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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Bush to Ask Congress for Power to Use Whatever Force Necessary Against Iraq; E-Mail Reveals Possible Sympathies Buffalo Three Have for al Qaeda

Aired September 18, 2002 - 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. I said here last night that we at NEWSNIGHT have grown fascinated by the story of the three young Muslim men stopped on their way to Florida.
But there's another story that we've been talking about even longer at our afternoon meeting, one we'll get around to tonight. It may sound a bit like inside baseball, but just like the story of the three young Muslim men, this one seems to exist in that most interesting of places to us, the gray zone.

It's about longtime "Chicago Tribune" columnist Bob Greene, who resigned after it came out that he'd had some sexual encounter with a young girl -- young enough to give any father with a daughter pause, but old enough that it was entirely legal. And it happened more than a decade ago.

Now, there's a very long tradition of journalists behaving badly and losing their jobs because of it. The "Trib" itself noted that in 1930 one of its reporters was murdered because of his mob involvement.

More recently, and less seriously compared to that, Mike Barnicle quit after there were allegations that he plagiarized and even made up some parts of his columns in Boston.

And the editor of the "Harvard Business Review" quit after it was learned that she was having an affair with the subject of a piece she was working on at the time, Jack Welch.

This story seems a bit less cut and dry to us. Bob Greene did write about this girl in a column after meeting her in the midst of a high school project she was working on. But according to the paper, the encounter came after that.

The paper, for its part, has compelling reasons for why Greene did something truly wrong, that he just may have used his power as a reporter and one of the best-known columnists in this country to draw this girl in, and that if journalists are going to hold public figures accountable for their personal lives, journalists too have a responsibility for the way they behave.

It's interesting to read the letters flooding into "The Tribune," fierce opinions on both sides, where you could almost replace the name Greene with the name Clinton. We'll talk about this with Jim Warren of "The Chicago Tribune" in a little bit. But even with his considerable wisdom, we're not sure this one will ever get out of that fascinating and in some ways maddening place, the gray zone.

On to the whip and the day's news. It begins with the White House trying to preserve its bargaining power in terms of Iraq. Senior White House correspondent John King has the watch tonight. John, headline from you, please.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, tomorrow morning the president will ask Congress to authorize him to use, quote, "all necessary and appropriate force against Iraq if he comes to the conclusion diplomacy will not work." It is meant as a very blunt message to Baghdad, but also a very blunt message to the United Nations.

BROWN: John, thank you. We'll be back with you at the top tonight. The meetings over the weapons inspections continue across town at the United Nations. Our U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth, is on that for us tonight. So, Richard, a headline from you.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the top U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq tells a visiting Iraqi delegation, let's get off to a flying start on inspections. But will the return of the inspectors be a flying flop, as some in Washington believe?

BROWN: Richard, thank you.

On to Susan Candiotti, who's in Buffalo tonight. And a bail hearing for the men arrested last week for allegedly supporting terrorists. Susan, the headline from Buffalo tonight.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Aaron. Some new evidence presented today by prosecutors as promised, including an intriguing e-mail that could be a threat. But is it? We'll show it to you and you'll decide.

BROWN: Susan, thank you.

And finally, on to Capitol Hill and the hearings today, on signals that might have been missed before September 11, 2001. David Ensor follows that for us. David, the headline from you.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, committee staffers have been looking through 400,000 pages of classified documents. And they found some evidence that the intelligence community had quite a few clues before 9/11 -- that an airliner, that airliners might be used by al Qaeda as weapons of terrorism.

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

Also, moment. Also coming up tonight, more on the tangled diplomacy involving the United States, the United Nations and Iraq, with someone who knows it all quite well, the former ambassador to the U.N., Bill Richardson, joins us. And, segment 7 tonight, in the fewest words possible: Life, loud. silence, good. Enough said. Hopefully, you'll understand the tease when you see the story, which comes at the very end of the program tonight. So stay around for that.

All of that in the hour ahead. We begin with Iraq. The administration spent the day trying to take back the diplomatic initiative before the Iraqi offer to let the inspectors back in becomes unstoppable. President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld lobbied Congress hard today to quickly pass a resolution supporting military action against Iraq if necessary.

Meantime, the president again sent the message that the United States would do what it thought was necessary, even it means going it alone. A couple of reports tonight, beginning with our senior White House correspondent, John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Progress in working with Congress on Iraq. But clear frustration that some at the United Nations seem inclined to take Saddam Hussein at his word.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is just a ploy. This is a tactic. This is a way to try to say to the world, oh, I'm a wonderful, peaceful fellow, when in fact, he not only kills his own people, he's terrorizing his neighborhood and he's developing weapons of mass destruction. We must deal with him.

KING: Iraq's offer to let weapons inspectors return is making it more difficult for the White House to sell the idea of a tough new United Nations resolution. Key Security Council members Russia and France say the U.N. should first put Iraq's new promise to the test. Vice President Cheney echoed the president's skepticism.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the letter the regime says it has no weapons of mass destruction. But we know that is a lie.

KING: Mr. Cheney also made clear there is a backup plan if the administration doesn't get its way at the United Nations.

CHENEY: The government of the United States will not look the other way as threats gather against the American people.

KING: But for now, the focus remains on U.N. diplomacy. Secretary of State Powell briefed the president on the negotiations. And Defense Secretary Rumsfeld told Congress it could help the cause by quickly passing a resolution supporting the president.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: This is a critical moment for our country and for the world. Our resolve is being put to the test.

KING: CNN has learned a White House draft urges Congress to authorize all necessary and appropriate force against Iraq if the president concludes diplomacy will not succeed. The final language is subject to negotiations, but congressional leaders promised the president to pass a resolution within the next two weeks. That leaves the United Nations as the president's major challenge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And administration officials insist tonight their private diplomacy is going much better than the public debate that the United Nations would suggest. That could be put to the test, though, early next week. U.S. and British diplomats working now on the language of a Security Council resolution that would authorize military strikes if Iraq does not keep its commitments to the United Nations.

The lobbying campaign will continue here, Aaron, in the morning. Secretary of State Colin Powell is coming to see the president. Reporters will be allowed into the Oval Office at the top of that meeting.

BROWN: John, I saw a poll today -- I know the White House doesn't like to talk about polls. But if you take the people who don't think there should be any military action against Iraq and bundle that with people who only think it should be under a U.N. resolution of some sort, there is a clear majority. How does the White House see the politics of this?

KING: The White House believes, here in the United States, it is on pretty solid ground, especially now that you have a commitment from the bipartisanship leadership of Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike. Most in Congress think a resolution backing the president will pass by an overwhelming lopsided margin.

So the president sees those polls. Yes, you're right, they don't like to talk about them here. But they're well aware of the domestic political polling. One of the reasons the president is pushing Congress to act and act now, is they believe he has the upper hand in the domestic political argument. They want to keep the upper hand.

BROWN: John King, thank you, senior White House correspondent.

The U.N. now, and how the United States and the British position may fare there. Will the private diplomacy that John mentioned work, or has the momentum now shifted entirely in the other direction? What is said publicly, what is said privately? We turn to U.N. correspondent Richard Roth for that.

Richard, good evening.

ROTH: Good evening, Aaron. Secretary General Kofi Annan likes to preach unity for the Security Council, all in the cause of world peace. But once again on Iraq, the divisions are showing. The U.S. and U.K. on one side and France, China and Russia potentially on the other side.

At the U.N. today, Kofi Annan met with Naji Sabri, Iraq's foreign minister. And at that meeting, the secretary general told the Iraqi of the need for full and unconditional cooperation with the weapons inspectors. The United States thinks Annan did not get enough of a deal with Iraq ensuring access, when Baghdad decided Monday to reverse course and accept the inspectors.

The U.S. and United Kingdom are working on a proposed resolution now that will tighten the timetables on Iraqi cooperation and perhaps warn of consequences. Russia and China oppose use of force, though.

Annan, at this meeting, was flanked by chief weapons inspector on Iraq Hans Blix, sitting down to Annan's right. He praised Blix' professionalism to the Iraqis. It was just a few weeks ago that the Iraqis branded Blix a spy. Well, Blix, at this meeting, told the Iraqis he'd like to get off to a flying start regarding inspections. Blix will also get his wings tomorrow from the U.N. Security Council in a closed-door meeting.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi foreign minister gets to speak to the world when he appears before the formal General Assembly session -- Aaron.

BROWN: Richard, John said that the White House view is that, the public's statements aside, that there's been a lot of progress. Do you hear signs that that is so?

