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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Italian Demand Answers in Friendly Fire Killing; Saudis Launch Anti-Terror Ad Campaign; Cronkite Discusses Trouble at CBS

Aired March 07, 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, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: anger at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Did a professor's controversial comments about midshipman speak the truth or cross the line? It's a story you'll see only here on CNN.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Funeral and fury. As Italy honors an agent shot dead by U.S. troops, an ex-hostage suggests it wasn't an accident.

GIULIANA SGRENA, FREED ITALIAN HOSTAGE (through translator): I think light has to be shed on everything that happened.

BLITZER: Partial pullback. Halfway home, or half-measured?

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We want to see the complete and immediate withdrawal of all Syrian military forces and all intelligence services in Lebanon.

BLITZER: Back at work. Martha Stewart meets with the staff.

MARTHA STEWART, FOUNDER, MARTHA LIVING OMNIMEDIA: I've reflected upon the past, on my own life and to consider what's really and truly important to me.

BLITZER: After Rather.

WALTER CRONKITE, FORMER CBS NEWS ANCHOR: Dan gave the impression of playing a role more than simply trying to deliver the news.

BLITZER: I'll discuss the future of television news with legendary journalist Walter Cronkite.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Monday, March 7, 2005.

BLITZER: He died in a hail of gunfire after helping free an Italian hostage in Iraq. But the bullets came from U.S. troops, who shot at the car carrying them to safety.

Today, Italian secret service agent Nicola Calipari was given a state funeral, and the woman he rescued is making insinuations about the motives of the Americans.

We begin in Rome with CNN's Alessio Vinci.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nicola Calipari is considered nothing less than a hero here, a hero for the way he saved Giuliana Sgrena's life by shielding her with his own body. A hero for having secured the release of at least two other Italian hostages held in Iraq. He died Friday in a barrage of American gunfire.

"The Americans must explain what happened," says this mourner.

"I feel anger and pain at the same time," says this other man. "But I think it was an accident."

But Sgrena, who was unable to take part in the funeral, because she is still in hospital recovering from a wound to her shoulder, doesn't want to hear about what American officials are calling a tragic mistake. In a phone interview with CNN, she disputes the U.S. military account that the car was speeding towards a checkpoint and that warnings were given for them to stop.

GIULIANA SGRENA, FREED HOSTAGE (through translator): It is not up to me to say that it wasn't an ambush. It is up to those who did this action. We can call it any way you like until we have the elements define it. They have to demonstrate that there were valid reasons to do what they did.

I don't have to explain what happened. It is up to those who did it or those who gave the orders. There were people there who shot at us. I saw them when they came to open the car and pull me out of it, wounded. So the inquiry could start from there. They have to say why they fired. I don't have to explain why they fired.

VINCI: Calipari was a skilled negotiator, and while the Italian government denies a ransom was paid, media here speculate that up to $6 million were paid for her release.

(on camera) There is a feeling here in Italy that the Americans are not telling the truth. The U.S. military has promised a full investigation. But too many details of the incident remain murky.

And Italians will continue to pressure Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi until he'll receive a complete account on how and why one of Italy's most experienced intelligence officers was killed.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The White House says any suggestion that U.S. troops targeted the Italians is, quote, "absurd." Officials portray the incident as another tragic case of friendly fire.

As the investigation continues, let's go live to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the U.S. military says it will keep using these roadside checkpoints.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Even as Nicola Calipari's funeral was under way in Rome, the U.S. began investigating his shooting death and the wounding of journalist Giuliana Sgrena by U.S. troops at a checkpoint near Baghdad Airport Friday night. Another man in the car also was wounded.

Bush administration officials deny any suggestion Sgrena was targeted.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: There's absolutely no shred of truth to the idea that we somehow did this on purpose.

STARR: U.S. officials say the soldiers did not know who was in the car. It is not clear if the Italians notified the U.S. they were going to travel that night.

Sgrena says the car was not speeding and that no warning was given, contrary to U.S. accounts. In an article for her newspaper, "Il Manifesto," she wrote her captors had warned her, "The Americans don't want to you go back."

The road to Baghdad airport is particularly dangerous.

MCCLELLAN: It is a road where suicide bombers have carried out attacks. It is a road where regime elements have fired on coalition forces.

STARR: The White House says the troops have a tough job.

MCCLELLAN: Oftentimes, they're having to make split second decisions in order to protect their own security and safety.

STARR: Bulgaria is demanding to know how one of its soldiers was killed in an apparent friendly fire attack. According to the defense minister, gunfire erupted Friday southeast of Baghdad when the troops tried to stop a car. The Bulgarians then came under attack from the U.S., the government statement said, noting "a communications facility of the U.S. Army is located 150 meters away."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: And Wolf, both incidents appear initially to be the result of lack of communication. The question being how could U.S. soldiers not have known who they were shooting at -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr reporting for us from the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you.

Just a short while ago, I spoke with Walter Cronkite. He's the honor airy chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists. I asked him about statements that Giuliana Sgrena may have been deliberately attacked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRONKITE: It sounds to me like one of those Rather typical accidents of war. In this case, along a highway when -- there have been many incidents. In the dark of night of car is speeding along and failing to stop when the American soldiers patrol asked them to, to pass through their lines in that fashion. I can certainly understand the shots being fired at them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Coming up only here on CNN, the full interview with Walter Cronkite, including -- including his surprising comments on Dan Rather and the future of television news. That's later this hour.

Meanwhile, Iraqi insurgents launch numerous attacks in Baghdad and other cities today, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens more. Most of the dead were civilians and Iraqi police and soldiers.

A suicide car bombing north of the capital was aimed at an Iraqi officer. Most of the five people killed were students across the street waiting to start their classes.

Saudi Arabia's launching an unusual anti-terror campaign inside the kingdom, something its critics say is long overdue. Remember, 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudis.

CNN's Brian Todd joining us now. He's spoken to both sides of this story. He's got details -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the Saudis are undertaking their own campaign to win hearts and minds inside the kingdom. And they're banking on some very powerful images to get the message across.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): A proud father thumbing through an album, memories of his son as a boy, growing into adulthood. Then the father's face tells it all. A son taken in this storyline, killed by terrorists.

A powerful ad without one word of dialogue, produced by the government of Saudi Arabia with an ambitious goal in mind.

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, ADVISER TO SAUDI CROWN PRINCE: Going after the mind-set that promotes or condones extremism or violence in a way that is contradictory to the teachings of our Islamic faith.

TODD: Saudi officials believe they've been unfairly criticized nor not going after that mind-set, for allowing clerics and teachers to incite hatred. They say they've taken the offensive, not just with three ads they've launched on Saudi TV and regional Arab satellite networks, but also in documentaries, talk shows and cartoons targeting kids, billboards. Even promoting the message at ATMs and on utility bills.

ALI AL-AHMED, SAUDI OPPOSITION LEADER: This is a clear PR move to please the Americans.

TODD: Saudi opposition leader Ali al-Ahmed believes the royal government isn't attacking the real roots of hatred in the kingdom.

AL-AHMED: I think if they had spent that money in moving and advancing and reforming the education system would have been much better.

TODD: Al-Ahmed says textbooks in Saudi schools containing language degrading other religions, first reported by CNN last summer, are still in circulation. We pressed Adel al-Jubeir on that charge.

AL-JUBEIR: We have found that five percent of what is in the textbooks was, frankly, very objectionable, and we have found that about 10 percent of it is questionable. We have removed the five percent that's intolerable and unacceptable. And we have worked on the 10 percent that is questionable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Al-Jubeir also says the government is punishing some teachers and clerics who incite hatred, retraining other and stepping up its monitoring of schools and mosques.

