Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown
Bush: War Far From Finish Line; Investigators Doubt Richard Reid Acted Alone
Aired December 28, 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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening and welcome to NEWSNIGHT. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington, in for Aaron Brown.
We still have days to go, but it's hard not to have an eye on New Year's, a good time as it is every year to reflect, a lot to reflect on this New Year. Auld Lang Syne, the good old times, takes on a new significance when you think about what's happened since September 11th.
Out with the old, in with the new could almost be a rallying cry for a nation trying to move on.
President Bush today said what we'd all like to see happen in the new year. "I hope 2002 is a year of peace." But he added this: "I'm also realistic."
Hard not to be when you watch what's playing out between India and Pakistan right now. Eyewitnesses say both sides continue to move equipment and troops to the border in Kashmir, but there were a few positive developments today. We'll have more on that coming up.
An eerie image to say the least of a horrific moment, the World Trade Center seen 240 miles up on Space Station Alpha on September 11th.
And in Buffalo, New York the snow that just wouldn't quit, more than six feet on the ground. The mayor stranded out of town said today, "it hasn't stopped and we can't get ahead of it."
Coming up, we'll also continue our look at leaders and their evolution since that day. Tonight, the one that perhaps has been the most dramatic, that of President Bush. And another evolution, a widow of September 11th who's become a leader as well for families of the victims.
But we begin tonight with the whip, to see what our reporters are covering, and that brings us first to Tora Bora. That's in Afghanistan and that's where CNN's Nic Robertson is -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, special forces appear to have pulled some of their people off the mountains here. They've been seen leaving in small convoys. Also in Afghanistan, divisions within Afghanistan's new interim government. Some ministers want to see an end to the U.S. led bombing here -- Wolf.
BLITZER: OK Nic, we'll be back to you. The tensions meanwhile between India and Pakistan continue. CNN's Kamal Hyder is following that from Bedian. That's in Pakistan -- Kamal.
KAMAL HYDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the deployment of forces on both sides is more or less complete, and the central plains of the Punjab, full of fog and of course the mist surrounding the animosity and the confusion between India and Pakistan once again. Back to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Kamal, and we'll check back with both Nic and Kamal in just a few moments. But we begin right here at home in Boston. It was there today that the suspected shoe bomber, Richard Reid, made his first court appearance. So far, he only faces relatively minor charges, but he is suspected of much more than that.
Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A judge refused a defense request to remove handcuffs from alleged shoe bomber, Richard Reid, in court and for now, bond denied.
CHARLES PROUTY, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: The FBI is continuing to conduct a thorough and aggressive investigation, both here at home and abroad, and our goal at the end is to know everything that there is to know about Mr. Reid.
CANDIOTTI: According to a U.S. government official, Reid told the FBI he made the alleged sneaker bombs alone, a claim investigators doubt is true. The FBI and other sources outline some of the bombs components. PETN, a highly volatile powder; TATP, a dangerous chemical cocktail that would have acted as a detonator; Plastic type chemicals used to mold the explosive; and a safety fuse filled with black powder.
Reid was seated in a Row 29 window seat aboard the American Airlines 767. If the alleged detonation worked an FBI agent testified, it could have been catastrophic.
MICHAEL SULIVAN, U.S. ATTORNEY: She described the extent of the damage potentially causing a hole in the fuselage if the sneakers were put against the fuselage.
CANDIOTTI: A U.S. government official tells CNN, TATP was used in a bomb in 1994 that blew a hole in the floor of a Philippines Airline, killing one man and injuring six others.
But where did the bomb components come from, and how did Reid with no steady job pay for all his travels?
SULLIVAN: Based on the information that's been gathered to date, he has no roots in any community in the world.
CANDIOTTI: One of Reid's trips last July was to Israel. El Al Airline searched Reid and his shoes, but won't say why. Investigators suggest Reid could have been scouting targets.
He stops in the Netherlands, Belgium and France. He also bought tickets to Egypt and friends say he traveled to Pakistan. Congressman John Mica has been briefed by U.S. government investigators.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHN MICA, FLORIDA: From the information I have, he had tested systems before. Whether he had explosive devices on him at the time or traces, I do not know, but again a very sophisticated operation, not a stand alone operator in my opinion.
CANDIOTTI: Reid's mother in England.
LESLEY HUGHES, RICHARD REID'S MOTHER: I have no knowledge of this matter. As any mother would be, I'm obviously deeply shocked and concerned at the allegations being made against Richard.
CANDIOTTI: While investigators hunt for any possible link to a terrorist group, prosecutors have until late next month to decide whether to bring additional charges. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
BLITZER: A new development as well today in the case of Zacarius Moussaoui. He's the alleged September 11th conspirator who had at least a fuzzy connection to Richard Reid.
