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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Baghdad Bombing; War & the Campaign; Close to bin Laden? Leaked Videotape Investigated
Aired March 17, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST (voice-over): A massive blast in Baghdad: dozens are dead. Who's behind this latest attack?
The techniques of terror: did the bombers time the blast for the anniversary of the war?
The politics of terror: will today's violence play a part in the race for the White House?
Our special series, "Against All Odds": tonight, surviving the physical and mental scars of war.
In custody, the Ohio sniper suspect. How did the accused get a gun with a history of mental illness?
And the manhunt for the bandage bandit: a bank robber caught on tape.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live, from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: And welcome to 360.
Happening right now in Baghdad, we're going to take you there, live pictures. Rescuers searching, sifting through the rubble of a hotel, as well as other buildings, searching for victims of a deadly car bomb. The death count at this moment, at least 29.
Here is what it looked like just moments after the explosion. A massive fire, destruction, the blast leaving a 20-foot crater in the ground. All this just two days before the anniversary of the war in Iraq. And drawing quick condemnation, of course, from the White House.
At the scene for us, CNN Baghdad Bureau chief Jane Arraf.
Jane, what's the latest?
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Anderson, at this site, workers have been sifting through the rubble here with their bare hands with pick axes for seven hours. Now the army equipment has arrived, and they're trying to move the last remaining pieces to get at someone they believe might be underneath. There are no indications that there are any survivors here, Anderson.
This is another victim of this horrendous car bombing, what's believed now to be a suicide bomb packed with 1,000 pounds of explosives. On this side, the remains of a family home, the remains of part of a family still beneath it. And on the other, a small hotel in which people say two British citizens, Jordanians, Egyptians and others lost their lives -- Anderson.
COOPER: Jane, it was known to be a car bomb, as you said. Some 1,000 pounds of explosives in that car. Where was the car in relation to the hotel, and was that the target?
ARRAF: It's hard to really know what the target was, Anderson. Now, this was a hotel, like many hotels, not particularly high profile. A small hotel, a modest one on a crowded street in central Baghdad.
It was the kind of hotel where people on budgets would tend to say. In this case, there were employees of an Iraqi mobile phone company set up by an Egyptian company that had stayed there. But apart from that, Anderson, it may just be a case of this being an easy target.
There are no apparent obstacles on this street. Just a little ways down, there are much harder targets, two major hotels with concrete security barriers and layers of security. This small hotel had none, nor did the houses around here -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Jane Arraf live at the scene. Thanks very much, Jane.
Now, as Jane mentioned, at the blast site right now, Iraqi police rescue teams, as well as U.S. forces. Let's talk to one of them right now. Colonel Ralph Baker, a U.S. Army spokesman, he joins us live from the scene.
Colonel Baker, thanks for being with us. Who do you believe is responsible for this attack?
COL. RALPH BAKER, U.S. ARMY SPOKESMAN: Well, that's a difficult question, but we're pretty sure that it's the work of one of the terrorist organizations that we've been combating for the last year. Either Ansar Al-Islam or the Zarqawi network.
COOPER: At this point, besides this operation still under way, we can see the backhoe behind you. At this point, what are you doing in terms of investigating the forensics, the eyewitnesses?
BAKER: Well, immediately after the bomb detonated, we had Army explosive ordnance detachment personnel come to the site and conduct an initial analysis. Since then, we've had FBI agents come to the site and collect forensic evidence to support further the investigation into the nature and type of bomb that went off. We believe it was about 1,000 pounds of plastic explosives, and we've also found evidence of 155-millimeter artillery rounds in the VBID as well. COOPER: Colonel Baker, at this point, do you know how the bomb was detonated, whether it was a suicide bomber, whether it was a remote controlled device, or some other form?
BAKER: We believe at this point, based upon where the car was in the street, that it was being driven. And, therefore, it would have been a suicide bomber that detonated it.
COOPER: Colonel Baker, I understand you have also made some arrests earlier in the day before this bombing that you may believe are significant. What can you tell us about them?
BAKER: Well, we commenced with Operation Iron Promise, which is a 1st Armored Division operation which will last a couple of weeks. Today, we conducted 22 separate raids on target houses designed to capture former regime sympathizers and those linked to terrorist organizations in Baghdad. Of the 22 targets that we attacked today, we've got 15 enemy personnel captured at this time, and are exploring several residences that we have captured computers and other pieces of evidence that will facilitate our investigation.
COOPER: At this point, do you, in your own mind, believe that the arrests are in any way connected with this bombing or vice versa?
BAKER: This is -- anytime we have a catastrophic event like this, where many Iraqis are killed, this is not typical of the Iraqi citizens and their character. We believe this is the work of a terrorist organization, either Ansar Al-Islam, the Zarqawi network, or possibly Al Qaeda.
COOPER: So you do believe it is a foreign fighter, whether it's Al Qaeda or some other group?
BAKER: It's obviously impossible to be completely definitive about it, but the profile of this attack supports that profile of which we've seen common among the terrorist organizations I just mentioned.
COOPER: All right. Colonel Ralph Baker on the scene, U.S. Army. Appreciate you joining us, Colonel. Thank you very much.
Just moments after the bombing, the White House denounced the attack. With that, we go live to Washington and CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, this bombing comes during a week in which the White House is really trying to highlight some of the successes inside of Iraq one year after the U.S. invasion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): President Bush used the St. Patrick's Day ceremony with Ireland's prime minister to argue that America is not fighting terrorism alone. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Together, we're fighting terrorism, a danger that has brought destruction and grief to Americans and Irish alike, and to the world.
MALVEAUX: The Bush administration is trying to convince American voters and foreign allies to stay the course, to remain steadfast in their support of the U.S.-led effort in Iraq. In a previously scheduled speech, Vice President Dick Cheney used the latest bombing in Iraq to express the administration's resolve.
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thugs and assassins in Iraq are desperately trying to shake our will. Just this morning, they conducted a murderous attack on a hotel in Baghdad. Their goal is to prevent the rise of democracy. But they will fail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: President Bush will deliver that message tomorrow at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. That is where some 20,000 troops recently returned from Iraq -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thanks, Suzanne.
A quick news note for you on civilian casualties in Iraq. At least 195 civilians have been killed in that country since March 1st. And that does not include today's death toll, which now stands at 29, at least.
The deadliest attack so far, March 2nd, a Shiite holy day. Simultaneous explosions in Karbala, as well as Baghdad, left at least 181 dead and more than 500 wounded.
A quick news note for you.
Today's bombing was not unnoticed by those running in the 2004 presidential race. Both the Bush and Kerry camps took up the issue on Iraq today and took each other to task.
CNN's Bob Franken is on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even as Baghdad exploded again, Vice President Cheney continued to fight the increasingly personal campaign war.
CHENEY: Had the decision belonged to Senator Kerry, Saddam Hussein would still be in power today in Iraq. In fact, Saddam Hussein would almost certainly still be in control of Kuwait.
FRANKEN: Kerry campaign chair, Jeanne Shaheen, blasted the vice president. "Dick Cheney has emerged from his bunker to engage in partisan attacks, false and distorted attacks." Senator Kerry had spoken about an hour before Cheney. SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're still bogged down in Iraq. And the administration stubbornly holds to failed unilateral policies that drive potential, significant important long-standing allies away from us.
FRANKEN: As for Kerry's claim, some of those allies' leaders have privately stated a preference for him. Some public support from a New leader.
JOSE LUIS RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER-ELECT (through translator): This is our opportunity to do things before the Americans. Let's change our government here and then see how Kerry does in the elections over there.
FRANKEN: Still, Kerry argued with the New Spanish leader's pledge to pull troops out of Iraq.
KERRY: And I call on Prime Minister Zapatero to reconsider his decision and to send a message that terrorists cannot win by their acts of terror.
FRANKEN: Cheney pointed out foreign leaders aren't the ones who vote in U.S. elections.
CHENEY: The American people will have a clear choice in the election of 2004, at least as clear as any since the election of 1984.
FRANKEN (on camera): It will clearly come complete with harsh rhetoric, debating the even more harsh realities of war as evidenced by the latest violence in Iraq.
Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, Senator Kerry released a statement late today about the Baghdad explosion. Kerry says the bombing further demonstrates that the mission in Iraq is far from over, and he's repeating his call to build the international coalition there. He says, and I quote, "We must send a strong message that these cowardly acts will only strengthen our resolve not only to the enemies of peace in Iraq, but to our coalition allies, like the Spanish, who may be questioning whether the price is too high."
We're going to continue covering the bombing in Iraq. The death toll may continue to rise. They're still trying to dig out from the rubble. All throughout this hour we'll be giving you live reports from the skeet.
U.S. investigators want to know right how a classified CIA videotape got into the hands of the media. The tape from a spy plane is believed to show Osama bin Laden. It has raised all sorts of questions about why the U.S. didn't act on the real-time intelligence about bin Laden's whereabouts.
Here is David Ensor with details. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The CIA surveillance drone videotape taken in 2000 was highly classified, intelligence officials say. And there will be an investigation into who leaked it.