ROTH: We don't hear those signs publicly. But compromises do occur, despite all the rhetoric you hear. And the Council still wants to appear united, because all countries want disarmament.

It's still early to predict what might happen. But next week you'll see some more action.

BROWN: OK, thank you. Richard Roth, outside the United Nations tonight.

There have been a lot of developments in the war on terror in recent days. A key one by most accounts, the arrest of Ramzi Binalshibh, thought to be a key planner in the 9/11 attacks. Still, it's hard to deny that the arrest of American citizens in western New York were dramatic and unsettling. The fear that there may be a fifth column of angry men waiting to attack.

What these men have actually done, though, what was actually illegal, remains a bit of mystery tonight. And the government's case, how it makes the case against these men, will be very intriguing to watch play out. Once again, CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: The six defendants sat calmly, some taking notes, while the government tried to convince the court the men were too dangerous to set free on bond. Prosecutor William Hochul offering as proof an e-mail the FBI says was sent by defendant Mukhtar al-Bakri last July to an uncharged, unidentified person in western New York.

The government called the e-mail the big meal. It read: "How are you, my beloved? God willing, you are fine. I would like to remind you, the next meal will be very huge. No one will be able to withstand it, except for those with faith. There are people here who had visions, and their visions were strong. Their visions were explained that this will be very strong. No one will be able to bare (sic) it."

WILLIAM HOCHUL, ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY: What we said in court today is that Mr. al-Bakri admitted that it referred to a large explosion which was being planned by al Qaeda against Americans.

CANDIOTTI: Prosecutors argued the men were easily able to travel to Afghanistan in the spring and summer of 2001. In the first group, three suspects who flew from New York City to Pakistan and paid about $1,300 each. Four men were in the second group, flying from Canada to London, the United Arab Emirates and then Pakistan.

All but one spent about five weeks overseas. Making the arrangements to get to the camp, suspect Kamal Derwish, who is not in custody. Government sources call him the recruiter, a major player. The FBI says defendant Sahim Alwan admitted he went to the camp and spent only 10 days.

In what prosecutors call his confession, Alwan said -- quote -- "On approximately the eighth day, I attended a speech given by Osama bin Laden concerning the alliance of the Islamic Jihad and al Qaeda." He also mentioned how important it is to train and fight for the cause of Islam. He also espoused anti-American and anti-Israeli statements. He had a large security detail at the prayer hall where he spoke.

The government charges the men were given code names at the camp and were trained by al Qaeda. The defense calls the prosecutors' evidence thin.

BILL CLAUSS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The issue right now is bail. The government has to prove today that clear and convincing evidence that they're a danger to the community. We don't think they've done that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Tomorrow, expect to hear from the defense when they have their say in court in the afternoon, including testimony from their family and friends, who insist the men are not a danger to the community and never intended anyone any harm -- Aaron.

BROWN: Susan, thank you. Susan Candiotti in Buffalo for us tonight.

More now on Yemen. Not necessarily does it relate to the Lackawanna suspects, but having to do with proven members of al Qaeda. Many come from Yemen and many are believed to have gone back there from Afghanistan. To catch them, about 800 U.S. troops have been quietly dispatched to another tiny country nearby.

From the Pentagon tonight, CNN's Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With U.S. intelligence indicating a number of al Qaeda fugitives are hiding out in remote areas of Yemen, the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden, the U.S. military has quietly moved some 800 troops -- including about 200 special operations commandos -- to nearby Djibouti, where they, along with CIA forces, are poised to hunt down, capture or kill al Qaeda fugitives.

The east African nation is ideally positioned to serve as a launching pad for covert snatch missions either into Yemen or Somalia -- both places where al Qaeda operatives have sought refuge in the past.

The U.S. amphibious assault ship, Bellawood, is nearby in the Arabian Sea, and could be used a staging area for special operations troops and their helicopters. Both Yemen and Somalia are the responsibility of General Tommy Franks, who, while running the war in Afghanistan, is also meeting with Gulf allies, like Qatar, as he plans for possible war with Iraq.

But the Pentagon denies it is shifting the counterterrorism mission to the U.S. special operations command in order to free up franks to concentrate on Iraq.

RUMSFELD: The idea that there's going to be a massive change, and the special operations people will, in every instance, be the supported combatant commander is just not the case.

MCINTYRE: Pentagon officials say the increased role for special operations troops is simply the next logical step, as the pursuit of al Qaeda moves to other countries. It's also a recognition that terrorist networks don't fit neatly into the traditional geographical responsibility of U.S. commanders.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: What we're trying to do is ensure that, in a global war, we have the kind of view -- in some cases, a global view is required. Because these networks, I mean, they don't respect any boundaries.

MCINTYRE (on camera): At the moment, there is no indication that any mission is imminent involving the U.S. troops in Djibouti. But if the U.S. gets actionable intelligence about the whereabouts of al Qaeda suspects, the forces are ready to move on short notice. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, the report on intelligence failures prior to September 11. And up next, navigating the shoals of dealing with the U.N. on Iraq. We'll talk with former ambassador to the U.N., Bill Richardson. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SECRETARY BILL RICHARDSON, FMR. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: ... putting pressure on the U.N., keeping their options open, yet pushing with the Congress. And then, at the appropriate time, if necessary, taking military action.

The only surprise here, Aaron, is the fact that within the Security Council, it could be that the United States will have more problem than it thinks. I know there are positive reports. But the fact that Russia has said, we don't need a resolution, the French, that are key, have not fully embraced our position.

And then beyond the Security Council, there are the nonpermanent members. You have to get nine out of 15 votes. There's another group of members that you have to convince. And I think the swing players are Colombia, Syria and Mexico. So those are the only unpredictable elements.

Iraq's letter to the secretary general, when they say territorial integrity, Iraq must have that respect, it means that I think the Iraqis are planning not to let access into really key areas, like Saddam's palaces or the Iraqi revolutionary guard facilities. So I think they're up to their old tricks.

BROWN: Well, it does seem to be a replay. A couple of quick ones. Having gone to the United Nations and engaged the Security Council and the U.N. on this, as a practical matter and as a political matter, can the administration now say, to heck with them, and go it alone?

RICHARDSON: Well, not yet. I think they have to play it out. They've already had some positive results from the fact that the Saudis now have said that we can use the bases because we've gone to the U.N.

There's not an overwhelming urgency to get this done, to take this action with Iraq. So I think the administration has time on its side. If it goes beyond -- I think they should put a time deadline on U.N. action, if goes beyond, for instance, next week.

But I think next week you can see pretty clearly. Get a flexible resolution that says, use whatever means necessary. Or, if Iraq doesn't comply, serious consequences. Avoid using the word "use of force," because that will lose and possibly cause a veto.

I think that if they continue on that path, it makes sense. But there are two other players here that they have to watch, Aaron. One is the secretary general of the U.N., who was on his own in the past, has tried to mediate disputes between the U.S. and Iraq and the U.N. He's a major player, a major diplomat. I think it has to be a constant dialogue with him.

And then the inspectors themselves. I don't know Hans Blix. Richard Butler, the past inspector, was very strong and demanded full access, and was not against pushing the Iraqis. I don't know if Hans Blix will be in this kind of position.

BROWN: I've got maybe half a minute. I want to try and get two things done. Tell me if this is outside your portfolio. How advanced a nuclear weapons program do you think the Iraqis have? RICHARDSON: I have my doubts. I think even if they have those tubes, where you have reprocessed uranium, I'm not sure that they've reached that stage. Chemical and biological, yes.

BROWN: That was the next part of the question. In 15 seconds or less, are they a direct threat, in your view, to the United States?

RICHARDSON: Yes, they're a direct threat. But they're not an urgent threat. All of this doesn't have to happen right away. And I think the administration should pursue its goals with going to the Congress, going to the U.N., working allied support. And then, if it's in the national interest, the war on terrorism, whether we can proceed with two efforts at the same time, then they should act. But there should be some patience here.

BROWN: Secretary, Ambassador Richardson, candidate Richardson, all those things, it's always good to talk to you. Thanks for your time tonight.

RICHARDSON: Thank you, Aaron.

BROWN: Bill Richardson with us tonight.

A few stories from around the world making news tonight we'll touch on briefly. We begin in Israel. Two days of awful violence yet again.

Today an Israeli policeman was killed, two other Israelis wounded, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a bus stop in northern Israel, not far from the West Bank town of Jenin. It was the first suicide attack targeting Israelis in more than five weeks.

