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Sectarian Violence Spreads in Iraq; Bush Might Accept Delay In Port Deal; Bombing In Samarra Represents Threat to Bush's Iraq Policy; Libby Asks Judge To Dismiss His Indictment; Bush Administration's Report On Lessons Learned For Hurricane Katrina Now Is Public; Children Returning To New Orleans May Face Health Risks; Bush Controversies Possibly Affecting His Popularity With Other Republicans Running For Election; Robert Ford Interview; South Dakota Passes Abortion Ban

Aired February 23, 2006 - 16:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And to our viewers, you're now in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information from around the world are arriving all the time.
Happening now, Iraq in crisis. Dozens more are dead as old hatred between rival factions keep exploding. It's midnight in Baghdad. Can the United States pull Iraqis back from the brink of civil war?

Also this hour, Democrats raising new red flags in the port security controversy. It's 4:00 p.m. here in Washington, where senators argued about the deal and whether the Bush administration simply ignored the law.

And we know it was a disaster, but what more can the Bush administration say about Katrina and it's response to the storm? We've been reading the fine print of a new report on lessons learned. I'm Wolf Blitzer, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Iraqi and U.S. officials are pleading for calm in the midst of their worst nightmare. Deadly sectarian violence is sweeping across Iraq right now. Reuters reporting the Iraqi government will impose a daytime curfew on Baghdad and three surrounding provinces on Friday, that would be the Muslim day of prayer.

Today at least 47 people were killed in one attack alone. Police say gunmen opened fire on people protesting the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine. More than 100 people have died in revenge attacks, as they're called since Wednesday morning when that shrine known as the golden mosque was reduced to rubble.

Dozens of other mosques are in ruins as rival Shiites and Sunnis appear to be teetering on the brink of civil war. President Bush spoke out today about the worst crisis in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion, calling the bombing of the golden mosque an evil act. We'll take a look at the president's stake in all of this, that's coming up shortly. First though, let's go to CNN's Aneesh Raman in Baghdad -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN BAGHDAD CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good afternoon. Sectarian strife in Iraq reaching a breaking point after Wednesday's attack on that sacred Shia mosque. Reprisal attacks in the course of the past few days against Sunnis have left at least 50 Sunnis dead in the capital alone, some 50 mosques coming under fire again in the capital, five of them destroyed.

Throughout the country, Sunni politicians say at least 100 Sunni sites have come under attack. Meanwhile, Shia protesters continue to take to the streets, thousands demonstrating in the capital, in the holy city of Najaf and in Samarra, where Wednesday's attack took place. The turmoil also brewing into the political front.

The main Sunni block in Iraq, the Iraqi Accord Front has suspended any talks with the Shia and Kurds over forming a unity government. They say the government has shown a double standard, this really condemning the attack on the Shia mosque, but largely being silent in condemning the reprisal attacks against the Sunnis -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Aneesh Raman in Baghdad, thank you very much. Iraq's former prime minister Ayad Allawi has been warning for some time now about the sectarian violence plaguing his country. Just a short while ago, I asked him about that potential for a civil war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Last July, you were quoted by the "Times of London" as saying that "Iraq was practically in stage one of a civil war." What stage is Iraq in a civil war right now?

AYAD ALLAWI, FMR. IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: Well, it is now going into stage two, and hopefully we don't turn into stage three or what this is I would categorize as a full-blown civil war. We are now in stage two, and we have to do our best to resolve the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We'll have more of that interview with Ayad Allawi coming up later here on CNN right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

If Iraq descends into stage three of the civil war, as Ayad Allawi is putting it, President Bush likely would find himself in a crisis of his own. Here's our senior political analyst Bill Schneider with more on that -- Bill?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Wolf, in the famous story the "Appointment In Samarra" the appointment turns out to be with death. This week's bombing of a sacred Shiite shrine in Samarra represents an equally dire threat to the Bush administration's Iraq policy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): For three years, experts have been warning that the greatest threat to U.S. policy in Iraq would be civil war.

GEN. BARRY MCCAFFREY, U.S. ARMY (RET.): What we have to worry about, it seems to me is, preventing this civil war that's going on now. That's what we're looking at, is a low-grade civil war, from spinning out of control.