The tape, first broadcast on NBC News, shows a group of men, including one taller than the rest and dressed all in white. A senior official says the tape is genuine and that analysts believe to this day the man in white was Osama bin Laden.
STEVE COLL, AUTHOR, "GHOST WARS": Well, it is a very compelling piece of video, very vivid reminder of how close the United States was to locating bin Laden.
ENSOR: Could President Clinton have ordered a strike against bin Laden at the time? Since the predator drone was unarmed, there was no way to strike at the site, Tarnak Farm, an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, in less than about four to six hours, using cruise missiles or bombs from aircraft. Also, there would have been plenty of innocent dead.
COLL: There were women and children on this farm. There were hangers-on with al Qaeda militants. Maybe that shouldn't have been an issue, but it was certainly part of the discussion.
ENSOR: At the time the pictures were taken, the CIA was working on ways to arm predators with hellfire missiles. Officials say this incident may have sped things up. Armed drones were in service within months in early 2001. In November 2002, a CIA predator hellfire missile struck a car in Yemen carrying a sunnier al Qaeda lieutenant.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: The emergence of the tape is highlighting questions about whether the Clinton administration did all it could to combat al Qaeda. But, in the coming weeks, the attention will turn to President Bush. The two 9/11 Commission co-chairs expect to question him about whether he did all he could against al Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. David Ensor in Washington. Thanks, David.
We're following a number of developing stories for you right now "Cross Country." Let's take a look.
Fresno, California: nine counts of murder. Marcus Wesson arraigned today. He, of course, accused of killing a woman and eight children he apparently fathered with several different women. A motive still unknown.
Miami, Florida, now: hazardous cargo. A forklift accident sets off a series of explosions at a gas distribution plant. There's that one. No injuries reported. But a man nearby said the ground shook so much he thought it was a terrorist attack. Savannah, Georgia: crashing the party. Twelve people hurt when a speeding convertible rammed a crowd of people at the city's St. Patrick's Day celebration. Among the injured, two members of a G-8 summit planning committee.
Somerville, New Jersey: the prosecution rests. The Jayson Williams manslaughter trial adjourned until next Wednesday. At that point, the judge will hear arguments on a defense motion for dismissal.
Tampa, Florida: R. Kelly off the hook, in that state at least. Prosecutors dropped all 12 counts of child pornography after the judge ruled a key piece of evidence was not admissible. The R&B star still faces charges in Chicago.
That's a quick look at stories "Cross Country" for you tonight.
Ohio sniper suspect arrested in Las Vegas. An intensive manhunt did pay off. Find out exactly how police got their man. That's ahead.
Also, surviving war. Find out how hope can be found after facing death on the front lines. Part of our weeklong series, "Against All Odds."
And terrorism and asymmetrical warfare. How the U.S. can combat insidious threat.
Plus, we'll go live to Baghdad, where the investigation into today's attacks continue.
Before we do that, let's take a look "Inside the Box" at the top stories on tonight's network newscasts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Snow still falling here in New York.
In Baghdad right now, this hour, rescue teams searching through the rubble. There's a live picture right there. They brought in some heavy equipment, some digging with bare hands. It still goes on after a bomb destroyed a hotel and damaged several other buildings.
A car bomb with 1,000 pounds of explosives at least, it's believed. At least 29 people are dead as of this moment. As many as 50 others endured.
The blast sparked a raging fire, left a 20-foot crater. Those are some of the earliest pictures we got of it. Baghdad police and fire officials say foreigners are responsible for the attacks, though the investigation continues. We're going to have the latest in live reports coming up in just a few moments.
Right now, back here at home, Ohio sniper suspect Charles McCoy, Jr. is in police custody tonight. Captured in Las Vegas early this morning after someone spotted him, recognized his car, and alerted authorities.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is on the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charles McCoy, Jr. was taken into custody before 3:00 a.m. at the Budget Inn Suites just off the Las Vegas strip. Investigators say they believed he had been staying there for the past day and a half.
LT. TED LEE, LAS VEGAS POLICE: He didn't have any weapons, and he complied with the officers when they told him to get on the ground. And they took him into custody.
ROWLANDS: McCoy was first spotted and recognized Tuesday afternoon at the Stardust Casino by Las Vegas resident Conrad Malsom. After alerting the FBI, Malsom took it upon himself to search a nearby parking lot where he eventually found McCoy's car with the matching Ohio plates.
CONRAD MALSOM, LAS VEGAS RESIDENT: My heart virtually did a little skip. Because now there was no question this is the hard evidence, because the plate can't be a mistake.
ROWLANDS: Police say a 9-millimeter pistol, one of two provided to investigators by his father, links McCoy to nine of the 24 highway shootings in Columbus, one of which claimed the life of 62-year-old Gail Knisely. A statement release by McCoy's family expressed relief that the manhunt is now over. The 28-year-old former high school football player suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, according to his family.
CHIEF DEPUTY STEVE MARTIN, FRANKLIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: We are relieved. We're also very cognizant of the Knisley family and Mrs. Cox's (ph) family, and wanted to bring them here for some closure, I hope.
ROWLANDS: FBI agents in Las Vegas describe McCoy as "very cooperative," saying they've provided him with food from McDonald's while they questioned him throughout the day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And Ted Rowlands joins us now.
Ted, is it known how this guy got a gun? He had documented mental problems.
ROWLANDS: Yes. We don't know specifically how McCoy got these two guns. But it is against federal law for someone with a diagnosed mental illness to own a firearm. The problem is, is that in many states, including Ohio, mental illness is not one of the things that is in the database that gun dealers use when they sell guns -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Ted Rowlands following the story for us. Thanks, Ted.
We're tracking a number of developing stories around the globe right now. Let's check the "UpLink."
Madrid, Spain: criticizing the Iraq war. Today, on Spanish radio, Prime Minister-Elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero called the occupation of Iraq a fiasco. He says he still intends to withdraw Spanish peacekeeping troops from the country.
Meanwhile, five people arrested in connection to last week's terrorist bombings in Madrid will go before a judge tomorrow. Investigators believe one suspect may be linked to those responsible for last year's suicide bombings in Casablanca and possibly al Qaeda.
Kosovo, Serbia-Montenegro: ethnic clashes. At least 10 people are dead and about 300 injured in the worst violence since the war ended in 1999. Serbs and ethnic Albanians traded heavy gunfire, while NATO peacekeepers tried to stop them using tear gas and roadblocks. The violence was triggered by the drowning of three Albanian children last night.
Athens, Greece, now: Olympic crisis. Just a week before lighting of the Olympic flame, delays in preparations for the games. The builder of the main stadium says it won't be ready until July 20, only three weeks before the opening ceremony. A political storm is brewing over how to protect the games from possible terror attacks.
Mars: more evidence of water. Spectral images from the European space orbiter show plenty of icy water in three distinct areas of Mars' southern pole. They show the ice is present all year round. NASA's Mars rover also uncovered evidence of water on the Red Planet.
That's a quick look at stories in the "UpLink" tonight.
"Against All Odds: Stories of Survival": find out lessons learned from war, part of our weeklong series. That's ahead.
Also tonight: terror strike in Baghdad. A hotel reduced to rubble. We're going to go live to the scene and take a close look at what it might signal in the war on terror.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You're looking at a live picture of Baghdad. Sadness and anger in the streets tonight. Twenty-nine people dead, up to 50 others injured after a bomb destroyed a hotel and several buildings. They are still digging out there.
You heard it right here. Just moments ago, U.S. military officials saying it has suspected a terrorist organization, foreigners responsible for the attack. We're going to have more ahead in a live report from Baghdad in just a few moments. Covering this story all throughout this hour.
Right now in Baghdad, doctors are tending to the wounded, the survivors of today's deadly car bombing. Day after day in Iraq, Spain, Afghanistan, soldiers and civilians on the front lines of terror. As we continue our series, "Against All Odds," we take a much-needed look at the survivors of war, men and women who have returned to civilian life forever changed.
Here is David Mattingly with one soldier's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SPEC. LANCE GIESELMANN, U.S. ARMY: I remember I tried to roll over and my leg wouldn't go with me. And then I really thought it was broken really bad.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an instant, clouded by dust and confusion, Specialist Lance Gieselmann's tank was destroyed. His two close friends were killed.
Near death himself, Gieselmann somehow survived and now hopes to defy doctors who say he may never walk again. But the attack also left psychological wounds, problems common to soldiers wounded in combat.
SGT. DECARLTON ARMSTRONG, U.S. ARMY: I freaked my wife out because I actually thought that we were taking fire.
MATTINGLY: These injured soldiers at the Army's Fort Campbell talk of nightmares, anxiety, anger, and marriage difficulties. There's also the deep feeling guilt for leaving buddies behind.
SGT. 1ST CLASS DAVID AINSLIE, U.S. ARMY: I feel like I abandoned them, not being able to support them.
MATTINGLY: Army doctors say 40 percent of soldiers in combat report some psychological symptoms. The number drops dramatically with stepped-up counseling, mandatory screening, and a waiting time upon returning home. Gieselmann has received counseling, and the nightmares he had early on seem to have gone away, leaving him to focus on his physical recovery and his young family.
