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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown
Uday, Qusay Hussein Killed in Mosul By American Forces
Aired July 22, 2003 - 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.
Spend a little time looking at the lives of the Hussein boys and you'll find it most difficult to feel bad that they've met their maker. Uday, the elder, seems by all accounts to have been truly psychotic and his younger brother only slightly better. They will not be missed.
The Pentagon is considering releasing pictures of their shot up bodies in an effort to convince Iraqis they really are dead that they really can't kill or torture or torment anymore.
But, of greater concern is whether their deaths will help end the attacks on American troops or lead to their father or a more peaceful and stable Iraq, questions tonight on the biggest day in Iraq since the statue fell.
We begin the whip with the brothers who were killed in the northern city of Mosul today, Nic Robertson there for us tonight, Nic a headline from you.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, according to the soldiers that carried out the attack there was no way Uday or Qusay were going to escape. They also say that the pair didn't appear to want to come out alive. They appeared to want to fight right to the death - Aaron.
BROWN: That they did. Nic, we'll get back to you at the top tonight.
The reaction out of the White House, Suzanne Malveaux is there for us, Suzanne a headline.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, a top Bush aide offered his resignation today. He was responsible for vetting the president's State of the Union address. The president did not accept his resignation. This is just the latest development over the intelligence flap.
BROWN: Suzanne, we'll try and get you in and out of the rain pretty quick here.
On to the homecoming in West Virginia for Private First Class Jessica Lynch, Bob Franken in Elizabeth, West Virginia tonight, Bob a headline. BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, it is the homecoming of Jessica Lynch and her house has changed considerably since she was last here but so has her life - Aaron.
BROWN: Bob, we look forward to the report.
The latest now on the case of the missing Baylor University basketball player after an arrest was made last night, as we reported it here, Gary Tuchman in Waco, Texas tonight, Gary the headline.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, police here in Waco say Carlton Dotson confessed to the FBI that he shot and killed his Baylor University basketball friend with a handgun and that's why he's in jail but Dotson's defense attorney says he does not like the way the police have done their work.
BROWN: Gary, thank you, back to you and the rest shortly.
Also coming up tonight on NEWSNIGHT, a year after the Pennsylvania mine rescue, we'll talk with the only miner to go back work back underground, a nice follow-up to one of the best stories of 2002.
And, of course, our nightly look at what our friends, the ink- stained wretches, are working on for the morning papers around the country and around the world, all that and more in the hour ahead.
We begin tonight with a pair of Aces, Uday and Qusay. Many would call them evil incarnate, to many proving that oldest of adages, like father like sons. The good news for the American side is that they are dead, which is also the bad news because dead men are impossible to interrogate, our coverage beings tonight in Mosul and CNN's Nic Robertson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Gunfire traded as elite U.S. troops from the 101st Airborne close in on Saddam Hussein's two sons, Uday and Qusay. The battle in the northern city of Mosul lasted four hours resulting in the deaths of two of the most feared people in Iraq.
LT. GEN. RICARDO SANCHEZ, COMMANDER, U.S. GROUND FORCES: They died in a fierce gun battle. They resisted the detention and the efforts of the coalition forces to go in there and apprehend them and they were killed in the ensuing gunfight and the attacks that we conducted on the residence.
ROBERTSON: One Iraqi captured and two others killed in the battle that involved small arms fire, grenades, Tow missiles, and even helicopter fire.
SANCHEZ: It was a walk-in last night that came in and gave us the information that those two individuals were in that residence and the other two that were killed in there we're still working to get final confirmation on who they are. ROBERTSON: Across the street from the attack, where some houses were damaged in crossfire, neighbors suspected the house owner may have given Uday and Qusay away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He had told someone that those were Uday and Qusay with big problems. No one knows what he meant by big problems.
ROBERTSON: By late evening, security still tight, damaged power lines sparking in the wind and a small fire burning inside the house.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: Neighbors say the house owner's brother had once been detained by Saddam Hussein and that early in the morning before the attack he had sent his wife and family away.
Unclear whether or not the house owner was involved in the deaths of Uday and Qusay but certainly the soldiers who came to capture the pair say that there was no way they were going to escape capture and, from what they could see, the pair certainly weren't going to be taken alive - Aaron.
BROWN: All right, let's try and do three quick questions. Was there an attempt to negotiate for them to come out alive or did the Americans essentially go in there firing?
ROBERTSON: It's not clear if there was a process of negotiation but it's certainly clear, the soldiers here say that when they arrived they did not intend to go in firing. The level of fire, the type of weaponry used escalated as they received return fire. It went from small arms gunfire, heavy machinegun fire, grenades launched at the building to Tow missiles launched, to bringing in helicopters. They stopped short of bringing in aircraft - Aaron.
BROWN: And, this firefight went on for many hours. There were only four people in that building and they were able to hold off for five or six hours the Americans, a couple hundred Americans?
ROBERTSON: The building is fairly substantial and when I've talked to some of the soldiers who were involved in that fight they say it was absolutely intense at moments. The area where we are, they say, we would not have been able to stand here.
We're told the helicopters stood off firing heavy machinegun fire into the building. It perhaps appears implausible that they could have held out for so long but that is what we are told what happened. Neighbors here say that the battle lasted for about four hours.
BROWN: And, is there anything about the house, is it essentially just - I've seen it described as a villa, a home, a compound. Is it just a home in a residential neighborhood in the city?
ROBERTSON: It's an up market neighborhood. The buildings around here are relatively palatial on one side of the road, small houses on the other. It looked like it was a nice house. It looked like it was owned by a very above average family but it's not a big compound and, certainly by the standards that Uday and Qusay had come to get used to over their years in Iraq, it wouldn't have measured up to those standards by any stretch of the imagination.
BROWN: And, finally, you've been in Mosul now for the last several hours, last number of hours, reaction there to all of this and what are you hearing about reaction in the rest of the country?
ROBERTSON: Well, certainly, there was a lot of celebratory gunfire in Baghdad. It's been a bit more mute here around Mosul, a lot of security on the outskirts of the city to try and catch - U.S. forces there to try and catch anyone who might be leaving.
There have been a few inquisitive people looking on to see what's going on this morning. There's a mosque here. The call to prayer came and went. The people came and went to the mosque. They looked to see what was happening but there have not been any - there's not been celebratory gunfire.
There have not been a lot of people arriving this morning to see what's going on. It almost appears as if it's sort of business as usual in a strange sort of way - Aaron.
BROWN: Nic, thank you very much for kicking this off for us tonight, Nic Robertson who is in Mosul.
The news broke with Iraq's civil administrator on Capitol Hill. Paul Bremer was there to give lawmakers a progress report on the occupation and the reconstruction of Iraq. He's been taking some hits on that score from both sides of the aisle. He was optimistic today. So were some of the critics. So was the commander in Iraq.
Here's our Senior Pentagon Correspondent CNN's Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pentagon sources say the U.S. military photographed the dead bodies of Uday and Qusay after the assault on the safe house in Mosul and is considering releasing the pictures to underscore what the U.S. says is the key message of the raid that Saddam's sons are really gone and Saddam himself is next.
SANCHEZ: This will prove to the Iraqi people that at least these two members of the regime will not be coming back into power, which is what we've stated over and over again.
MCINTYRE: The successful mission to eliminate Saddam's sons overshadowed the latest ambush in Iraq, which claimed the life of one U.S. soldier and wounded another. The hope now is that the anti- American insurgents have been dealt a real setback.
JAMES WOOLSEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: This is going to help break the will of the resisters, the Ba'athists and the Tikritis, many of whom served as officers in the Republican Guard and the rest, the people in Saddam's clan. I think this is a very positive step. MCINTYRE: The Pentagon says it's under no illusions the guerrilla-style attacks on U.S. troops will end soon. In fact, officials tell CNN the U.S. military is expecting more attacks possibly in retribution.
Only one Ace in the deck of the most wanted, Saddam Hussein, remains at large now and with the prospect that some Iraqi may collect between $15 million and $30 million for turning in his sons, there is optimism that success will breed more success.
PAUL BREMER, COALITION REGIONAL AUTHORITY HEAD: I think it's quite possible that what we'll find after this now is that people will be willing to come forward as they have been over the last few weeks.
MCINTYRE: Among the Iraqis cooperating, say Pentagon sources, is the Ace of diamonds, former presidential secretary Abid Hamid Mahmud. In fact, sources say he helped identify the bodies after they were transferred to Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: And, Aaron, CNN has learned some new details about the raid that may answer some of those questions you were proposing to Nic Robertson. According to Pentagon officials, the U.S. military forces entered the house on the first floor only to discover that the occupants had barricaded themselves on the second floor in a specially fortified area that had been hardened with things like bulletproof glass.
