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Pope Benedict Meets With Muslim Leaders; Tour of Duty Extended for Some U.S. Soldiers; Classified Report: Iraq War Fuels Islamic Extremism

Aired September 25, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Building bridges of friendship. The pope meeting Muslim envoys. His latest effort to reach out after his controversial remarks on Islam.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Fueling more debate. A leaked intelligence report says the Iraq war is inciting a new generation of terrorists. The White House says that's not the whole picture.

CLANCY: Child slavery in Nepal. Poverty causes some parents to do the unthinkable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really a very proud moment I think for all of us. And I'm very proud to be a New Orleanian.

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CHURCH: And a super-sized milestone. New Orleans' Superdome makes its post-Hurricane Katrina debut, cleaned up and ready for some football.

Hello and welcome to our report broadcast around the globe.

I'm Rosemary Church.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From New Orleans to Kathmandu, Rome to Baghdad, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CHURCH: Well, we begin at the Vatican, where the pope is seeking to rebuild the bridges to Islam that were burned by remarks he cited about the prophet. Envoys from Muslim countries accepted an invitation to an interfaith dialogue.

Our Rome bureau chief, Alessio Vinci, joins us live now.

And Alessio, what all was said at this unprecedented meeting?

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: That's correct, Rosemary. The pope had a clear message to Muslim leaders not just here in Rome, but throughout the Middle East who were able to follow the pope's remarks live on Arabic news channels. And he said, "I respect you, and together we can work to eliminate the violence in the name of god."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VINCI (voice over): It was not the full apology some Muslim leaders in the Middle East had asked for, but the pope mentioned what many moderate Muslim leaders wanted to hear, the need for reciprocal respect, mutual understanding, and the necessity to work together in order to reject violence in the name of god.

"Christians and Muslims must learn to work together, as indeed they already do in many common undertakings," the pope said, speaking in French, the official diplomatic language of the Vatican, "in order to guard against all forms of intolerance and to oppose all manifestations of violence."

In his brief address, which lasted five minutes, the pope outlined his platform on which he intends to continue his dialogue with Muslims.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no great clarity among the Muslims as to what Benedict intends to do as pope. If he goes -- deviates from that, then they can point to him and say, you said you were going to do this. Now you're not doing it.

VINCI: But the pope's message to Muslim leaders wasn't entirely sweetness in light. He quoted his predecessor, John Paul II, a pope who made gigantic steps in bridging the two faiths, saying, "Respect and dialogue require reciprocity in all spheres, in particular religious freedom."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What Benedict is saying, in countries where there is not such religious freedom, there should be. It should be possible for Christians to build churches, just as it is possible for Muslim immigrants when they move to Europe or other parts of the world to build their mosques and pray.

VINCI: And speaking of dialogue, this encounter wasn't exactly an opportunity to exchange views, since only the pope and the top Vatican officials in charge of inter-religious dialogue spoke. But at the end of the audience, the pope did greet every participant individually, briefing exchanging views, telling the Iraqi ambassador, for example, "I pray for your country."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He again emphasizes profound respect to the religion of Islam, and to all other major religions. So I think this is what we were expecting, and this is what he had. And I think we have to build bridges.

VINCI: Vatican officials point out this meeting was just a first step towards reconciliation, and participants appeared to be satisfied.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VINCI: And Rosemary, it will take some time to see the result of this newly restored dialogue between Muslims and Catholics, and the Vatican clearly will make sure the door remains wide open. And the pope will have plenty of opportunities to readdress these issues when he travels to Turkey in late November, the first predominantly Muslim country he's e expected to visit as pope -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Alessio, you mentioned that trip to Turkey in late November still on the agenda. Just how concerned, though, is the Vatican for his security on that trip and, indeed, just overall?

VINCI: Well, first of all, any time the pope travels outside of the Vatican, there are, of course, security concerns. And, of course, this latest crisis has somewhat raised the concern. But, for example, the last time the pope was seen in public, on Wednesday, during the general audience here in Rome, he did take a tour of St. Peter's Square in an open-deck car.