The judge in the case has laid out a timetable that puts off a trial until at least April at the earliest, granting a request from both sides for more time to prepare.
Prosecutors have until March 29th to say whether they'll seek the death penalty. His mother, who arrived yesterday from France, spent the day with her son's legal team. She spoke to the news media this evening.
MRS. MOUSSAOUI, MOTHER OF ZACARIUS MOUSSAOUI: I share your pain and suffering of all the people who have suffered from September 11th. I'm telling you this from the bottom of my heart, because before I knew that my son was implicated in this affair, I cried for the people who have lost their loved ones. So believe me, I am sincere and I am a mother.
BLITZER: And back to Afghanistan now, a lot of action today at the airport in Kandahar. Preparations for a change in guard from the marines to the army, as well as another batch of prisoners, 25 of them al Qaeda warriors picked up on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. That brings the number of prisoners at this location to 62, with room for perhaps 40 more. Sources tell CNN, some are talking already and all of them are described as being scared.
Also, signs that marines here won't be here much longer. They're getting ready to hand things over to the army. Members of the 101st Airborne, we're told. Twenty-six cargo flights arrived today, touching down on a runway the marines patched up. On board, supplies and an advance team of GIs.
Marines aren't the only ones on the move, so are Special Forces. They appear to be leaving Tora Bora, perhaps to search elsewhere for Osama bin Laden. Add to the mix more reports saying Osama bin Laden long since has fled the country, and you've got a few questions.
So once again, we turn to CNN's Nic Robertson for some of the answers. -- Nic.
ROBERTSON: Wolf, first of all, those Special Forces were seen coming down off the mountainside behind me here. Just yesterday, Afghanistan time, they were in two groups.
They were riding, some of them, all terrain vehicles, the 4-wheel type motorbikes that are good for access in this rugged terrain, also with pickup vehicles. All the vehicles appeared to be fully loaded with equipment, indicating that perhaps they are moving off this mountain.
They were going in the direction northwards towards the city of Jalalabad, not clear if they were headed there or perhaps skirting around the foot of the mountain to go somewhere else.
What we have also noticed here in the last 24 hours, there have been no over flights by aircraft. In the past, we have seen and heard fighters and bombers fly over here, also surveillance aircraft. We've seen none of that.
And also, what has become a nighttime signature of the U.S. Special Forces presence here in this area, has been nighttime helicopter flights. We have heard none of those in the previous 24 hours.
So perhaps this is an indication that the Special Forces are beginning to move their attention somewhere else, perhaps indicative of the fact that some elements inside the Afghan government say that Osama bin Laden has moved now outside of Afghanistan to Pakistan.
These statements are difficult to confirm because there have been no concrete sightings of Osama bin Laden, perhaps an indication here also of divisions within side of Afghanistan's government. The head of the government, Hamid Karzai, says he can't confirm these reports that Osama bin Laden may have fled.
Other divisions also within the Afghan government, the same elements who have been trying to reduce the number of international peacekeepers inside Afghanistan, the same elements who have been saying Osama bin Laden has fled, that is from the defense ministry and from the interior ministry.
Both positions held by Northern Alliance leaders, also saying that they would like to see the U.S. led bombing campaign here end. Hamid Karzai, the head of the interim government has met with tribal leaders to discuss this. But in recent days he, himself, has said that he sees U.S. operations here continuing for some time to come. Wolf. BLITZER: Nic, as we spoke earlier, you said we can't really ignore all these steady stream of reports coming out that Osama bin Laden may indeed have bought his way out of Afghanistan into Pakistan. Give us some context, some perspective on all these reports which seem to be increasing presumably by the hour.
ROBERTSON: Indeed they can't be ignored at all, because there is, as has been provided to us, no concrete information, and the fact that there is now more and more speculation Osama bin Laden could have gone to Pakistan, and as that is a very realistic place that he could have fled to, 15 miles from the al Qaeda camp in the mountains here behind me, he could in fact have gone there.
But there are in all these reports, not only local interest being pursued here, but also national interests inside Afghanistan. At a local level, one of the commanders here implicated of being used by Osama bin Laden to buy his way out of Afghanistan and into Pakistan.
In the recent days, he has indeed turned over somebody under his command, accused of the same thing. And also this same commander here, Haji Mohammed Zaman, is also in a power struggle with another commander here, Hazrat Ali.
So all these implications that one of them may have been helping Osama bin Laden, difficult to know if they're true, difficult to know if there's local power plays.
At an international level, again the ministries who are putting forward the most speculation that Osama bin Laden has fled to Pakistan, are ministries run by Northern Alliance leaders.
