powerful antibiotics.
FRANKEN (on camera): Richmond survived the anthrax that contaminated this building. Five died in the series of attacks. The government would like to vaccinate 25 million.
(voice-over): But a study suggests that a new generation inoculation might be much more effective after contamination, still relying on the antibiotics.
DR. RONALD BROOKMEYER, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Our research shows that if we could get antibiotics to people within six days of exposure to the anthrax, we could prevent 70 percent of cases.
FRANKEN: Many leading health officials criticized the fact that the response to another anthrax attack remains still in the talking stage.
JEROME HAUER, EMERGENCIES AND DISASTERS INSTITUTE: How are we going to explain to the American people that three, four or five years after September 11, we have done very little to better prepare our nation when it comes to countermeasures for threat agents?
FRANKEN: But government officials insist they're doing all they can.
LANCE BROOKS, HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT: Our strategy currently is geared towards early detection of such events and, as quickly and rapidly as possible, mobilizing a national stockpile.
FRANKEN: The key, experts say, is a quick diagnosis.
DR. JAMES CAMPBELL, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: In most cases, when people become ill with anthrax, inhalational anthrax, you don't recognize it as anthrax right away.
RICHMOND: There has to be a definitive test when you go in and say you have a cold that they can test and make sure that it's only a cold and nothing other than that, other than the fact that you're feeling bad.
FRANKEN: Leroy Richmond can only hope the country learns from his experience, but never has to share it.
Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Ever since 9/11, there's been deep concern about the possibility of another al Qaeda assault on U.S. soil. Now there's evidence the next al Qaeda attack against America might come through Europe.
Joining us now to discuss that possibility, our CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
Peter, you wrote a provocative column on this in "The L.A. Times." What's the current assessment that you have about the connection between al Qaeda, Europe and the United States?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: I think that an attack against the United States is much more likely to originate in Europe than inside the United States. So I don't see much evidence of sleeper cells here in the United States.
On the other hand, there are a lot of -- whether it was the alert this summer that was sparked by the arrest of a British guy and his associates who were planning perhaps attacks against American financial institutions or other planned attacks, Richard Reid, the so- called bomber, who is a British citizen, we've seen again and again that the real problem may well be in Europe. And I think that problem is going to get worse, rather than better, because of demographic trends there indicating fewer Europeans and more Muslims.
Most countries in Europe, their populations are rising rather dramatically.
BLITZER: So that's an important statement. What you're suggesting is, it's easier for al Qaeda to establish these so-called sleeper cells in Europe, in western Europe, central Europe, than it is in the United States.
BERGEN: No doubt.
If you look at all the terrorism cases that have been done in this country, almost without exception, they've been material support for terrorism, not for people actually planning terrorist acts. If you look at the kinds of people who have been arrested in Europe, they are people who really were planning to blow up Heathrow Airport, really were trying to get ricin, which is an assassination tool. These are all post-9/11.
The attack on Theo van Gogh, the assassination attempt on the Dutch filmmaker, in fact, a successful one, by a Moroccan immigrant last month, all these indicate that it's really much more of a problem in Europe.
BLITZER: So, do the European law enforcement, the counterterrorism experts, do they appreciate this?
BERGEN: I think they're beginning to.
The European Union now has a counterterrorism czar, which may be not that effective immediately, but at least it's indicative. But we have a fire wall problem in this country we're used to between the FBI and the CIA. Take that and times it by 20, which is the problem you have in Europe. A lot of these countries don't talk to each other. They speak different languages, problem of information sharing. And the reverse is true of the people within al Qaeda who can move around as European countries very easily if they have a European passport.
BLITZER: And this spans European countries that are allied with the U.S. in the war in Iraq, for example, like Britain, to those that are critical of the U.S., France and Germany. Is there any difference where it might be easier for al Qaeda to operate right now among those countries?
BERGEN: Well, certainly, it's their stated objective to attack members of the coalition, which is why we saw attacks in Madrid in March, killing 191 people. So it's more likely that members of the coalition are going to be attacked, i.e. the English or the Spanish.
But I don't -- that doesn't discount the possibility of attacks in France -- there have been in the past -- and also in Germany, which of course the Hamburg cell that was instrumental in the 9/11 attacks originated in Germany.
BLITZER: How worried should Americans be that Europeans, perhaps of Muslim religion or Arab ancestry or whatever, that Europeans could come here and commit acts of terror?
BERGEN: Well, it's already happened. Richard Reid is a British- Jamaican citizen. He tried to blow up an American Airlines flight between Paris and Miami. It didn't work out, but there will be other Richard Reids.
BLITZER: And there were some that came to Israel also that attempted some sort of terrorist act.
BERGEN: Well, I think that's a very good point. Last year, we saw two British middle-class Pakistani guys mounting a suicide attack in Israel successfully. If they can do it in Israel, they certainly can do it here.
BLITZER: You know, I want to take our viewers back to Athens for a moment, Peter. Take a look at this.
We're looking at live pictures here from the streets right outside Athens. This has been a standoff going on now for hours. Inside, we believe, less than half a dozen or so hostages have been held by suspected terrorists believed to be Albanians.
Alessio Vinci, our correspondent on the scene, suggests they may be common criminals as opposed to any organized terror group, but it looks like there's activity now where that door to the bus, as you can see, Peter, is now clearly open. We see police officers around it. This may -- and I'm speaking now just based on pictures that we're seeing -- may be coming to a close right now, this Greek bus crisis, as it's been called.
This was a commuter bus that was hijacked by these -- these hijackers took the bus, commandeered the bus. There were originally about 24 or so passengers throughout the day, most of them released. The Reuters News Agency, Peter, is now reporting that all of the passengers who have been held, those hostages have been freed and they are OK.
The hostage holders have surrendered. That's according to Reuters and the Associated Press reporting right now.
Peter, you have studied these kind of incidents over the years. You're looking at this picture. You're getting the information as we're getting it here. What do you make of this?
BERGEN: Well, if Alessio Vinci is saying this may be a criminal enterprise, that wouldn't be entirely surprising. There's quite a lot of evidence of Albanian criminal gangs operating throughout Europe.
There isn't much evidence of Islamist terrorist activity in Albania. There was around the time of 9/11, an Egyptian guy was broken up in Albania perhaps planning perhaps to attack the embassy there. But if Alessio Vinci is saying this is more criminal than Islamist terrorism, he's there on the ground.
BLITZER: It's a different kind of situation.
In fact, let's go to Athens, Greece, right now.
Alessio Vinci has been there throughout the day watching what's going on.
Update our viewers, what you know, Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Wolf, it does appear that the situation has come to some kind of a conclusion.
We have seen several hostages leaving the bus. And then we have seen some policemen, as you can see from these pictures, some riot policemen approaching the bus. They have not stormed it, but I have seen actually a couple of riot policemen actually leaving the bus. So it does appear at this time that the situation has come to some kind (AUDIO GAP)
We are not sure whether any of the hostages are still on the bus. We have seen several people leaving. We knew up until about 20 minutes ago, there were six more hostages inside the bus. We have captured a few leaving, but we are not sure at this time whether all of them have actually (AUDIO GAP) the bus.