He does have a bulletproof pope mobile. He did not use that one. So there is clearly an attempt here by the Vatican to show that while, of course, there are some security concerns, they are also making every effort to make sure that the pope is not separated from the pilgrims.

As far as the trip is concerned to Turkey, of course there are some concerns there. There were some reports earlier last week that the Turkish man who tried to kill the pope's predecessor, John Paul II, had some information that there was another attempt to kill this pope. But these reports are obviously taken with a grain of salt, considering the fact that this is a man that has considered -- that has compared himself to Jesus once before.

So, there are concerns, there is concern, of course. And Vatican officials are not lowering the guard, if you want. But the trip to Turkey is going ahead as planned, at least for the time being.

CHURCH: Indeed. All right. Our Rome bureau chief, Alessio Vinci.

Thanks so much -- Jim.

CLANCY: One of the other major topics of news in the U.S. this day is a leaked intelligence report on the Iraq war. It is predictably sparking some intense debate with the Democrats up on Capitol Hill.

CHURCH: It is. Now, the document concludes that the Iraq war has become the main recruiting tool for terrorists.

CLANCY: And we watched over the weekend. The White House shot right back. A spokesman there saying these accounts, at least being read in the newspapers about the report, really don't paint the whole picture.

All right. We'll have that story just in a moment, but another indication of serious divisions over U.S. policy in Iraq. This time inside the Pentagon.

The Army's chief of staff making an extraordinary gesture of protest. It's all about the funding for the Iraq war.

Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joins us with more on that -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, the Army says it's not meant to be too argumentative, but, in fact, the chief of staff of the U.S. Army, General Peter Schoomaker, has taken an extraordinary step. He was supposed to submit the 2008 Army budget to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last month. He has not done that.

General Schoomaker making it very clear, one of the most principled generals in the Army, he will not put his name to that document because he feels it does not provide enough money for the Army. General Schoomaker wanting an additional $25 billion in the 2008 Army budget, bringing it up to about $138 billion.

So, what's going on now? Well, the Army and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are said to be in negotiation about what to do about this funding crisis.

Now, you know, here in Washington, the military often complains that it just doesn't have enough money in the budget to do the job. But what's going on here does appear to be something different, because usually that wave of complaining goes to Capitol Hill. This time, you have the chief of the Army saying directly to the defense secretary, you're not giving me enough money, and I'm not going to put my name on a document that I don't believe in -- Jim.

CLANCY: At the same time, the military is being asked by the administration to do more than what was originally expected in terms of its troops.

STARR: That's right. All of this comes as Army families are getting some pretty unpleasant word yet again. The families of the 1st Armored Division that is in Iraq, that is on duty in Ramadi, being told today that that brigade, about 3,000 to 5,000 troops, will spend several extra weeks in Iraq. Their tour of duty being extended.

All of this, again, because of the extent to which the Army is stretched thin, according to senior officials. Last week, you'll recall that we were told the Army has now decided -- the Central Command has now decided to keep about 145,000 troops in Iraq through the spring of '07, so that's what's causing all of this.

The 1st AD -- Armored Division -- will spend extra time in Iraq, so their replacements coming out of Georgia will at least be able to spend 12 months back at home with their families before they have to go back to Iraq -- Jim.

CLANCY: Now, certainly you have heard and they've got to be talking about it there at the Pentagon, and in Washington, this huge flap over the national security assessment that would indicate that this war is a recruiting tool for terrorists. But really, is this any different from what you have been hearing from the combat soldiers on the ground and there at the Pentagon for the last two years? STARR: Well, Jim, I don't think that report actually is substantially different. Perhaps one of the reasons it's getting attention is because it is a national intelligence estimate. That's a very formal document by the U.S. intelligence community, approved by director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte.

So the document itself carries some considerable weight within the intelligence community and within the administration. But reality on the ground is this is what it has been for some months now. Iraq, certainly by all accounts, a breeding ground for terrorism -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right. Barbara Starr reporting to us there from Washington.

Meantime, at the Pentagon -- you're looking at live pictures now -- Donald Rumsfeld, the U.S. defense secretary, walking alongside Hamid Karzai there, a security-cordoned area, reviewing some of the troops. Hamid Karzai, of course, one of the most important allies in the war on terror, and certainly a situation there where NATO and the U.S. see a growing need for more boots on the ground.