It was at that point the soldiers left and called in for more firepower. Eventually, an Apache helicopter gunship blew a hole in the side of the building with a Tow antitank missile - Aaron.
BROWN: Obviously, particularly given the backdrop of the last few weeks, this was a good day at the Pentagon. Is there any disappointment that they were unable to get them alive?
MCINTYRE: Well, you know, there's always an advantage to getting them alive because they could possibly get intelligence from them but I think they were more concerned with just getting them.
They weren't overly concerned with getting them alive and we are told that they discovered in this place documents and other intelligence that may provide leads to the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein. So, they're also somewhat optimistic that they may be closing in on the former Iraqi leader as well.
BROWN: And, I'm not sure, honestly Jamie, if this is a fair question to ask you or not so walk away from it if you want. Is it at all surprising that they were together?
MCINTYRE: It is. It's very surprising because the intelligence they had was that they'd all split up to make it harder to find and, of course, they were very surprised about that.
Paul Bremer told CNN that he was surprised to find them together and people here at the Pentagon said that that was a surprise. On the other hand, when you're that isolated who are you going to hang out with except your brother? Who can you really trust?
BROWN: Well, in that family that's an interesting question. Jamie, thank you very much, Jamie McIntyre our Senior Pentagon Correspondent.
There was subdued reaction from the White House. Scott McClellan, the new press secretary, was careful at the afternoon briefing not to get ahead of the facts. Once the news firmed up a simple statement was issued.
"We were pleased to learn from the Defense Department of today's action against Uday and Qusay Hussein" it read. "Over the period of many years, these two individuals were responsible for countless atrocities committed against the Iraqi people and they can no longer cast a shadow of hate on Iraq," from the White House.
And with the spotlight on that, the administration chose today to release some less than flattering news as well, here again White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): In an extraordinary admission, White House officials took responsibility in part for a dubious claim the president made in his State of the Union address that Iraq was trying to obtain uranium from Africa.
Until now, the Bush administration has said it was the CIA that permitted the shaky intelligence to get in and publicly CIA Director George Tenet agreed. But now, Steve Hadley, the president's deputy national security adviser, responsible for vetting the president's speech, says he had been warned by the CIA that the claim was weak.
Last October, Tenet contacted Hadley through a phone call and two memos urging him to strike the uranium Africa claim from a speech the president was to deliver in Cincinnati later that month. The White House complied and the president gave the speech without the reference.
But three months later when Hadley was working on Mr. Bush's State of the Union address he says he failed to recall the CIA warnings. The statement got in. Hadley admitted the high standards the president set were not met. The controversial passage should have been taken out of the State of the Union.
Hadley says he's spoken to the president about his failings. Sources say he offered his resignation but Mr. Bush refused to accept it and wants to move on but the president's critics, including some on the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating the matter aren't letting it go.
SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER, VICE CHAIR, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: This investigation is not over simply because two people have said that they were responsible. (END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: The White House is hoping that Hadley mea culpa will put the controversy to rest. Tomorrow, President Bush will use a Rose Garden speech to highlight Iraq's successes - Aaron.
BROWN: Suzanne, thank you very much, Suzanne Malveaux at a wet White House tonight.
Just imagine for a minute two fathers chatting about their kids on their commute into work. "I like my youngest better" one says. "He's more cunning." "I'm not one to play favorites" says the other dad "but I really haven't trusted my eldest son since he tried to kill me."
Try as you might, it's just about impossible to square the Hussein boys with even a shred of family values other than the ruthless kind practiced by their father. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating picture.
We're joined from Baghdad tonight by "Time" magazine reporter Simon Robinson who's been doing some reporting on the children of Saddam, nice to see you again. I want to get to the two boys. Just tell me how the news got to Baghdad, how it got to the capital, how people found out?
SIMON ROBINSON, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, the rumors began probably mid-afternoon yesterday that there had been a big operation in Mosul and that perhaps Qusay and Uday had been killed and at first, I guess, the average Iraqi in Baghdad couldn't believe it.
There was a sense of disbelief, could it be that finally these two kids that they'd grown to hate over the last 20 years were perhaps dead. And then, as the afternoon dragged on and it seemed more likely that that was true, there was a sense of happiness.
And, just after ten o'clock we saw a lot of celebratory gunfire across the capital and tracer bullets going into the air, which is a sign in this part of the world that people are happy. When they're going straight up you know things are good.
BROWN: Yes. A moment or two now on each of them, Uday always comes across as just sort of totally nuts.
ROBINSON: Uday, the oldest of course seemed to grow crazier as he grew older. He was a big womanizer, a pretty heavy drinker, and had an obsession with fast cars, kind of all the symbols of the West perhaps that otherwise people rejected in a way, and he lived of course like his father in huge palaces along the river.
From reporting we did we know that he used to have many, many girlfriends and would go to parties and pick out young girls especially and order his aides and his bodyguards to bring them home for him.
BROWN: Did he - I'm sorry. Did the two boys, two men, they were in their mid to late 30s, did they like each other? Did they get along with each other?
ROBINSON: I think there was a lot of bitterness from Uday as Qusay who was a lot quieter and a lot calmer and increasing as his father began to trust him and give him more responsibility and as it became obvious that he was the heir apparent and not Uday after his father basically at one point almost disowned Uday.
Uday became very resentful toward his younger brother. I read letters where Uday wrote to his father and said, you know, why are you doing this to me? You're going to split this family in two.
And so, some kind of animosity which makes it very interesting, as you pointed out, that they were together in the end. The thinking had been that they were either all split up or that Saddam and Qusay would be together but that Uday would be found separately.
BROWN: Simon, I think it was you or the magazine that had some reporting that suggested one of them actually was trying to cut a deal if they could get a deal out of the Americans.
ROBINSON: That's right and when they did the Americans said no. Early on, probably in May I think it was Qusay had come forward and said or sent someone to the Americans and said let's talk about a deal and the Americans just said point blank we're not into deal making with you.
BROWN: Does it seem possible or likely that one or both of them were running this guerrilla - these guerrilla attacks on American soldiers?
ROBINSON: I think that there are a wide range of groups that are fighting the Americans at the moment but the U.S. officials here certainly believe that the senior Ba'ath Party so including these two were the main group against launching the attacks on the Americans at the moment.
So, I think one of the important things to remember is that a lot of people, a lot of the people doing the attacks, Fedayeen, unemployed Iraqi criminals who are being paid by senior Ba'ath Party officials to do the attacks they weren't doing the attacks themselves.
So, with these guys dead, then that money has been cut off or that flow of money at least through the two sons will stop. Now, there's a couple of people out there still, not least Saddam Hussein but at least one avenue of money has been cut off and that will, one presumes, lead to a reduction in the number over the long term of attacks.
Although in the short term, I imagine, the U.S. officials here are saying they expect a spade of attacks perhaps because of anger after the death of the two sons.
BROWN: Are you surprised at how this all played out today, yesterday for you?
ROBINSON: It came as a surprise. I know that over the last few weeks, the military especially in the north of Baghdad where in the so-called Sunni Triangle, which traditionally doesn't reach as far north as Mosul, I know that they've kind of taken a bit of a scatter gun approach and acted on information more quickly than they had in the past, acted on information that they hadn't kind of verified yet, tried to hit everything as much as they could going to place that they, you know, they heard a rumor about but they weren't quite sure.
BROWN: Simon thanks a lot for joining us. I know it's early there. We appreciate your time and your insights, Simon Robinson who's reporting the story and others for "Time" magazine.
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT tonight, more on the effects of today's news, how the deaths of Saddam's sons may affect the course of events in Iraq.
And later, the homecoming, Jessica Lynch gets a hero's welcome in small town West Virginia.
A break first -- from New York this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Today's raid in Mosul was about as good a piece of news as could be hoped for barring one, the obvious one, and beyond that there's still a lot to be accomplished where the military's most wanted list is concerned.
From the Pentagon tonight, here's CNN's Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Saddam Hussein, the Ace of spades, remains the elusive top prize in the deck of cards, the 55 most wanted Iraqis.
With his sons Qusay the Ace of clubs, and Uday the Ace of hearts now dead, the U.S. military is pledging to continue until it has the whole deck in its hands.
SANCHEZ: We remain focused on finding, fixing, killing, or capturing all members of the high value target list.
STARR: The capture of the Ace of diamonds, number four on the list, Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, Saddam's closest aide, was vital. Sources tell CNN he, in fact, visually identified the bodies of Saddam's sons.
Sixteen of the top 55 remain at large, many representing key elements of Saddam Hussein's military, security, and intelligence apparatus, the vice chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, the director of the Special Security Organization, a nephew of Saddam Hussein, and the commander of the Special Republican Guard; also on the run, the chief of the Republican Guard, the director of general security, and the director of Iraqi Intelligence Services.