And yesterday, five Palestinian children were hurt after a bomb filled with screws and nails exploded at a school near Hebron. Bomb experts detonated a second bomb as well. Israeli police say they believe these bombs were planted by extremist Jewish settlers.

Freedom today, of a sort, for French collaborator Maurice Papon. Judges ruled the 92-year-old was too old, too sick, to finish his 10- year sentence for helping send Jews to Nazi death camps. The decision has caused public outrage throughout France.

In Spain today, scientists have opened the tomb of Christopher Columbus' younger brother, Diego. The Spanish city of Seville and the Dominican Republic both claim to have the remains of Columbus. Spanish investigators hope DNA tests of the brother's remains will settle this crucial battle once and for all.

Later on NEWSNIGHT, the Kentucky governor under fire, accused of sexual misconduct and more.

And up next, a report on how American intelligence failed before September 11. This is NEWSNIGHT from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: For the first time today, a joint congressional committee held open hearings about intelligence failures leading up to the attacks on the 11th of September -- what we knew and didn't know about the plots and the means, and how the attacks might be carried.

These hearings have been going on in secret for quite some time now. The White House isn't entirely happy with what's likely to be made public. It's already fighting with the committee over declassifying a number of documents.

This promises to be uncomfortable for a lot of people in this administration, and in the last one, too. Here's CNN's David Ensor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): Relatives of the 9/11 dead were the first to speak when they said they believe U.S. intelligence let them down.

STEPHEN PUSH, WIDOWER OF PENTAGON VICTIM: Our loved ones paid the ultimate price for the worst American intelligence failure since Pearl Harbor. I hope that Kristin and I can do justice to their sacrifice and contribute in some small way to preventing other families from experiencing the immeasurable pain that accompanies such tragic loss.

ENSOR: The staff of the joint House Senate special committee found multiple intelligence clues before 9/11, that the U.S. homeland was a target and that aircraft might be used as weapons.

Item, in August, 1998: "The intelligence community obtained information that a group of unidentified Arabs planned to fly an explosives-laden plane from a foreign country into the World Trade Center."

Item in the fall of 1998: "The intelligence community received information concerning a bin Laden plot involving aircraft in the New York and Washington areas."

Item in April of 2001: "The intelligence community obtained information from a source with terrorist connections who speculated that bin Laden would be interested in commercial pilots as potential terrorists."

ELEANOR HILL, 9/11 COMMITTEE STAFF DIRECTOR: Despite these reports, the community did not produce any specific assessments of the likelihood that terrorists would use airplanes as weapons.

SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI (D), MARYLAND: Do you believe that there is a smoking gun on what went wrong?

HILL: If you mean by smoking gun that somebody had information of when, where, how this was going to happen in the United States government, we have not found that.

ENSOR: With time running out for the Congressional inquiry, an increasing number of members now favor setting up a blue ribbon commission to delve further into lessons learned.

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY, (R), ALABAMA: I'm afraid we've asked the Joint Staff to move a mountain, and perhaps only given them a couple of shovels and a little over six months to get it done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: The committee and the Bush administration are still wrangling over how much more to make public. The White House wants to withhold anything on what Presidents Bush and Clinton knew, and when they knew it.

And U.S. intelligence wants to hold back information about one al Qaeda figure, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, information committee sources say would show that U.S. intelligence dropped the ball on how important he was -- Aaron.

BROWN: Senator Shelby has been an interesting one in this to me, a Republican senator normally close to the White House, critical, however, very critical, of how cooperative the government, the administration has been.

What can you tell us about that? Is there a sense that the administration has not fully cooperated?

ENSOR: This is an administration that prefers to do its business in secret to the extent possible, to keep things behind closed doors, and is claiming executive privilege for anything that was advised to the President, any information that was given to the President.

So we don't really know, but there is a sense that the administration may not want to reveal that it didn't follow this as closely as it perhaps should have.

That clearly is going to also be a charge leveled at the Clinton administration.

BROWN: I suspect it will be. David, thank you. David Ensor who does national security for us.

Still to come on NEWSNIGHT tonight, more on the saga of "Chicago Tribune" columnist no more, Bob Greene.

And up next the scandal in the Kentucky capital. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We have the first now of two stories tonight about people in the public eye and allegations of sexual misconduct in the course of their work.

We begin with their news from a place that's probably a lot less exotic to most of you than Baghdad. It comes to us from Louisville, Kentucky. And the talk of the town in Louisville is a lawsuit against the state's governor, Paul Patton, brought by a woman who says the governor retaliated after ending their alleged affair -- retaliated by having state regulators target the nursing homes she owns.

Here's how the story is being covered in Louisville. Their news comes to us from WHAS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Live from WHAS-11 News, this is coverage you can count on.

GARY ROEDEMEIR, ANCHOR, WHAS-11 NEWS, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: Good evening, everyone. I'm Gary Roedemeier.

JEAN WEST, ANCHOR, WHAS-11 NEWS, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: And I'm Jean West. New developments tonight after a WHAS-11 Eye Team investigation.

ROEDEMEIER: Well, just over an hour ago, a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment was filed against Kentucky Governor Paul Patton. In that lawsuit, businesswoman Tina Conner of western Kentucky claimed she had a liaison with the governor in his office.

We have team coverage of this developing story. Bridget Jacobs joins us live with more in the lawsuit in tonight's top story at five -- Bridget.

BRIDGET JACOBS, WHAS-11 NEWS REPORTER: This lawsuit was just filed by Tina Conner, naming Governor Paul Patton as the defendant in a sexual harassment case.

Now, the lawsuit claims that Conner and Patton had a sexual relationship, and says this is a "claim for sexual harassment and retaliation, in violation of KRS Chapter 344 -- intentional infliction of emotional distress, outrageous conduct and waste."

WEST: Now again, Governor Paul Patton does strongly deny the allegations made against him. Earlier today at a news conference, Patton said his conduct with Tina Conner has been appropriate.

And he called the accusations "acts of desperation." George Szell (ph) was at the news conference and has more on both sides of this story.

GEORGE SZELL, WHAS-11 NEWS REPORTER: Governor Patton, flanked by his wife Judy, kept his schedule today, but the acceptance of awards was overshadowed by nursing home owner Tina Conner and her allegations against him.

PAUL PATTON, GOVERNOR OF ALABAMA: They're not true.

SZELL: In an exclusive interview with WHAS-11, Conner alleged the two-year love affair with the Governor of Kentucky. TINA CONNER, PLAINTIFF IN LAWSUIT AGAINST GOVERNOR PATTON: I feel like there was a lot of fear involved with it, but another side, there was some -- you know, he's like, wow -- a little bit of wow to it, also. You know, this is the governor caught?

SZELL: Last night, that governor was watching.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Governor, did you see the report last night? Did you see the interview?

PATTON: I saw the one at six o'clock. I didn't stay up for the 11 o'clock interviews.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: What are your feelings? Talk about your credibility.

PATTON: Well, again, I think I would address that subject totally and fully, as far as the substance goes. I'm not going to get into trying a case in the media.

SZELL: But he's clearly shaken by Conner's allegations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Do you feel like you're being blackmailed here?

PATTON: No. No, I think it's evidently revenge -- I'm just not going to comment at this time.

ROEDEMEIR: And our team coverage continues tonight on this story at six o'clock. We'll have reaction from out in Clinton, Kentucky, in western Kentucky. That's Tina Conner's home town.

And at 5:30, how will this controversy affect the future -- the Governor's political future?

Those stories tonight at 5:30 and six, here on WHAS-11.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: It is the story in Louisville.

Later on NEWSNIGHT, we'll take you to a resort where you can spend a very quiet time.

Up next the uproar over "Chicago Tribune" columnist -- former columnist -- Bob Greene.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, the demise of a Chicago institution. We're right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Our second story of sexual misconduct in the public eye is a tough one for us. It involves someone we know and like.

Bob Greene was force to resign by his employer, the "Chicago Tribune," after the paper learned that Greene had had a sexual relationship with a young woman a decade ago -- a woman who had been the subject of one of his columns.

No laws were broken. This is all about morals and ethics. And in the end, Greene agreed that his conduct, even though it was a decade ago, was such that he should resign.

In a moment we'll talk with his boss. First, some background.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: You know his byline, and it could be that you know Bob Greene's face, as well. In addition to being a widely syndicated columnist for the "Chicago Tribune," he's also been a commentator on television locally in Chicago.

