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President Bush Signs Major Legislation; North Korea's Blistering Comeback

Aired October 17, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN newsroom.
Good morning, everybody.

I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.

For the next three hours, watch events unfold live on Tuesday, the 17th of October.

Here's what's on the rundown.

President Bush live this hour signing major legislation, the new ground rules for terror interrogations and trials.

HARRIS: North Korea's blistering comeback. Sanctions, it says, mean war. The fiery comments come with hints of a second nuclear test.

COLLINS: Feeling a little crowded today?

Well, the 300th million person arrives in the U.S. this morning. The population boom in THE NEWSROOM.

We have new information just in on the North Korea threat and concerns about a second nuclear test.

Let's go straight to the Pentagon with correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara, what are you hearing?

Some activity in North Korea.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, good morning to you.

For the last several days, in fact, almost since the first test happened a week ago, U.S. intelligence has been worried that the North Koreans are making preparations for a second test. The evidence has been inconclusive somewhat. They do see preparations. They're not sure what they really mean.

But this morning, a lot more clarity on what those preparations are. Sources with direct access to information about all of this in the Bush administration tell us that what they are seeing is preparations at a second site that come very close, essentially mirror, the final preparations at that first site a week ago, where the first underground test was conducted.

Some of this activity includes the fabrication of buildings and other structures on the surface. That might be a North Korean tactic, obviously, to put those buildings up and then conduct activity away from the prying eyes of any U.S. spy satellites flying overhead.

So there is concern about all of this at a second site.

But is it going to happen?

Of course, nobody can really say. North Koreans are very, very reclusive and they give no indication of what they are up to.

But this same source in the administration with access to this information tells us that there are statements now from senior North Korean military officers that the government in Pyongyang has the intention to conduct multiple additional nuclear tests.

How soon that might happen and what those tests might look like, where they will take place, of course, all still open to question. But what it does mean, of course, is the U.S. intelligence community and the U.S. military keeping an eye on all of this around the clock -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Boy, definitively finding out yesterday, too, about the first nuclear test actually being confirmed really ups the ante here.

we will, of course, watch this story, Barbara, and come back to you if anything should develop.

Thanks so much.

HARRIS: Well, North Korea's saber rattling is echoing loudly in the international community.

CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Tokyo for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secretary Rice is coming to rally a region, to persuade Asian allies to hold the line against a newly nuclear North Korea. And on the eve of her arrival came a diplomatic blessing, in the form of a searing statement from the regime of Kim Jong Il. Read on North Korean television, it called the U.N. resolution passed over the weekend a declaration of war.

It's just the sort of statement that may help the U.S. get wavering countries to enforce the sanctions passed by the U.N. Australia is already banning North Korean ships from its ports and Japan, Rice's first stop, started doing so even before the U.N. resolution.

But there's also here a sense of practical limits.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I think the Japanese government knows very well that the only thing that really matters is what China and South Korea do.

RAMAN: And that's where Secretary Rice will face a tougher audience. China condemned the statements by Pyongyang, but has stopped short of saying it will forcibly inspect all cargo coming to or from North Korea.

WANG GUANGYA, CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Inspection, yes. But inspection is different from interception and interdiction. I think in that area, in that different countries would do it in different ways.

RAMAN: U.S. officials have downplayed differences. But getting China and South Korea to tighten the grip is key. And both are anxious that tough action against North Korea could destabilize the regime or cause a humanitarian crisis.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HARRIS: And Aneesh Raman joins us live now from Tokyo -- and, Aneesh, activity -- we're just hearing about from Barbara Starr activity that might suggest a second test of a nuclear device might be in the offing here.

What are you hearing from an interested neighbor in Japan?

RAMAN: Yes, the Japanese foreign minister, Tony, today said he had intelligence information -- he didn't give details -- that North Korea could be preparing for a second test. Now, a lot of this is conjecture, as we heard from Barbara, signals it could happen. But it is such a reclusive state, nothing definitive can come out either of Japan or the U.S.

But Japan is in direct threat. Japan has always said those short range missiles North Korea tested successfully mean Japan is on the front line for any attack that North Korea could launch and so they are watching very closely what's happening in Pyongyang -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK, and, Aneesh, let's talk about the secretary of state's visit to the region.

Now, what are the biggest hopes for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for this trip?