Still unclear the fate of number five, the king of clubs, Ali Hasan Al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali. He was believed to be killed in a previous raid but his death never officially confirmed.
(on camera): While Iraqis appear thrilled at the deaths of the two sons of Saddam Hussein, the U.S. military still wants to capture or kill those who remain at large and put the entire deck of cards out of business.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: A little bit more on all of this tonight. CNN Analyst Ken Pollack joins us from Washington, and from Oakbrook, Illinois, just outside of Chicago, CNN Military Analyst, Retired General David Grange, good to have both of you with us.
Ken, let me start with you. How big a deal is it in this respect, does this change the game in terms of security for the Americans?
KEN POLLACK, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, SABAN CENTER, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Well, I think it will improve it but, with regard to that specific issue, it's unclear whether this is going to radically change things. It will improve it because, hopefully, this will disrupt the organization of the regime forces who are out there taking potshots at American forces. Hopefully, we will be able to capture documents, other information from the raid itself that will help.
But also you have to remember that there are a lot of people in Iraq who don't like the United States there, not the majority of the population, a small minority don't like us and they're taking shots at us. But, nevertheless, there are enough of them that it's a fairly large number and while getting rid of these two guys is going to help, it's not going to eliminate that problem altogether.
BROWN: Does it at the very least weaken the myth of Saddam?
POLLACK: Certainly. It will weaken his hold over the Iraqi people. It eliminates two of Iraq's bogeymen. It eliminates two of the main figures who Iraqis went to bed every night dreading that they would be hauled in front of the next morning and the idea that these two were caught, were killed by American forces will help to erode the myth that Saddam is somehow this mythical figure who is going to always be able to elude the Americans and will someday come back.
BROWN: General Grange, I know you've been talking to lots of people over there and involved in the occupation. Is there a frustration on their part at, A, the way things have gone and, B, the way things are being reported?
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, there's maybe a little bit of a frustration but some of the morale issues that we've heard the last two weeks a lot of that is because of expectations of being told you're going to go, not go, uncertainty in the environment, the people that appreciate the GI's presence, those that don't.
But an issue like this where they took out the two sons is a shot in the arm. It's a morale boost. It will affect future operations and a key thing now is to keep the pressure on, to keep the troops occupied and focused on getting the rest of the deck of cards and continuing with the stability and security operations in Iraq.
BROWN: Well, let me ask this, not to be unduly provocative. Why not wait them out, starve them out, try and take them alive as opposed to engaging in this gun battle once they had them surrounded and cornered? They weren't going anywhere.
GRANGE: Yes, I'm not sure, Aaron that they knew 100 percent who was in the building. I mean that was what the report is and I'm not sure that that report from the Iraqi that gave the information to the coalition forces, if that was vetted by other sources at all. And, they tried to go in, in a smaller force manner to probably take these people prisoner.
And then, when they found out that it was barricaded and that and they would probably lose American lives, the on scene commander made the decision to tear down those defenses and in so doing killed the people inside.
BROWN: Ken, are you at all surprised at how the last couple of months have gone?
POLLACK: I don't know is surprised is quite the word I would use, disappointed may be a better way to put it, and I want to qualify that remark by saying that I think that the administration did not do a very good in the immediate aftermath of the war. I think that that is very clear.
I think that the administration went in with a set of expectations about what things were going to be like in the wake of Saddam's demise or the demise of his regime, which were wildly optimistic and weren't justified by the intelligence that was available beforehand and I think that we paid the price.
Now, I will say that I think that Paul Bremer and the team that he has put together has made some real progress and I think that they have taken some very positive steps to turn things around.
But we are still trying -- we are still playing catchup. We are still trying to undo a lot of damage that was done in those early days. As always, it's much easier to get things right, right from the beginning, and it's much harder if you get them wrong in the beginning to make them right later on.
BROWN: And, General Grange, let me give you the last word on that. Would you basically agree with that, that the administration went into this with a set of assumptions that was too optimistic, and righting the ship, if you will, is a more complicated task than it might have needed to be?
GRANGE: Yes, I think some of the assumptions were probably a little erroneous.
I had a briefing the other day. I was a participant with some officials from Iraq, referenced the future strategy, what's going on. And it may me a lot more positive about what's happening. But when you transition from combat to what they're doing now, SASO, security and stability operations, it's very difficult. And if you don't anticipate those problems, those situations you are going to encounter, you lose momentum.
And I think some momentum was lost for a while. But I am very positive that has been regained now. I was very positive about what I heard the other day.
BROWN: Yes.
General Grange, it's nice to see you. It's been a while.
Ken, likewise. Thanks for joining us tonight on a big news night out of Iraq.
Coming up: a big day in Palestine, West Virginia. Private Jessica Lynch comes home. Her story, much more.
NEWSNIGHT continues on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: When we watched the Jessica Lynch homecoming today, we were reminded of some other brave American soldiers, like Sergeant Jason Jordan of Alabama, Sergeant Justin Garvey, the state of Massachusetts, and Sergeant Mason Whetstone from the state of Utah. They are among the latest to die in Iraq. And their sacrifice doesn't create a traffic jam of satellite trucks and eager reporters.
Mentioning them is not in any way, shape, or form to take away from Private Lynch. And from what we saw today, she'd be glad that others got some attention. She didn't seem all that comfortable in the glare. And she is clearly mindful of those who weren't as lucky as she. Lucky, of course, is relative. This is a young woman whose recovery is far from over.
Reporting for us tonight, CNN's Bob Franken.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PFC JESSICA LYNCH, RESCUED POW: Thank you for being here. It's great to be home.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How young she sounded and looked. She is just 20 years old. But Jessica Lynch comes home with the experience of a long, painful journey.
LYNCH: I would like to say thank you to everyone who hoped and prayed for my safe return.
FRANKEN: Crowds of them lined the parade route, small town neighbors and extended neighbors from out of town, all celebrating her release from Walter Reed Hospital from Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll tell you what. It's the biggest thing that has ever happened to this place.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't have missed this for the world.
FRANKEN: The motorcade inched through Elizabeth, West Virginia, then, onto Mayberry Run Road in tiny Palestine five miles away. There, she can be sheltered in the house that volunteer workers doubled in size to accommodate her continued rehabilitation and shelter her from her celebrity and the lingering controversy over the facts of her capture.
DR. GREG ARGYROS, WALTER REED MEDICAL CENTER: At this time, we have no evidence that she has -- that she has any memory whatsoever from the time of the ambush until the time that she woke up in the Iraqi hospital. Whether or not she will be able to remember that time period from the time of the ambush until the time she woke up in the future is unknown at this time.
FRANKEN: She did speak of one memory.
LYNCH: I have read thousands of stories that said, when I was captured, I said, "I'm an American soldier, too." Those stories were right. Those were my words.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: And now she's home. And Jessica Lynch knows that, as her recovery takes, Aaron, she'll be able to walk among friends and loved ones.
BROWN: And do we all walk away from her now? Will the satellite trucks and the reporters leave? Or will there be a lingering story here, Bob?
FRANKEN: Well, I suspect there are going to be some lingering stories. But, as you can see behind me, many of the satellite trucks have left. To show you how fickle the news can be, the story of Jessica Lynch, which was expected to be the story of the day, was very quickly supplanted by what has been your main story tonight, of course, the death of Saddam Hussein's sons.
So will it linger? Probably not very long.
BROWN: Bob, thank you very much -- Bob Franken in West Virginia tonight.
A few stories from around the country, beginning with the case of a New Hampshire father accused of killing his two children. Manuel Gehring arrived back in Concord, New Hampshire, today. He will be arraigned tomorrow. He disappeared with his two kids after the Fourth of July fireworks show they attended. He's now been charged with murder. Investigators are searching for the bodies of the children in rural parts of northern Indiana and northeastern Illinois.
The latest on the Laci Peterson case: The lawyer for prosecution witness Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's former girlfriend, filed a motion today objecting to TV coverage of her testimony at a preliminary hearing, which is now set for September. Mr. Peterson's lawyer also asked that the hearing be closed. He says openly discussing the evidence in the case will hurt Scott Peterson's right to a fair trial.
And one very resourceful fisherman in Florida is recovering today after treading water in the Gulf of Mexico for 18 hours; 62-year-old Robert Graham of side of the boat. No one noticed he was gone. With no life jacket, he made his own by stuffing seaweed into his clothes. He made it.
When NEWSNIGHT continues: the missing Baylor basketball player and the arrest of his friend and former teammate, charged tonight with murder.
Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The latest in the mystery of what happened to Baylor University basketball player Patrick Dennehy. And much to the pain of his family, no doubt, and the entire Baylor community, it is still very much a mystery tonight. Police believe they have his killer in custody. What they don't have is Dennehy's body.