He used to work for ABC News' "Nightline," and he has been a guest of ours, as well. He's written a dozen books, a couple of which have been bestsellers.

In between the books and the columns, for a week, which is a lot, Bob Greene came to be known as the champion of old-fashioned American values, a champion of the underdog and especially a champion of children who had been abused -- abused by their parents or by the system.

Greene has had a lot to say on a lot of subjects.

But on the subject of the mistake he admits to having made, he couldn't say much more in the e-mail he sent to AP then, "I don't have the words to express the sadness I feel."

And sadness seems to be what the people on the streets of Chicago feel, as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Always looked to Bob Greene as somebody who I can trust. I don't feel I can do that anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just can't believe -- best (ph) of Bob Greene that I read.

BROWN: Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago thinks it's only fair that Greene was forced to resign. Journalists spend a lot of time looking under other people's beds, is the mayor's feeling, and so shouldn't squawk when they get a dose of their own medicine.

RICHARD DALEY JR., MAYOR OF CHICAGO: What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

BROWN: But the letters to the "Trib" have been pretty evenly divided for and against Mr. Greene. Maybe the only safe thing to say is that, unlike newspaper columns, life is not black and white.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A thicket of issues to wade through here with this. We think our guest tonight would be a good person to talk to, even if he wasn't deeply involved professionally, not to mention personally, in it all.

James Warren is the Deputy Managing Editor of the "Chicago Tribune." He's known Bob Greene for a quarter of a century. Jim, it's good to have you on the program.

Obviously, not a very pleasant week for you all. Can you explain, simply, why the paper felt he had to resign?

JAMES WARREN, DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, "THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE": Well, daily, Aaron, we hold people, you hold people to accountable, be it Bill Clinton, Gary Condit, Jack Welch, the ex-CEO of GM -- I'm sorry, GE.

We're for it. It's special Constitutional protections and privileges. We can go where many other people cannot. And thus I think the public is allowed an expectation that we aren't corrupt.

The public is allowed an explanation that we don't exploit certain privileges we have. We don't exploit the trust that we rely on heavily, and that if violate, can hurt us, even break us.

Journalists, as you know, have no single unified code of conduct. Rules might be different -- CNN, the "Washington Post," "Chicago Tribune," the "Chicago Sun-Times."

We have a set of standards we enforce ourselves. And when we looked at our standards, Bob crossed the line and clearly -- so he clearly exploited his position as a trusted voice in this community, as a famous columnist, for personal gain, not soon after a high school girl came to his office with her parents to meet Bob, and apparent (ph) journalist, Ed Carroll.

BROWN: Yes, it is not -- Jim, correct me -- it is not that he had an illicit sexual relationship.

WARREN: Right.

BROWN: It is that he had one with someone who had been the subject of a story?

WARREN: Yeah. It's a little difficult for us for a bunch of reasons. We have not divulged all the details that we learned during a very painful week last week.

And now some of the debate, both on some of the Web sites that we all look at and in the pages of the "Tribune," in our letters column particularly, I think had been a little bit off the mark.

This was not, Aaron, about an extra-marital affair. It was about somebody directly in connection with their work, exploiting their position for personal gain or enjoyment. And I should also note that even in the scenario that we have laid out publicly, it's pretty darn clear that when confronted with the basic allegations last week, he conceded their key elements and voluntarily offered his resignation.

We did not at first accept it. We suspended him with pay, did our own investigation, and then, albeit painfully, Saturday night accepted the initial resignation.

BROWN: Jim, a couple of quick ones. What -- within the paper itself, reporters and editors, other columnists -- management's position here pretty much applauded or questioned?

WARREN: No, I think generally applauded, in a, I think a very poignant, difficult staff meeting. My boss, Ann Marie Lipinski, told as much as she could. I think everybody here trusts her judgment and believes that we did the right thing.

There is a bit of concern that a lot of details haven't come out. We're reporters. We demand full disclosure of everybody else. And in this case, we haven't given absolutely full disclosure, in part because of concerns about privacy and certain in-house guidelines we have about disclosing sexual misconduct, the details of alleged sexual misconduct, with you (ph).

BROWN: Do you think in any way that Bob has been waiting for a decade for this shoe to drop?

WARREN: Boy, you know, I don't know. That's an interesting question.

Tonight -- and this is perhaps an example of idle minds and devil's workshop -- waiting for you, I was simultaneously watching a Yankees game on ESPN and checking out our computerized library system.

I was just curious, in some of the major stories that we have all reported on the last four or five, six years, most of them playing out while I was in Washington running our bureau there, and thus was not involved with Bob -- I was -- and stories with sort of, some sort of sexual content.

And could be Clinton, Lewinsky, Gary Condit, Marv Albert, the huge Roman Catholic church sex scandal, even smaller, titillating things like Hugh Grant, Frank Gifford, Kathy Lee-Gifford -- and something -- there was a big story here last year, the divorce filing of Juanita Jordan against her husband, Michael, the subject of more than 100 columns by Bob and one book.

I want to see how much he'd written about those, and I found not a single word.

Now, is that telling? Was there a certain sort of odd honor that Bob upheld in knowing that he could not comment on any of those subjects with a certain moral authority?

Perhaps, but what would it say about an institution knowing that, that somebody so high profile, so important to you had to take a pass, perhaps, on so many big, obvious issues.

BROWN: What a difficult week for him and a very difficult week for you. We appreciate your time tonight to talk about it.

WARREN: My pleasure.

BROWN: Thank you. Jim Warren of the "Chicago Tribune."

Not easy stuff.

BROWN: This, next on NEWSNIGHT -- you probably need this, too -- some moments of silence. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Finally from us tonight, noise -- or a lack of noise. A retreat where you have to leave your cell phone, the stress and all the noise -- as in all the noise -- of daily life behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FATHER OF THREE YOUNG CHILDREN: There'll be times where I feel like I'm being pulled in three, four different directions. The job is pulling me one way, the family.

I've got three young children, so that means soccer games, baseball games, after-school activities, or just being there for the children. I think that's important, is just spending time with them.

And then, of course, my marriage.

I'm not doing anything very well. I'm juggling a lot of balls, and feel like I'm not juggling any of them very well.

SINGLE MOTHER: Stop it. Stop it. It's not going to help the car.

Like probably most of us, I often feel that I have too much to worry about for one person. I'm a mother, you know, I have a hectic career. And sometimes I do feel like there's just not time to even stop and think or reflect about where you are in your life.

BOB FITZGERALD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IGNATIUS HOUSE: When we talk about a silent retreat, I -- the silence is just quieting, solitude, letting the static leave our head.

And that's the idea of a retreat. The silence in the retreat is to be able to listen to God.

One of the things we discover in a retreat is that we are very much spirit as well as we are body. There is clearly a spiritual, spirit part of us. That has very little to do with the reality of belonging to one church or another church, one religion or another religion.

FATHER: It was a little unnerving, a little scary, not knowing what it was going to be like, because the world we live in, we're so used to talking all the time. It's rare that we had any extended periods of time of silence.

MOTHER: I was terrified. I thought, how will I -- how will I spend three days without saying anything? Because I talk all the time, at work and at home. If I feel like I'm -- I'm either talking or listening to someone all the time.

FITZGERALD: An important part of the retreat is that it helps you get realigned and take stock of what are your priorities, you know, God, family, career.

MOTHER: It is life-altering when you suddenly realize that, how much I needed to be able to pull away and sort of step out of what is the stress of my everyday life.

The people are communicating with us in a variety of ways every second. And there's an expectation about, you know, us communicating that.

FATHER: Most people like me spend the vast majority of your time inside, you know, in an office or your house or wherever. And so we've become somewhat disconnected with nature.

And what I love about the Ignatius House is I kind of spend as much time as I can outside, either staring off into space or watching a bird fly in the air, and being as free as can be, and saying, you know, that's what I need to be.

I need to just let go of the burdens that are weighing me down, hand them over to God and just and be as free as that bird that's flying in the air.

MOTHER: Most of us are pretty smart. We have a lot of answers to things already inside of ourselves. But sometimes we can't listen to ourselves, because we are so distracted by our lives and all the, you know, and all the things going on in them.

FITZGERALD: You're here to be a human being, not a human doing. And that's what we really encourage people to do during the retreat. Just to be.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Brian Koszycki (ph), Atlanta producer and editor put that together for us. We thank him and we thank you.