NATO making a plea, really, to combat what has been a resurgence of the Taliban. Some well-planned attacks coming five years after September 11th and the overthrow of the Taliban.

We'll watch that.

CHURCH: All right. Well, back to Iraq now, British troops say they have killed a senior al Qaeda figure there.

They say Omar Faruq escaped from a U.S. prison in Afghanistan in 2005. A British military spokesman says Faruq was shot while resisting arrest in a raid in Basra, in southern Iraq. He has been described as a key link between Osama bin Laden's followers and Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya militants.

CLANCY: Now, Faruq, of course, just one among a number of foreign insurgents believed to be operating in Iraq today. A leaked intelligence report says the Iraq war is giving birth to a new generation of terrorists. The White House, though, says what's been reported about the document doesn't present the entire picture.

Let's get some more now from Elaine Quijano.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The stories appeared on the front pages of "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post," outlining conclusions selectively leaked from a classified National Intelligence Estimate dealing partly with Iraq.

The estimate, completed in April, cites the Iraq war and insurgents as the main recruiting vehicle for new Islamic extremists. Yet former deputy CIA director John McLaughlin, who has not seen the estimate, says the information is sobering but not surprising. JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Frankly, I didn't find a lot new in this press article. We've known for months that the movement is decentralizing. It's clear that Iraq is a major problem, and that the only real question is what do you about Iraq at this point?

QUIJANO: Six weeks away from congressional midterm elections, Democrats are using the leaked report to argue that Republicans have mismanaged Iraq and the larger war on terror.

REP. JANE HARMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: Even capturing the remaining top al Qaeda leadership isn't going to prevent copycat cells and it isn't going to change a failed policy in Iraq.

QUIJANO: But Republican Senator John McCain, who just last week reached a compromise with the White House after a public rift over detainee legislation, says success in Iraq is still crucial.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), ARMED SVCS. CMTE.: They didn't need any encouragement to attack us on September 11. These people are after us anyway and we've got to win the war both psychologically, as well as militarily.

QUIJANO: And in a rare occurrence, Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte weighted in to the political debate, saying, "The estimate highlights the importance of the outcome in Iraq on the future of global jihadism, judging that should the Iraqi people prevail in establishing a stable political and security environment, the jihadists will be perceived to have failed."

(on camera): In a statement, a White House official reiterated the administration's policy of not commenting on classified documents. But in a sign of the high political stakes this official did go on to comment, saying that "The New York Times" characterization of the intelligence estimate was not representative of the complete document.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right. That's the number one story on Capitol Hill in the U.S. today. Let's check some of the stories around the globe, though.

CHURCH: Yes. We want to begin in Baghdad, where deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein has been booted out of his genocide trial for the second time in a week. Now, he was thrown out for arguing with the new chief judge. Hussein's lawyers are boycotting the proceedings.

Well, the man expected to succeed British Prime Minister Tony Blair is laying out his vision for the country. Gordon Brown, Britain's chancellor of the Exchequer, told the Labour Party he plans to put a firm stance against global extremism at the heart of his leadership agenda. CLANCY: Gunmen on motorcycles shot and killed the provincial director of Afghanistan's Ministry of Women in Kandahar. Some officials believe the attackers targeted the woman because she helped to educate other women and girls. The director was killed just as she was leaving her home.

CHURCH: The Louisiana Superdome is reopening for "Monday Night Football." The New Orleans Saints have sold out season tickets for the first time in franchise history, even though much of the city is still in ruins. Now, flooding from Hurricane Katrina forced some 30,000 evacuees into the Superdome for up to five days.

CLANCY: We'll have a little bit more on that story of the Superdome coming back. Such dismal scenes during Katrina, and now coming back like this. It will be a lot of glitz tonight. A lot of people remembering what happened.

Up next, though, we will focus on another story. And it's a disturbing one, the whole problem of slavery in Nepal.

CHURCH: It is. And it's actually more common than you might think. Just ahead, meet one girl sold into virtual slavery by her own family.