RAMAN: It's all about enforcement. We saw the U.N. pass this resolution that has very stringent sanctions on North Korea. But it's really going to be up to two countries and how strongly they enforce those sanctions as to how forcibly North Korea feels this pressure from the world. Those are China and South Korea; Russia, to a certain extent. These are the countries that border North Korea.

China is where the secretary of state will have the biggest diplomatic task. That is where she'll have to convince the government in Beijing to rally behind Japan, and hopefully South Korea also on board, to cut off all Chicago that's going into North Korea that is deemed to be part of that program. Japan has been ahead of the curve, if you will, imposing its own sanctions, banning all ships from North Korea before the U.N. even took action. So Japan is eager for Secretary Rice to bring others on board so it's not out there standing alone -- Tony.

HARRIS: Aneesh Raman for us in Tokyo.

Aneesh, thank you.

President Bush about to sign a bill that paves the way for interrogating and prosecuting detainees. The White House ceremony in minutes live in THE NEWSROOM.

A big day for President Bush, this hour signing into law, as we just mentioned, a bill setting tough standards for interrogating and prosecuting terror suspects. That includes high value al Qaeda suspects linked to 9/11. It's called The Military Commission Act. Among other things, the bill permits the U.S. to gather information from captured terror suspects. It also establishes military commissions for the trial of detainees labeled enemy combatants. And it prohibits combatants from invoking the Geneva Conventions as a source of rights during trials. It also authorizes the death sentence or life in prison for those found guilty.

COLLINS: In Iraq, familiar scenes of devastation. Today, police say two civilians and two police commandoes were killed in separate attacks. It comes with the discovery of 64 more bullet-riddled corpses across Baghdad.

Our Cal Perry has more from the Iraqi capital.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The month of Ramadan is coming to an end in Iraq. But there seems to be no end in sight to the unrelenting and bloody violence. Baghdad, which has been at the center of the violence, continues to boil over -- six explosions across the capital on Monday alone and a gunfight in the north-central part of the city.

Regardless of the target, civilians continuing to pay the ultimate price.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The Americans were parking here. They left and minutes later a blast happened. The armored vehicles, the new vehicles left and the blast happened.

PERRY: It wasn't just Baghdad. Bombs littered the country from Sawara in the south to Baquba in the north. The fighting is on two fronts -- insurgent attacks against both U.S. and Iraqi forces and a growing sectarian battle between Sunni and Shia. Iraqi police found more than 500 bodies in the capital alone this month, victims, police say, of sectarian violence. And in Balad, just over the course of the weekend, fighting between Shia and Sunni has killed more than 50, police say. The government's security forces have been unable to get a handle on the situation, according to at least one powerful Sunni political party. The Iraqi Islamic Party put out a statement calling the situation "out of control" and called on the government to do something to end the bloodshed.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COLLINS: Cal Perry joining us now live -- Cal, what has been the effect of Ramadan on U.S. troops?

PERRY: Well, it's had a strong effect. I mean, U.S. troops are active in the country, we know, all over the country, but specifically in two places -- here in Baghdad, in Operation Together Forward; and south of Baghdad in what they call the Triangle of Death.

Now, CNN correspondent Arwa Damon is with the 10th Mountain Division south of Baghdad. She's been filing reports about weapons caches that have been found in that area, over 100, in fact, in the past 48 hours. And we're talking about weapons that insurgents use most frequently. We're talking about sniper rifles and we're talking about IED making materials.

The U.S. military saying that they have found enough material for 1,000 improvised explosive devices, that is, 1,000 roadside bombs.

All of this takes its toll, of course, on the U.S. casualties. But the coalition itself crossing a grim milestone yesterday -- 3,000 killed in this war.

COLLINS: Wow!

The more weapons caches they can find, though, sure seems to be at least a boost for morale, I would hope.

All right, Cal Perry live from Baghdad today.

Thank you, Cal.

HARRIS: The storm clouds, they moved on. But the threat of more flooding is still very real this morning in southeast Texas. Four deaths now tied to the severe storms that dumped heavy rain on that region. Floodwaters in isolated parts of Houston 12 feet deep, trapping motorists in the nation's fourth biggest city.

The storms also kicked up tornadoes that damaged mobile homes.