We have not seen the two hostage-takers, but the situation around the bus appears to be very calm. Again, the (INAUDIBLE) terrorism squad here not storming the bus, just surrounding it. However, just about two or three minutes ago, I did see two policemen, two policemen in full riot gear actually leaving the bus. But it is quite difficult for us at this time to see, to tell you whether or not the two hijackers are still inside the bus or not.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Let me recap, Alessio, because our viewers in the United States and around the world on CNN International are joining us as well.
You are looking at a live picture of a bus that was commandeered earlier today. By the way, we are now showing you pictures of earlier in the day when some of the hostages were released. They're walking away from the bus. We're getting word from the wire services, Reuters and the Associated Press, that the ordeal has now ended with those two hijackers surrendering to police and the other hostages being released. And they're in good condition.
These live pictures, we're back to live pictures. You see police officers in full combat gear surrounding the bus.
It looks like the whole situation has been resolved peacefully, Alessio. Certainly, the scenes we're seeing right now would suggest that the hostages have been released, the hostage holders have surrendered and this ordeal, which has been a nightmare for people in Athens and indeed throughout Greece and all of our viewers around the world, seems to have ended, ended peacefully. We don't have details yet.
But, Alessio, are you getting any more information?
VINCI: Yes, Wolf.
I managed to use (INAUDIBLE) while you were talking to get some more information. We are now told by officials here that the situation completely -- has ended. All hostages have been released. All hostages have left the bus right now. We are not sure at this time where the two hostage takers are.
But we do understand that this new development started when the hijackers dropped their guns out of the bus. Therefore, at this time, we do understand that they the hijackers are no longer armed. Now, we've been reporting throughout the afternoon that the hijackers also had some explosives strapped to their body. We are (INAUDIBLE) tell you whether or not those explosives have been removed, but again, the situation has been fully resolved.
All hostages have been gotten to safety. And nobody has been hurt. There has been (AUDIO GAP) transpired throughout this last few minutes as police in full combat gear surrounded the bus once the hijackers dropped their guns from the bus.
Again, the situation around the bus appears to be calm. Actually, here, you can see the pictures perhaps now again. These are taped pictures from local television here. You see somebody, maybe the hostages or one of the -- yes, one of the hostages dropping two guns out (AUDIO GAP) And then you can see a third gun being dropped, being thrown out of the window and then shortly thereafter we've seen several hostages leaving the bus, Wolf.
BLITZER: Alessio, I take it it's approaching midnight, correct me if I'm wrong, in Athens right now. But do we know anything of the motive of these hijackers who commandeered this bus?
VINCI: We do not, no. As a matter of fact, only 20 minutes ago, before the situation unfolded here, I spoke to a senior government official here, who basically told me that he had no idea of the motive behind this quite unusual hijacking situation, since the hijackers originally had demanded only a safe passage to Russia, or first to the airport and then a flight to Russia.
Only later in the day, the hijackers made the demand for $1.3 million. But throughout the day, the only demand that the hijackers had made was a safe passage to the airport and then a flight into Russia. Now, the two hijackers earlier on here today claimed -- one of them at least claimed that he was Russian. Government officials here throughout this day have been telling us that they actually (AUDIO GAP) they were Albanian.
Again, they ruled out completely any kind of international terrorism. They actually always characterized the two hijackers as criminals. (AUDIO GAP) You're looking at the same pictures that I am. But here, local television is basically rebroadcasting the pictures that have taken -- the situation that has taken place in the last 10 minutes or so. All of the hostages leaving unharmed the bus after the hijackers dropped their guns outside -- from outside the bus -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And we don't know what led to that decision by the hostages to surrender.
But, Alessio, in that phone conversation, we heard one of the hijackers with that local anchor woman from the television station in Athens. We heard him say his name was Hassan (ph), which is, as you know, an Arabic name. Would that be a common name for Albanians? We know many Albanians are Muslim. Would Hassan be a common name for Albanians?
VINCI: It could be the name that Albanians will use, although we're not sure whether he used his real name or whether that he was just inventing a name, perhaps an Islamic name, if you want, in order to perhaps scare authorities here and try perhaps to give him some kind of a more Islamic fundamentalist approach to the whole situation.
But the same Hassan or the man claiming to be Hassan actually only about three hours ago in that phone conversation that we played a few times for our viewers mentioned that there will be no longer any more hostages being released until tomorrow morning 8:00 a.m. It is now close to 1:00 in the morning here. The deadline was only -- was at least seven hours away.
It is, I must tell you, quite a surprise development, since, throughout the day, many hostages had been released, as a matter of fact, 17 hostages in 14 hours, according to many observers here, quite a successful negotiation, if you will. And only three hours ago, one of the hostages, going on local television here, telling viewers and indeed, Greek officials, that there will be no more hostages released until tomorrow morning, 8:00 a.m., or at least setting a deadline for 8:00 tomorrow morning for their ransom to be paid and the safe passage to be given to Russia. So this is quite a dramatic and quite unexpected development that is taking place at this time at this late hour.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Alessio, stand by.
Let me recap for viewers around the world who may be just tuning in. The standoff in Athens, the hijacked, commandeered bus with the passengers aboard, the standoff has ended, ended. The hijackers apparently have surrendered to local law enforcement authority. All the passengers, all the people who were commandeered, who were held hostage, have been released. It looks like a very satisfactory end.
Let's bring back our terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
You've been Alessio Vinci, our man on the scene, report what's going on. Peter, what does it say to you? Does this look like the kind of terrorist incident that so many of us had braced for doing the Athens Olympic Games this past summer or does this look more like some common criminals seeking some money, some ransom to try to just make a buck, if you will?
BERGEN: I think the latter.
And, of course, was there a lot of concern during the Olympics, American officials very concerned about the security in Athens. That -- over time, obviously, those concerns dissipated. More action was taken by the Greeks. The Greeks historically have not had a particularly good record on terrorism. American officials feel that they've either let terrorists use their territory or not cracked down on them sufficiently enough. There was a native terrorist group there, the November 17 group, that killed Americans.
That group has now sort of broken up. So it does look indeed this is more a criminal activity which didn't work out very successfully for the criminals.
BLITZER: Does -- is there a connection, as far as you know, between Albanians, individuals, and al Qaeda over the years?
BERGEN: No.
I mean, the U.S. was very strong on this during the Kosovo war. They said if indeed like in Bosnia, members of al Qaeda come in, this would be a very big problem for us. And the Kosovars understood that that kind of outside help wasn't going to help them and in fact specifically tried to reject that.
BLITZER: The Greeks may have disappointed the United States over the years in fighting terrorism, but the two weeks of the Olympic Games this past summer went remarkably smoothly.
BERGEN: Indeed.