CLANCY: Also, can U.S. politicians control the price of gasoline? Some political bloggers seem to think so. We'll have a reality check coming up.

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CLANCY: You're looking at a live picture here from Washington. That's Hamid Karzai on the right of your screen wearing the hat. Next to him is Donald Rumsfeld, the U.S. secretary of defense. This is a scene from the Pentagon, and it's being called an Honor Cordon. Very colorful.

CHURCH: It is. And a particularly sensitive time at this stage for Rumsfeld, and, of course, Hamid Karzai, with the insurgency increasing with the Taliban in his country in Afghanistan.

CLANCY: I think this is one way that the administration -- this is just a show, this is just a ceremony, but it's one way the administration points to Hamid Karzai, and says, really, that the U.S. is with you in your struggle against the Taliban in Afghanistan. And they need to say it. Important for him now.

CHURCH: Yes, very important symbolism there.

All right.

CLANCY: With that, we welcome you back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CHURCH: Seen live in more than 200 countries across the globe, this is CNN International.

Well, the prevalence of child slavery in Nepal is a major concern for child advocates around the world.

CLANCY: Millions of children make up the child labor force. Many of them sold into virtual slavery, and by their own families.

CHURCH: Indeed. Now, Seth Doane met one child caught up in the practice and learned what one organization is trying to do about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SETH DOANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Subita (ph) doesn't know her own age, but looks no older than 12. She works for a family in Kathmandu, far away from her own. Here in Nepal, she is called a kumlari (ph). In the West, a child slave.

"I remember my life in my village. I used to play with my sisters, I used to go to school. I used to help my parents in the field," she says.

Sold into virtual slavery by her parents, Subita's (ph) mother hasn't talked with her in more than a year. She doesn't even know how to find her.

(on camera): This is Subita's (ph) village, a more than 10-hour drive wet of Kathmandu. A distance too great for her or for her family to make. Her family here says they miss her and think about her often, but in her minds, making her a kumlari (ph) was the only choice.

(voice over): Subita's (ph) father sold three of his daughters as kumlaris (ph). He says it's tradition in this part of Nepal.

(on camera): You say your daughters sold for different amounts, between $25 and $40 for a one-year contract. What were you able to do with that money?

"The money I got I spent in a household, buying stuff like food, oil, and salt," he says. "The money is given in installments. If it had come in one lump sum, it could have made a difference."

(voice over): Eight organizations say there are upwards of 20,000 girls from this part of the country working as kumlaris (ph). The practice is common in this impoverished corner of Nepal.

That's not to say it's a story with no happy endings. At this nearby school, more than 140 former kumlaris (ph) have come home to become students thanks to a program to take them out of bonded labor. Uma (ph) is one of them.

"The work was very hard, very tough. The work was not suitable for a 10-year-old girl, but I was forced to do it. The landowner used to scold me. He used to beat me," she says. "So that was my life."

Sam Paneru runs the Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation. He says becoming a kumlari (ph) is the equivalent of a life sentence for some of these girls. (on camera): You say these girls, in essence, have an expiration date in terms of their use to a family. What happens to the ones that don't return home?

SAM PANERU, NEPALESE YOUTH OPPORTUNITY FOUNDATION: Yes, some of them end up in prostitution, some of them end up in cheap labor work.

DOANE (voice over): In the Dong (ph) district of Nepal, Subita's (ph) parents dry nuts in the sun. They say some day they hope their daughters will return home.

(on camera): Many people in the world would say this practice that you are doing is slavery. What would you say it is?

"Yes, I'm sad about this process of sending girls away," she says, "but it's often the case that the girls themselves say, 'Mom, you can't feed us, so let us go.'"

NGOs say that $100 a year per child is enough of an incentive to educate and break this tradition that Subita (ph) and thousands of other girls are born into.

Seth Doane, CNN, Nepal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Heidi Collins at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes. But first, a check on stories making headlines in the United States.

New rules for airline travelers and what they are allowed to carry on commercial planes. Last hour, government security officials eased their recent ban on liquids and gels. You may remember the rule went into effect after an alleged terrorist plot was uncovered in England.