We'll see you all tomorrow. Good night for all of us on NEWSNIGHT.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Necessary Against Iraq; E-Mail Reveals Possible Sympathies Buffalo Three Have for al Qaeda>


Aired September 18, 2002 - 22:00   ET
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. I said here last night that we at NEWSNIGHT have grown fascinated by the story of the three young Muslim men stopped on their way to Florida.
But there's another story that we've been talking about even longer at our afternoon meeting, one we'll get around to tonight. It may sound a bit like inside baseball, but just like the story of the three young Muslim men, this one seems to exist in that most interesting of places to us, the gray zone.

It's about longtime "Chicago Tribune" columnist Bob Greene, who resigned after it came out that he'd had some sexual encounter with a young girl -- young enough to give any father with a daughter pause, but old enough that it was entirely legal. And it happened more than a decade ago.

Now, there's a very long tradition of journalists behaving badly and losing their jobs because of it. The "Trib" itself noted that in 1930 one of its reporters was murdered because of his mob involvement.

More recently, and less seriously compared to that, Mike Barnicle quit after there were allegations that he plagiarized and even made up some parts of his columns in Boston.

And the editor of the "Harvard Business Review" quit after it was learned that she was having an affair with the subject of a piece she was working on at the time, Jack Welch.

This story seems a bit less cut and dry to us. Bob Greene did write about this girl in a column after meeting her in the midst of a high school project she was working on. But according to the paper, the encounter came after that.

The paper, for its part, has compelling reasons for why Greene did something truly wrong, that he just may have used his power as a reporter and one of the best-known columnists in this country to draw this girl in, and that if journalists are going to hold public figures accountable for their personal lives, journalists too have a responsibility for the way they behave.

It's interesting to read the letters flooding into "The Tribune," fierce opinions on both sides, where you could almost replace the name Greene with the name Clinton. We'll talk about this with Jim Warren of "The Chicago Tribune" in a little bit. But even with his considerable wisdom, we're not sure this one will ever get out of that fascinating and in some ways maddening place, the gray zone.

On to the whip and the day's news. It begins with the White House trying to preserve its bargaining power in terms of Iraq. Senior White House correspondent John King has the watch tonight. John, headline from you, please.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, tomorrow morning the president will ask Congress to authorize him to use, quote, "all necessary and appropriate force against Iraq if he comes to the conclusion diplomacy will not work." It is meant as a very blunt message to Baghdad, but also a very blunt message to the United Nations.

BROWN: John, thank you. We'll be back with you at the top tonight. The meetings over the weapons inspections continue across town at the United Nations. Our U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth, is on that for us tonight. So, Richard, a headline from you.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the top U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq tells a visiting Iraqi delegation, let's get off to a flying start on inspections. But will the return of the inspectors be a flying flop, as some in Washington believe?

BROWN: Richard, thank you.

On to Susan Candiotti, who's in Buffalo tonight. And a bail hearing for the men arrested last week for allegedly supporting terrorists. Susan, the headline from Buffalo tonight.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Aaron. Some new evidence presented today by prosecutors as promised, including an intriguing e-mail that could be a threat. But is it? We'll show it to you and you'll decide.

BROWN: Susan, thank you.

And finally, on to Capitol Hill and the hearings today, on signals that might have been missed before September 11, 2001. David Ensor follows that for us. David, the headline from you.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, committee staffers have been looking through 400,000 pages of classified documents. And they found some evidence that the intelligence community had quite a few clues before 9/11 -- that an airliner, that airliners might be used by al Qaeda as weapons of terrorism.

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

Also, moment. Also coming up tonight, more on the tangled diplomacy involving the United States, the United Nations and Iraq, with someone who knows it all quite well, the former ambassador to the U.N., Bill Richardson, joins us. And, segment 7 tonight, in the fewest words possible: Life, loud. silence, good. Enough said. Hopefully, you'll understand the tease when you see the story, which comes at the very end of the program tonight. So stay around for that.

All of that in the hour ahead. We begin with Iraq. The administration spent the day trying to take back the diplomatic initiative before the Iraqi offer to let the inspectors back in becomes unstoppable. President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld lobbied Congress hard today to quickly pass a resolution supporting military action against Iraq if necessary.

Meantime, the president again sent the message that the United States would do what it thought was necessary, even it means going it alone. A couple of reports tonight, beginning with our senior White House correspondent, John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Progress in working with Congress on Iraq. But clear frustration that some at the United Nations seem inclined to take Saddam Hussein at his word.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is just a ploy. This is a tactic. This is a way to try to say to the world, oh, I'm a wonderful, peaceful fellow, when in fact, he not only kills his own people, he's terrorizing his neighborhood and he's developing weapons of mass destruction. We must deal with him.

KING: Iraq's offer to let weapons inspectors return is making it more difficult for the White House to sell the idea of a tough new United Nations resolution. Key Security Council members Russia and France say the U.N. should first put Iraq's new promise to the test. Vice President Cheney echoed the president's skepticism.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the letter the regime says it has no weapons of mass destruction. But we know that is a lie.

KING: Mr. Cheney also made clear there is a backup plan if the administration doesn't get its way at the United Nations.

CHENEY: The government of the United States will not look the other way as threats gather against the American people.

KING: But for now, the focus remains on U.N. diplomacy. Secretary of State Powell briefed the president on the negotiations. And Defense Secretary Rumsfeld told Congress it could help the cause by quickly passing a resolution supporting the president.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: This is a critical moment for our country and for the world. Our resolve is being put to the test.

KING: CNN has learned a White House draft urges Congress to authorize all necessary and appropriate force against Iraq if the president concludes diplomacy will not succeed. The final language is subject to negotiations, but congressional leaders promised the president to pass a resolution within the next two weeks. That leaves the United Nations as the president's major challenge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And administration officials insist tonight their private diplomacy is going much better than the public debate that the United Nations would suggest. That could be put to the test, though, early next week. U.S. and British diplomats working now on the language of a Security Council resolution that would authorize military strikes if Iraq does not keep its commitments to the United Nations.

The lobbying campaign will continue here, Aaron, in the morning. Secretary of State Colin Powell is coming to see the president. Reporters will be allowed into the Oval Office at the top of that meeting.

BROWN: John, I saw a poll today -- I know the White House doesn't like to talk about polls. But if you take the people who don't think there should be any military action against Iraq and bundle that with people who only think it should be under a U.N. resolution of some sort, there is a clear majority. How does the White House see the politics of this?

KING: The White House believes, here in the United States, it is on pretty solid ground, especially now that you have a commitment from the bipartisanship leadership of Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike. Most in Congress think a resolution backing the president will pass by an overwhelming lopsided margin.

So the president sees those polls. Yes, you're right, they don't like to talk about them here. But they're well aware of the domestic political polling. One of the reasons the president is pushing Congress to act and act now, is they believe he has the upper hand in the domestic political argument. They want to keep the upper hand.

BROWN: John King, thank you, senior White House correspondent.

The U.N. now, and how the United States and the British position may fare there. Will the private diplomacy that John mentioned work, or has the momentum now shifted entirely in the other direction? What is said publicly, what is said privately? We turn to U.N. correspondent Richard Roth for that.

Richard, good evening.

ROTH: Good evening, Aaron. Secretary General Kofi Annan likes to preach unity for the Security Council, all in the cause of world peace. But once again on Iraq, the divisions are showing. The U.S. and U.K. on one side and France, China and Russia potentially on the other side.

At the U.N. today, Kofi Annan met with Naji Sabri, Iraq's foreign minister. And at that meeting, the secretary general told the Iraqi of the need for full and unconditional cooperation with the weapons inspectors. The United States thinks Annan did not get enough of a deal with Iraq ensuring access, when Baghdad decided Monday to reverse course and accept the inspectors.

The U.S. and United Kingdom are working on a proposed resolution now that will tighten the timetables on Iraqi cooperation and perhaps warn of consequences. Russia and China oppose use of force, though.

Annan, at this meeting, was flanked by chief weapons inspector on Iraq Hans Blix, sitting down to Annan's right. He praised Blix' professionalism to the Iraqis. It was just a few weeks ago that the Iraqis branded Blix a spy. Well, Blix, at this meeting, told the Iraqis he'd like to get off to a flying start regarding inspections. Blix will also get his wings tomorrow from the U.N. Security Council in a closed-door meeting.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi foreign minister gets to speak to the world when he appears before the formal General Assembly session -- Aaron.

BROWN: Richard, John said that the White House view is that, the public's statements aside, that there's been a lot of progress. Do you hear signs that that is so?

