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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Errant Bomb Kills U.S. Soldiers

Aired December 05, 2001 - 22:00   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.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again, everyone.

Maybe there will come a time when news like today doesn't cause that faint sick feeling in our stomach. Maybe as the war goes on and there are the inevitable casualties, it will somehow feel routine. It does happen. It happened in Vietnam, and it probably happened in World War II, so maybe it will happen again. But I hope not.

Three more Americans died in Afghanistan today. The fact that it was an American bomb that killed them is an important fact, but not the critical one at all. The critical fact is that they were out there in a perfectly hellish place doing what their country asked them to do. They weren't drafted into this mess. They volunteered.

And whatever you may think of the war or the politics, or the various battles over civil liberties and national security, whatever you think of those things, it doesn't change a single thing about today's news. It is terribly sad, and all of us grieve a little tonight for men we didn't know and for families we have never met.

Now the facts of the day. Five soldiers in all were killed, three of them, Americans, when a satellite bomb exploded nearby. Twenty more Americans were wounded, so were 10 opposition fighters. One of the wounded, Hamid Karzai, the Pashtun commander chosen to lead a transitional Afghan government. He suffered only minor injuries.

And from the White House today, another warning to Yasser Arafat. The president saying, you must act now to stop terrorism. From Israel, more evidence it won't be easy -- another bomber and more bloodshed.

But also today, this: The space shuttle Endeavour lifted off -- incredibly tight security in Florida -- heading for a rendez-vous with the International Space Statin. The first mission since the 11th of September. The breathtaking sight, no matter how many times you see it.

There is also news of anthrax tonight, real and fake. And we'll talk with the brother of the brother of the pilot whose plane crashed into the Pentagon. The family, as Larry mentioned, has been in an unpleasant dispute with the government over a burial plot at Arlington National Cemetery.

On matters other than war, we'll take a look at the Green River murder case in Seattle. A man was formally charged today in what may have been the worst case of serial murder in the country's history.

And we'll end the program tonight with a very important lesson for any of you thinking of making this your life's work: never mention a former girlfriend on the air. They -- and you know this is true -- have pictures. But that's the end.

For now, we begin, as is our custom, with a whip around the world and a check on the correspondents who are covering it all tonight. We start at the Pentagon, and Jamie McIntyre. Jamie, the headline from you, please.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, at the Pentagon tonight, Aaron, they are mourning the loss of three of the Army's finest soldiers -- three Green Berets from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, dead because of that errant bomb. And, as you mentioned, 20 other Americans wounded. Eighteen 18 Afghan friendly fighters wounded as well. Was it human error or a malfunctioning bomb? The Pentagon still doesn't know.

BROWN: Jamie, back to you very shortly. To the mountains of Afghanistan now, where the search for Osama bin Laden and others goes on. CNN's Ben Wedeman is there. Ben, a headline, please.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Aaron. It appears that anti-Taliban forces have begun to move against al Qaeda positions in the mountainous Tora Bora region south of Jalalabad, an area some believe where bin Laden might be hiding.

BROWN: Ben, thank you. Back to you as well.

Kelly Wallace at the White House, the Middle East on the president's mind. Kelly, the headline, please.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, President Bush sending maybe his most forceful message yet to the Palestinian leader, saying now is the time to show leadership and crack down a terrorism. Yasser Arafat sending a message as well on this day, saying give him a chance to show what he can do -- Aaron.

BROWN: Kelly, thank you.

Two sides of the anthrax story, one fiction, one almost science fiction. Each plenty frightening. Susan Candiotti working the anthrax story. Susan, you have to make two stories into one headline.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Aaron. I'll try. The fiction part of the headline: a suspect believed to be behind hundreds of anthrax hoax letters caught when he made a big mistake. The headline we all wish was science fiction has to do with anthrax that's all too real. That letter to Senator Leahy finally opened today -- no hoax here -- Aaron.

BROWN: Susan, thank you. Back with all of you shortly.

We have said often in the early days of the bombing, in particular, that for all the high-tech weapons the United States has, war remains an imperfect business. We said that when bombs accidentally hit civilians, or civilian targets, and we remind you of that tonight. These high-tech gizmos that can hit a single car in a traffic jam, and more often that not, do, can also fail. One may have failed today. And when that happens, the consequences are awful. Three American special op soldiers dead tonight, hit by a bomb they had called in for.

Back to the Pentagon and CNN's Jamie McIntyre. Jamie, good evening.

MCINTYRE: Well, Aaron, they call these smart bombs, but they say they're not genius bombs. Even the best technology, they say, fails -- succeeds at best, about 85 to 90 percent of the time. That's a pretty good batting average, but not perfect.