How are these ads playing inside the kingdom? Al-Jubeir says they'll take a public opinion poll after this campaign to find out -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd, very interesting. Thanks, Brian, very much.

When we come back, back to work for Martha Stewart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: We are, all of us, in this next chapter going for greatness. I love all of you from the bottom of my heart. And I'm really glad to be home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We'll show you more of her emotional speech to her employees.

Syria makes a major announcement about its troops in Lebanon. Is it what the U.S. and the world has been waiting for?

And Dan Rather's final days in the anchor chair. Surprising comments from the man he replaced. Walter Cronkite speaks out in an interview you'll see only here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: This was no typical back-to-work Monday for one New York worker. Martha Stewart was back on the job for the first time since her release from prison on Friday. And she had lots to say to her 500 employees who gathered to welcome her back.

CNN's Mary Snow is live on the story for us. She's joining us live from New York -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, since she's been released from prison late last week, cameras and reporters have followed around Martha Stewart wherever she goes. And here at her company's headquarters in Manhattan today was no exception.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN LYNE, CEO, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA: Our founder, Martha Stewart.

SNOW: It looked more like a talk show than a company meeting. The music on cue as Martha Stewart took center stage. Hundreds of employees welcomed her back from five months at prison. Toward the end she came emotional.

STEWART: I love all of from you the bottom of my heart. And I'm really glad to be home.

SNOW: Stewart told the crowd she's gone through profound changes. At times she sounded more philosophical than her practical self. The queen of how-to books told employees she must also now focus on the whys.

STEWART: This is what truly interests us, why we all come to work every day. Our passion is and always should be to make life better.

SNOW: Stewart talked about the inmates she met, even told the crowd one of them made that now famous poncho she wore last week.

But one part of her wardrobe not yet attached is the electronic ankle bracelet she'll have to wear for the next five months, another reminder of her prison experience that is not totally behind her and an experience her company is trying to put in the past.

From her departure from Alderson to her company releasing pictures of her and her family inside her home, it is all part of the marketing of Martha Stewart.

ROBERT PASSIKOFF, BRAND KEYS: What they're trying to do is they're trying to change the image. They're trying to migrate from villainess to victim and to try and soften some of the rough edges that were exposed during the trial.

SNOW: Robert Passikoff works for a marketing firm that has studied Stewart's brandings since 2002. It's found her brand suffered the most right after her conviction last year. While it's now rebounded, she still has customers to win back. The question is: can too much exposure hurt her?

PASSIKOFF: You can't be too nice. I don't think there's the ability to oversaturate in terms of who the woman is and what she's about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: While workers cheered Martha Stewart here today, her company's stock did not get such a warm reception on Wall Street. It slid nine percent today. And on Friday, it had an even bigger drop -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary Snow, reporting for us in New York. Mary, thank you very much.

Tears and laughter, as we just saw, were part of Stewart's speech. Here is more of what she had to say in front of her colleagues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEWART: All of you know how many thousands of letters I've received in the last few months. So many. Boxes and boxes and boxes of those wonderful, wonderful letters. So much support from everywhere in the country, from Canada, from Europe, from Iraq. I got some fabulous letters from Iraq.

I got letters from all over the world, all extremely supportive. They made me cry; they made me laugh. One letter came from -- here I am wandering already, but I have to tell but this one letter from a captain in the Army, American Army. And he sent me pictures of his cell, he called it, a metal box buried in the sand where he lived with four other people. And he said he guessed that my cell was better than his cell.

Anyway, I wrote back to him. He sounded like a really nice guy.

But it was just incredible, incredible the misery that exists around the world.

You are, every single one of you, perfectionists. In the past, in our magazines and television shows, the world has seen me surrounded by your incredible productions and your incredible achievements.

But I gather that this has inadvertently given the impression that I am able to bake and cook and entertain every day all by myself, while appearing on television, organizing this wonderful large company and managing a number of magazines, all while doing my ironing and my vacuuming. And I have reflected long and hard on all of these facts.

Well, you know, I don't always do all of my own ironing, even though I wish I could. I love ironing. I don't always do my own vacuuming, although even though my daughter, Alexis, here in the front row, knows I love to vacuum. I really -- I'll vacuum during a party if I could get a vacuum out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Martha Stewart back at work today, speaking to her employees earlier in the day.

Sticking to his guns. Why one naval academy professor says the academy's admissions standards exclude -- yes, exclude -- the most qualified applicants. It's a story you'll see only here on CNN.

Amid allegations of a recruiting scandal and a controversial professor, a university president is calling it quits.

And later, the legendary anchorman Walter Cronkite on the changing of the guard at CBS News. You might be surprised to hear what Walter Cronkite has to say. You'll hear it here this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Who gets in and who's kept out? That topic has students and faculty at the U.S. Naval Academy buzzing. Part of a growing controversy with a tenured professor at the center of the storm.

Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, has the story, which you'll see only on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to one outspoken academy professor, half of the brigade of midshipmen got into Annapolis through set asides, lower standards for racial minorities, star athletes or sailors who have shown potential.

"Weaker academics means weaker officers," he says, "officers who may one day have their finger on the button or the trigger."

Some minority students were outraged.

ADAM YANG, MIDSHIPMAN 1ST CLASS: The fundamental flaw in his argument was that weaker academics make weaker officers. But academics isn't the definition of a good officer.

MCINTYRE: As part of a regular feature called "Nobody Asked Me But," Annapolis English professor Bruce Fleming wrote in last month's "Proceedings" magazine the academy can do better. "Set-asides," he wrote, "slow class discussions and take seats that better applicants could have filled."

(on camera) So what were you thinking when you wrote this?

BRUCE FLEMING, ENGLISH PROFESSOR, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: Well, my concern is for the well-being of the Navy and Marine Corps.

MCINTYRE: What kind of reaction are you getting from the students? FLEMING: Well, a number of them will come in to tell me that I'm saying things that they're not allowed to say and bully for me and they're really glad that I did it. And a number of them are either writing or saying that they don't agree and want to let me know that, too.

MCINTYRE: And isn't that what campus dialogue is supposed to be about?

FLEMING: At some level, I couldn't be happier.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): The academy superintendent, the equivalent of the school's president, was furious.

(on camera) Is Professor Fleming in any trouble?

ADMIRAL RODNEY REMPT, SUPERINTENDENT, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: No, not at all.

MCINTYRE: Admiral Rempt can't fire a tenured professor for speaking out, but he can and did abrade him.

"I would have expected a faculty member with almost 18 years here to exercise better judgment," he wrote in a memo to Fleming. "Your action has served to needlessly criticize the academy, our admissions board and every midshipman."

MCINTYRE (on camera): The naval academy disputes the idea that it has lower standards for some applicants and insists its whole person admissions policy looks at far more than just academics.

(voice-over) And the academy insists there are no quotas or racial preferences to achieve diversity.

REMPT: We're looking for people who certainly have academic smarts. But also the physical toughness and the determination and the basic leadership skills.

MCINTYRE: Soshi Piedra (ph) is a Mexican-American and a standout on the woman's soccer team. Just because she needed some extra help to get through engineering, academy officials argued, doesn't mean she won't excel as a leader.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll be able to take care of my people, which is of the most important things about being an officer.

MCINTYRE: While the midshipmen provided to CNN for interviews all supported the official view, Professor Fleming said his e-mails were split 50-50.

One student wrote, "The only reason that anybody would be opposed to your article would be if they recognized its truth and were threatened by it."

