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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Syria Announces Alliance with Iran; Debate Emerging Over New Iraqi Prime Minister

Aired February 16, 2005 - 17:00   ET

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

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


WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now: enemy fighters. Who's winning the war against Iraq's insurgents? And why does Congress have new concerns?
Today, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the hot seat.

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): United front. Is Syria teaming up with Iran to confront the U.S.?

Threats to America.

PORTER GOSS, CIA DIRECTOR: It may be only a matter of time before al Qaeda or other groups attempts to use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons.

BLITZER: Top security officials detail the dangers.

Death of Diana. Investigators use new technology to take a new look at the scene of a crash. Was it also the scene of a crime?

Deep freeze.

GARY BETTMAN, NHL COMMISSIONER: The best deal that was on the table is now gone.

BLITZER: Hockey puts its season on ice and puts its fans in the penalty box.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday, February 16, 2005.

BLITZER: From car bombs to chemical weapons, from al Qaeda to insurgents, the threats to America were on the agenda as a who's who of America's top security officials gathered on Capitol Hill today.

America's top diplomat was also there as America eyes a new alliance between two nations on its list of terrorism sponsors, Iran and Syria. We begin our "Security Watch" coverage with CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, Wolf, the fact that Iran and Syria have over the years cooperated in their support of groups like Hamas and Hezbollah is no secret, but analysts say the timing of today's very public announcement should not be dismissed as just more rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (voice-over): Only one day after the U.S. recalled its ambassador to Syria, Damascus had a warning of its own: Syria's prime minister traveling to Iran, another country at odds with the United States, announcing a united front.

NAJI AL-OTAR, SYRIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The challenges we face in Syria and Iran require us to be in one front to confront all the challenges imposed on us by others.

KOPPEL: Still, Syria's ambassador to the U.S. told CNN it is not an anti-American alliance.

IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: We don't need an alliance against the United States. What we want is to engage the United States.

KOPPEL: But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested Syria was all talk and no action, saying Syria had been warned repeatedly about stopping insurgents from crossing into Iraq.

Now, following the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, the Bush administration is turning up the heat on Syria, demanding Damascus abide by a recent United Nations resolution to withdraw all its troops from Lebanon.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The Syrian presence and the Syrian involvement in Lebanese affairs has, of course, created a destabilized environment in Lebanon. That's why there has been a call for the Syrians to -- to stop that interference.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: Rice said the U.S. did not know who was responsible for the murder of half Rafik Hariri and repeated a call for an international investigation. But the sudden withdraw of the U.S. ambassador to Syria was an unmistakable signal the U.S. strongly suspects Syrian involvement.

KOPPEL: Secretary Rice refused to say when the U.S. might return its ambassador to Damascus or if more U.S. sanctions are in the offing. But what she implied, Wolf, was that the next U.S. move would depend on Syria's response -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Andrea Koppel at the State Department, thanks very much. The alphabet soup of security agencies was also well represented today, FBI Director Robert Mueller testified that al Qaeda's resolve to attack America has, quote, "never faltered."

And a former congressman returned to Capitol Hill as the new CIA director.

Our national security correspondent, David Ensor has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At his first appearance on Capitol Hill as intelligence chief, Porter Goss said the top threat to the nation's national security remains terrorism, causing mass casualties.

GOSS: It may be only a matter of time before al Qaeda or other group attempts to use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. We must focus on that.

ENSOR: Russian reports say terrorists may have stolen some nuclear materials in Russia in recent years, leading to concern about a possible dirty, radioactive bomb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you assure the American people that the material missing from Russian nuclear sites has not found its way into terrorist hands?

GOSS: No, I can't make that assurance.

ENSOR: Homeland security official James Loy said, though, the most likely next attack will be a conventional one, along the same lines that troops are facing in Iraq.

JAMES LOY, DEPUTY SECRETARY, HOMELAND SECURITY: We think we are most likely to be attacked with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, because that's the weapon of choice around the world.

ENSOR: Goss spoke of evidence both Iran and North Korea are moving ahead with nuclear weapons programs.

Reflecting the criticism of the CIA about intelligence prior to the 9/11 attacks and on Iraq's weapons or lack of there before the war, he stressed that the agency is getting more aggressive.

GOSS: Our officers are taking risks, and I will be asking them to take more risks, justifiable risks, because I would be much happier here explaining why we did something than why we did nothing.

ENSOR: On December 17, President Bush signed an intelligence reform law creating a new director of national intelligence, who will be Porter Goss' boss once selected. Democratic Senator Rockefeller said the president is taking too long making his choice.

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV), INTELLIGENCE VICE CHAIRMAN: Two months have now passed since the bill signing ceremony, and the position of director of national intelligence remains vacant, not even a person nominated. To me, this is unacceptable.

ENSOR: But the Republican chairman said the decision is too important to be rushed.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-KS), INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN: It is, I think, crucially important not only in terms of timing, but to get the right person.

ENSOR: What Goss did not discuss in the open hearing, but what U.S. officials confirm is that CIA officials are growing uneasy about holding Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Abu Zubaydah, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and other top al Qaeda prisoners indefinitely at undisclosed locations overseas.

(on camera) Sources say the CIA wants to scale back its role running secret prisons around the world. The question, said one, what is the end game for these people? A difficult question being quietly posed to the Justice Department and the White House.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

By the tens of thousands, Lebanese turned out to mourn their former prime minister, killed along with 16 others in a massive explosion this week in Beirut. The funeral also gave way for the crowd to vent their rage against Syria.

Our senior international correspondent, Brent Sadler, reports from Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A final farewell to Rafik Hariri, Lebanon's former prime minister. Frantic crowds pour onto the streets of downtown Beirut, a once notorious capital of terror in the 1980s, an image Hariri had struggled to erase.

His assassination Monday in a devastating bomb attack has plunged this country into a deepening political divide, separating pro and anti-Syrian political groups.

Seething tensions, fanned by opponents of the ruling status quo here, have broken through the surface in an unprecedented way.

(on camera) A massive outpouring of grief, pro-Syrian, Lebanese government officials told to say away. Hariri's allies urging restraint to avoid, they say, a risk of clashes between rival political camps.

(voice-over) Pinning responsibility for Hariri's murder on recent government accusations, denouncing the opposition to which Hariri was sympathetic, labeling them as agents of the United States and Israel. Demands for a total pull out of Syrian forces in Lebanon have never been so loud.

JAMIL MROUE, PUBLISHER, "THE DAILY STAR": You have just seen the camel keel over. The bomb was the straw that broke the camel's back.

SADLER: Former civil war rivals paid their respects in Martyrs Square, an old frontline battleground. Lebanon's multi-face society joined as one.

Hariri's grieving sons helped carry the coffin. His eldest son, Bahaaeddine Hariri, the likely political successor, struggling with his brothers to reach a giant mosque their father built. Bahaaeddine, hoisted onto the shoulders of his escorts, pleading with the crush of mourners to clear a path inside.

The final resting place of Rafik Hariri. A fallen statesman, say his ardent followers, who have powerful friends in powerful places.

French President Jacques Chirac paying condolences here to the slain prime minister's widow, Nazek Hariri. Chirac calling for an international probe to track down the killers amid worldwide condemnation and increased U.S. pressure on Syria, with worsening relations between Washington and Damascus.

Rafik Hariri's funeral may have brought many Lebanese together in a rare demonstration of unity, but Syria's allies here also remain strong, dominating the government. Now, the former prime minister's office here proclaims him a martyr in the city he fought to rebuild.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Ruling Iraq: election results are in, but who will run the country?

Hostage plea: newly released video of a kidnapped journalist in Iraq, begging for her life.