BLITZER: So they obviously did a very good job preparing for any kind of terror assault there. Alessio, you've been to Greece many times. You've been there all day watching this unfold. Give us a little sense of the mood in Athens as this drama developed throughout the day.
VINCI: Well, Wolf, as you can imagine, every single journalist and television and radio station in this country has been tuned to the crisis. And this is something that has virtually unfolded in front of the eyes of the entire country.
As I'm standing here, I can count at least 20 cameras pointing behind me here about 300 meters or 300 yards behind me, where the bus was originally hijacked early this morning. It was 6:00 local time here, so it was a hijack situation that unfolded throughout the day.
Greek officials here very much early on today saying the negotiations were going quite well because they saw the hijackers were actually releasing very early on several of the hostages. Now, the only concern was, of course, when the police received a phone call from one of the hijackers saying that there would no more hostages released until tomorrow morning -- back to you.
BLITZER: All right, Alessio Vinci, on the scene for us in Athens.
This standoff has ended, thankfully. Everyone is out of that bus. The passengers have fled after the hijackers simply surrendered to local law enforcement. Alessio Vinci reporting for us.
Peter Bergen, our terrorism analyst helping out as well.
We'll take a quick break. Much more news coming back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Actor Kevin Spacey is up for a Golden Globe award for an unlikely role. The movie, which premieres in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, is called "Beyond the Sea." And Spacey not only plays the part of Bobby Darin. He sings it as well.
CNN's Brian Todd reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When crooners were kings, Sinatra and Sammy Davis were the standard. But even in their heyday, old blue eyes and Sammy had a young upstart hot on their heels. Hot may not do justice to the man born Walden Robert Cassotto, who busted out of the Bronx as Bobby Darin. His meteoric track through the Billboard charts made Darin a megastar by the late 1950s. This was a career legendary in its scope and brevity.
The new film "Beyond the Sea" isn't just a biopic for aging boomers. This is about a lasting talent, transcendent music and the reverence of a current star.
KEVIN SPACEY, ACTOR: Bobby Darin was the coolest guy that ever walked the face of the earth.
TODD (on camera): In so many incarnations, Kevin Spacey is Bobby Darin. And "Beyond the Sea" is in every frame Kevin Spacey. He is writer, director, star and, yes, singer.
(MUSIC)
SPACEY: I'm not foolish enough to think that I'm anywhere near what this guy was. This guy was in a league of his own.
TODD: But Spacey gets close, from Darin's lifelong battle with the effects of rheumatic fever to a singing career that included nearly two dozen top 40 hits, the transition into Hollywood and an Academy Award nomination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BEYOND THE SEA")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Only people from the Bronx actually care about the Oscars.
SPACEY: Melvyn Douglas is married to a Congresswoman and I'm married to Tammy (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Through his tempestuous marriage to box office star Sandra Dee and the final losing battle with his illness at age 7.
But Spacey does not elude cynicism from some critics who say his fantasy and dance sequences digress from the human story.
(on camera): I have talked to critics who say, phenomenal film, but it does appear to be an ego trip for Kevin Spacey. Is it an ego trip for Kevin Spacey?
SPACEY: It's a fantasy. And, by the way, I think the word ego gets a bad rap. I don't think there's anything wrong with having a healthy ego. I think you can't get through life and accomplish the things that you want to accomplish unless you have some sense that you're meant to do it.
Can I have all this area cleared? Because we're about to dance.
TODD (voice-over): Spacey's felt that way for more than 15 years, as he's tracked the project and struggled to raise money. He disputes the notion that younger generations won't identify with this movie and welcomes the inevitable comparisons to Jamie Foxx's performance in "Ray."
TODD: In the end, Spacey's devotion carries the film, the spirit of its central character and a wistful sense of what might have been.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BEYOND THE SEA")
SPACEY: Look out. Old Macky is back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: He was a great singer, indeed. I remember all of his songs personally.
A reminder, we're on weekdays 5:00 p.m. Eastern. See you tomorrow.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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Aired December 15, 2004 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, on the brink of an attack? A terror warning to Americans in one Persian Gulf nation.
Plus, with strong majorities in the House and the Senate, President Bush is getting ready to change all of our lives. Today he kicks off his campaign to restructure Social Security, revise the tax code and limit lawsuit awards.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): A presidential warning for Iran and Syria.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Meddling in the internal affairs of Iraq is not in their interest.
BLITZER: The search for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, his terror network was based in Falluja, but is he?
LT. GEN. LANCE SMITH, CENTCOM DEP. COMMANDING GEN.: Baghdad would be the most likely area.
BLITZER: Another merger in the cell phone business. The potential upside and the potential downside for consumers.
And some say Kevin Spacey's new movie was a labor of love. Some say it was an ego trip.
KEVIN SPACEY, ACTOR: I think the word "ego" gets a bad rap.
BLITZER: Still others say it's a stunning portrayal. Kevin Spacey is pop star Bobby Darin.
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday, December 15, 2004.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: We begin with a developing story, another terror- related warning has gone out for some Americans abroad. The United States embassy in Kuwait City says it now has credible information terrorist groups are developing what it calls near-term plans for attacks against unspecified targets in Kuwait, the launching point for most U.S. troops heading into Iraq. And it's urging Americans to use caution and maintain a low profile. About 13,000 American civilians are registered with the U.S. embassy in Kuwait. There's also word coming out right now of a new twist in the U.S.-led coalition's search for its most wanted enemy in Iraq. The terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may be right under the nose of U.S. troops in Iraq's capital, at least that's now the belief of some experts over at the Pentagon. The latest now from our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, she's joining us live -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the number two man at the U.S. Central Command, Lieutenant General Lance Smith, briefing reporters earlier today here in the Pentagon offered an unexpected assessment perhaps on the location of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist who is the most wanted man inside Iraq. Here's a bit of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: I believe he's still operating within Iraq.
QUESTION: From where at this point?
SMITH: You know, Baghdad would be the most likely area, but, you know, these guys are getting very, very good at concealing or making it difficult for us to track them and so what we use for the most part is human intelligence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Human intelligence, Wolf, indications that somebody is offering the latest information to the coalition on the location of Zarqawi and the belief that he is getting some sort of safe haven inside Iraq's capital.
Now General Smith moving on, also indicated that there is sign of progress, if you will, with one of America's old enemies, Syria, and the government of its president, Bashar al-Assad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: We have reports that the president of Syria, al-Assad, has stated categorically that he will not support those that are supporting the insurgency and reports that he has arrested something on the order of a 1,000 to 2,000 folks who have been trying to go across the border. It's difficult for us to confirm that.