And tonight the Pentagon is trying to figure out what went wrong with this one today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): As the dead and more than two dozen wounded American and Afghan troops were flown into the U.S. Marine base southwest of the front lines, heavy press restrictions allowed only these pictures from far away. American pool reporters could see only wounded Afghan troops who were fighting the Taliban when the bombing accident occurred.

The three American dead are Army Green Berets from Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The Pentagon identified them as 39-year-old Master Sergeant Jefferson Donald Davis of Tennessee, 32-year-old Sergeant First Class Daniel Henry Petithory of Massachusetts, and 28-year-old Staff Sergeant Brian Cody Prosser of California.

According to Pentagon, a 2,000-pound satellite-guided bomb, dropped from a U.S. Air Force B-52, hit within 100 meters of where two teams of U.S. Army and Air Force special forces were helping opposition groups fighting the Taliban.

Someone on those teams radioed the target coordinates for the strike to the bomber crew. No one yet knows what went wrong.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The coordinates could have been wrong, in the first instance. They could have been transmitted incorrectly. They could have been received incorrectly. They could have been put into the fire control system incorrectly. And many other things could also have happened. There could be a bent fin on the weapon.

MCINTYRE: It's the second time an errant 2,000-pound has hit too close to friendly forces. Five U.S. special forces have been awarded purple hearts for injuries from a similar accident last week, near Mazar-e Sharif.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pull back. Pull back at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, guys, let's get out. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heads up! There's shrapnel inbound! Shrapnel inbound!

CAPTAIN PAUL, U.S. ARMY: I didn't hear anything. And all of a sudden -- I didn't hear an explosion or anything. It was just all of a sudden I could feel myself flying. And like I said, everything was brown. Once I hit the ground, my first thought was I just laid there in a little ball, because I was thinking OK, now something is going to land on top of me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Jamie, before you wrap up, stand by for a second, because we have a very narrow window to talk with our pool reporter, who is traveling with the Marines in Afghanistan. The pool reporter now is ABC News correspondent David Wright, and David joins us on the phone.

David, good morning to you. What can you report?

DAVID WRIGHT, CAMP RHINO, AFGHANISTAN: Aaron, I just heard that report there, and I can tell you that two of the dead bodies of the American soldiers were brought here to this base near Kandahar -- a U.S. Marines base, and given what military honors the soldiers here could.

The other soldier, we're given to understand, died en route to another medical facility elsewhere in the region. And as many as 20 Afghan soldiers also received some first aid treatment, some of it just triage, and they were sent -- the more serious cases -- to other medical facilities elsewhere. Some of the lighter cases were treated here and released.

And it was a pretty heavy scene for the Marines here. They have been busy setting up this base. And for some it was the first time it really hit home, just how serious the situation here is.

BROWN: David, how long have you been in, now?

WRIGHT: Not very long. We got in late last night, under cover of night. And the sun is just breaking in this part of the world, so I estimate we've been here for just a couple of hours. So we're just getting...

(CROSSTALK)

WRIGHT: Sorry?

BROWN: I'm sorry. I was going to ask if you could feel the difference before these deaths occurred and after, among the Marines that you're traveling with?

WRIGHT: No. All we can judge is by what one the soldiers told us, which is that -- one soldier said, you know, it had seemed before this that it was almost like a football game. They were setting up their base here and they were in a pretty lighthearted mood. And it feels pretty secure in this base, I must tell you. When they saw those two dead soldiers, he said, you know, it really hit home exactly how serious this is. Many of these soldiers, as you can imagine, are young boys who are just facing their first combat duty. So, it's a first opportunity for them to see this part of the world. And it really hit home for them...

BROWN: David...

WRIGHT: Just the seriousness of this mission.

BROWN: I'm sorry. David, we've got about 20 seconds left. You've been in and out of the country a lot. Does it feel significantly different to be with an American unit now?

WRIGHT: It's very different to be with an American unit, a lot more restrictions on our mobility. And on the other side, a sense of the U.S. mission here. You know, it will be interesting to see exactly what we are able to see with them. They are, of course, very concerned for our safety. And so they're keeping us on a very tight leash, as you can imagine.

BROWN: David, we're concerned for your safety, too. You've been a friend.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: David, thank you. David Wright, who is the pool reporter traveling with the Marines, on the telephone from outside of Kandahar.

Let me go back to the Pentagon. Jamie, I'm going to ask you to do something that's terribly unfair, for which I apologize. Go ahead and put a button on the story you were telling about the bomb that accidentally killed the Americans today.