Returning to the scene of the accident that killed Princess Diana. Scotland Yard begins a high-tech investigation into that deadly crash.

Also ahead...

BETTMAN: I think this is a tragedy. I think it's a tragedy that we've all had to go through this. I think it's, as I said before, a tragedy for the fans, the people who work in and about this game, and I thing it's a tragedy for the players.

BLITZER: No deal. And now no professional hockey season. A major loss with a big impact felt off the ice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The Italian Senate has voted to extend funding for the 3,000 troops that country has in Iraq, despite an emotional videotaped plea from an Italian journalist kidnapped in Baghdad two weeks ago. It's unclear when the tape was made.

Our Rome bureau chief, Alessio Vinci, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the emotional video released by her kidnappers, which CNN chooses to air without sound, the Italian hostage is seen holding her hands together, fighting back tears and pleading for her life.

Exhorting her fellow citizens and her partner, Giuliana Sgrena, a reporter for the communist newspaper "Il Manifesto," says the only way she can be saved is for the Italian government to withdraw troops from Iraq.

It is her first appearance since she was kidnapped on February 4 outside a mosque in Baghdad, but it isn't clear when or where the tape was filmed.

Her father, who a day earlier launched an appeal to her captors for proof she was alive, didn't seem relieved by the videotape.

"I know her appeal will be worthless," he told Italian television. "I doubt they will pull out the troops from Iraq, and if they don't pull out I'm sure this is going to end badly."

In a statement, the Italian foreign minister, Gianfranco Fini, said, quote, "The government will continue to do everything it can to obtain the freedom of the hostage without altering the political, diplomatic and intelligence strategy that it has followed up until now."

The video inflamed political debate here in Italy as parliament on Wednesday approved additional funds for the 3,000 troops currently deployed in Iraq.

Before the invasion, Italy had seen some of the largest anti-war demonstrations in Europe. Today, the Italian public continues to be divided about the country's military contribution in Iraq.

"One must do everything to save a human life, but I don't think the troops should be pulled from Iraq," says this woman.

While this other one says, "I don't think the troops should have been sent there in the first place."

The reporter's videotape was repeatedly played on Italian television, watched also by colleagues in the newsroom in Rome.

ANGELA PASCUCCI, JOURNALIST: This is the evidence that she's alive. And so it is something fighting inside, you know. But she's alive.

VINCI: The headline of her newspaper says it all: "She is one of us."

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The surge in violence since the Iraqi elections last month claimed more lives today, including a top Iraqi security officer and an American soldier. Five other American soldiers died of what's being described as noncombat injuries.

At the same time, a fierce political struggle is continuing over who will be the new prime minister of Iraq.

Joining us now from Baghdad, our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson.

Who are the frontrunners to become the next prime minister of Iraq, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the top name at the moment is Ibrahim al-Ja'fari, currently the vice president in Iraq. He is the head of the al-Doura Party, one of the three main parties in that big block of parties, the United Iraqi Alliance, that won the bulk of the seats, the Shia Muslim party.

He is believed to be the favored person at the moment, although there are plenty of others in contention. The reason that he's favored, he's seen as a moderate. He's seen as somebody who can work with all different parties indeed. He was a chairman of the Iraqi group in exile in London for many years and for that reason has brought a lot of people together.

But the current finance minister from one of the other main parties in the United Iraqi Alliance, Adel Abdel Mahdi, recently said that he might withdraw himself from the candidacy of prime minister to allow them to unify around one position.

Ahmed Chalabi can't be ruled out, in the same way that the current prime minister, Ayad Allawi, is also potentially in the running as a sort of a candidate if nobody can agree in this main -- in this main religious block, Wolf.

BLITZER: It's amazing that Ahmed Chalabi, who's had so many lives, is emerging as a key political figure in this new Iraq.

ROBERTSON: Well, he got himself into the United Iraqi Alliance. He's one of -- his Iraqi National Congress party is one of those three main parties, and if the two religious parties can't agree within the block on who it should be, Madhi or Ja'fari, then maybe Chalabi gets to step in and say, "Look, I'm the secular one here. I'm more independent, and I can step in."

But you know, when you talk to a lot of Iraqis, they say no. Chalabi carries too much baggage. He has a bad reputation following him from -- from financial dealings in Jordan. He's not trusted by a lot of people in Iraq. So, therefore, there wouldn't be a lot of support for him within the country. But that doesn't mean that he can be ruled out. Because this is a deal being hammered out across many, many issues. There are many other ministerial positions and many other issues to bargain for around the table, not just this particular -- the prime minister's job, Wolf.

BLITZER: There's a lot of concern, at least among some U.S. officials, Americans in general, that any of these new leaders of this new Iraq, this new prime minister, they historically have some pretty good ties with Iran. Is this a source of concern -- should this be a source of concern that the new government will be close to Iran?

ROBERTSON: We're being -- we're being told here no. Certainly on the grounds of will this country tend towards a theocracy like Iran, we're being told no, that's very unlikely to happen.

Will there be certain politicians in the government in Iraq who have strong affinities, strong ties with Iran? Yes. What will Iran look for out of those people? The best guess here is that Iran is -- big concern in Iraq will be their own national security, not getting themselves involved in the minutia of politics in Iraq's national assembly.

But certainly those people come with baggage. Some of them spent 20 or more years in Iran if exile, avoiding Saddam Hussein's regime. So absolutely, they're going to be talking with people close to them, and those people will be in Iran -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Nic Robertson reporting for us from Baghdad. He'll be watching the formation of this new government every step of the way. So will we.

Security threats, missing nukes and fears of a new terror attack on U.S. Soil. The heads of the CIA and the FBI sounding the alarm on Capitol Hill. I'll speak with the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Jay Rockefeller. He's standing by.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KEN LIVINGSTONE, LONDON: If you think they're racist I think you're wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Nazi scandal. First Britain's Prince Harry. Now a new firestorm sparked by the mayor of London's -- sparked by the mayor of London's controversial remarks regarding the Holocaust.

And family reunion. A small tsunami survivor finally back in his parents' arms.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Just weeks after Britain's Prince Harry sparked outrage by dressing as a Nazi at a party, the mayor of London is now embroiled in a Nazi related controversy, and it's threatening his job.

The story from CNN's Matthew Chance in the British capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's an outspoken figure known to Londoners for introducing a fee for drivers to ease the traffic, angering animal lovers for declaring war on pigeons in Trafalgar Square.

Indeed, his straight talk is, for many, part of his appeal. But now the London mayor's choice of words threatens his political career.

Remarks causing such offense were made last week. Annoyed by a journalist who repeatedly asked him about the party he was leaving, the mayor said...

LIVINGSTONE: What did you do before? Were you a German war criminal?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I'm Jewish. I wasn't a German war criminal. I'm quite offended by that.

LIVINGSTONE: Well, you might be. But actually you are like a concentration camp guard. You're just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?

CHANCE: For the mayor it's a fuss about nothing, remarks made in anger to a reporter that he says was hounding him, and he's refusing to apologize.

LIVINGSTONE: You may think my remarks to that reporter and many others over the years were offensive. That's purely a matter of judgment. If you think they're racist I think you're wrong. It would be very easy for me to, you know, buy off media pressure by lying, and I'm not going to do it.

CHANCE: But that's not how many others see it. Prime Minister Blair has called for an apology. There's even concern the scandal may upset London's bid to host the Olympic Games.

It all comes after another Nazi controversy captivated the British press. Prince Harry photographed wearing a Nazi uniform to a party. It was meant as a joke, but Jewish groups and others are warning of the dangers of allowing this kind of gag and the remarks of the London mayor to pass unchecked.