STARR: Now experts we talked with after the press conference underscore what General Smith is saying about it, it is difficult to confirm it. One of the things the U.S. military still really doesn't know about Syria is how much Bashar al-Assad, the current president, controls inside that country about its support for the insurgency and how much, perhaps, he does not yet control -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thanks very much. And despite what General Smith had to say, there's widespread assessment that both of those Iraq neighbors, Syria and Iran, are believed to have provided support for the al Qaeda terror network throughout much of this ordeal. Today President Bush had some very strong language in dealing with both countries. Let's head over to the White House right now and Elaine Quijano standing by -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. Today President Bush made those remarks after a meeting with Italy's prime minister in the Oval Office. President Bush was specifically responding to comments, a question about comments by Iraq's defense minister who said he believes Iran and Syria are aiding the terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Now with Iraq's election scheduled for January 30, President Bush issued a stern warning about supporting terrorists and interfering.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: We will continue to make it clear to both Syria and Iran that -- as will other nations in our coalition, including our friend the Italian, that meddling in the internal affairs of Iraq is not in their interest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: The president also said he expects Iraq's neighbors to cooperate and work with the interim Iraqi government. While there, the president also took the opportunity to thank the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who has been a staunch ally of the president's, who has supported the administration's policy in Iraq.
And that, Wolf, will be very important as the president looks ahead to mend some fences with the European allies in his second term. The president planning a trip in February to do just that. But this a signal that the president did move forward on Iraq with the support of some in the international community -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Elaine Quijano at the White House, thank you, Elaine.
Just weeks ahead of election day in Iraq and we have some significant political developments there to tell you about. Two big name political leaders in Iraq, the interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, himself a Shiite, and the Sunni statesman, Adnan Pachachi, have joined the race for a transitional national assembly. And on this first day of campaigning for the elections, insurgents launched a deadly new attack in Karbala.
CNN's Karl Penhaul reports from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Banners draped in a Baghdad street mark the official start of political campaigning for Iraq's first free elections in half a century. Another poster reads "strong leadership." That's for Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.
He formally announced his candidacy for the January 30th ballot at a morning press conference.
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In the middle of this situation and as Iraq is on the threshold of a new era, when its people will practice for the first time in history their right to elections, we announce our participation in the democratic process. .
PENHAUL: Allawi's name is on top of a slate of 240 names spanning the ethnic and religious divides. Once elected the national assembly will choose a new president and prime minister and draft a new constitution.
Violence is slowing election preparations, but in this eastern suburb of the capital, citizens were still busy registering Wednesday for the voter roll.
ALI FARAJ (through translator): God willing the elections will be pure and honest.
PENHAUL: This neighborhood is a stronghold of Iraq's Shias, who make up around 65 percent of the population. Their spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has endorsed a united Shia front, which would seem to be a logical frontrunner for elections since Shias are the majority.
Sistani is a virtual recluse who stays out of the public eye and party politics, so the Shia block is headed by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, former head of the Badr Brigade, a militia which Iran funded and trained in a bid to stir up a rebellion against Saddam Hussein.
Meanwhile some Sunnis continue calling for an election boycott. They were long favored with prominent positions in Saddam's regime, but outnumbered two to one by the Shias.
DR. HARITH AL-DARI, ASSN. OF ISLAMIC SCHOLARS (through translator): We don't care about the elections. We haven't asked for elections. In the final analysis they don't serve Iraq.
PENHAUL: Such disputes along with continuing violence raise the question whether elections will allow Iraq to make a clean break from the past or simply increase tensions.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Here in Washington President Bush is preparing to begin a second term and as he does so he's getting ready to make some changes that could dramatically affect all of us, especially when it comes to bread and butter issues. The White House is putting the spotlight on those issues with a two-day conference aimed at promoting private -- partial privatization of Social Security and tax simplification. CNN's Kathleen Hays has been covering this from day one. She is joining us now live with details -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it was quite an interesting day. The Bush team saying it got the economy back on its feet in the president's first term by doing things like cutting taxes. Now in the second term they say it's time to follow through to secure the nation's economic future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAYS (voice-over): President Bush came out swinging on day one of his economic summit, kicking off an aggressive PR campaign to sell his ambitious second-term agenda to the American public. At a morning press conference the president was adamant. Any plan to reform Social Security must allow workers to start investing some of their own retirement money in the markets.
BUSH: I believe one way to help make sure the system meets the needs of a younger generation is to allow younger workers to take some of their own taxes and invest in personal savings account under certain conditions.
HAYS: Vice President Dick Cheney kicked off the summit saying that Congress must make the tax cuts of Bush's first four years in office permanent. Not to do so would damage the U.S. economy. And the president is dead set on simplifying the mammoth U.S. tax code so that small businesses can file more cheaply and easily and even average Americans can do their own taxes. In an afternoon appearance, the president was passionate on the need to reform the nation's legal system because he believes it's crippling businesses of all sizes and especially driving up the cost of medical care.
BUSH: I intend to take a legislative package to Congress which says we expect the House and the Senate to pass meaningful liability reform on asbestos, on class action, and medical liability.
HAYS: No naysayers at the summit. The panel selected all shared the president's vision, but Democrats were quick to take shots at the president's agenda starting with Social Security.
GENE SPERLING, FMR. CLINTON ADVISER: What really upsets me is that President Bush calls for this more risk in Social Security and pretends that individual accounts is what will make Social Security solvent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAYS: Other powerful groups are also lining up to oppose Bush's plan to set up private Social Security accounts like the AARP which represents millions of retired people and organized labor headed by the AFL-CIO. One of his advisers said he's got the wind at his back, he's moving ahead but it doesn't look like smooth sailing.
BLITZER: It will be a rough year or two to see whether or not any of these proposals get off the ground. Thank you very much, Kathleen, for that report. We'll follow up, the communications director over at the White House Dan Bartlett is standing by to join us live. We'll ask him questions on these sensitive subjects.
A commuter's nightmare. A public bus hijacked while traveling in a suburban neighborhood. The hijackers threatening to blow up the bus if their demands are not met. We'll have the latest.
Missile defense failure. Testing of a national system shows a major weakness. Is the United States prepared to protect itself against a missile strike? And later...
Forgotten by some generations megastar Bobby Darin's music is now brought back to life. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A tense and dangerous drama is still playing out on the streets of Athens, Greece. Hijackers who stormed a commuter bus in the Greek capital hours ago are still holding some of them captive. Some of the passengers, that is. The latest now from CNN's Alessio Vinci. He is joining us in Athens -- Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf. The hijackers are currently holding still six hostages after having released 17 of them throughout this day and they are demanding $1.3 million ransom, a safe passage to the airport here and then a flight to Moscow and should those demands not be met by 8:00 tomorrow morning, it's about less than eight hours from now they say they will blow up the plane. When one of the hostagetakers identifying himself as Hassan called in to a local TV station here and spoke to a local anchor. Here is an excerpt of that conversation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): Good evening, Stella, can you hear me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, I can hear you, are you Hassan?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you intend from here on in?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will wait until 8:00 in the morning tomorrow when the banks open to wait for the money and the driver.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Up until now you have let out quite a few people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but I'm not going to let any more go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why won't you let any more go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not letting any others. I'm off. Bye. I'm not let anymore go.
