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The Situation Room
Re-Airing of Bill Clinton Interview; Bush Comments on Iraq and Iran; British Airways Squabble; Terrorist Warning; Malaysian Smoke Problem; Palmeiro Back with Orioles
Aired August 11, 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: It's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington. And you're in the SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive in one place simultaneously.
On these screens behind me, right we're getting live feeds. NTV coming in from Germany. Al Arabiya coming in from Dubai. ITV coming in from Britain. Globo Vision coming in as well. All these feeds, we're getting data feeds as well.
Check this out. Let's get some data feeds up there. From Reuters, from the "Wall Street Journal," from Time.com, CNN.com. They're all crossing in in realtime. Happening now.
It's 1:00 a.m. Monday -- 1:00 am in Iraq where U.S. forces are more than two years into a very difficult war. Was it a mistake? We'll hear from the former president, Bill Clinton and his successor, President Bush.
Nuclear tension with Iran: Will Washington let that country's new president into the United States next month to attend the United Nations general assembly opening session?
And it's 5:00 p.m. in Baltimore where a troubled slugger returns to baseball while a congressional investigation of him is heating up.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in the SITUATION ROOM.
President Bush today huddled with his national security team at his Texas ranch. Topping the agenda, the war in Iraq and Iran's nuclear program. One shows no sign of ending, the other just started up once again.
CNN's Andrea Koppel is standing by over in the State Department. But we begin with our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, the president sought to reassure Americans who opposed the war -- to reassure them that he understands. But he made clear the troops are staying put for now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all.
STARR (voice-over): At his Crawford, Texas ranch, President Bush sought to down play statements from his own military commanders that a substantial number of U.S. troops in Iraq might be headed home by spring.
BUSH: I suspect what you are hearing was speculation based upon progress that some are seeing in Iraq as to whether or not the Iraqis will be able to take the fight to the enemy.
STARR: The president also said he respects the views of anti-war advocates such as Cindy Sheehan whose son was killed in Iraq last year. He said he thought long and hard about the calls to bring the troops home, but said doing that would be a mistake.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: So Wolf, at this annual summer meeting at Crawford, Texas, the president made clear no change in policy, still relying on Iraqi security troops for the ultimate solution in Iraq -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Barbara Starr, thank you very much.
The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency today called on Iran to suspend its nuclear program. Iran has shrugged off this latest appeal. Does the United States have a means of applying new pressure on Tehran? Let's go live to our State Department correspondent, Andrea Koppel -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it does, but at the moment it's choosing not to. There were no red lines, no ultimatums. In fact, if this IAEA resolution were a car, it would definitely be the stripped down version, Wolf. Nevertheless, President Bush decided to say that the resolution itself was a positive first step.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Our strategy is to -- is to work with the EU three, the France and Great Britain and Germany so that the Iranians hear a common voice speaking to them about their nuclear weapons ambitions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Now, if you're wondering why President Bush chose to put a positive spin on what is clearly a very bland document, the reason is, a senior State Department official told reporters today that the U.S. has confirmation from the European three known as Great Britain, France and Germany, that if there is no positive development, if there is no movement by Iran to sign back onto the agreement to freeze its nuclear enrichment, that they will then push to get this to the U.N. Security Council.
Now, on a related note, Wolf, today Mr. Bush also seemed to put to bed the other brouhaha that the United States might deny Iran's president a visa to attend the U.N. Security Council next month.
BLITZER: Andrea, so -- I assume the -- that he will get the visa, the new president of Iran, to attend the U.N. general assembly. Is that right? KOPPEL: A senior State Department official said that no decision had been made, but clearly when President Bush himself says that he suspects that the Iranian president will be there next month, you can expect it to happen.
BLITZER: All right. Good, Andrea Koppel, thank you very much for clarifying that for us.
The FBI field office in Los Angeles has put out a new advisory to law enforcement agencies saying there's information to suggest al Qaeda may use trucks to ram into gas tankers between now and mid- September. The possible target, a major American city. Some U.S. government officials are playing down the threat information. Let's get the latest from CNN's Deborah Feyerick. She's joining from us New York -- Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, you know, since 9/11, officials have really worried that a truck bomb could be used in some sort of an attack against the United States. And as you mentioned, the FBI in L.A. put out an advisory yesterday that al Qaeda could use small trucks to ram into gasoline tankers, sort of like an improvised explosive device. Well according to the advisory, it could happen in New York, Los Angeles, even Chicago between now and September 19.
The question that has everyone hopping, is this information actually reliable? A Homeland Security official tells CNN that it is being evaluated, but calls the information of questionable reliability. Another government official simply calls the information not very credible.