So, beginning tomorrow, passengers can bring travel-sized toiletries and medicines on board, each under three ounces in size. But they have to be in a clear zip-top bag, no larger than a quart.

And thirsty travelers take heart. You can bring beverages aboard if you buy them after passing through the security checkpoint.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIP HAWLEY, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: So, effective tomorrow, while the liquid ban stays generally in effect for good and valid security reasons, TSA is making some changes to keep us at a high level of security but make it a little bit easier for passengers. These new measures will maintain security while taking a commonsense approach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The suspect in the slaying of an Illinois family pleads not guilty to murdering her pregnant friend. Today a judge ordered the psychiatric examine for Tiffany Hall. Over the weekend, police found the bodies of the victim's three children. They had been hidden in the washer and dryer in their apartment.

Officers say Hall admits drowning the children. They were ages 7, 2 and 1.

The head of a Texas bus company on trial today. He is charged in the fire that killed 23 nursing home residents fleeing Hurricane Rita. James Maples (ph) is accused of conspiring to falsify driver records and failing to perform safety inspections.

Investigators say the fire was probably the result of poor maintenance. A tire burst into flames, likely causing the nursing home patients' oxygen canisters to explode. The bus driver was an illegal immigrant from Mexico. He was cleared of any charges in exchange for his cooperation.

Excitement building today in a city down on its luck. Part of the heart and soul of New Orleans, the city's famed Superdome is reopening after a massive makeover. It was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. But tonight, the New Orleans Saints re-christen the dome with a battle against their arch rival, the Atlanta Falcons.

New hope today for weary firefighters in southern California. They are expecting cooler weather and dying winds. That could help them get the upper hand against a big blaze.

Right now it's an all-out battle, though. Airplanes and helicopters are dousing the flames with retardant. The fire has scorched nearly 210 square miles in the Los Padres National Forest. It has been on the move since it broke out on Labor Day.

And to Jacqui Jeras now for the very latest on that and the rest of the weather across the country.

Hey, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Heidi.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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CLANCY: There are several issues to consider as the war in Iraq never far from the headlines. Once again becomes the topic of some intense discussion, really debate, this political season.

For more on all of this, let's go now to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tom Ricks. He's a long-time military correspondent for "The Washington Post." He's also the author of "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq." Fiasco -- isn't that a strong term? Because a lot of people would say, look, there's a lot of Iraqis that are glad to be rid of Saddam Hussein, and they're glad to see the whole notion of freedom and democracy in their country.

TOM RICKS, "WASHINGTON POST": yes, when I first started writing the book, is a lot of people said to me, are you sure you're going to call it that? I've noticed since it came out in midsummer, nobody's questioned the title, really. Nobody's said, boy, you got that wrong. In fact, rather the opposite. What I hear from a lot of people in the U.S. military is you got it exactly right; thank you for finally saying publicly what we've been saying privately.

CLANCY: You know some people reacted when they saw "The New York Times" print this national intelligence assessment. They looked at it, and said, oh no, "The New York Times" once again leaking secret documents. But really none of this has been secret. Really, you know, when I read that, the accounts of it in the newspapers, I'm not surprised by anything, are you?

RICKS: No, I'm not. You're right, it's not, on the face of it, new information.

What is new here is the Bush administration and the U.S. government, recognizing reality in Iraq. And that's not always been the case for them.

CLANCY: Well, the news media not taking the blame now. I mean, it used to be that we simply weren't telling the positive side of the story.

RICKS: That's a good point. In recent months, especially recent weeks, President Bush seems to have dropped that line about the news media's not telling you about the progress that's being made in Iraq. And Instead, what you're hearing is pretty somber assessments out of the president, out of General Abizaid, the U.S. commander for the region, the Pentagon's report last month on the state of security in Iraq. All are saying, this thing is really not going well at all, and here we are, we have now been fighting in Iraq longer than the U.S. military fought in Europe in World War II, and even some people in the military are saying, what do we have to show for it?

CLANCY: Well, what do we have to show for it? You've two chapters of your book devoted to the notion of how to create an insurgency.

RICKS: Yes, what I say in the book is that U.S. military tactics and U.S. civilian policies went a long way toward creating the insurgency in the summer of a '03 and into the summer of '04.