GIESELMANN: I want to be able to walk by myself. That's my long-term goal. And for everything to go back the way it was before I left.
MATTINGLY: A mission possibly more difficult than any who survive in Iraq.
David Mattingly, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Our next guest knows war and survival firsthand. Jamie Vazquez, he's director for Veterans Affairs for Jersey City, New Jersey. During the Vietnam War, he took 70 pieces of shrapnel from a grenade and lived to tell us all about it.
Thank you very much for being with us.
JAMIE VAZQUEZ, VIETNAM VETERAN: Thank you for having me.
COOPER: As you look at that young man's story and you think about all those who will be returning wounded, changed forever, whether or not they received wounds, what do they need? What is it that we -- that families can do to help them survive?
VAZQUEZ: Well, unlike the Vietnam veteran, when we returned, we were received with disdain and disrespect by a portion of the American society. So what we have to do today is to treat these young men and women when they come back with the respect and recognition that they deserve.
They are putting their lives on the line to maintain our freedom and democracy. When they come home, we have to treat them properly so they can integrate themselves back into society. Unfortunately, as you know, when people go to war and experience war firsthand, they never really change back to the way they were. They are changed forever.
COOPER: When you came back with your friends, with your family, could you talk about your experiences? I mean, I talk to so many soldiers and they say, you know, you can't talk to your loved one about it because they just don't get it.
VAZQUEZ: Right. It is very difficult to communicate to people, because it is very difficult to pass on exactly what you're experiences are. The experience of terror in war, when you're in a fox hole and you're being mortared or rocketed, that kind of terror, that stays with you. And it is difficult to pass that on to other people. So you keep those thoughts to yourself.
I mean, my experience with Word War II veterans, Korean War veterans, Vietnam veterans, Persian Gulf veterans, is that they internalize their emotions and their feelings. We need to expunge those feelings. I recently went to Vietnam in August, and that gave me an opportunity to deal with the demons of war that we all keep inside of us.
COOPER: Does it seem to you that society, that the Army, that the military is dealing, kind of has a better understanding maybe perhaps because of the experiences of some Vietnam veterans about how to deal with people when they come home?
VAZQUEZ: Well, you know, you go back to World War II and people were what they consider shell-shocked. That was considered a disgrace.
Now you have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Unfortunately, a good percentage of the young men and women in Iraq or in the war zones today, when they come home, they will suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In 1991, the people that fought against Saddam Hussein the first time, about 37 percent of that fighting force is today receiving some kind of treatment at the Veterans Administration for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
COOPER: We appreciate you coming in to talk about this. A lot of young people, men and women, returning, are going to need your help. Thanks very much.
VAZQUEZ: Give them respect. Thank you very much.
COOPER: All right.
Well, destruction in central Baghdad, a story we've been following all hour long. Deadly bomb blasts. Who may be responsible? We're going to get the latest in a live report from the scene.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time for "The Reset." Let's get you up to speed with tonight's top stories.
Crews in Baghdad working to recover bodies from the rubble of a car bombing. These pictures taken a short time after the blast. So far, 29 people are known dead as many as 50 people hurt. The bomb believed to have weighed more than 1,000 pounds, destroyed a hotel, collapsed houses and buildings. U.S. Military officials say it is unlikely they'll find more survivors under the debris.
We are going to have a live report from the scene in Baghdad in just a moment.
In Indianhead, Maryland, a fire at a naval base has injured three civilians and a service member. They were disassembling the booster rocket at the navel when fuel ignited. Officials don't know what sparked the fire.
In Washington, the Pentagon says it won't pay Halliburton bills under auditors finish reviewing some of the company's pricing. The Defense Department plans to withhold 15 percent of the bills which amounts to $300 million.
The federal government says it will require airlines to give up passenger data to test a controversial profiling system. The program would use the information to determine whether a passenger has a criminal record or links to terrorism. The government will also seek input to ease concerns that the system will violate passenger privacy. And that's a quick look at tonight's "Reset."
We have some breaking news to report this. Just in. Some extraordinary video of the Baghdad blast. The Arabic language American satellite TV channel Al Hurra was conducting an interview with a guest in Baghdad when the blast occurred. The explosion was caught on tape. You can clearly see and hear the blast behind the guest. This the first time we ever seen this. Let's roll the video. That is the first video we have seen. We're going to try to recue it. That is the first time we've been able to air this video. Again, they were about to do an interview. You can see the woman sitting down when the blast occurs. You get a sense of just the size of it, the scope of it in downtown Baghdad, at least 1,000 pound bomb in a -- packed into a car. Not sure if it was a suicide bomber, some sort of remote controlled detonated device. But again, that's the first images we have seen that have captured the blast. We want to take you back to the scene of the deadly blast in Baghdad. CNN's Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf is with the latest -- Jane.
ARRAF: Anderson, what you're seeing be mind me is the remains of a family's life, crushed under tons of rubble as this powerful bomb exploded. Two people have been pulled from this rubble, unfortunately, dead. No one could have survived this, according to officials here. But still, the earth moving equipment has come in to try to find a last remaining body. Now, for seven hours these rescue workers, some of them still here, sifted through this rubble with their bare hands with pick axes, hoping to find some sign of life. They found none. And as you mentioned, at least 29 people dead, two of them believed to be British citizens, and up to 50 people injured. People are horribly injured in this blast. The death toll is expected to rise -- Anderson.
COOPER: And Jane Arraf's been covering this story all day long. Jane, thank you very much for us.
Tonight, a U.S. Military official say this is similar to other attacks by a well-known terrorist group. With more on this in Washington, we're joined by terrorist analyst Peter Bergen, and Ken Pollack, CNN analyst and research director at the Saban Center of Middle East Policy, the Brookings Institute.
Appreciate both of you being with us.
Ken, let me start off with you. We just heard Colonel Baker say he thinks this is one of any number of groups, Ansar Islam, al Qaeda or Abu Al Zarqawi. Not quite sure. But did say he believes it is foreign fighters.
Do you agree?
KEN POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: Yes. Well, again, obviously, Anderson it is still early, can't make a definitive judgment. But it does look like a foreign group. Ansar al Islam, Abu al Zarqawi, these are elements of the larger al Qaeda network. So whichever group we're talking about does look like part of that network.
COOPER: What are the hallmarks?
POLLACK: If you look at what happened, it was a car bomb, it was a big car bomb. It was driven by a suicide bomber. And the suicide bomber is the key here. Because what we've seen from the Iraqi insurgents is they tend not to be committed enough to this battle to lay down their lives. Where as, the al Qaeda fighters who imbued with this tremendous religious zeal, they've shown that willingness to sacrifice their lives to try to kill Americans and other people inside Iraq.
And again, I just want let you know, we're showing this video again. We just aired it for the first time moment ago showing the explosion. Peter Bergen, how smart have these terrorists become in terms of timing these sorts of incidents for large events, for anniversaries, for election that is are coming they seem highly orchestrated and very smart.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, we saw in Spain the election was thrown by the attacks in Madrid. I think we can anticipate with the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq coming up, that there will be more of these attacks. Kelly McCann earlier pointed out the attack on the hotel tonight may have been a target of opportunity in the sense they get ready for these kinds of attacks. They look for places where the surveillance not that good. But certainly, we are seeing more anniversary-driven or political-driven terrorist attacks in the recent fray.
COOPER: Ken, do you think there's any connection between, anyway, this bombing and the Madrid bombing?
POLLACK: There is a direct causal link. I think it is unlikely. It may well be the bomb in Spain was an al Qaeda off-shoot. The bomb in Iraq looks like it was a probably an al Qaeda off-shoot. But what we now know about the al Qaeda network that it's become very decentralized. It's almost more of a movement than it is a network itself. In many cases you have al Qaeda groups particularly in Iraq who are inspired by the al Qaeda leadership or encouraged by it. In some cases there may be some general support but not receiving direct orders from al Qaeda leadership, not this kind of attack in this kind of place. They are semi-autonomous, left to do as they see fit. I think as Peter suggested and Kelly suggested earlier, this looks like it was a target of opportunity. It was a soft target. It was something they could go after. It was probably a decision made by the local leadership rather than some monstrous overall al Qaeda plan to coordinate attacks in multiple countries.
COOPER: And Peter, you wrote an fascinating op-ed in the "L.A. Times" in which you basicly said, that al Qaeda and the affiliates have been energized by the war in Iraq. I guess using Spain as evidence of that. Do they than -- if that is true, do they than target other member of the coalition of the willing, so to speak?
BERGEN: Possibly. Britain and Italy were mentioned by bin Laden specifically as other countries to attack because of their participation in the Iraq war. In fact, we have seen attacks on the British consulate in Istanbul last year, late last year. We also saw an attack on an Italian police barracks in southern Iraq late last year. So bin Laden is sort of laying out this general strategy and sort of picking up on what Ken just said, it is not necessary for bin Laden to have command and control now. He can just say attack anybody in the coalition. We have got a Jihad going in Iraq and people will act on that whether they are part of al Qaeda or just sort of fellow travelers.