Law enforcement agencies around the country received this advisory yesterday. One official says it will likely serve as a reminder to police and others to keep an eye out for trucks parked where they shouldn't be, or unscheduled deliveries, things like that.
So again, an advisory, but far from a specific threat -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Deborah Feyerick, thanks very much in New York.
We're getting this story in to us from South Florida. A place called Pembroke Pines, a man we're now told has been arrested, suspected of rape after a search that led to the lock downs of six Broward County schools. This according to a police spokesman.
We're looking at pictures. Pembroke Pines police, Major Patrick Lynn released no further details of the arrest. Officers from the town -- it's located between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, spent the morning looking for the man they said raped a woman he followed off a city bus both were riding.
Though, the attack did not happen in the vicinity of any school, a spokesman said as a precaution children were being kept inside and no one was being allowed to enter the schools. Once again, though, police in South Florida say that a man has now been arrested in connection with that earlier -- that earlier rape.
We want to hear what you think about major stories we're covering here in the SITUATION ROOM. Let's bring in CNN's Jack Cafferty from New York with the "Cafferty File." What's the question this hour, Jack?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Bush may come to wish that he had held one more meeting down there at the ranch in Crawford, Texas before his five-week hiatus is over. That would be with Cindy Sheehan whose son Casey was killed in Iraq last year.
She's been camping outside the ranch since Saturday. She wants to meet with the president one-on-one. And so far, Mr. Bush has refused. He's offered up some underlings instead. His national security adviser and deputy White House chief of staff did meet with Ms. Sheehan on Saturday. But she called those meetings pointless.
You would think Karl Rove would be a little shrewder on this one than he apparently is. If President Bush had spent 30 seconds with Ms. Sheehan earlier this week, we wouldn't even be talking about it right now. Instead though, she has the eyes of the national media focused right on her and dozens of anti-war protesters are beginning to join her.
So the question for this hour is this, should President Bush meet with Cindy Sheehan? The e-mail address, caffertyfile@CNN.com. We'll read some of the answers a bit later.
BLITZER: The president did meet with her a year ago, briefly though.
CAFFERTY: That's true.
BLITZER: All right. Jack, we'll follow up on that, get the reaction throughout the course of this hour.
Still ahead, does Bill Clinton think the Iraq war was a mistake? I tried to pin the former president down here in the SITUATION ROOM. We'll listen closely to his response when we go back to our exclusive interview.
Also ahead, a massive fire in Washington state underway right now. We'll get a situation report live from the governor.
And the return of Rafael Palmeiro after his suspension for steroids. Can he put this embarrassing stain on his career behind him? We'll check in. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Malaysia is in the grips of a crisis threatening not only the country's economy, but the health of millions of people, as well. Zain Verjee once again joining us from the CNN center with details -- Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the problem is a thick choking smog that's really shrouding large portion of the Malay Peninsula. But the source of the problem is hundreds of miles away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE (voice-over): It's the worst pollution crisis in Malaysia in nearly a decade, and this is how bad it's become in the capital. The photo on the left shows a clear day, on the right, Kuala Lumpur now. People pressing surgical masks against their faces, trying to filter the filthy air. Experts say there are health dangers, especially asthma.
DR. LIAM CHONG KIN, MALAYA MEDICAL CENTER: We will expect to see more cases of conjunctivitis, upper respiratory infections and all that coming in.
VERJEE: What triggered the haze, fog, filth? This. It's fire season on islands in neighboring Indonesia where flames are used to clear land for farming and logging. The smoke from these fires is blowing hundreds of miles away, and smothering much of Malaysia.
The situation has become so severe, the government has declared an emergency in two towns, ordering schools and ports closed. With millions of Malaysians struggling to breathe, officials are struggling with what to do.
ADENAN SATEM, MALAYSIAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: The situation is not getting better. The situation is not getting better. It's getting worse.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: A Malaysian delegation has been ordered to travel to Jakarta as soon as possible to work on a solution with Indonesian officials to what's become an annual crisis -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Let's get a little bit more on this. Zain, thank you very much.
Let's bring in Abbi Tatton, you're following this story. This is amazing story on the blogs.
ABBI TATTON, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Yes. And the Malaysian blogs, you can see how much people are being affected by this smog. They're posting pictures, their own personal accounts of how it's affecting their daily lives, like this one here.
One blogger is taking matters into his own hands. He's organizing with a post called "Choking Malaysians," what he's calling a photo petition to Indonesia to try and get this to stop. Having people send in all their photos saying perhaps the authorities will be more inclined to act if they hear all our voices. Those photos are flooding into the site which is hazeinmy.blogspot.com. And the message is clear, like this one, you're choking us every year. Please stop -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much, Abbi, for that.