MCINTYRE: Well, the only thing I would add at this point is that we do want to make note of the fact that this errant bomb also wounded Hamid Karzai, the man who has just been picked to head the interim government in Afghanistan. Although Pentagon officials described his injuries as a flesh wound -- he was up talking and seen in public -- the Pentagon believes he's just fine, but it was a close call there.

BROWN: Jamie, thank you. And again, sorry to interrupt you that way.

MCINTYRE: That's quite all right.

BROWN: We appreciate it. Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon.

A little more on this now. We're joined now by retired General David Grange, former special ops guy. The general joins is from Oak Brook, Illinois.

It's nice to see you again.

GEN. DAVID GRANGE, (RET), U.S. ARMY: Aaron.

BROWN: Essentially, an inevitable reality of war, what happened today?

GRANGE: Absolutely. For 30 years I've been a part of the service, there was fratricide, friendly fire incidents, in every conflict I'm aware of. It's an integral part of the face of battle. It's going to always be there.

BROWN: When something like this happens, what happens at the Pentagon? What sort of investigation will take place, can take place? Will they ever know what happened?

GRANGE: Well, there will be an investigation through the chain of command, in the field all the way up through Central Command, and then all the way back to the Pentagon. Not so much as a witch hunt, but to find out what went wrong so it can be corrected.

And like the secretary of defense stated earlier, it could have been a technological problem, with a bent fin. It could have been just something went wrong with the navigational system of the munitions. It could have been human error, from the ground controller on the ground calling in the location for the enemy target, or the transmittal of that into the munition delivery system on the aircraft by the pilots aboard.

Any technological advances that we had -- and we have many, we lead the world -- is subject to the human factor. And the human being is the strongest and weakest part of any system.

BROWN: When they call these strikes in -- we don't necessarily have to be specific on this one, because I'm not sure we know precisely the detail -- but when they call these strikes in, how close are they, or how close might they be to the target?

GRANGE: It depends on the munitions. It depends on a delivery system and the angle of attack. It varies on the size of the bomb -- a 500-pound bomb, 2,000-pound bomb, they have what's known as danger close. And usually you don't bring it in closer to the friendly forces. And let's say danger close may be 600 meters, for this particular munition.

Unless you're in a heavy fire fight, you may bring it in closer. I have done that in Vietnam. I've had people with me wounded from that in Vietnam. But it was the only way to kill the enemy, which were hugging our position. But those that call in fire know -- are trained in those distances.

BROWN: David, thank you. General, thank you. David Grange, joining us from Illinois tonight, thank you.

We did get our best look today yet at what the Americans are living through, the kinds of things that David Wright was talking about in the pool report, at that base outside of Kandahar.

Now, we've heard the words from David earlier, and from others who have been part of the pool, and they've been terrific. But pictures always help tell these sorts of stories. We've got some tonight. Here's CNN's Walter Rodgers. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two U.S. Marines on a hillside in southern Afghanistan, as the sun sinks below the horizon. A cobra attack helicopter flies northeast toward Kandahar, while Marine infantry beds down here.

Those on post take up positions in their machine gun and mortar nests. This is alpha company. Each Marine has night-vision goggles to scan the horizon. Kandahar is somewhere out there, though they are too far away to see the nightly bombing. Sergeant Jerry McPherson briefs his men.

SERGEANT JERRY MCPHERSON, MARINES: The thing about the desert, is there's a lot of dead space out there that you don't really see, just looking. It's real deceiving.

RODGERS: Another Marine checks out his .84-millimeter disposable antitank rocket, again, under his sergeant's mothering.

MCPHERSON: At nighttime you really -- the sights (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

RODGERS: These Marines are protecting the base from which other units have launched forth toward Kandahar. They have been left behind. Privately, they grumble they're being left out of the fight because, they say, the politicians in Washington don't want any Americans bloodied.

MCPHERSON: It's like kind of like a boxer, you know, trains for 20 years and never fights a fight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We trained for this, and we want a piece of the action. That's what grunts are. That's what we've been known for: going in, fighting, kicking some butt, as you can say.

RODGERS: Instead, they stand under the stars and bond in trenches, like soldiers have always done, and tell stories to keep their morale high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One guy though he saw a puma, but what it is, it's like a fox, or some type of wild dog. And I always thought a puma was a cat, so I don't think he saw a puma.

RODGERS: In these pictures, taken only by starlight, they talk about what concerns them most.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing I can think about is making it through this alive, and go home and see my wife and kids.