Here CNN's Gary Tuchman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charged with murder, one of Patrick Dennehy's basketball teammates, his so- called best friend and roommate, Carlton Dotson, arrested even though a search has not yet come up with a body.
SGT. RYAN HOLT, WACO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Mr. Dotson provided specific information about the murder of Mr. Dennehy that would lead us to believe that he committed the murder.
TUCHMAN: Dotson, a resident of the small town of Hurlock, Maryland, is in a Maryland prison fighting extradition in Texas. He allegedly shot Dennehy to death. Police say he talked to authorities without a lawyer on Thursday, checked himself into a hospital on Sunday, saying he was hearing voices, and then asked the FBI to come to the hospital on Monday.
HOLT: The information that he provided was congruent with what we had been looking at previously in the investigation.
TUCHMAN: In other words, his information did not contradict an affidavit police received earlier in the investigation from a confidential informant, who claimed Dotson told a cousin he killed Dennehy. But why? Authorities won't say, if they know.
HOLT: At this point in time in the investigation, it's still very early on in the homicide investigation. And we wouldn't rule anything out as far as a motive.
TUCHMAN: However, Dotson's attorney tells us, his client says he did not confess to the murder.
GRADY IRVIN, ATTORNEY FOR CARLTON DOTSON: I don't know if there is anything for him to confess to. I think that police have accomplished what I believe they sought out to accomplish. And that's to take the attention off of them and the microscope that's being conducted over their investigation.
TUCHMAN: Before the arrest, Dennehy's family had not given up hope he was somewhere alive. Now, though...
BRIAN BRABAZON, STEPFATHER OF DENNEHY: We just can't believe that something like this would happen to such a great boy. Carlton was lucky enough to have known Patrick and let Patrick take him under his wing and give him a place to live. And this is how Patrick was repaid.
TUCHMAN: Police are searching several areas near Waco. They will not confirm if the searches are based on tips from Dotson, who, before all this, had learned his basketball scholarship at Baylor wasn't going to be renewed, and Dennehy had just been given a scholarship.
Dave Bliss is the head coach.
DAVE BLISS, BAYLOR UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL HEAD COACH: We keep hoping this is not true. It seems unreal, especially that a 21-year- old who always wore that big smile and couldn't wait for the season to begin, might be gone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: An extradition hearing will be held next month in Maryland. Dotson's attorneys are not saying why they are fighting extradition. But his attorneys and likely Dotson himself are well aware of Texas's reputation for executions. Here in the Lone Star State, they have been average three executives a month in the year 2003, while, in Maryland, they have had three executions total in the last 27 years -- Aaron.
BROWN: Gary, thank you -- Gary Tuchman in Texas tonight.
A few other stories from around the world before we go to break tonight, Liberia first: no end to the fighting, no sign either of a decision from the White House about sending American troops in, the president's spokesman once again saying today, his boss is monitoring events closely. Meantime, shells again landed near the American Embassy, killing one person, leaving two others wounded.
Paris next: A small fire broke out today near the top of the Eiffel Tower. It happened in a portion of the tower not accessible to the general public. Some TV or radio equipment may have caused it, no one hurt, in any case. The tour was evacuated for a time, until everything was sorted out and put out.
And in New York today, the sky matched the mood for many. Thousands of people stood in a soaking rain to pay final respects to Celia Cruz, the queen of salsa. Ms. Cruz died of cancer last week. She was 77.
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT: the Pennsylvania miners one year later and the story of the one man who went back down into the mine.
This is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: We remember how we felt when we heard the news ago a year ago this week. We thought nine dead men had come back to life. Even the most optimistic among us were convinced that the nine trapped miners in Pennsylvania were gone, deep below the earth forever. We were wrong.
The rescue would have been a great story anytime. It seemed especially meaningful a year ago, when the pain of 9/11 was still so fresh and an old-fashioned American miracle was like a great gift. Last week, with the help from our friends at "TIME" magazine, we met up with the only miner to do what, frankly, seems unthinkable to us. Randy Fogle went back to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDY FOGLE, MINER: It feels almost like yesterday. I can't believe it's been 12 months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All nine are alive.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
FOGLE: We knew they were coming. But once the escape hole got there and they were trying to set up to drop the capsule, you knew you were home free. To think that they were going to give up, never. They were coming. I mean, all we had to do was wait. And that is one of the hardest things. But you knew that they were going to come.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We have just heard that the first of the surviving nine miners has just been pulled out and pulled to safety.
FOGLE: To go from some place that you were trapped in for -- a total of 87 hours, we were underground. To the surface to walk again, to even see the lights that were out there, that's awesome. And to know that you're going to see your family again, that's the ticket.
The whole time through this, I couldn't get it in my head that I was not going to see tomorrow. I just couldn't get that feeling that I was going to die. And that's escape hole there. That's where we went up out, right here. All of them four pictures there are all of the escape hole.
I still hope I am the same person that walked in that night as I am today. But you do look at stuff. Now it's family first and then work. And before, it used to be work and then family. My daughter hasn't said much. She takes it pretty tough still.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want him to go back. But by now, I am used to it. It's just -- I don't think about it. So, it's just a job.
FOGLE: That's right. It's just a job.
I love you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you.
FOGLE: At this point in time, I am the only one that went back. For me, it's the only job that I really want to do. And you do. You have to support your family, too.
I mean, I have to do something. And it's what I know. I love coal mining. It's a challenge. It's not the same every day. Every day's different. And you are exploring. You are opening up territory that nobody's ever been in. So it makes you a little bit of an explorer.
The area that the accident happened in, I have been back to a lot. I have tried, through the whole time that this has happened, to try to stay in the background of everything, so people don't notice me. It's like a bump in the road. We went to work that day. And we've been changed forever. It's the same to me today as it was that day or any other day. I have tried to do it as just a job and leave it at that, what happened happened, and just go on.
Everybody got to see 18 miracles on TV. And that's something special. I mean, that's something you don't see every day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: You heard Randy Fogle talk about 18 miracles. Many of us heard the phrase, nine for nine. But to Randy and to the other miners, it's really 18 who were rescued, 18 miracles, as he put it.
That includes the nine who were trapped and another nine who got out right after the mine was flooded a year ago.
We'll check morning papers after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: Yes, yes, yes with the rooster.
That's the first time I have looked at the e-mailed stories and it wasn't some wacky thing like, researchers find fogs have sex 12 times a day or something that people were sending out.
Here is the challenge. If you're doing morning papers at home for your friends on a day when there's a huge news story, how do you make it interesting?
"New York Times" starts it off: "Hussein's Two Sons Dead in Shoot-out, U.S. Says." Look at that picture. That picture will come back. You will see that a number of times, and a couple of stories, including an analysis piece. They also have Jessica Lynch on the front page, too. Two other stories here: "Judges Dismisses Terror Charges Against Lawyer." This was a big story.
Lynne Stewart, a radical lawyer here in New York, was charged with aiding a terrorist, the case now dismissed. And Jessica Lynch comes home.
"Boston Herald." There is the cigar picture again. "Smoked" is the headline is the "Boston Herald." "U.S. Strike Kills Saddam's Sons." Ms. Lynch, Private Lynch, we should say, up at the top there.
"Detroit Free Press," yes, "Hussein's Sons Killed." Same picture. Also, they show a picture of the house in there. A very good story in the state of Michigan: "GOP Splits On Affirmative Action." After the University of Michigan case, Ward Connerly, who ran the anti-affirmative action initiative in California, says he may run one in Michigan, Republicans, some Republican, not altogether happy about that. Others are.
There are two versions "The Chicago Sun-Times." And we'll do them both today. "Got 'Em," says the red streak edition of "The Chicago Sun-Times." I have no idea what "Pouty Mouth" is up there. I don't know what that story is, but I like the headline. So that's -- "Iraq's Sadistic Sons Are Toast," the way the red streak of "The Sun- Times." "The Chicago Sun-Times," the main page, the one for grownups, is a little more direct. "Dead: Saddam's Ruthless Sons Killed in Raid." A very nice picture of Jessica Lynch up there on the front page of "The Sun-Times," too.
How we doing on time here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty.
BROWN: Fifty? Oh, man, am I in trouble now.
"The Miami Herald." We'll do this fairly slowly. There are people who write in and say this segment is only fill. Come on, people. This is hard to do. "Hussein's Sons Killed." This just in. "U.S. Says Two Die When U.S. Troops Stormed Villa." There are at least four different ways to spell the names of the Hussein boys, as I've come to think of them. Jessica Lynch on the front page, too. And Celia Cruz on the front page of "The Miami Herald," as you would expect. She was very big there.
And that's morning papers. And that's the program. This isn't fill. This counts, OK?
We're all back tomorrow at 10:00 Eastern time. Join us, will you?