KAREN POLLOCK, HOLOCAUST EDUCATIONAL TRUST: There may be people who just would use that language in a joke or not meaning it in the way that others would take it, but then there are other people who would use that sort of language deliberately to incite anti-Semitism, to incite hatred.

CHANCE: For some all the controversy is an overreaction to remarks and deeds that were harmless. But 60 years since the war, it's a sign of how strong feelings remain about Nazism and the Holocaust.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's called one of the most dangerous places on earth. Now two nuclear rivals are taking a small step to make the disputed territory of Kashmir a little bit safer. Our Zain Verjee has the story.

Plus, a new chapter in the death of Princess Diana. How her crash scene is now being investigated.

And later, lockout fallout, how the NHL season lockout is impacting businesses that rely on hockey and hockey fans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Topping the domestic threat list. The CIA director outlines his major concerns on Capitol Hill. We'll go there.

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

The U.S. economy is looking good, that word from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan during an appearance on Capitol Hill. Greenspan says the country's economic expansion rolled into the new year at what he calls a respectable pace. And commenting on President Bush's plan to partially privatize Social Security, Greenspan says it's a good idea, but it should be done in what he describes as a cautious and gradual way.

In Colorado, eight people on board a twin-engine jet were killed today when the aircraft went down near Pueblo. The Cessna was registered to Circuit City. Four of the victims worked for the company.

How can you defeat the enemy if you don't know how many of the enemy there are? Not a problem, according to the Pentagon brass. The topic today was Iraq's insurgency, the setting, a congressional hearing.

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

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Congress has been pressing the Pentagon to provide its estimates of how big the insurgency is in Iraq, but the Pentagon's been reluctant to do it for one simple reason. It doesn't really know.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MCINTYRE (voice-over): The U.S. military claims as many as 15,000 insurgents have been killed in Iraq, even as the number of attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces continued to climb. That's prompting members of Congress to question if the Pentagon truly knows what it's up against.

REP. IKE SKELTON (D), MISSOURI: If we lost 15,000 of our own troops in a comparable period, we would see diminished combat capability. And yet our enemy seems to be adapting and increasing his attacks.

MCINTYRE: While Pentagon officials dismiss one Iraqi general's estimate of 40,000 hard-core insurgents and 200,000 part-time fighters, they admit they don't really know how big the insurgency is.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: What I said was that I have in my hot little hand differing views from DIA and CIA. I see these reports. Frankly, I don't have a lot of confidence in any of them.

MCINTYRE: A senior military official tells CNN the best guess is that there are roughly 15,000 insurgents, of which maybe half are truly committed. But despite the uncertainty over the numbers, the Pentagon insists the U.S. and its Iraqi allies are winning.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: What we do know about these insurgents is that, overall, they're not very effective. They can spike in capability, as we saw before elections, but it goes back down to a steady state. We know that they're losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Rumsfeld and Myers argue that it's not the size of the insurgency, but their will to fight that really matters and that victory hinges as much on building the support of the Iraqi people for the new government as building up the new Iraqi forces.

And General Myers issued this prediction. He said the future of the insurgency is absolutely bleak -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon -- thanks, Jamie, very much.

Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons and they've gone to war over Kashmir before. Now an agreement on bus service in the disputed territory could pave the way perhaps to some sort of lasting peace.

CNN's Zain Verjee joining us now from the CNN Center with the story -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, getting on a bus to visit family isn't really a big deal here, but for people living in Kashmir, it is. Here's why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE (voice-over): Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan stare each other down in the disputed region of Kashmir. Both sides say Kashmir is theirs and have fought two wars over it.

Bringing peace to what's been called the most dangerous place on Earth comes in small steps or short bus rides. In Kashmir, a bus ride can be a big deal if the route it follows crosses a military cease- fire line, one that has divided families for more than 50 years. An announcement by Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers could change that.

NATWAR SINGH, INDIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We've agreed between us on mutually acceptable procedures for establishing a bus service between Srinigar and Muzzafarabad.

VERJEE: Kashmiris are excited, some even surprised. Mushid Hussein (ph) from the Indian side says, "Finally, divided relatives from both sides can reunite more easily."

"We cannot believe this is true," says Mohamed Ali (ph). "For the past two years, they've been saying it, but haven't met their promises."

Experts say this breakthrough could boost peace efforts between the two countries. India accuses Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan rejects the charges, saying it only gives insurgents fighting there moral support.

But bus diplomacy has failed before. Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee took a trip from India to Pakistan in 1999 with much fanfare to meet the then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. That peace effort was eventually dashed. India and Pakistan still hope that a bus ride can find a path to peace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: And, Wolf, Indian and Pakistani officials say the bus service will begin on April the 7th.

BLITZER: Zain Verjee reporting for us, very interesting. Thanks, Zain, very much.

The nuclear rivalry between India and Pakistan is just one of several potentially dangerous issues confronting the United States. As we told you earlier, some of the other issues include Osama bin Laden, Iran, Syria, North Korea, all the focus of a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing earlier today on Capitol Hill.

The vice chairman of that committee, Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, is joining us now live from Capitol Hill.

Senator, thanks very much for joining us.

Is there any one thing that you were told at this hearing today in open session that startled you?

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: I asked Porter Goss, the director of the CIA, if he could reasonably assure us that -- and the American people -- that all of those nuclear materials which the Soviets had before they changed their form of government were -- you know, weren't in the hands of terrorists. And he said, no, I can't.

And that was what I wanted to hear from him, because it's totally true. We talk about all the countries that clearly are getting atomic, a nuclear capacity, but Russia has more than anybody. And even under Nunn-Lugar, which tries to buy it up off to -- so they can disseminate it and burn it, I think well over 50 percent of what they originally had is still available and can go to terrorists on the black market in unguarded places. It's very dangerous.

BLITZER: And they would command a lot of hard currency for whoever sold that kind of material.

Is it your concern more that a terrorist group like al Qaeda would get access to that kind of nuclear material or a state, one of those so-called rogue nations?

ROCKEFELLER: No. I think, from my point of view, it would be a group like al Qaeda or some splinter. I mean, al Qaeda, after all, has been pretty well splintered in its -- you know, the head of the monster is off, but the body is surviving in many other forms.

And I think it's very easy for them on the black market to come in and buy materials that they need and put together a nuclear weapon. It could be a dirty bomb or it could be a nuclear weapon. Either one are very bad.

BLITZER: So, since it's been now more than three years since 9/11 and no major al Qaeda-related terror attack has occurred on U.S. soil, is this an opportunity for Americans to relax a little bit or should they remain vigilant right now and concerned that al Qaeda may simply be plotting, planning an even more spectacular attack?

ROCKEFELLER: I think only the second is worthy of consideration, which you suggested.

See, one of my problems, so to speak, is that, in America, we tend to thing in relatively short-term. It's only been three years. Nothing has happened. And yet, they may well have been planning 9/11 for three or four or five years. In the Middle East and Asia and other parts of the world, you know, they think in terms of centuries or 500 years or 1,000 years.

There, they can be patient. We want to have everything solved right away. It doesn't work like that. So they'll wait and they will wait for the right moment.

BLITZER: How concerned are you about this so-called joint front or common front that's been declared today between Iran and Syria against the U.S.? ROCKEFELLER: I'm not particularly worried at this point, because, in effect, they already have that in the traffic from Iran through Syria to Lebanon, down into the -- the Palestinians. They've been doing that for years.

Secondly, I think that they're sort of denying that it's the fact. And I'm not really sure, at this point, that we can say with any intelligence accuracy, so to speak, that it is a fact. But it is a practical fact of every day as far as their practices are concerned.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: You also expressed deep concern today that there's still no new director for national intelligence, this big intelligence czar, as it's been called, despite the signing of the legislation into law. Did you get any reassurance that the president has someone in mind who's about to be nominated for that post?