COOPER: Ken, Peter talking about Osama bin Laden brings us to that videotape that first aired on NBC last night. We've been airing it a lot today. I know U.S. authorities are interested to know how the media got hold of it. We'll play that. This video from a CIA drone in which it is believed you see bin Laden -- capability is much more different today. Now the predator is armed with missiles. They could deal with this situation differently now, yes? POLLACK: You are absolutely right, Anderson. You are getting at the key point. When this video was shot back in 2000, we did not have armed predators and our ability to attack this target, assuming it was bin Laden, assuming that the U.S. leadership really wanted to go after was actually quite limited. It would have meant generating airborne strikes or some kind of a cruise missile attack both of which would have been difficult to do at the time. Today we have much more advanced targets if that videotape showed up at the White House today, President Bush would probably have a much greater opportunity to take it out, if he chose to do so.
COOPER: Extraordinarily frustrating nevertheless to see that videotape. Ken Pollack and Peter Bergen, thank you very much.
All this terror talk while rescuers sift through the rubble in Baghdad. The question now is democracy dying to terrorism? That's our midweek crises.
Also ahead. The FBI needs your help. Do you know the bandage bandit? We'll talk about him. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You're looking at a live picture right now of the rubble in Baghdad. U.S. officials do not expect to find anymore survivors in that rubble from a massive car bombing today in Baghdad. The last was caught on tape, the blast was. Take a look. We are just getting this video in moments ago for the first time. An interview was being done in Baghdad at the time. Caught by a TV camera. At least 29 people were killed in that blast. As many as 50 people hurt. Car bomb, 1,000 pounds of explosives, destroyed a hotel, collapsed buildings nearby. Houses as well. Authorities believe the bomb weighed more than 1,000 pounds and contained artillery shells and plastic explosives. A U.S. military official says a terrorist organization is likely responsible for the attack. We'll continue to cover it all evening.
We turn to the Madrid bombing investigation. New developments. With the latest, here is Madrid bureau chief, Al Goodman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID BUREAU CHIEF: The first arraignment since the deadly Madrid train bombings last Thursday. Ali Almaraz (ph), an Algerian brought to national court under tight security. Judge (UNINTELLIGIBLE), a leading investigative magistrate into Islamic terrorism saw him behind closed doors. Police said the Algerian, two months ago, warned there would be deaths at the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) train station hard hit in the bombings. Judicial officials say he denied making the threat. The judge ordered him held two more days so the police can gather more evidence. The government shaken by the bombs ordered the army to help police.
ANGEL ACEBES, SPANISH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): Today we have decided to implement additional security measures. GOODMAN: This Moroccan man, Jamal Zugan (ph) is due in court Thursday. Police this week took him back to the phone store he owned in Madrid. Authorities arrested him after linking him to a cell phone attached to an unexploded bomb in the Madrid attacks. Spanish and Moroccan investigators tell CNN he's been linked to the terrorists behind the Casablanca bombings that killed 31 people last year.
JAVIER RUPEREZ: A very high degree of possibility and probability the attack was organized by a group of Moroccan Islamists probably those ones who organized the attack against a mosque in Casablanca some months back.
GOODMAN: They are also investigating ties between Zugan and known al Qaeda operatives who may have been directly involved in the September 11 attacks in the United States. Even before the Madrid bombings the French and Moroccan authorities had asked the Spanish police for more information on Zugan.
Five suspects in the Madrid bombings are due in court Thursday. Police are searching for five Moroccan men identified as placing the bombs on the trains. Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Today, Spain's newly elected leader repeated his pledge to pull Spanish troops from Iraq. Spain's shift in the wake of terror attacks has, for the Bush administration and some leaders around the world, sparked a major midweek crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): The crisis began with a blast. Before the Madrid bombing, the polls gave Jose Maria Aznar's popular party a 42 to 38 percent lead. Still mourning on election day, Spaniards handed the Socialist party a win. The outgoing foreign minister said, quote, "we are giving a signal to terrorists they can have their way because we have given in. Was it a fear of terror or anger at a government that supported a war 90 percent of the population opposed combined with anger over the way the government was handling the bombing investigation.
Immediately after the bombing, Aznar placed the blame on ETA, the Basque separatist group responsible for more than 800 deaths over the last 30 years. Whether it was democracy in action or an impulse for appeasement Spain's government shift has raised all sorts of questions for other American allies who supported the war in Iraq.
75 percent of polls fear they could be the next terror target. Honduras has refused to extend the stay of its 370 troops. Italy's Silvio Berlusconi is staying steadfast but he doesn't face election until 2006. Australia's John Howard has an election coming up later this year. Tony Blair will have to call an election sometime in the next 12 to 18 months. Will terrorists who may feel they've tasted victory in Spain use bombings to tilt other votes? Democracy, it seems, is facing a midweek crisis of global proportions.
Coming up. A bank robber on the run. The heist caught on tape. Find out why the FBI call this suspect the bandage bandit?
Also tonight, it's a new honor for Sir Sean Connery. What is it? Find out in the "Current." That right ahead. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: All right, time to check on pop news in tonight's "Current." Let's take a look. Jessica Simpson's younger sister will also be getting her own reality show. MTV will let viewers track Ashlee Simpson's attempts to become a pop star. Producers love the idea saying, like Jessica, Ashelee talented charismatic and deeply, deeply desperate for attention.
Axl Rose and former band mate Slash lost a bid to prevent Geffen record from putting out a "Guns and Roses" collection this week. Rose and Slash insisted they never gave permission for the label to release the record. Of course, if they did give permission, chances are they wouldn't remember it anyway.
And veterinarians in China are showing pornos to a panda. Pornos of the videos feature other pandas mating in their natural habitat. And the hope is, the panda, who was bred in captivity, will learn how to have sex. If that fails, they can always call Ron Jeremy.
Sean Connery is getting a tribute to his contribution to archaeology. The Scottish actor is having a waterfall named after him. I also was recently honored in a similar way by the crew guys here, though, on a slightly smaller scale. Take a look.
The Anderson Cooper Fountain. There you go. All right.
All right. By now, bank customers in Denver should know the drill. If you see a man limp into the lobby with bandages on his face, hit the floor and hide your cash. The reason why in this report from CNN Adrian Baschuk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Bandage Bandit isn't necessarily the most fearful of nicknames for a bank robber, but it fits. This tall, lanky robber limps his way to the teller. He has bandages stuck to his face. He discretely slips the teller a note claiming he has a weapon. He's fast. He gets his money in one minute, loses the limp and runs out.
MARK A. FENDRICH, FBI: Obviously, the nature, he's a serial robber. He's intimidated and threatened a lot of people. They are frightened of him.
BASCHUK: The FBI says he strikes mostly on Mondays and Fridays between 1:00 and 4:30 at stand-alone banks branches in suburban strip malls. Six of 16 Denver banks hit have been Key banks.
GERRADETTA SLOWEY, VICE PRESIDENT KEY BANK: Robbing a bank is just a bad idea. Capture rates are pretty high for Key Bank. It's about 70 percent. BASCHUK: Maybe so. But after 8 months and nearly 50 tips, they still haven't got him. Just his picture on security cameras.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of the VHS quality is not the best.
BASCHUK: Newer digital cameras captured these pictures of him, but only one of the banks hit had gone digital. The FBI says it would like every bank to upgrade and it wants just more picture of the Bandage Bandit, a mugshot, bandage free. Andrian Baschuk, CNN, Denver, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Quick news note for you, the Bandage Bandit is not the only bank robber with a notorious nickname. FBI is also looking for these suspects, the One-Gloved Bandit -- I'm not making this up -- he's wanted for robbing more than 15 banks here in Los Angeles. So named for robbing a bank once wearing only, well, you guessed it, one glove. The Groundhog Bandit. He's also wanted for robbing 25 banks in L.A.. He got his name for carrying out a bunch of robberies and going on hiatus a year or 2 before starting up again. Finally, the Ear Piece Bandit. He robbed banks in Washington State. And, you guessed it, usually wears a radio ear piece. so the name is not that original
The price of freedom. Terrorists trying to stop it, Iraqis fighting back. We take that to the "Nth Degree" just ahead.
Plus tomorrow, our special series "Against All Odds" continues, "Surviving An Accident: Remarkable Stories of Survival." We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Tonight, taking bombings to the "Nth Degree." Today's terrorists know the value of pictures and they know how to get an audience with big body counts and bloody bombings. That is how fear is spread.
But look at today's pictures from Baghdad. Yes, you will see destruction and beneath the rocky rubble there is death. But you might notice something else, the men digging with axes and shovels and even their bare hands are Iraqi. American soldiers were on the scene but so, too, were Iraqi police and firefighters and rescue personnel.
They may not have the best equipment, they may not have high morale, but they were there. When an Iraqi fire chief was asked why it was detonated, he answered simply, they want to kill Iraqi people. They want to stop the freedom in Iraq.
The cost of freedom is always high in lives and limbs and dollars and cents. And we know in Iraq the future remains far from certain. Today, terrorists tried to send a message. Today, Iraqis tried to send one back.
