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First U.S. Charges to Be Announced in Oil-for-Food Scandal; Condoleezza Rice Questioned about Iraq; Bush Reflects on First Four Years, Plans for Second Term
Aired January 18, 2005 - 13:00 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.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Questioning Condoleezza Rice. The secretary of state nominee quizzed closely about Iraq. This hour, the confirmation hearings and the traumatic childhood event that helped shape her worldview.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Days before he launches his second term, President Bush goes one-on-one with CNN's John King.
HARRIS: Securing the inauguration. We'll show you who's keeping an eye on the planes, trains, and automobiles in our nation's capital.
NGUYEN: It's big, it is bold, and it has never flown. Will the world's largest airliner fly with passengers? We'll take you aboard.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien are off. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
NGUYEN: Attorney General John Ashcroft is set to announce the first U.S. criminal charges in the scandalous Iraqi oil-for-food program. CNN's Justice Department correspondent Kelli Arena joins us now to talk about this.
Good morning, Kelli. Or good afternoon, I should say.
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Betty.
Well, the charges and a plea deal are to be announced in a news conference about 2 p.m. this afternoon. Sources tell CNN's Terry Frieden that Samir Vincent, an Iraqi-American who runs a company called Phoenix International -- it's based right outside Washington, in Virginia -- will plead guilty to tax violations and engaging in activities as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
Now as you know, this is the first U.S. criminal prosecution to result from a variety of investigations. They all center on the alleged corruption of the oil-for-food program, which allowed Iraq, while it was still under economic sanctions, to export a limited supply of its crude oil and spend the money on food, medicine and supplies.
And Betty, a lot of investigations still continue, most notably, one being done internally by the United Nations itself.
NGUYEN: Kelli, do we know what Samir Vincent is expected to plead guilty to? What are the charges?
ARENA: Well, the charges were tax violations, which I just said, and engaging in activities as an unregistered foreign agent, agent of a foreign government.
He's already made his appearance in a New York courtroom. Those charges expected to be announced later on by the attorney general. That grand jury is New York is still sitting. So this may not be the end of what we hear out of New York, Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. The charges set aside. This is a plea deal. In exchange for what, do you know?
ARENA: No, don't know what the sentence will be yet. We're sure to hear more details at 2 p.m.
NGUYEN: All right. And how big of a fish is this Samir Vincent in the grand scheme of this investigation?
ARENA: It's very unclear at this time. I mean, obviously, he's someone that we have been keeping our eye on. It's a name that was familiar to us. It is an individual, not a corporation. So that is a signal of where the investigation could be headed.
I think that it's way too early to tell in terms of -- there are much -- obviously, much larger, you know, corporate executives, bigger, well known corporate executives than he. But I think it's significant that after, you know, a variety of investigations that there is finally a prosecution.
NGUYEN: And this being the first U.S. criminal charge in this case, do you expect this Samir Vincent to be made an example of?
ARENA: Well, I think that it's just a -- it is indicative of the fact that this investigation is ongoing, that New York and other investigators do mean business.
We are talking about an individual. I mean, sometimes you have corporations that are charged and negotiations that are worked out but individuals who do not pay a personal price. And you have that here.
I think that this is very complicated. And -- and it will be a long way -- a long time going for these investigations to continue. As I said, there are several of them ongoing, so the results at the end of the day could be very different from what we're looking at right now.
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's justice correspondent Kelli Arena with that information.
And we do want to remind you that Attorney General John Ashcroft will announce these charges and the plea deal in an oil-for-food news conference. That will happen at 2 p.m. today Eastern. And we will take that when it happen -- Tony.
HARRIS: It is a job President Bush describes as America's face to the world, and the person he wants for the position is taking the hot seat today for her confirmation hearing.
National security adviser and secretary of state nominee Condoleezza Rice is before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to answer some tough questions today. The first session just ended. The next one is scheduled to begin in about 90 minutes.
CNN's State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel is in Washington with details -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, Ms. Rice was clearly aware of the historical importance of this hearing and of the job that she is expected to assume throughout the hearing that ran for about four hours and as you mention, will be picking up later this afternoon.
Ms. Rice was grilled about her record, the president's record on foreign policy.
But she began with her opening statement this morning. Again, aware of her place in history as the woman who is most likely to become the first African-American woman to become secretary of state. And paid tribute to her roots in the segregated South, as the daughter of poor Alabama cotton farmers.
And she mentioned her parents, John and Angelina Rice, and their friends, in the community of Birmingham, Alabama, who built, in her words, "a thriving community in the midst of the most terrible segregation in the country."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: It would have been so easy for them to give in to despair and to send that message of hopelessness to their children. But they refused to allow the limits and injustices of their time to limit our horizons. My friends and I were raised to believe that we could do or become anything, that the only limits to our aspirations came from within.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Ms. Rice went on to say that, in her view, that the world would become more secure and more peaceful if democracy is able to prevail. So clearly, an indication there of the way Ms. Rice views her mission and the president's mission over the next four years in terms of foreign policy.