ROCKEFELLER: I did not. And I didn't expect to with the panel that we had.

But, on the other hand, I think it's a really big problem. You know, some people say, well, that can come along or we'll wait for the next commission to make its report. But the law says that we passed, the intelligence reform law, says that, within six months, we have to have a director of national intelligence, all of his directorate, his small bureaucracy, in order, and plans to make the intelligence community work together.

All of that has to happen within six months. And it's already -- two months have already passed. It was a real -- I think it's a real mistake that we do not have a director of national intelligence. And, in various ways, particularly the CIA and a couple of others, admitted it. In terms of counterproliferation, counterterrorism, they simply have not been able to make moves that they could have made were there a DNI. And they said so.

BLITZER: Senator Rockefeller, thanks for spending a few moments with us.

ROCKEFELLER: Thanks.

BLITZER: Scotland Yard takes a new look at the scene of the crime. But why does the investigation into the death of Princess Diana continue? And who can't let go? We'll take you to Paris next.

Plus, incredible pictures of a train collision. It's caught on videotape. We're just getting these images in from California, shows an Amtrak train. We'll tell you the story behind the pictures. That's coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY BETTMAN, NHL COMMISSIONER: This is money and opportunity that they'll never get back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Losing a season. With the hockey season being put on ice, find out who the NHL lockout is really hurting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're getting some information just in to CNN about Republican Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Our congressional correspondent Ed Henry is joining us now with word of that.

What's going on?

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf.

You know that Senator Arlen Specter is chairman of the Judiciary Committee that handles all of the contentious judicial nominations the president resent to the Congress this week, also would be dealing with any Supreme Court nominations that come up this week. He just -- his office just announced that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph system. Specter's office says he expects to be able to perform all of his duties.

But, remember, late last year, Arlen Specter had a major battle just to get that chairmanship. A lot of conservatives across the country felt that Specter was much too moderate. If -- and I stress if -- he had to step down at some point because of his health, he would be very likely be replaced by a much more conservative senator, someone like Jon Kyl of Arizona, for example, that has been talked about as a potential Judiciary chairman.

And that would have a major impact potentially on handling all of these judicial nominations. But I can tell you that Senator Specter's oncologist, John Glick, M.D., is quoted as saying -- quote -- "Senator Specter has an excellent chance of being completely cured of his Hodgkin's disease."

And, finally, Senator Specter himself says in a statement -- quote -- "I have beaten a brain tumor, bypass heart surgery and many tough political opponents. And I'm going to beat this, too."

BLITZER: Well, good luck to him. We wish him a speedy recovery, Senator Arlen Specter.

Ed Henry, thanks very much.

And we just received some very interesting videotape we want to show you. Take a look at this. It's an Amtrak train that hit a truck hauling strawberries near Oxnard, California. That's north of Los Angeles. Take a look. We have views from several vantage points.

Just want to update you. Several people inside the vehicle were hurt, but none of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening, fortunately. That occurred on Monday, but we just got the videotape. There's a new search for clues in the death of Britain's Princess Diana years after French officials formally closed the case. But a British investigation is moving forward.

CNN's Jim Bittermann shows us why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a scene played out more than once since 1997, British and French investigators were, once again, combing the site where Princess Diana died.

Equipped with lasers and special camera equipment, they blocked off the high-speed traffic lanes at about the same type of day that the accident occurred, intending to create 3-D imaging which will be used in the official coroner's inquest under way in Britain.

A Scotland Yard detective told reporters he hopes investigators will be able to determine exactly what happened, using computer technology not available at the time of the accident.

As far as the French are concerned, the case was closed back then. Blood tests revealed that the chauffeur of the limousine in which Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, were riding was high on alcohol and drugs and simply lost control of their car.

But some have continued to believe the princess' death could not have been just a routine traffic accident, that someone wanted to kill her. Among the most suspicious is Dodi Fayed's father, Mohamed al- Fayed, who was also the employer of the chauffeur.

Using both the French and British legal systems, Fayed has obsessively pursued his belief that the royal family assassinated the young couple because they disapproved of their relationship.

In part because of Fayed's insistence, and despite the fact that French courts have ruled out any plot, royal or otherwise, the British began their own investigation last year under the direction of Scotland Yard. Whatever the final cost of the elaborate British inquiry, some say it will be worth it if the talk of royal conspiracies is finally put to rest.

ROBERT JOBSON, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: I'm sure after all these millions of pounds have been spent, after two very extensive investigations by the police forces of France and Great Britain, that we will discover, surprisingly, that this was a tragic accident.

BITTERMANN: With Diana's widower, Prince Charles, planning to marry his long time lover, Camilla Parker Bowles, this spring, the accident now seems a distant memory, except to those like Fayed, who royal watchers say continues to grieve over his son's death.

(on camera): Seven and a half years after the events here, all of the principals in the Diana story has moved on, except for one, who's never been able to accept that his own employees were responsible for the death of his son and the death of the princess. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The hockey season in the United States is over before it even begins. While it's a sad day for the players, owners and fans, there are bigger losers siting out on the sidelines. Our Mary Snow standing by. She'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A sad, regrettable day in the words of the hockey commissioner. And fans across North America agree. In an unprecedented move, the National Hockey League is canceling the rest of the season without a single game played. The issue is money, specifically a cap on overall team salaries. But the financial fallout from the dispute is spreading far beyond the rink.

Our Mary Snow standing by live in New York with more -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, from stadium sales to sporting goods, businesses that usually cash in on hockey season are now feeling the financial pinch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir? The right T-shirt right down here.

NOW (voice-over): Rangers jerseys aren't moving quickly these days at Jerry Kawsby's (ph) sporting goods store in New York and the aisles have been empty since the NHL lockout.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jersey sales are down. They're probably down around 75 percent.

SNOW: Down, too, are fans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, very disappointed. I am a big hockey fan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's most sad for the small business people and the fans.

SNOW: Small businesses such as InGlasCo in Quebec, the official puck supplier to the NHL. It says it cut 24 jobs, or 25 percent of its work force, because of the lockout. An estimated $1 billion of sporting good sales have also been hurt.

MIKE MAY, SPORTING GOODS MANUFACTURING ASSOCIATION: And when the teams aren't playing, the game is out of the minds of the consumer, and, as a result, out of pocket, out of luck, no visibility, no spending.

SNOW: With 30 teams on the sidelines for the season, businesses across the U.S. that rely on fans are hurting, businesses like restaurants near stadiums and parking lots. In Detroit, known as hockey town, the regional chamber estimates $153 million in lost revenue.

But it's not just the sales that have been hurt. The NHL commissioner says it's impossible to tell how much damage has been done to the sport.

BETTMAN: We're going to have to earn back the trust and love and affection of everybody who's associated with the game, and so we -- we're going to have to look at a completely different economic model.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And this is the first time since 1919 that the Stanley Cup will go uncontested. And it was uncontested back then because of a massive flu epidemic -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary Snow reporting for us -- thanks, Mary, very much.

Up next, a long-awaited family reunion in the aftermath of the tsunami. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We end this hour with a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): A plan to fight global warming, the Kyoto protocol, is in effect. But two of the world's biggest polluters, the United States and Australia, are not part of the treaty. Among other things, they say it would cost millions of jobs. The pact was ratified by 141 countries.

In the South Pacific, the wait is on for an extremely dangerous storm. Tropical Cyclone Olaf is heading toward American Samoa. Olaf has winds approaching 200 miles an hour.

And in Sri Lanka, Baby 81 is finally back with his parents. The infant was found on a beach after surviving the December tsunami. He was later claimed by nine couples. But DNA tests have confirmed his identity.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We're very happy for Baby 81 and his parents. Good work.