Chad Myers joins us now live -- Chad, as we were watching these pictures unfold yesterday, you warned us that this could be a very tough day for those folks. And it turned out to be just that.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, sure, it was. It had already started out that way. By 5:00 in the morning, we already had a couple tornadoes on the ground, 14 in all, really creating some damage to mobile homes and structures, kind of outbuildings, not really any one big today in any one big town. So I guess there is some good news there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Meanwhile, as you mentioned, Buffalo, New York -- that region still digging out from last week's record snowstorm. And now authorities are urging people to be extremely careful using their generators. Three deaths, in fact, in Buffalo now linked to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Close to 200,000 people in Buffalo are still without power. And today some community warming centers are filled to capacity. Power crews are working hard to get those lights back on. Boy, tough.

HARRIS: And still to come, just another reminder -- you are in THE NEWSROOM with us this morning.

The home of a congressman's daughter searched by FBI agents, part of a new Capitol Hill probe. That's straight ahead.

COLLINS: And American troops on the front lines, behind-the- scenes -- a new strategy on the table.

HARRIS: And President Bush about to sign a bill that paves the way for interrogating and prosecuting detainees. The White House signing ceremony in minutes, live in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live breaking news, unfolding developments. See for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And we have some of that breaking news for you right now.

We want to go to Henderson, Kentucky and a story that is developing out of there.

T.J. Holmes is watching it for us -- T.J. what do we know?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi, police are very concerned because they have issued an amber alert and they have their eyes out for a 10-month-old baby boy. You're seeing him there. His name is Saige Terrell, a 10-month-old described as a developmentally disabled.

And what has happened, that is his mother there. Her name is Renee Terrell. She's 33 years old, of Henderson, Kentucky. But this all started because police went to the home, her home, and found a social worker dead. That mother there, Renee Terrell, does not have custody of that son. So a social worker was bringing the child by to the home.

The social worker did not return to work. So people got concerned and went to the home, found that social worker dead at the home of Renee Terrell and now the baby, the mother and the boyfriend of Renee Terrell, a Christopher Wayne Lutrell, 23 years old, they're all missing an amber alert has been issued for that boy.

Again, this is Renee Terrell. She's described as white, blue eyes, 5'5," 240 pounds. And her boyfriend described, Christopher Wayne Lutrell, 23 years old, described as 6'2" and 150 pounds with tattoos on his arm.

Police are -- have their lookout, also. The couple may be in a 2000Y Daewoo station wagon with Kentucky license plate 675DRV. That is the vehicle of the social worker that is now missing. You see in the tag there again, a Kentucky tag, 675DRV.

But, again, this is a 10-month-old boy who is now, police believe, with his mother, who did not have custody of him. And the social worker, again, who took that child to the mother's home to have a visit with the child was found dead at the home of Renee Terrell.

So this is something, certainly, police are very concerned about the little boy. They are also asking, as well, that you do not approach them if you see them. They consider them possibly dangerous at this point and asking that if you do see them, just call your local police, but do not approach them.

But, again, a lot of concern there for that 10-month-old, and especially after the social worker found dead at the home of that little boy's mother.

So we're going to continue to follow that. We'll keep our eyes on it very closely and bring you any updates as we get them -- Heidi.

COLLINS: OK, T.J. thanks for that.

HARRIS: Well, a 10-term congressman caught up in a tight race for reelection. Now, Republican Congressman Curt Weldon finds himself at the center of a federal probe.

CNN's Dana Bash has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A senior law enforcement official tells CNN the FBI searched six businesses and residences related to the Curt Weldon probe, including the Philadelphia home of Karen Weldon, the congressman's daughter.

Sources familiar with the inquiry say the Justice Department is investigating whether Representative Curt Weldon used his influence to steer clients to his daughter's lobbying firm. Weldon insists neither he nor his daughter did anything wrong.

REP. CURT WELDON (R), PENNSYLVANIA: I would absolutely never use my position to help anyone in an unusual way. And my daughter would be -- my kids don't need my help. My kids are successful, they're talented, they do a good job.

BASH: Weldon travels to Russia frequently and is a vocal advocate for strong U.S.-Russian relations. The investigation appears to be focused on whether the congressman helped his daughter's firm win contracts with two Russian companies and two Serbian brothers, contracts worth a million dollars a year, according to McClatchey newspapers.

One source with knowledge of the inquiry tells CNN it's been underway for more than six months.