SCHNEIDER: The Bush administration dismisses the idea.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: No, the Iraq is not in the middle of a civil war.

SCHNEIDER: Iraq is supposed to become a showcase of democracy in the Middle East. Civil war would convey exactly the opposite message, that democracy is dangerous, which is exactly what the insurgents are trying to prove.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Destruction of a holy site is a political act intending to create strife.

SCHNEIDER: Administration supporters have warned about dire consequences if the U.S. were to get out of Iraq.

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: As our ambassador said just this past week in one interview, if we just left, civil war would break out again.

SCHNEIDER: But if civil war were to break out now, it would make the case, administration critics have been trying to make.

REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: The war against terrorism is not in Iraq. Iraq is a war and we're caught in a civil war and they're fighting with each other.

SCHNEIDER: George W. Bush has staked his legacy on being a uniter and not just in the United States.

BUSH: And we will continue to work with those voices of reason to enable Iraq to continue on the path of a democracy that unites people and doesn't divide them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: One thing Americans will not tolerate is getting involved in another country's politics. That's what happened in Vietnam and in Somalia, and it's threatening to happen now in Iraq -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Bill Schneider is our senior political analyst -- Bill, thank you.

U.S. forces trying to help prevent an all-out civil war have suffered new casualties of their own. The U.S. death toll in Iraq now stands at 2,286 after seven American soldiers were killed in two roadside bombings just north of Baghdad earlier today.

And coming up, I'll discuss the threat of civil war in Iraq with a political adviser to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Robert Ford, that interview coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM. More on the Iraqi situation, but let's move on to our "Security Watch," and the political battle over ports. We've just gotten word that the president's top political adviser says Mr. Bush might accept a delay in the deal to let a state-owned Arab run firm run six U.S. ports. Karl Rove made the comments at a radio interview today, even as the Senate panel held an open briefing on the deal. CNN's Andrea Koppel is covering the port storm, she's joining us now live -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, for the first time since this storm began to brew last week, the curtain was finally lifted on the usually highly-secretive approval process, so that lawmakers could get a look at how and why the Bush administration approved that $6.8 billion deal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (voice-over): Even as President Bush was continuing to defend his administration's decision and reassure the American people...

BUSH: This deal wouldn't go forward if we were concerned about the security for the United States of America.

KOPPEL: On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats had some of the administration's key decision-makers in the port deal squarely in their cross hairs.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: If 9/11 was a failure of imagination and Katrina was a failure of initiative, this process is a failure of judgment.

KOPPEL: This hastily arranged briefing before the Senate's Armed Services Committee was convened by chairman John Warner, one of the few Republicans to openly support President Bush in the hopes of stemming the flood of congressional criticism.

In attendance, senior officials from the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, the State Department, and Treasury, four of the 12 government agencies involved in green-lighting the controversial deal.

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Did anyone on the panel raise any national security concerns at all?

ROBERT KIMMITT, DEPUTY TREASURY SECRETARY: By consensus, they said that there was not a national security concern.

KOPPEL: Of the five senators who attended, four were Democrats. Among them, Senators Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin, wanted to know why the administration signed off on the deal with the United Arab Emirates, a country that was home to two of the 9/11 hijackers, without a mandatory 45-day investigation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: But after two and a half hours of back and forth and a steady stream of questions and answers, it didn't appear that the administration was able to change many minds, or to head off legislation to block the deal as early as next week. Senator Hillary Clinton saying she still intends to push her legislation that would prevent all foreign ownership of U.S. port facilities, Wolf.

BLITZER: Andrea, thanks very much. Let's go over to the White House right now. Dana Bash standing by. Dana, got some new comments today from the deputy White House chief-of-staff Karl Rove on this port deal. What are you hearing over there?

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting. What they are saying here Wolf is that the president's veto threat was real and it still stands. What Karl Rove said is how important it was to get members of Congress to a place where they have a good comfort level with letting this deal go through, but he did say there are some hurdles, regulatory hurdles, that this still needs to go through on the British side as well that are going to be concluded next week.

And then he said, this is what people are looking at -- there's no requirement that it close, you know, immediately after that. I think, to be honest with you, people around here are trying to figure out exactly what Karl Rove meant, but I can tell you, in talking to people around town about how perhaps they can get out of this without having a legislative showdown that they're really set up for now, perhaps the way to do that is by getting the companies themselves to delay it so it doesn't have to be done through Congress and with the president, and they wouldn't have to get to the point where they're heading right now.