Breaking news coming out of London. CNN's Ali Velshi is watching it, though, from his post in New York. Ali, what's going on?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT Puzzling story. We've been knowing about this for a few hours. I thought the story was going to go away. Now, we find out that British Airways has grounded all flights in and out of London's Heathrow airport until at least tomorrow.
Let's go straight to London. Richard Quest is there. I'm wondering if he's as puzzled as I am about this, Richard. This was a little dispute about food, and it's become wildcat strikes? What's going on?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not even a dispute between British Airways and its catering company. It's actually between a side dispute. But what happened, Ali -- excuse me -- was that the British Airways baggage loaders decided they were going to get involved. And therefore, luggage wasn't being put on the plane.
Now what has happened is, it's become extremely complicated. British Airways effectively have canceled all flights today, which isn't surprising. It's now a quarter past 10:00 at night. And all flights until 6:00 tomorrow night on Friday. Excuse me.
VELSHI: Now, Richard...
I'll let you catch your voice there for a second.
This -- earlier today, when we first started on this story, it was almost a bit of a funny story that they -- some side dispute meant that British Airways travelers didn't get food. So British Airways was setting up buffets, and giving people vouchers and things like that. This is how this developed through the day. I guess most people would have thought this would have been settled by the end of the day.
QUEST: Ah, but it escalated. It escalated, Ali, when the baggage loaders got involved. There's serious news for people in the United States. All British Airways flights from the U.S. to London Heathrow, and we're talking about 38 to 40 flights that would normally be leaving America about this time have been effectively canceled.
So in New York, it's the seven or eight flights from Kennedy, it's Boston, it's Baltimore, it's Washington, it's Miami, Dallas, Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, right the way out to the west, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Effectively, if you were planning to come to London on British Airways tonight, you're not.
VELSHI: Go back home and watch the SITUATION ROOM. Richard, we'll check it out from this side to see what flights are affected. Wolf back to you, while we're looking into that. BLITZER: All right, Ali and Richard, thank you very much. A lot of tourists are going to be very, very disappointed. Then again, maybe they won't be, spend another day in London.
You're in the SITUATION ROOM. Coming up, the war in Iraq, politics today, even his wife's campaign, we'll hear what the former president Bill Clinton has to say about all of that. It's a SITUATION ROOM exclusive.
And it's a weighty issue. New York City says there's too much fat in restaurant menus. See how the city proposes to cut it out.
And Martha Stewart is ready for her closeup. Her post sentence plans include radio and TV. But is the public ready for her return? We'll tell you about a surprising new poll. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: You're looking at this live picture from Baltimore. The guy with his back to us in the darker jersey, Rafael Palmeiro, Baltimore Orioles slugger. He was just in the batting cage. He's practicing for tonight's game. If he actually plays, this would be his first game since his ten-day suspension for steroid use.
We're watching this. We'll go to Baltimore, shortly. But first, let's go to New York City. A new message to restaurants: cut the fat. CNN's Mary Snow is joining us from New York with details. Mary, what is this all about?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is the first city in the nation to do this. New York is asking its restaurants to ban a certain kind of fat that's often found in things like cookies and pizza dough. Right now, this is a voluntary ban, not a mandatory one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): From cupcakes to knishes, New York City's Health Department is urging an estimated 20,000 restaurants to cut out the fat, transfat that is; fat produced when liquid oils are turned into solid fats. It's commonly used in deep frying and it has been linked to an increase in heart disease. The city's health commissioner compares it to public health threats of the past.
DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, NYC HEALTH COMMISSIONER: Things like asbestos or lead or problems with the water. Things that are in our environment, that initially we didn't realize where harmful.
SNOW: Margarine, once touted as a healthy alternative to butter, is thought to be potentially harmful.
ALAN DELL, KATZ'S DELI OWNER: One day something's great for you. The next day it's bad. A few weeks later, it's the best thing for you.
SNOW: Alan Dell is thankful his deli uses beef oil and not transfat for their French fries. DELL: It's nice to be on the right side of fat at the moment.
SNOW: But not everyone is who can afford to be, as some alternatives to transfat are more expensive. For example, many baked goods come under scrutiny for having transfat.
Madge Rosenberg doesn't want the city interfering with her recipes. She thinks ingredient labels are a better option.
MADGE ROSENBERG, BAKERY SOUTINE OWNER: If people want things identified, I go with that. I think that's a great idea. Label things that are low fat. Label things that high fat, as well.