VINCI: Wolf, of course, the hijackers have threatened to blow up the bus and not the plane. Currently the police officials are also questioning some of the released hostages because they obviously are trying to find out more of who they have to deal with. They have established the fact that the two hijackers are Albanians but they have not identified them whether they are criminals or whether they have any criminal record, what they are ruling out at this time is international terrorism. BLITZER: CNN's Alessio Vinci reporting for us from Athens. Alessio, thank you very much.
Are buses in the United States safe from this type of terror attack that is taking place right now in Greece? With us now from the CNN Center our law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks. What's the bottom line on the safety of buses, this kind of situation unfolding here on our streets, Mike?
MIKE BROOKS: Wolf, unfortunately buses are probably one of the most vulnerable types of transportation that we have in this country. There's no passenger screening and no baggage screening. Nothing at all like that. Commuter buses, the regular buses you see on the street, nothing at all happens to the buses here. Greyhound, trailways and those kind of things that go across the country. They're now demanding identification. So they are doing a little bit of something, but they're still extremely vulnerable here in the United States and one of the other things, Wolf, we see here in Atlanta, in New York, Washington D.C., are the regular city buses that have the advertisements all of the way around the buses. They're called full wraps. When there is a bus with all of that advertising on it, if something like this had happened in a bus like that the hostage rescue people could not see inside at all. They're extremely dangerous and security people really don't like them on the commuter buses.
BLITZER: I suspect the people will take a second look at this whole situation right now. Mike Brooks reporting for us. Thank you, Mike, very much.
al Qaeda's reach. Is the terror group capable of another 9/11- style attack?
And anthrax response. How the U.S. government plans to protect Americans in the event of a future attack.
Mobile merger and the impact on all of us. Will the Sprint- Nextel union cause a rise in our cell phone bills?
Danger at the pump. Look at this. Flames erupt as a woman fills up her car's gasoline tank. We'll explain what happened and how this can be prevented. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. More now on the White House economic conference that began today focusing in on President Bush's second term economic agenda. The White House communications director Dan Bartlett joining us from the north lawn of the White House. Thanks very much for joining us.
DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Thanks for having me, Wolf.
BLITZER: Let's talk Social Security for a moment. Some experts are suggesting that it could cause for changes the president envisages some $2 trillion over a decade. Where is that money supposed to come from? Raising taxes or just increasing the budget deficit?
BARTLETT: Well, Wolf, as you know, the Social Security trustees and other experts on both sides of the aisle have looked at the issue of Social Security and what their conclusion is is basically is that after 2018 the system goes from the black to the red. That means that we're taking, we have payments going out that we can't afford to pay. So what we're seeing is that the inaction, the fact of the matter is if we don't take action and if we don't do anything to stop the status quo, many Americans and future generations will feel the pain of either higher taxes or benefit cuts for that matter.
So what President Bush is saying is he thinks both parties ought to come together. We ought to look at the whole system, look at some comprehensive reforms and he believes that personal retirement accounts could be a strong part of that reform solution and the very aspect of this, the very speculation you're talking about as far as what would comprise the personal accounts is something that we're going to work with (UNINTELLIGIBLE) but what the fact of the matter is any costs you're talking about are costs that are already baked into the system. If you think about it there are $10.4 trillion worth of liabilities that are currently on the books that we owe to future retirees. What we're saying we ought to do is we ought to look at some funding mechanism or financing of that by moving some of those liabilities up, but that is not new and current liabilities. They are already baked into the system.
BLITZER: Is there a price tag though for the changes? Some experts say $2 trillion over ten years for these significant change, these private accounts to get off the ground. What is the price tag for that change?
BARTLETT: That depends on a lot of different assumptions and I think those assumptions are wildly on the high end. We'll see what the specific nature of any proposal, that means the size of the account, how it's phased in. How it is enacted. Those are all of the things that President Bush will talk about. One thing President Bush as he said earlier today, we're not going to negotiate all of the details with ourselves. What we are going to do is negotiate and have an honest debate with the United States Congress and then put forward a responsible plan. President Bush understands his responsibility in this. He will take this issue to the American people. He's already done so. We'll continue to educate the public. The conference we're talking about today and tomorrow is doing just that. He will take other opportunities to do the exact same thing because it is a critical issue. He'll put forward more specificity in the coming years as we work with Congress on this issue.
BLITZER: What about taxes? He wants to simplify the tax code. Is he considering a flat tax? That would make it pretty simple. Is that one of the options on his agenda?
BARTLETT: What we're doing right now is putting together a tax reform panel and what this panel will be comprised of is experts and people who are users of the tax code in real America and that panel is going to come forward. It takes several months to put forth some proposal to the secretary of Treasury. The Treasury then can analyze the proposals and give those to the president and the administration. President Bush has made clear, we should simplify the tax code and one of the anchors on our economy as we go forward is the fact that we're not as competitive -- the fear that we can't be as competitive as other countries because of our tax code. There are a lot of different ways to skin the cat. We do think it ought to be more fair. We do think it can be more simple. Flat tax is something that's been proposed in previous reform efforts. It's something I'm sure the panel will look at but we'll wait and not prejudge the conclusions of the panel.
BLITZER: What about a national sales tax?
BARTLETT: Again, President Bush will let the panel do its work. We're not going to negotiate the details now. He has some pretty strong principles out there. We should make it a more fair system and a more simple system, make it easier for taxpayers to comply with the IRS. And we ought to do pro-growth economic policies that continue to grow our economy which obviously we'd rule out the fact that we shouldn't be raising taxes on the American people.
BLITZER: While I have you, a couple of political questions. Bernard Kerik, the nomination to be secretary of homeland security. How did this thing get so screwed up?
BARTLETT: Well, it's an unfortunate situation and Mr. Kerik himself has apologized and said it was a mistake he'd made. If you look at it, Wolf, if you look at the course of the administration, we have a pretty good track record. We have the one situation at the beginning of the administration with Linda Chavez, then we had the situation here with Bernie Kerik. We've had hundreds if not over a thousand other appointments made in which we've had no problems. That's because we do have a thorough vetting process. In this case, the process is working. We didn't even get to the point in which there is a hearing, in which the information was brought to our attention and Mr. Kerik withdrew has name.
So it's unfortunate and we're disappointed by it, but we're now focused on the future and we're focused on what we can do to get the right person for the job. Because it's a big challenging task that is a critical aspect of our government's responsibility and President Bush is taking a careful look at it to make sure we have the right person.
BLITZER: One final question. Have you offered the job to Joe Lieberman, the Democratic senator from Connecticut?
BARTLETT: I'm not in a position to talk about any personnel matters whether it be anybody from Congress or from elsewhere outside office. There's a lot of speculation going on in Washington and to respect President Bush's authority and capability for picking the right people, I'm not going to get into if their was or there wasn't for any person including the person you just mentioned.
BLITZER: But in principle, would the president be open to that?
BARTLETT: I'm not going to get into speaking on behalf of the president when it comes to the issue of personnel. If we have something to announce as many people know we'll make that clear.
BLITZER: We'll be there ready for the announcement.