ROTH: We don't hear those signs publicly. But compromises do occur, despite all the rhetoric you hear. And the Council still wants to appear united, because all countries want disarmament.

It's still early to predict what might happen. But next week you'll see some more action.

BROWN: OK, thank you. Richard Roth, outside the United Nations tonight.

There have been a lot of developments in the war on terror in recent days. A key one by most accounts, the arrest of Ramzi Binalshibh, thought to be a key planner in the 9/11 attacks. Still, it's hard to deny that the arrest of American citizens in western New York were dramatic and unsettling. The fear that there may be a fifth column of angry men waiting to attack.

What these men have actually done, though, what was actually illegal, remains a bit of mystery tonight. And the government's case, how it makes the case against these men, will be very intriguing to watch play out. Once again, CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: The six defendants sat calmly, some taking notes, while the government tried to convince the court the men were too dangerous to set free on bond. Prosecutor William Hochul offering as proof an e-mail the FBI says was sent by defendant Mukhtar al-Bakri last July to an uncharged, unidentified person in western New York.

The government called the e-mail the big meal. It read: "How are you, my beloved? God willing, you are fine. I would like to remind you, the next meal will be very huge. No one will be able to withstand it, except for those with faith. There are people here who had visions, and their visions were strong. Their visions were explained that this will be very strong. No one will be able to bare (sic) it."

WILLIAM HOCHUL, ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY: What we said in court today is that Mr. al-Bakri admitted that it referred to a large explosion which was being planned by al Qaeda against Americans.

CANDIOTTI: Prosecutors argued the men were easily able to travel to Afghanistan in the spring and summer of 2001. In the first group, three suspects who flew from New York City to Pakistan and paid about $1,300 each. Four men were in the second group, flying from Canada to London, the United Arab Emirates and then Pakistan.

All but one spent about five weeks overseas. Making the arrangements to get to the camp, suspect Kamal Derwish, who is not in custody. Government sources call him the recruiter, a major player. The FBI says defendant Sahim Alwan admitted he went to the camp and spent only 10 days.

In what prosecutors call his confession, Alwan said -- quote -- "On approximately the eighth day, I attended a speech given by Osama bin Laden concerning the alliance of the Islamic Jihad and al Qaeda." He also mentioned how important it is to train and fight for the cause of Islam. He also espoused anti-American and anti-Israeli statements. He had a large security detail at the prayer hall where he spoke.

The government charges the men were given code names at the camp and were trained by al Qaeda. The defense calls the prosecutors' evidence thin.

BILL CLAUSS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The issue right now is bail. The government has to prove today that clear and convincing evidence that they're a danger to the community. We don't think they've done that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Tomorrow, expect to hear from the defense when they have their say in court in the afternoon, including testimony from their family and friends, who insist the men are not a danger to the community and never intended anyone any harm -- Aaron.

BROWN: Susan, thank you. Susan Candiotti in Buffalo for us tonight.

More now on Yemen. Not necessarily does it relate to the Lackawanna suspects, but having to do with proven members of al Qaeda. Many come from Yemen and many are believed to have gone back there from Afghanistan. To catch them, about 800 U.S. troops have been quietly dispatched to another tiny country nearby.

From the Pentagon tonight, CNN's Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With U.S. intelligence indicating a number of al Qaeda fugitives are hiding out in remote areas of Yemen, the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden, the U.S. military has quietly moved some 800 troops -- including about 200 special operations commandos -- to nearby Djibouti, where they, along with CIA forces, are poised to hunt down, capture or kill al Qaeda fugitives.

The east African nation is ideally positioned to serve as a launching pad for covert snatch missions either into Yemen or Somalia -- both places where al Qaeda operatives have sought refuge in the past.

The U.S. amphibious assault ship, Bellawood, is nearby in the Arabian Sea, and could be used a staging area for special operations troops and their helicopters. Both Yemen and Somalia are the responsibility of General Tommy Franks, who, while running the war in Afghanistan, is also meeting with Gulf allies, like Qatar, as he plans for possible war with Iraq.

But the Pentagon denies it is shifting the counterterrorism mission to the U.S. special operations command in order to free up franks to concentrate on Iraq.

RUMSFELD: The idea that there's going to be a massive change, and the special operations people will, in every instance, be the supported combatant commander is just not the case.

MCINTYRE: Pentagon officials say the increased role for special operations troops is simply the next logical step, as the pursuit of al Qaeda moves to other countries. It's also a recognition that terrorist networks don't fit neatly into the traditional geographical responsibility of U.S. commanders.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: What we're trying to do is ensure that, in a global war, we have the kind of view -- in some cases, a global view is required. Because these networks, I mean, they don't respect any boundaries.

MCINTYRE (on camera): At the moment, there is no indication that any mission is imminent involving the U.S. troops in Djibouti. But if the U.S. gets actionable intelligence about the whereabouts of al Qaeda suspects, the forces are ready to move on short notice. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, the report on intelligence failures prior to September 11. And up next, navigating the shoals of dealing with the U.N. on Iraq. We'll talk with former ambassador to the U.N., Bill Richardson. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SECRETARY BILL RICHARDSON, FMR. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: ... putting pressure on the U.N., keeping their options open, yet pushing with the Congress. And then, at the appropriate time, if necessary, taking military action.

The only surprise here, Aaron, is the fact that within the Security Council, it could be that the United States will have more problem than it thinks. I know there are positive reports. But the fact that Russia has said, we don't need a resolution, the French, that are key, have not fully embraced our position.

And then beyond the Security Council, there are the nonpermanent members. You have to get nine out of 15 votes. There's another group of members that you have to convince. And I think the swing players are Colombia, Syria and Mexico. So those are the only unpredictable elements.

Iraq's letter to the secretary general, when they say territorial integrity, Iraq must have that respect, it means that I think the Iraqis are planning not to let access into really key areas, like Saddam's palaces or the Iraqi revolutionary guard facilities. So I think they're up to their old tricks.

BROWN: Well, it does seem to be a replay. A couple of quick ones. Having gone to the United Nations and engaged the Security Council and the U.N. on this, as a practical matter and as a political matter, can the administration now say, to heck with them, and go it alone?

RICHARDSON: Well, not yet. I think they have to play it out. They've already had some positive results from the fact that the Saudis now have said that we can use the bases because we've gone to the U.N.

There's not an overwhelming urgency to get this done, to take this action with Iraq. So I think the administration has time on its side. If it goes beyond -- I think they should put a time deadline on U.N. action, if goes beyond, for instance, next week.

But I think next week you can see pretty clearly. Get a flexible resolution that says, use whatever means necessary. Or, if Iraq doesn't comply, serious consequences. Avoid using the word "use of force," because that will lose and possibly cause a veto.

I think that if they continue on that path, it makes sense. But there are two other players here that they have to watch, Aaron. One is the secretary general of the U.N., who was on his own in the past, has tried to mediate disputes between the U.S. and Iraq and the U.N. He's a major player, a major diplomat. I think it has to be a constant dialogue with him.

And then the inspectors themselves. I don't know Hans Blix. Richard Butler, the past inspector, was very strong and demanded full access, and was not against pushing the Iraqis. I don't know if Hans Blix will be in this kind of position.

BROWN: I've got maybe half a minute. I want to try and get two things done. Tell me if this is outside your portfolio. How advanced a nuclear weapons program do you think the Iraqis have? RICHARDSON: I have my doubts. I think even if they have those tubes, where you have reprocessed uranium, I'm not sure that they've reached that stage. Chemical and biological, yes.

BROWN: That was the next part of the question. In 15 seconds or less, are they a direct threat, in your view, to the United States?

RICHARDSON: Yes, they're a direct threat. But they're not an urgent threat. All of this doesn't have to happen right away. And I think the administration should pursue its goals with going to the Congress, going to the U.N., working allied support. And then, if it's in the national interest, the war on terrorism, whether we can proceed with two efforts at the same time, then they should act. But there should be some patience here.

BROWN: Secretary, Ambassador Richardson, candidate Richardson, all those things, it's always good to talk to you. Thanks for your time tonight.

RICHARDSON: Thank you, Aaron.

BROWN: Bill Richardson with us tonight.

A few stories from around the world making news tonight we'll touch on briefly. We begin in Israel. Two days of awful violence yet again.

Today an Israeli policeman was killed, two other Israelis wounded, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a bus stop in northern Israel, not far from the West Bank town of Jenin. It was the first suicide attack targeting Israelis in more than five weeks.