The Pennsylvania Republican, a 20-year veteran of the House, was already in a neck-and-neck race to keep his seat and acknowledged this investigation will hurt him. But he calls the timing, three weeks before election day, suspect.

WELDON: Assuming the Democrats will win control of the Congress, I think it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this district could swing control of the Congress.

BASH: Even before the investigation became public, Democrats were using this issue against him. A flier mailed to voters in his Pennsylvania district last week said Weldon helps get clients for his daughter.

Weldon also blamed, Melanie Sloan, the head of a liberal leaning watchdog group, for spurring the issue.

Sloan did file a complaint with the FBI, but that was two and-a- half years ago, when questions were first raised by the "Los Angeles Times."

MELANIE SLOAN, CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS: We don't control what the Justice Department does. The Justice Department is investigating Curt Weldon and I can't force the Justice Department to do anything.

BASH: Weldon did acknowledge, under questioning, the Justice Department is run-by a Republican administration.

WELDON: Well, I understand that. I'm not stupid, you know? And that -- I mean, you know, I may have offended some people. I've been known to do that.

BASH (on camera): Weldon insists there's no need for this investigation because he took documents to the House Ethics Committee two and-a-half years ago to prove he did nothing wrong and thought the case was closed. A call to that committee to confirm that was not returned.

Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COLLINS: We are Minding Your Business now.

And Andy Serwer is here with a little bit of a preview -- hey, Andy.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Hey, Heidi. Coming up, we're going to talk to you about the head of the FDA, the former head, in trouble over stock holdings.

Plus, a high profile CEO forced to resign still ends up with over a billion dollars.

How is that possible?

We'll explain coming up in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Hey, Heidi, take a look at this.

This is the population ticker.

What is that? What...

COLLINS: Oh my god!

HARRIS: Well, what...

COLLINS: It's at like three million -- I know what you were trying to say, talking about the three millionth -- 300 millionth, sorry...

HARRIS: Three hundred.

COLLINS: ... American -- person in America.

HARRIS: ... living in America. The United States of America. We are at 300 -- oh, wait a minute. Oh, this is the moment...

COLLINS: When it happens.

HARRIS: ... about an hour and 40 minutes ago when it actually happened.

How do you feel?

Do you feel different? Do you feel any different at all?

COLLINS: No.

HARRIS: OK.

COLLINS: I feel like this got really messed up.

HARRIS: Yes.

We've added a couple of hundred more to the population since that time.

OK, this is not working out well at all.

Happy birthday. COLLINS: We had great intentions, but I believe that...

HARRIS: The plan in...

COLLINS: ... there are 300 million, like 500 or so, already.

HARRIS: At this point.

COLLINS: And it's really cool to watch that ticker as, you know, babies are born. And it just goes up fast, really fast, so...

HARRIS: Was it cool for you?

COLLINS: It was very cool.

We're going to move right along now.

The former head of the FDA is catching some heat now for things he says he forgot to tell regulators.

Andy Serwer Minding Your Business -- hi, Andy.

Tell us, which companies did Lester Crawford actually hold stock in?

SERWER: Well, I'll tell you how this all works.

Lester Crawford resigned from head of the FDA in 2005. Today, he's pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges regarding his stock holdings. Number one, that he didn't properly disclose his stockholdings to the government on those forms. And, number two, conflict of interest.

Let's take a look at some of the stocks that he held, because each one sort of tells a different story and speaks to these problems.

He owned tens of thousands of dollars in PepsiCo, as well as Kimberly Clark; also, Wal-Mart, Sysco-and Embrex. Now, Kimberly Clark and Embrex are two companies that might have businesses that he would directly oversee as head of the FDA.

So you can see that would be a potential direct conflict of interest.

How about PepsiCo and Sysco? Sysco, the food company, not the technology company.

That situation was a conflict of interest, potentially, because he chaired a committee on obesity and the outcome of those findings might have an impact on the business of a food company like a Pepsi or a Sysco-or even a Wal-Mart, which sells food, obviously. And that's another stock that he owned, also.

So he's going to be pleading guilty.

And 300 million Americans, Heidi. A lot of them still get in trouble.

COLLINS: Don't bring that moment back, Andy.

I see what you're trying to do.

SERWER: Oh, yes.

COLLINS: Listen, yesterday you told us about the CEO of United Health stepping down.