I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
Leaked Videotape Investigated>
Aired March 17, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST (voice-over): A massive blast in Baghdad: dozens are dead. Who's behind this latest attack?
The techniques of terror: did the bombers time the blast for the anniversary of the war?
The politics of terror: will today's violence play a part in the race for the White House?
Our special series, "Against All Odds": tonight, surviving the physical and mental scars of war.
In custody, the Ohio sniper suspect. How did the accused get a gun with a history of mental illness?
And the manhunt for the bandage bandit: a bank robber caught on tape.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live, from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: And welcome to 360.
Happening right now in Baghdad, we're going to take you there, live pictures. Rescuers searching, sifting through the rubble of a hotel, as well as other buildings, searching for victims of a deadly car bomb. The death count at this moment, at least 29.
Here is what it looked like just moments after the explosion. A massive fire, destruction, the blast leaving a 20-foot crater in the ground. All this just two days before the anniversary of the war in Iraq. And drawing quick condemnation, of course, from the White House.
At the scene for us, CNN Baghdad Bureau chief Jane Arraf.
Jane, what's the latest?
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Anderson, at this site, workers have been sifting through the rubble here with their bare hands with pick axes for seven hours. Now the army equipment has arrived, and they're trying to move the last remaining pieces to get at someone they believe might be underneath. There are no indications that there are any survivors here, Anderson.
This is another victim of this horrendous car bombing, what's believed now to be a suicide bomb packed with 1,000 pounds of explosives. On this side, the remains of a family home, the remains of part of a family still beneath it. And on the other, a small hotel in which people say two British citizens, Jordanians, Egyptians and others lost their lives -- Anderson.
COOPER: Jane, it was known to be a car bomb, as you said. Some 1,000 pounds of explosives in that car. Where was the car in relation to the hotel, and was that the target?
ARRAF: It's hard to really know what the target was, Anderson. Now, this was a hotel, like many hotels, not particularly high profile. A small hotel, a modest one on a crowded street in central Baghdad.
It was the kind of hotel where people on budgets would tend to say. In this case, there were employees of an Iraqi mobile phone company set up by an Egyptian company that had stayed there. But apart from that, Anderson, it may just be a case of this being an easy target.
There are no apparent obstacles on this street. Just a little ways down, there are much harder targets, two major hotels with concrete security barriers and layers of security. This small hotel had none, nor did the houses around here -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Jane Arraf live at the scene. Thanks very much, Jane.
Now, as Jane mentioned, at the blast site right now, Iraqi police rescue teams, as well as U.S. forces. Let's talk to one of them right now. Colonel Ralph Baker, a U.S. Army spokesman, he joins us live from the scene.
Colonel Baker, thanks for being with us. Who do you believe is responsible for this attack?
COL. RALPH BAKER, U.S. ARMY SPOKESMAN: Well, that's a difficult question, but we're pretty sure that it's the work of one of the terrorist organizations that we've been combating for the last year. Either Ansar Al-Islam or the Zarqawi network.
COOPER: At this point, besides this operation still under way, we can see the backhoe behind you. At this point, what are you doing in terms of investigating the forensics, the eyewitnesses?
BAKER: Well, immediately after the bomb detonated, we had Army explosive ordnance detachment personnel come to the site and conduct an initial analysis. Since then, we've had FBI agents come to the site and collect forensic evidence to support further the investigation into the nature and type of bomb that went off. We believe it was about 1,000 pounds of plastic explosives, and we've also found evidence of 155-millimeter artillery rounds in the VBID as well. COOPER: Colonel Baker, at this point, do you know how the bomb was detonated, whether it was a suicide bomber, whether it was a remote controlled device, or some other form?
BAKER: We believe at this point, based upon where the car was in the street, that it was being driven. And, therefore, it would have been a suicide bomber that detonated it.
COOPER: Colonel Baker, I understand you have also made some arrests earlier in the day before this bombing that you may believe are significant. What can you tell us about them?
BAKER: Well, we commenced with Operation Iron Promise, which is a 1st Armored Division operation which will last a couple of weeks. Today, we conducted 22 separate raids on target houses designed to capture former regime sympathizers and those linked to terrorist organizations in Baghdad. Of the 22 targets that we attacked today, we've got 15 enemy personnel captured at this time, and are exploring several residences that we have captured computers and other pieces of evidence that will facilitate our investigation.
COOPER: At this point, do you, in your own mind, believe that the arrests are in any way connected with this bombing or vice versa?
BAKER: This is -- anytime we have a catastrophic event like this, where many Iraqis are killed, this is not typical of the Iraqi citizens and their character. We believe this is the work of a terrorist organization, either Ansar Al-Islam, the Zarqawi network, or possibly Al Qaeda.
COOPER: So you do believe it is a foreign fighter, whether it's Al Qaeda or some other group?
BAKER: It's obviously impossible to be completely definitive about it, but the profile of this attack supports that profile of which we've seen common among the terrorist organizations I just mentioned.
COOPER: All right. Colonel Ralph Baker on the scene, U.S. Army. Appreciate you joining us, Colonel. Thank you very much.
Just moments after the bombing, the White House denounced the attack. With that, we go live to Washington and CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, this bombing comes during a week in which the White House is really trying to highlight some of the successes inside of Iraq one year after the U.S. invasion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): President Bush used the St. Patrick's Day ceremony with Ireland's prime minister to argue that America is not fighting terrorism alone. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Together, we're fighting terrorism, a danger that has brought destruction and grief to Americans and Irish alike, and to the world.
MALVEAUX: The Bush administration is trying to convince American voters and foreign allies to stay the course, to remain steadfast in their support of the U.S.-led effort in Iraq. In a previously scheduled speech, Vice President Dick Cheney used the latest bombing in Iraq to express the administration's resolve.
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thugs and assassins in Iraq are desperately trying to shake our will. Just this morning, they conducted a murderous attack on a hotel in Baghdad. Their goal is to prevent the rise of democracy. But they will fail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: President Bush will deliver that message tomorrow at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. That is where some 20,000 troops recently returned from Iraq -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thanks, Suzanne.
A quick news note for you on civilian casualties in Iraq. At least 195 civilians have been killed in that country since March 1st. And that does not include today's death toll, which now stands at 29, at least.
The deadliest attack so far, March 2nd, a Shiite holy day. Simultaneous explosions in Karbala, as well as Baghdad, left at least 181 dead and more than 500 wounded.
A quick news note for you.
Today's bombing was not unnoticed by those running in the 2004 presidential race. Both the Bush and Kerry camps took up the issue on Iraq today and took each other to task.
CNN's Bob Franken is on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even as Baghdad exploded again, Vice President Cheney continued to fight the increasingly personal campaign war.
CHENEY: Had the decision belonged to Senator Kerry, Saddam Hussein would still be in power today in Iraq. In fact, Saddam Hussein would almost certainly still be in control of Kuwait.
FRANKEN: Kerry campaign chair, Jeanne Shaheen, blasted the vice president. "Dick Cheney has emerged from his bunker to engage in partisan attacks, false and distorted attacks." Senator Kerry had spoken about an hour before Cheney. SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're still bogged down in Iraq. And the administration stubbornly holds to failed unilateral policies that drive potential, significant important long-standing allies away from us.
FRANKEN: As for Kerry's claim, some of those allies' leaders have privately stated a preference for him. Some public support from a New leader.
JOSE LUIS RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER-ELECT (through translator): This is our opportunity to do things before the Americans. Let's change our government here and then see how Kerry does in the elections over there.
FRANKEN: Still, Kerry argued with the New Spanish leader's pledge to pull troops out of Iraq.
KERRY: And I call on Prime Minister Zapatero to reconsider his decision and to send a message that terrorists cannot win by their acts of terror.
FRANKEN: Cheney pointed out foreign leaders aren't the ones who vote in U.S. elections.
CHENEY: The American people will have a clear choice in the election of 2004, at least as clear as any since the election of 1984.
FRANKEN (on camera): It will clearly come complete with harsh rhetoric, debating the even more harsh realities of war as evidenced by the latest violence in Iraq.
Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, Senator Kerry released a statement late today about the Baghdad explosion. Kerry says the bombing further demonstrates that the mission in Iraq is far from over, and he's repeating his call to build the international coalition there. He says, and I quote, "We must send a strong message that these cowardly acts will only strengthen our resolve not only to the enemies of peace in Iraq, but to our coalition allies, like the Spanish, who may be questioning whether the price is too high."
We're going to continue covering the bombing in Iraq. The death toll may continue to rise. They're still trying to dig out from the rubble. All throughout this hour we'll be giving you live reports from the skeet.
U.S. investigators want to know right how a classified CIA videotape got into the hands of the media. The tape from a spy plane is believed to show Osama bin Laden. It has raised all sorts of questions about why the U.S. didn't act on the real-time intelligence about bin Laden's whereabouts.
Here is David Ensor with details. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The CIA surveillance drone videotape taken in 2000 was highly classified, intelligence officials say. And there will be an investigation into who leaked it.