Now the U.S. military has adapted and has changed, but what I'm hearing also from officers in Iraq is they fear the change has been too late and probably too little.

CLANCY: Well, Tom, you do point out, though, in the book that some people in the military did get it right, when making the point that for every Iraqi you mistreat, you disrespect, you're helping the insurgency.

RICKS: Yes, the U.S. military has been slow to take up some of those lessons. It really has been a cultural struggle, inside the army especially, to adjust and operate differently, because fighting in Iraq is not just different from what they're training, it goes almost opposite to a lot of their training. Their training is use overwhelming firepower,. go after the enemy, kill the enemy. In a counterinsurgency, you want to use the minimal amount of force necessary to get the job done, much more like policing than conventional warfare.

CLANCY: Very quickly, at 1:30, the Democrats up on Capitol Hill are going to be cussing and discussing this report, the whole Bush policy and all of this. A lot of politics are involved in that. But Americans often ask, so what can you do about it? What could be done about this to turn it around?

RICKS: I think it's time to start listening seriously to the troops. Everybody in this country says they support the troops, but that doesn't really mean necessarily listening to what they have to say. And if we listen to what generals are saying, in my book, in this testimony today, if we pull them up in front of Congress and ask them seriously for their opinion, I think the American people would be better off and have a better understanding of this war.

CLANCY: Thomas Ricks, author of "Fiasco," the American military adventure in Iraq, an important book, being very well received in the U.S. right now.

Thank you for being with us, Thomas.

RICKS: Thank you.

CHURCH: All right, well, former President Bill Clinton blasted critics who portrayed his administration as weak on terrorism. During a sometimes testy interview on Fox News, Mr. Clinton staunchly defended his handling of the threat posed by Osama bin Laden.

Gary Nurenberg reports from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former president Clinton was asked why he didn't do more to put Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda out of business. He compared his efforts to the early months of the Bush administration.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Do you think you did enough, sir?

CLINTON: No, because I didn't get him.

WALLACE: Right.

CLINTON: But at least I tried. That's the difference in me and some, including all the right-wingers that are attacking me now. They ridicule for me trying. They had eight months to try. They did not try. I tried.

So I tried and failed. When I failed, I left a comprehensive anti- terror strategy, and the best guy in the country, Dick Clarke, who got demoted.

NURENBERG: Clinton says he particularly focused on bin Laden after the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, and then drew a contrast with the Bush administration.

CLINTON: What did I do? I worked hard to try to kill him. I authorized the findings from the CIA to kill him. We contracted with people to kill him.

I got closer to killing him than anybody's gotten since. And if I were still president, we would have more than 20,000 troops here trying to kill him.

Now, I've never criticized President Bush, and I don't think this is useful. But you know we do have a government that thinks Afghanistan is only one-seventh as important as Iraq.

NURENBERG: The White House Sunday issued a statement saying only, "The records paints a very different picture than what President Clinton is suggesting. Looking forward, we will fight the war on terror by staying on the offense."

John McLaughlin helped run the CIA in both the Clinton and Bush administrations.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: President Clinton did aggressively pursue Osama bin Laden. I give the Clinton administration a lot of credit for the aggressiveness with which they went after al Qaeda and bin Laden.

NURENBERG (on camera): Five years after 9/11, presidents Bush and Clinton do have one thing in common. Each wants to avoid history's judgment that his administration is responsible for failing to stop bin Laden before the attacks.

Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right, we're going to take a short break. When we come back, the space race, back on, Rosemary. This time, it's China and the U.S. in competition.

CHURCH: Quite a surprise. Coming up here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a look at how Beijing's space program has caught the eye of NASA's chief. Do stay with us.

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CLANCY: Hello and welcome back. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY, seen live around the globe.

Let's go to China now where the chief of the U.S. space program is sitting down talking about possible cooperation between Washington and Beijing. China, of course, has an ambitious program that includes more manned orbital missions, including a space station. It also includes a moon program.

CNN's Beijing bureau chief Jaime FlorCruz tells us more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORCRUZ: This was the picture perfect space launch that catapulted China into the exclusive club of nations capable of launching people into orbit. In 2003, astronauts Yang Liwei orbited the earth 14 times before landing safely to a hero's welcome. Nearly three years later, he's still basking in glory.

