Return to Transcripts main page
The Situation Room
Israel Strikes Lebanon and Gaza; Bush visits Germany; Wildfires in California; Rumsfeld Visits Iraq; Novak Talks More About CIA Leak Source
Aired July 12, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Lou. And to our viewers you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by CNN reporters across the United States, and around the world to bring you tonight's top stories.
Happening now, an explosive situation in the Middle East. It's 2:00 a.m. Thursday in Israel. A nation vowing to punish Hezbollah militants for killing and kidnapping Israeli troops. We'll have live reports coming in from the region in crisis.
Also this hour, missile defiance and missile defense. It's 7:00 a.m. Thursday in Beijing where special U.S. Envoy Christopher Hill is holding urgent talks. I'll have an exclusive interview with Chris Hill. We'll talk about what's going on as far as the U.S. response to North Korea and a possible -- another round of missile tests.
And raging flames, dry ground and hot winds challenging firefighters in southern California right now. It's 4:00 p.m. in Yucca Valley where the danger and the destruction are spreading.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Tonight, global hot spots and fast-moving developments that could make tense and dangerous situations a whole lot worse in the coming hours. Right now, the Bush administration is confronting the continued missile defiance of North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-il, but could there be a breakthrough? We're awaiting word from the U.S. Special Envoy Christopher Hill. He's in Beijing. I'll speak with him exclusively on the latest round of talks aimed at resolving this standoff.
Meantime, in the Middle East, Israel is threatening a severe and harsh response to what it calls an act of war. The Islamic militant group Hezbollah today kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. Eight other Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting with those Hezbollah guerrillas. Israeli troops fired back pounding Hezbollah's base of attack in southern Lebanon.
Israel says it's holding the Lebanese government responsible for the safe release of its kidnapped soldiers. And the Bush administration is blaming Syria and Iran for supporting Hezbollah and prompting this powder keg to explode. We have reporters covering this story from all angles. Our White House correspondent Ed Henry is in Germany with the president. Ben Wedeman is in Gaza. Paula Hancocks is in Jerusalem. Let's go to the Israeli/Lebanese border, a very tense border right now. John Vause is on the scene for us.
John, as you speak to Israelis there, you're on the Israeli side of the border. It sounds like the Israeli troops ground forces as well as air power could be moving in any moment.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the military action continues. We've been hearing the artillery fire from our position here regularly for the last hour or so. This is just one location on the Israeli/Lebanese border and Israeli air strikes continue to hit deep inside southern Lebanon. They've been targeting mostly Hezbollah training grounds and buildings. Roads and bridges have also been bombed.
This is an offensive by air, land, and sea. The head of Israel's northern command warns that all of Lebanon is now a legitimate target. Eight Israeli soldiers have been killed so far. Three in the initial attack early Wednesday morning when two Israeli soldiers were taken hostage. Another four died when their tank hit an explosive just inside Lebanese territory. Another soldier was killed by gunfire when he went to their rescue.
The head of Hezbollah, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), now wants to trade the two kidnapped Israelis for Lebanese prisoners. And he warns that the Israelis are -- quote -- "delusional if they believe this military action will free the hostages." Israel is now holding the Lebanese government responsible for what it calls an act of war. But amid celebrations in Lebanon the government there denies any knowledge of the Hezbollah attack and has called on the U.N. to urgently intervene. Wolf?
BLITZER: John, stand by. I want to go to Jerusalem. Paula Hancocks is monitoring the situation. A very tough statement, Paula, coming out of the Israeli cabinet just a little while ago, even as the Israeli military is mobilizing, activating reserve forces for potential battle. How are the -- how are the Israeli government preparing the Israeli public for what might be developing right now?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the Israeli rhetoric has been very strong this Wednesday evening. Coming out of that special cabinet meeting, where the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and the ministers agreed on a harsh and severe response to this attack by Hezbollah earlier on, on Wednesday. Now we heard from one government source telling CNN that the steps would be gradual so that there would not be a huge escalation in the fighting and they could secure the safe release of these two Israeli soldiers.
But on the other hand, we heard from the chief of staff, Dan Halutz, a little earlier, threatening that he could turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years. So suggesting that the military action would be harsh. Now, we also know that there are going to be no negotiations, at least not in public. This is what all the Israeli politicians have been saying. Most notably Olmert saying we do not negotiate with terrorists, and there would be no prisoner swap. Wolf?