That's all the time we have. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired February 16, 2005 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now: enemy fighters. Who's winning the war against Iraq's insurgents? And why does Congress have new concerns?
Today, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the hot seat.

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): United front. Is Syria teaming up with Iran to confront the U.S.?

Threats to America.

PORTER GOSS, CIA DIRECTOR: It may be only a matter of time before al Qaeda or other groups attempts to use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons.

BLITZER: Top security officials detail the dangers.

Death of Diana. Investigators use new technology to take a new look at the scene of a crash. Was it also the scene of a crime?

Deep freeze.

GARY BETTMAN, NHL COMMISSIONER: The best deal that was on the table is now gone.

BLITZER: Hockey puts its season on ice and puts its fans in the penalty box.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday, February 16, 2005.

BLITZER: From car bombs to chemical weapons, from al Qaeda to insurgents, the threats to America were on the agenda as a who's who of America's top security officials gathered on Capitol Hill today.

America's top diplomat was also there as America eyes a new alliance between two nations on its list of terrorism sponsors, Iran and Syria. We begin our "Security Watch" coverage with CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, Wolf, the fact that Iran and Syria have over the years cooperated in their support of groups like Hamas and Hezbollah is no secret, but analysts say the timing of today's very public announcement should not be dismissed as just more rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (voice-over): Only one day after the U.S. recalled its ambassador to Syria, Damascus had a warning of its own: Syria's prime minister traveling to Iran, another country at odds with the United States, announcing a united front.

NAJI AL-OTAR, SYRIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The challenges we face in Syria and Iran require us to be in one front to confront all the challenges imposed on us by others.

KOPPEL: Still, Syria's ambassador to the U.S. told CNN it is not an anti-American alliance.

IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: We don't need an alliance against the United States. What we want is to engage the United States.

KOPPEL: But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested Syria was all talk and no action, saying Syria had been warned repeatedly about stopping insurgents from crossing into Iraq.

Now, following the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, the Bush administration is turning up the heat on Syria, demanding Damascus abide by a recent United Nations resolution to withdraw all its troops from Lebanon.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The Syrian presence and the Syrian involvement in Lebanese affairs has, of course, created a destabilized environment in Lebanon. That's why there has been a call for the Syrians to -- to stop that interference.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: Rice said the U.S. did not know who was responsible for the murder of half Rafik Hariri and repeated a call for an international investigation. But the sudden withdraw of the U.S. ambassador to Syria was an unmistakable signal the U.S. strongly suspects Syrian involvement.

KOPPEL: Secretary Rice refused to say when the U.S. might return its ambassador to Damascus or if more U.S. sanctions are in the offing. But what she implied, Wolf, was that the next U.S. move would depend on Syria's response -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Andrea Koppel at the State Department, thanks very much. The alphabet soup of security agencies was also well represented today, FBI Director Robert Mueller testified that al Qaeda's resolve to attack America has, quote, "never faltered."

And a former congressman returned to Capitol Hill as the new CIA director.

Our national security correspondent, David Ensor has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At his first appearance on Capitol Hill as intelligence chief, Porter Goss said the top threat to the nation's national security remains terrorism, causing mass casualties.

GOSS: It may be only a matter of time before al Qaeda or other group attempts to use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. We must focus on that.

ENSOR: Russian reports say terrorists may have stolen some nuclear materials in Russia in recent years, leading to concern about a possible dirty, radioactive bomb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you assure the American people that the material missing from Russian nuclear sites has not found its way into terrorist hands?

GOSS: No, I can't make that assurance.

ENSOR: Homeland security official James Loy said, though, the most likely next attack will be a conventional one, along the same lines that troops are facing in Iraq.

JAMES LOY, DEPUTY SECRETARY, HOMELAND SECURITY: We think we are most likely to be attacked with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, because that's the weapon of choice around the world.

ENSOR: Goss spoke of evidence both Iran and North Korea are moving ahead with nuclear weapons programs.

Reflecting the criticism of the CIA about intelligence prior to the 9/11 attacks and on Iraq's weapons or lack of there before the war, he stressed that the agency is getting more aggressive.

GOSS: Our officers are taking risks, and I will be asking them to take more risks, justifiable risks, because I would be much happier here explaining why we did something than why we did nothing.

ENSOR: On December 17, President Bush signed an intelligence reform law creating a new director of national intelligence, who will be Porter Goss' boss once selected. Democratic Senator Rockefeller said the president is taking too long making his choice.

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV), INTELLIGENCE VICE CHAIRMAN: Two months have now passed since the bill signing ceremony, and the position of director of national intelligence remains vacant, not even a person nominated. To me, this is unacceptable.

ENSOR: But the Republican chairman said the decision is too important to be rushed.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-KS), INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN: It is, I think, crucially important not only in terms of timing, but to get the right person.

ENSOR: What Goss did not discuss in the open hearing, but what U.S. officials confirm is that CIA officials are growing uneasy about holding Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Abu Zubaydah, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and other top al Qaeda prisoners indefinitely at undisclosed locations overseas.

(on camera) Sources say the CIA wants to scale back its role running secret prisons around the world. The question, said one, what is the end game for these people? A difficult question being quietly posed to the Justice Department and the White House.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

By the tens of thousands, Lebanese turned out to mourn their former prime minister, killed along with 16 others in a massive explosion this week in Beirut. The funeral also gave way for the crowd to vent their rage against Syria.

Our senior international correspondent, Brent Sadler, reports from Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A final farewell to Rafik Hariri, Lebanon's former prime minister. Frantic crowds pour onto the streets of downtown Beirut, a once notorious capital of terror in the 1980s, an image Hariri had struggled to erase.

His assassination Monday in a devastating bomb attack has plunged this country into a deepening political divide, separating pro and anti-Syrian political groups.

Seething tensions, fanned by opponents of the ruling status quo here, have broken through the surface in an unprecedented way.

(on camera) A massive outpouring of grief, pro-Syrian, Lebanese government officials told to say away. Hariri's allies urging restraint to avoid, they say, a risk of clashes between rival political camps.

(voice-over) Pinning responsibility for Hariri's murder on recent government accusations, denouncing the opposition to which Hariri was sympathetic, labeling them as agents of the United States and Israel. Demands for a total pull out of Syrian forces in Lebanon have never been so loud.

JAMIL MROUE, PUBLISHER, "THE DAILY STAR": You have just seen the camel keel over. The bomb was the straw that broke the camel's back.

SADLER: Former civil war rivals paid their respects in Martyrs Square, an old frontline battleground. Lebanon's multi-face society joined as one.

Hariri's grieving sons helped carry the coffin. His eldest son, Bahaaeddine Hariri, the likely political successor, struggling with his brothers to reach a giant mosque their father built. Bahaaeddine, hoisted onto the shoulders of his escorts, pleading with the crush of mourners to clear a path inside.

The final resting place of Rafik Hariri. A fallen statesman, say his ardent followers, who have powerful friends in powerful places.

French President Jacques Chirac paying condolences here to the slain prime minister's widow, Nazek Hariri. Chirac calling for an international probe to track down the killers amid worldwide condemnation and increased U.S. pressure on Syria, with worsening relations between Washington and Damascus.

Rafik Hariri's funeral may have brought many Lebanese together in a rare demonstration of unity, but Syria's allies here also remain strong, dominating the government. Now, the former prime minister's office here proclaims him a martyr in the city he fought to rebuild.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Ruling Iraq: election results are in, but who will run the country?

Hostage plea: newly released video of a kidnapped journalist in Iraq, begging for her life.

Returning to the scene of the accident that killed Princess Diana. Scotland Yard begins a high-tech investigation into that deadly crash.