Good night for all of us at 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
Aired July 22, 2003 - 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.
Spend a little time looking at the lives of the Hussein boys and you'll find it most difficult to feel bad that they've met their maker. Uday, the elder, seems by all accounts to have been truly psychotic and his younger brother only slightly better. They will not be missed.
The Pentagon is considering releasing pictures of their shot up bodies in an effort to convince Iraqis they really are dead that they really can't kill or torture or torment anymore.
But, of greater concern is whether their deaths will help end the attacks on American troops or lead to their father or a more peaceful and stable Iraq, questions tonight on the biggest day in Iraq since the statue fell.
We begin the whip with the brothers who were killed in the northern city of Mosul today, Nic Robertson there for us tonight, Nic a headline from you.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, according to the soldiers that carried out the attack there was no way Uday or Qusay were going to escape. They also say that the pair didn't appear to want to come out alive. They appeared to want to fight right to the death - Aaron.
BROWN: That they did. Nic, we'll get back to you at the top tonight.
The reaction out of the White House, Suzanne Malveaux is there for us, Suzanne a headline.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, a top Bush aide offered his resignation today. He was responsible for vetting the president's State of the Union address. The president did not accept his resignation. This is just the latest development over the intelligence flap.
BROWN: Suzanne, we'll try and get you in and out of the rain pretty quick here.
On to the homecoming in West Virginia for Private First Class Jessica Lynch, Bob Franken in Elizabeth, West Virginia tonight, Bob a headline. BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, it is the homecoming of Jessica Lynch and her house has changed considerably since she was last here but so has her life - Aaron.
BROWN: Bob, we look forward to the report.
The latest now on the case of the missing Baylor University basketball player after an arrest was made last night, as we reported it here, Gary Tuchman in Waco, Texas tonight, Gary the headline.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, police here in Waco say Carlton Dotson confessed to the FBI that he shot and killed his Baylor University basketball friend with a handgun and that's why he's in jail but Dotson's defense attorney says he does not like the way the police have done their work.
BROWN: Gary, thank you, back to you and the rest shortly.
Also coming up tonight on NEWSNIGHT, a year after the Pennsylvania mine rescue, we'll talk with the only miner to go back work back underground, a nice follow-up to one of the best stories of 2002.
And, of course, our nightly look at what our friends, the ink- stained wretches, are working on for the morning papers around the country and around the world, all that and more in the hour ahead.
We begin tonight with a pair of Aces, Uday and Qusay. Many would call them evil incarnate, to many proving that oldest of adages, like father like sons. The good news for the American side is that they are dead, which is also the bad news because dead men are impossible to interrogate, our coverage beings tonight in Mosul and CNN's Nic Robertson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Gunfire traded as elite U.S. troops from the 101st Airborne close in on Saddam Hussein's two sons, Uday and Qusay. The battle in the northern city of Mosul lasted four hours resulting in the deaths of two of the most feared people in Iraq.
LT. GEN. RICARDO SANCHEZ, COMMANDER, U.S. GROUND FORCES: They died in a fierce gun battle. They resisted the detention and the efforts of the coalition forces to go in there and apprehend them and they were killed in the ensuing gunfight and the attacks that we conducted on the residence.
ROBERTSON: One Iraqi captured and two others killed in the battle that involved small arms fire, grenades, Tow missiles, and even helicopter fire.
SANCHEZ: It was a walk-in last night that came in and gave us the information that those two individuals were in that residence and the other two that were killed in there we're still working to get final confirmation on who they are. ROBERTSON: Across the street from the attack, where some houses were damaged in crossfire, neighbors suspected the house owner may have given Uday and Qusay away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He had told someone that those were Uday and Qusay with big problems. No one knows what he meant by big problems.
ROBERTSON: By late evening, security still tight, damaged power lines sparking in the wind and a small fire burning inside the house.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: Neighbors say the house owner's brother had once been detained by Saddam Hussein and that early in the morning before the attack he had sent his wife and family away.
Unclear whether or not the house owner was involved in the deaths of Uday and Qusay but certainly the soldiers who came to capture the pair say that there was no way they were going to escape capture and, from what they could see, the pair certainly weren't going to be taken alive - Aaron.
BROWN: All right, let's try and do three quick questions. Was there an attempt to negotiate for them to come out alive or did the Americans essentially go in there firing?
ROBERTSON: It's not clear if there was a process of negotiation but it's certainly clear, the soldiers here say that when they arrived they did not intend to go in firing. The level of fire, the type of weaponry used escalated as they received return fire. It went from small arms gunfire, heavy machinegun fire, grenades launched at the building to Tow missiles launched, to bringing in helicopters. They stopped short of bringing in aircraft - Aaron.
BROWN: And, this firefight went on for many hours. There were only four people in that building and they were able to hold off for five or six hours the Americans, a couple hundred Americans?
ROBERTSON: The building is fairly substantial and when I've talked to some of the soldiers who were involved in that fight they say it was absolutely intense at moments. The area where we are, they say, we would not have been able to stand here.
We're told the helicopters stood off firing heavy machinegun fire into the building. It perhaps appears implausible that they could have held out for so long but that is what we are told what happened. Neighbors here say that the battle lasted for about four hours.
BROWN: And, is there anything about the house, is it essentially just - I've seen it described as a villa, a home, a compound. Is it just a home in a residential neighborhood in the city?
ROBERTSON: It's an up market neighborhood. The buildings around here are relatively palatial on one side of the road, small houses on the other. It looked like it was a nice house. It looked like it was owned by a very above average family but it's not a big compound and, certainly by the standards that Uday and Qusay had come to get used to over their years in Iraq, it wouldn't have measured up to those standards by any stretch of the imagination.
BROWN: And, finally, you've been in Mosul now for the last several hours, last number of hours, reaction there to all of this and what are you hearing about reaction in the rest of the country?
ROBERTSON: Well, certainly, there was a lot of celebratory gunfire in Baghdad. It's been a bit more mute here around Mosul, a lot of security on the outskirts of the city to try and catch - U.S. forces there to try and catch anyone who might be leaving.
There have been a few inquisitive people looking on to see what's going on this morning. There's a mosque here. The call to prayer came and went. The people came and went to the mosque. They looked to see what was happening but there have not been any - there's not been celebratory gunfire.
There have not been a lot of people arriving this morning to see what's going on. It almost appears as if it's sort of business as usual in a strange sort of way - Aaron.
BROWN: Nic, thank you very much for kicking this off for us tonight, Nic Robertson who is in Mosul.
The news broke with Iraq's civil administrator on Capitol Hill. Paul Bremer was there to give lawmakers a progress report on the occupation and the reconstruction of Iraq. He's been taking some hits on that score from both sides of the aisle. He was optimistic today. So were some of the critics. So was the commander in Iraq.
Here's our Senior Pentagon Correspondent CNN's Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pentagon sources say the U.S. military photographed the dead bodies of Uday and Qusay after the assault on the safe house in Mosul and is considering releasing the pictures to underscore what the U.S. says is the key message of the raid that Saddam's sons are really gone and Saddam himself is next.
SANCHEZ: This will prove to the Iraqi people that at least these two members of the regime will not be coming back into power, which is what we've stated over and over again.
MCINTYRE: The successful mission to eliminate Saddam's sons overshadowed the latest ambush in Iraq, which claimed the life of one U.S. soldier and wounded another. The hope now is that the anti- American insurgents have been dealt a real setback.
JAMES WOOLSEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: This is going to help break the will of the resisters, the Ba'athists and the Tikritis, many of whom served as officers in the Republican Guard and the rest, the people in Saddam's clan. I think this is a very positive step. MCINTYRE: The Pentagon says it's under no illusions the guerrilla-style attacks on U.S. troops will end soon. In fact, officials tell CNN the U.S. military is expecting more attacks possibly in retribution.
Only one Ace in the deck of the most wanted, Saddam Hussein, remains at large now and with the prospect that some Iraqi may collect between $15 million and $30 million for turning in his sons, there is optimism that success will breed more success.
PAUL BREMER, COALITION REGIONAL AUTHORITY HEAD: I think it's quite possible that what we'll find after this now is that people will be willing to come forward as they have been over the last few weeks.
MCINTYRE: Among the Iraqis cooperating, say Pentagon sources, is the Ace of diamonds, former presidential secretary Abid Hamid Mahmud. In fact, sources say he helped identify the bodies after they were transferred to Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: And, Aaron, CNN has learned some new details about the raid that may answer some of those questions you were proposing to Nic Robertson. According to Pentagon officials, the U.S. military forces entered the house on the first floor only to discover that the occupants had barricaded themselves on the second floor in a specially fortified area that had been hardened with things like bulletproof glass.