But another argued the last thing the fleet needs is 4,000 straight A students. And some cited examples of poor students who went on to succeed. Senator John McCain graduated from Annapolis in 1958, fifth in his class: fifth from the bottom.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Annapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The first steps towards Syrian troop withdrawal from Lebanon. Those steps have now begun. But will a full withdrawal occur, or is this just an image correcting effort? Former defense secretary, William Cohen, standing by. He'll weigh in.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRONKITE: He is, to my mind, the man who, quite frankly, although Dan did a fine job, I would have liked to have seen him in there a long time ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A candid conversation with Walter Cronkite on the career of CBS News anchorman Dan Rather. What he says may surprise you. That's coming up.

And later, surf's up. Why these Australian surfers felt the need to share the board.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

BLITZER: Welcome back.

The presidents of Syria and Lebanon commit to the first stage of a troop withdrawal. Coming up, I'll speak with the former Defense Secretary William Cohen.

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

Gasoline prices are up and experts warn the trend will likely continue. The national Lundberg survey shows the average U.S. price at $1.97 a gallon, up about 7 cents over the past two weeks. And the Lundberg people say that's still lagging behind rising crude oil prices.

The president of the embattled University of Colorado is stepping down. In a letter to the regents, Elizabeth Hoffman alluded to recent scandals dogging the school on her watch, including alleged football recruitment, and accusations of rape against athletes, and controversial comments by a professor comparing victims of the 9/11 attacks to Nazis.

Also stepping down, Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher after just over a year on the job. A company statement says the board asked him to leave because of a personal relationship with an unnamed female Boeing executive which violated the company code of conduct.

And President Bush will nominate John Bolton to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. He's currently undersecretary of state. His boss, Condoleezza Rice, made the announcement earlier today. Critics note Bolton has made some tough comments about the U.N. in the past.

Under mounting pressure to remove its 14,000 troops from Lebanon, Syria today announced a pullback, but not a pullout.

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): In the Syrian capital, two seemingly inseparable presidents defying world pressure to agree a complete and immediate withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon. Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, shares the red carpet with a longtime friend and trusted Lebanese ally, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud. Their agenda here, to lay down specifics of a two-phase military move towards a withdrawal the world wants, but at their own pace, leading, say top Syrian officials, to a positive end game.

IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO UNITED STATES: Not a single Syrian influence in Lebanon, all of our troops outside. The only influence we will have on Lebanon is that based on our historic, cultural, family, social ties with Lebanon.

SADLER: Step one, a pledge to redeploy Syrian troops by the end of this month, evacuating positions held for decades in northern and central Lebanon to a new line closer to Syria, but still well inside Lebanon. Step two is less clear, planning under close wraps. Military chiefs have been given up to a month to work out the next move. Only at that stage could both governments sign off on a complete withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

But Syria's own political allies in Lebanon are now setting their own street agenda to counter anti-Syrian demonstrations with a mass rally planned Tuesday in support of Syria, called by the armed militant group Hezbollah, hoping to prove that, even as Syria prepares to pull back troops, they can count on another kind of Lebanese support.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Damascus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The White House today called that Syrian pullback decision -- quote -- "half a measure" and demanded the complete and immediate withdrawal of all Syrian troops and intelligence services from Lebanon.

Joining us now, our world affairs analyst, the former Defense Secretary William Cohen. He's the chairman and CEO of the Cohen Group.

Mr. Secretary, welcome back.

WILLIAM COHEN, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to be here, Wolf.

BLITZER: How does the U.S. deal with this situation, the Syrian withdraw now, to get them completely out, including the intelligence services, but to do it in a way that doesn't necessarily backfire?

COHEN: Well, first of all, we have to be a little cautious in terms of what is making place. No. 1, the Syrians have indicated they're not pulling all the way out. And even when they pull all the way out, there's no way you can actually ensure the intelligence services, which are deeply embedded in Lebanon, are going to be pulled out.

Moreover, the Syrians have a major influence inside of Lebanon. About a million Syrians actually live in Lebanon. You have about 20 percent of the GDP of Syria based upon their trade with Lebanon. So merely pulling out the force is not going to unleash any sort of Jeffersonian democracy inside of Lebanon. It is a deeply divided sectarian division that we're looking at right now. We'll see that -- that represented tomorrow.

BLITZER: With this huge Hezbollah demonstration supporting Syria, most of that is Shiite, Lebanese Shiite. Are we going to see a return to the awful situation of the civil war in the '70s, let's say?

COHEN: Well, as a matter of fact, by demanding the withdrawal of all Syrian troops, the United States and most of the countries, the United Nations, Saudi Arabia, Russia, all are now demanding that. But you might very well see an effort made to destabilize Lebanon in a way.

It could come from various intelligence forces or others, to set off some terrorist activities, justifying once again maintaining that Syrian presence inside of Lebanon.

BLITZER: A lot of people -- a lot of people suspect the Syrians will do precisely that, to show, you see, it was quiet when we were there. We get out and these Lebanese simply can't deal amongst themselves.

COHEN: That's one possibility.

Secondly, the Hezbollah is still the best organized political party inside of Lebanon. So, again, assuming that the troops are out, assuming you can get the intelligence out, nonetheless, the Hezbollah is going to be the political force that one has to contend with inside of Lebanon itself.

BLITZER: And the goal is to disarm that Hezbollah militia. But it doesn't look like the Lebanese are going to be able to do that anytime soon.

COHEN: There's no consensus inside the country at this point. So we're really taking it one day at a time, one step at a time.

BLITZER: The situation involving that Italian journalist who was wounded, her bodyguard, if you will, the intelligence officer, killed., the tragedy is, there are millions of people probably out there in Europe, especially, who suspect the U.S. may have deliberately targeted that car. How does the defense secretary deal with this right now? Because the Italians have been close allies of us.

COHEN: The Italians have been close allies. And the defense secretary and the president of the United States must express their deep condolences to the family of those who were killed. The Bulgarian individual was killed, as well as the Italian escort and negotiator on behalf of the person who was kidnapped.

But this is very difficult to deal with. We kill, unfortunately a number of our own. Friendly fire is a reality of war. It is one of the -- really, the unpleasant aspects, the most vicious aspect of this, where you kill your own. In this particular case, killing the subject of a friendly force inside of Iraq is a terrible thing.

But what we have to make clear to the Italians and to the world itself is, absolutely, it make no sense that we would want to target individuals who have been negotiated, have negotiated their freedom. If that were the case, they simply would have fired and eliminated the entire car. So, it is absurd to think that we want to kill them for having negotiated their freedom, whether it is paid ransom or not this. This simply doesn't make any sense.

And I hope the Italian officials will come out very strongly and try to dispel this myth.

BLITZER: All right. Let's get a complete, full report to the Italian government. Presumably, that will help in this process.

Thanks very much, William Cohen, for joining us.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Only two more days until Dan Rather steps down from the anchor chair over at CBS News. Why Walter Cronkite thinks that move should have been sooner and who he thinks could have been a better anchor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A milestone is quickly approaching over at CBS News. On Wednesday, Dan Rather steps down as the anchor of "The Evening News."

Just a short while ago, I talked about Rather's tenure and other issues with the man who preceded Dan Rather.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Walter Cronkite, as usual, an honor to have you on our program. Thanks very much for joining us.

This is an important week in broadcast journalism. Dan Rather steps down on Wednesday, 24 years to the day when he replaced you. What goes through your mind during this turnover at CBS News?

CRONKITE: Well, it's a rare occasion, of course. There have only been the two of us who were anchor people at CBS News for "The Evening News" and for all of the important broadcasts of the period. It's too bad to see Dan go. He's done a great job, I think. And he's very popular in the CBS group and I think among the public.

BLITZER: Well, he's leaving under a cloud, as you well know, the circumstances surrounding that "60 Minutes" reports. It's unfortunate for him, given his career. But, looking back, there were lots of sloppy mistakes that were made.

CRONKITE: Well, you're speaking of this particular episode, of course.