YANG LIWEI, CHINESE ASTRONAUT (translated): This mission has achieved the millennium dream of the Chinese people to fly in space, and I am very proud of this accomplishment.

FLORCRUZ: But China's rise could provide competition to U.S. dominance in space. NASA chief Michael Griffin is making his first ever visit to China to meet with leaders of Beijing's space program.

MICHAEL GRIFFIN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: We do desire to have a closer relationship with China, and this is one step forward in that arena.

FLORCRUZ: China's space program is moving full speed ahead. Last year, putting two astronauts into orbit for five days. China's space launches, experts say, have civilian and military payoffs. But Griffin says, the U.S. is not threatened.

GRIFFIN: Of course, between countries and cultures there are always things which divide us and set us apart, and things which bring us together. And the exploration of space is one of those things that above almost anything else, all people of the world share an interest in, and are excited by.

FLORCRUZ: The heart of China's space program is in Jo Tran (ph), China's equivalent of Cape Canaveral. The Jo Tran satellite launch center sits in an oasis surrounded by the Gobi Desert, two-hours plane ride away from Beijing. Because of its close links with the military, the launch facility is shrouded in secrecy.

Recently, foreign journalists for the first time were given a guided tour. Here the catchwords are safety and thriftiness. There is an Olympic sized swimming poll, but the hotel rooms and the gym reserved for astronauts are Spartan looking. Meantime, astronauts continue rigorous training, part of China's plans to launch its own space station and send a manned mission to the moon.

Jaime FlorCruz, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Well, Shinzo Abe hasn't been elected prime minister of Japan just yet, but he's already filling top posts in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Abe made two appointments that signalled his apparent intention to push economic reforms and pursue a more assertive foreign policy. pan's Diet is expected to elect Abe prime minister on Tuesday.

CLANCY: Japan's outgoing prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, had some parting criticism for China and South Korea. He said they should not have given up a good relationship with Japan because of their anger over his personal visit to the Yasukuni War Shrine. Mr. Koizumi called their refusal to hold summits with him, flatly, wrong. He prepares to step down on Tuesday. As he does, Atika Shubert gives us a look at his legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the hometown of Japan's prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, there is a local specialty, Koizumi cakes, sweet bean buns with the prime minister's famous mug toasted on top. But you got to get them while they're hot. Production stops tomorrow, the same day Koizumi resigns, ending a five and a half year run.

(on camera): If this queue is anything to go by, Koizumi may go down as one of the most popular leaders this country has ever had. So what did the Koizumi years do for Japan?

First and foremost, Japan's decade long economic recession ended under Koizumi. Economists argue how much credit to give the prime minister. His reforms may have forced banks to call in bad loans from deadbeat corporations, but much of the corporate restructuring was done without government help.

The bottom line, Japan's GDP and national spirits were finally lifted, says longtime Japan watcher Gerry Curtis.

GERRY CURTIS, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Place was basically really down when he became prime minister. And they didn't see any way out. The most important thing he did was he made Japanese feel optimistic about their future. He gave them a sense of hope.

SHUBERT: Koizumi cultivated a close personal relationship with President George W. Bush, but was criticized for his controversial decision to send Japanese troops to Iraq. His annual visits to the Yasukuni War Shrine that honors convicted war criminals from World War II stoked anger abroad, but bolstered his image at home as a staunch patriot.

His flamboyant style was called "Koizumi Theater". He appealed to the public, not party bureaucrats, winning people with his straight talk and love of Elvis, bursting into song during a CNN interview.

JUNICHIRO KOIZUMI, PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN: I want you, I need you, I love you.

SHUBERT: So how will historians remember him?

CURTIS: I think they may remember him as a very important and a very entertaining intermission in Japanese history. Because he himself did things differently. But without that personality, how much of what he did, of the way he did things, how much of that will continue under his successors?

