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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Simultaneous Attacks Through Iraq as Insurgents Step up Assault on Security Forces

Aired June 24, 2004 - 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.
Those of you with us earlier in the week know that I used this page the other night to take consider umbrage, and I don't do that often, at the words of Paul Wolfowitz, the number two at the Pentagon, words he spoke at a congressional hearing the other day.

Mr. Wolfowitz was complaining about the coverage in Iraq and he said too many reporters were afraid to travel outside of Baghdad, so they just sat there and repeated rumors, something he argued was contributing to an unbalanced view of the events in Iraq.

We need not go over what I said then, except to say that I thought he was wrong. Today, he issued a letter of apology. The note, directed to all reporters who have covered the events in Iraq, is gracious and thoughtful and I suspect will be well received. Iraq is a messy and complicated place and today, sadly, more proof.

The whip begins in Baghdad. Christiane Amanpour starts us off, Christiane, on a bad day there, a headline from you.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was one of the worst days that they have seen here. (AUDIO GAP) coordinated attack that they had not seen for months and they think perhaps this might be something we might see again in the run-up to the handover.

BROWN: Christiane, thank you.

The White House next and questions for the president over the spy outing scandal, CNN's Dana Bash with the duty tonight, Dana a headline.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, it's a rare thing for a sitting president to be interviewed in a criminal probe. That's exactly what happened here today. For 70 minutes, Mr. Bush was interviewed in the Oval Office by a special prosecutor who wants to know who leaked the covert identity of a CIA agent -- Aaron.

BROWN: Dana, thank you.

Finally, a Supreme Court ruling on a hot political potato, CNN's Bob Franken covers, Bob a headline.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, score one for the vice president, Aaron, in the constitutional competition over separation of powers. While the game isn't over, it may be delayed too long to matter.

BROWN: Bob, thank you. We get back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up on the program tonight an update on a story we brought you the other night, one that seemed to strike a chord with many of you, the story of a young 12-year-old Afghan boy shot by U.S. soldiers, tonight more on why the U.S. government won't help and how you can if you'd like to.

Plus another casualty in the doping scandal, this one resulting in a possible lifetime ban for an Olympic sprinter, not Marion Jones, but someone very close and perhaps the fastest person in the world.

And later what comes first, the rooster or the papers? That's an easy one, morning papers will end it all tonight as they so often do, all that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin tonight in Iraq less than a week from the political handover and, by the looks of it, a world away from being ready. Looks, of course, can be deceiving.

That's the point of an insurgency making the moment, horrible as it is, seem even worse, turning a Tet into a Waterloo but looks can also be telling and tonight they tell of an insurgency that isn't going away and a government sorely challenged.

We begin our coverage in Baghdad and CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Simultaneous attacks sent shockwaves through the country as insurgents stepped up their assault on Iraq's security forces. And from Mosul and Baquba in the north to Ramadi in the west, scores of people were killed and many more were injured in suicide attacks and car bombs.

The casualties were Iraqi troops, policemen and civilians and three American soldiers. Emergency wards were overwhelmed as doctors fought to deal with the dead and save the wounded.

DR. BASSEM ABDEL HUSSEIN, BAQUBA HOSPITAL (through translator): The wounded people have multiple injuries, some to the chest and head.

AMANPOUR: The doctor said two children were among the dead.

In Ramadi in the violent Sunni Triangle the hotbed of anti- American insurgence, it was the same.

DR. YASSIR YOUSSEF, RAMADI HOSPITAL (through translator): This morning we heard a big explosion and all the doctors ran into the emergency room. Most of the wounded were policemen.

AMANPOUR: Also in the Sunni Triangle, pitched battles broke out between U.S. Marines and insurgents on the outskirts of Fallujah. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The American tried to enter Fallujah from the east using all kinds of weapons, including artillery and helicopters but the mujahideen stopped them from entering the city.