Also ahead...

BETTMAN: I think this is a tragedy. I think it's a tragedy that we've all had to go through this. I think it's, as I said before, a tragedy for the fans, the people who work in and about this game, and I thing it's a tragedy for the players.

BLITZER: No deal. And now no professional hockey season. A major loss with a big impact felt off the ice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The Italian Senate has voted to extend funding for the 3,000 troops that country has in Iraq, despite an emotional videotaped plea from an Italian journalist kidnapped in Baghdad two weeks ago. It's unclear when the tape was made.

Our Rome bureau chief, Alessio Vinci, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the emotional video released by her kidnappers, which CNN chooses to air without sound, the Italian hostage is seen holding her hands together, fighting back tears and pleading for her life.

Exhorting her fellow citizens and her partner, Giuliana Sgrena, a reporter for the communist newspaper "Il Manifesto," says the only way she can be saved is for the Italian government to withdraw troops from Iraq.

It is her first appearance since she was kidnapped on February 4 outside a mosque in Baghdad, but it isn't clear when or where the tape was filmed.

Her father, who a day earlier launched an appeal to her captors for proof she was alive, didn't seem relieved by the videotape.

"I know her appeal will be worthless," he told Italian television. "I doubt they will pull out the troops from Iraq, and if they don't pull out I'm sure this is going to end badly."

In a statement, the Italian foreign minister, Gianfranco Fini, said, quote, "The government will continue to do everything it can to obtain the freedom of the hostage without altering the political, diplomatic and intelligence strategy that it has followed up until now."

The video inflamed political debate here in Italy as parliament on Wednesday approved additional funds for the 3,000 troops currently deployed in Iraq.

Before the invasion, Italy had seen some of the largest anti-war demonstrations in Europe. Today, the Italian public continues to be divided about the country's military contribution in Iraq.

"One must do everything to save a human life, but I don't think the troops should be pulled from Iraq," says this woman.

While this other one says, "I don't think the troops should have been sent there in the first place."

The reporter's videotape was repeatedly played on Italian television, watched also by colleagues in the newsroom in Rome.

ANGELA PASCUCCI, JOURNALIST: This is the evidence that she's alive. And so it is something fighting inside, you know. But she's alive.

VINCI: The headline of her newspaper says it all: "She is one of us."

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The surge in violence since the Iraqi elections last month claimed more lives today, including a top Iraqi security officer and an American soldier. Five other American soldiers died of what's being described as noncombat injuries.

At the same time, a fierce political struggle is continuing over who will be the new prime minister of Iraq.

Joining us now from Baghdad, our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson.

Who are the frontrunners to become the next prime minister of Iraq, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the top name at the moment is Ibrahim al-Ja'fari, currently the vice president in Iraq. He is the head of the al-Doura Party, one of the three main parties in that big block of parties, the United Iraqi Alliance, that won the bulk of the seats, the Shia Muslim party.

He is believed to be the favored person at the moment, although there are plenty of others in contention. The reason that he's favored, he's seen as a moderate. He's seen as somebody who can work with all different parties indeed. He was a chairman of the Iraqi group in exile in London for many years and for that reason has brought a lot of people together.

But the current finance minister from one of the other main parties in the United Iraqi Alliance, Adel Abdel Mahdi, recently said that he might withdraw himself from the candidacy of prime minister to allow them to unify around one position.

Ahmed Chalabi can't be ruled out, in the same way that the current prime minister, Ayad Allawi, is also potentially in the running as a sort of a candidate if nobody can agree in this main -- in this main religious block, Wolf.

BLITZER: It's amazing that Ahmed Chalabi, who's had so many lives, is emerging as a key political figure in this new Iraq.

ROBERTSON: Well, he got himself into the United Iraqi Alliance. He's one of -- his Iraqi National Congress party is one of those three main parties, and if the two religious parties can't agree within the block on who it should be, Madhi or Ja'fari, then maybe Chalabi gets to step in and say, "Look, I'm the secular one here. I'm more independent, and I can step in."

But you know, when you talk to a lot of Iraqis, they say no. Chalabi carries too much baggage. He has a bad reputation following him from -- from financial dealings in Jordan. He's not trusted by a lot of people in Iraq. So, therefore, there wouldn't be a lot of support for him within the country. But that doesn't mean that he can be ruled out. Because this is a deal being hammered out across many, many issues. There are many other ministerial positions and many other issues to bargain for around the table, not just this particular -- the prime minister's job, Wolf.

BLITZER: There's a lot of concern, at least among some U.S. officials, Americans in general, that any of these new leaders of this new Iraq, this new prime minister, they historically have some pretty good ties with Iran. Is this a source of concern -- should this be a source of concern that the new government will be close to Iran?

ROBERTSON: We're being -- we're being told here no. Certainly on the grounds of will this country tend towards a theocracy like Iran, we're being told no, that's very unlikely to happen.

Will there be certain politicians in the government in Iraq who have strong affinities, strong ties with Iran? Yes. What will Iran look for out of those people? The best guess here is that Iran is -- big concern in Iraq will be their own national security, not getting themselves involved in the minutia of politics in Iraq's national assembly.

But certainly those people come with baggage. Some of them spent 20 or more years in Iran if exile, avoiding Saddam Hussein's regime. So absolutely, they're going to be talking with people close to them, and those people will be in Iran -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Nic Robertson reporting for us from Baghdad. He'll be watching the formation of this new government every step of the way. So will we.

Security threats, missing nukes and fears of a new terror attack on U.S. Soil. The heads of the CIA and the FBI sounding the alarm on Capitol Hill. I'll speak with the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Jay Rockefeller. He's standing by.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KEN LIVINGSTONE, LONDON: If you think they're racist I think you're wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Nazi scandal. First Britain's Prince Harry. Now a new firestorm sparked by the mayor of London's -- sparked by the mayor of London's controversial remarks regarding the Holocaust.

And family reunion. A small tsunami survivor finally back in his parents' arms.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Just weeks after Britain's Prince Harry sparked outrage by dressing as a Nazi at a party, the mayor of London is now embroiled in a Nazi related controversy, and it's threatening his job.

The story from CNN's Matthew Chance in the British capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's an outspoken figure known to Londoners for introducing a fee for drivers to ease the traffic, angering animal lovers for declaring war on pigeons in Trafalgar Square.

Indeed, his straight talk is, for many, part of his appeal. But now the London mayor's choice of words threatens his political career.

Remarks causing such offense were made last week. Annoyed by a journalist who repeatedly asked him about the party he was leaving, the mayor said...

LIVINGSTONE: What did you do before? Were you a German war criminal?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I'm Jewish. I wasn't a German war criminal. I'm quite offended by that.

LIVINGSTONE: Well, you might be. But actually you are like a concentration camp guard. You're just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?

CHANCE: For the mayor it's a fuss about nothing, remarks made in anger to a reporter that he says was hounding him, and he's refusing to apologize.

LIVINGSTONE: You may think my remarks to that reporter and many others over the years were offensive. That's purely a matter of judgment. If you think they're racist I think you're wrong. It would be very easy for me to, you know, buy off media pressure by lying, and I'm not going to do it.

CHANCE: But that's not how many others see it. Prime Minister Blair has called for an apology. There's even concern the scandal may upset London's bid to host the Olympic Games.

It all comes after another Nazi controversy captivated the British press. Prince Harry photographed wearing a Nazi uniform to a party. It was meant as a joke, but Jewish groups and others are warning of the dangers of allowing this kind of gag and the remarks of the London mayor to pass unchecked.

KAREN POLLOCK, HOLOCAUST EDUCATIONAL TRUST: There may be people who just would use that language in a joke or not meaning it in the way that others would take it, but then there are other people who would use that sort of language deliberately to incite anti-Semitism, to incite hatred.