This is not to say they don't have reliable and credible information, but these are the same leaders that have called for an end to U.S. bombing, the same leaders who have pushed for a minimal international peacekeeping force inside Afghanistan. Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic Robertson on the scene in Tora Bora for us, thank you very much. Meanwhile, President Bush is over at the ranch in Crawford, Texas. He got a visit today from General Tommy Franks, and a briefing from him on the war.
The President also weighed in on bin Laden and seemed to change his take on him a little bit. Here's CNN White House Correspondent Major Garrett.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The President and his commanding general said the war in Afghanistan is far from over.
BUSH: I imagine us being there for quite a long period of time, but my timetable is going to be set by Tommy Franks.
GARRETT: Franks said there are still stubborn pockets of armed Taliban and al Qaeda resistance, something he experienced firsthand while flying recently over Afghanistan.
GENERAL TOMMY FRANKS, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: I have been told since I took that helicopter ride that someone took a shot at the helicopter. I didn't see it when it happened and I believe it may have happened.
GARRETT: As for Osama bin Laden, the President said the question is not where is he, but what's become of him.
BUSH: This is a guy who three months ago was in control of a country. Now he's maybe in control of a cave.
GARRETT: The President also said no final decisions have been made on military tribunals, and what rules would be applied for jury verdicts. American, turned al Qaeda fighter, John Walker Lindh will face a civilian court and stern justice, the President said.
BUSH: Walker made a terrible decision, and our system is such that he'll have proper justice. But, you know, he's working with the enemy and we'll see how the courts deal with that.
GARRETT: The President's also keeping a close eye on India and Pakistan, where two allies in the War on Terror have been inching toward war with each other. The President said Pakistan has moved against terrorist groups India believes launched a deadly mid-December attack on its Parliament, actions the President said should lower tensions.
BUSH: I'm pleased to note that President Musharraf has announced the arrest of 50 extreme terrorists, extremists or terrorists, and I hope India takes note of that.
GARRETT (on camera): The President said domestic terror attacks remain an ever present threat, and he praised an American Airlines flight attendant who foiled a suicide bomb mission last week, evidence the President said, that America's resolve to defeat terror is stronger than ever. Major Garrett, CNN, Crawford, Texas.
BLITZER: As we just saw, the President has General Tommy Franks. We're grateful for the company of another retired U.S. Army General David Grange. He joins us once again tonight, this time from Madison, Wisconsin.
General Grange, Tommy Franks early on in the first few weeks of this U.S. air campaign, he was being severely criticized by some critics. Now he seems to have done a brilliant job. Give us your assessment of how he's handled this military campaign.
GENERAL DAVID GRANGE, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well I believe, we talked earlier many different times about General Franks, and everybody was concerned about he wasn't prosecuting this war fast enough. Many people said "hold on, you know. Let him fight his fight." And obviously it's working out very well.
And I believe that it couldn't be better. I don't think there's a specific time line. I think they have a sequence of events they want to accomplish. Sometimes certain events take a little longer than others, but they see the beginning there, reaching their final objectives.
BLITZER: It seems like the combination of powerful, the use of airpower combined with selected ground forces, Special Operations Forces, the marines that we've seen in the southern part of Afghanistan, that seems to have been a very effective pattern in this case. But is it applicable in other cases in this War on Terrorism?
GRANGE: Every conflict is different, and I believe that the synchronization of the air and the ground was key to making this happen. If it was air alone, you would not have had the effects that was achieved. If it was ground alone, you would not have had the effects.
And a combination is essential to any conflict, but the amounts of ground, the amounts of air is going to change depending on what kind of fight that you're in. And what's key is that complimentary ground-air mix of whatever type the commander deems appropriate for that fight.
BLITZER: But as you know, there are still going to be critics who are going to harp, they're going to complain, the U.S. still has not found Osama bin Laden, still has not found the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar. How difficult is it to find these individuals in this kind of war?
GRANGE: I believe it's obviously very difficult. In the past, you know, some of the bad characters that our nation and some of our allies have been involved in running down, Chez Guevarra as an example in South America. You had Carlos, the notorious terrorist from the '70s. You've had some drug lords in South America.
Eventually, they come down. They're taken down. And the key thing is not letting him operate to his capability, not letting him influence his forces, his plans. And I think even though you don't have bin Laden, if you keep him from operating, coordinating and communicating with his lieutenants, with his forces, then you've accomplished a good part of your mission.
BLITZER: General David Grange, thanks for joining us.