So perhaps that is what Karl Rove is signaling. Whether or not that is for sure, we'll let you know. As I said, they're trying to figure out exactly what he meant here at the White House at this point, but one thing I can tell you -- I just talked to a senior official who says that the president's veto threat stands.

BLITZER: Dana Bash, thanks very much.

If the port deal survives congressional scrutiny, the Dubai-based company will operate in six major U.S. cities. But these are the big ports. How much real estate and which terminals will be under new foreign control?

Our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton has been investigating online -- Abbi.

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, Dubai Ports World would be taking over leases of some terminals within these ports, rather than the ports themselves.

Let's take the port of Baltimore. It has 14 terminals there. This Dubai-based company would be taking over leases of two of them, but they are an important two. The Sea Girt (ph) Container Terminal there, the most productive in the North Atlantic.

Onto another port affected by this deal now, the port of Philadelphia, We're looking at video here of the Tioga Terminal there, a multi-use terminal there. Fifty percent of this would be going over to Dubai Ports World. That's just one twelfth of the entire facilities there.

Another the port of Miami. Three container terminals there, 50 percent of one of them there going over to Dubai Ports World. It's next there to another foreign-based terminal, that from a Danish company -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Abbi, thanks very much. Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Let's go back to Jack Cafferty in New York. He's got "The Cafferty File." Hi, Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. Another day, another report about how the government dropped the ball during Hurricane Katrina. That's what we need, are more reports. Today the White House released a report, calling for changes in 11 different areas before the next hurricane season starts. That would be June 1st. It took five months for them to write the report. I wouldn't hold my breath on any changes being made by June 1st.

This follows a scathing report from the House of Representatives last week. We got a Senate committee that's going to issue another report next month. Can hardly wait for that.

Meanwhile 40 percent -- that's all, just 40 percent -- of the planned repairs to New Orleans flood protection system have been completed. The Army Corps of Engineers says the work will be done but June 1st. But get this. Federal funding will only restore the levees to withstand a Category 3 storm. That's what New Orleans had before Katrina. It obviously wasn't enough. The levees need to be able to withstand a Category 4 or 5 hurricane, and that apparently is not going to happen.

Here's the question. Is another government report on Hurricane Katrina going to make any difference? E-mail us at caffertyfile@cnn.com, or go to CNN.com/caffertyfile.

Or go to Hope, Arkansas, and look at 11,000 empty trailers sitting there that are supposed to be for people to live in New Orleans. Or go to the Ninth Ward and look at all the debris that's been sitting there for months, hasn't been touched since the hurricane struck. But our government's busy writing reports, so I guess that's a good thing -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jack, thanks very much. Jack Cafferty in New York. So what's in today's White House report on Katrina? You want specifics? We'll go back to Dana Bash at the White House. She's been sifting through the pages. She'll join us with a closer look at the fine print, and we'll also take a look at the political fallout.

President Bush, the campaigner in the wake of Katrina in the ports controversy. Do Republicans still want the president's help out on the campaign trail? Plus, the desperate search for shoppers trapped when heavy snow collapses the roof at a busy marketplace in Moscow. Our Zain Verjee has details. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby is today asking a federal judge to dismiss his indictment in the CIA leak case. In a court filing today, Libby's lawyers say the special prosecutor lacks the authority to pursue the charges because he was not appointed by the president with consent of the U.S. Senate. Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed by the Justice Department. We've been trying to contact Fitzgerald for a response. Don't have it yet.

The Bush administration's report on lessons learned during Hurricane Katrina now is public records. It's jam-packed with recommendations for trying to improve the government's disaster response in the future. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana says it's a tragedy that those recommendations are coming, in her words, years too late.

Our White House correspondent Dana Bash is joining us once again from the White House with more on this report.

Hi, again, Dana.

BASH: Hi, again, Wolf. Well, you remember last week, the House Republicans, in a committee, issued a report that was scathing, really blistering, and focused a lot on response by the Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Blamed him for ineffectiveness.

Well, this 228-page internal report, report done by the White House on the federal response, as you can imagine, is a lot more mild. But it does go through and talk about some of the problems, but focuses a lot more on the bureaucratic systematic problems and less on personalities and the leaders, if you will.