Now, most of the questioning by Republicans and some Democrats was quite civilized and very complimentary of Ms. Rice. But some of the heated exchanges, which just wrapped up, included Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, and before her, from Senator John Kerry, the Democrat from Massachusetts, who was the presidential delegate for the Democratic Party, obviously, lost out. And this is just a hint of the line of questioning that he took with Ms. Rice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I admire enormously your personal story. I admire the road you've traveled. I admire your relationship with the president, which is obviously special. And he certainly has the right prerogative, as we all know, as president, to make choices. You are going to be confirmed, and everybody knows that.
But without anything personal at all, whether or not it is with my vote, is yet to be determined. I have reservations, and they are not personal in anyway whatsoever. But they do go to the story and trail of the last four years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: And of those last four years, John Kerry wanted Ms. Rice to explain what the president would be doing in Iraq from here on out. Obviously, there are elections at the end of this month.
Barbara Boxer, who wrapped up her questioning just before break, was pushing Ms. Rice is in incredibly aggressive way about her statements leading up to the war in Iraq and was implying that Ms. Rice made some mischaracterizations and was deliberately misleading the American people.
Condoleezza Rice responded by saying that she didn't want her reputation to be impugned and took issue with Barbara Boxer's line of questioning.
A lot more to go this afternoon. But when it's all said and done, Tony, the expectation is very much so that Ms. Rice will be confirmed to become the next secretary of state.
HARRIS: And Andrea, we'll take those confirmation hearings when they resume in about 90 minutes, after the lunch break. Andrea Koppel in Washington. Andrea, thank you.
As his first term comes to a close, President Bush is reflecting and looking ahead. Earlier today, Mr. Bush sat down with CNN senior White House correspondent John King for a one-on-one interview. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You've talked about changing your language a bit in the second term. That perhaps people thought -- found you too blunt, when you said things like "dead or alive" about Osama bin Laden, or "bring it on," in the early days of the Iraq insurgency.
What about "with us or against us." That was a defining moment when you spoke about terrorism, that countries around the world are either with us or against us. Some found that too black and white, too confrontational. Do you change that?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Not at all. I mean, we've got to win. And we've got to make it clear that people have to make a choice.
And I will continue to be straightforward and plainspoken about my view that freedom is -- is necessary for peace and that everybody deserves to be free.
But you're right, some of my language in the first four years was -- it had an unintended consequence. And I'm mindful of that.
KING: Want to ask you one more question about Iraq and then I may ask to steal an extra moment to ask you a bit about the moment to come. But about Iraq, obviously there's a debate about WMD. Some would say that there was a, perhaps a greater failing, either of intelligence or in planning, in the idea of the troop levels going in, or the statements from some in the administration that the Americans would be greeted as liberators.
As you look back now, was that an intelligence failing? Was there a misjudgment somehow in the planning?
BUSH: I think it was -- I think what you've just described is what normally happens in war, is that some things happen that you don't expect and some things you expect don't happen.
For example, I can remember the briefings I had on what to do with mass refugee movements or hunger or, you know, what you would expect as a result of a military action, which did not take place.
What did take place was a very swift defeat of Saddam's army, which allowed some Ba'athists to head to the hills and then let them live to fight another day. And that's what we're dealing with.
The truth of the matter is in the long run, John, that a sovereign government of Iraq is going to have to be prepared and equipped to defeat those people. And that's what I talked to Prime Minister Allawi about today.
KING: The president of the United States is also a former baseball owner. Two-third of American people think this new steroids policy is not tough enough. Some in Congress have talked, saying it's not tough enough. What does the president think?
BUSH: I think that -- first of all, I understand how difficult it is for management and union to get along. If you follow the history of baseball, there's been an antagonistic situation between the two.
I was very pleased to see that the union and the management was able to come together and put in place a steroid policy. And if it fails, they can strengthen it. But it's a very positive step forward.
KING: In closing, sir, assess the moment for me. Is it a personal vindication for you? Some have talked about vindication for the Bush family. And as you do so, can you help us a little bit with the speech? I understand that this is a book you've read, as you talk about your ideas about promoting democracy around the world. BUSH: I have. This is a book by Natan Sharansky, who was imprisoned in the Soviet Union. He's an heroic figure. He now is an Israeli official who talks about freedom and what it means and how freedom can change the globe. And I agree with him.
I believed that before I met Natan Sharansky. This is a book that, however, summarizes how I feel. I would urge people to read it. I'm glad you did.
Let me talk about this inauguration. For me, particularly given the fact these are historic times in which, more and more, the world is beginning to understand the importance of democracy. It is important for the world to see a peaceful transfer of power, or in this case, a continuation of power in a peaceful way.