CHANCE: For some all the controversy is an overreaction to remarks and deeds that were harmless. But 60 years since the war, it's a sign of how strong feelings remain about Nazism and the Holocaust.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's called one of the most dangerous places on earth. Now two nuclear rivals are taking a small step to make the disputed territory of Kashmir a little bit safer. Our Zain Verjee has the story.

Plus, a new chapter in the death of Princess Diana. How her crash scene is now being investigated.

And later, lockout fallout, how the NHL season lockout is impacting businesses that rely on hockey and hockey fans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Topping the domestic threat list. The CIA director outlines his major concerns on Capitol Hill. We'll go there.

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

The U.S. economy is looking good, that word from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan during an appearance on Capitol Hill. Greenspan says the country's economic expansion rolled into the new year at what he calls a respectable pace. And commenting on President Bush's plan to partially privatize Social Security, Greenspan says it's a good idea, but it should be done in what he describes as a cautious and gradual way.

In Colorado, eight people on board a twin-engine jet were killed today when the aircraft went down near Pueblo. The Cessna was registered to Circuit City. Four of the victims worked for the company.

How can you defeat the enemy if you don't know how many of the enemy there are? Not a problem, according to the Pentagon brass. The topic today was Iraq's insurgency, the setting, a congressional hearing.

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

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Congress has been pressing the Pentagon to provide its estimates of how big the insurgency is in Iraq, but the Pentagon's been reluctant to do it for one simple reason. It doesn't really know.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MCINTYRE (voice-over): The U.S. military claims as many as 15,000 insurgents have been killed in Iraq, even as the number of attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces continued to climb. That's prompting members of Congress to question if the Pentagon truly knows what it's up against.

REP. IKE SKELTON (D), MISSOURI: If we lost 15,000 of our own troops in a comparable period, we would see diminished combat capability. And yet our enemy seems to be adapting and increasing his attacks.

MCINTYRE: While Pentagon officials dismiss one Iraqi general's estimate of 40,000 hard-core insurgents and 200,000 part-time fighters, they admit they don't really know how big the insurgency is.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: What I said was that I have in my hot little hand differing views from DIA and CIA. I see these reports. Frankly, I don't have a lot of confidence in any of them.

MCINTYRE: A senior military official tells CNN the best guess is that there are roughly 15,000 insurgents, of which maybe half are truly committed. But despite the uncertainty over the numbers, the Pentagon insists the U.S. and its Iraqi allies are winning.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: What we do know about these insurgents is that, overall, they're not very effective. They can spike in capability, as we saw before elections, but it goes back down to a steady state. We know that they're losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Rumsfeld and Myers argue that it's not the size of the insurgency, but their will to fight that really matters and that victory hinges as much on building the support of the Iraqi people for the new government as building up the new Iraqi forces.

And General Myers issued this prediction. He said the future of the insurgency is absolutely bleak -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon -- thanks, Jamie, very much.

Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons and they've gone to war over Kashmir before. Now an agreement on bus service in the disputed territory could pave the way perhaps to some sort of lasting peace.

CNN's Zain Verjee joining us now from the CNN Center with the story -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, getting on a bus to visit family isn't really a big deal here, but for people living in Kashmir, it is. Here's why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE (voice-over): Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan stare each other down in the disputed region of Kashmir. Both sides say Kashmir is theirs and have fought two wars over it.

Bringing peace to what's been called the most dangerous place on Earth comes in small steps or short bus rides. In Kashmir, a bus ride can be a big deal if the route it follows crosses a military cease- fire line, one that has divided families for more than 50 years. An announcement by Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers could change that.

NATWAR SINGH, INDIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We've agreed between us on mutually acceptable procedures for establishing a bus service between Srinigar and Muzzafarabad.

VERJEE: Kashmiris are excited, some even surprised. Mushid Hussein (ph) from the Indian side says, "Finally, divided relatives from both sides can reunite more easily."

"We cannot believe this is true," says Mohamed Ali (ph). "For the past two years, they've been saying it, but haven't met their promises."

Experts say this breakthrough could boost peace efforts between the two countries. India accuses Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan rejects the charges, saying it only gives insurgents fighting there moral support.

But bus diplomacy has failed before. Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee took a trip from India to Pakistan in 1999 with much fanfare to meet the then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. That peace effort was eventually dashed. India and Pakistan still hope that a bus ride can find a path to peace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: And, Wolf, Indian and Pakistani officials say the bus service will begin on April the 7th.

BLITZER: Zain Verjee reporting for us, very interesting. Thanks, Zain, very much.

The nuclear rivalry between India and Pakistan is just one of several potentially dangerous issues confronting the United States. As we told you earlier, some of the other issues include Osama bin Laden, Iran, Syria, North Korea, all the focus of a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing earlier today on Capitol Hill.

The vice chairman of that committee, Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, is joining us now live from Capitol Hill.

Senator, thanks very much for joining us.

Is there any one thing that you were told at this hearing today in open session that startled you?

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: I asked Porter Goss, the director of the CIA, if he could reasonably assure us that -- and the American people -- that all of those nuclear materials which the Soviets had before they changed their form of government were -- you know, weren't in the hands of terrorists. And he said, no, I can't.

And that was what I wanted to hear from him, because it's totally true. We talk about all the countries that clearly are getting atomic, a nuclear capacity, but Russia has more than anybody. And even under Nunn-Lugar, which tries to buy it up off to -- so they can disseminate it and burn it, I think well over 50 percent of what they originally had is still available and can go to terrorists on the black market in unguarded places. It's very dangerous.

BLITZER: And they would command a lot of hard currency for whoever sold that kind of material.

Is it your concern more that a terrorist group like al Qaeda would get access to that kind of nuclear material or a state, one of those so-called rogue nations?

ROCKEFELLER: No. I think, from my point of view, it would be a group like al Qaeda or some splinter. I mean, al Qaeda, after all, has been pretty well splintered in its -- you know, the head of the monster is off, but the body is surviving in many other forms.

And I think it's very easy for them on the black market to come in and buy materials that they need and put together a nuclear weapon. It could be a dirty bomb or it could be a nuclear weapon. Either one are very bad.

BLITZER: So, since it's been now more than three years since 9/11 and no major al Qaeda-related terror attack has occurred on U.S. soil, is this an opportunity for Americans to relax a little bit or should they remain vigilant right now and concerned that al Qaeda may simply be plotting, planning an even more spectacular attack?

ROCKEFELLER: I think only the second is worthy of consideration, which you suggested.

See, one of my problems, so to speak, is that, in America, we tend to thing in relatively short-term. It's only been three years. Nothing has happened. And yet, they may well have been planning 9/11 for three or four or five years. In the Middle East and Asia and other parts of the world, you know, they think in terms of centuries or 500 years or 1,000 years.

There, they can be patient. We want to have everything solved right away. It doesn't work like that. So they'll wait and they will wait for the right moment.

BLITZER: How concerned are you about this so-called joint front or common front that's been declared today between Iran and Syria against the U.S.? ROCKEFELLER: I'm not particularly worried at this point, because, in effect, they already have that in the traffic from Iran through Syria to Lebanon, down into the -- the Palestinians. They've been doing that for years.

Secondly, I think that they're sort of denying that it's the fact. And I'm not really sure, at this point, that we can say with any intelligence accuracy, so to speak, that it is a fact. But it is a practical fact of every day as far as their practices are concerned.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: You also expressed deep concern today that there's still no new director for national intelligence, this big intelligence czar, as it's been called, despite the signing of the legislation into law. Did you get any reassurance that the president has someone in mind who's about to be nominated for that post?