And yesterday, five Palestinian children were hurt after a bomb filled with screws and nails exploded at a school near Hebron. Bomb experts detonated a second bomb as well. Israeli police say they believe these bombs were planted by extremist Jewish settlers.

Freedom today, of a sort, for French collaborator Maurice Papon. Judges ruled the 92-year-old was too old, too sick, to finish his 10- year sentence for helping send Jews to Nazi death camps. The decision has caused public outrage throughout France.

In Spain today, scientists have opened the tomb of Christopher Columbus' younger brother, Diego. The Spanish city of Seville and the Dominican Republic both claim to have the remains of Columbus. Spanish investigators hope DNA tests of the brother's remains will settle this crucial battle once and for all.

Later on NEWSNIGHT, the Kentucky governor under fire, accused of sexual misconduct and more.

And up next, a report on how American intelligence failed before September 11. This is NEWSNIGHT from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: For the first time today, a joint congressional committee held open hearings about intelligence failures leading up to the attacks on the 11th of September -- what we knew and didn't know about the plots and the means, and how the attacks might be carried.

These hearings have been going on in secret for quite some time now. The White House isn't entirely happy with what's likely to be made public. It's already fighting with the committee over declassifying a number of documents.

This promises to be uncomfortable for a lot of people in this administration, and in the last one, too. Here's CNN's David Ensor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): Relatives of the 9/11 dead were the first to speak when they said they believe U.S. intelligence let them down.

STEPHEN PUSH, WIDOWER OF PENTAGON VICTIM: Our loved ones paid the ultimate price for the worst American intelligence failure since Pearl Harbor. I hope that Kristin and I can do justice to their sacrifice and contribute in some small way to preventing other families from experiencing the immeasurable pain that accompanies such tragic loss.

ENSOR: The staff of the joint House Senate special committee found multiple intelligence clues before 9/11, that the U.S. homeland was a target and that aircraft might be used as weapons.

Item, in August, 1998: "The intelligence community obtained information that a group of unidentified Arabs planned to fly an explosives-laden plane from a foreign country into the World Trade Center."

Item in the fall of 1998: "The intelligence community received information concerning a bin Laden plot involving aircraft in the New York and Washington areas."

Item in April of 2001: "The intelligence community obtained information from a source with terrorist connections who speculated that bin Laden would be interested in commercial pilots as potential terrorists."

ELEANOR HILL, 9/11 COMMITTEE STAFF DIRECTOR: Despite these reports, the community did not produce any specific assessments of the likelihood that terrorists would use airplanes as weapons.

SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI (D), MARYLAND: Do you believe that there is a smoking gun on what went wrong?

HILL: If you mean by smoking gun that somebody had information of when, where, how this was going to happen in the United States government, we have not found that.

ENSOR: With time running out for the Congressional inquiry, an increasing number of members now favor setting up a blue ribbon commission to delve further into lessons learned.

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY, (R), ALABAMA: I'm afraid we've asked the Joint Staff to move a mountain, and perhaps only given them a couple of shovels and a little over six months to get it done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: The committee and the Bush administration are still wrangling over how much more to make public. The White House wants to withhold anything on what Presidents Bush and Clinton knew, and when they knew it.

And U.S. intelligence wants to hold back information about one al Qaeda figure, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, information committee sources say would show that U.S. intelligence dropped the ball on how important he was -- Aaron.

BROWN: Senator Shelby has been an interesting one in this to me, a Republican senator normally close to the White House, critical, however, very critical, of how cooperative the government, the administration has been.

What can you tell us about that? Is there a sense that the administration has not fully cooperated?

ENSOR: This is an administration that prefers to do its business in secret to the extent possible, to keep things behind closed doors, and is claiming executive privilege for anything that was advised to the President, any information that was given to the President.

So we don't really know, but there is a sense that the administration may not want to reveal that it didn't follow this as closely as it perhaps should have.

That clearly is going to also be a charge leveled at the Clinton administration.

BROWN: I suspect it will be. David, thank you. David Ensor who does national security for us.

Still to come on NEWSNIGHT tonight, more on the saga of "Chicago Tribune" columnist no more, Bob Greene.

And up next the scandal in the Kentucky capital. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We have the first now of two stories tonight about people in the public eye and allegations of sexual misconduct in the course of their work.

We begin with their news from a place that's probably a lot less exotic to most of you than Baghdad. It comes to us from Louisville, Kentucky. And the talk of the town in Louisville is a lawsuit against the state's governor, Paul Patton, brought by a woman who says the governor retaliated after ending their alleged affair -- retaliated by having state regulators target the nursing homes she owns.

Here's how the story is being covered in Louisville. Their news comes to us from WHAS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Live from WHAS-11 News, this is coverage you can count on.

GARY ROEDEMEIR, ANCHOR, WHAS-11 NEWS, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: Good evening, everyone. I'm Gary Roedemeier.

JEAN WEST, ANCHOR, WHAS-11 NEWS, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: And I'm Jean West. New developments tonight after a WHAS-11 Eye Team investigation.

ROEDEMEIER: Well, just over an hour ago, a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment was filed against Kentucky Governor Paul Patton. In that lawsuit, businesswoman Tina Conner of western Kentucky claimed she had a liaison with the governor in his office.

We have team coverage of this developing story. Bridget Jacobs joins us live with more in the lawsuit in tonight's top story at five -- Bridget.

BRIDGET JACOBS, WHAS-11 NEWS REPORTER: This lawsuit was just filed by Tina Conner, naming Governor Paul Patton as the defendant in a sexual harassment case.

Now, the lawsuit claims that Conner and Patton had a sexual relationship, and says this is a "claim for sexual harassment and retaliation, in violation of KRS Chapter 344 -- intentional infliction of emotional distress, outrageous conduct and waste."

WEST: Now again, Governor Paul Patton does strongly deny the allegations made against him. Earlier today at a news conference, Patton said his conduct with Tina Conner has been appropriate.

And he called the accusations "acts of desperation." George Szell (ph) was at the news conference and has more on both sides of this story.

GEORGE SZELL, WHAS-11 NEWS REPORTER: Governor Patton, flanked by his wife Judy, kept his schedule today, but the acceptance of awards was overshadowed by nursing home owner Tina Conner and her allegations against him.

PAUL PATTON, GOVERNOR OF ALABAMA: They're not true.

SZELL: In an exclusive interview with WHAS-11, Conner alleged the two-year love affair with the Governor of Kentucky. TINA CONNER, PLAINTIFF IN LAWSUIT AGAINST GOVERNOR PATTON: I feel like there was a lot of fear involved with it, but another side, there was some -- you know, he's like, wow -- a little bit of wow to it, also. You know, this is the governor caught?

SZELL: Last night, that governor was watching.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Governor, did you see the report last night? Did you see the interview?

PATTON: I saw the one at six o'clock. I didn't stay up for the 11 o'clock interviews.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: What are your feelings? Talk about your credibility.

PATTON: Well, again, I think I would address that subject totally and fully, as far as the substance goes. I'm not going to get into trying a case in the media.

SZELL: But he's clearly shaken by Conner's allegations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Do you feel like you're being blackmailed here?

PATTON: No. No, I think it's evidently revenge -- I'm just not going to comment at this time.

ROEDEMEIR: And our team coverage continues tonight on this story at six o'clock. We'll have reaction from out in Clinton, Kentucky, in western Kentucky. That's Tina Conner's home town.

And at 5:30, how will this controversy affect the future -- the Governor's political future?

Those stories tonight at 5:30 and six, here on WHAS-11.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: It is the story in Louisville.

Later on NEWSNIGHT, we'll take you to a resort where you can spend a very quiet time.

Up next the uproar over "Chicago Tribune" columnist -- former columnist -- Bob Greene.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, the demise of a Chicago institution. We're right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Our second story of sexual misconduct in the public eye is a tough one for us. It involves someone we know and like.

Bob Greene was force to resign by his employer, the "Chicago Tribune," after the paper learned that Greene had had a sexual relationship with a young woman a decade ago -- a woman who had been the subject of one of his columns.

No laws were broken. This is all about morals and ethics. And in the end, Greene agreed that his conduct, even though it was a decade ago, was such that he should resign.

In a moment we'll talk with his boss. First, some background.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: You know his byline, and it could be that you know Bob Greene's face, as well. In addition to being a widely syndicated columnist for the "Chicago Tribune," he's also been a commentator on television locally in Chicago.