BLITZER: All right, Paula, stand by. Ben Wedeman is on the scene for us in Gaza, the other front in this potential war that's unfolding. A couple weeks ago an Israeli soldier was abducted near the Gaza border itself. I understand Israeli air strikes have just pounded a foreign ministry building, Ben, in Gaza. What do we know about this?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. Just about 25 minutes ago we heard a large explosion not far from here. We've learned subsequently that the foreign ministry was hit the fourth and the fifth floors severely damaged. At least five people injured in that strike. Now, it's worth noting that the foreign minister, Mahmoud Zahar, is a leading member of Hamas and he's one of the point people in discussions on the fate of Gilad Shalit, the 19-year-old Israeli army corporal that's been held captive by militants here in Gaza for the last two and a half weeks.
Now today Wolf was a very bloody day in Gaza, the bloodiest since September 2004. More than 20 people killed, beginning at 3:00 in the morning when Israeli planes hit a house just north of here, killing nine people, including a midlevel Hamas official, as well as his family, including his wife and seven children. Now what -- the person the Israelis were actually targeting was Muhammad Dave (ph), who is the number one man on their most-wanted list. He's the head of the military wing of Hamas. He's a man that the Israelis believe was involved in suicide bombings in Israel going back to the mid 1990's. Now there are reports that he was injured in this blast, but those reports have not been confirmed yet. Wolf?
BLITZER: Ben Wedeman, stand by in Gaza as well. I want to go to Germany. The president of the United States is there right now. Our White House correspondent Ed Henry is traveling with the president. Ed, share with us what the Bush administration is saying about these latest tensions escalating between Israel and Lebanon.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, aboard Air Force One on the way here to Germany, White House spokesman Tony Snow blasted away at both Iran and Syria, charging they have culpability in the escalation of this violence. Tony Snow called it a clear terrorist act. He said that they have culpability because those two nations have supported the terrorist organization Hezbollah.
He also noted that the White House, of course, as they've said before, supports Israel's right to defend itself. The back-story from a senior official is that the White House basically feels it has a real opportunity here to pounce on Iran, in particular, on the eve of this G-8 summit coming up in St. Petersburg, the president already trying to rally international support against Iran for being a bad actor, its thirst for nuclear weapons. The bottom line here, though, is there was a lot riding on this G-8 summit for the president and the stakes are getting higher by the hour, Wolf.
BLITZER: So far at least, correct me if I'm wrong, Ed, strong support coming from the White House for the position of the government of Israel, condemnation from the other side. Is that right? HENRY: Absolutely. And we've heard that previously since the beginning, since the kidnapping of that Israeli soldier. But you can hear Tony Snow stepping it up just a bit and making clear at this tense moment that the White House does support Israel's right to defend itself. In addition to Snow's comments, there was an official statement put out by the White House shortly before Snow's comments that made clear, they're calling Iran and Syria on the carpet for this, Wolf.
BLITZER: Ed, stand by as well. Only moments ago we saw an incredible shot. I want to show our viewers an air strike, an explosion in Gaza.
(SOUNDS)
BLITZER: There it is. Only moments ago in Gaza the Israelis launch an air strike. That particular air strike we're not sure what had happened. These are live pictures you're seeing right now, the smoke still very evident. We know the Israelis pounded a Palestinian foreign ministry building in Gaza. I'm not sure if that particular strike was that, but that was clearly the latest Israeli strike going in Gaza.
I want to thank all of our reporters covering this story. We're going to stay on top of it, bring you all of the latest, lot of people bracing for Israeli military action going into southern Lebanon at any moment presumably. We'll watch this story for you.
In the meantime, let's go up to New York. Jack Cafferty has got "The Cafferty File". Jack, it looks like that situation is incredibly tense and about to get a whole lot worse.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I think it was Monday night we strung together a bunch of incidents that you know were popping up around the globe and asked the question if World War III had already started. Now this Middle East thing is just boiling up and getting worse by the hour it seems.
All right, on to other things, Wolf. I'm going to read you a list of places. See if you can figure out what they have in common. Old McDonald's petting zoo, the Amish Country Popcorn Factory, the Mule Day Parade and the Sweetwater Flea Market. Give up? They're all part of a homeland security database of terror targets.
The department's inspector general says in a new report the national asset database is so flawed that Indiana has more locations listed than any other state -- Indiana. The government uses this list to help divvy very up the anti-terrorism money, like that recent program where they cut funding to New York and Washington. Remember?
These idiots told "The New York Times", -- quote -- "We don't find it embarrassing. The list is a valuable tool." Here's the question. What does it mean when a petting zoo and a flea market are included on a government list of terror targets? E-mail your thoughts to caffertyfile@cnn.com or go to cnn.com/caffertyfile -- Wolf. BLITZER: Thanks, Jack. Thanks very much. And to our viewers, if you want a sneak preview of Jack's questions plus an early read on the day's political news and what's ahead in THE SITUATION ROOM sign up for our daily e-mail alert. Simply go to cnn.com/situationroom.