ROCKEFELLER: I did not. And I didn't expect to with the panel that we had.

But, on the other hand, I think it's a really big problem. You know, some people say, well, that can come along or we'll wait for the next commission to make its report. But the law says that we passed, the intelligence reform law, says that, within six months, we have to have a director of national intelligence, all of his directorate, his small bureaucracy, in order, and plans to make the intelligence community work together.

All of that has to happen within six months. And it's already -- two months have already passed. It was a real -- I think it's a real mistake that we do not have a director of national intelligence. And, in various ways, particularly the CIA and a couple of others, admitted it. In terms of counterproliferation, counterterrorism, they simply have not been able to make moves that they could have made were there a DNI. And they said so.

BLITZER: Senator Rockefeller, thanks for spending a few moments with us.

ROCKEFELLER: Thanks.

BLITZER: Scotland Yard takes a new look at the scene of the crime. But why does the investigation into the death of Princess Diana continue? And who can't let go? We'll take you to Paris next.

Plus, incredible pictures of a train collision. It's caught on videotape. We're just getting these images in from California, shows an Amtrak train. We'll tell you the story behind the pictures. That's coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY BETTMAN, NHL COMMISSIONER: This is money and opportunity that they'll never get back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Losing a season. With the hockey season being put on ice, find out who the NHL lockout is really hurting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're getting some information just in to CNN about Republican Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Our congressional correspondent Ed Henry is joining us now with word of that.

What's going on?

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf.

You know that Senator Arlen Specter is chairman of the Judiciary Committee that handles all of the contentious judicial nominations the president resent to the Congress this week, also would be dealing with any Supreme Court nominations that come up this week. He just -- his office just announced that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph system. Specter's office says he expects to be able to perform all of his duties.

But, remember, late last year, Arlen Specter had a major battle just to get that chairmanship. A lot of conservatives across the country felt that Specter was much too moderate. If -- and I stress if -- he had to step down at some point because of his health, he would be very likely be replaced by a much more conservative senator, someone like Jon Kyl of Arizona, for example, that has been talked about as a potential Judiciary chairman.

And that would have a major impact potentially on handling all of these judicial nominations. But I can tell you that Senator Specter's oncologist, John Glick, M.D., is quoted as saying -- quote -- "Senator Specter has an excellent chance of being completely cured of his Hodgkin's disease."

And, finally, Senator Specter himself says in a statement -- quote -- "I have beaten a brain tumor, bypass heart surgery and many tough political opponents. And I'm going to beat this, too."

BLITZER: Well, good luck to him. We wish him a speedy recovery, Senator Arlen Specter.

Ed Henry, thanks very much.

And we just received some very interesting videotape we want to show you. Take a look at this. It's an Amtrak train that hit a truck hauling strawberries near Oxnard, California. That's north of Los Angeles. Take a look. We have views from several vantage points.

Just want to update you. Several people inside the vehicle were hurt, but none of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening, fortunately. That occurred on Monday, but we just got the videotape. There's a new search for clues in the death of Britain's Princess Diana years after French officials formally closed the case. But a British investigation is moving forward.

CNN's Jim Bittermann shows us why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a scene played out more than once since 1997, British and French investigators were, once again, combing the site where Princess Diana died.

Equipped with lasers and special camera equipment, they blocked off the high-speed traffic lanes at about the same type of day that the accident occurred, intending to create 3-D imaging which will be used in the official coroner's inquest under way in Britain.

A Scotland Yard detective told reporters he hopes investigators will be able to determine exactly what happened, using computer technology not available at the time of the accident.

As far as the French are concerned, the case was closed back then. Blood tests revealed that the chauffeur of the limousine in which Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, were riding was high on alcohol and drugs and simply lost control of their car.

But some have continued to believe the princess' death could not have been just a routine traffic accident, that someone wanted to kill her. Among the most suspicious is Dodi Fayed's father, Mohamed al- Fayed, who was also the employer of the chauffeur.

Using both the French and British legal systems, Fayed has obsessively pursued his belief that the royal family assassinated the young couple because they disapproved of their relationship.

In part because of Fayed's insistence, and despite the fact that French courts have ruled out any plot, royal or otherwise, the British began their own investigation last year under the direction of Scotland Yard. Whatever the final cost of the elaborate British inquiry, some say it will be worth it if the talk of royal conspiracies is finally put to rest.

ROBERT JOBSON, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: I'm sure after all these millions of pounds have been spent, after two very extensive investigations by the police forces of France and Great Britain, that we will discover, surprisingly, that this was a tragic accident.

BITTERMANN: With Diana's widower, Prince Charles, planning to marry his long time lover, Camilla Parker Bowles, this spring, the accident now seems a distant memory, except to those like Fayed, who royal watchers say continues to grieve over his son's death.

(on camera): Seven and a half years after the events here, all of the principals in the Diana story has moved on, except for one, who's never been able to accept that his own employees were responsible for the death of his son and the death of the princess. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The hockey season in the United States is over before it even begins. While it's a sad day for the players, owners and fans, there are bigger losers siting out on the sidelines. Our Mary Snow standing by. She'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A sad, regrettable day in the words of the hockey commissioner. And fans across North America agree. In an unprecedented move, the National Hockey League is canceling the rest of the season without a single game played. The issue is money, specifically a cap on overall team salaries. But the financial fallout from the dispute is spreading far beyond the rink.

Our Mary Snow standing by live in New York with more -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, from stadium sales to sporting goods, businesses that usually cash in on hockey season are now feeling the financial pinch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir? The right T-shirt right down here.

NOW (voice-over): Rangers jerseys aren't moving quickly these days at Jerry Kawsby's (ph) sporting goods store in New York and the aisles have been empty since the NHL lockout.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jersey sales are down. They're probably down around 75 percent.

SNOW: Down, too, are fans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, very disappointed. I am a big hockey fan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's most sad for the small business people and the fans.

SNOW: Small businesses such as InGlasCo in Quebec, the official puck supplier to the NHL. It says it cut 24 jobs, or 25 percent of its work force, because of the lockout. An estimated $1 billion of sporting good sales have also been hurt.

MIKE MAY, SPORTING GOODS MANUFACTURING ASSOCIATION: And when the teams aren't playing, the game is out of the minds of the consumer, and, as a result, out of pocket, out of luck, no visibility, no spending.

SNOW: With 30 teams on the sidelines for the season, businesses across the U.S. that rely on fans are hurting, businesses like restaurants near stadiums and parking lots. In Detroit, known as hockey town, the regional chamber estimates $153 million in lost revenue.

But it's not just the sales that have been hurt. The NHL commissioner says it's impossible to tell how much damage has been done to the sport.

BETTMAN: We're going to have to earn back the trust and love and affection of everybody who's associated with the game, and so we -- we're going to have to look at a completely different economic model.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And this is the first time since 1919 that the Stanley Cup will go uncontested. And it was uncontested back then because of a massive flu epidemic -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary Snow reporting for us -- thanks, Mary, very much.

Up next, a long-awaited family reunion in the aftermath of the tsunami. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We end this hour with a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): A plan to fight global warming, the Kyoto protocol, is in effect. But two of the world's biggest polluters, the United States and Australia, are not part of the treaty. Among other things, they say it would cost millions of jobs. The pact was ratified by 141 countries.

In the South Pacific, the wait is on for an extremely dangerous storm. Tropical Cyclone Olaf is heading toward American Samoa. Olaf has winds approaching 200 miles an hour.

And in Sri Lanka, Baby 81 is finally back with his parents. The infant was found on a beach after surviving the December tsunami. He was later claimed by nine couples. But DNA tests have confirmed his identity.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We're very happy for Baby 81 and his parents. Good work.

That's all the time we have. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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