He used to work for ABC News' "Nightline," and he has been a guest of ours, as well. He's written a dozen books, a couple of which have been bestsellers.

In between the books and the columns, for a week, which is a lot, Bob Greene came to be known as the champion of old-fashioned American values, a champion of the underdog and especially a champion of children who had been abused -- abused by their parents or by the system.

Greene has had a lot to say on a lot of subjects.

But on the subject of the mistake he admits to having made, he couldn't say much more in the e-mail he sent to AP then, "I don't have the words to express the sadness I feel."

And sadness seems to be what the people on the streets of Chicago feel, as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Always looked to Bob Greene as somebody who I can trust. I don't feel I can do that anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just can't believe -- best (ph) of Bob Greene that I read.

BROWN: Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago thinks it's only fair that Greene was forced to resign. Journalists spend a lot of time looking under other people's beds, is the mayor's feeling, and so shouldn't squawk when they get a dose of their own medicine.

RICHARD DALEY JR., MAYOR OF CHICAGO: What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

BROWN: But the letters to the "Trib" have been pretty evenly divided for and against Mr. Greene. Maybe the only safe thing to say is that, unlike newspaper columns, life is not black and white.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A thicket of issues to wade through here with this. We think our guest tonight would be a good person to talk to, even if he wasn't deeply involved professionally, not to mention personally, in it all.

James Warren is the Deputy Managing Editor of the "Chicago Tribune." He's known Bob Greene for a quarter of a century. Jim, it's good to have you on the program.

Obviously, not a very pleasant week for you all. Can you explain, simply, why the paper felt he had to resign?

JAMES WARREN, DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, "THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE": Well, daily, Aaron, we hold people, you hold people to accountable, be it Bill Clinton, Gary Condit, Jack Welch, the ex-CEO of GM -- I'm sorry, GE.

We're for it. It's special Constitutional protections and privileges. We can go where many other people cannot. And thus I think the public is allowed an expectation that we aren't corrupt.

The public is allowed an explanation that we don't exploit certain privileges we have. We don't exploit the trust that we rely on heavily, and that if violate, can hurt us, even break us.

Journalists, as you know, have no single unified code of conduct. Rules might be different -- CNN, the "Washington Post," "Chicago Tribune," the "Chicago Sun-Times."

We have a set of standards we enforce ourselves. And when we looked at our standards, Bob crossed the line and clearly -- so he clearly exploited his position as a trusted voice in this community, as a famous columnist, for personal gain, not soon after a high school girl came to his office with her parents to meet Bob, and apparent (ph) journalist, Ed Carroll.

BROWN: Yes, it is not -- Jim, correct me -- it is not that he had an illicit sexual relationship.

WARREN: Right.

BROWN: It is that he had one with someone who had been the subject of a story?

WARREN: Yeah. It's a little difficult for us for a bunch of reasons. We have not divulged all the details that we learned during a very painful week last week.

And now some of the debate, both on some of the Web sites that we all look at and in the pages of the "Tribune," in our letters column particularly, I think had been a little bit off the mark.

This was not, Aaron, about an extra-marital affair. It was about somebody directly in connection with their work, exploiting their position for personal gain or enjoyment. And I should also note that even in the scenario that we have laid out publicly, it's pretty darn clear that when confronted with the basic allegations last week, he conceded their key elements and voluntarily offered his resignation.

We did not at first accept it. We suspended him with pay, did our own investigation, and then, albeit painfully, Saturday night accepted the initial resignation.

BROWN: Jim, a couple of quick ones. What -- within the paper itself, reporters and editors, other columnists -- management's position here pretty much applauded or questioned?

WARREN: No, I think generally applauded, in a, I think a very poignant, difficult staff meeting. My boss, Ann Marie Lipinski, told as much as she could. I think everybody here trusts her judgment and believes that we did the right thing.

There is a bit of concern that a lot of details haven't come out. We're reporters. We demand full disclosure of everybody else. And in this case, we haven't given absolutely full disclosure, in part because of concerns about privacy and certain in-house guidelines we have about disclosing sexual misconduct, the details of alleged sexual misconduct, with you (ph).

BROWN: Do you think in any way that Bob has been waiting for a decade for this shoe to drop?

WARREN: Boy, you know, I don't know. That's an interesting question.

Tonight -- and this is perhaps an example of idle minds and devil's workshop -- waiting for you, I was simultaneously watching a Yankees game on ESPN and checking out our computerized library system.

I was just curious, in some of the major stories that we have all reported on the last four or five, six years, most of them playing out while I was in Washington running our bureau there, and thus was not involved with Bob -- I was -- and stories with sort of, some sort of sexual content.

And could be Clinton, Lewinsky, Gary Condit, Marv Albert, the huge Roman Catholic church sex scandal, even smaller, titillating things like Hugh Grant, Frank Gifford, Kathy Lee-Gifford -- and something -- there was a big story here last year, the divorce filing of Juanita Jordan against her husband, Michael, the subject of more than 100 columns by Bob and one book.

I want to see how much he'd written about those, and I found not a single word.

Now, is that telling? Was there a certain sort of odd honor that Bob upheld in knowing that he could not comment on any of those subjects with a certain moral authority?

Perhaps, but what would it say about an institution knowing that, that somebody so high profile, so important to you had to take a pass, perhaps, on so many big, obvious issues.

BROWN: What a difficult week for him and a very difficult week for you. We appreciate your time tonight to talk about it.

WARREN: My pleasure.

BROWN: Thank you. Jim Warren of the "Chicago Tribune."

Not easy stuff.

BROWN: This, next on NEWSNIGHT -- you probably need this, too -- some moments of silence. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Finally from us tonight, noise -- or a lack of noise. A retreat where you have to leave your cell phone, the stress and all the noise -- as in all the noise -- of daily life behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FATHER OF THREE YOUNG CHILDREN: There'll be times where I feel like I'm being pulled in three, four different directions. The job is pulling me one way, the family.

I've got three young children, so that means soccer games, baseball games, after-school activities, or just being there for the children. I think that's important, is just spending time with them.

And then, of course, my marriage.

I'm not doing anything very well. I'm juggling a lot of balls, and feel like I'm not juggling any of them very well.

SINGLE MOTHER: Stop it. Stop it. It's not going to help the car.

Like probably most of us, I often feel that I have too much to worry about for one person. I'm a mother, you know, I have a hectic career. And sometimes I do feel like there's just not time to even stop and think or reflect about where you are in your life.

BOB FITZGERALD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IGNATIUS HOUSE: When we talk about a silent retreat, I -- the silence is just quieting, solitude, letting the static leave our head.

And that's the idea of a retreat. The silence in the retreat is to be able to listen to God.

One of the things we discover in a retreat is that we are very much spirit as well as we are body. There is clearly a spiritual, spirit part of us. That has very little to do with the reality of belonging to one church or another church, one religion or another religion.

FATHER: It was a little unnerving, a little scary, not knowing what it was going to be like, because the world we live in, we're so used to talking all the time. It's rare that we had any extended periods of time of silence.

MOTHER: I was terrified. I thought, how will I -- how will I spend three days without saying anything? Because I talk all the time, at work and at home. If I feel like I'm -- I'm either talking or listening to someone all the time.

FITZGERALD: An important part of the retreat is that it helps you get realigned and take stock of what are your priorities, you know, God, family, career.

MOTHER: It is life-altering when you suddenly realize that, how much I needed to be able to pull away and sort of step out of what is the stress of my everyday life.

The people are communicating with us in a variety of ways every second. And there's an expectation about, you know, us communicating that.

FATHER: Most people like me spend the vast majority of your time inside, you know, in an office or your house or wherever. And so we've become somewhat disconnected with nature.

And what I love about the Ignatius House is I kind of spend as much time as I can outside, either staring off into space or watching a bird fly in the air, and being as free as can be, and saying, you know, that's what I need to be.

I need to just let go of the burdens that are weighing me down, hand them over to God and just and be as free as that bird that's flying in the air.

MOTHER: Most of us are pretty smart. We have a lot of answers to things already inside of ourselves. But sometimes we can't listen to ourselves, because we are so distracted by our lives and all the, you know, and all the things going on in them.

FITZGERALD: You're here to be a human being, not a human doing. And that's what we really encourage people to do during the retreat. Just to be.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Brian Koszycki (ph), Atlanta producer and editor put that together for us. We thank him and we thank you.

We'll see you all tomorrow. Good night for all of us on NEWSNIGHT.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





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