How much money are they giving him to leave?

We always love to hear these numbers.

SERWER: Well, this is unbelievable.

I mean you have to ask yourself how much money would they give this guy if he didn't get in trouble?

We ran the numbers here, and it looks like he's going to be getting over a billion dollars in compensation -- bonus, salary, stock options and other goodies. There's William McGuire. He's sort of the poster child for this whole stock option wave of scandals that has swept across corporate America.

About a billion dollars of stock options and then the rest would be straight comp. For instance, he gets $6.4 million on retirement and then $5 million each year on top of that. And that's on top of over $500 million in straight salary that he reaped since 1992.

And, Heidi, I've got an idea for this guy. He's so rich, his grandchildren are going to be wealthy, his great grandchildren are going to be wealthy.

How about doing the right thing here and giving it all away?

HARRIS: Hey!

COLLINS: It is...

SERWER: A whole billion dollars.

COLLINS: It is a wonderful thought, but...

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

COLLINS: ... I don't know.

SERWER: It's a wonderful country, too.

COLLINS: Yes.

SERWER: But, boy, some people just get a little bit more icing on the cake, if you ask me.

COLLINS: Yes. I'm not sure he's listening to us today. HARRIS: No.

COLLINS: We'll have to check.

All right, Andy Serwer, thank you.

SERWER: Yes, Heidi.

HARRIS: And still to come, putting al Qaeda suspects on trial. Just minutes from now, President Bush signs a bill setting the rules for terror prosecutions. Live coverage of the signing ceremony coming up in THE NEWSROOM.

The North Korea threat -- here's what we know now.

Word there may be new evidence that North Korea is preparing for a second nuclear test in defiance of international warnings. That's according to a U.S. official who has access to intelligence information.

Meanwhile, the communist nation is blaming Washington for the U.N. sanctions leveled against it. Today, North Korea blasted the resolution as "a declaration of war." North Korea's foreign minister says the country wants peace, but is not afraid of war.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice launches a diplomatic mission this morning. She will travel to Asia to lobby Asian allies and Russia to enforce the U.N. punishment. Rice is aware some countries, like South Korea and China, are uneasy about provoking Pyongyang. She says: "We have no desire to ratchet up conflict either."

COLLINS: We want to go ahead and take a moment to look at the weather situation. A heck of a lot of rain falling in the Southeast. I heard it last night. I kind of missed my alarm because I was sleeping so soundly -- Chad.

MYERS: I know. It did rain.

COLLINS: What's the situation?

MYERS: It did rain in Atlanta all night long last night.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: And we want to go to...

HARRIS: Here we go.

COLLINS: ... the opening bell. We always love that sound. Hopefully the day will be off to a positive start. We like it that way. So many huge numbers at the Dow. And we're going to be watching it again today to see if we get another new record.

HARRIS: It could always be nice.

COLLINS: You can never have too many of those.

HARRIS: And still to come, prosecuting terror suspects. The terror detainee bill becomes law today.

What does it mean?

Our legal expert cuts to the chase in THE NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And we are also awaiting President Bush. A live shot there of the White House. He's going to be signing a bill that is going to be paving the way for interrogating and prosecuting detainees.

Why is it controversial?

We'll talk about that right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We always love that sound. Hopefully the day will be off to a positive start. We like it that way. So many huge numbers at the Dow, and we're going to be watching it again today, to see if we get another new record.

HARRIS: Be nice.

COLLINS: You can never have too many of those.

HARRIS: Still to come, prosecuting terror suspects. The terror detainee bill becomes law today. What does it mean? Our legal expert cuts to the chase in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And we are also awaiting President Bush -- live shot there of the White House -- going to be signing a bill that is going to be paving the way for interrogating and prosecuting detainees. Why is it controversial? We will talk about that, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Putting terror suspects on trial. President Bush set to sign the terror detainee bill. It lays out the rules for questioning and prosecuting key detainees. That includes big fish al Qaeda suspects. Live now to White House correspondent Elaine Quijano for more on this.

We are about two minutes away, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.