And that was most unfortunate. He hung on too long to his faith in his staff. They had provided this material. And he trusted them implicitly in all things and insisted that the information was correct for a whole week, when evidence was beginning to pile up that it wasn't.

BLITZER: Well, this is something -- let me get your sense. Should he not have been more hands-on in preparing this report, rather than simply relying on his staff?

CRONKITE: Well, certainly, looking back at it, that is the case.

But we're awfully busy on those anchor desks. And it's perfectly possible, in a thing of this kind, which takes a lot of research and pulling together, to accept what your producers provide for you. And that's what he did without any question.

BLITZER: But because, you know -- and we'll move on.

But going into a story like this in the middle of a bitterly fought campaign, accusing a sitting president of the United States, in effect, of lying many years earlier, you would think that he would want to make sure that everything had been authenticated perfectly.

CRONKITE: Well, we don't know, of course, what conversations went on between Dan and his producers. Whatever the conversation was, he accepted, obviously, their version of the story.

I think he did make a mistake. We all know he made a mistake by now. But would we have done much the same? I just -- I would not be sure that I wouldn't have followed my producers and accepted what they had to offer.

BLITZER: He told David Letterman in an interview a couple days ago, he said this. He said: "We were not able to authenticate the documents as thoroughly as I think we should have. Given a little more time perhaps, we could have." He's still laying out the possibility that those documents were real, as opposed to forgeries.

CRONKITE: Well, of course, we don't have any evidence of that. That turned out to be more his hope, as he got deeper into the story, than the actuality would have indicated.

BLITZER: You were quoted in a recent issue of "The New Yorker" magazine by Ken Auletta as saying this, comparing Dan Rather to Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings. You said, "Dan was playing a role of newsman, that he was conscious of this, whereas the other two appeared to be more the third-party reporter."

What did you mean by that?

CRONKITE: Well, I think that there was a general feeling among quite a lot of us around the CBS shop and, indeed, some of the viewers that Dan gave the impression of playing a role, more than simply trying to deliver the news to the audience.

I don't know. It's a personality question. I don't think he was thinking of himself of playing the role, although I don't know that. But that is the impression that came across.

BLITZER: Now, let me just throw out a couple of ideas. You mean when he used to go into a hurricane or he went into a combat zone and -- was that what you are referring to as the -- kind of playing a role as a news anchor?

CRONKITE: Well, no. He was satisfying the ambitions of a reporter, which he is, and a good one, to be on the scene. That's what many of us would like to have done, would like to do. And we did, many of us, on occasion.

But he made more of a practice of that. The company apparently went along with his desires to be on the scene. And he did a darn good job when he was there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We'll have more of my exclusive television interview with Walter Cronkite. That's coming up, including some surprising comments on why he says Dan Rather should have been replaced a long time ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More now of my interview with CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Bob Schieffer, as you know, is going to be the interim anchor of "The CBS Evening News," a good friend of all of ours, an outstanding journalist.

Who do you think should emerge as the next anchor, the main anchor of CBS, after Bob Schieffer's interim period?

CRONKITE: Well, I think it's going to be hard to find anybody who is going to be as much liked and appreciated and does such a job as Bob Schieffer. I think he's one of the great television journalists of our time. And he was a good journalist when he came to television from Fort Worth.

He is, to my mind, the man who, quite frankly, although Dan did a fine job, I would like to have seen him there a long time ago. He would have given the others a real run for their money.

BLITZER: Better than Dan Rather would have done? Because he was perennially in third place in the ratings behind Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings.

CRONKITE: Well, that's certainly true. And it's quite a tribute to him that he -- that CBS held on to him so long under those circumstances. It surprised quite a few people at CBS and elsewhere that, without being able to pull up the ratings beyond third in a three-man field, that they tolerated his being there for so long.

BLITZER: So, you would have been happier if Bob Schieffer would have replaced Dan Rather a while ago?

CRONKITE: I would have thought so, certainly, if not Bob, someone else.

BLITZER: Well, what about after Bob Schieffer? Is there anybody inside CBS News right now that you think has the caliber, the experience, the style that could emerge as the chief anchor for CBS News?

CRONKITE: I think there are several, but I wouldn't like to go into that right now. It would be a mistake, I think, to try to single them out in public.

They're going to find it's going to be tough not to follow Dan so much as to follow Schieffer. He's not going to be there very long. I'm not sure he wants to be there. I'm not sure that daily journalism is what he wants at this time. He's got that wonderful "Face the Nation" broadcast on Sundays, which ranks right up alongside of all of the talk shows from Washington. He does a superb job with that.

BLITZER: Do you sense right now that being the anchor of a major broadcast network is the same as it was when you were the chief anchor at CBS News? In other words, has the situation changed now given the Internet, cable news, all the various ways that people are getting their information?

CRONKITE: Yes, Wolf. It's turned -- it's over on its head. It is vastly different.

When I was there, we -- the three traditional networks, NBC, ABC and CBS, we shared 100 percent, practically, of the audience. There were just maybe 98 percent or 99 percent of the audience, we had every night. That other half a percentage or 1 percent were the few independent stations in the country. We had no other competition.

Today, of course, we've got all of these other channels that are competing. And, actually, the traditional networks are sharing down around 50 percent of the audience, which is still remarkably high, considering all of the excellent competition they have with such networks as yours.

BLITZER: One final question for you, Walter Cronkite. And our viewers will be listening very carefully to this one. When you want to get the news on television, where do you go?

CRONKITE: Well, I know what you want me to say. I watch Wolf Blitzer and CNN, which I do.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: That's the correct answer, Walter Cronkite.

(LAUGHTER)

CRONKITE: Yes. I thought you might like that one. I think I've rather assured being invited back.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Very kind of you to say that.

Walter Cronkite, always a...

CRONKITE: It's meaningful. I do watch you regularly.

BLITZER: Well, that's very nice of you to say.

But I wasn't -- actually, I wasn't really trying to get to you say that. I really was interested. Where does Walter Cronkite go when he wants to get the news?

CRONKITE: Yes.

Well, I go to my newspapers first. They're more complete than broadcast today. The misfortune with broadcasting today is that all, even including your network, which is dedicated to the news, do not take enough time to give us all of the facts and the background.

I wish that our traditional networks, I wish that my network of CBS and the other two, I wish they would spend more time with their magazine programs giving us documentaries to back the news and interpret the news for us, or broadcast time in the half-hour evening news report programs. As we all know, with the commercial time taken out, with the lead-in, the lead-in, outs taken out, we've got 17 or 18 minutes.

We've got one of the most complicated nations in the world, particularly today. We've got a complicated world in which we presume to be leaders. And my gracious, we're trying to cover all the important news in those two great bailiwicks in 17 or 18 minutes. It's madness. And we simply can't do it.

And, of course, meanwhile, you've got your 24-hour news on yours and other networks, with your talk shows added in. You're doing quite a job in competition.

BLITZER: So, one final question, Walter Cronkite. What would you do if you had your way? What would you advise all the broadcast news organizations to do right now?

CRONKITE: Give news a little more time and don't request that they also in their news time entertain. We're not entertainers. We're journalists. And we need more time to do our job well.

BLITZER: Walter Cronkite, a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks so much for joining us.

CRONKITE: You bet, Wolf. Always pleased to be with you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And when we come back, we'll surf into the record books. That's our picture of the day.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: How many surfers can you fit on a board? It's our picture of the day.

Take a look at this. More than 40 people rode a giant surfboard over the weekend off Australia's Queensland Coast. That shattered the old record of 14 people, set two years ago. The custom-made board measures 40 feet by 10 feet. It now goes on a world tour to raise money for tsunami victims. It's quite a picture.