FRIEDEN: Labeling is fine for grocery stores, but in the restaurant, you're not going to know.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now, the city's health commissioner says about 30 percent of the city's restaurants currently use this transfat. It's really unclear how many will make the switch -- Wolf?
BLITZER: All right. Mary Snow, very interesting. Thank you very much. Mary Snow, reporting from New York.
President Bush says U.S. Troops will stay in Iraq until their mission is complete. What does his predecessor think? Coming up, my exclusive interview with former President Bill Clinton.
The suspension is now over for Baltimore Oriole slugger Rafael Palmeiro, but a new chapter in baseball's steroid scandal may be just beginning.
Martha Stewart's home confinement is almost over. Was she missed by the public? We'll tell you what a new poll says. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A very serious situation is happening right now in Washington state, where at least half-a-dozen wildfires are burning tens-of-thousands of acres and threatening homes. The Washington governor, Christine Gregoire, is joining us live via -- on the phone here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Governor, thanks very much for joining us. I take it you've just declared a state of emergency.
GOV. CHRISTINE GREGOIRE (D), WASHINGTON: Yes, I just signed the proclamation declaring a state of emergency for our state.
BLITZER: What does that mean precisely, governor.
GREGOIRE: It readies us to deploy the National Guard if it becomes necessary. It allows many of our state agencies to redeploy their resources to meet the needs in firefighting, for example, in our fisheries and wildlife department and it allows us to seek federal aid to assist particularly some of our farmers and homeowners who've lost much of their farm and their homes. BLITZER: We always hear about these wildfires out west, but how big, how unusual is this one?
GREGOIRE: Well, the one that we have that started last Saturday is called the School Fire, is currently 42,000 acres. But we have done a simulation of a worst-case scenario and while we hope it never gets to that, it could get as large as 180,000 acres.
We've got a drought condition that -- where we declared an emergency earlier this year that has left the Pacific-Northwest vulnerable in all four states, because of the severe weather conditions that we have.
BLITZER: Governor Gregoire, thanks very much. Good luck to you. Good luck to all the people out in Washington state. We hope these fires are contained very, very quickly.
GREGOIRE: Thank you, Wolf.
The former president, Bill Clinton, is no stranger to situation rooms and he was in this one less than two hours ago. Right now, we want to bring you our exclusive interview with the 42nd president one more time. I began by asking him about the war in Iraq.
BLITZER: Looking back with 20-20 hindsight, was it a mistake?
CLINTON: Well, at the time, Wolf, I thought that we should not have gone in there until we let the U.N. inspectors finish their job. That was, after all, the understanding the Senate had when it was asked to vote the Congress to give president authority to go in.
But that's really not relevant anymore. We did what we did. We are where we are, 58% of the Iraqis showed up to vote. Eighteen hundred-plus brave Americans have give their lives there. Thousands and thousands of Iraqis have died in fighting the insurgency and trying to give their country a future.
So, I think where we are now, it's important to try to continue this effort to train the security forces and the military forces, which the administration and our military have undertaken. They're good people, they're trying to do a good job and they'll come a time when the Iraqis will want us to go and where we should go. But we've got to try to make this work. I still think there's a chance it can work and it's the only strategy that will work.
BLITZER: The reason I asked was it a mistake, because in our latest CNN-"USA Toady-"Gallup poll, we asked this question: Has the war in Iraq made the U.S. safer from terrorism? 34% said yes, 57% said no. How would you answer that question?
CLINTON: I would agree with that. I don't' think -- I never thought it had much to do with the war on Terror except that we were looking to see if there were still biological and chemical agent there's. I thought we should have done that. I thought the U.N. inspections were well-advised, but it was clearly not going to have anything to do with al Qaeda. They had never been involved there before and that was where our focus, I thought, should have been.
So, I would agree with that, but independent of that, we are there now and there now are terrorists operating there and there is a clear majority of people in Iraq who are supporting the idea that their country should be free, independent and at peace. They're trying to come up with a constitution and we're trying to train the security and the military forces. So, I think that's what I hope we can do and do it successfully. And if we can do that, then our people can come home.
BLITZER: So I assume that the answer is, yes, the war was a mistake. Is that your answer?
CLINTON: You're trying to get me to make news, and I'm trying to educate people. It doesn't matter whether it was a mistake to go in or not at the time. I thought we should have let the U.N. inspectors finish. We are where we are. We can't undo what has happened.
Fifty-eight percent of the Iraqis voted in the last election. That's more than we had turn out in 2004. And we've got a lot of good people that are working hard to train the security forces and the military forces. My answer is, whether it was a mistake or not, we are where we are and we ought to try to make this strategy succeed, support that strategy. It's the only option that will get us out in an honorable way, having made these sacrifices mean something.