The tape, first broadcast on NBC News, shows a group of men, including one taller than the rest and dressed all in white. A senior official says the tape is genuine and that analysts believe to this day the man in white was Osama bin Laden.
STEVE COLL, AUTHOR, "GHOST WARS": Well, it is a very compelling piece of video, very vivid reminder of how close the United States was to locating bin Laden.
ENSOR: Could President Clinton have ordered a strike against bin Laden at the time? Since the predator drone was unarmed, there was no way to strike at the site, Tarnak Farm, an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, in less than about four to six hours, using cruise missiles or bombs from aircraft. Also, there would have been plenty of innocent dead.
COLL: There were women and children on this farm. There were hangers-on with al Qaeda militants. Maybe that shouldn't have been an issue, but it was certainly part of the discussion.
ENSOR: At the time the pictures were taken, the CIA was working on ways to arm predators with hellfire missiles. Officials say this incident may have sped things up. Armed drones were in service within months in early 2001. In November 2002, a CIA predator hellfire missile struck a car in Yemen carrying a sunnier al Qaeda lieutenant.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: The emergence of the tape is highlighting questions about whether the Clinton administration did all it could to combat al Qaeda. But, in the coming weeks, the attention will turn to President Bush. The two 9/11 Commission co-chairs expect to question him about whether he did all he could against al Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. David Ensor in Washington. Thanks, David.
We're following a number of developing stories for you right now "Cross Country." Let's take a look.
Fresno, California: nine counts of murder. Marcus Wesson arraigned today. He, of course, accused of killing a woman and eight children he apparently fathered with several different women. A motive still unknown.
Miami, Florida, now: hazardous cargo. A forklift accident sets off a series of explosions at a gas distribution plant. There's that one. No injuries reported. But a man nearby said the ground shook so much he thought it was a terrorist attack. Savannah, Georgia: crashing the party. Twelve people hurt when a speeding convertible rammed a crowd of people at the city's St. Patrick's Day celebration. Among the injured, two members of a G-8 summit planning committee.
Somerville, New Jersey: the prosecution rests. The Jayson Williams manslaughter trial adjourned until next Wednesday. At that point, the judge will hear arguments on a defense motion for dismissal.
Tampa, Florida: R. Kelly off the hook, in that state at least. Prosecutors dropped all 12 counts of child pornography after the judge ruled a key piece of evidence was not admissible. The R&B star still faces charges in Chicago.
That's a quick look at stories "Cross Country" for you tonight.
Ohio sniper suspect arrested in Las Vegas. An intensive manhunt did pay off. Find out exactly how police got their man. That's ahead.
Also, surviving war. Find out how hope can be found after facing death on the front lines. Part of our weeklong series, "Against All Odds."
And terrorism and asymmetrical warfare. How the U.S. can combat insidious threat.
Plus, we'll go live to Baghdad, where the investigation into today's attacks continue.
Before we do that, let's take a look "Inside the Box" at the top stories on tonight's network newscasts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Snow still falling here in New York.
In Baghdad right now, this hour, rescue teams searching through the rubble. There's a live picture right there. They brought in some heavy equipment, some digging with bare hands. It still goes on after a bomb destroyed a hotel and damaged several other buildings.
A car bomb with 1,000 pounds of explosives at least, it's believed. At least 29 people are dead as of this moment. As many as 50 others endured.
The blast sparked a raging fire, left a 20-foot crater. Those are some of the earliest pictures we got of it. Baghdad police and fire officials say foreigners are responsible for the attacks, though the investigation continues. We're going to have the latest in live reports coming up in just a few moments.
Right now, back here at home, Ohio sniper suspect Charles McCoy, Jr. is in police custody tonight. Captured in Las Vegas early this morning after someone spotted him, recognized his car, and alerted authorities.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is on the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charles McCoy, Jr. was taken into custody before 3:00 a.m. at the Budget Inn Suites just off the Las Vegas strip. Investigators say they believed he had been staying there for the past day and a half.
LT. TED LEE, LAS VEGAS POLICE: He didn't have any weapons, and he complied with the officers when they told him to get on the ground. And they took him into custody.
ROWLANDS: McCoy was first spotted and recognized Tuesday afternoon at the Stardust Casino by Las Vegas resident Conrad Malsom. After alerting the FBI, Malsom took it upon himself to search a nearby parking lot where he eventually found McCoy's car with the matching Ohio plates.
CONRAD MALSOM, LAS VEGAS RESIDENT: My heart virtually did a little skip. Because now there was no question this is the hard evidence, because the plate can't be a mistake.
ROWLANDS: Police say a 9-millimeter pistol, one of two provided to investigators by his father, links McCoy to nine of the 24 highway shootings in Columbus, one of which claimed the life of 62-year-old Gail Knisely. A statement release by McCoy's family expressed relief that the manhunt is now over. The 28-year-old former high school football player suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, according to his family.
CHIEF DEPUTY STEVE MARTIN, FRANKLIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: We are relieved. We're also very cognizant of the Knisley family and Mrs. Cox's (ph) family, and wanted to bring them here for some closure, I hope.
ROWLANDS: FBI agents in Las Vegas describe McCoy as "very cooperative," saying they've provided him with food from McDonald's while they questioned him throughout the day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And Ted Rowlands joins us now.
Ted, is it known how this guy got a gun? He had documented mental problems.
ROWLANDS: Yes. We don't know specifically how McCoy got these two guns. But it is against federal law for someone with a diagnosed mental illness to own a firearm. The problem is, is that in many states, including Ohio, mental illness is not one of the things that is in the database that gun dealers use when they sell guns -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Ted Rowlands following the story for us. Thanks, Ted.
We're tracking a number of developing stories around the globe right now. Let's check the "UpLink."
Madrid, Spain: criticizing the Iraq war. Today, on Spanish radio, Prime Minister-Elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero called the occupation of Iraq a fiasco. He says he still intends to withdraw Spanish peacekeeping troops from the country.
Meanwhile, five people arrested in connection to last week's terrorist bombings in Madrid will go before a judge tomorrow. Investigators believe one suspect may be linked to those responsible for last year's suicide bombings in Casablanca and possibly al Qaeda.
Kosovo, Serbia-Montenegro: ethnic clashes. At least 10 people are dead and about 300 injured in the worst violence since the war ended in 1999. Serbs and ethnic Albanians traded heavy gunfire, while NATO peacekeepers tried to stop them using tear gas and roadblocks. The violence was triggered by the drowning of three Albanian children last night.
Athens, Greece, now: Olympic crisis. Just a week before lighting of the Olympic flame, delays in preparations for the games. The builder of the main stadium says it won't be ready until July 20, only three weeks before the opening ceremony. A political storm is brewing over how to protect the games from possible terror attacks.
Mars: more evidence of water. Spectral images from the European space orbiter show plenty of icy water in three distinct areas of Mars' southern pole. They show the ice is present all year round. NASA's Mars rover also uncovered evidence of water on the Red Planet.
That's a quick look at stories in the "UpLink" tonight.
"Against All Odds: Stories of Survival": find out lessons learned from war, part of our weeklong series. That's ahead.
Also tonight: terror strike in Baghdad. A hotel reduced to rubble. We're going to go live to the scene and take a close look at what it might signal in the war on terror.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You're looking at a live picture of Baghdad. Sadness and anger in the streets tonight. Twenty-nine people dead, up to 50 others injured after a bomb destroyed a hotel and several buildings. They are still digging out there.
You heard it right here. Just moments ago, U.S. military officials saying it has suspected a terrorist organization, foreigners responsible for the attack. We're going to have more ahead in a live report from Baghdad in just a few moments. Covering this story all throughout this hour.
Right now in Baghdad, doctors are tending to the wounded, the survivors of today's deadly car bombing. Day after day in Iraq, Spain, Afghanistan, soldiers and civilians on the front lines of terror. As we continue our series, "Against All Odds," we take a much-needed look at the survivors of war, men and women who have returned to civilian life forever changed.
Here is David Mattingly with one soldier's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SPEC. LANCE GIESELMANN, U.S. ARMY: I remember I tried to roll over and my leg wouldn't go with me. And then I really thought it was broken really bad.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an instant, clouded by dust and confusion, Specialist Lance Gieselmann's tank was destroyed. His two close friends were killed.
Near death himself, Gieselmann somehow survived and now hopes to defy doctors who say he may never walk again. But the attack also left psychological wounds, problems common to soldiers wounded in combat.
SGT. DECARLTON ARMSTRONG, U.S. ARMY: I freaked my wife out because I actually thought that we were taking fire.
MATTINGLY: These injured soldiers at the Army's Fort Campbell talk of nightmares, anxiety, anger, and marriage difficulties. There's also the deep feeling guilt for leaving buddies behind.
SGT. 1ST CLASS DAVID AINSLIE, U.S. ARMY: I feel like I abandoned them, not being able to support them.
MATTINGLY: Army doctors say 40 percent of soldiers in combat report some psychological symptoms. The number drops dramatically with stepped-up counseling, mandatory screening, and a waiting time upon returning home. Gieselmann has received counseling, and the nightmares he had early on seem to have gone away, leaving him to focus on his physical recovery and his young family.