We're watching the situation, an incredibly tense situation unfold in the Middle East. Two fronts now, only moments ago Israelis struck at this target in Gaza. That's video that's just come in to CNN. We're watching that front. We're watching the front between Israel and Lebanon, much more on this story coming up.
Also coming up, there are new developments in the North Korean missile crisis. I'll talk about all of that with the U.S. point man for North Korea right now, the assistant secretary of state, Christopher Hill. He's going to join us for an exclusive television interview from Beijing, where he's working on a diplomatic solution. Can he find one?
Also the defense secretary -- Donald Rumsfeld's surprise trip, visiting U.S. troops in Iraq today and dogged by complaints about equipment. We're going to have details on what the troops told him.
Plus, homes destroyed, and 1,000 people evacuated. We're going to go live to southern California for the latest on a wildfire burning out of control right now.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A lot of people are bracing for what the Israeli government says will be a severe response to the killing and kidnapping of Israeli soldiers along the border with Lebanon earlier. Also the Israelis are responding in Gaza, the second front in this potential war. Only moments ago they attacked this structure. You can see that bombing right there.
(SOUNDS)
BLITZER: And earlier they bombed foreign ministry, Palestinian foreign ministry buildings in Gaza, as well. That was -- that was the foreign ministry, this is the aftermath of that Israeli attack in Gaza. We're watching this story very, very closely, a lot of people bracing for an Israeli response to that kidnapping earlier today. That could happen literally at any moment.
We'll watch that story for you, and bring you the latest as soon as it happens. In the meantime the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, made an unexpected trip to the region today in Iraq. The defense secretary says the development of Iraqi security forces has been, in his word, uneven, and that Army forces are farther along than police forces.
More now from CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He's in Baghdad - Nic. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq was shrouded in secrecy, but when he arrived at the highly secure base of Balad just north of Baghdad it was to a very warm reception.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(APPLAUSE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Donald Rumsfeld's day began well. Amid tight security, and a cheer from exactly the type of troops any commander would like to lead in war.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I am delighted to be able to be here and have a chance to thank each of you personally for your service.
ROBERTSON: But as on previous visits to this conflict, he was dogged by soldiers' frustrations. They don't have the equipment they need in war. This soldier was complaining about armored vehicles.
VOICE OF CPL. ARTHUR KING, U.S. ARMY: Our company, we go out, and look for IEDs and right now we have one of the oldest pieces of equipment in country. It's called a buffalo and ours is the oldest. And we -- the other day, two weeks ago, we saw a brand-new one in downtown New York City.
ROBERTSON: For many soldiers gathered for Rumsfeld at the massive U.S. air base in Balad, IEDs or roadside bombs are the biggest concern. They are the biggest killers.
RUMSFELD: We've got $3.6 billion that dwarfs anything New York City does just for IED work.
ROBERTSON: Rumsfeld flew the roughly 45 miles to his next meeting in Baghdad. The road's booby trapped with explosives, deemed too dangerous to drive. He met with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who only hours earlier was being grilled by his parliament over his handling of a surge in sectarian violence over the weekend. More than 140 people have been killed since last Friday.
And there are fears Iraq may be slipping towards civil war. In the short time Secretary Rumsfeld was in town, a suicide bomber killed seven and wounded 20 in a Baghdad restaurant. A car bomber killed two, and wounded two others. And north of the capital, 20 people kidnapped earlier in the day were later found dead. The U.S. commanding general suggested more troops may have to be deployed in Baghdad to control the violence. And Rumsfeld said it was too early to estimate when troop pullouts from Iraq might begin.
RUMSFELD: The Iraqi security forces have improved in experience, in training, in equipment, in professionalism, and have, in my view, been performing a great service for the Iraqi people.
ROBERTSON: Amid the same secrecy that cloaked his arrival in Iraq, Rumsfeld was whisked away quietly, better informed, albeit, from inside a very tight and exclusive security bubble.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: Secretary Rumsfeld may have gone away better informed, but there are still commanders here who worry that the information that's filtering up to the secretary of defense is still not as accurate as it should be -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic Robertson reporting for us in Baghdad. Thank you, Nic.