It was at that point the soldiers left and called in for more firepower. Eventually, an Apache helicopter gunship blew a hole in the side of the building with a Tow antitank missile - Aaron.
BROWN: Obviously, particularly given the backdrop of the last few weeks, this was a good day at the Pentagon. Is there any disappointment that they were unable to get them alive?
MCINTYRE: Well, you know, there's always an advantage to getting them alive because they could possibly get intelligence from them but I think they were more concerned with just getting them.
They weren't overly concerned with getting them alive and we are told that they discovered in this place documents and other intelligence that may provide leads to the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein. So, they're also somewhat optimistic that they may be closing in on the former Iraqi leader as well.
BROWN: And, I'm not sure, honestly Jamie, if this is a fair question to ask you or not so walk away from it if you want. Is it at all surprising that they were together?
MCINTYRE: It is. It's very surprising because the intelligence they had was that they'd all split up to make it harder to find and, of course, they were very surprised about that.
Paul Bremer told CNN that he was surprised to find them together and people here at the Pentagon said that that was a surprise. On the other hand, when you're that isolated who are you going to hang out with except your brother? Who can you really trust?
BROWN: Well, in that family that's an interesting question. Jamie, thank you very much, Jamie McIntyre our Senior Pentagon Correspondent.
There was subdued reaction from the White House. Scott McClellan, the new press secretary, was careful at the afternoon briefing not to get ahead of the facts. Once the news firmed up a simple statement was issued.
"We were pleased to learn from the Defense Department of today's action against Uday and Qusay Hussein" it read. "Over the period of many years, these two individuals were responsible for countless atrocities committed against the Iraqi people and they can no longer cast a shadow of hate on Iraq," from the White House.
And with the spotlight on that, the administration chose today to release some less than flattering news as well, here again White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): In an extraordinary admission, White House officials took responsibility in part for a dubious claim the president made in his State of the Union address that Iraq was trying to obtain uranium from Africa.
Until now, the Bush administration has said it was the CIA that permitted the shaky intelligence to get in and publicly CIA Director George Tenet agreed. But now, Steve Hadley, the president's deputy national security adviser, responsible for vetting the president's speech, says he had been warned by the CIA that the claim was weak.
Last October, Tenet contacted Hadley through a phone call and two memos urging him to strike the uranium Africa claim from a speech the president was to deliver in Cincinnati later that month. The White House complied and the president gave the speech without the reference.
But three months later when Hadley was working on Mr. Bush's State of the Union address he says he failed to recall the CIA warnings. The statement got in. Hadley admitted the high standards the president set were not met. The controversial passage should have been taken out of the State of the Union.
Hadley says he's spoken to the president about his failings. Sources say he offered his resignation but Mr. Bush refused to accept it and wants to move on but the president's critics, including some on the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating the matter aren't letting it go.
SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER, VICE CHAIR, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: This investigation is not over simply because two people have said that they were responsible. (END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: The White House is hoping that Hadley mea culpa will put the controversy to rest. Tomorrow, President Bush will use a Rose Garden speech to highlight Iraq's successes - Aaron.
BROWN: Suzanne, thank you very much, Suzanne Malveaux at a wet White House tonight.
Just imagine for a minute two fathers chatting about their kids on their commute into work. "I like my youngest better" one says. "He's more cunning." "I'm not one to play favorites" says the other dad "but I really haven't trusted my eldest son since he tried to kill me."
Try as you might, it's just about impossible to square the Hussein boys with even a shred of family values other than the ruthless kind practiced by their father. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating picture.
We're joined from Baghdad tonight by "Time" magazine reporter Simon Robinson who's been doing some reporting on the children of Saddam, nice to see you again. I want to get to the two boys. Just tell me how the news got to Baghdad, how it got to the capital, how people found out?
SIMON ROBINSON, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, the rumors began probably mid-afternoon yesterday that there had been a big operation in Mosul and that perhaps Qusay and Uday had been killed and at first, I guess, the average Iraqi in Baghdad couldn't believe it.
There was a sense of disbelief, could it be that finally these two kids that they'd grown to hate over the last 20 years were perhaps dead. And then, as the afternoon dragged on and it seemed more likely that that was true, there was a sense of happiness.
And, just after ten o'clock we saw a lot of celebratory gunfire across the capital and tracer bullets going into the air, which is a sign in this part of the world that people are happy. When they're going straight up you know things are good.
BROWN: Yes. A moment or two now on each of them, Uday always comes across as just sort of totally nuts.
ROBINSON: Uday, the oldest of course seemed to grow crazier as he grew older. He was a big womanizer, a pretty heavy drinker, and had an obsession with fast cars, kind of all the symbols of the West perhaps that otherwise people rejected in a way, and he lived of course like his father in huge palaces along the river.
From reporting we did we know that he used to have many, many girlfriends and would go to parties and pick out young girls especially and order his aides and his bodyguards to bring them home for him.
BROWN: Did he - I'm sorry. Did the two boys, two men, they were in their mid to late 30s, did they like each other? Did they get along with each other?
ROBINSON: I think there was a lot of bitterness from Uday as Qusay who was a lot quieter and a lot calmer and increasing as his father began to trust him and give him more responsibility and as it became obvious that he was the heir apparent and not Uday after his father basically at one point almost disowned Uday.
Uday became very resentful toward his younger brother. I read letters where Uday wrote to his father and said, you know, why are you doing this to me? You're going to split this family in two.
And so, some kind of animosity which makes it very interesting, as you pointed out, that they were together in the end. The thinking had been that they were either all split up or that Saddam and Qusay would be together but that Uday would be found separately.
BROWN: Simon, I think it was you or the magazine that had some reporting that suggested one of them actually was trying to cut a deal if they could get a deal out of the Americans.
ROBINSON: That's right and when they did the Americans said no. Early on, probably in May I think it was Qusay had come forward and said or sent someone to the Americans and said let's talk about a deal and the Americans just said point blank we're not into deal making with you.
BROWN: Does it seem possible or likely that one or both of them were running this guerrilla - these guerrilla attacks on American soldiers?
ROBINSON: I think that there are a wide range of groups that are fighting the Americans at the moment but the U.S. officials here certainly believe that the senior Ba'ath Party so including these two were the main group against launching the attacks on the Americans at the moment.
So, I think one of the important things to remember is that a lot of people, a lot of the people doing the attacks, Fedayeen, unemployed Iraqi criminals who are being paid by senior Ba'ath Party officials to do the attacks they weren't doing the attacks themselves.
So, with these guys dead, then that money has been cut off or that flow of money at least through the two sons will stop. Now, there's a couple of people out there still, not least Saddam Hussein but at least one avenue of money has been cut off and that will, one presumes, lead to a reduction in the number over the long term of attacks.
Although in the short term, I imagine, the U.S. officials here are saying they expect a spade of attacks perhaps because of anger after the death of the two sons.
BROWN: Are you surprised at how this all played out today, yesterday for you?
ROBINSON: It came as a surprise. I know that over the last few weeks, the military especially in the north of Baghdad where in the so-called Sunni Triangle, which traditionally doesn't reach as far north as Mosul, I know that they've kind of taken a bit of a scatter gun approach and acted on information more quickly than they had in the past, acted on information that they hadn't kind of verified yet, tried to hit everything as much as they could going to place that they, you know, they heard a rumor about but they weren't quite sure.
BROWN: Simon thanks a lot for joining us. I know it's early there. We appreciate your time and your insights, Simon Robinson who's reporting the story and others for "Time" magazine.
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT tonight, more on the effects of today's news, how the deaths of Saddam's sons may affect the course of events in Iraq.
And later, the homecoming, Jessica Lynch gets a hero's welcome in small town West Virginia.
A break first -- from New York this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Today's raid in Mosul was about as good a piece of news as could be hoped for barring one, the obvious one, and beyond that there's still a lot to be accomplished where the military's most wanted list is concerned.
From the Pentagon tonight, here's CNN's Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Saddam Hussein, the Ace of spades, remains the elusive top prize in the deck of cards, the 55 most wanted Iraqis.
With his sons Qusay the Ace of clubs, and Uday the Ace of hearts now dead, the U.S. military is pledging to continue until it has the whole deck in its hands.
SANCHEZ: We remain focused on finding, fixing, killing, or capturing all members of the high value target list.
STARR: The capture of the Ace of diamonds, number four on the list, Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, Saddam's closest aide, was vital. Sources tell CNN he, in fact, visually identified the bodies of Saddam's sons.
Sixteen of the top 55 remain at large, many representing key elements of Saddam Hussein's military, security, and intelligence apparatus, the vice chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, the director of the Special Security Organization, a nephew of Saddam Hussein, and the commander of the Special Republican Guard; also on the run, the chief of the Republican Guard, the director of general security, and the director of Iraqi Intelligence Services.