GIESELMANN: I want to be able to walk by myself. That's my long-term goal. And for everything to go back the way it was before I left.
MATTINGLY: A mission possibly more difficult than any who survive in Iraq.
David Mattingly, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Our next guest knows war and survival firsthand. Jamie Vazquez, he's director for Veterans Affairs for Jersey City, New Jersey. During the Vietnam War, he took 70 pieces of shrapnel from a grenade and lived to tell us all about it.
Thank you very much for being with us.
JAMIE VAZQUEZ, VIETNAM VETERAN: Thank you for having me.
COOPER: As you look at that young man's story and you think about all those who will be returning wounded, changed forever, whether or not they received wounds, what do they need? What is it that we -- that families can do to help them survive?
VAZQUEZ: Well, unlike the Vietnam veteran, when we returned, we were received with disdain and disrespect by a portion of the American society. So what we have to do today is to treat these young men and women when they come back with the respect and recognition that they deserve.
They are putting their lives on the line to maintain our freedom and democracy. When they come home, we have to treat them properly so they can integrate themselves back into society. Unfortunately, as you know, when people go to war and experience war firsthand, they never really change back to the way they were. They are changed forever.
COOPER: When you came back with your friends, with your family, could you talk about your experiences? I mean, I talk to so many soldiers and they say, you know, you can't talk to your loved one about it because they just don't get it.
VAZQUEZ: Right. It is very difficult to communicate to people, because it is very difficult to pass on exactly what you're experiences are. The experience of terror in war, when you're in a fox hole and you're being mortared or rocketed, that kind of terror, that stays with you. And it is difficult to pass that on to other people. So you keep those thoughts to yourself.
I mean, my experience with Word War II veterans, Korean War veterans, Vietnam veterans, Persian Gulf veterans, is that they internalize their emotions and their feelings. We need to expunge those feelings. I recently went to Vietnam in August, and that gave me an opportunity to deal with the demons of war that we all keep inside of us.
COOPER: Does it seem to you that society, that the Army, that the military is dealing, kind of has a better understanding maybe perhaps because of the experiences of some Vietnam veterans about how to deal with people when they come home?
VAZQUEZ: Well, you know, you go back to World War II and people were what they consider shell-shocked. That was considered a disgrace.
Now you have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Unfortunately, a good percentage of the young men and women in Iraq or in the war zones today, when they come home, they will suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In 1991, the people that fought against Saddam Hussein the first time, about 37 percent of that fighting force is today receiving some kind of treatment at the Veterans Administration for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
COOPER: We appreciate you coming in to talk about this. A lot of young people, men and women, returning, are going to need your help. Thanks very much.
VAZQUEZ: Give them respect. Thank you very much.
COOPER: All right.
Well, destruction in central Baghdad, a story we've been following all hour long. Deadly bomb blasts. Who may be responsible? We're going to get the latest in a live report from the scene.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time for "The Reset." Let's get you up to speed with tonight's top stories.
Crews in Baghdad working to recover bodies from the rubble of a car bombing. These pictures taken a short time after the blast. So far, 29 people are known dead as many as 50 people hurt. The bomb believed to have weighed more than 1,000 pounds, destroyed a hotel, collapsed houses and buildings. U.S. Military officials say it is unlikely they'll find more survivors under the debris.
We are going to have a live report from the scene in Baghdad in just a moment.
In Indianhead, Maryland, a fire at a naval base has injured three civilians and a service member. They were disassembling the booster rocket at the navel when fuel ignited. Officials don't know what sparked the fire.
In Washington, the Pentagon says it won't pay Halliburton bills under auditors finish reviewing some of the company's pricing. The Defense Department plans to withhold 15 percent of the bills which amounts to $300 million.
The federal government says it will require airlines to give up passenger data to test a controversial profiling system. The program would use the information to determine whether a passenger has a criminal record or links to terrorism. The government will also seek input to ease concerns that the system will violate passenger privacy. And that's a quick look at tonight's "Reset."
We have some breaking news to report this. Just in. Some extraordinary video of the Baghdad blast. The Arabic language American satellite TV channel Al Hurra was conducting an interview with a guest in Baghdad when the blast occurred. The explosion was caught on tape. You can clearly see and hear the blast behind the guest. This the first time we ever seen this. Let's roll the video. That is the first video we have seen. We're going to try to recue it. That is the first time we've been able to air this video. Again, they were about to do an interview. You can see the woman sitting down when the blast occurs. You get a sense of just the size of it, the scope of it in downtown Baghdad, at least 1,000 pound bomb in a -- packed into a car. Not sure if it was a suicide bomber, some sort of remote controlled detonated device. But again, that's the first images we have seen that have captured the blast. We want to take you back to the scene of the deadly blast in Baghdad. CNN's Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf is with the latest -- Jane.
ARRAF: Anderson, what you're seeing be mind me is the remains of a family's life, crushed under tons of rubble as this powerful bomb exploded. Two people have been pulled from this rubble, unfortunately, dead. No one could have survived this, according to officials here. But still, the earth moving equipment has come in to try to find a last remaining body. Now, for seven hours these rescue workers, some of them still here, sifted through this rubble with their bare hands with pick axes, hoping to find some sign of life. They found none. And as you mentioned, at least 29 people dead, two of them believed to be British citizens, and up to 50 people injured. People are horribly injured in this blast. The death toll is expected to rise -- Anderson.
COOPER: And Jane Arraf's been covering this story all day long. Jane, thank you very much for us.
Tonight, a U.S. Military official say this is similar to other attacks by a well-known terrorist group. With more on this in Washington, we're joined by terrorist analyst Peter Bergen, and Ken Pollack, CNN analyst and research director at the Saban Center of Middle East Policy, the Brookings Institute.
Appreciate both of you being with us.
Ken, let me start off with you. We just heard Colonel Baker say he thinks this is one of any number of groups, Ansar Islam, al Qaeda or Abu Al Zarqawi. Not quite sure. But did say he believes it is foreign fighters.
Do you agree?
KEN POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: Yes. Well, again, obviously, Anderson it is still early, can't make a definitive judgment. But it does look like a foreign group. Ansar al Islam, Abu al Zarqawi, these are elements of the larger al Qaeda network. So whichever group we're talking about does look like part of that network.
COOPER: What are the hallmarks?
POLLACK: If you look at what happened, it was a car bomb, it was a big car bomb. It was driven by a suicide bomber. And the suicide bomber is the key here. Because what we've seen from the Iraqi insurgents is they tend not to be committed enough to this battle to lay down their lives. Where as, the al Qaeda fighters who imbued with this tremendous religious zeal, they've shown that willingness to sacrifice their lives to try to kill Americans and other people inside Iraq.
And again, I just want let you know, we're showing this video again. We just aired it for the first time moment ago showing the explosion. Peter Bergen, how smart have these terrorists become in terms of timing these sorts of incidents for large events, for anniversaries, for election that is are coming they seem highly orchestrated and very smart.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, we saw in Spain the election was thrown by the attacks in Madrid. I think we can anticipate with the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq coming up, that there will be more of these attacks. Kelly McCann earlier pointed out the attack on the hotel tonight may have been a target of opportunity in the sense they get ready for these kinds of attacks. They look for places where the surveillance not that good. But certainly, we are seeing more anniversary-driven or political-driven terrorist attacks in the recent fray.
COOPER: Ken, do you think there's any connection between, anyway, this bombing and the Madrid bombing?
POLLACK: There is a direct causal link. I think it is unlikely. It may well be the bomb in Spain was an al Qaeda off-shoot. The bomb in Iraq looks like it was a probably an al Qaeda off-shoot. But what we now know about the al Qaeda network that it's become very decentralized. It's almost more of a movement than it is a network itself. In many cases you have al Qaeda groups particularly in Iraq who are inspired by the al Qaeda leadership or encouraged by it. In some cases there may be some general support but not receiving direct orders from al Qaeda leadership, not this kind of attack in this kind of place. They are semi-autonomous, left to do as they see fit. I think as Peter suggested and Kelly suggested earlier, this looks like it was a target of opportunity. It was a soft target. It was something they could go after. It was probably a decision made by the local leadership rather than some monstrous overall al Qaeda plan to coordinate attacks in multiple countries.
COOPER: And Peter, you wrote an fascinating op-ed in the "L.A. Times" in which you basicly said, that al Qaeda and the affiliates have been energized by the war in Iraq. I guess using Spain as evidence of that. Do they than -- if that is true, do they than target other member of the coalition of the willing, so to speak?
BERGEN: Possibly. Britain and Italy were mentioned by bin Laden specifically as other countries to attack because of their participation in the Iraq war. In fact, we have seen attacks on the British consulate in Istanbul last year, late last year. We also saw an attack on an Italian police barracks in southern Iraq late last year. So bin Laden is sort of laying out this general strategy and sort of picking up on what Ken just said, it is not necessary for bin Laden to have command and control now. He can just say attack anybody in the coalition. We have got a Jihad going in Iraq and people will act on that whether they are part of al Qaeda or just sort of fellow travelers.