It is a moment for the country to unite. It is an opportunity for all of us who are blessed to live here to say that we've got a great form of government. It can be improved, but it is a great form of government. I really don't view this in personal terms, John. I view it as a celebratory moment for America.
I'm so honored to be the person who has been chosen to lead us for four more years. I think this time around, it will a little different. I'll a better spectator than I was the first time.
The first time, I was pretty well overwhelmed by the moment and stayed focused on delivering the speech. I would hope that after four years as the president, I'll be able to not only stay focused on delivering the speech, but will also be able to take in the sights and sounds of this glorious moment.
KING: Mr. President, thank you for your time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: You can watch the entire interview tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." It begins at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific, here on CNN.
Preparing for the next possible terror strike...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The terrorists don't think in the terms that we think in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Los Angeles gets ready with the tear response plan that could be coming to your hometown. We'll show you what they're doing.
And this double-decker plane can hold more than 500 passengers. We'll give you an up close look at the world's largest passenger jet.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF POLLY HANSON, METRO TRANSIT POLICE: I am pleading, begging, directing, demanding that our passengers be engaged with us. I'm not suggesting that we can do it by ourselves.
MESERVE: An FBI and Department of Homeland Security inauguration threat assessment mentions other modes of transportation which are potential targets or potential weapons. Limousines, for instance, which al Qaeda has explored using as bombs because of their large capacity and the access they sometimes have to restricted areas.
The FBI warned limo operators months ago to be on the lookout.
RICHARD KANE, INTERNATIONAL LIMOUSINE SERVICE INC.: The questions that they were concerned about for us is that do we have anybody that is asking the capacity, size, the weight capacity, of our vehicles? And fortunately, it's not been our case here.
MESERVE: A wide web of street closings is intended to keep limos and all vehicles away from inaugural activities.
Officials are hoping to avoid anything like this, the chaotic evacuation of the capital during the funeral of President Reagan, triggered when a plane carrying the governor of Kentucky entered restricted airspace.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't have to fly, don't fly on that particular day.
MESERVE: Officials are briefing pilots on expanded flight restrictions being imposed over the national capital region, warning them that violators will be met by fighter jets or Black Hawk helicopters. If they don't respond to radio calls, signals or flair, they risk being shot down.
KEITH ERICKSEN, FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR: Nobody likes to be told that they can't do somewhere or can't do something, but we understand that these safety procedures are in place for a reason.
MESERVE: As a precaution, general aviation at Reagan National Airport will be shut down altogether. And the entire region is being monitored by the military's North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The experts across the front row will monitor events on the week prior to inauguration, through the week after the inauguration. You can see up on our wall of knowledge, we like to call it, where we're able to pride real-time situation awareness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is going two, five, four, five, four.
MESERVE: Armed Coast Guard vessels are already patrolling a security zone established on the Potomac, checking out more than boat traffic.
LT. FRANK DEL ROSEO, U.S. COAST GUARD: We'll keep an eye on the bridges, as well, underneath the bridges and also on the bridges, like broken down trucks, cars that have been there for awhile, we'll call them in to local law enforcement so they can go out there and check them out.
MESERVE: The Coast Guard will also eyeball bordering parkland and roads, on the look out for suspicious vehicles or people.
The capital city and the inauguration it will host are emblems of the nation and its democratic traditions. But authorities are say they have no credible information that terrorists are targeting the ceremony or celebrations.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Now, more on defending America, specifically what is being done to protect the nation's second largest city.
CNN's Frank Buckley says Los Angeles has been -- has had its share of natural disasters. And city officials are doing all they can to prepare for the manmade kind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been hit hard by fires and floods...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grab the rope! Grab it tight!
BUCKLEY: ... earthquakes and riots. But it's the disaster Los Angeles hasn't experienced, a major terror attack that keeps the LAPD's counterterrorism chief, John Miller, on full alert.
(on camera) Do you believe that we will be attacked here in Los Angeles?
JOHN MILLER, LAPD COUNTERTERRORISM CHIEF: I believe that Los Angeles is as high a threat city as New York or Washington.
BUCKLEY (voice-over): Which is one reason why Los Angeles area agencies drill together on all manner of potential attacks, from dirty bomb drills like this one -- to deadly chemicals released in a shopping mall, to a terrorist takeover -- at LAX, to a hijacking at L.A.'s port.
They've gamed out what could happen and how police and other agencies would respond. But Miller says it's the attack they haven't anticipated that robs him of his sleep.
MILLER: Three times a week, you know, I'll be laying in bed in the middle of the night and think of some version of some combination of attacks that we hadn't thought of before. And we'll trot that in here to our HAZMAT people or to our intelligence people and say, "What about this?"
BUCKLEY: You might have seen his face before. He was an anchor on ABC's "20/20." One of his biggest interviews: the man in the picture on the wall. Long before 9/11, Miller tracked down and interviewed Osama bin Laden.