Thanks for spending time with us.
BARTLETT: Thanks, Wolf.
Mission unaccomplished. The test of the national missile defense system designed to keep America safe failed. Will it ever get off the ground.
Horrifying new pictures of a gas station fire. What happened and how to keep yourself safe at the pump. This is information you need to know. Plus this.
Kevin Spacey is Bobby Darin. A new movie bringing crooner music back to life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
Al Qaeda's next strike, information on what's becoming the new staging ground for terror attacks in the United States.
First, though, a quick check of some other stories now in the news.
Time Warner has agreed to pay $210 million in a settlement with the Justice Department. It stems from allegations of accounting fraud in the AOL division. Time Warner is also the parent company of CNN.
U.S. Army officials say they plan to spend lots more money, billions of dollars over the next several months, to armor all U.S. Army vehicles in Iraq. The announcement comes a week after a soldier thrust the issue into the headlines with a question to the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, in a town hall style meeting in Kuwait.
Security is being increased at Los Angeles International Airport to protect planes from shoulder-launched missiles. Officials say they plan to expand surveillance, fences and patrols, as well as training for security personnel. They say the move is not tied to a specific threats, but they note similar attacks overseas.
A setback today for the Bush administration's national missile defense plan.
Our national security correspondent David Ensor is joining us now live with details on this story -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it was a technical setback, but it was also possibly a political setback as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, mark.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Though not all past tests have hit their target, at least the rockets got off the ground. Not this time. The first test in nearly two years of the multibillion dollar defense system failed because the interceptor missile on the Marshall Islands shut down due, official says, to an unknown anomaly in its system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took them two years to prepare for this test. And to have it fail the way it did, where the interceptor didn't even get off the ground, is a big setback.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I wouldn't consider it a failure. I consider it sort of a nontest.
ENSOR: The setback came 16 minutes after a mock warhead was successfully launched from Kodiak, Alaska, as the target for the interceptor that never flew. The Pentagon spent about $3.3 billion this year alone on ground-based national missile defense. Critics call it a waste of taxpayer dollars.
They say, even if the latest test had been successful, it would not have proven the system can work because the conditions were not realistic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have information. The defender has information that no enemy would ever give us, including on the reentry vehicle, the target reentry vehicle, a beacon that is saying, here I am, here I am.
ENSOR: But proponents argue, with North Korea developing nuclear weapons and missiles, the best course is to deploy a system and then work out the kinks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that something is better than nothing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: Two years ago, President Bush declared he intended to have a limited operational system in place by the end of this year. That's in two weeks. There are interceptor missiles now in Alaska and California, but this latest test suggests they may not be ready for prime time -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, David Ensor, thanks very much for that report.
Three years after a series of still unsolved anthrax attacks right here in the United States, there's now some new thinking about how to protect Americans from similar attacks in the future.
Our national correspondent Bob Franken looks at the findings of a study released today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No one has to convince postal worker Leroy Richmond that antibiotics can work against anthrax. He's living proof.
LEROY RICHMOND, ANTHRAX SURVIVOR: Immediately, they put me on Cipro. And then they put me on doxycycline, two powerful antibiotics.
FRANKEN (on camera): Richmond survived the anthrax that contaminated this building. Five died in the series of attacks. The government would like to vaccinate 25 million.
(voice-over): But a study suggests that a new generation inoculation might be much more effective after contamination, still relying on the antibiotics.
DR. RONALD BROOKMEYER, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Our research shows that if we could get antibiotics to people within six days of exposure to the anthrax, we could prevent 70 percent of cases.
FRANKEN: Many leading health officials criticized the fact that the response to another anthrax attack remains still in the talking stage.
JEROME HAUER, EMERGENCIES AND DISASTERS INSTITUTE: How are we going to explain to the American people that three, four or five years after September 11, we have done very little to better prepare our nation when it comes to countermeasures for threat agents?
FRANKEN: But government officials insist they're doing all they can.
LANCE BROOKS, HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT: Our strategy currently is geared towards early detection of such events and, as quickly and rapidly as possible, mobilizing a national stockpile.
FRANKEN: The key, experts say, is a quick diagnosis.
DR. JAMES CAMPBELL, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: In most cases, when people become ill with anthrax, inhalational anthrax, you don't recognize it as anthrax right away.
RICHMOND: There has to be a definitive test when you go in and say you have a cold that they can test and make sure that it's only a cold and nothing other than that, other than the fact that you're feeling bad.
FRANKEN: Leroy Richmond can only hope the country learns from his experience, but never has to share it.
Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Ever since 9/11, there's been deep concern about the possibility of another al Qaeda assault on U.S. soil. Now there's evidence the next al Qaeda attack against America might come through Europe.
Joining us now to discuss that possibility, our CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
Peter, you wrote a provocative column on this in "The L.A. Times." What's the current assessment that you have about the connection between al Qaeda, Europe and the United States?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: I think that an attack against the United States is much more likely to originate in Europe than inside the United States. So I don't see much evidence of sleeper cells here in the United States.
On the other hand, there are a lot of -- whether it was the alert this summer that was sparked by the arrest of a British guy and his associates who were planning perhaps attacks against American financial institutions or other planned attacks, Richard Reid, the so- called bomber, who is a British citizen, we've seen again and again that the real problem may well be in Europe. And I think that problem is going to get worse, rather than better, because of demographic trends there indicating fewer Europeans and more Muslims.
Most countries in Europe, their populations are rising rather dramatically.
BLITZER: So that's an important statement. What you're suggesting is, it's easier for al Qaeda to establish these so-called sleeper cells in Europe, in western Europe, central Europe, than it is in the United States.
BERGEN: No doubt.
If you look at all the terrorism cases that have been done in this country, almost without exception, they've been material support for terrorism, not for people actually planning terrorist acts. If you look at the kinds of people who have been arrested in Europe, they are people who really were planning to blow up Heathrow Airport, really were trying to get ricin, which is an assassination tool. These are all post-9/11.
The attack on Theo van Gogh, the assassination attempt on the Dutch filmmaker, in fact, a successful one, by a Moroccan immigrant last month, all these indicate that it's really much more of a problem in Europe.
BLITZER: So, do the European law enforcement, the counterterrorism experts, do they appreciate this?
BERGEN: I think they're beginning to.
The European Union now has a counterterrorism czar, which may be not that effective immediately, but at least it's indicative. But we have a fire wall problem in this country we're used to between the FBI and the CIA. Take that and times it by 20, which is the problem you have in Europe. A lot of these countries don't talk to each other. They speak different languages, problem of information sharing. And the reverse is true of the people within al Qaeda who can move around as European countries very easily if they have a European passport.
BLITZER: And this spans European countries that are allied with the U.S. in the war in Iraq, for example, like Britain, to those that are critical of the U.S., France and Germany. Is there any difference where it might be easier for al Qaeda to operate right now among those countries?