RODGERS: By dawn's first light, other Marines closer to the air base are already shaking off the cold, and vowing they would never fall asleep at their posts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Staying awake is a matter of discipline. If you fall asleep on watch, you let your buddies down. RODGERS (on camera): These Marines did have a full, 100 percent alert last night, everyone scrambling in the dark to grab their M-16 rifles and to get to their fighting holes. It turned out to be a false alarm. Someone said it might have been one of the stray camels that wanders through this camp at night.

Walter Rodgers with the U.S. Marines, in the southern Afghan desert.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: To the northeastern part of the country, the battle goes on there in the foothills of the area called Tora Bora. Anti-Taliban forces advancing on the ground, U.S. bombing from above. Some concerns among the Mujahedeen about how close those bombs are coming to them. But there is reason to believe they are having the desired effect. We're hearing reports of serious casualties among al Qaeda, including reports a son, one of many, of Osama bin Laden, may be among the dead.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is covering the search for bin Laden. Ben, good evening.

WEDEMAN: Good evening, Aaron.

According to one source in the Eastern Alliance, which is the anti-Taliban coalition in this area, as man as 12 al Qaeda members have been killed in that fighting. And there are also unconfirmed intelligence reports that one of the sons of Osama bin Laden has been killed. Bin Laden is believed to have as many as three wives and a least a dozen children.

Now, this is just the latest in a variety -- a long list of members of al Qaeda who have either been captured, wounded or killed. Mohammed Atef, one of top lieutenants in al Qaeda, is also reported to have been killed. Wounded, Ayman al-Zawahiri, also one of the top lieutenants -- a 50-year-old former surgeon from Egypt, said to have been wounded. And that comes just a few days after the reported capture of Ahmad Omar Abdu Rahman (ph), who is the son of Omar Rahman, who is being held in U.S. prison for involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

All this comes as the Eastern Alliance is building up as many as 3,000 troops to go over those al Qaeda forces in the tunnels and caves, in the very rugged Tora Bora area. There, advances being accompanied by intense U.S. bombing, by B-52s and other aircraft.

Just a little while ago this morning, we saw a B-52 fly overhead. And in fact, just a few minutes ago we saw another aircraft, not quite sure what kind that was, flying north from the Tora Bora region. So clearly, this is a new front, a very intense front. And the expectations are that fighting will intensify, today and in the coming days -- Aaron.

BROWN: One or two things, here. On these reports of people who may or may not have been injured, give us your best sense of the quality of the sourcing here.

WEDEMAN: Well, unfortunately, the intelligence is rather hard to confirm. Some of the sources are from these anti-Taliban forces, which we know in the past, have sometimes made rather exaggerated claims which...

(AUDIO GAP)

WEDEMAN: true. In other cases, for instance, the capture of Rahman, that is confirmed by U.S. forces. So it really depends what the source is, where it's coming from. But certainly, there's no question that the al Qaeda leadership infrastructure is suffering from what's now more than a month of bombing. And now, basically, the collapse -- almost the collapse of the Taliban -- Aaron.

BROWN: Ben, thank you. Ben Wedeman in Jalalabad, on the search for bin Laden tonight.

Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT: an arrest in a case of anthrax letters that weren't, which didn't make them any less frightening or the suspect any less dangerous. That story and more, as NEWSNIGHT continues, on Wednesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: There's a bit of evidence tonight that Yasser Arafat may be trying to put terrorism back in the box. Palestinian police say they've placed the leader of Hamas under house arrest. Then again, the leader in question is already terribly ill and confined to a wheelchair.

The move came after a warning from the White House about what needs to be done, and another suicide bombing, that shows just how tough this could be. CNN's Kelly Wallace joins us tonight from the White House, where she's got the duty. Kelly, nice to see you again.

WALLACE: Nice to see you, Aaron. Well, that latest suicide bombing at a downtown hotel in Jerusalem, leaving the bomber dead and six injured. And, Aaron, it comes on a day when the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, sent a message to President Bush. His message: give him a chance to show he is cracking down on Palestinian militants. That message, delivered in a letter to the Norwegian prime minister, which the prime minister delivered to President Bush during their meeting today.

Well, the White House says the president's views are not changed by that letter, and that the president continues to believe, as he forcefully stated today, that the onus is on the Palestinian leader to do everything in his power to find and arrest all suspected terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. Arafat must show leadership and bring those to justice, who would use murder as a weapon to derail peace and destroy innocent life. He must show leadership. Now is his time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And there are signs of growing frustration as well in the United States Congress. The House and the Senate both passing today nonbinding resolutions calling on President Bush to suspend ties with the Palestinian leader if he does not crack down on Islamic militants.