BLITZER: That's my job. I'm a newsman. That's what I try to do, is make news. And you try to avoid news. That's your job.
Let's talk about some domestic issues. Right now, very important issue, the next potential United States Supreme Court associate justice. Your former White House counsel and friend Jack Quinn said this recently. He said, "It would be terrible if the public had unfettered access to the advice that a president gets. If that is the case, presidents won't get very good advice."
The suggestion being some of those documents that Democrats want from his terms in the White House or at the Justice Department shouldn't necessarily be forced to be handed over. What do you say about that?
CLINTON I think it depends on what the documents were. If he was giving advice to the Justice Department on policy and competing policy -- for example, his idea that the Congress could actually deprive the Supreme Court of the right to hear appeals in cases involving bussing or school prayer or abortion -- I think that should be available, because it deals with organic constitutional matters where the government was trying to decide on what policy it should have. That, I think, should be public.
If he gave President Reagan a legal memo on something relating to a particular decision he was going to make as president, then I think that should be subject to the privilege. I do think it's interesting that a lot of these Republicans in Congress who didn't believe there was anything such thing as executive privilege when I was president now want to protect these documents. But I think that some of them should be protected. I agree with Jack Quinn on that.
But on the other hand, I think if Judge Roberts wrote memos which were generally about his view of the Constitution and law and policy, and generally about the policies the administration was going to embrace or not, then those don't fall within the definition of a confidential legal advice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: It's Thursday, August 11th, and coming up, more of my interview with former President Bill Clinton. We'll hear what he has to say about politics and his wife's run for the U.S. Senate -- she wants to be reelected -- and maybe even for the White House.
And Rafael Palmeiro is back in the game today. He's free to play, but not free of legal problems, and certainly not clear of a scandal.
And we've been asking you about a mourning mother's request to meet with the president. What do you think? Our Jack Cafferty will have your e-mail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: More now from my exclusive interview with former President Bill Clinton. We talked about a subject he certainly loves very much -- that would be politics -- including his wife's campaign for reelection to the U.S. Senate and the race that could come after that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Let's briefly talk about your wife, junior senator from New York state. She now has another woman who's challenging her for the New York state, for her reelection, Jeanine Pirro. Listen to what she said, the Westchester County district attorney. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANINE PIRRO (R-NY), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: When Hillary first came to New York and said she wanted to be a New Yorker, she asked us to put out the welcome mat, and New York did. But now she wants to use it as a doormat to the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Is Jeanine Pirro right?
CLINTON: Jeanine Pirro is wrong. Hillary has not used any doormat and, by the way, she doesn't even have a Republican opponent yet. I don't know who the Republicans are going to nominate, and I don't think you do. But I know one thing. She has been a great senator for New York. She's served with distinction on the Armed Services Committee. She's been to the battle zones on more than one occasion. She has been a terrific senator for New York after 9/11, getting funds for the city to start again. She's gotten a large amount of money for working families to get health care for their kids. She's done amazing things on economic projects in upstate New York.
And, you know, if it hadn't been for my illness, she would have voted 99 percent of the time she's been in the Senate. I think she's still at 97-and-a-half. So I'm really proud of the job she did as senator. And according to all the surveys, so are all New Yorkers. I think they know she's been a good senator. She's been a good senator for Republicans and independents and Democrats, and for every section of the state. And I think the people will support her service in the election next year. That's what I think's going to happen.
BLITZER: Yes. You saw, perhaps, our recent CNN/"USA Today/Gallup poll. A lot of Democrats want her to run for the party's nomination in 2008. Forty-six percent registered Democrats prefer her; only 16 percent -- 41 percent, excuse me. Sixteen percent for John Kerry, 15 percent for John Edwards, 8 percent for Joe Biden. She's the frontrunner right now, isn't she?
CLINTON: No, because she's not a candidate. And I don't know that she will be. We have a rule in our family that I always followed, and now she does. Don't look past the next election, or you might not get past the next election. So I am convinced in my own mind she hasn't decided on that. I believe I would know if she had. And I don't want her to even think about it. I want her to focus on getting reelected and on doing her job as a senator. There will be lots of time to think about that down the road. I just don't think she should do that.
BLITZER: Is the U.S. government doing enough right now to deal with the issue of AIDS/HIV in Africa?
CLINTON: Well, we're doing more, and I am really grateful that I have been able to work with PEPFAR, the Bush administration's initiative. The president asked me what I doing when we flew together to the pope's funeral, and I explained it. And we're working -- I just got back from Africa, and we're working very closely with the Bush program.