That's right. With just three weeks to go until the congressional midterm elections, what we are about to see here is the image that President Bush wants voters to keep in mind as they head to the polls, members of the Republican-led Congress not just talking tough about the war on terror, but taking action, giving him legislation to try and treat terror detainees. Now, what the president wants to move beyond is the very public and bitter division within the GOP from a few weeks ago on this very issue. You will recall that it was the so-called renegade Republican senators -- John McCain, John Warner and Lindsey Graham -- who so staunchly opposed the White House on this very issue. Of course, there was a compromise that was reached eventually, with the administration, but the fight exposed a very deep GOP rift on something that's traditionally been a signature issue for Republicans, and that is, of course, national security.

So, today we expect to see those same senators at this event in the East Room; the signing ceremony, Heidi, very much intended to present a united Republican front in the fight on terrorism at a critical time in the election season. Of course, this is taking a page, if you will, right out of the Republican election playbook to tout the party's national security credentials ahead of the election. Heidi.

COLLINS: Quickly, Elaine, as we watch that picture beside you there, waiting for the president to come out, I wonder if you might be able to give us a little bit of reaction from the White House to this activity that we are learning about from the Pentagon and Barbara Starr in North Korea of a possible second nuclear test there.

QUIJANO: Yes, well just a short time ago, White House spokesman Tony Snow, in a gaggle -- the off camera briefing -- said essentially about these indications, he said let me put it this way: They have made -- talking about North Korea -- they have made no secret of their desire to be provocative. The first test had a low yield and it would not be unreasonable that they would want to try something again. He said it would not be a good thing for them, but it would certainly not be out of character. So, that's from White House spokesman Tony Snow just a short time ago.

And here now is President Bush.

COLLINS: He's not quite there yet, Elaine. We are seeing a group of people lining up behind him -- usually comes in last, I believe. We are going to be talking about this quite a bit in a few minutes here, after the president addresses this group and will sign this new legislation here -- Military Commissions Act, 2006, is what we are talking about. Has been fairly controversial, as Elaine has been pointing out. Certainly lots of talk of this GOP rift between McCain, Warner, Graham, and the rest of the Republican party.

People standing and on their feet now, as the president of the United States comes to the podium. Let's listen in.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Welcome to the White House on a historic day.

It is a rare occasion when a president can sign a bill he knows will save American lives. I have that privilege this morning. The Military Commissions Act of 2006 is one of the most important pieces of legislation in the war on terror. This bill will allow the Central Intelligence Agency to continue its program for questioning key terrorist leaders and operatives like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man believed to be the mastermind of the September the 11th, 2001, attacks on our country.

This program has been one of the most successful intelligence efforts in American history. It has helped prevent attacks on our country.

And the bill I sign today will ensure that we can continue using this vital tool to protect the American people for years to come.

The Military Commissions Act will also allow us to prosecute captured terrorists for war crimes through a full and fair trial.

BUSH: Last month, on the fifth anniversary of 9/11, I stood with Americans who lost family members in New York and Washington and Pennsylvania. I listened to their stories of loved ones they still miss. I told them America would never forget their loss.

Today I can tell them something else: With the bill I'm about to sign, the men our intelligence officials believe orchestrated the murder of nearly 3,000 innocent people will face justice.

I want to thank the vice president for joining me today.

Mr. Vice President, appreciate you.

Secretary Don Rumsfeld, I appreciate your service to our country.

I want to thank Attorney General Al Gonzales; General Mike Hayden, director of the Central Intelligence Agency; General Pete Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

I appreciate very much Senator John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Congressman Duncan Hunter, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, for joining us today.

I want to thank both these men for their leadership.

I appreciate Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina joining us; Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; Congressman Steve Buyer of Indiana; Congressman Chris Cannon of Utah.

Thank you all for coming.

The bill I sign today helps secure this country and it sends a clear message: This nation is patient and decent and fair, and we will never back down from the threats to our freedom.

One of the terrorists believed to have planned the 9/11 attack said he hoped the attacks would be the beginning of the end of America.

BUSH: He didn't get his wish.

We are as determined today as we were on the morning of September the 12th, 2001. We will meet our obligation to protect our people. And no matter how long it takes, justice will be done.

When I proposed this legislation, I explained that I would have one test for the bill Congress produced: Will it allow the CIA program to continue? This bill meets that test.

It allows for the clarity our intelligence professionals need to continue questioning terrorists and saving lives. This bill provides legal protections that ensure our military and intelligence personnel will not have to fear lawsuits filed by terrorists simply for doing their jobs.