MILLER: I feel I understand bin Laden and perhaps understand him more than others who are in this role in other places.
Los Angeles encompasses some things that, if you are Osama bin Laden, goes to the heart of what you don't like about America. You have some our favorite things about ourselves, in a word, Hollywood.
BUCKLEY: Miller says bin Laden shapes his work. So, too, does this man, Ahmed Rasam (ph), an al Qaeda trained terrorist, convicted of a plot to blow up parts of LAX as America celebrated the millennium.
But Miller is quick to say he's not the only counterterrorism official in Los Angeles, and the LAPD is only one of several agencies charged with preventing or responding to the next potential plot.
In fact, it's L.A.'s multiple agencies, in a county of 88 cities, who have gained a national reputation for working together against terror.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Your efforts and example show the nation a level of cooperation, coordination, and communication that reflects the urgency of our challenge to prevent a terrorist attack and respond to any emergency.
BUCKLEY: The same multi-agency approach L.A. brought to disasters it is applying to terror.
SANDRA HUTCHENS, L.A. SHERIFF'S HOMELAND SECURITY: We've had the fires, the floods, the earthquakes, the riots. And by necessity, we have worked together and as a result have a very strong relationship.
BUCKLEY: Potential rivals like the FBI, the sheriff's department and the LAPD, work shoulder to shoulder. Intelligence is shared. Equipment is purchased in consultation with surrounding cities to reduce redundancy.
HUTCHENS: We have an event, we're going to be responding as a region.
BUCKLEY: It's not only L.A.'s cooperative approach against terror that's been recognized by national officials; it's the innovations.
(on camera) This LAPD bomb truck an example of that new technology. It's a total containment vessel that's been designed to handle chemical, biological or radiological devices.
In older versions of this truck, in the event of an explosion, the air would have vented out. You don't want that with a chemical, biological or radiological device, because that would contaminate the outside air. So this truck has been modified.
Newer technology like the truck is used in combination with somewhat older technology like this robot that can be remotely operated from a safe distance by bomb squad members. This robot can actually place the explosive device inside that truck.
(voice-over) And there's this...
DET. PAUL ROBI, LAPD BOMB TECHNICIAN: It's the only remote controlled forklift of its kind in the country. So if you had to go down range, it's capable of actually picking up a large vehicle bomb and driving off with it.
BUCKLEY: Another innovation, a microscope in a suitcase, designed in response to the anthrax scares.
MILLER: Our HAZMAT people are using this microscope to actually send picture from the scene right back to the lab. They can assess what they're looking at through the microscope and say, "This is nondairy creamer. It's sugar. It's baking soda. It's definitely not anthrax or anything else hazardous," without blocking off any streets, evacuating any buildings, or turning life upside down the way we used to have to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boomer, come.
MILLER: The LAPD also has Boomer, a first of its kind, according to the department, a canine that works off leash at an airport. His handler demonstrating how Boomer is trained to find people with explosives strapped to their bodies.
SGT. BLAINE BLACKSTONE, LAPD BOMB K-9 UNIT: If a human being were packing explosives like the suicide bomber, Boomer would alert to that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boomer, come.
BUCKLEY: Human officers, meanwhile...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're looking for major body count.
BUCKLEY: ... are focusing on a new joint effort with the Department of Homeland Security called Archangel, a program that will eventually be offered across the nation. Just last week, officers began training on how to inventory the hundreds of high priority, high risk, potential targets in Los Angeles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking for the major, "oh, my God" locations on a large scale.
BUCKLEY: Eventually, an incident commander will be able to call up detailed tactical information on a threatened sight, with a decision maker, maybe even in the White House situation room, on the same page, thousands of miles away.
LT. THOMAS MCDONALD, LAPD ARCHANGEL PROGRAM: They can literally do it at the stroke of a key, any time, any day, anywhere.
BUCKLEY: Which also happens to be when terror could strike again.
MILLER: The terrorists don't think in the terms that we think in. They don't think from year to year or fiscal year to fiscal year or election year to election year. They think in terms of a longtime battle.
BUCKLEY: This is a battle in which Miller, the former journalist, is now fully engaged as a combatant.
MILLER: It is not the critic who counts, according to Teddy Roosevelt. It's the person who's actually in the arena, doing the job. I feel a lot better leaving the critic's desk and getting into the arena.
BUCKLEY: Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: CNN's special series on "Defending America" continues tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" at 7 Eastern. And tonight, more on the threat of nuclear terrorism in the U.S. How safe are we? More LIVE FROM after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, the world's biggest ever passenger plane makes its debut. But it's never gotten off the ground. Would you buy a ticket to ride?
Later on LIVE FROM, the sacred Hajj. Two million Muslims a year make this pilgrimage to Muslim's most holy city. We'll take you inside the journey to Mecca.