GRANGE: My pleasure. Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you. And ahead on NEWSNIGHT, the very latest on what's been called the most dangerous spot in the world, Kashmir, fought over by both India and Pakistan twice before. Is a third war likely now?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: There was one report today from the Associated Press that brought home the personal drama of the crisis between India and Pakistan. An elderly Indian woman weeping and saying goodbye to her Pakistani brother before the two nations cut off rail service, afraid that a new war could keep them apart perhaps forever. Of course, the key question is whether there will be a war. Today for the first time in a while, there was at least one hopeful sign. Pakistan's President said he's willing to meet with India's Prime Minister at an Asian Summit next week.
CNN's Kamal Hyder joins us now on the videophone from Bedian, Pakistan with the latest -- Kamal.
HYDER: Wolf, since the last few days there has been heavy deployment by the Indian army and by the Pakistan army. The Pakistan army saying that they are deploying as a countermeasure to beef up their defenses, and saying that the Indians are upping the ante so to speak, and apprehensions that this is dangerous (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at a time when there is a major war going on in Afghanistan, and that Pakistan has deployed for the first time on the western border. So a lot of apprehension and unhappiness as far as ordinary people are concerned there in the Punjab and on the international boundary -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Is there a real fear over there though that the hostilities could escalate into something really much worse?
HYDER: The fear is very much. Do not forget that these are two nuclear powers, and two third-world nuclear powers with passions running high and historic animosity between these two countries.
The people are very, very apprehensive. Yesterday on the border, we could see the Indian population, the Indian public, little children and women all dressed up and coming to the Pakistani border, and likewise on the Pakistani side. And then they sit across the border, literally as if they're going to some sort of a stadium, and then they shout, you know, slogans from each other. I mean (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
But of course there is always an atmosphere of, a jovial sort of atmosphere. People shout at each other. But for the first time, you could see the tension that people were not talking across the line. No smiles across the line of divide here. Wolf.
BLITZER: And Kamal, how about perspective from a historic standpoint. There's been tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir for 50 years. How much more serious is this particular standoff right now?
HYDER: It is indeed very, very serious. The deployment on both sides is very heavy. The Pakistanis continuously saying that they're on the defensive and all indications are that they are indeed on the defensive.
But at a time like this, particularly when both powers have nuclear weapons, then obviously those apprehensions are raised considerably. People are afraid because a nuclear war in this region, should it ever come to that, would be a catastrophe for one of the poorest nations on earth to be fighting against each other with such huge armies and with such awesome weapons. Wolf.
BLITZER: Kamal Hyder, thank you very much for joining us. And of course, we always hear about India and Pakistan. They're always referred to as "perennial enemies" fighting over the same land they've been fighting over for decades.
But in this go around, as Kamal just pointed out, the strategic calculus is much different. These rivals are now indeed nuclear rivals. And how would the United States respond if the tension goes any further? American priorities and relations with Pakistan have changed very dramatically since September 11th.
Joining us now with more perspective, Sumit Ganguly. He's a professor of government and Asian studies at the University of Texas in Austin. He joins us now, live. Professor, you studied this region for a long, long time. Is it really realistic in your mind to assume that a nuclear confrontation between these two rivals is possible?
SUMIT GANGULY, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN: Well it's certainly possible, but I don't think it is likely. I think both India and Pakistan understand, and more particularly their key decision makers understand the awesome responsibility that they are now faced with.
That while they may deploy conventional forces along the border, nuclear weapons are a completely different matter, and the risks and the dangers that nuclear war poses, as you correspondent Kamal Hyder correctly pointed out, are absolutely staggering.
And this is a lesson that is not lost on decision makers on either side of the border.
BLITZER: But as you well know, Professor, in a conventional confrontation, India has overwhelming military strength over Pakistan, which in turn if the Indians use that, that could force the Pakistanis to use what might be their last ace up their sleeves, a nuclear strike, or at least a nuclear deterrent. That's the great fear, isn't it?
GANGULY: That is precisely the fear; however that said, I doubt that the Indians would do anything that would place the Pakistanis in such a corner that feeling so acutely trapped, that the Pakistanis would consider resort to nuclear weapons.
Bear in mind, this is not the first crisis that India and Pakistan have faced since they crossed the nuclear rubicon in May, 1998. The first crisis that India and Pakistan had faced, nuclear armed crisis, was in 1999 during the Cargil War, and neither side resorted to event he threat of the use of nuclear weapons, despite some loose talk from both capitols.
BLITZER: Is there an outside party that can calm down this situation effectively, that has the confidence of both the government - both governments in Pakistan and India?
GANGULY: Frankly, the only outside party that can command the confidence of both capitols and also has the requisite political will and the necessary political resources, is the United States. Without an American role, I think there is a real danger that things through misjudgment, miscalculation could go wrong and one could conceivably end up in a conventional war, though one certainly hopes not a nuclear war.