The president today had a cabinet meeting here to open it up and explain that he once again did not think the federal response was good, as we had heard before. But he said he wanted to look forward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: We will learn from the lessons of the past to better protect the American people. We have made a strong commitment to the people in the Gulf Coast, and we will honor that commitment, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, the person who prepared this report is the president' Homeland Security adviser, Frances Townsend. She briefed reporters earlier today, and she made clear she does think that the federal response to Katrina fell, in her words, "far short of the seamless, coordinated effort that had been envisioned by the president." And she talked about problems across the board, really especially in six specific agencies. But she also said that part of the problem laid at the feet of the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCES TOWNSEND, BUSH HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: Unfortunately, the one thing that the government tends to be best at is red tape. But what we know is when we're fighting a deadly hurricane or a terrorist threat, red tape can no longer be tolerated or accepted. So we need to rewrite the national response plan so it is workable and it is clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, the president, as I mentioned, wanted to make sure to look into the future. This report lays out 125 recommendations. But specifically, they say that they need 11 pretty major changes in the next three months. That is before June 2006, before the hurricane season starts.

Some of them -- and I should mention they're a little bit vague -- decision-makers working together in close proximity; talks about the need to designate locations for receiving, staging and moving military resources; and also use all available technology, including emergency alert systems.

Now this report is sort of a narrative, Wolf, and goes through the timeline, goes through, as the report calls it, the week in crisis. It talks about really some of the problems, some of the major problems that we had reported on for months and months, and particularly real-time during that time.

But as I said, this report is not at all like what we saw from the House Republican report and probably not what we're going to see from a Senate report that is going to come out very soon.

BLITZER: Dana, thanks very much. We're going to have much more on this report. We're also going to have some reaction from U.S. Army Lieutenant General Russel Honore, who went into New Orleans, the whole Gulf Coast area, to handle relief immediately after Hurricane Katrina. He's going to join us here in THE SITUATION ROOM. That's coming up.

In the meantime, there was more bad news in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Young children who return to New Orleans could face some serious health risks. That's according to a new study released online today. The environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, reports what they call "potentially dangerous levels of arsenic and lead."

Our Internet reporter Jacki Schechner has more -- Jacki.

JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Video online of the National Resources Defense Council researchers going down to New Orleans and taking samples. They have a lot of information available online. You can take a look at some of the pictures they took down there.

What they're saying is this kind of mold is now in the air. You can see where diesel fuel after the storm could have potentially leaked into the environment, and also there's this sediment on the ground that's now baking in the sun, and they say that there's some potential danger in here.

They released some maps, and for example, the arsenic levels they're talking about, anything that's an orange or red or that maroon color is above the levels that they consider safe. They also took a look at diesel. For example, anything in the yellow or maroon they also consider above levels.

Now, we also a look at the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and they say a different story. They took a look at zip codes -- for example, in this one 70005. They say there were high arsenic levels in four specific locations, but those were on golf courses, Wolf, and they say that is pretty normal, because they use arsenic in killing weeds.

So really, you want to take a look a tall this information. It's a lot to absorb. We have it online at cnn.com/situationreport.

BLITZER: Jacki, thanks very much.

Zain Verjee is joining us from the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta with a closer look at other stories making news. Hi, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf.

Well, authorities in Moscow say they've been in cell phone contact with people trapped under debris after a roof collapse at a busy marketplace. At least 40 people are reported dead. Rescue teams and dogs are combing the rubble for survivors. Cold temperatures and a night of heavy snow may have contributed to the collapse.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice touched down in the United Arab Emirates for talks today. Referring to the controversy over the Dubai Ports deal, Rice described the UAE, as, in her words, "a very good ally in the war on terror." She adds that "the deal serves America's security and commercial interests."

Earlier, the secretary of state made a surprise stop in Beirut, where she reaffirmed U.S. support for Lebanon's independence. After talks with the Lebanese premier, Rice says that she's confident in the future of democracy in Lebanon, and she's calling on Syria to cooperate with the U.N. investigation into the assassination of the former prime minister Rafik Hariri -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Zain, thanks very much. We'll have you back very soon with some more news.