Now, Mr. Arafat, for his part, is appealing to the international community to pressure the Israelis to refrain from attacking Palestinian targets in response to the weekend's suicide bombings. The Norwegian prime minister, speaking to reporters, following his meeting with Mr. Bush, said that he spoke with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and he urged the Israeli leader to refrain from the further attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KJELL MAGNE BONDEVIK, NORWEGIAN PRIME MINISTER: I urged Prime Minister Sharon to end attacks on Palestinian targets, to give Arafat a chance, to test him so he can deliver what he has promised. And the president and I also agreed on this matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Now, the White House, for its part, continues to say little publicly about this issue, other than that Israel has a right to defend herself. But also, that the Israelis must realize there will be repercussions to their actions. One senior official saying, look, we keep reminding the Israelis there will be a tomorrow.

And as for tomorrow, Aaron, we know that the U.S. envoy in the region, retired Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni, is expected to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. It would be the first meeting between the two men since the weekend suicide bombings -- Aaron.

BROWN: Kelly, thanks. Kelly Wallace, on the lawn of the White House tonight.

Developments tonight on two sides of the anthrax story: the one involving anthrax and the one that doesn't. Police caught the man they say mailed out hundreds of letters claiming to be filled with anthrax -- a dangerous man with harmless letters. Then there's the letter mailed by who knows who. This one, so deadly, but so full of promising evidence, it's taken quite a while to figure out just how to open it.

CNN's Susan Candiotti is working both sides of the anthrax story tonight. And she joins us again from Washington. Good evening to you, Susan.

CANDIOTTI: Good evening, Aaron.

First, that deadly anthrax letter to Senator Patrick Leahy. Recovered 19 days ago, scientists finally opened the envelope and started carefully extracting the deadly spores inside, more than they've ever recovered before.

Tonight, CNN has learned the letter is still inside the envelope. However, a source says scientists have gotten just enough of a peek inside to get an early indication the letter does indeed appear to be at least similar to the letter sent to Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle. It's hoped the letter will be removed tomorrow.

Now, on to an anthrax hoax. Hundreds of letters that claimed to hold anthrax did not. Tonight authorities have their hands on the man they suspect is responsible. He didn't count on a female store clerk paying attention to those famous "wanted" posters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Sticking to old habits is apparently what did in anthrax hoax suspect, Clayton Lee Waagner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No question about it. He was a dangerous individual who is now behind bars.

CANDIOTTI: Aware Waagner liked to use Kinko's computers, U.S. Marshals blanketed Kinko's nationwide with his mug shot on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list. It paid off.

A Kinko's employee in the Cincinnati suburb of Springdale, Ohio recognized him. She called federal Marshals, who rushed in local police.

CHIEF MIKE LAGGE, SPRINGDALE, OHIO POLICE DEPT: When the officers entered, he started to exit.

CANDIOTTI: He didn't get away. Authorities say Waagner was armed and had $10,000 stuffed in his pockets. The FBI calls Waagner the prime suspect behind more than 500 anthrax hoax letters, sent to clinics performing abortions, since October.

One message read: "We deliver deadly bioweapons. We are going to kill you. This is your notice. Stop now or die." Planned Parenthood received hundreds of those letters with fake anthrax.

GLORIA FELDT, PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION: Clearly, he has a network. And he is the head of the snake. The rest of the snake is still out there.

CANDIOTTI: Waagner escaped from an Illinois prison last February. The FBI suspects he's behind a string of robberies, and found a pipe bomb in his abandoned car, Labor Day weekend. Almost two weeks ago, another abortion opponent, Neal Horsley, says he got a visit from Waagner in Georgia, and taped their conversation.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CLAYTON WAAGNER, SUSPECTED FOR ANTHRAX HOAX: I did the anthrax scares with the abortion clinics. I did all of them. NEAL HORSLEY, THE CHRISTIAN GALLERY: You did them all?

WAAGNER: Every single one...

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HORSLEY: While he was here, he had Fedex packing slips, with the of addresses of Planned Parenthood offices and the numbers of Planned Parenthood Fedex accounts. And he brought those items because he intended for people to know that he had done the anthrax mailings.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Waagner appears in court tomorrow in Cincinnati. Authorities say if convicted of the charges they anticipate filing, Waagner could spend the rest of his life in prison -- Aaron.

BROWN: Susan, thank you. Susan Candiotti in Washington.