And tomorrow on LIVE FROM, on the eve of President Bush's second term, some lessens from past inaugural ceremonies, like why one president really should have worn a thicker coat.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired January 18, 2005 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Questioning Condoleezza Rice. The secretary of state nominee quizzed closely about Iraq. This hour, the confirmation hearings and the traumatic childhood event that helped shape her worldview.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Days before he launches his second term, President Bush goes one-on-one with CNN's John King.
HARRIS: Securing the inauguration. We'll show you who's keeping an eye on the planes, trains, and automobiles in our nation's capital.
NGUYEN: It's big, it is bold, and it has never flown. Will the world's largest airliner fly with passengers? We'll take you aboard.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien are off. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
NGUYEN: Attorney General John Ashcroft is set to announce the first U.S. criminal charges in the scandalous Iraqi oil-for-food program. CNN's Justice Department correspondent Kelli Arena joins us now to talk about this.
Good morning, Kelli. Or good afternoon, I should say.
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Betty.
Well, the charges and a plea deal are to be announced in a news conference about 2 p.m. this afternoon. Sources tell CNN's Terry Frieden that Samir Vincent, an Iraqi-American who runs a company called Phoenix International -- it's based right outside Washington, in Virginia -- will plead guilty to tax violations and engaging in activities as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
Now as you know, this is the first U.S. criminal prosecution to result from a variety of investigations. They all center on the alleged corruption of the oil-for-food program, which allowed Iraq, while it was still under economic sanctions, to export a limited supply of its crude oil and spend the money on food, medicine and supplies.
And Betty, a lot of investigations still continue, most notably, one being done internally by the United Nations itself.
NGUYEN: Kelli, do we know what Samir Vincent is expected to plead guilty to? What are the charges?
ARENA: Well, the charges were tax violations, which I just said, and engaging in activities as an unregistered foreign agent, agent of a foreign government.
He's already made his appearance in a New York courtroom. Those charges expected to be announced later on by the attorney general. That grand jury is New York is still sitting. So this may not be the end of what we hear out of New York, Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. The charges set aside. This is a plea deal. In exchange for what, do you know?
ARENA: No, don't know what the sentence will be yet. We're sure to hear more details at 2 p.m.
NGUYEN: All right. And how big of a fish is this Samir Vincent in the grand scheme of this investigation?
ARENA: It's very unclear at this time. I mean, obviously, he's someone that we have been keeping our eye on. It's a name that was familiar to us. It is an individual, not a corporation. So that is a signal of where the investigation could be headed.
I think that it's way too early to tell in terms of -- there are much -- obviously, much larger, you know, corporate executives, bigger, well known corporate executives than he. But I think it's significant that after, you know, a variety of investigations that there is finally a prosecution.
NGUYEN: And this being the first U.S. criminal charge in this case, do you expect this Samir Vincent to be made an example of?
ARENA: Well, I think that it's just a -- it is indicative of the fact that this investigation is ongoing, that New York and other investigators do mean business.
We are talking about an individual. I mean, sometimes you have corporations that are charged and negotiations that are worked out but individuals who do not pay a personal price. And you have that here.
I think that this is very complicated. And -- and it will be a long way -- a long time going for these investigations to continue. As I said, there are several of them ongoing, so the results at the end of the day could be very different from what we're looking at right now.
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's justice correspondent Kelli Arena with that information.
And we do want to remind you that Attorney General John Ashcroft will announce these charges and the plea deal in an oil-for-food news conference. That will happen at 2 p.m. today Eastern. And we will take that when it happen -- Tony.
HARRIS: It is a job President Bush describes as America's face to the world, and the person he wants for the position is taking the hot seat today for her confirmation hearing.
National security adviser and secretary of state nominee Condoleezza Rice is before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to answer some tough questions today. The first session just ended. The next one is scheduled to begin in about 90 minutes.
CNN's State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel is in Washington with details -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, Ms. Rice was clearly aware of the historical importance of this hearing and of the job that she is expected to assume throughout the hearing that ran for about four hours and as you mention, will be picking up later this afternoon.
Ms. Rice was grilled about her record, the president's record on foreign policy.
But she began with her opening statement this morning. Again, aware of her place in history as the woman who is most likely to become the first African-American woman to become secretary of state. And paid tribute to her roots in the segregated South, as the daughter of poor Alabama cotton farmers.
And she mentioned her parents, John and Angelina Rice, and their friends, in the community of Birmingham, Alabama, who built, in her words, "a thriving community in the midst of the most terrible segregation in the country."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: It would have been so easy for them to give in to despair and to send that message of hopelessness to their children. But they refused to allow the limits and injustices of their time to limit our horizons. My friends and I were raised to believe that we could do or become anything, that the only limits to our aspirations came from within.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Ms. Rice went on to say that, in her view, that the world would become more secure and more peaceful if democracy is able to prevail. So clearly, an indication there of the way Ms. Rice views her mission and the president's mission over the next four years in terms of foreign policy.