BLITZER: As you know, the leaders of both countries are expected to meet early in January at that South Asian Summit in Nepal. Do you think that they will get together, the Prime Minister of India and the President of Pakistan, and sit down and try to work things out?
GANGULY: It might be possible for the two to meet in Kathmandu during the SAARC Summit. That's the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. It is possible that they could meet there, but prior to that, Pakistan I think has to show a little more good faith than it has shown still today, because merely placing these individuals, and by these individuals I specifically mean people who have been accused of being involved in some of these recent terrorist acts, most importantly the attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13th.
Merely placing them under house arrest, I don't think will enable Prime Minister Vajpayee to be able to go to his people and say that Pakistan has demonstrated sufficient good faith, which will now should enable me to go meet with General Musharraf.
I think some of these individuals, I fear, difficult at this may be for General Musharraf, will have to be handed over to India to demonstrate that Pakistan is indeed making a firm commitment to putting an end to support for terror. I recognize that this is not an easy task for General Musharraf.
BLITZER: Sumit Ganguly, thank you very much for joining us tonight from Austin, Texas.
GANGULY: My pleasure.
BLITZER: And coming up on NEWSNIGHT, the making of a new world order under a new President Bush perhaps, the world after September 11th. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: There was a column a while back by Tom Friedman in the New York Times. A Pakistan friend had asked a question he couldn't answer. How come Americans are so good at selling Coke and McDonald's to people all over the world, but can't sell their policies?
You could have asked that question before September 11th, but it's become a much more urgent question to answer after that day, extremely tough, probably impossible to answer.
But one journalist has taken an in-depth look at America's role now, and it's message on the global stage. Marcus Mabry is the senior editor at Newsweek International. He joins us now from New York. Well, give us the answer to the question, why is it so hard for the United States to sell its policies around the world? MARCUS MABRY, SENIOR EDITOR, NEWSWEEK INTERNATIONAL: Well I think, Wolf, as you said it's a much more critical question, critically important after September 11th, because I think for the first time, Americans who by and large felt that we were a benign superpower on the global stage, realize that there are many people who indeed resent or fear our dominance in the world, and in fact those who hate us.
So therefore, how do we go about changing that view of America, that predominates in far too much of the planet, not only just in countries where there's a threat of Islamic fundamentalism, but even in countries that are ostensibly allied to the United States.
BLITZER: You've -- you've seen a change, though, since September 11, in the way the United States is conducting its foreign policy?
MABRY: We have seen change. The question remains, though, how truly important that change will be. Will it be superficial change to work from?
Obviously, the Bush administration when it came into office -- and some experts say that this always happens with every administration as it tries to define itself in relationship to the one that went before -- but the Bush administration, I think everyone would agree, was incredibly unilateralist in -- in its bent. And made very loud sounds, basically saying that U.S. would march across world as it saw fit, not really taking into account the feeling of other nations.
Post 9-11, of course, that all changed. The question is, was that a superficial change? Clearly there was a coalition at work in Afghanistan. That coalition was led by the United States, but everyone knew it was the United States that was calling the shots in that coalition. It was not truly a cooperative international effort.
And I think after September 11, what we're are going to ask ourselves now is, will America truly engage in an internationalist point of view?
Will we be open to real, true multilateralism and cooperation, collaboration with other nations or will we -- in this kind of horrible situation we find ourselves in -- both the strongest we've ever been -- and I think war in Afghanistan, which many predicted would be a quagmire proves that -- and at the same time we are also more vulnerable. We at least feel more vulnerable than we ever felt before.
Will we, strong and afraid, actually choose to be in fact more unilateralist? And obviously in the last few weeks there have been a few things like that, like the abrogation of the -- of the Anti- Ballistic Missile Treaty, that -- that showed that in the fact the administration might still be set on a unilateralist course.
BLITZER: Well, do you see differences at the highest levels of the Bush administration on this issue of unilateralism versus multilateralism? Some have suggested that Secretary of State Colin Powell, of course, much more sensitive to international concerns, as opposed to, let's say, the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld.
MABRY: That -- that's absolutely true, and many observers commented on that with regards to the essay I wrote in this week's issue of "Newsweek: International Edition."
And the fact is -- and it was always thus, this is not a new thing with Powell and Rumsfeld -- the State Department is charged with state craft and foreign policy. The Department of Defense is charged with the national security.
The problem for far too long -- it was certainly case during the Cold War -- was that too often in the United States we did not understand that what we do in the realm of foreign relations directly impacts our national security.
Now that we are in a new era, kind of what we often call post- post-Cold War era, at this time, that is more true than ever. It is not just states but in fact stateless actors like terror groups that we have to combat. To do that, it's going to take more than just weapons. It will take a hearts-and-minds campaign orchestrated at government levels.