When we come back, a pilot who died a hero on the 11th of September, and his family's fight to have him buried as one. We'll talk to his brother, when NEWSNIGHT continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Charles Burlingame died on September 11. Though precisely how he died we don't really know. He was the pilot on the plane that was hijacked, and crashed into the Pentagon. But of course he was more than that. He was also a brother and a husband. He flew Navy jets for 8 years, was in the reserves for 17. Tonight his family is in a dispute with the government about his burial at Arlington National Cemetery. It is a complicated story and Captain Burlingame's brother Brad was kind enough to come in tonight.

Nice to see you.

BRAD BURLINGAME, BROTHER OF CHARLES BURLINGAME III: Thank you.

Aaron: This is all in play right now and people all over Washington are talking about it. Essentially there's a rule that says unless you're 60-year-old...

BURLINGAME: As a retired reservist, unless you reach the age of 60 you are ineligible to be buried at Arlington.

BROWN: And, speaking now as the U.S. government, why should that rule be changed?

BURLINGAME: We respect the rules. My family grew up in the military and growing up with a chief master sergeant who instructed those rules on a daily basis we were very respectful of them. But we think that September 11 is an extraordinary circumstance. Frankly, I think the rule is wrong and I believe that there are legislators on Capitol Hill who feel that way as well, particularly the senators that we have been working with, and I think eventually that rule may be changed. But September 11 was an extraordinary day. And my brother was killed in an extraordinary manner and it's those circumstances that we believe warrant an exception.

BROWN: There was, I gather this has been kind of a negotiation, sort of an uncomfortable to apply here, but the Pentagon, or the Army, or the cemetery, all of these people offered up a compromise of sorts. Why not accept it?

BURLINGAME: Well, it's not a compromise. What is available to us, is that our brother would be buried with my father and mother. And in some ways that's appealing us to. That's sacred ground for us at Arlington. That option for us would be available if he was not involved with September 11 at all. If my brother had died in his living room at home that option would be available.

Again, I think it is because the fact that he died the way he did, knowing that he was in combat literally with those terrorist on the plane trying to protect not only the aircraft, his passengers, his crew members, but we actually have resources that lead us to believe it may have prevented him from the terrorist from taking that plane into the capital or the White House as well. That these were extraordinary measures my brother was put under and it is those circumstance that warrant his being considered for this.

BROWN: Tell me one thing, I know that Senator Allen has been helpful in this, others. Tell me where the process is, at least as best as you can understand it.

BURLINGAME: It is still being developed. I have great trust that it will be worked out. Senator Warner, Senator Allen, Senator Santorum, Senator Specter, senators from California where I'm from, Congressman Frank Wolf, other congressman have been trying to make this happen. I do know that Senator Allen, specifically and notably, whose office has been working tirelessly in this regard, has reached out to the White House, and I know that Senator Allen's office is in contact with them, and I believe that that outreach will result in success.

But I want to go back to something about that option, about his burial with our mother and father. One of difficult choices about that is that in order to do that, his wife, his widow Sherry (ph) , my sister-in-law, she would have to relinquish her privileges to be buried with her husband. The stories I have heard that that may be unprecedented in the history of Arlington and it is something she still anguishes to this day and has not relinquished to this point.

BROWN: You know, I think can, all of us here, can only hope it works out in a way that makes the family happy. The family has obviously suffered enough. And our condolences to you and your family members and thanks for coming in.

BURLINGAME: Thank you, Aaron.

BROWN: It's nice to meet you.

BURLINGAME: Nice to meet you.

BROWN: Thank you. We'll continue in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Prosecutors in King County, Washington, suburban Seattle today, formally filed aggravated murder charges against Gary Leon Ridgeway, a man now suspected of being the Green River Killer. As many as 49 women died in the Seattle area over a long period in the 80s. This has been enormously difficult for investigators, but they now believe they have the break they waited a long time for. Thomas Guillen teaches journalism these days, but back a few years ago when I first met him, he was a reporter at the "Seattle Times" and literally wrote the book on the Green River investigations. He joins us from Seattle tonight.

Nice to see you. Are you surprised they finally made an arrest?

THOMAS GUILLEN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, SEATTLE UNIVERSITY: Yes I am. I thought it was going to go unsolved like Jack the Ripper, or the Zodiac case of San Francisco. And they didn't have a lot of evidence, so I was surprised they made an arrest.

BROWN: Were they, up to this point, and as you know, I've been out of this story now for 10 years sins I left there, were they ever close to making an arrest of anyone?

GUILLEN: They made several arrests. They just couldn't build a case around it. This gentlemen they rested they thought he was one of the top suspects. They had a lot of circumstantial evidence against him, and I believe they would have charged him back in 1987, when they served the search warrant, but they just didn't have any physical evidence.