You can always catch us weekdays 5:00 p.m. Eastern. See you tomorrow.

"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 March 7, 2005 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: anger at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Did a professor's controversial comments about midshipman speak the truth or cross the line? It's a story you'll see only here on CNN.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Funeral and fury. As Italy honors an agent shot dead by U.S. troops, an ex-hostage suggests it wasn't an accident.

GIULIANA SGRENA, FREED ITALIAN HOSTAGE (through translator): I think light has to be shed on everything that happened.

BLITZER: Partial pullback. Halfway home, or half-measured?

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We want to see the complete and immediate withdrawal of all Syrian military forces and all intelligence services in Lebanon.

BLITZER: Back at work. Martha Stewart meets with the staff.

MARTHA STEWART, FOUNDER, MARTHA LIVING OMNIMEDIA: I've reflected upon the past, on my own life and to consider what's really and truly important to me.

BLITZER: After Rather.

WALTER CRONKITE, FORMER CBS NEWS ANCHOR: Dan gave the impression of playing a role more than simply trying to deliver the news.

BLITZER: I'll discuss the future of television news with legendary journalist Walter Cronkite.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Monday, March 7, 2005.

BLITZER: He died in a hail of gunfire after helping free an Italian hostage in Iraq. But the bullets came from U.S. troops, who shot at the car carrying them to safety.

Today, Italian secret service agent Nicola Calipari was given a state funeral, and the woman he rescued is making insinuations about the motives of the Americans.

We begin in Rome with CNN's Alessio Vinci.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nicola Calipari is considered nothing less than a hero here, a hero for the way he saved Giuliana Sgrena's life by shielding her with his own body. A hero for having secured the release of at least two other Italian hostages held in Iraq. He died Friday in a barrage of American gunfire.

"The Americans must explain what happened," says this mourner.

"I feel anger and pain at the same time," says this other man. "But I think it was an accident."

But Sgrena, who was unable to take part in the funeral, because she is still in hospital recovering from a wound to her shoulder, doesn't want to hear about what American officials are calling a tragic mistake. In a phone interview with CNN, she disputes the U.S. military account that the car was speeding towards a checkpoint and that warnings were given for them to stop.

GIULIANA SGRENA, FREED HOSTAGE (through translator): It is not up to me to say that it wasn't an ambush. It is up to those who did this action. We can call it any way you like until we have the elements define it. They have to demonstrate that there were valid reasons to do what they did.

I don't have to explain what happened. It is up to those who did it or those who gave the orders. There were people there who shot at us. I saw them when they came to open the car and pull me out of it, wounded. So the inquiry could start from there. They have to say why they fired. I don't have to explain why they fired.

VINCI: Calipari was a skilled negotiator, and while the Italian government denies a ransom was paid, media here speculate that up to $6 million were paid for her release.

(on camera) There is a feeling here in Italy that the Americans are not telling the truth. The U.S. military has promised a full investigation. But too many details of the incident remain murky.

And Italians will continue to pressure Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi until he'll receive a complete account on how and why one of Italy's most experienced intelligence officers was killed.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The White House says any suggestion that U.S. troops targeted the Italians is, quote, "absurd." Officials portray the incident as another tragic case of friendly fire.

As the investigation continues, let's go live to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the U.S. military says it will keep using these roadside checkpoints.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Even as Nicola Calipari's funeral was under way in Rome, the U.S. began investigating his shooting death and the wounding of journalist Giuliana Sgrena by U.S. troops at a checkpoint near Baghdad Airport Friday night. Another man in the car also was wounded.

Bush administration officials deny any suggestion Sgrena was targeted.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: There's absolutely no shred of truth to the idea that we somehow did this on purpose.

STARR: U.S. officials say the soldiers did not know who was in the car. It is not clear if the Italians notified the U.S. they were going to travel that night.

Sgrena says the car was not speeding and that no warning was given, contrary to U.S. accounts. In an article for her newspaper, "Il Manifesto," she wrote her captors had warned her, "The Americans don't want to you go back."

The road to Baghdad airport is particularly dangerous.

MCCLELLAN: It is a road where suicide bombers have carried out attacks. It is a road where regime elements have fired on coalition forces.

STARR: The White House says the troops have a tough job.

MCCLELLAN: Oftentimes, they're having to make split second decisions in order to protect their own security and safety.

STARR: Bulgaria is demanding to know how one of its soldiers was killed in an apparent friendly fire attack. According to the defense minister, gunfire erupted Friday southeast of Baghdad when the troops tried to stop a car. The Bulgarians then came under attack from the U.S., the government statement said, noting "a communications facility of the U.S. Army is located 150 meters away."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: And Wolf, both incidents appear initially to be the result of lack of communication. The question being how could U.S. soldiers not have known who they were shooting at -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr reporting for us from the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you.

Just a short while ago, I spoke with Walter Cronkite. He's the honor airy chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists. I asked him about statements that Giuliana Sgrena may have been deliberately attacked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRONKITE: It sounds to me like one of those Rather typical accidents of war. In this case, along a highway when -- there have been many incidents. In the dark of night of car is speeding along and failing to stop when the American soldiers patrol asked them to, to pass through their lines in that fashion. I can certainly understand the shots being fired at them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Coming up only here on CNN, the full interview with Walter Cronkite, including -- including his surprising comments on Dan Rather and the future of television news. That's later this hour.

Meanwhile, Iraqi insurgents launch numerous attacks in Baghdad and other cities today, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens more. Most of the dead were civilians and Iraqi police and soldiers.

A suicide car bombing north of the capital was aimed at an Iraqi officer. Most of the five people killed were students across the street waiting to start their classes.

Saudi Arabia's launching an unusual anti-terror campaign inside the kingdom, something its critics say is long overdue. Remember, 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudis.

CNN's Brian Todd joining us now. He's spoken to both sides of this story. He's got details -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the Saudis are undertaking their own campaign to win hearts and minds inside the kingdom. And they're banking on some very powerful images to get the message across.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): A proud father thumbing through an album, memories of his son as a boy, growing into adulthood. Then the father's face tells it all. A son taken in this storyline, killed by terrorists.

A powerful ad without one word of dialogue, produced by the government of Saudi Arabia with an ambitious goal in mind.

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, ADVISER TO SAUDI CROWN PRINCE: Going after the mind-set that promotes or condones extremism or violence in a way that is contradictory to the teachings of our Islamic faith.

TODD: Saudi officials believe they've been unfairly criticized nor not going after that mind-set, for allowing clerics and teachers to incite hatred. They say they've taken the offensive, not just with three ads they've launched on Saudi TV and regional Arab satellite networks, but also in documentaries, talk shows and cartoons targeting kids, billboards. Even promoting the message at ATMs and on utility bills.

ALI AL-AHMED, SAUDI OPPOSITION LEADER: This is a clear PR move to please the Americans.

TODD: Saudi opposition leader Ali al-Ahmed believes the royal government isn't attacking the real roots of hatred in the kingdom.

AL-AHMED: I think if they had spent that money in moving and advancing and reforming the education system would have been much better.

TODD: Al-Ahmed says textbooks in Saudi schools containing language degrading other religions, first reported by CNN last summer, are still in circulation. We pressed Adel al-Jubeir on that charge.

AL-JUBEIR: We have found that five percent of what is in the textbooks was, frankly, very objectionable, and we have found that about 10 percent of it is questionable. We have removed the five percent that's intolerable and unacceptable. And we have worked on the 10 percent that is questionable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Al-Jubeir also says the government is punishing some teachers and clerics who incite hatred, retraining other and stepping up its monitoring of schools and mosques.

How are these ads playing inside the kingdom? Al-Jubeir says they'll take a public opinion poll after this campaign to find out -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd, very interesting. Thanks, Brian, very much.