That you asked -- to open the segment you asked, why do we sell Coke and Pepsi so well and don't do such a good job of selling ourselves and our values? And I think it's because Coke and Pepsi have very organized, coordinating branding teams. The United States government has nothing that's analogous to that.
BLITZER: OK. Marcus Mabry of "Newsweek International." Thank you very much.
MABRY: Thank you.
BLITZER: And it's been quite a year, especially for the president of the United States. We'll talk about it when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We used to hear a lot of jokes about President Bush, back about a year ago when he started his first term. So much has changed since then. The country went to war, the economy fell, and suddenly the president appeared to be getting everything right, and is now the most admired man in the country by far.
In his inaugural address, he said we all have place in the long story of America. Who would have thought his place would be what it is today, such a popular wartime president? Our Senior White House Correspondent John King has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It all changed with this whisper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We knew that America was under attack, and I very quickly moved into making sure that the president had all of his abilities to perform the functions of a president.
KING: A little more than 100 days later, still more questions than answers.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It may happen tomorrow. It may happen in a month. It may happen in a year. But he is -- he is going to be brought to justice. He's on the run.
KING: An elusive enemy. A war of uncertain scope and duration. New threats here at home. And recession only adds to the challenge of a presidency transformed by September 11.
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER REAGAN CHIEF OF STAFF: That has forever changed the outlook not only for the first year, but for all the years. He has become a wartime president, like FDR.
KING: A president who came to office amid controversy gets high marks for crisis management. 82 percent of Americans in a year-end CNN-"Time" poll approve of the way Mr. Bush is handling his job as president. 79 percent say he is a strong and decisive leader.
STANLEY GREENBERG, DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER: There are some other big issues, you know, big doubts that are still on the -- on the table, but they're -- they're not relevant at the moment.
KING: At the moment, the American people see eye-to-eye with their president on the mission.
BILL MCINTURFF, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: People in this country want to see Osama Bin Laden either captured or dead. Then when you ask people well, if the Taliban has been eradicated from Afghanistan, they are all in retreat. Is this a, -- are we -- a, quote, victory, the answer is no.
KING: One major Bush challenge is sustaining that support.
KAREN HUGHES, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: Every time I talk with him, he reminds me we've got -- we're in a -- we have to educate people that this is a different kind of war, that it's fought on a lot of different fronts, that it's not the kind of war they're accustomed to. That's been -- he's been conveying that to me almost every time we meet. And we do meet every day.
KING: The changes go beyond less sleep and more gray. The National Security Council meets almost every day. And the wartime routine includes a weekly meeting with congressional leaders. But he is still a president who prefers handshakes to treaties, and whose tongue has a decidedly Texas flavor.
BUSH: There's an old poster out west, as I recall, that said "Wanted: dead or alive."
DUBERSTEIN: A lot of people turn their nose up to it, said that wasn't elegant way. But you know something? It communicated to everybody in America and the world his steely personality.
KING: There are parallels to the first President Bush.
GREENBERG: Almost all those doubts now center on, you know, is he -- how is he going handle the economy? Is he going to be for the average person?
KING: Consider it a lesson learned. This President Bush is well aware it could be the economy that matters most by the time he faces reelection.
BUSH: The long-term solution is more jobs.
KING: That debate will carry over to the new year, along with the many other challenges facing a president and a presidency redefined on an unforgettable September morning.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
BLITZER: And coming up on NEWSNIGHT on this Friday night, immigrants looking for a better life in the old country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: This is a nation of immigrants. Stories of people enduring countless hardships to come to America in search of a better life. But now the fears and uncertainties of a post-September 11 world are rewriting the ending for some. Here's CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They nurture the fields of America. They are the builders of landmarks and the backbone of industries that depend on cheap labor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Juan Carlos Portillo Guevara.
GUTIERREZ: Now, in unusual turn of events...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tito (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Sanchez.
GUTIERREZ: Nearly three quarters of a million Mexican citizens are going home, some say for good.
Central American consulates report similiar patterns since September 11.
AMILCAR, UNDOCUMENTED WORKER (through translator): I lost my job because people stopped coming to the auto body shop where I work. A lot has changed since the 11th of September.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Custom?
GUTIERREZ: In a week, this unemployed husband and father returns home to Guatemala. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One-way ticket, no?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. si.
GUTIERREZ: Undocumented immigrants like him with nothing to fall back on say they have no choice.
In this dilapidated garage in downtown Los Angeles, we catch up with 31-year-old Juan Carlos Guevara.
JUAN CARLOS GUEVARA, UNDOCUMENTED WORKER (through translator): So many of us come with illusions of getting ahead in life.
GUTIERREZ: He tells us he left El Salvador less than a year ago after his home was destroyed in an earthquake.