Let me tell you what, together, the world is doing. We are trying to get up to speed on getting more people medicine, but about 6 million people in the poor worlds, in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the former Soviet Union need the medicine to stay alive.
Today, less -- fewer than a million are getting it, a big percentage of them in two countries, Brazil and Thailand, where they produce their own medicine. So, I have negotiated a price for this generic medicine of $139 a year, and we are directly, through my foundation effort, serving 110,000 people. We'll be up to 300,000 by the end of the year.
I hope the world will be at a million and a half or two million by sometime early next year. And if we just keep going, we can turn this around. I think there's a reasonable chance. I feel this for the first time, I might say, in three or four years. I think there is reasonable chance that by a year-and-a-half from now, we will think we've finally got ahold of this and we're are going in the other direction.
I can't tell you for sure, yet, Wolf, but I do think that America's doing more, the private foundations, people like me are doing more. The global fund on HTB and malaria has been terrific. I think if we'll all keep working together with Unicef, with other groups, we can turn it around.
BLITZER: Mr. President, what is the most important thing you hope to accomplish by you global initiative, this meeting you're having in the middle of September in New York? You're bringing all these world leaders. Many of whom are coming for the U.N. General Assembly opening. What is the single most-important thing you hope to accomplish?
CLINTON: I hope to get every private person who comes there, whether they're a wealthy business person, a philanthropist, a leader of nongovernmental organization, to make a commitment to take some specific action in the coming year in one of these four areas: In the reduction of poverty, improving government in emerging countries and finding an economic opportunity and combating climate change and global warming and promoting religious reconciliation.
I want them to take one of these areas and do one specific thing. And I want everybody who comes, to make a commitment to do it and do it. And I think if we do that next year and every year for a decade, we can have a huge impact on the problems of the world. That's what I believe and I think that the evidence that I've seen, just since I've been out of the White House about what I and others have been able to do bears that out.
BLITZER: We will be covering it, Mr. President. We're out of time, but a quick question. I want to put a picture up. You're not going to see it, but it's you in the situation room in the West Wing of the White House. The former vice president is there. You're former national adviser -- it's a good picture. You're now in the CNN SITUATION ROOM, at least via satellite, how do you feel?
CLINTON: Well, I like being in the other situation room, but I like this one better: There's less pressure and more freedom. And I know I can walk out on you. I couldn't walk out of those other situations.
BLITZER: Well, this is a lot less stressful to be sure. Physically, are you OK, Mr. President?
CLINTON: I feel great. I've been blessed. I was lucky to get over it. My family was great. My medical team was great. And I'm doing what I'm told. And I hope I'm fine.
BLITZER: Well, we hope you'll be a frequent visitor here for many, many years to come in THE CNN SITUATION ROOM. Bill Clinton, the former president of the United States, always a pleasure speaking with you.
CLINTON: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: The president of the United States speaking with me just a little while ago, the former president of the United States just a little while ago, Bill Clinton.
There's a developing story we're following right now. Let's bring in CNN Zain Verjee from the CNN center in Atlanta. What's going on, Zain?
VERJEE: Wolf, there is a standoff between police and a gunman in Georgia. Police have surrounded a post office in Pine Lake, Georgia. Now that's a suburb of Atlanta. And you're looking at some pictures that have just come into CNN.
Officials say that a man has shot a police officer. And is now holed up inside the post office. CNN has just confirmed that that police officer has been killed.
It's not clear if there are any hostages that are being held inside this post office. We're trying to get information. And we'll bring it to you as soon as we can.
A nearby resident who is also a CNN news desk officer said that there were, quote, "a lot of shots."
That is all the information we have right now, Wolf. But we have been able to confirm that that police officer is dead.
BLITZER: CNN's Zain Verjee, we'll check back with you. Thank you very much. A developing story we're following.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" -- Lou Dobbs is getting ready for his program that's called "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT." Lou, is standing by in New York. What are you working on, Lou?
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you very much. Coming up here on CNN at 6:00 p.m. Eastern tonight, President Bush declares it would be a terrible mistake to withdraw from Iraq prematurely, but the president offers no new vision to defeat the insurgency.
Also tonight, the United Nations fails in its duty to hold Iran accountable for its escalation of the nuclear challenge. Kofi Annan, China and Russia all moving to block strong action against Tehran. We'll have that special report for you.
And also tonight, what could become the most expensive ballot initiative fight ever. Big pharmaceutical companies pouring tens of millions of dollars into California to block deep price cuts for medicines in that state.