Now, most of the questioning by Republicans and some Democrats was quite civilized and very complimentary of Ms. Rice. But some of the heated exchanges, which just wrapped up, included Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, and before her, from Senator John Kerry, the Democrat from Massachusetts, who was the presidential delegate for the Democratic Party, obviously, lost out. And this is just a hint of the line of questioning that he took with Ms. Rice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I admire enormously your personal story. I admire the road you've traveled. I admire your relationship with the president, which is obviously special. And he certainly has the right prerogative, as we all know, as president, to make choices. You are going to be confirmed, and everybody knows that.
But without anything personal at all, whether or not it is with my vote, is yet to be determined. I have reservations, and they are not personal in anyway whatsoever. But they do go to the story and trail of the last four years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: And of those last four years, John Kerry wanted Ms. Rice to explain what the president would be doing in Iraq from here on out. Obviously, there are elections at the end of this month.
Barbara Boxer, who wrapped up her questioning just before break, was pushing Ms. Rice is in incredibly aggressive way about her statements leading up to the war in Iraq and was implying that Ms. Rice made some mischaracterizations and was deliberately misleading the American people.
Condoleezza Rice responded by saying that she didn't want her reputation to be impugned and took issue with Barbara Boxer's line of questioning.
A lot more to go this afternoon. But when it's all said and done, Tony, the expectation is very much so that Ms. Rice will be confirmed to become the next secretary of state.
HARRIS: And Andrea, we'll take those confirmation hearings when they resume in about 90 minutes, after the lunch break. Andrea Koppel in Washington. Andrea, thank you.
As his first term comes to a close, President Bush is reflecting and looking ahead. Earlier today, Mr. Bush sat down with CNN senior White House correspondent John King for a one-on-one interview. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You've talked about changing your language a bit in the second term. That perhaps people thought -- found you too blunt, when you said things like "dead or alive" about Osama bin Laden, or "bring it on," in the early days of the Iraq insurgency.
What about "with us or against us." That was a defining moment when you spoke about terrorism, that countries around the world are either with us or against us. Some found that too black and white, too confrontational. Do you change that?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Not at all. I mean, we've got to win. And we've got to make it clear that people have to make a choice.
And I will continue to be straightforward and plainspoken about my view that freedom is -- is necessary for peace and that everybody deserves to be free.
But you're right, some of my language in the first four years was -- it had an unintended consequence. And I'm mindful of that.
KING: Want to ask you one more question about Iraq and then I may ask to steal an extra moment to ask you a bit about the moment to come. But about Iraq, obviously there's a debate about WMD. Some would say that there was a, perhaps a greater failing, either of intelligence or in planning, in the idea of the troop levels going in, or the statements from some in the administration that the Americans would be greeted as liberators.
As you look back now, was that an intelligence failing? Was there a misjudgment somehow in the planning?
BUSH: I think it was -- I think what you've just described is what normally happens in war, is that some things happen that you don't expect and some things you expect don't happen.
For example, I can remember the briefings I had on what to do with mass refugee movements or hunger or, you know, what you would expect as a result of a military action, which did not take place.
What did take place was a very swift defeat of Saddam's army, which allowed some Ba'athists to head to the hills and then let them live to fight another day. And that's what we're dealing with.
The truth of the matter is in the long run, John, that a sovereign government of Iraq is going to have to be prepared and equipped to defeat those people. And that's what I talked to Prime Minister Allawi about today.
KING: The president of the United States is also a former baseball owner. Two-third of American people think this new steroids policy is not tough enough. Some in Congress have talked, saying it's not tough enough. What does the president think?
BUSH: I think that -- first of all, I understand how difficult it is for management and union to get along. If you follow the history of baseball, there's been an antagonistic situation between the two.
I was very pleased to see that the union and the management was able to come together and put in place a steroid policy. And if it fails, they can strengthen it. But it's a very positive step forward.
KING: In closing, sir, assess the moment for me. Is it a personal vindication for you? Some have talked about vindication for the Bush family. And as you do so, can you help us a little bit with the speech? I understand that this is a book you've read, as you talk about your ideas about promoting democracy around the world. BUSH: I have. This is a book by Natan Sharansky, who was imprisoned in the Soviet Union. He's an heroic figure. He now is an Israeli official who talks about freedom and what it means and how freedom can change the globe. And I agree with him.
I believed that before I met Natan Sharansky. This is a book that, however, summarizes how I feel. I would urge people to read it. I'm glad you did.
Let me talk about this inauguration. For me, particularly given the fact these are historic times in which, more and more, the world is beginning to understand the importance of democracy. It is important for the world to see a peaceful transfer of power, or in this case, a continuation of power in a peaceful way.
It is a moment for the country to unite. It is an opportunity for all of us who are blessed to live here to say that we've got a great form of government. It can be improved, but it is a great form of government. I really don't view this in personal terms, John. I view it as a celebratory moment for America.