GUEVARA (through translator): This is my daughter at a birthday party.
GUTIERREZ: He left behind a wife and daughter, he says, because he had no job and the economy was in shambles. He borrowed $4500 to come to the United States.
Juan Carlos says this garage with no bathroom or running water is his small piece of the American dream.
GUEVARA (through translator): When I came to this country I slept on the ground. Then I found this mattress on the street. I brought it here. Then I felt a lot better that I had something to sleep on.
GUTIERREZ: Juan Carlos says he bought false documents, then got a job in a meatpacking plant making $7.50 an hour. It's how he supports his family back home.
GUEVARA (through translator): After what happened in New York, my wife told me to come home. She got scared.
GUTIERREZ: He got scared, too. Now he's packing up and heading home.
I asked him why he wants to leave.
GUEVARA (through translator): I could end up unemployed and my family depends on me. But I'm also afraid be here with all this talk of anthrax and war.
GUTIERREZ: Juan Carlos must get a one-way passport from the Salvadoran consulate to go home.
GUEVARA: Gracias.
GUTIERREZ: Consul General Oscar Benavides says this is the impact of September 11.
OSCAR BENAVIDES, SALVADORAN CONSUL GENERAL: That's very symbolic. We have about 17 people a day that are going back because of the recent -- some because they are afraid, and some because they lost their jobs.
GUTIERREZ: After paying off his debts, Juan Carlos is going home with dresses for his daughter and shoes for his wife.
I asked him how much he is taking home. He said all has to show for his labor is $700, some clothes, and memories of America.
GUEVARA: On the day I board the bus to go back to my country I will feel sad because it was so hard to get here. But I will be happy to be with my family once again.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
BLITZER: And coming up, a continuation of a widow's struggle to find her husband and a political voice. Next on NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Several weeks ago, Aaron talked to Marian Fontana, who lost her husband Dave, a New York City firefighter, at the World Trade Center on September 11.
Marian had a funeral for her husband without the closure of finding a body, and worked hard to fight for others in a similiar situation, creating the 9-11 Widows' and Victims' Families Association to push officials to keep searching for bodies.
Since the last time she spoke with Aaron, the authorities have recovered her husband's body and she was finally able to give him a proper burial. She is with us again tonight, and she joins us from New York.
Good evening, Marian. Thank you so much for joining us. Of course, our deepest condolences to you, to your entire family. First of all, tell us how you're doing personally.
MARIAN FONTANA, CO-FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, 9/11 WIDOWS' AND VICTIMS' FAMILIES' ASSOCIATION: Well, personally, I'm doing OK. The holidays are hard, and a lot of the families and widows that I'm talking to are really struggling through this holiday and just trying to get through the new year.
BLITZER: I -- I assume working with this new organization you helped put together is helping you cope with this enormous burden that you have.
FONTANA: Yeah, it's definitely -- it helps to be the distracted, and it really helps me to talk to a lot of the other family members and widows that are going through the same thing. And we really feel comforted by each other. So that's very helpful, yes.
BLITZER: The search for more bodies, as you know, continues. In fact, another body was found earlier today. We saw that here on CNN.
FONTANA: Yes.
BLITZER: Did the other -- do the other friends of yours -- these widows, other families members who lost loved ones, do they still have hope that these bodies might eventually be recovered?
FONTANA: Definitely. I think everyone every time they hear that bodies have been recovered, the first thing they ask me is well, do you know who it was? What company they were from if they firefighters.
I think everyone -- everyone who is involved really would love to have some closure, even if it's just a ring that is found, or a body. It's definitely what we're all here for.
BLITZER: A few weeks ago, as you well remember, there was some controversy involving Mayor Giuliani, whether or not he was allowing this process to go forward, the recovery of the bodies. Have you worked all that out with the mayor and his aides?
FONTANA: Yes. I've been very impressed with the mayor. He's been very receptive to our concerns and he's met with the families. And then the civilian organizations that I'm involved with also were invited in as well to meet with the mayor. And we're meeting with him tomorrow for a final meeting, and I'm going to be really sad to see him go. He's been a real asset to our organization. So.
BLITZER: Have you had a chance to meet with the mayor-elect, Michael Bloomberg?
FONTANA: I haven't yet. He was at meeting that one of our representatives went to with Hillary Clinton, where he did show up for a short period. But I myself have not met him yet. And we're hoping to get a meeting with him in the new year, definitely.
BLITZER: What do you want most to see happen right now at the World Trade Center site? As you know, there is some controversy whether they should rebuild at least some of those buildings or as the mayor is proposing, just create a memorial there. In effect, a cemetery for all the people who died there.