And political correctness gone crazy? It's now spread to the top of the Pentagon. Why the U.S. military command responsible for defending our skies has dropped all references to American Indians in another example of Orwellian madness that's gripping some quarters of this country. We'll have that story for you and a great deal more at the top of the hour. Please join us. Now back to Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Sounds like another full line-up. Lou, thanks very much. We'll catch you at the top of the hour.
When we come back here in the SITUATION ROOM, are good things in Martha Stewart's future once she's done all her time? Our new poll offers clues on whether the public is eager to welcome her back.
Also ahead, Rafael Palmeiro's suspension for steroids is now over. But is the star back in the game?
And should President Bush meet with the mom turned protester whose son was killed in Iraq? Your e-mail messages. All that and more. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Baltimore Orioles slugger Rafael Palmeiro is back at bat and speaking out about his 10-day suspension after a positive steroid test. CNN's Brian Todd is joining us now live from Baltimore with the story.
You're at the stadium, what's going on, Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's been a big day here at the stadium: the return of Rafael Palmeiro after his 10-day suspension. He just finished taking batting practice here. And the Orioles just went in the clubhouse.
Right now, we're looking at the Tampa Bay Devil Rays taking batting practice.
But Palmeiro came out for the first time since his suspension was announced, and publicly and in person address the media. He was asked flat out if he's worried about how the fans are going to receive him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: What do you expect to hear from fans? Do you expect to get booed.
RAFAEL PALMEIRO, BALTIMORE ORIOLES: I'm not sure. You know, I can't really worry about that right now. I hope that they cheer. I mean, I think every player likes to be cheered and no one likes to be booed. But I'll accept whatever they have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Now, a quick indication of how he is being received. Here's how the media is treating him. Five times the normal number of media at the game.
You see these fans back here? Just moments ago, they were clamoring for his autograph. And he accommodated them. He stopped, he signed a few autographs. There's a welcome back Rafy sign there. So people it looks -- if this is any indication, it looks like he is going to get a warm reception tonight. But they are not going to see him in the game tonight. He's not playing, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Brian Todd reporting for us. Brian, thank you very much.
Potentially, lots of legal problems for Palmeiro. For more on that, ESPN legal analyst Roger Cossack joining us here in the SITUATION ROOM. Roger, listen to what he testified, what he said before the United States Congress on March 17.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PALMEIRO: I have never used steroids, period. I do not know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never. The reference to me in Mr. Canseco's book is absolutely false.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: He was under oath. And there is a perjury investigation underway right now. How serious of a legal problem does he have?
ROGER COSSACK, ESPN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it depends on what happens. I mean, what should have happened is that someone should have gotten to Rafael Palmeiro 10 days ago, and said to him, don't make any statements regarding your use of steroids. You remember he made that statement about, I don't know how this happened, this must be a mistake.
These are the kinds of things that end up in conflict with what he told, as you point out, so definitely to Congress. And the question is whether or not these committees are going to go on and refer this to the Justice Department and have a grand jury start asking him questions.
Now, he would have the Fifth Amendment available to him, and could invoke his privileges under the Fifth Amendment, but you know, this is the kind of thing that can mushroom, because no one could have been more -- and no one was -- I was there that day, and no one was more definite than Rafael Palmeiro.
BLITZER: There were no caveats in his statement. After the suspension, said I never intentionally used steroids, which is a significant potential difference. But how hard is perjury as a crime? How hard is that for prosecutors to prove?
COSSACK: Well, it's a difficult situation, because first of all, there's -- it's not just telling a lie under oath. It's telling a lie about a material fact. Well, I mean, I think in this case, it would pass the material fact question, because that was the material fact. Have you used steroids or haven't you used steroids? So I think in this case, what they would have to show is that he knowingly used the steroids prior to when he testified in front of Congress.
Now, that's why they're asking baseball for some information regarding when this test was taken, what was the substance used. Is it the kind of thing that could be a mistake, or is it something that isn't and couldn't be a mistake? And that's why I think Congress is asking for all this information. You know, this could be -- it depends on what that information is. He could have a big-time problem.
BLITZER: Major League Baseball says they are cooperating, and they're handing over the documents. Potentially, that could be a big problem for Rafael Palmeiro.
COSSACK: Depending on what's in those documents. And after all, I mean, look, Major League Baseball absolutely has no right to withhold those documents. They have to turn them over. It's a criminal subpoena -- or a subpoena, excuse me, from Congress. They can't say, we've promised that we wouldn't turn this stuff over. They must turn it over.
BLITZER: Roger Cossack, an old friend, thanks for joining us. Good to have you in THE SITUATION ROOM.
COSSACK: My pleasure.