This bill spells out specific recognizable offenses that would be considered crimes in the handling of detainees so that our men and women who question captured terrorists can perform their duties to the fullest extent of the law.

And this bill complies with both the spirit and the letter of our international obligations. As I've said before, the United States does not torture. It's against our laws and it's against our values.

By allowing the CIA program to go forward, this bill is preserving a tool that has saved American lives.

The CIA program helped us gain vital intelligence from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh, two of the men believed to have helped plan and facilitate the 9/11 attacks.

The CIA program helped break up a cell of 17 Southeastern Asian terrorist operatives who were being groomed for attacks inside the United States.

The CIA program helped us uncover key operatives in Al Qaeda's biological weapons program, including a cell developing anthrax to be used in terrorist attacks.

The CIA program helps us identify terrorists who were sent to case targets inside the United States, including financial buildings in major cities on the East Coast.

BUSH: And the CIA program helped to stop a planned strike on U.S. Marines in Djibouti, a planned attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi, and a plot to hijack airplanes and fly them into Heathrow Airport and Canary Wharf in London.

Altogether, information from terrorists in CIA custody has played a role in the capture or questioning of nearly every senior Al Qaeda member or associate detained by the United States and its allies since this program began.

Put simply, this program has been one of the most vital tools in our war against the terrorists. It's been invaluable both for America and our allies. Were it not for this program, our intelligence community believes that Al Qaeda and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland.

By allowing our intelligence professionals to continue this vital program, this bill will save American lives. And I look forward to signing it into law.

The bill I'm about to sign also provides a way to deliver justice to the terrorists we have captured.

In the months after 9/11, I authorized a system of military commissions to try foreign terrorists accused of war crimes. These commissions were similar to those used for trying enemy combatants in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War and World War II.

Yet the legality of the system I established was challenged in the court. And the Supreme Court ruled that the military commissions needed to be explicitly authorized by the United States Congress.

And so I asked Congress for that authority and they have provided it.

With the Military Commission Act, the legislative and executive branches have agreed on a system that meets our national security needs. These military commissions will provide a fair trial in which the accused are presumed innocent, have access to an attorney and can hear all the evidence against them.

These military commissions are lawful, they are fair and they are necessary.

BUSH: When I sign this bill into law, we will use these commissions to bring justice to the men believed to have planned the attacks of September the 11th, 2001.

We will also seek to prosecute those believed responsible for the attack on the USS Cole, which killed 17 American sailors six years ago last week.

We will seek to prosecute an operative believed to have been involved in the bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed more than 200 innocent people and wounded 5,000 more.

With our actions, we will send a clear message to those who kill Americans: We will find you and we will bring you to justice.

Over the past few months, the debate over this bill has been heated, and the questions raised can seem complex. Yet with the distance of history the questions will be narrowed and few: Did this generation of Americans take the threat seriously? And did we do what it takes to defeat that threat?

Every member of Congress who voted for this bill has helped our nation rise to the task that history has given us.

Some voted to support this bill even when the majority of their party voted the other way. I thank the legislators who brought this bill to my desk for their conviction, for their vision and for their resolve.

There is nothing we can do to bring back the men and women lost on September the 11th, 2001, yet we will always honor their memory, and we will never forget the way they were taken from us.

This nation will call evil by its name. We will answer brutal murder with patient justice. Those who kill the innocent will be held to account.

With this bill America reaffirms our determination to win the war on terror. The passage of time will not dull our memory or sap our nerve. We will fight this war with confidence and with clear purpose. We will protect our country and our people. We will work with our friends and allies across the world to defend our way of life. We will leave behind a freer, safer and more peaceful world for those who follow us.

And now, in memory of the victims of September the 11th, it is my honor to sign the Military Commissions Act of 2006 into law.

(APPLAUSE)

COLLINS: Well, there you have it. President Bush signing the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Applause as you might expect. A very similar speech to the one he gave a few weeks ago, talking about this same act and remember common article 3 and quite a bit of controversy there.

And in specific, we had John Warner, and Lindsey Graham and John McCain, who were opposed to it. Interesting to point out that John McCain was not there. We heard reference to John Warner and Lindsey Graham, but not John McCain. Not sure where he is.

We want to bring in Andrea Koppel to talk a little bit more about that.