New crises are being met with some new language at the White House these days, but is it a sign of a new attitude? The end of what some call cowboy diplomacy? Our senior analyst Jeff Greenfield takes a closer look -- Jeff.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Wolf, President Bush is off to Germany and Russia at a time when diplomacy seems to be the watchword of the moment. Does this represent a change in tone and maybe even substance from the past? Among those who say yes, there is a fascinating mixture of approval, and concern.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This will be a monumental struggle.
GREENFIELD (voice-over): By most accounts the Bush administration's posture after the attacks of September 11 was that of a nation determined to act forcefully, with or without the world's approval.
BUSH: I will not wait on events while dangers gather.
(SOUNDS)
GREENFIELD: Even before the invasion of Iraq, back in the fall of 2002, the administration's national security strategy made a case for preemptive action, and set down a strong marker about universal values. America, it said, must stand firmly for the nonnegotiable demands of human dignity, free speech, freedom of worship, equal justice, respect for women religious and ethnic tolerance, and respect for private property.
(SOUNDS)
GREENFIELD: When the invasion of Iraq was opposed by traditional allies like Germany and France Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld labeled them part of the old Europe.
RUMSFELD: You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe.
GREENFIELD: And Bush allies, like the "New York Post", graphically scorn the axis of weasel.
(SOUNDS)
GREENFIELD: But now, with American forces stretched thin in Iraq, and with trouble spots heating up from North Korea to Iran, the recent tone has been sharply different.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome.
GREENFIELD: Secretary of State Rice has been mending fences. And the president's language after the North Korean missile launch has been strikingly different from that of the past.
BUSH: Diplomacy takes awhile.
GREENFIELD: And as for those nonnegotiable demands for universal values?
BUSH: I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy.
GREENFIELD: The president continues to embrace Russia's Putin, after a string of curbs on private property and individual freedoms. China is a partner, even as it cracks down on dissidents. The policies of Saudi Arabia on women's rights and religious tolerance go all but unmentioned. And while "TIME" magazine approvingly notes what it calls the end of cowboy diplomacy, there is some discontent being heard from the right.
In a current "Weekly Standard", influential neo conservative Bill Kristol writes of these diplomatic initiatives, -- quote -- "Too bad the cost has been so high, a decline in the president's credibility around the world and sinking support for his foreign policy at home."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GREENFIELD: For now, the administration rhetoric and policy seems to reflect something the president talked about much more as a candidate back in 2000, than as president during his first term. That U.S. foreign policy ought to be guided by a sense of humility -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jeff, thank you very much. Jeff Greenfield reporting.
And still to come tonight here in THE SITUATION ROOM, the Bush administration's point man on North Korea, the assistant secretary of state, Christopher Hill. He's standing by to join us from Beijing.
Plus, columnist Robert Novak breaking his silence in the CIA leak case. We'll have details of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering, and the big question still remaining. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Standing by to speak with Secretary Christopher Hill in Beijing momentarily. We'll go there for the latest developments on what's happening with North Korea. This is an exclusive interview right here on CNN. First though let's bring in Fredricka Whitfield. She's joining us from the CNN Center with a closer look at some other important stories making news. Hi Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, Wolf. Saddam Hussein and three of his co-defendants are at this hour refusing food. A U.S. military spokesman says the former Iraqi leader has only had coffee and vitamin fortified water since Friday. The four defendants are reportedly staging a hunger strike to protest their treatment by the court and what they say is poor security for their lawyers.
The State Department says computer hackers who broke into the agency's computer system did not gain access to sensitive information. The department says only unclassified computer files were involved in the break-ins. Officials say the department's office of East Asia Affairs was most heavily affected and that the source of the break-ins came from computers in East Asia.
Safety inspectors say bolts attaching three ton ceiling panels in a tunnel in Boston are loose in more than 60 places. This after a falling panel killed a motorist on Monday. Despite the problems the chairman of the state's turnpike authority says Massachusetts' tunnel system is -- quote -- "safe" -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Fred, thank you very much.
Just ahead, the Bush administration's point man on North Korea. The assistant secretary of state, Christopher Hill, he's standing by to join us from Beijing. He's trying to work out this North Korea crisis. This is a television exclusive.
And the U.S. is very interested in protecting the country from a threatening missile attack. The U.S. Air Force conducting a test designed to do just that. We'll tell you the results. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're back in THE SITUATION ROOM. Welcome back. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We're standing by to speak with Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill. He's in Beijing trying to work out this North Korea crisis. We'll speak with him momentarily.