Coming up, much, much more on our top story, the current crisis in Iraq. So what should the White House do about the violence, and the escalation of the fighting? Find out in today's "Strategy Session." Plus, are Republicans trying to distance themselves from the president? Or is Mr. Bush still a man in demand on the campaign trail? Stay with us, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: On our "Political Radar" this Thursday, President Bush is traveling to Indiana and Ohio today to try to raise some money for two Republican incumbents seeking reelection this fall. With all the problems he now faces back here in Washington, are members of his own party embracing him or are they running scared?

Let's check in with our national correspondent Bob Franken in Indiana -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the president is on his way to Ohio for the second of two political events. The first one here in Indiana, and that followed an event this morning at the White House in Washington, where he was dealing with a matter that had caused great political harm to his administration, the response to Hurricane Katrina.

This was the day that a report came out detailing those problems and coming up with proposed solutions. Katrina signaled a downward spiral for the president. He now has about a 40 percent approval rating and is still blindsided by political issues, the most recent one being the port security issue that's right now swirling around this administration.

As a matter of fact, in this election year, there's been some discussion that many Republicans are trying to keep their distance from President Bush, and it was a matter that was addressed on the plane coming over, a White House spokesperson responding.

In fact, she said, "we are getting daily requests for the president to participate in campaign events." In fact, she continued, "the supply is not keeping up with the demand." Well, the demand today includes two political events. Then the president goes back to Washington and more political controversy -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Bob Franken reporting for us today from Indiana. Thank you.

Today in our "Strategy Session," controversy continues to swirl around that port deal allowing a Dubai-based company to take control of operations at six major U.S. ports. What will be the political fallout and could it have an impact at the ballot box.?

Plus, President Bush and Iraqi leaders calling for calm after widespread violence following the bombing of a sacred Shiite mosque. Will the country be able to avoid civil war?

Joining us now to discuss that, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, and Republican strategist Rich Galen.

On the port matter, first, listen to the president's defense today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: What I find interesting is that it's OK for a British company for manage some ports, but not OK for a company from a country that is also a valuable ally in the war on terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Do you have a problem with that defense?

TERRY MCAULIFFE, FORMER DEM. NATL. CMTE. CHMN.: I do. It's foreign government ownership and that's the issue. I mean, when you have the Republican governor of Maryland, the Republican governor of New York, the Republican speaker of the House, the Republican Senate majority leader going with Democrats to say this deal is wrong, it's not good for America, it's not going to protect our borders, obviously they understand what's going on.

BLITZER: Well, let me interrupt you here, but it was already under foreign control. A British company controlled those six ports.

MCAULIFFE: Here's the key distinction: foreign government. This would be the foreign government having control over our ports. They would have access to our blueprints, our time schedules, who comes and goes. Listen, I would even say the Irish government, Wolf, can't have any interest in any of our airports, chemical plants, nuclear plants, or any of our ports. Foreign governments should not own strategic interests in the United States.

BLITZER: What do you think?

RICH GALEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You're pretending that this is a big deal, but you know it's not. In the Gulf states, the royal families own, control, influence a great deal on things. It's not like the United States -- they're mostly from the West, where there's a clear distinction of what the government owns and what the private industry owns because it's all mixed up into the same thing.

The other bidder in this deal for these assets of P&O, the British company, was a Singapore company. Frankly, I don't know if this P&O operation, if the royal family of Britain owns some piece of that, and you don't either. So it may be that they were part of that.

(CROSSTALK)

GALEN: You're making that up.

MCAULIFFE: I would never do that with you.

GALEN: Right. But the fact is -- but let me just say that the administration did a dreadful job in preparing the ground for this to come out, frankly, because I don't think anybody believed it was going to be a big deal, which tells us a lot about the fact that they may be a little bit too far removed from what kind of day to day people are thinking. If they were to -- the problem was, I think, that most members of Congress, maybe no member of Congress, understood what you said, Wolf, was that these ports were already being operated by a foreign company. When Menendez -- or the guy from New Jersey.

BLITZER: Bob Menendez.

GALEN: Yes, Bob Menendez. He was -- I couldn't remember his name, either.

MCAULIFFE: Senator Menendez.