BROWN: And for people who might not have been following the case in the last few days, what made the difference? What made the case?

GUILLEN: When they went after him in 1987 they served a search warrant and were able to get a saliva sample and other evidence and when DNA came along and the technology advanced, they went ahead and did some tests on that saliva, and came up with a match to a young lady named Karen Christiansen (ph) , who is on the list of victims and two other young ladies, and then a fourth one, they charged him with circumstantial evidence.

BROWN: And again, for people who have not followed the case, all of the victims or almost all of them, at least as I recall it, were prostitutes who worked around the airport and thereabouts?

GUILLEN: A good number of them were prostitutes, but a good number were simply teenagers who were lost, dysfunctional, running away, lived the street life, near drugs and prostitution, so they became targets, too.

BROWN: Have you talked to police about this, in the last couple days?

GUILLEN: No, I haven't. Basically I've been in the background, getting information on some of the, possibly, more victims post-1984. BROWN: And you know a lot of these cops. They must be off the wall, excited that they finally, after all this time, 15, 16 years believe they got their man.

GUILLEN: They are very excited. They're jumping up for joy. And I hope it all pans out. They've got him on 4, hopefully they'll find the evidence to link him to two more of the cases, and I think everybody has to be reminded, though, that there's a judicial system and they have to be careful with that. And hopefully he is the man, but they are very excited.

BROWN: I bet they are. Thomas, nice to see you again. We see you're doing honest work, teaching these days. We appreciate your time, tonight. Thomas Guillen joining us from Seattle, tonight.

In a minute, the risky business of learning, learning English under the Taliban, that is. NEWSNIGHT on Wednesday.

BROWN: We found a story in Afghanistan that is really about simple acts of courage. It is a story that tells you a lot about the people involved, and a little bit about the importance of United States, even in a remote corner of the world. It's reported for us, tonight, by CNN's Jason Bellini

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sadika (ph) Almadi (ph) sees her school, and it is her school, as a way out. Out of the fate she refuses to accept, a life knitting carpets.

(on camera): Is it boring?

Yes, it's really boring. But what you can do?

BELLINI (voice-over): The Taliban only let boys attend school, and only then to study the Koran, so two years ago, Sadika became a self-taught teacher. She opened her own school for English in her home.

ALMADI: There is the newspaper. All of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) newspapers.

BELLINI (on camera): You give tests?

(voice-over): Boys and girls secretly attended, until the Taliban discovered her, shut her down and beat her father.

ALMADI: And they want to punish me also. But my father didn't let them punish me. He said for the Taliban, I'm proud of me -- my daughter is teaching English.

BELLINI: Her father is proud, but also practical. Has no job, he needs his daughter's help.

(on camera): When you're making carpets, do you dream about things? What do you think about? ALMADI: I'm thinking about my knowledge, and I always when I knit a carpet, I'm very absent about because I lose my knowledge, and in this situation we have to knit carpet.

BELLINI (voice-over): Under the Taliban, most girls rarely left their homes. Sadikah was no exception. When she wasn't reading, teaching or knitting carpets she would sometimes listen to music or watch movies. Forbidden activities under the Taliban.

(on camera): Did you have to keep these hidden from the Taliban?

ALMADI: Yes, I hide from them.

BELLINI: Where?

ALMADI: Under the ground.

BELLINI: Under the ground?

ALMADI: Yes.

BELLINI: Where under the ground?

ALMADI: On our hall -- yard.

BELLINI: Really, can you show me?

ALMADI: Yes.

BELLINI: You kept your music where?

ALMADI: Here. Besides the musical cassettes there under the ground.

BELLINI (voice-over): Her courses bring in some income, but not enough to save her from the carpet loom. When she has a little extra money she spends it on books. Expanding horizons of her mind make it that much harder to accept societies expectations.

(on camera): What kind locket?

ALMADI: Gold locket.

BELLINI: From boyfriends.

ALMADI: No, I don't have any boyfriends.

BELLINI: Why not? Why no boyfriends?

ALMADI: I don't like.

My parents got me and get -- got.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She sees now I'm engaged by my parents to someone.

ALMADI: But I'm not happy about this. I'm so nervous.

BELLINI: Do you know him? Have you met him?

ALMADI: Yes, he's my cousin.

BELLINI: Have you ever been outside of Kabul?

ALMADI: No.

BELLINI: Sadikah's dreams have no boarders.

ALMADI: Also, I like a lot to be a flight attendant.

BELLINI: A flight attendant?

ALMADI: Yes, because of, I want to travel a lot, and meet interesting people.