First though mission accomplished. That's how the U.S. Air Force is describing an important test of a missile defense system earlier today. Let's bring in our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, the question is, can the U.S. shoot down an incoming ballistic missile? Well, the answer is, yes, it can. And in more ways than one. The evidence of that came at the White Sands Missile Range today, during a test of THAAD. That's Pentagon-speak for terminal high altitude area defense. As we see in this video, the test involved a target missile being hit by a THAAD interceptor missile in the high endo atmosphere. That's just inside the earth's atmosphere. The shoot down was designed as a test for the launchers radars and fire control systems and a successful intercept was described as a bonus. THAAD is still years away from deployment, is part of a multi-layered missile defense being developed by the United States. The idea is the more different systems you have to throw at an incoming missile, the better chance one of them will work -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jamie, very sensitive, very important issues. Thank you very much.
The assistant secretary of state Christopher Hill is the Bush administration's top point man when it comes to North Korea. President Bush dispatched him to Asia last week after North Korea's missile launches. Christopher Hill is joining us now from Beijing. Thanks, Mr. Secretary, very much.
Are you in a position following your talks with Chinese officials who have been to North Korea, to report that there's progress in easing this crisis?
CHRISTOPHER HILL, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, frankly we don't see any progress. I've talked to the Chinese for a couple of days now. In fact I'm heading back to Washington later today. They've had a pretty large delegation, pretty senior delegation in Pyongyang and as yet, they don't have any positive news whatsoever.
BLITZER: So it looks like a complete setback. Everyone was hoping that China would use its leverage, which is extensive, on North Korea to get the North Koreans to return to what's called the six- party talks. I take it there's been a failure on the part of the Chinese?
HILL: Well, I must say, the Chinese worked very hard. In fact, we've worked hard, together with the Chinese, on the six-party process. As you know, we don't consider North Korean missiles or North Korean nuclear issues to be a bilateral issue. It's very much of a multilateral issue, involves the entire region.
And so China has really been in the lead in many respects, chairing the talks, working hard on it. But they went up to Pyongyang and they pointed out what they have done for that country, all the help they've given them. And they asked for something in return from Pyongyang, they haven't gotten it.
BLITZER: So what happens next, Mr. Secretary? In this process, North Korea literally going eyeball to eyeball with its neighbors, as well as the United States.
HILL: Well, I must say, being here in Beijing, one can sense a certain frustration with the North Koreans. China has really been out there, you know, trying to, you know, in some respects argue the case of the North Koreans.
So there's a lot of frustration here. What comes next is hard to say. Obviously there will be some action in New York, a lot of discussion in New York about what kind of resolution we're looking ahead at. The Chinese delegation is not slated to get back from Pyongyang until Friday. But certainly here it is, Thursday morning in Beijing, they've been there for already three days. They don't have anything. I suspect they're going to have to regroup and move on.
BLITZER: Based on your conversations with Chinese officials, will China be on board? There's a Japanese draft resolution that supports sanctions against North Korea imposed by the United Nations Security Council. Will China and Russia for that matter be on board?
HILL: Well you know, when everyone has these resolutions, it's a strong resolution. It's got strong support. But whenever one gets to this point, prior to passing the resolution, there's a lot of pushing and shoving and a lot of last-minute negotiations.
So I can't speak for the Chinese on whether they can go along with the precise language. I can say, however, that China really does feel there needs to be a response. China is very concerned, is very frustrated.
You know China has no interest in seeing North Korea fire off missiles. And by the way, these were not missiles just aimed at the U.S., these were long range, medium range, short range, frankly there was a missile for everybody in that barrage. So China is very aware, they don't want to see that. And they understand that we need to send a clear and unified message to the North Koreans.
BLITZER: Are the South Koreans on board as far as tough sanctions oriented U.N. Security Council resolutions? Because I've been hearing some mixed signals coming out of Seoul.
HILL: I think that's a good way to describe it. To some extent there have been mixed signals. On the one hand, however, South Korea very much wants to see a resolution of this.
You know, it is hard to describe the tragedy for Koreans to have had this division across their country, on the 38th parallel. It is really one of the worst things that ever happened to them back in the mid 20th century. And it continues, it goes on and on.
So for Koreans, this is a very emotional issue. They like to have some connections to the North Koreans. They like to preserve their North/South dialogue. On the other hand, this is quite a provocation, because you know, a lot of those missiles are not missiles that could even hit Japan. Those are missiles that could only hit South Korea and South Koreans know that.
BLITZER: What do you say to those critics here who say this is an enormous crisis, the stakes couldn't be higher, what's wrong with the United States entering into direct talks with North Korea if that's what it takes to diffuse this crisis and get North Korea to walk away from the provocative acts?
HILL: Well, you know, I've been working on this issue for awhile and in my judgment, that's not what it takes. What it takes is for North Korea to join in the six-party process. It's a multilateral issue. It's not just the U.S. issue.