Andrea, any idea? Are you hearing anything about where Senator McCain might be today?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can pretty much guarantee you, Heidi, he is out on the campaign trail. He -- when I spoke to him before, they left for the final days before November 7th, he told me that he had campaign events every single day. He is a big draw, as you know.

But just keep in mind that we are three weeks away from those November 7th elections, and it should be no secret why President Bush would want to sign the Military Commission Act today. This is quite simply an opportunity for him both to tout a big legislative victory for him and for his party, but it's also a chance for him to change the subject away from what we've all been talking about the last couple of weeks, and that is the Mark Foley scandal.

Obviously, rising sectarian violence in Iraq. A lot of bad news for the Republicans. President Bush gets to use the presidential microphone and the megaphone to try to shift the focus to a subject where he feels he's on terra firma. The subject of fighting the war on terror is one that he knows resonates with the American people. We saw that, as you mentioned, in the leadup to September 11th. The president's approval ratings went up. But is also gives him an opportunity, Heidi, to fire up the conservative base. This is an issue that gives them a good reason to rally around the president, remind them why they elected him in the first place, why they re-elected him two years ago, that this is a strong wartime president who has kept the nation safe. And as we head into those final 21 days before voters go to the polls, he wants to make sure that his party stays in power in the House and in the Senate -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Andrea Koppel, thank you for that. Want to go ahead and talk more about the bill with our senior legal analyst now, Jeffrey Toobin.

So, Jeffrey, the way that I look at it, it sort of has four different branches, if you will, and they are whom the military can detain, who the military can prosecute, rules for a military trial, and then also these interrogation techniques in specific. What exactly is so controversial from a legal standpoint alone?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Two things, Heidi.

The first thing is the issue of the Geneva Conventions, and the related issue of torture. This was what the fight with Senator McCain, Warner and Graham was about. What they wanted was a clear, explicit statement that the United States is bound by the Geneva Conventions, period.

The Bush administration wanted to fudge on that a little. And in the negotiations, it certainly seems to me -- and I think many people who were watching it -- the Bush administration really got -- really won that debate for the most part, because what the bill wound up saying is the interrogations must comply with the Geneva Conventions, but it is basically entirely up to the executive branch, to the president and the CIA, to determine whether they're following the Geneva Conventions. So they basically get to be the judge of that controversial issue, so that's certainly the biggest controversy in the bill, and I think the president very much got what he wanted.

COLLINS: Let's go ahead and listen in, Jeffrey, too, while we discuss this about something that Senator Lindsey Graham said just awhile ago on the Senate floor. Let's listen to that, and I want to get your comments. Pardon me, it is not a soundbite. I will read it to you instead. He said, "I bet you dollars to donuts when the Supreme Court gets ahold of our work product they are going to approve it." So, do you think that's the case, the Supreme Court is going to approve this?

TOOBIN: Well, it's interesting, I was just speaking to Senator Arlen Specter, the chairmen of the judiciary committee, who was predicting the exact opposite thing, that the Supreme Court would strike down at least part of it, and the part he thought they would strike down was the second most controversial part of the bill, which is that it removed the right of the detainees to sue in the U.S. courts under -- for a writ of habeus corpus.

Remember, last year -- or earlier this year, Hamdan won his case, Osama bin Laden's driver, won his case in the Supreme Court, and basically what the administration and the Congress have done is take away that right from the detainees. That is -- has been done very rarely in American history, to remove the right of habeus corpus from anyone in American custody. There was an amendment by Senator Specter on the floor of the Senate to remove that provision. It lost 51-48, very close vote. Senator Specter thinks that the courts are going to strike it down.

Senator Graham doesn't. As for me, I don't know, but I'll be watching.

COLLINS: Yes, we'll be watching.

TOOBIN: It will be a close one. It's a very hard issue.

COLLINS: Justice Anthony Kennedy, it might all kind of come down on him, it seems like.

TOOBIN: As so often will be the case in the new Supreme Court, Justice Kennedy will hold the power.

COLLINS: All right. Jeffrey Toobin, thank you for that.

TOOBIN: See you, Heidi.

HARRIS: Sanctions, saber rattling in North Korea, a seasoned diplomat weighs in on Condoleezza Rice's trip to Asia. That story next in the NEWSROOM.

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(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her way to Asia, North Korea, talking about a declaration of war. The escalating crisis in the NEWSROOM.

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