Still unclear the fate of number five, the king of clubs, Ali Hasan Al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali. He was believed to be killed in a previous raid but his death never officially confirmed.
(on camera): While Iraqis appear thrilled at the deaths of the two sons of Saddam Hussein, the U.S. military still wants to capture or kill those who remain at large and put the entire deck of cards out of business.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: A little bit more on all of this tonight. CNN Analyst Ken Pollack joins us from Washington, and from Oakbrook, Illinois, just outside of Chicago, CNN Military Analyst, Retired General David Grange, good to have both of you with us.
Ken, let me start with you. How big a deal is it in this respect, does this change the game in terms of security for the Americans?
KEN POLLACK, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, SABAN CENTER, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Well, I think it will improve it but, with regard to that specific issue, it's unclear whether this is going to radically change things. It will improve it because, hopefully, this will disrupt the organization of the regime forces who are out there taking potshots at American forces. Hopefully, we will be able to capture documents, other information from the raid itself that will help.
But also you have to remember that there are a lot of people in Iraq who don't like the United States there, not the majority of the population, a small minority don't like us and they're taking shots at us. But, nevertheless, there are enough of them that it's a fairly large number and while getting rid of these two guys is going to help, it's not going to eliminate that problem altogether.
BROWN: Does it at the very least weaken the myth of Saddam?
POLLACK: Certainly. It will weaken his hold over the Iraqi people. It eliminates two of Iraq's bogeymen. It eliminates two of the main figures who Iraqis went to bed every night dreading that they would be hauled in front of the next morning and the idea that these two were caught, were killed by American forces will help to erode the myth that Saddam is somehow this mythical figure who is going to always be able to elude the Americans and will someday come back.
BROWN: General Grange, I know you've been talking to lots of people over there and involved in the occupation. Is there a frustration on their part at, A, the way things have gone and, B, the way things are being reported?
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, there's maybe a little bit of a frustration but some of the morale issues that we've heard the last two weeks a lot of that is because of expectations of being told you're going to go, not go, uncertainty in the environment, the people that appreciate the GI's presence, those that don't.
But an issue like this where they took out the two sons is a shot in the arm. It's a morale boost. It will affect future operations and a key thing now is to keep the pressure on, to keep the troops occupied and focused on getting the rest of the deck of cards and continuing with the stability and security operations in Iraq.
BROWN: Well, let me ask this, not to be unduly provocative. Why not wait them out, starve them out, try and take them alive as opposed to engaging in this gun battle once they had them surrounded and cornered? They weren't going anywhere.
GRANGE: Yes, I'm not sure, Aaron that they knew 100 percent who was in the building. I mean that was what the report is and I'm not sure that that report from the Iraqi that gave the information to the coalition forces, if that was vetted by other sources at all. And, they tried to go in, in a smaller force manner to probably take these people prisoner.
And then, when they found out that it was barricaded and that and they would probably lose American lives, the on scene commander made the decision to tear down those defenses and in so doing killed the people inside.
BROWN: Ken, are you at all surprised at how the last couple of months have gone?
POLLACK: I don't know is surprised is quite the word I would use, disappointed may be a better way to put it, and I want to qualify that remark by saying that I think that the administration did not do a very good in the immediate aftermath of the war. I think that that is very clear.
I think that the administration went in with a set of expectations about what things were going to be like in the wake of Saddam's demise or the demise of his regime, which were wildly optimistic and weren't justified by the intelligence that was available beforehand and I think that we paid the price.
Now, I will say that I think that Paul Bremer and the team that he has put together has made some real progress and I think that they have taken some very positive steps to turn things around.
But we are still trying -- we are still playing catchup. We are still trying to undo a lot of damage that was done in those early days. As always, it's much easier to get things right, right from the beginning, and it's much harder if you get them wrong in the beginning to make them right later on.
BROWN: And, General Grange, let me give you the last word on that. Would you basically agree with that, that the administration went into this with a set of assumptions that was too optimistic, and righting the ship, if you will, is a more complicated task than it might have needed to be?
GRANGE: Yes, I think some of the assumptions were probably a little erroneous.
I had a briefing the other day. I was a participant with some officials from Iraq, referenced the future strategy, what's going on. And it may me a lot more positive about what's happening. But when you transition from combat to what they're doing now, SASO, security and stability operations, it's very difficult. And if you don't anticipate those problems, those situations you are going to encounter, you lose momentum.
And I think some momentum was lost for a while. But I am very positive that has been regained now. I was very positive about what I heard the other day.
BROWN: Yes.
General Grange, it's nice to see you. It's been a while.
Ken, likewise. Thanks for joining us tonight on a big news night out of Iraq.
Coming up: a big day in Palestine, West Virginia. Private Jessica Lynch comes home. Her story, much more.
NEWSNIGHT continues on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: When we watched the Jessica Lynch homecoming today, we were reminded of some other brave American soldiers, like Sergeant Jason Jordan of Alabama, Sergeant Justin Garvey, the state of Massachusetts, and Sergeant Mason Whetstone from the state of Utah. They are among the latest to die in Iraq. And their sacrifice doesn't create a traffic jam of satellite trucks and eager reporters.
Mentioning them is not in any way, shape, or form to take away from Private Lynch. And from what we saw today, she'd be glad that others got some attention. She didn't seem all that comfortable in the glare. And she is clearly mindful of those who weren't as lucky as she. Lucky, of course, is relative. This is a young woman whose recovery is far from over.
Reporting for us tonight, CNN's Bob Franken.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PFC JESSICA LYNCH, RESCUED POW: Thank you for being here. It's great to be home.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How young she sounded and looked. She is just 20 years old. But Jessica Lynch comes home with the experience of a long, painful journey.
LYNCH: I would like to say thank you to everyone who hoped and prayed for my safe return.
FRANKEN: Crowds of them lined the parade route, small town neighbors and extended neighbors from out of town, all celebrating her release from Walter Reed Hospital from Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll tell you what. It's the biggest thing that has ever happened to this place.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't have missed this for the world.
FRANKEN: The motorcade inched through Elizabeth, West Virginia, then, onto Mayberry Run Road in tiny Palestine five miles away. There, she can be sheltered in the house that volunteer workers doubled in size to accommodate her continued rehabilitation and shelter her from her celebrity and the lingering controversy over the facts of her capture.
DR. GREG ARGYROS, WALTER REED MEDICAL CENTER: At this time, we have no evidence that she has -- that she has any memory whatsoever from the time of the ambush until the time that she woke up in the Iraqi hospital. Whether or not she will be able to remember that time period from the time of the ambush until the time she woke up in the future is unknown at this time.
FRANKEN: She did speak of one memory.
LYNCH: I have read thousands of stories that said, when I was captured, I said, "I'm an American soldier, too." Those stories were right. Those were my words.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: And now she's home. And Jessica Lynch knows that, as her recovery takes, Aaron, she'll be able to walk among friends and loved ones.
BROWN: And do we all walk away from her now? Will the satellite trucks and the reporters leave? Or will there be a lingering story here, Bob?
FRANKEN: Well, I suspect there are going to be some lingering stories. But, as you can see behind me, many of the satellite trucks have left. To show you how fickle the news can be, the story of Jessica Lynch, which was expected to be the story of the day, was very quickly supplanted by what has been your main story tonight, of course, the death of Saddam Hussein's sons.
So will it linger? Probably not very long.
BROWN: Bob, thank you very much -- Bob Franken in West Virginia tonight.
A few stories from around the country, beginning with the case of a New Hampshire father accused of killing his two children. Manuel Gehring arrived back in Concord, New Hampshire, today. He will be arraigned tomorrow. He disappeared with his two kids after the Fourth of July fireworks show they attended. He's now been charged with murder. Investigators are searching for the bodies of the children in rural parts of northern Indiana and northeastern Illinois.
The latest on the Laci Peterson case: The lawyer for prosecution witness Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's former girlfriend, filed a motion today objecting to TV coverage of her testimony at a preliminary hearing, which is now set for September. Mr. Peterson's lawyer also asked that the hearing be closed. He says openly discussing the evidence in the case will hurt Scott Peterson's right to a fair trial.
And one very resourceful fisherman in Florida is recovering today after treading water in the Gulf of Mexico for 18 hours; 62-year-old Robert Graham of side of the boat. No one noticed he was gone. With no life jacket, he made his own by stuffing seaweed into his clothes. He made it.
When NEWSNIGHT continues: the missing Baylor basketball player and the arrest of his friend and former teammate, charged tonight with murder.
Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The latest in the mystery of what happened to Baylor University basketball player Patrick Dennehy. And much to the pain of his family, no doubt, and the entire Baylor community, it is still very much a mystery tonight. Police believe they have his killer in custody. What they don't have is Dennehy's body.