But within the multilateral process, within the six-party talks, we can have as many bilateral meetings as the North Koreans can stand. I mean during last summer when we had the talks, I met with the North Korean delegation many times. Privately, I met them away from the negotiation site. I even had meals with them. I mean, we had plenty of bilateral conduct.
The problem is not contact. The problem is the North Koreans have not made that fundamental decision to get out of this dirty nuclear business, get out of this missile business, and get into the international community.
And that is the issue that really should concern us. We have a country that seems to want to go its own way. And, you know, they should be careful what they wish for because they could be looking for some really deep isolation.
BLITZER: There have been some here in the United States, the former defense secretary William Perry , and another top Pentagon official during the Clinton administration Ashton Carter and some in Japan also who have suggested that maybe it's best to take a preemptive strike against any of those missiles that might be seen down the road.
How does that play into this current effort that you're trying to deal with?
HILL: Well, let me break that down a little. In Japan, what there is, is ever since World War II, there's been a very restrictive use of the military. Their defense forces are called self-defense forces. Their defense ministry is actually a defense agency.
So they have a very restrictive, very defensively oriented military. So if someone is lining up to take a shot at them with a missile, they have no way to reach out and get that enemy before they get them. So, there's been a discussion in Japan, there's been to some extent some thinking out loud.
But you know, there's some concern brought on by this missile launch. Now with respect to other ideas about hitting the missiles preemptively, I think we have to bear in mind we are in a multilateral process. And so what you don't want to do is put yourself in a situation where you are really at odds with some other countries.
So I would say the problem with going after the North Koreans preemptively at this point is we'd really develop a little more consensus -- we'd need to develop a little more consensus among our partners. But, I also want to stress that we cannot just sit around and wait for the North Koreans to fire off missiles until they get it right. So we are going to have to look at a lot of different options. But I don't want to predict that one in particular.
BLITZER: So you're coming home now, I guess mission not accomplished? Is that fair? HILL: Well my mission, actually. I was sent out here to -- I was in the region since actually the missile launch. I left within 24 hours of the missile launch.
And the main purpose was to consult with allies, and partners and to assure that we're on the same page, and we're sending a clear and consistent and frankly a tough message to the North Koreans. I then went back to China to see how China was doing with its diplomatic process.
As you know, we have this strong resolution, supported by eight -- there are eight sponsors of the resolution. And then China asked if we could postpone the vote so that they could have their diplomatic process so that they could get their diplomats up to Pyongyang.
So my purpose in coming here was to talk to the Chinese and see how they were doing in Pyongyang. And I learned a lot from the Chinese. Now I'll go back and I'll be reporting to other people in Washington. We'll see how we go.
BLITZER: And it doesn't look like the Chinese have done very well, at least not yet. Mr. Secretary, have a safe journey home. Thanks again for your good work. We'll talk when you get back to Washington. Appreciate it very much.
HILL: Thank you.
BLITZER: If the U.S. government has its way when a natural disaster hits or a terrorist strike, you'll know instantly from your T.V., to your cell phone, to your computer. FEMA now has a new alert system in the works. The announcement came earlier today. Our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton has the latest. Abbi?
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, FEMA is teaming up with local T.V. stations to transmit these alerts. They'll arrive at your cell phone in the form of a text message or if you're online at the time in the form of a scrolling banner at the bottom of your computer screen. Or even as video of officials announcing an emergency. President Bush last month signed an executive order calling up the Department of Homeland Security to update the emergency alert system. Today, FEMA director David Paulison said this new system will allow them to transmit quicker and more reliable information.
However, don't expect to see alerts like this on your computer any time soon. The program, first of all, has to navigate FCC rules, and Congress must introduce legislation before anything can go ahead -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you, Abbi, for that.
Up ahead tonight, the columnist Robert Novak naming some names. We'll have new details about the sources of the CIA leak and the Karl Rove connection.
Also, live from the fire zone, the latest on what has so far been a losing battle against a wildfire in Southern California. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Right now in California, crimson flames are feasting on a field of green. A raging wildfire has scorched 26,000 acres so far, and its ferocious appetite appears hard to stop. Still firefighters are doing all they physically can.
Our Chris Lawrence is watching all of this from a relatively safe distance in the Pioneertown of Yucca Valley. How bad is it, Chris?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, right now at least six communities are still under mandatory evacuation, including the one that we're standing in right here. The fire's still raging out of control. It literally just burned through this area.