BERGEN: Well, certainly, it's their stated objective to attack members of the coalition, which is why we saw attacks in Madrid in March, killing 191 people. So it's more likely that members of the coalition are going to be attacked, i.e. the English or the Spanish.
But I don't -- that doesn't discount the possibility of attacks in France -- there have been in the past -- and also in Germany, which of course the Hamburg cell that was instrumental in the 9/11 attacks originated in Germany.
BLITZER: How worried should Americans be that Europeans, perhaps of Muslim religion or Arab ancestry or whatever, that Europeans could come here and commit acts of terror?
BERGEN: Well, it's already happened. Richard Reid is a British- Jamaican citizen. He tried to blow up an American Airlines flight between Paris and Miami. It didn't work out, but there will be other Richard Reids.
BLITZER: And there were some that came to Israel also that attempted some sort of terrorist act.
BERGEN: Well, I think that's a very good point. Last year, we saw two British middle-class Pakistani guys mounting a suicide attack in Israel successfully. If they can do it in Israel, they certainly can do it here.
BLITZER: You know, I want to take our viewers back to Athens for a moment, Peter. Take a look at this.
We're looking at live pictures here from the streets right outside Athens. This has been a standoff going on now for hours. Inside, we believe, less than half a dozen or so hostages have been held by suspected terrorists believed to be Albanians.
Alessio Vinci, our correspondent on the scene, suggests they may be common criminals as opposed to any organized terror group, but it looks like there's activity now where that door to the bus, as you can see, Peter, is now clearly open. We see police officers around it. This may -- and I'm speaking now just based on pictures that we're seeing -- may be coming to a close right now, this Greek bus crisis, as it's been called.
This was a commuter bus that was hijacked by these -- these hijackers took the bus, commandeered the bus. There were originally about 24 or so passengers throughout the day, most of them released. The Reuters News Agency, Peter, is now reporting that all of the passengers who have been held, those hostages have been freed and they are OK.
The hostage holders have surrendered. That's according to Reuters and the Associated Press reporting right now.
Peter, you have studied these kind of incidents over the years. You're looking at this picture. You're getting the information as we're getting it here. What do you make of this?
BERGEN: Well, if Alessio Vinci is saying this may be a criminal enterprise, that wouldn't be entirely surprising. There's quite a lot of evidence of Albanian criminal gangs operating throughout Europe.
There isn't much evidence of Islamist terrorist activity in Albania. There was around the time of 9/11, an Egyptian guy was broken up in Albania perhaps planning perhaps to attack the embassy there. But if Alessio Vinci is saying this is more criminal than Islamist terrorism, he's there on the ground.
BLITZER: It's a different kind of situation.
In fact, let's go to Athens, Greece, right now.
Alessio Vinci has been there throughout the day watching what's going on.
Update our viewers, what you know, Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Wolf, it does appear that the situation has come to some kind of a conclusion.
We have seen several hostages leaving the bus. And then we have seen some policemen, as you can see from these pictures, some riot policemen approaching the bus. They have not stormed it, but I have seen actually a couple of riot policemen actually leaving the bus. So it does appear at this time that the situation has come to some kind (AUDIO GAP)
We are not sure whether any of the hostages are still on the bus. We have seen several people leaving. We knew up until about 20 minutes ago, there were six more hostages inside the bus. We have captured a few leaving, but we are not sure at this time whether all of them have actually (AUDIO GAP) the bus.
We have not seen the two hostage-takers, but the situation around the bus appears to be very calm. Again, the (INAUDIBLE) terrorism squad here not storming the bus, just surrounding it. However, just about two or three minutes ago, I did see two policemen, two policemen in full riot gear actually leaving the bus. But it is quite difficult for us at this time to see, to tell you whether or not the two hijackers are still inside the bus or not.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Let me recap, Alessio, because our viewers in the United States and around the world on CNN International are joining us as well.
You are looking at a live picture of a bus that was commandeered earlier today. By the way, we are now showing you pictures of earlier in the day when some of the hostages were released. They're walking away from the bus. We're getting word from the wire services, Reuters and the Associated Press, that the ordeal has now ended with those two hijackers surrendering to police and the other hostages being released. And they're in good condition.
These live pictures, we're back to live pictures. You see police officers in full combat gear surrounding the bus.
It looks like the whole situation has been resolved peacefully, Alessio. Certainly, the scenes we're seeing right now would suggest that the hostages have been released, the hostage holders have surrendered and this ordeal, which has been a nightmare for people in Athens and indeed throughout Greece and all of our viewers around the world, seems to have ended, ended peacefully. We don't have details yet.
But, Alessio, are you getting any more information?
VINCI: Yes, Wolf.
I managed to use (INAUDIBLE) while you were talking to get some more information. We are now told by officials here that the situation completely -- has ended. All hostages have been released. All hostages have left the bus right now. We are not sure at this time where the two hostage takers are.
But we do understand that this new development started when the hijackers dropped their guns out of the bus. Therefore, at this time, we do understand that they the hijackers are no longer armed. Now, we've been reporting throughout the afternoon that the hijackers also had some explosives strapped to their body. We are (INAUDIBLE) tell you whether or not those explosives have been removed, but again, the situation has been fully resolved.
All hostages have been gotten to safety. And nobody has been hurt. There has been (AUDIO GAP) transpired throughout this last few minutes as police in full combat gear surrounded the bus once the hijackers dropped their guns from the bus.
Again, the situation around the bus appears to be calm. Actually, here, you can see the pictures perhaps now again. These are taped pictures from local television here. You see somebody, maybe the hostages or one of the -- yes, one of the hostages dropping two guns out (AUDIO GAP) And then you can see a third gun being dropped, being thrown out of the window and then shortly thereafter we've seen several hostages leaving the bus, Wolf.
BLITZER: Alessio, I take it it's approaching midnight, correct me if I'm wrong, in Athens right now. But do we know anything of the motive of these hijackers who commandeered this bus?
VINCI: We do not, no. As a matter of fact, only 20 minutes ago, before the situation unfolded here, I spoke to a senior government official here, who basically told me that he had no idea of the motive behind this quite unusual hijacking situation, since the hijackers originally had demanded only a safe passage to Russia, or first to the airport and then a flight to Russia.
Only later in the day, the hijackers made the demand for $1.3 million. But throughout the day, the only demand that the hijackers had made was a safe passage to the airport and then a flight into Russia. Now, the two hijackers earlier on here today claimed -- one of them at least claimed that he was Russian. Government officials here throughout this day have been telling us that they actually (AUDIO GAP) they were Albanian.
Again, they ruled out completely any kind of international terrorism. They actually always characterized the two hijackers as criminals. (AUDIO GAP) You're looking at the same pictures that I am. But here, local television is basically rebroadcasting the pictures that have taken -- the situation that has taken place in the last 10 minutes or so. All of the hostages leaving unharmed the bus after the hijackers dropped their guns outside -- from outside the bus -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And we don't know what led to that decision by the hostages to surrender.