Here CNN's Gary Tuchman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charged with murder, one of Patrick Dennehy's basketball teammates, his so- called best friend and roommate, Carlton Dotson, arrested even though a search has not yet come up with a body.
SGT. RYAN HOLT, WACO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Mr. Dotson provided specific information about the murder of Mr. Dennehy that would lead us to believe that he committed the murder.
TUCHMAN: Dotson, a resident of the small town of Hurlock, Maryland, is in a Maryland prison fighting extradition in Texas. He allegedly shot Dennehy to death. Police say he talked to authorities without a lawyer on Thursday, checked himself into a hospital on Sunday, saying he was hearing voices, and then asked the FBI to come to the hospital on Monday.
HOLT: The information that he provided was congruent with what we had been looking at previously in the investigation.
TUCHMAN: In other words, his information did not contradict an affidavit police received earlier in the investigation from a confidential informant, who claimed Dotson told a cousin he killed Dennehy. But why? Authorities won't say, if they know.
HOLT: At this point in time in the investigation, it's still very early on in the homicide investigation. And we wouldn't rule anything out as far as a motive.
TUCHMAN: However, Dotson's attorney tells us, his client says he did not confess to the murder.
GRADY IRVIN, ATTORNEY FOR CARLTON DOTSON: I don't know if there is anything for him to confess to. I think that police have accomplished what I believe they sought out to accomplish. And that's to take the attention off of them and the microscope that's being conducted over their investigation.
TUCHMAN: Before the arrest, Dennehy's family had not given up hope he was somewhere alive. Now, though...
BRIAN BRABAZON, STEPFATHER OF DENNEHY: We just can't believe that something like this would happen to such a great boy. Carlton was lucky enough to have known Patrick and let Patrick take him under his wing and give him a place to live. And this is how Patrick was repaid.
TUCHMAN: Police are searching several areas near Waco. They will not confirm if the searches are based on tips from Dotson, who, before all this, had learned his basketball scholarship at Baylor wasn't going to be renewed, and Dennehy had just been given a scholarship.
Dave Bliss is the head coach.
DAVE BLISS, BAYLOR UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL HEAD COACH: We keep hoping this is not true. It seems unreal, especially that a 21-year- old who always wore that big smile and couldn't wait for the season to begin, might be gone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: An extradition hearing will be held next month in Maryland. Dotson's attorneys are not saying why they are fighting extradition. But his attorneys and likely Dotson himself are well aware of Texas's reputation for executions. Here in the Lone Star State, they have been average three executives a month in the year 2003, while, in Maryland, they have had three executions total in the last 27 years -- Aaron.
BROWN: Gary, thank you -- Gary Tuchman in Texas tonight.
A few other stories from around the world before we go to break tonight, Liberia first: no end to the fighting, no sign either of a decision from the White House about sending American troops in, the president's spokesman once again saying today, his boss is monitoring events closely. Meantime, shells again landed near the American Embassy, killing one person, leaving two others wounded.
Paris next: A small fire broke out today near the top of the Eiffel Tower. It happened in a portion of the tower not accessible to the general public. Some TV or radio equipment may have caused it, no one hurt, in any case. The tour was evacuated for a time, until everything was sorted out and put out.
And in New York today, the sky matched the mood for many. Thousands of people stood in a soaking rain to pay final respects to Celia Cruz, the queen of salsa. Ms. Cruz died of cancer last week. She was 77.
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT: the Pennsylvania miners one year later and the story of the one man who went back down into the mine.
This is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: We remember how we felt when we heard the news ago a year ago this week. We thought nine dead men had come back to life. Even the most optimistic among us were convinced that the nine trapped miners in Pennsylvania were gone, deep below the earth forever. We were wrong.
The rescue would have been a great story anytime. It seemed especially meaningful a year ago, when the pain of 9/11 was still so fresh and an old-fashioned American miracle was like a great gift. Last week, with the help from our friends at "TIME" magazine, we met up with the only miner to do what, frankly, seems unthinkable to us. Randy Fogle went back to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDY FOGLE, MINER: It feels almost like yesterday. I can't believe it's been 12 months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All nine are alive.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
FOGLE: We knew they were coming. But once the escape hole got there and they were trying to set up to drop the capsule, you knew you were home free. To think that they were going to give up, never. They were coming. I mean, all we had to do was wait. And that is one of the hardest things. But you knew that they were going to come.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We have just heard that the first of the surviving nine miners has just been pulled out and pulled to safety.
FOGLE: To go from some place that you were trapped in for -- a total of 87 hours, we were underground. To the surface to walk again, to even see the lights that were out there, that's awesome. And to know that you're going to see your family again, that's the ticket.
The whole time through this, I couldn't get it in my head that I was not going to see tomorrow. I just couldn't get that feeling that I was going to die. And that's escape hole there. That's where we went up out, right here. All of them four pictures there are all of the escape hole.
I still hope I am the same person that walked in that night as I am today. But you do look at stuff. Now it's family first and then work. And before, it used to be work and then family. My daughter hasn't said much. She takes it pretty tough still.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want him to go back. But by now, I am used to it. It's just -- I don't think about it. So, it's just a job.
FOGLE: That's right. It's just a job.
I love you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you.
FOGLE: At this point in time, I am the only one that went back. For me, it's the only job that I really want to do. And you do. You have to support your family, too.
I mean, I have to do something. And it's what I know. I love coal mining. It's a challenge. It's not the same every day. Every day's different. And you are exploring. You are opening up territory that nobody's ever been in. So it makes you a little bit of an explorer.
The area that the accident happened in, I have been back to a lot. I have tried, through the whole time that this has happened, to try to stay in the background of everything, so people don't notice me. It's like a bump in the road. We went to work that day. And we've been changed forever. It's the same to me today as it was that day or any other day. I have tried to do it as just a job and leave it at that, what happened happened, and just go on.
Everybody got to see 18 miracles on TV. And that's something special. I mean, that's something you don't see every day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: You heard Randy Fogle talk about 18 miracles. Many of us heard the phrase, nine for nine. But to Randy and to the other miners, it's really 18 who were rescued, 18 miracles, as he put it.
That includes the nine who were trapped and another nine who got out right after the mine was flooded a year ago.
We'll check morning papers after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: Yes, yes, yes with the rooster.
That's the first time I have looked at the e-mailed stories and it wasn't some wacky thing like, researchers find fogs have sex 12 times a day or something that people were sending out.
Here is the challenge. If you're doing morning papers at home for your friends on a day when there's a huge news story, how do you make it interesting?
"New York Times" starts it off: "Hussein's Two Sons Dead in Shoot-out, U.S. Says." Look at that picture. That picture will come back. You will see that a number of times, and a couple of stories, including an analysis piece. They also have Jessica Lynch on the front page, too. Two other stories here: "Judges Dismisses Terror Charges Against Lawyer." This was a big story.
Lynne Stewart, a radical lawyer here in New York, was charged with aiding a terrorist, the case now dismissed. And Jessica Lynch comes home.
"Boston Herald." There is the cigar picture again. "Smoked" is the headline is the "Boston Herald." "U.S. Strike Kills Saddam's Sons." Ms. Lynch, Private Lynch, we should say, up at the top there.
"Detroit Free Press," yes, "Hussein's Sons Killed." Same picture. Also, they show a picture of the house in there. A very good story in the state of Michigan: "GOP Splits On Affirmative Action." After the University of Michigan case, Ward Connerly, who ran the anti-affirmative action initiative in California, says he may run one in Michigan, Republicans, some Republican, not altogether happy about that. Others are.
There are two versions "The Chicago Sun-Times." And we'll do them both today. "Got 'Em," says the red streak edition of "The Chicago Sun-Times." I have no idea what "Pouty Mouth" is up there. I don't know what that story is, but I like the headline. So that's -- "Iraq's Sadistic Sons Are Toast," the way the red streak of "The Sun- Times." "The Chicago Sun-Times," the main page, the one for grownups, is a little more direct. "Dead: Saddam's Ruthless Sons Killed in Raid." A very nice picture of Jessica Lynch up there on the front page of "The Sun-Times," too.
How we doing on time here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty.
BROWN: Fifty? Oh, man, am I in trouble now.
"The Miami Herald." We'll do this fairly slowly. There are people who write in and say this segment is only fill. Come on, people. This is hard to do. "Hussein's Sons Killed." This just in. "U.S. Says Two Die When U.S. Troops Stormed Villa." There are at least four different ways to spell the names of the Hussein boys, as I've come to think of them. Jessica Lynch on the front page, too. And Celia Cruz on the front page of "The Miami Herald," as you would expect. She was very big there.
And that's morning papers. And that's the program. This isn't fill. This counts, OK?
We're all back tomorrow at 10:00 Eastern time. Join us, will you?
Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.
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