You can see where it literally scorched the earth here and ran right up to that driveway. Fortunately, for the person who lives there, it did spare the house. But then as can you see, it just went off there and just completely scorched the earth, leading right up into the mountains down the road.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice-over): With more than 1,000 people already evacuated Wednesday afternoon, fire crews warned those who stayed, this fire is zero percent contained. Why? It's bone dry, almost 100 degrees, and the winds are whipping through the canyons. A lot of the terrain is rough and rocky, which is keeping crews from getting to some of the areas.
(on camera): Even in the areas missed by the main part of the fire, you've still got pockets like this one where the flame can jump up at any moment.
(voice-over): The fires destroyed dozens of buildings in Pioneertown where several movie and TV westerns were shot. The fires burned more than 26,000 acres. It scorched the earth, killed animals, and forced people like this to pack up their animals and abandon their homes. Some residents were still struggling to describe it all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like being on the surface of another planet. It's very surreal for those of us who are familiar with this community. It's very odd.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Yes, one woman, she told me it felt almost like she was standing on the surface of another planet, that it was so scorched, and with the embers just flying around in the air.
Now, as the sun starts to set right now, typically that would give firefighters a break. But if last night was any indication, we didn't get any moisture here last night, so the fire did not lie down as is typical with a wildfire. Right now, some of the fire crews are telling me this blaze has the potential to burn 100,000 acres, in effect more than 1,000 homes -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Chris. Let's hope they can contain that. Thanks very much, Chris Lawrence on the scene for us.
After nearly three years of silence, the syndicated columnist Bob Novak is revealing more tonight about his role in the leak of a CIA operative's identity.
Let's get the very latest from CNN's Brian Todd. He's in the newsroom -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Bob Novak is now giving more detail than ever about his sources in the leak story and his conversations with them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Bob Novak still won't reveal the name of the primary source who gave him the then-classified identity of former CIA officer Valerie Plame. But in an interview on Fox News Channel's "Special Report with Brit Hume," he said the source was a senior administration official who he met with shortly after former Ambassador Joe Wilson wrote a column casting doubt on the president's case for war, based on Wilson's trip to Africa.
Novak described the part of the conversation where he learned that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA.
ROBERT NOVAK, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: I said why would they send Joe Wilson to Niger? He's not a CIA -- why would the CIA send him there? He's not a CIA agent. He's not anybody who knows Niger that well. He served there a long time ago. He said his wife worked in the Office of Nuclear Proliferation in CIA, and she suggested he go.
TODD: Novak said he was later called by a third party, and told the primary source had given him the information inadvertently. He said he didn't believe this was part of a campaign to manipulate him or to discredit Wilson.
And as he stated before, Novak said White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove and former CIA spokesman Bill Harlow were his secondary sources confirming Plame's identity. Novak said Harlow never told him the publishing of Plame's identity could be damaging to U.S. intelligence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Bill Harlow was not available for public comment but a former intelligence official familiar with this issue tells CNN after Novak presented Plame's identity to him, Harlow tried to convince Novak not to run the story on Plame, making it clear it could be damaging to intelligence.
Rove would not comment on Novak's latest column or the interview tonight, but a rove spokesman said he never reached out to reporters about Plame and only responded casually when asked about her -- Wolf. BLITZER: All right, Brian, thank you very much. Brian Todd reporting.
Up ahead, Jack Cafferty wants to know if terror threats lurk at Old McDonald's Petting Zoo, or the Mule Day Parade. The government thinks they may be targets. In a minute, Jack will have your thoughts.
And he head-butted his way to being the butt of many jokes. Now the French soccer player speaks publicly about the ordeal for the first time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Jack's in New York with the "Cafferty File," Jack.
CAFFERTY: All right, Wolf, what does it mean when a petting zoo and a flea market are included on a government list of terror targets? We don't make this stuff up. It's true.
Gabrielle of Brookline, Massachusetts, "Petting zoos, flea markets, malls, oh my. It seems Homeland Security's objective is to keep Americans petrified to leave their homes, especially in November. What's next? Yoga centers? Perhaps the animals and fleas from Washington could swoop down to the zoos and markets for photo-ops and then we could feed them their color-coded freak out charts a piece at a time."
Greg in Bloomington, Indiana, Indiana is the state with the largest number of targets. "I live in Indiana. I had no idea I was in such danger. I've even been known to frequent a petting zoo on occasion. Good gravy, level with me Jack, should I be on a heightened state of alert?"
Melanie in New York, "I'm a native New Yorker who like all of us takes the subway, drives through tunnels, even goes to landmark buildings, but I'm not fool I will never set foot in Indiana."