BLITZER: Now an ESPN legal analyst. Roger Cossack. He's good.
Coming up, one mom's grief over her son's death in Iraq, and a president's problem. Right now, we've been asking should Mr. Bush meet with that protester on his doorstep in Texas? Your answer, and Jack Cafferty, that's coming up ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD NIXON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sometimes I have succeeded, sometimes I failed.
ANNOUNCER: This week in history, the political scandal known as Watergate resulted in President Nixon's resignation, effective August 9th, 1974.
NIXON: I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.
ANNOUNCER: On August 13th, 1995, baseball legend Mickey Mantle lost his life to cancer.
And in 1998, the twin bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania claimed more than 200 lives.
And that is "This Week in History."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Check this video out from our affiliate in Boston. Look at this. Residents and businesses were evacuated. Power was shut off after an electrical cable failure in Boston's North End sparked some manhole fires. Firefighters on the scene. Fire officials telling the Associated Press that several others were smoldering underground. We'll watch this story, see if anything develops.
Other news we're following. In less than three weeks, Martha Stewart is scheduled to end her home confinement, completing the sentence that sprang from her stock scandal and subsequent trial. CNN's Zain Verjee joining us from the CNN Center in Atlanta with some new poll numbers out on how the public is reacting -- Zain.
VERJEE: Wolf, Martha Stewart has some big post-sentence career plans. Now, poll numbers show that the public is ready to welcome her back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE (voice-over): Martha Stewart's upcoming plans include adding a new lifestyle show, a reality show, and a satellite radio channel to her already massive media empire. A new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll indicates that a majority of the public will at least welcome her back with open arms, if not high ratings. Fifty-two percent of those asked have a favorable opinion of the media mogul; 31 percent unfavorable, while 16 percent say they have no opinion of her.
Stewart was convicted last March of perjury, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy for lying to federal investigators about a stock sale. She was sentenced to five months in prison and five months home confinement, which she'll complete at the end of the month.
As a businesswoman, Stewart must be concerned about the possible impact her conviction will have on her career. Well, not to worry. According to the poll, a vast majority believe it will either help or have no effect. Only 11 percent think it will hurt her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: Stewart's home confinement was originally scheduled to end this week, but the judge extended it to the end of the month after reports that she violated the terms of her house arrest -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Zain Verjee, at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
Your e-mail messages on this hour's question are poring into THE SITUATION ROOM. Jack Cafferty sorting through all of them, every single one. He's got "The Cafferty File" for us right now -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: You know, NBC's got that Martha Stewart "Apprentice" show coming up in the fall along with -- and they got these awful promos they're running, with Donald Trump and Martha Stewart where she straightens his tie. I mean, it's just icky. Just following up on the Martha Stewart thing.
BLITZER: Does she do anything with his hairdo?
CAFFERTY: No, no, no, no, you can't touch that hair.
BLITZER: All right. CAFFERTY: The question this hour, should President Bush meet with the woman, Cindy Sheehan, who's camped outside the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas since Saturday. So far, he's refused to do so.
Joyce writes, "If the war in Iraq is the right thing to do, as the president says it is, then he owes Cindy Sheehan a few minutes to listen to her pain at sacrificing a son."
Clark in Springfield, Ohio, "President Bush should not meet with Cindy Sheehan. Pulling troops out of Iraq right now is insane. She might want to think about the threat to our national security instead of being so selfish."
Carol in Silver Springs, Nevada, where I'm from -- "The fact that George Bush does not feel it necessary to meet with Cindy Sheehan proves he's misjudging the negative publicity he's receiving. More importantly, his unwillingness to deal directly with the situation makes him look like an emotional coward."
And finally, Steve in Ft. Worth, Texas writes to say: "Jack, tell your buddy Wolf Blitzer I'm not in THE SITUATION ROOM. In fact, I'm in my living room on my sofa." Geez.
BLITZER: Via television, he's in THE SITUATION ROOM,but that's a subject for another matter.
Thanks very much, Jack Cafferty.
Ali Velshi is going to update us now what's happening with that British Airways story. What a mess in London.
VELSHI: Yeah, and to anybody who's traveling from here, just want to give you an update. We've spoken to British Airways. The deal is, call your travel agent or call British Airways at 1-800- airways. If you were scheduled to get to London, they will rebook you on another carrier. If you were scheduled to travel through London, they will try and get you directly to your destination. Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: All right, Ali Velshi in New York, thanks very much.
And we're in THE SITUATION ROOM and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM every weekday afternoon, 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm Wolf Blitzer. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starting right now, Lou standing by in New York -- Lou.
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Thank you, Wolf.
END
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