GALEN: Well, he was a congressman a few days ago. He said that he was outraged that this was being outsourced to a foreign firm. He didn't know -- and not his fault -- he didn't know that this was already happening. That, I think, was the administration's responsibility, so it wouldn't have been so far a step.

BLITZER: We heard from Senator Kerry, he weighed in on this, saying, "The management of these ports is the door which you walk through to get to all of these other questions. It raises a lot of questions about the lobbying, the connections, and the terms of the deal and the security problems the administration has left unaddressed." Is this be a big issue next week, the week after? Or is this just going to go away?

MCAULIFFE: It's an issue because when you add to it the failings grades that this administration got from the 9/11 Commission, when you add to it the failed response to Katrina, pattern after pattern. You've now seen "The Wall Street Journal," the Harris poll, 47 percent of Americans think that George Bush is doing a fair or poor job in preventing terrorist attacks.

So when you add all this together, our point is, foreign governments should not own key vital interests in the United States of America. Next, we'll see George Bush on television saying Iran is buying Miami International Airport. We're going to have North Korea buying Los Alamos. Where do you stop?

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Let's talk about another arguably much more important story right now, which is the situation in Iraq, which is clearly on the brink -- hopefully not -- but it's clearly on the brink of serious sectarian violence, and maybe even a civil war. The president spoke out on that today. Rich, listen to what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: So I'm pleased with the voices of reason that have spoken out. And we will continue to work with the voices of reason to enable Iraq to continue on the path of a democracy that unites people and doesn't divide them.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: Is he overly optimistic right now? Because I spoke with Ayad Allawi, the former interim prime minister. He's a realist, he lives there. He's worried that they've gone from stage one potential civil war now to a stage two.

GALEN: Well, it is a problem, and it's potentially very dangerous. The other side of it is -- and I think one of the reasons -- and I had dinner last night with General Mark Kimmitt, who you had on yesterday. We were in Iraq together.

The fact is that it may well be that this is not the tipping point to civil war, being an optimist. It may well be that it's the tipping point for the Iraqis actually saying, "OK, enough. Now we're going to take control of this." The Iraqi government is going to keep both sides apart and not depend so much on U.S. and coalition forces, but actually now stand up and make this thing work all on their own.

BLITZER: That would be good if that happens. What do you think?

MCAULIFFE: Yes, I agree with this. This is the point I've consistently made on George Bush as it relates to Iraq. He misled us on intelligence, he didn't listen to his own generals, and didn't provide enough troops there in the first place. The borders are now porous. It is a terrorist haven today in Iraq.

And the point is that George Bush has made our nation less safe. He lives in a pre-9/11 world. And when you talk about the ports, and you talk about Katrina, and you talk about the failing grades on 9/11, that's why I think '06 will be a great year for Democrats in the House and Senate.

(CROSSTALK)

GALEN: Let me tell you where the center is not. It's not in New York, it's not in Washington, it's not in the United States. It's going to be somewhere, I'd rather it be there.

MCAULIFFE: This wait-and-see attitude -- this is part of the Republicans. This wait-and-see attitude is not what the American public want.

(CROSSTALK)

MCAULIFFE: He doesn't know what's going on here today. He has no idea. And why Dubai wants to do this with the ports -- if one suitcase comes in and we have an explosion, why possibly does Dubai and the UAE want everybody against them? This whole deal stinks. Follow the money. I wonder who's involved financially in this? And I think once we get to that...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Terry and Rich, thanks very much.

Up next, the crisis in Iraq. More on this important story. Will there be an all-out civil war? And what, if anything, can the United States do to prevent that? I'll ask a political adviser to the United States ambassador in Baghdad, Robert Ford. He'll join us in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And a bombshell in the culture wars. One state may be setting the stage for a Supreme Court showdown over abortion. Why are some anti-abortion activists so uneasy right now? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. In Iraq, one political observer says we should know in the next few days if, and I'm quoting now, "the gates of hell will open into civil war." U.S. officials in Baghdad clearly on edge. They're watching, and they're are waiting.

And joining us now from Baghdad is Robert Ford. He's the counselor for political affairs at the U.S. embassy. Mr. Ford, thanks very much for joining us. There's grave concern now that Iraq might be on the brink of a civil war.

Listen to Brigadier General Mudhir Mualla (ph), the official in the Iraqi defense ministry. He's quoted in the papers today as saying, "Many ignorant people will be pushed to do the same to the Sunni sacred places. This may be the start of the civil war." How concerned are you?