When we come back, back to work for Martha Stewart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: We are, all of us, in this next chapter going for greatness. I love all of you from the bottom of my heart. And I'm really glad to be home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We'll show you more of her emotional speech to her employees.

Syria makes a major announcement about its troops in Lebanon. Is it what the U.S. and the world has been waiting for?

And Dan Rather's final days in the anchor chair. Surprising comments from the man he replaced. Walter Cronkite speaks out in an interview you'll see only here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: This was no typical back-to-work Monday for one New York worker. Martha Stewart was back on the job for the first time since her release from prison on Friday. And she had lots to say to her 500 employees who gathered to welcome her back.

CNN's Mary Snow is live on the story for us. She's joining us live from New York -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, since she's been released from prison late last week, cameras and reporters have followed around Martha Stewart wherever she goes. And here at her company's headquarters in Manhattan today was no exception.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN LYNE, CEO, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA: Our founder, Martha Stewart.

SNOW: It looked more like a talk show than a company meeting. The music on cue as Martha Stewart took center stage. Hundreds of employees welcomed her back from five months at prison. Toward the end she came emotional.

STEWART: I love all of from you the bottom of my heart. And I'm really glad to be home.

SNOW: Stewart told the crowd she's gone through profound changes. At times she sounded more philosophical than her practical self. The queen of how-to books told employees she must also now focus on the whys.

STEWART: This is what truly interests us, why we all come to work every day. Our passion is and always should be to make life better.

SNOW: Stewart talked about the inmates she met, even told the crowd one of them made that now famous poncho she wore last week.

But one part of her wardrobe not yet attached is the electronic ankle bracelet she'll have to wear for the next five months, another reminder of her prison experience that is not totally behind her and an experience her company is trying to put in the past.

From her departure from Alderson to her company releasing pictures of her and her family inside her home, it is all part of the marketing of Martha Stewart.

ROBERT PASSIKOFF, BRAND KEYS: What they're trying to do is they're trying to change the image. They're trying to migrate from villainess to victim and to try and soften some of the rough edges that were exposed during the trial.

SNOW: Robert Passikoff works for a marketing firm that has studied Stewart's brandings since 2002. It's found her brand suffered the most right after her conviction last year. While it's now rebounded, she still has customers to win back. The question is: can too much exposure hurt her?

PASSIKOFF: You can't be too nice. I don't think there's the ability to oversaturate in terms of who the woman is and what she's about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: While workers cheered Martha Stewart here today, her company's stock did not get such a warm reception on Wall Street. It slid nine percent today. And on Friday, it had an even bigger drop -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary Snow, reporting for us in New York. Mary, thank you very much.

Tears and laughter, as we just saw, were part of Stewart's speech. Here is more of what she had to say in front of her colleagues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEWART: All of you know how many thousands of letters I've received in the last few months. So many. Boxes and boxes and boxes of those wonderful, wonderful letters. So much support from everywhere in the country, from Canada, from Europe, from Iraq. I got some fabulous letters from Iraq.

I got letters from all over the world, all extremely supportive. They made me cry; they made me laugh. One letter came from -- here I am wandering already, but I have to tell but this one letter from a captain in the Army, American Army. And he sent me pictures of his cell, he called it, a metal box buried in the sand where he lived with four other people. And he said he guessed that my cell was better than his cell.

Anyway, I wrote back to him. He sounded like a really nice guy.

But it was just incredible, incredible the misery that exists around the world.

You are, every single one of you, perfectionists. In the past, in our magazines and television shows, the world has seen me surrounded by your incredible productions and your incredible achievements.

But I gather that this has inadvertently given the impression that I am able to bake and cook and entertain every day all by myself, while appearing on television, organizing this wonderful large company and managing a number of magazines, all while doing my ironing and my vacuuming. And I have reflected long and hard on all of these facts.

Well, you know, I don't always do all of my own ironing, even though I wish I could. I love ironing. I don't always do my own vacuuming, although even though my daughter, Alexis, here in the front row, knows I love to vacuum. I really -- I'll vacuum during a party if I could get a vacuum out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Martha Stewart back at work today, speaking to her employees earlier in the day.

Sticking to his guns. Why one naval academy professor says the academy's admissions standards exclude -- yes, exclude -- the most qualified applicants. It's a story you'll see only here on CNN.

Amid allegations of a recruiting scandal and a controversial professor, a university president is calling it quits.

And later, the legendary anchorman Walter Cronkite on the changing of the guard at CBS News. You might be surprised to hear what Walter Cronkite has to say. You'll hear it here this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Who gets in and who's kept out? That topic has students and faculty at the U.S. Naval Academy buzzing. Part of a growing controversy with a tenured professor at the center of the storm.

Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, has the story, which you'll see only on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to one outspoken academy professor, half of the brigade of midshipmen got into Annapolis through set asides, lower standards for racial minorities, star athletes or sailors who have shown potential.

"Weaker academics means weaker officers," he says, "officers who may one day have their finger on the button or the trigger."

Some minority students were outraged.

ADAM YANG, MIDSHIPMAN 1ST CLASS: The fundamental flaw in his argument was that weaker academics make weaker officers. But academics isn't the definition of a good officer.

MCINTYRE: As part of a regular feature called "Nobody Asked Me But," Annapolis English professor Bruce Fleming wrote in last month's "Proceedings" magazine the academy can do better. "Set-asides," he wrote, "slow class discussions and take seats that better applicants could have filled."

(on camera) So what were you thinking when you wrote this?

BRUCE FLEMING, ENGLISH PROFESSOR, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: Well, my concern is for the well-being of the Navy and Marine Corps.

MCINTYRE: What kind of reaction are you getting from the students? FLEMING: Well, a number of them will come in to tell me that I'm saying things that they're not allowed to say and bully for me and they're really glad that I did it. And a number of them are either writing or saying that they don't agree and want to let me know that, too.

MCINTYRE: And isn't that what campus dialogue is supposed to be about?

FLEMING: At some level, I couldn't be happier.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): The academy superintendent, the equivalent of the school's president, was furious.

(on camera) Is Professor Fleming in any trouble?

ADMIRAL RODNEY REMPT, SUPERINTENDENT, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: No, not at all.

MCINTYRE: Admiral Rempt can't fire a tenured professor for speaking out, but he can and did abrade him.

"I would have expected a faculty member with almost 18 years here to exercise better judgment," he wrote in a memo to Fleming. "Your action has served to needlessly criticize the academy, our admissions board and every midshipman."

MCINTYRE (on camera): The naval academy disputes the idea that it has lower standards for some applicants and insists its whole person admissions policy looks at far more than just academics.

(voice-over) And the academy insists there are no quotas or racial preferences to achieve diversity.

REMPT: We're looking for people who certainly have academic smarts. But also the physical toughness and the determination and the basic leadership skills.

MCINTYRE: Soshi Piedra (ph) is a Mexican-American and a standout on the woman's soccer team. Just because she needed some extra help to get through engineering, academy officials argued, doesn't mean she won't excel as a leader.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll be able to take care of my people, which is of the most important things about being an officer.

MCINTYRE: While the midshipmen provided to CNN for interviews all supported the official view, Professor Fleming said his e-mails were split 50-50.

One student wrote, "The only reason that anybody would be opposed to your article would be if they recognized its truth and were threatened by it."

But another argued the last thing the fleet needs is 4,000 straight A students. And some cited examples of poor students who went on to succeed. Senator John McCain graduated from Annapolis in 1958, fifth in his class: fifth from the bottom.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Annapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The first steps towards Syrian troop withdrawal from Lebanon. Those steps have now begun. But will a full withdrawal occur, or is this just an image correcting effort? Former defense secretary, William Cohen, standing by. He'll weigh in.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRONKITE: He is, to my mind, the man who, quite frankly, although Dan did a fine job, I would have liked to have seen him in there a long time ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A candid conversation with Walter Cronkite on the career of CBS News anchorman Dan Rather. What he says may surprise you. That's coming up.