I'm so honored to be the person who has been chosen to lead us for four more years. I think this time around, it will a little different. I'll a better spectator than I was the first time.
The first time, I was pretty well overwhelmed by the moment and stayed focused on delivering the speech. I would hope that after four years as the president, I'll be able to not only stay focused on delivering the speech, but will also be able to take in the sights and sounds of this glorious moment.
KING: Mr. President, thank you for your time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: You can watch the entire interview tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." It begins at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific, here on CNN.
Preparing for the next possible terror strike...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The terrorists don't think in the terms that we think in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Los Angeles gets ready with the tear response plan that could be coming to your hometown. We'll show you what they're doing.
And this double-decker plane can hold more than 500 passengers. We'll give you an up close look at the world's largest passenger jet.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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CHIEF POLLY HANSON, METRO TRANSIT POLICE: I am pleading, begging, directing, demanding that our passengers be engaged with us. I'm not suggesting that we can do it by ourselves.
MESERVE: An FBI and Department of Homeland Security inauguration threat assessment mentions other modes of transportation which are potential targets or potential weapons. Limousines, for instance, which al Qaeda has explored using as bombs because of their large capacity and the access they sometimes have to restricted areas.
The FBI warned limo operators months ago to be on the lookout.
RICHARD KANE, INTERNATIONAL LIMOUSINE SERVICE INC.: The questions that they were concerned about for us is that do we have anybody that is asking the capacity, size, the weight capacity, of our vehicles? And fortunately, it's not been our case here.
MESERVE: A wide web of street closings is intended to keep limos and all vehicles away from inaugural activities.
Officials are hoping to avoid anything like this, the chaotic evacuation of the capital during the funeral of President Reagan, triggered when a plane carrying the governor of Kentucky entered restricted airspace.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't have to fly, don't fly on that particular day.
MESERVE: Officials are briefing pilots on expanded flight restrictions being imposed over the national capital region, warning them that violators will be met by fighter jets or Black Hawk helicopters. If they don't respond to radio calls, signals or flair, they risk being shot down.
KEITH ERICKSEN, FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR: Nobody likes to be told that they can't do somewhere or can't do something, but we understand that these safety procedures are in place for a reason.
MESERVE: As a precaution, general aviation at Reagan National Airport will be shut down altogether. And the entire region is being monitored by the military's North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The experts across the front row will monitor events on the week prior to inauguration, through the week after the inauguration. You can see up on our wall of knowledge, we like to call it, where we're able to pride real-time situation awareness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is going two, five, four, five, four.
MESERVE: Armed Coast Guard vessels are already patrolling a security zone established on the Potomac, checking out more than boat traffic.
LT. FRANK DEL ROSEO, U.S. COAST GUARD: We'll keep an eye on the bridges, as well, underneath the bridges and also on the bridges, like broken down trucks, cars that have been there for awhile, we'll call them in to local law enforcement so they can go out there and check them out.
MESERVE: The Coast Guard will also eyeball bordering parkland and roads, on the look out for suspicious vehicles or people.
The capital city and the inauguration it will host are emblems of the nation and its democratic traditions. But authorities are say they have no credible information that terrorists are targeting the ceremony or celebrations.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Now, more on defending America, specifically what is being done to protect the nation's second largest city.
CNN's Frank Buckley says Los Angeles has been -- has had its share of natural disasters. And city officials are doing all they can to prepare for the manmade kind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been hit hard by fires and floods...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grab the rope! Grab it tight!
BUCKLEY: ... earthquakes and riots. But it's the disaster Los Angeles hasn't experienced, a major terror attack that keeps the LAPD's counterterrorism chief, John Miller, on full alert.
(on camera) Do you believe that we will be attacked here in Los Angeles?
JOHN MILLER, LAPD COUNTERTERRORISM CHIEF: I believe that Los Angeles is as high a threat city as New York or Washington.
BUCKLEY (voice-over): Which is one reason why Los Angeles area agencies drill together on all manner of potential attacks, from dirty bomb drills like this one -- to deadly chemicals released in a shopping mall, to a terrorist takeover -- at LAX, to a hijacking at L.A.'s port.
They've gamed out what could happen and how police and other agencies would respond. But Miller says it's the attack they haven't anticipated that robs him of his sleep.
MILLER: Three times a week, you know, I'll be laying in bed in the middle of the night and think of some version of some combination of attacks that we hadn't thought of before. And we'll trot that in here to our HAZMAT people or to our intelligence people and say, "What about this?"
BUCKLEY: You might have seen his face before. He was an anchor on ABC's "20/20." One of his biggest interviews: the man in the picture on the wall. Long before 9/11, Miller tracked down and interviewed Osama bin Laden.
MILLER: I feel I understand bin Laden and perhaps understand him more than others who are in this role in other places.