ROBERT FORD, ADVISER TO U.S. EMBASSY IN IRAQ: Well, I think sectarian divisions in Iraq are very real. That's obvious. They're not new. They've been in Iraq really since we came into Iraq in 2003.

I think they have widened a bit, but the good news is that the religious leadership, both Shia and Sunni, as well as the political leaderships, both Shia and Sunni, are quite aware of the risks of civil war, and both religious and political leadership are telling their communities, "Don't go in that direction." And I think they will do an effective job of marginalizing the extremists.

BLITZER: The grand ayatollah, Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of the Shiites, said this. He said, "If the government security forces cannot provide the necessary protection, the believers will do it." I assume he's referring to the militias, the Shiite militias, as opposed to the regular Iraqi security forces. They're going to try to take control of providing security as these mosques and other installations. That would be a major setback, wouldn't it?

FORD: Yes, I think -- and we have said to the Shia Islamists that militias are not the way to solve Iraq's security problems. The way to solve those security problems are to build as quickly as possible a capable and credible Iraqi security force, both police and army.

We have thousands of American and other multinational force officers and soldiers involved in that effort now. They understand that. But there is a level of frustration from car bombs, which happen all too often here, and most recently from this bombing in Samarra. The Shia, I think their main message above all, the message of Ayatollah Sistani and others, is they want the Iraqi government to do more as quickly as possible. But I want to underline that even in this message that you referred to from Ayatollah Sistani, in two different parts of that message, he underlined to the Shia public here in Iraq to avoid falling into the trap of the people who blew up the mosque in Samarra, to avoid falling into a sectarian civil war. And so the caution lights are out there for the Shia faithful.

BLITZER: I just want you to respond to this exchange. Your boss, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador in Iraq, said the other day, he said, "The United States is investing billions of dollars in Iraq. We are not going to invest the resources of the American people to build forces run by people who are sectarian.

To which Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the president of Iraq, said this -- the prime minister, excuse of Iraq, said this. He said, "When we are asked, 'Do you want the government to be sectarian,' our answer is no. Not because the U.S. ambassador said this and warns us, but because this is our policy. We think that sovereignty means no one interferes in our affairs."

So the prime minister seemingly suggesting that the ambassador is interfering in domestic Iraqi affairs. We only have a few seconds left. I want you to respond to that charge.

FORD: Well, the ambassador is underling that we have our own interests in Iraq, and those interests above all center on an Iraqi security force that can do its job and work credibly across Iraq to minimize, not aggravate, security problems.

The best and easiest way to remove foreign forces from Iraq is going to be for the Iraqis to be able to do the job themselves. But one of the reasons the sectarian divisions are so deep here in Iraq is because the Sunni Arabs do not have faith in the impartiality of some parts of the security services.

The ambassador's comments, therefore, are designed to boost the credibility of the security forces in the new government, starting with the people at the top of the ministry.

BLITZER: Robert Ford is the counselor for political affairs at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Mr. Ford, thanks for joining us.

FORD: My pleasure. Thank you.

BLITZER: And coming up. The U.S. Supreme Court and abortion. Is a direct legal challenge to Roe vs. Wade now in the making? We'll tell you what's happening now in the culture wars.

And the general who got things done in New Orleans after Katrina. He'll weigh in on the federal government's new report. What did General Russel Honore learn from the disaster? He'll join us here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: In the culture wars, a landmark vote in South Dakota that could lead too a head-on challenge to Roe vs. Wade. But some anti-abortion activists are debating if the timing is perfect or premature.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDIE BARTLING (D), SOUTH DAKOTA SENATE: I believe it's time to now abolish abortions in South Dakota, and I respectfully seek your favorable vote.

BLITZER: The South Dakota Senate agreed, approving a ban on all abortions, except those performed to save the mother's life, even setting a five-year prison sentence for doctors that break the law. In a debate that did not fall along the usual party lines, state senators refused to make exceptions for rape and incest.

STAN ADELSTEIN (R), SOUTH DAKOTA SENATE: To require a woman who's been savaged to carry the brutal attack result is a continued savagery.