And later, surf's up. Why these Australian surfers felt the need to share the board.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

BLITZER: Welcome back.

The presidents of Syria and Lebanon commit to the first stage of a troop withdrawal. Coming up, I'll speak with the former Defense Secretary William Cohen.

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

Gasoline prices are up and experts warn the trend will likely continue. The national Lundberg survey shows the average U.S. price at $1.97 a gallon, up about 7 cents over the past two weeks. And the Lundberg people say that's still lagging behind rising crude oil prices.

The president of the embattled University of Colorado is stepping down. In a letter to the regents, Elizabeth Hoffman alluded to recent scandals dogging the school on her watch, including alleged football recruitment, and accusations of rape against athletes, and controversial comments by a professor comparing victims of the 9/11 attacks to Nazis.

Also stepping down, Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher after just over a year on the job. A company statement says the board asked him to leave because of a personal relationship with an unnamed female Boeing executive which violated the company code of conduct.

And President Bush will nominate John Bolton to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. He's currently undersecretary of state. His boss, Condoleezza Rice, made the announcement earlier today. Critics note Bolton has made some tough comments about the U.N. in the past.

Under mounting pressure to remove its 14,000 troops from Lebanon, Syria today announced a pullback, but not a pullout.

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): In the Syrian capital, two seemingly inseparable presidents defying world pressure to agree a complete and immediate withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon. Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, shares the red carpet with a longtime friend and trusted Lebanese ally, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud. Their agenda here, to lay down specifics of a two-phase military move towards a withdrawal the world wants, but at their own pace, leading, say top Syrian officials, to a positive end game.

IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO UNITED STATES: Not a single Syrian influence in Lebanon, all of our troops outside. The only influence we will have on Lebanon is that based on our historic, cultural, family, social ties with Lebanon.

SADLER: Step one, a pledge to redeploy Syrian troops by the end of this month, evacuating positions held for decades in northern and central Lebanon to a new line closer to Syria, but still well inside Lebanon. Step two is less clear, planning under close wraps. Military chiefs have been given up to a month to work out the next move. Only at that stage could both governments sign off on a complete withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

But Syria's own political allies in Lebanon are now setting their own street agenda to counter anti-Syrian demonstrations with a mass rally planned Tuesday in support of Syria, called by the armed militant group Hezbollah, hoping to prove that, even as Syria prepares to pull back troops, they can count on another kind of Lebanese support.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Damascus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The White House today called that Syrian pullback decision -- quote -- "half a measure" and demanded the complete and immediate withdrawal of all Syrian troops and intelligence services from Lebanon.

Joining us now, our world affairs analyst, the former Defense Secretary William Cohen. He's the chairman and CEO of the Cohen Group.

Mr. Secretary, welcome back.

WILLIAM COHEN, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to be here, Wolf.

BLITZER: How does the U.S. deal with this situation, the Syrian withdraw now, to get them completely out, including the intelligence services, but to do it in a way that doesn't necessarily backfire?

COHEN: Well, first of all, we have to be a little cautious in terms of what is making place. No. 1, the Syrians have indicated they're not pulling all the way out. And even when they pull all the way out, there's no way you can actually ensure the intelligence services, which are deeply embedded in Lebanon, are going to be pulled out.

Moreover, the Syrians have a major influence inside of Lebanon. About a million Syrians actually live in Lebanon. You have about 20 percent of the GDP of Syria based upon their trade with Lebanon. So merely pulling out the force is not going to unleash any sort of Jeffersonian democracy inside of Lebanon. It is a deeply divided sectarian division that we're looking at right now. We'll see that -- that represented tomorrow.

BLITZER: With this huge Hezbollah demonstration supporting Syria, most of that is Shiite, Lebanese Shiite. Are we going to see a return to the awful situation of the civil war in the '70s, let's say?

COHEN: Well, as a matter of fact, by demanding the withdrawal of all Syrian troops, the United States and most of the countries, the United Nations, Saudi Arabia, Russia, all are now demanding that. But you might very well see an effort made to destabilize Lebanon in a way.

It could come from various intelligence forces or others, to set off some terrorist activities, justifying once again maintaining that Syrian presence inside of Lebanon.

BLITZER: A lot of people -- a lot of people suspect the Syrians will do precisely that, to show, you see, it was quiet when we were there. We get out and these Lebanese simply can't deal amongst themselves.

COHEN: That's one possibility.

Secondly, the Hezbollah is still the best organized political party inside of Lebanon. So, again, assuming that the troops are out, assuming you can get the intelligence out, nonetheless, the Hezbollah is going to be the political force that one has to contend with inside of Lebanon itself.

BLITZER: And the goal is to disarm that Hezbollah militia. But it doesn't look like the Lebanese are going to be able to do that anytime soon.

COHEN: There's no consensus inside the country at this point. So we're really taking it one day at a time, one step at a time.

BLITZER: The situation involving that Italian journalist who was wounded, her bodyguard, if you will, the intelligence officer, killed., the tragedy is, there are millions of people probably out there in Europe, especially, who suspect the U.S. may have deliberately targeted that car. How does the defense secretary deal with this right now? Because the Italians have been close allies of us.

COHEN: The Italians have been close allies. And the defense secretary and the president of the United States must express their deep condolences to the family of those who were killed. The Bulgarian individual was killed, as well as the Italian escort and negotiator on behalf of the person who was kidnapped.

But this is very difficult to deal with. We kill, unfortunately a number of our own. Friendly fire is a reality of war. It is one of the -- really, the unpleasant aspects, the most vicious aspect of this, where you kill your own. In this particular case, killing the subject of a friendly force inside of Iraq is a terrible thing.

But what we have to make clear to the Italians and to the world itself is, absolutely, it make no sense that we would want to target individuals who have been negotiated, have negotiated their freedom. If that were the case, they simply would have fired and eliminated the entire car. So, it is absurd to think that we want to kill them for having negotiated their freedom, whether it is paid ransom or not this. This simply doesn't make any sense.

And I hope the Italian officials will come out very strongly and try to dispel this myth.

BLITZER: All right. Let's get a complete, full report to the Italian government. Presumably, that will help in this process.

Thanks very much, William Cohen, for joining us.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Only two more days until Dan Rather steps down from the anchor chair over at CBS News. Why Walter Cronkite thinks that move should have been sooner and who he thinks could have been a better anchor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A milestone is quickly approaching over at CBS News. On Wednesday, Dan Rather steps down as the anchor of "The Evening News."

Just a short while ago, I talked about Rather's tenure and other issues with the man who preceded Dan Rather.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Walter Cronkite, as usual, an honor to have you on our program. Thanks very much for joining us.

This is an important week in broadcast journalism. Dan Rather steps down on Wednesday, 24 years to the day when he replaced you. What goes through your mind during this turnover at CBS News?

CRONKITE: Well, it's a rare occasion, of course. There have only been the two of us who were anchor people at CBS News for "The Evening News" and for all of the important broadcasts of the period. It's too bad to see Dan go. He's done a great job, I think. And he's very popular in the CBS group and I think among the public.

BLITZER: Well, he's leaving under a cloud, as you well know, the circumstances surrounding that "60 Minutes" reports. It's unfortunate for him, given his career. But, looking back, there were lots of sloppy mistakes that were made.

CRONKITE: Well, you're speaking of this particular episode, of course.