Los Angeles encompasses some things that, if you are Osama bin Laden, goes to the heart of what you don't like about America. You have some our favorite things about ourselves, in a word, Hollywood.
BUCKLEY: Miller says bin Laden shapes his work. So, too, does this man, Ahmed Rasam (ph), an al Qaeda trained terrorist, convicted of a plot to blow up parts of LAX as America celebrated the millennium.
But Miller is quick to say he's not the only counterterrorism official in Los Angeles, and the LAPD is only one of several agencies charged with preventing or responding to the next potential plot.
In fact, it's L.A.'s multiple agencies, in a county of 88 cities, who have gained a national reputation for working together against terror.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Your efforts and example show the nation a level of cooperation, coordination, and communication that reflects the urgency of our challenge to prevent a terrorist attack and respond to any emergency.
BUCKLEY: The same multi-agency approach L.A. brought to disasters it is applying to terror.
SANDRA HUTCHENS, L.A. SHERIFF'S HOMELAND SECURITY: We've had the fires, the floods, the earthquakes, the riots. And by necessity, we have worked together and as a result have a very strong relationship.
BUCKLEY: Potential rivals like the FBI, the sheriff's department and the LAPD, work shoulder to shoulder. Intelligence is shared. Equipment is purchased in consultation with surrounding cities to reduce redundancy.
HUTCHENS: We have an event, we're going to be responding as a region.
BUCKLEY: It's not only L.A.'s cooperative approach against terror that's been recognized by national officials; it's the innovations.
(on camera) This LAPD bomb truck an example of that new technology. It's a total containment vessel that's been designed to handle chemical, biological or radiological devices.
In older versions of this truck, in the event of an explosion, the air would have vented out. You don't want that with a chemical, biological or radiological device, because that would contaminate the outside air. So this truck has been modified.
Newer technology like the truck is used in combination with somewhat older technology like this robot that can be remotely operated from a safe distance by bomb squad members. This robot can actually place the explosive device inside that truck.
(voice-over) And there's this...
DET. PAUL ROBI, LAPD BOMB TECHNICIAN: It's the only remote controlled forklift of its kind in the country. So if you had to go down range, it's capable of actually picking up a large vehicle bomb and driving off with it.
BUCKLEY: Another innovation, a microscope in a suitcase, designed in response to the anthrax scares.
MILLER: Our HAZMAT people are using this microscope to actually send picture from the scene right back to the lab. They can assess what they're looking at through the microscope and say, "This is nondairy creamer. It's sugar. It's baking soda. It's definitely not anthrax or anything else hazardous," without blocking off any streets, evacuating any buildings, or turning life upside down the way we used to have to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boomer, come.
MILLER: The LAPD also has Boomer, a first of its kind, according to the department, a canine that works off leash at an airport. His handler demonstrating how Boomer is trained to find people with explosives strapped to their bodies.
SGT. BLAINE BLACKSTONE, LAPD BOMB K-9 UNIT: If a human being were packing explosives like the suicide bomber, Boomer would alert to that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boomer, come.
BUCKLEY: Human officers, meanwhile...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're looking for major body count.
BUCKLEY: ... are focusing on a new joint effort with the Department of Homeland Security called Archangel, a program that will eventually be offered across the nation. Just last week, officers began training on how to inventory the hundreds of high priority, high risk, potential targets in Los Angeles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking for the major, "oh, my God" locations on a large scale.
BUCKLEY: Eventually, an incident commander will be able to call up detailed tactical information on a threatened sight, with a decision maker, maybe even in the White House situation room, on the same page, thousands of miles away.
LT. THOMAS MCDONALD, LAPD ARCHANGEL PROGRAM: They can literally do it at the stroke of a key, any time, any day, anywhere.
BUCKLEY: Which also happens to be when terror could strike again.
MILLER: The terrorists don't think in the terms that we think in. They don't think from year to year or fiscal year to fiscal year or election year to election year. They think in terms of a longtime battle.
BUCKLEY: This is a battle in which Miller, the former journalist, is now fully engaged as a combatant.
MILLER: It is not the critic who counts, according to Teddy Roosevelt. It's the person who's actually in the arena, doing the job. I feel a lot better leaving the critic's desk and getting into the arena.
BUCKLEY: Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: CNN's special series on "Defending America" continues tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" at 7 Eastern. And tonight, more on the threat of nuclear terrorism in the U.S. How safe are we? More LIVE FROM after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, the world's biggest ever passenger plane makes its debut. But it's never gotten off the ground. Would you buy a ticket to ride?
Later on LIVE FROM, the sacred Hajj. Two million Muslims a year make this pilgrimage to Muslim's most holy city. We'll take you inside the journey to Mecca.
And tomorrow on LIVE FROM, on the eve of President Bush's second term, some lessens from past inaugural ceremonies, like why one president really should have worn a thicker coat.
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