BLITZER: If the bill wins final approval by the statehouse and the governor, it would become the most far-reaching anti-abortion law in the nation. Supporters see it as a direct legal challenge to Roe vs. Wade. Many abortion opponents think the time is right to overturn the decision legalizing abortion now that conservatives John Roberts and Samuel Alito are sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Still, others would prefer to wait for a more conservative court and a more receptive political climate. Polls show most Americans oppose overturning Roe vs. Wade. Top abortion rights group are vowing to challenge the South Dakota ban in the courts and to use it as ammunition in the 2006 and 2008 elections.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: So is this the perfect storm for anti-abortion activists? We'll be watching to see how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a controversial late-term procedure. The justices agreed this week to review what a ban on what opponents call partial-birth abortions.

Up next, a new first for democracy in Africa. But has it been marred by fraud? Our Zain Verjee with that story when we come back.

And was the violence now sweeping Iraq predictable? Iraq's former interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, has been sounding the alarm. Much more on this coming up, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's a look at some of the hot shots coming in from our friends at the Associated Press, pictures likely to be in your newspapers tomorrow.

Nigeria, religious murders. People walk past burning dead bodies in the streets during religious riots. Christian youths reportedly burn the corpses of Muslims. More than 146 people have been killed in five days of rioting over caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

Philippines. A young survivor of the landslides weeps as he waits at a refugee center. Rescuers are still searching for more than people still 900 missing.

Tennessee. Firefighters work at the scene where a car crashed into a school bus carrying about 30 children. The car's driver was killed. No students were injured.

Jerusalem, the biblical zoo there. The giraffe population has tripled in years, so the zoo has put this mother giraffe on birth control. Some of today's hot shots, pictures often worth 1,000 words.

Let's go right to Zain Verjee at the CNN Center for other stories making news.

Hi, Zain.

VERJEE: Hi, Wolf. The opposition presidential candidate in Uganda is alleging fraud after the country's first multiparty election in a quarter of a century today. Ugandans waited in long lines at polling stations, with some led to complaining of irregularities. But there were no reports of serious violence, as was previously feared. Initial results give the early lead to President Yoweri Museveni. He seized power back in 1986.

British police have arrested two people and are searching for some others in connection with an audacious heist that netted at least $44 million in cash yesterday. Authorities are linking the robbery to organized crime and say it was carried out with military-style precision. The thieves raided a cash depot outside of London, abducted the manager and his family, and then tied up the guards before making off with all that cash -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Zain, thank you very much. Zain Verjee at the CNN Center.

Still to come, the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. Does the nation really need another report to know what went wrong? Your responses. Jack Cafferty standing by.

Also, Iraq on the brink. At the top of the hour, we'll have a live report from Baghdad on the exploding violence.

And we'll check in over at the Pentagon, where fears of civil war are growing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's go right to Jack in New York -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Thanks, Wolf. Today, the White House released its report on Hurricane Katrina. The report calls for changes in 11 areas before the next hurricane season starts. That would be June 1st. This follows a report from the House of Representatives last week, and the Senate committee will have a report out next month. And that's all we need are some more reports. What's it been, five months? The question is, is another report on Hurricane Katrina going to make any difference? Kind of a loaded question.

Claude in San Jose, California: "Nothing at FEMA will change until it's removed from the Department of Homeland Insecurity and all the political appointees are fired and replaced with emergency planning professionals. I don't think that's in the White House plan."

Kate in Middletown, Connecticut: "Only superficially. This administration has too many chiefs, not enough workers, and a streak of incompetence that runs a mile wide right through it."

Gerald in Cookville, Tennessee: "No way. It's the government investigating itself with its own hand-picked investigator."

James in Dover, Delaware: "I wonder which priority is most important to President Bush, rebuilding Iraq's mosque and its golden dome, or proving housing for the Ninth Ward in New Orleans."

Michelle in Buffalo, New York: "The only tangible way such reports can make a difference is if they're printed out, stacked up, and people can then climb on top of them to avoid the flood waters."

And Rex in Toronto writes, "No, it won't make any difference. And neither with this email. Because ever since you made it from 'American Morning' to the big time with the Wolf-man, you've been snubbing the old school guys who got you there. Success has changed you, man."

BLITZER: No it hasn't. He's still the same Jack Cafferty. He never will change. Jack, thanks very much.

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