And that was most unfortunate. He hung on too long to his faith in his staff. They had provided this material. And he trusted them implicitly in all things and insisted that the information was correct for a whole week, when evidence was beginning to pile up that it wasn't.

BLITZER: Well, this is something -- let me get your sense. Should he not have been more hands-on in preparing this report, rather than simply relying on his staff?

CRONKITE: Well, certainly, looking back at it, that is the case.

But we're awfully busy on those anchor desks. And it's perfectly possible, in a thing of this kind, which takes a lot of research and pulling together, to accept what your producers provide for you. And that's what he did without any question.

BLITZER: But because, you know -- and we'll move on.

But going into a story like this in the middle of a bitterly fought campaign, accusing a sitting president of the United States, in effect, of lying many years earlier, you would think that he would want to make sure that everything had been authenticated perfectly.

CRONKITE: Well, we don't know, of course, what conversations went on between Dan and his producers. Whatever the conversation was, he accepted, obviously, their version of the story.

I think he did make a mistake. We all know he made a mistake by now. But would we have done much the same? I just -- I would not be sure that I wouldn't have followed my producers and accepted what they had to offer.

BLITZER: He told David Letterman in an interview a couple days ago, he said this. He said: "We were not able to authenticate the documents as thoroughly as I think we should have. Given a little more time perhaps, we could have." He's still laying out the possibility that those documents were real, as opposed to forgeries.

CRONKITE: Well, of course, we don't have any evidence of that. That turned out to be more his hope, as he got deeper into the story, than the actuality would have indicated.

BLITZER: You were quoted in a recent issue of "The New Yorker" magazine by Ken Auletta as saying this, comparing Dan Rather to Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings. You said, "Dan was playing a role of newsman, that he was conscious of this, whereas the other two appeared to be more the third-party reporter."

What did you mean by that?

CRONKITE: Well, I think that there was a general feeling among quite a lot of us around the CBS shop and, indeed, some of the viewers that Dan gave the impression of playing a role, more than simply trying to deliver the news to the audience.

I don't know. It's a personality question. I don't think he was thinking of himself of playing the role, although I don't know that. But that is the impression that came across.

BLITZER: Now, let me just throw out a couple of ideas. You mean when he used to go into a hurricane or he went into a combat zone and -- was that what you are referring to as the -- kind of playing a role as a news anchor?

CRONKITE: Well, no. He was satisfying the ambitions of a reporter, which he is, and a good one, to be on the scene. That's what many of us would like to have done, would like to do. And we did, many of us, on occasion.

But he made more of a practice of that. The company apparently went along with his desires to be on the scene. And he did a darn good job when he was there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We'll have more of my exclusive television interview with Walter Cronkite. That's coming up, including some surprising comments on why he says Dan Rather should have been replaced a long time ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More now of my interview with CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Bob Schieffer, as you know, is going to be the interim anchor of "The CBS Evening News," a good friend of all of ours, an outstanding journalist.

Who do you think should emerge as the next anchor, the main anchor of CBS, after Bob Schieffer's interim period?

CRONKITE: Well, I think it's going to be hard to find anybody who is going to be as much liked and appreciated and does such a job as Bob Schieffer. I think he's one of the great television journalists of our time. And he was a good journalist when he came to television from Fort Worth.

He is, to my mind, the man who, quite frankly, although Dan did a fine job, I would like to have seen him there a long time ago. He would have given the others a real run for their money.

BLITZER: Better than Dan Rather would have done? Because he was perennially in third place in the ratings behind Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings.

CRONKITE: Well, that's certainly true. And it's quite a tribute to him that he -- that CBS held on to him so long under those circumstances. It surprised quite a few people at CBS and elsewhere that, without being able to pull up the ratings beyond third in a three-man field, that they tolerated his being there for so long.

BLITZER: So, you would have been happier if Bob Schieffer would have replaced Dan Rather a while ago?

CRONKITE: I would have thought so, certainly, if not Bob, someone else.

BLITZER: Well, what about after Bob Schieffer? Is there anybody inside CBS News right now that you think has the caliber, the experience, the style that could emerge as the chief anchor for CBS News?

CRONKITE: I think there are several, but I wouldn't like to go into that right now. It would be a mistake, I think, to try to single them out in public.

They're going to find it's going to be tough not to follow Dan so much as to follow Schieffer. He's not going to be there very long. I'm not sure he wants to be there. I'm not sure that daily journalism is what he wants at this time. He's got that wonderful "Face the Nation" broadcast on Sundays, which ranks right up alongside of all of the talk shows from Washington. He does a superb job with that.

BLITZER: Do you sense right now that being the anchor of a major broadcast network is the same as it was when you were the chief anchor at CBS News? In other words, has the situation changed now given the Internet, cable news, all the various ways that people are getting their information?

CRONKITE: Yes, Wolf. It's turned -- it's over on its head. It is vastly different.

When I was there, we -- the three traditional networks, NBC, ABC and CBS, we shared 100 percent, practically, of the audience. There were just maybe 98 percent or 99 percent of the audience, we had every night. That other half a percentage or 1 percent were the few independent stations in the country. We had no other competition.

Today, of course, we've got all of these other channels that are competing. And, actually, the traditional networks are sharing down around 50 percent of the audience, which is still remarkably high, considering all of the excellent competition they have with such networks as yours.

BLITZER: One final question for you, Walter Cronkite. And our viewers will be listening very carefully to this one. When you want to get the news on television, where do you go?

CRONKITE: Well, I know what you want me to say. I watch Wolf Blitzer and CNN, which I do.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: That's the correct answer, Walter Cronkite.

(LAUGHTER)

CRONKITE: Yes. I thought you might like that one. I think I've rather assured being invited back.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Very kind of you to say that.

Walter Cronkite, always a...

CRONKITE: It's meaningful. I do watch you regularly.

BLITZER: Well, that's very nice of you to say.

But I wasn't -- actually, I wasn't really trying to get to you say that. I really was interested. Where does Walter Cronkite go when he wants to get the news?

CRONKITE: Yes.

Well, I go to my newspapers first. They're more complete than broadcast today. The misfortune with broadcasting today is that all, even including your network, which is dedicated to the news, do not take enough time to give us all of the facts and the background.

I wish that our traditional networks, I wish that my network of CBS and the other two, I wish they would spend more time with their magazine programs giving us documentaries to back the news and interpret the news for us, or broadcast time in the half-hour evening news report programs. As we all know, with the commercial time taken out, with the lead-in, the lead-in, outs taken out, we've got 17 or 18 minutes.

We've got one of the most complicated nations in the world, particularly today. We've got a complicated world in which we presume to be leaders. And my gracious, we're trying to cover all the important news in those two great bailiwicks in 17 or 18 minutes. It's madness. And we simply can't do it.

And, of course, meanwhile, you've got your 24-hour news on yours and other networks, with your talk shows added in. You're doing quite a job in competition.

BLITZER: So, one final question, Walter Cronkite. What would you do if you had your way? What would you advise all the broadcast news organizations to do right now?

CRONKITE: Give news a little more time and don't request that they also in their news time entertain. We're not entertainers. We're journalists. And we need more time to do our job well.

BLITZER: Walter Cronkite, a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks so much for joining us.

CRONKITE: You bet, Wolf. Always pleased to be with you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And when we come back, we'll surf into the record books. That's our picture of the day.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: How many surfers can you fit on a board? It's our picture of the day.

Take a look at this. More than 40 people rode a giant surfboard over the weekend off Australia's Queensland Coast. That shattered the old record of 14 people, set two years ago. The custom-made board measures 40 feet by 10 feet. It now goes on a world tour to raise money for tsunami victims. It's quite a picture.

You can always catch us weekdays 5:00 p.m. Eastern. See you tomorrow.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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