SHUBERT: Not every customer of Koizumi Cakes is a Koizumi fan. There are grumblings of rising income and equality, concerns that taxes will be raised. But even this man, who says he lost his job in the new economy, says, I think the people are moved, because Mr. Koizumi's will was so strong, like a rock, even a diamond. Perhaps public sentiment is best expressed by the wording on the cake: "Arigato", "Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister".

Atika Shubert, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Mr. Koizumi was, what some would call, a natural born entertainer. We saw a little bit of it there.

CHURCH: We did, didn't we? Well, as he leaves office, he'll also be remembered for his many spontaneous public performances, like this one, three years ago, when the prime minister met Tom Cruise. He later serenaded the actor with his rendition of an Elvis tune, yet again.

CLANCY: Or to take you back about one year ago, he did a little dance with film star Richard Gere there.

CHURCH: Who wouldn't want to do that? And last but not least, when he burst into song.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOIZUMI: Wise man said ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Visiting Graceland, the home of his idol, Elvis Presley, in the company of President Bush.

CLANCY: Yes, you know, I guess the people in Japan -- I don't know whether they will miss him, but I think the news media around the world will miss him.

CHURCH: Oh, we'll all miss him. Definitely. He was fun.

CLANCY: Well, much of the city may be in ruins, but the love of one sport hanging on strong.

CHURCH: Coming up, with their house back in order, the Saints come marching back in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Well, New Orleans' famed Superdome is reopening for the first time since Hurricane Katrina roared through the U.S. Gulf Coast.

CLANCY: Well, it was back then, of course, the stands were full, not with fans, but with people, refugees from the storm, desperate for help.

CHURCH: Well, tonight in the Crescent City, the stadium will be filled with football fans as the New Orleans Saints take on at the Atlanta Falcons.

Sean Callebs has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The last time the Superdome opened its doors, it was a refuge of last resort, the only place for some 30,000 citizens of New Orleans to try to find shelter from Katrina. People like Ballina (ph) and Leccee Coco.

LECCEE COCO, KATRINA SURVIVOR: I was scared for our lives, because I didn't know how we were going to get out of here. People were saying, you know, the water is still rising. I didn't know if the water was going to come in here.

CALLEBS: Now the city is trying to purge the horrific memories of the aftermath of Katrina. Following a $185 million facelift, the Superdome is reopening in grand fashion: a nationally-televised game between the New Orleans Saints and archrival Atlanta Falcons.

DOUG THORNTON, GENERAL MANAGER, SUPERDOME: There were a lot of folks who had written us off, didn't think the Dome would ever reopen, but it's going to be a very proud moment on Monday night.

CALLEBS: But make no mistake. One night of lights, camera, action doesn't mean this city is anywhere near whole again. City leaders have no plan for repopulating New Orleans, or rebuilding neighborhoods devastated when levees gave way.

But the volunteer spirit is helping out where residents say government at all levels failed them. The bands U2 and Green Day will perform a new song called "The Saints Are Coming" before the game, a way rock stars are helping out this city's down and out musicians.

DAVID "THE EDGE" EVANS, U2: You know, there's a lot of people concentrating on rebuilding the bricks and mortar, as it were, the body of the city, but we feel that music is the spirit and the heart and the soul of the city, so that's what we're trying to work on.

CALLEBS: Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong knows the world will be watching on Monday.

BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, GREEN DAY: I don't know. I think -- I might have a heart attack. I'm not really sure. CALLEBS: A year ago, this city was in ruin, and no one knew if the Superdome would ever reopen.

THORNTON: This building, I think, is good for the psyche of New Orleans. Symbolically, this is our World Trade Center, you know? It's been resurrected, it's been rebuilt.

CALLEBS: And, a symbolic moment that shows if even oh so slowly, New Orleans is taking steps in a long march toward normalcy.

Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Don't let anybody kid you. I mean, it's a lot of symbolism there. It still comes down to those two football teams. They're both 2-0, two wins, no losses, and somebody's going to come out with a ruined record tonight.

CHURCH: Absolutely. But on -- I mean, on the face of it, what a facelift, huh?

CLANCY: Oh, yes.

CHURCH: The stadium, after all it went through. All right.

CLANCY: All right. Got to go. That's it for this hour. I'm Jim Clancy.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for your company.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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