But, Alessio, in that phone conversation, we heard one of the hijackers with that local anchor woman from the television station in Athens. We heard him say his name was Hassan (ph), which is, as you know, an Arabic name. Would that be a common name for Albanians? We know many Albanians are Muslim. Would Hassan be a common name for Albanians?
VINCI: It could be the name that Albanians will use, although we're not sure whether he used his real name or whether that he was just inventing a name, perhaps an Islamic name, if you want, in order to perhaps scare authorities here and try perhaps to give him some kind of a more Islamic fundamentalist approach to the whole situation.
But the same Hassan or the man claiming to be Hassan actually only about three hours ago in that phone conversation that we played a few times for our viewers mentioned that there will be no longer any more hostages being released until tomorrow morning 8:00 a.m. It is now close to 1:00 in the morning here. The deadline was only -- was at least seven hours away.
It is, I must tell you, quite a surprise development, since, throughout the day, many hostages had been released, as a matter of fact, 17 hostages in 14 hours, according to many observers here, quite a successful negotiation, if you will. And only three hours ago, one of the hostages, going on local television here, telling viewers and indeed, Greek officials, that there will be no more hostages released until tomorrow morning, 8:00 a.m., or at least setting a deadline for 8:00 tomorrow morning for their ransom to be paid and the safe passage to be given to Russia. So this is quite a dramatic and quite unexpected development that is taking place at this time at this late hour.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Alessio, stand by.
Let me recap for viewers around the world who may be just tuning in. The standoff in Athens, the hijacked, commandeered bus with the passengers aboard, the standoff has ended, ended. The hijackers apparently have surrendered to local law enforcement authority. All the passengers, all the people who were commandeered, who were held hostage, have been released. It looks like a very satisfactory end.
Let's bring back our terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
You've been Alessio Vinci, our man on the scene, report what's going on. Peter, what does it say to you? Does this look like the kind of terrorist incident that so many of us had braced for doing the Athens Olympic Games this past summer or does this look more like some common criminals seeking some money, some ransom to try to just make a buck, if you will?
BERGEN: I think the latter.
And, of course, was there a lot of concern during the Olympics, American officials very concerned about the security in Athens. That -- over time, obviously, those concerns dissipated. More action was taken by the Greeks. The Greeks historically have not had a particularly good record on terrorism. American officials feel that they've either let terrorists use their territory or not cracked down on them sufficiently enough. There was a native terrorist group there, the November 17 group, that killed Americans.
That group has now sort of broken up. So it does look indeed this is more a criminal activity which didn't work out very successfully for the criminals.
BLITZER: Does -- is there a connection, as far as you know, between Albanians, individuals, and al Qaeda over the years?
BERGEN: No.
I mean, the U.S. was very strong on this during the Kosovo war. They said if indeed like in Bosnia, members of al Qaeda come in, this would be a very big problem for us. And the Kosovars understood that that kind of outside help wasn't going to help them and in fact specifically tried to reject that.
BLITZER: The Greeks may have disappointed the United States over the years in fighting terrorism, but the two weeks of the Olympic Games this past summer went remarkably smoothly.
BERGEN: Indeed.
BLITZER: So they obviously did a very good job preparing for any kind of terror assault there. Alessio, you've been to Greece many times. You've been there all day watching this unfold. Give us a little sense of the mood in Athens as this drama developed throughout the day.
VINCI: Well, Wolf, as you can imagine, every single journalist and television and radio station in this country has been tuned to the crisis. And this is something that has virtually unfolded in front of the eyes of the entire country.
As I'm standing here, I can count at least 20 cameras pointing behind me here about 300 meters or 300 yards behind me, where the bus was originally hijacked early this morning. It was 6:00 local time here, so it was a hijack situation that unfolded throughout the day.
Greek officials here very much early on today saying the negotiations were going quite well because they saw the hijackers were actually releasing very early on several of the hostages. Now, the only concern was, of course, when the police received a phone call from one of the hijackers saying that there would no more hostages released until tomorrow morning -- back to you.
BLITZER: All right, Alessio Vinci, on the scene for us in Athens.
This standoff has ended, thankfully. Everyone is out of that bus. The passengers have fled after the hijackers simply surrendered to local law enforcement. Alessio Vinci reporting for us.
Peter Bergen, our terrorism analyst helping out as well.
We'll take a quick break. Much more news coming back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Actor Kevin Spacey is up for a Golden Globe award for an unlikely role. The movie, which premieres in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, is called "Beyond the Sea." And Spacey not only plays the part of Bobby Darin. He sings it as well.
CNN's Brian Todd reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When crooners were kings, Sinatra and Sammy Davis were the standard. But even in their heyday, old blue eyes and Sammy had a young upstart hot on their heels. Hot may not do justice to the man born Walden Robert Cassotto, who busted out of the Bronx as Bobby Darin. His meteoric track through the Billboard charts made Darin a megastar by the late 1950s. This was a career legendary in its scope and brevity.
The new film "Beyond the Sea" isn't just a biopic for aging boomers. This is about a lasting talent, transcendent music and the reverence of a current star.
KEVIN SPACEY, ACTOR: Bobby Darin was the coolest guy that ever walked the face of the earth.
TODD (on camera): In so many incarnations, Kevin Spacey is Bobby Darin. And "Beyond the Sea" is in every frame Kevin Spacey. He is writer, director, star and, yes, singer.
(MUSIC)
SPACEY: I'm not foolish enough to think that I'm anywhere near what this guy was. This guy was in a league of his own.
TODD: But Spacey gets close, from Darin's lifelong battle with the effects of rheumatic fever to a singing career that included nearly two dozen top 40 hits, the transition into Hollywood and an Academy Award nomination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BEYOND THE SEA")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Only people from the Bronx actually care about the Oscars.
SPACEY: Melvyn Douglas is married to a Congresswoman and I'm married to Tammy (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Through his tempestuous marriage to box office star Sandra Dee and the final losing battle with his illness at age 7.
But Spacey does not elude cynicism from some critics who say his fantasy and dance sequences digress from the human story.
(on camera): I have talked to critics who say, phenomenal film, but it does appear to be an ego trip for Kevin Spacey. Is it an ego trip for Kevin Spacey?
SPACEY: It's a fantasy. And, by the way, I think the word ego gets a bad rap. I don't think there's anything wrong with having a healthy ego. I think you can't get through life and accomplish the things that you want to accomplish unless you have some sense that you're meant to do it.
Can I have all this area cleared? Because we're about to dance.
TODD (voice-over): Spacey's felt that way for more than 15 years, as he's tracked the project and struggled to raise money. He disputes the notion that younger generations won't identify with this movie and welcomes the inevitable comparisons to Jamie Foxx's performance in "Ray."
TODD: In the end, Spacey's devotion carries the film, the spirit of its central character and a wistful sense of what might have been.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BEYOND THE SEA")
SPACEY: Look out. Old Macky is back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: He was a great singer, indeed. I remember all of his songs personally.
A reminder, we're on weekdays 5:00 p.m. Eastern. See you tomorrow.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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