COOPER: Ken, Peter talking about Osama bin Laden brings us to that videotape that first aired on NBC last night. We've been airing it a lot today. I know U.S. authorities are interested to know how the media got hold of it. We'll play that. This video from a CIA drone in which it is believed you see bin Laden -- capability is much more different today. Now the predator is armed with missiles. They could deal with this situation differently now, yes? POLLACK: You are absolutely right, Anderson. You are getting at the key point. When this video was shot back in 2000, we did not have armed predators and our ability to attack this target, assuming it was bin Laden, assuming that the U.S. leadership really wanted to go after was actually quite limited. It would have meant generating airborne strikes or some kind of a cruise missile attack both of which would have been difficult to do at the time. Today we have much more advanced targets if that videotape showed up at the White House today, President Bush would probably have a much greater opportunity to take it out, if he chose to do so.
COOPER: Extraordinarily frustrating nevertheless to see that videotape. Ken Pollack and Peter Bergen, thank you very much.
All this terror talk while rescuers sift through the rubble in Baghdad. The question now is democracy dying to terrorism? That's our midweek crises.
Also ahead. The FBI needs your help. Do you know the bandage bandit? We'll talk about him. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You're looking at a live picture right now of the rubble in Baghdad. U.S. officials do not expect to find anymore survivors in that rubble from a massive car bombing today in Baghdad. The last was caught on tape, the blast was. Take a look. We are just getting this video in moments ago for the first time. An interview was being done in Baghdad at the time. Caught by a TV camera. At least 29 people were killed in that blast. As many as 50 people hurt. Car bomb, 1,000 pounds of explosives, destroyed a hotel, collapsed buildings nearby. Houses as well. Authorities believe the bomb weighed more than 1,000 pounds and contained artillery shells and plastic explosives. A U.S. military official says a terrorist organization is likely responsible for the attack. We'll continue to cover it all evening.
We turn to the Madrid bombing investigation. New developments. With the latest, here is Madrid bureau chief, Al Goodman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID BUREAU CHIEF: The first arraignment since the deadly Madrid train bombings last Thursday. Ali Almaraz (ph), an Algerian brought to national court under tight security. Judge (UNINTELLIGIBLE), a leading investigative magistrate into Islamic terrorism saw him behind closed doors. Police said the Algerian, two months ago, warned there would be deaths at the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) train station hard hit in the bombings. Judicial officials say he denied making the threat. The judge ordered him held two more days so the police can gather more evidence. The government shaken by the bombs ordered the army to help police.
ANGEL ACEBES, SPANISH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): Today we have decided to implement additional security measures. GOODMAN: This Moroccan man, Jamal Zugan (ph) is due in court Thursday. Police this week took him back to the phone store he owned in Madrid. Authorities arrested him after linking him to a cell phone attached to an unexploded bomb in the Madrid attacks. Spanish and Moroccan investigators tell CNN he's been linked to the terrorists behind the Casablanca bombings that killed 31 people last year.
JAVIER RUPEREZ: A very high degree of possibility and probability the attack was organized by a group of Moroccan Islamists probably those ones who organized the attack against a mosque in Casablanca some months back.
GOODMAN: They are also investigating ties between Zugan and known al Qaeda operatives who may have been directly involved in the September 11 attacks in the United States. Even before the Madrid bombings the French and Moroccan authorities had asked the Spanish police for more information on Zugan.
Five suspects in the Madrid bombings are due in court Thursday. Police are searching for five Moroccan men identified as placing the bombs on the trains. Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Today, Spain's newly elected leader repeated his pledge to pull Spanish troops from Iraq. Spain's shift in the wake of terror attacks has, for the Bush administration and some leaders around the world, sparked a major midweek crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): The crisis began with a blast. Before the Madrid bombing, the polls gave Jose Maria Aznar's popular party a 42 to 38 percent lead. Still mourning on election day, Spaniards handed the Socialist party a win. The outgoing foreign minister said, quote, "we are giving a signal to terrorists they can have their way because we have given in. Was it a fear of terror or anger at a government that supported a war 90 percent of the population opposed combined with anger over the way the government was handling the bombing investigation.
Immediately after the bombing, Aznar placed the blame on ETA, the Basque separatist group responsible for more than 800 deaths over the last 30 years. Whether it was democracy in action or an impulse for appeasement Spain's government shift has raised all sorts of questions for other American allies who supported the war in Iraq.
75 percent of polls fear they could be the next terror target. Honduras has refused to extend the stay of its 370 troops. Italy's Silvio Berlusconi is staying steadfast but he doesn't face election until 2006. Australia's John Howard has an election coming up later this year. Tony Blair will have to call an election sometime in the next 12 to 18 months. Will terrorists who may feel they've tasted victory in Spain use bombings to tilt other votes? Democracy, it seems, is facing a midweek crisis of global proportions.
Coming up. A bank robber on the run. The heist caught on tape. Find out why the FBI call this suspect the bandage bandit?
Also tonight, it's a new honor for Sir Sean Connery. What is it? Find out in the "Current." That right ahead. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: All right, time to check on pop news in tonight's "Current." Let's take a look. Jessica Simpson's younger sister will also be getting her own reality show. MTV will let viewers track Ashlee Simpson's attempts to become a pop star. Producers love the idea saying, like Jessica, Ashelee talented charismatic and deeply, deeply desperate for attention.
Axl Rose and former band mate Slash lost a bid to prevent Geffen record from putting out a "Guns and Roses" collection this week. Rose and Slash insisted they never gave permission for the label to release the record. Of course, if they did give permission, chances are they wouldn't remember it anyway.
And veterinarians in China are showing pornos to a panda. Pornos of the videos feature other pandas mating in their natural habitat. And the hope is, the panda, who was bred in captivity, will learn how to have sex. If that fails, they can always call Ron Jeremy.
Sean Connery is getting a tribute to his contribution to archaeology. The Scottish actor is having a waterfall named after him. I also was recently honored in a similar way by the crew guys here, though, on a slightly smaller scale. Take a look.
The Anderson Cooper Fountain. There you go. All right.
All right. By now, bank customers in Denver should know the drill. If you see a man limp into the lobby with bandages on his face, hit the floor and hide your cash. The reason why in this report from CNN Adrian Baschuk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Bandage Bandit isn't necessarily the most fearful of nicknames for a bank robber, but it fits. This tall, lanky robber limps his way to the teller. He has bandages stuck to his face. He discretely slips the teller a note claiming he has a weapon. He's fast. He gets his money in one minute, loses the limp and runs out.
MARK A. FENDRICH, FBI: Obviously, the nature, he's a serial robber. He's intimidated and threatened a lot of people. They are frightened of him.
BASCHUK: The FBI says he strikes mostly on Mondays and Fridays between 1:00 and 4:30 at stand-alone banks branches in suburban strip malls. Six of 16 Denver banks hit have been Key banks.
GERRADETTA SLOWEY, VICE PRESIDENT KEY BANK: Robbing a bank is just a bad idea. Capture rates are pretty high for Key Bank. It's about 70 percent. BASCHUK: Maybe so. But after 8 months and nearly 50 tips, they still haven't got him. Just his picture on security cameras.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of the VHS quality is not the best.
BASCHUK: Newer digital cameras captured these pictures of him, but only one of the banks hit had gone digital. The FBI says it would like every bank to upgrade and it wants just more picture of the Bandage Bandit, a mugshot, bandage free. Andrian Baschuk, CNN, Denver, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Quick news note for you, the Bandage Bandit is not the only bank robber with a notorious nickname. FBI is also looking for these suspects, the One-Gloved Bandit -- I'm not making this up -- he's wanted for robbing more than 15 banks here in Los Angeles. So named for robbing a bank once wearing only, well, you guessed it, one glove. The Groundhog Bandit. He's also wanted for robbing 25 banks in L.A.. He got his name for carrying out a bunch of robberies and going on hiatus a year or 2 before starting up again. Finally, the Ear Piece Bandit. He robbed banks in Washington State. And, you guessed it, usually wears a radio ear piece. so the name is not that original
The price of freedom. Terrorists trying to stop it, Iraqis fighting back. We take that to the "Nth Degree" just ahead.
Plus tomorrow, our special series "Against All Odds" continues, "Surviving An Accident: Remarkable Stories of Survival." We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Tonight, taking bombings to the "Nth Degree." Today's terrorists know the value of pictures and they know how to get an audience with big body counts and bloody bombings. That is how fear is spread.
But look at today's pictures from Baghdad. Yes, you will see destruction and beneath the rocky rubble there is death. But you might notice something else, the men digging with axes and shovels and even their bare hands are Iraqi. American soldiers were on the scene but so, too, were Iraqi police and firefighters and rescue personnel.
They may not have the best equipment, they may not have high morale, but they were there. When an Iraqi fire chief was asked why it was detonated, he answered simply, they want to kill Iraqi people. They want to stop the freedom in Iraq.
The cost of freedom is always high in lives and limbs and dollars and cents. And we know in Iraq the future remains far from certain. Today, terrorists tried to send a message. Today, Iraqis tried to send one back.
I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
Leaked Videotape Investigated>