Dave in Dalton, Georgia, "Mr. Cafferty, what it means is the flea market and the petting zoo are in the right congressional district."
Thomas in Surfside, Florida, "Jack, Jack, Jack, how often genius is confused with insanity. A petting zoo and a flea market on the terrorist watch list as possible targets. Honey, I'd love to take you and the kids to those places, but alas, it is far to dangerous. Far safety to stay here at home, watch the game on TV. I myself noticed some suspicious Middle Eastern types eying the ballet the other day. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. We do have the best government money can buy."
And Ray in Texas writes "It means I've got a good chance to get a terrorism grant. I'm planning to open a museum of pork rinds that look like the Virgin Mary."
One of the best batches in a while. If you didn't see your e- mail here you can go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile and read more of them online. We've got many gems.
BLITZER: We've got some really creative viewers out there.
CAFFERTY: They're just great, they really are.
BLITZER: Thanks Jack very much. Let's find out what's coming up at the top of the hour on PAULA ZAHN NOW, hi Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi Wolf, thanks so much. We'll have today's top stories in-depth for you, including the world of crisis facing President Bush at this hour. In politics tonight's top story is the man they call America's mayor. Is Rudy Giuliani really serious about becoming America's president? And if he is, could he ever get the nomination? And the top story in health is a question all baby boomers need to ask their own parents and perhaps even themselves. How do you know if you're too old to drive? And should there be a series of tests, Wolf, that you have to go through at the DMV to make sure that you should be allowed to be on the road. Pretty controversial subject and we'll delve into that a little bit later on.
BLITZER: A very important one, though. Thanks very much, Paula, for that. Still ahead, actually a new report crowns Myspace.com the most visited website in the United States. But is the social networking site really more popular than say Yahoo? Let's bring in our Internet reporter Jacki Schechner, Jacki.
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: That never gets old, Wolf. So, there's a website tracking site called Hitwise and they say that Myspace is the most visited website in the United States. They say it is bigger than Yahoo, bigger than Google, bigger than Hotmail. They site growth as one of the reasons why, if you take a look at this graph, this is Myspace and this is Google. This is a survey of 10 million Internet users nationwide. But here's the catch. This organization Hitwise separates out different segments of websites.
So Yahoo mail would be separate from Yahoo search. You put them all together and Yahoo and that is still the largest visited Internet destination in the world as they say. They say that Hitwise's analysis is misleading for this reason. There are other organizations online, or websites online that do web traffic. We took a look at another one just to see where this all ranked. It's called Alexa and Yahoo is in fact number one, Google comes in at number two and Myspace down here at number three, Wolf.
BLITZER: Jacki, thank you very much. Still ahead, it's become the butt of many jokes. An on field confrontation that went straight to the chest. Now the man behind the butt opening up for the first time. Jeanne Moos standing by with her unique take on this story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: He's sorry but there's a big butt. The French soccer player who planted one straight to the chest of his Italian opponent is now speaking out. Let's get more from CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sure, the World Cup was exciting. But it's that head butt folks can't get out of their heads. And the biggest butt of all, but what did the Italian say to provoke it? "Dirty terrorist" was just one of the lines supposedly uttered by the Italian who got butted. Lip-readers, recruited by the media, tried to read the Italian's lips. But now, Zinedine Zidane's very own lips have told French TV that his opponent said many harsh words and repeated them many times. Very personal words directed at my mother and my sister. Zidane said I would have preferred a punch in the face rather than hear that. Instead, he's become a punch line.
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": That's the closest anyone in French uniform has come to combat in 60 years.
DAVID LETTERMAN, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": It was so hot today French soccer star Zinedine Zidane head butted Al Roker.
MOOS: Lampooned in cartoons. Bend it like Beckham, butt it like Zidane. Zidane's swan song has become an actual song of French sensation. It means what else, head butt. But when Zidane finally said sorry, sort of. I apologize to all the children who are watching. But he added --
ZINEDINE ZIDANE, TEAM CAPTAIN, FRANCE: I can't say I'm proud of this action. But at the same time I don't regret it. Because if I regretted it would mean giving reason to all these words that this person said to me and I can't accept that.
MOOS (on camera): Of course the head butt has become the butt of jokes on the Internet. How many of your opponents can you mow down?
(voice-over): The head butt has been multiplying. Internet pranksters have given it alternate outcomes. The head butt is being imitated and set to music. At this rate we'll never kiss the World Cup goodbye. It's as if we've lost our heart to the head butt.
Jeanne Moos, CNN New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Enough said, lets' go to Paula in New York, Paula.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