BELLINI (voice-over): Teaching makes it all seem possible. Perhaps helping her to forget what's next door to her classroom. The carpet loom Jason Bellini, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: When NEWSNIGHT returns, two moments frozen in time, December 7 remembered today. Just a stone's throw and a million years from September 11.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Imagine what it will be like, 60 years from now, when survivors of September 11 gather to remember those attacks. And then think what it must have been like today for the people who gathered aboard the USS New Jersey. They came to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, on the 85th day after September 11. Invitations billed the annual event as a discussion of both days. And it's hard not to think of one when you think of the other.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

REP. ROBERT ANDREWS (D), NEW JERSEY: Eleven years ago we started this event as a way to say thank you to the Pearl Harbor generation. I look at this event as inspiration. I hope our generation can rise to the occasion the way the Pearl Harbor generation rose to its occasion and rid the world of a terrible scourge.

DOMINIC GENTILE, PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR: We heard this bombings, and we said boy, that's a hell of a way for the Army, Air Force to have maneuvers on Sunday mornings. Because we were right next door the Hickam Field. And as they dropped the bombs, they swung around and the next thing you know, they start straight for us, so I was on one of the destroyer that was on fire.

And a sailor came, rushed up from below decks. So, to stop him from jumping overboard, because at that time the water was on fire, I pulled him and he pulled and the only thing that remained in my hand was his skin. His flesh was burned. He jumped overboard you know so he burned to death. We picked up the sailors that were wounded and burned and the Marines and brought them to the hospital. And we worked for a couple days, we didn't get to take a shower for about 3 days, and that's when I started shaking.

I looked in the men's room and looked in the toilet and saw what I looked like. You would be believe it. I was black, my clothes were all bloody and black from the smoke.

ANDREWS: I think that the World War II generation are the heroes of the present, not the heroes of the past. They have a lesson to teach us about casting aside your personal feelings and personal ambitions and doing what your country needs you to do. It's a lesson that those firefighters and police officers learned in New York City which is why they went into the buildings when they were collapsing.

GENTILE: When I saw that, saw the plane hit, I really felt real awful. Then the smoke and all, it reminded me of Pearl Harbor. The Arizona and everything, the other ships that were burning. And I just figure, you know, this is it, just like you did in Pearl Harbor. I said, this is it. I feel, like I said, I feel sorry for the ones that found these burned bodies and had to smell them, because they will never get rid of that smell. That smell will stay with them the rest of their lives.

ANDREWS: December 7, 1941 was the beginning of end for Naziism. I think that we will look back and see September 11, 2001 as the beginning of the end for terrorism. The country rallied after Pearl Harbor and it became invincible. And I see the same thing happening now with respect to terrorism.

GENTILE: As a nation right now, we're kind of united. You see everybody flying flags. The best thing that I remember that day is our flag flying in front of the hospital. And I went, that's my early memory of Pearl Harbor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Anniversary two days from now. That was the work of NEWSNIGHT producer, Katherine Mitchell (ph) . Nicely done.

When we come back, well let me just say, get out your pencil because we have a very important email address for you to write down. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Finally tonight, I just want to say that it is not about me. Well, actually, it is about me, but it is not about my feelings. It is about your feelings about me. You with me? Here we go. One of our beloved staff members here at NEWSNIGHT discovered that the "Atlanta Journal Constitution," which is sort of CNN's home town paper, by the way, is running an on-line poll to find out which CNN anchor is the sexiest. I'm not kidding about this.

There is Bill Hemmer, you can see him there, Nic Roberston, John King, Larry is there, for goodness sakes. But little old me, the guy featured in "People" and "TV Guide," guest on "The Daily Show," soon to be sitting next to Rosie, where am I? Nowhere, that's where -- not even listed. Couldn't vote for me if you wanted to.

Now I don't mind losing, well actually, I do mind losing, but this is unfair. And I hope you'll agree, not because I am desperate to be considered the sexiest anchor at CNN, Larry wins that, it's just a matter of principle.

And then one other note. Have you ever heard the expression, "be careful, they have pictures?" It turns out to be true. On Friday's program on the Beatles I mentioned the only four high school dates I had. I mentioned Nancy and Diane, Marsha, and I mentioned Christina.

Christina was watching. Christina laughed. Christina had pictures. Girls save this stuff, guys. So, since I blindsided her, it seemed only fair to my friend and producer David Bohrman, that I get a taste of my own medicine; 1965, I was a geek even then. Had dark circles, she was adorable, and smart, and still is. Not just for saving the picture, but knowing that we would probably use it.

We'll see you tomorrow at 10:00.

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