FONTANA: Well, I - I think a cemetery memorial would be great. You know, I -- they didn't build in Oklahoma. They haven't built on Indian burial grounds. And I think this could be the final resting place for a lot of people's loved ones, so a memorial makes sense for our organization, certainly.
There are a lot of mixed feelings about what should go there and what shouldn't. A lot of our members feel that nothing should be built in the footprint of the building. Other people feel that nothing should be built at all.
So it will be -- interesting to see what does get built there, and we certainly want to be a voice in what happens down there.
BLITZER: Marian, how is your little five-year old boy doing?
FONTANA: He's great. You know, kids are resilient. He misses his daddy. My husband was involved with him even more than I was. He was a pretty much at-home dad when he wasn't firefighting. So he misses him a lot but we're, you know, we're getting through. We have each other.
BLITZER: All right. Marian, once again, our deepest condolences.
FONTANA: Thank you.
BLITZER: Give our love to everyone. To your son, your entire family. Thanks so much for joining us.
FONTANA: I will, thank you.
BLITZER: And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: New Years resolutions may be as old as New Year's celebrations themselves. And they're pretty old, dating back to the Babylonians. That was a long time ago.
There's something about watching that ball drop on New Year's Eve that seems to make people think they can start over, make promises to themselves that they'll become better in some way.
In an average year, that usually means the predictable resolutions. Easy to make, easier to break, and a lot of times the goals are altogether self-involved. But as we all know, this has been no average year. Here's CNN's Beth Nissen.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The start of a fresh new year is still a few days a way. But ask about New Year's resolutions and many people have ready -- if routine -- answers in San Francisco.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My New Years resolution is to eat more healthy and lose weight and muscle up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To go back to school and exercise on a regular basis instead of in these frantic spurts. And then quitting, and then starting again.
NISSEN: In Miami.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My New Year resolution is to make a whole lot of money for the year 2002.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop smoking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess I'll add a few extra miles on my daily run. NISSEN: In Los Angeles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My New Year's resolution is to party harder. To live life to the fullest and to not make any resolutions because I never live up to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My New Year's resolution is to save money and not spend all of it on toys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My New Year's resolution is to lose weight. 62 years I've been making that same resolution.
NISSEN: In Oklahoma City.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My New Year's resolution is to be a better Hooter girl and a better person and to quit smoking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Quit spending money.
NISSEN: In Pittsburgh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have never thought of one yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Concentrate on my school a little bit more, you know, get down to business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I quit smoking last year. So I can't do that again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to be happy and healthy this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't -- I don't know.
NISSEN: Yet there is some evidence that a heartening number of Americans -- many of them, perhaps coincidentally, in New York -- are making less self-centered, more altruistic New Year's resolutions this year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will be to focus even more than ever on the beauty of my family and our terrific relationship. I just hope to see them more and more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After 9/11, we're just so aware there -- no one has any promise of tomorrow. And we want to be with our families every chance we can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think last year one of my resolutions was to lose about 15 pounds and stay away from the chocolate. But this year I think things are much more serious.
NISSEN: This 16-year-old from Long Island, New York, is making her first New Year's resolution.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My New Year's resolution is to help out after the events of September 11th, to try to be kinder to people and to help them if they need help with anything. NISSEN: This Chicago boy has vowed to do what he can for those who lost family or jobs in the September 11 attacks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I can help them and I can donate things to them instead of to me.
NISSEN: How old are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm 11.
NISSEN: And what can an 11-year-old do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give some spare change that an 11-year-old has.
NISSEN: After September 11th, this Morrisville, Pennsylvania, woman resolved to fight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My New Year's resolution is just to get prepared for the Air Force, because I leave in about 28 days. We definitely need more people to stand up and be willing to fight and get whoever did this to us.
NISSEN: It may be a relatively small number of people who are making resolutions to better the lives of someone other than just themselves this new year, but they are there.
In Miami.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I try to live life to the fullest and I take -- I take no one for granted.
NISSEN: In Pittsburgh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been nicer to homeless people and just people in general.
NISSEN: In Oklahoma City.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've come to realize over the last few months that it's not the money and it's not the possessions but it's the relationships with the people around us that's very important.
NISSEN: In San Francisco.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's happened to us in the past -- in the past, what, four or five months? I mean, I think we all need to make commitments and just try and be better people.
NISSEN: Not a bad New Year's resolution, that, for anyone heading off into the new year without one.
Beth Nissen, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE) BLITZER: I'm not going to tell you what my New Year's resolution is. That's all the time we have tonight. It's been fun filling in these past few days for Aaron. He'll be back next week. I'll be back Sunday on a three-hour "LATE EDITION." That begins at noon eastern.
Until then, thanks very much for watching. Have a great weekend and a wonderful new year. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