AMANPOUR: U.S. Marines say one of their helicopters was hit by small arms fire but made a safe emergency landing back at base. In Fallujah, the U.S. has twice this week launched air strikes on safe houses said to belong to the al Qaeda suspect Abu Musab Zarqawi. The U.S. claims to have killed more than 20 foreign fighters.

Mosul, which suffered the heaviest casualties, has extended an overnight curfew. In Baghdad, a suicide bomber blew himself up killing five people. Iraq's interim government is discussing emergency measures to crack down on what ministers call a serious threat.

BARHAM SALEH, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: They are determined to derail our political transition in Iraq. Equally so, I can tell you that the government is determined to win this battle with the help of the international community.

AMANPOUR: The government won't say exactly how it plans to crack down. Its own forces are unable to do the job alone, according to the U.S. here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Now, according to U.S. officials, some 20 to 30 insurgents were killed in Baquba during yesterday's struggles and the people here are really desperate for some kind of harsh crackdown.

And we're waiting for a press conference later today our time from the new ministers of defense and interior, who have the security brief and wondering what they might say in terms of precise measures to combat this militantism and this insurgency -- Aaron.

BROWN: What do they have to work with? It's not like there's a standing army that they can wage war against, so what are the tools that they might consider to lash back at the insurgents?

AMANPOUR: Well, they have a new force. It's called the Intervention Force, which they plan to deploy here in Baghdad at least. That is apparently proficient in urban fighting.

And they're talking about receiving a lot more equipment from the United States. We heard that from a top U.S. general and we'll get some more details on that later today.

But they do admit that their forces are not able to do this on their own and so they might, there probably will be a great deal of help and coordination with U.S. forces.

BROWN: And just briefly as you can, did all of this in Baghdad just freeze the city today? AMANPOUR: No because most of it wasn't in Baghdad today. It was -- it froze quite a lot of the other cities where the violence was. But, again, we've been briefed that this may hit Baghdad.

You know, people are very careful about what might happen but they don't expect, at least this is what we heard from U.S. officials yesterday, to see any marked decrease in this activity ahead of the handover.

BROWN: It's going to be a difficult week. Christiane, thank you, Christiane Amanpour.

You may remember the skirmish in the run up to the war over how many American troops would be needed for the occupation. General Eric Shinseki, then the Army Chief of Staff, put the number at several hundred thousand, which put him at odds with the secretary of defense and later with war plans that envisioned fewer than 50,000 troops on the ground by now. Instead the number has been creeping up and while it isn't yet approaching General Shinseki's estimate, it could take another jump soon.

From the Pentagon tonight, CNN's Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN has learned that if the violence grows worse, U.S. military planners are preparing for the possibility of sending in as many as 15,000 additional ground troops, three brigades on an emergency basis.

Separately at his Senate confirmation hearing General George Casey, who will soon take over as head of coalition forces, confirmed only that a plan is in the works because of concerns the insurgency may gain strength.

GEN. GEORGE CASEY, NOMINEE, MULTINATIONAL FORCE COMMANDER: CENTCOM is doing some contingency planning for increased levels of violence.

STARR: Officials now readily acknowledge the security situation is likely to be very bad for sometime. Attacks are expected well past the June 30 date for returning sovereignty to Iraqis and perhaps into next year when elections will be scheduled. The continuing high levels of violence now a major concern for Congress and the military in dealing with Iraq.

CASEY: It is not how I envisioned it to be, Senator.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: What do you think has gone wrong?

CASEY: I think the insurgency is much stronger than I certainly would have anticipated.

STARR: As the next commander, Casey says his priorities are protecting a U.N. mission that will help with elections, providing security in the violent Sunni Triangle, getting better intelligence from Iraqis to fight the insurgency but getting Iraqis to provide for their own security remains a challenge.

(on camera): General Casey says Iraqi security forces are not yet ready to protect their entire country opening the door to the possibility U.S. and coalition forces will remain in Iraq for some months to come.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, more on Iraq a little bit later in the program.

A quick update now on an incident that grabbed a lot of attention more than two years ago in Afghanistan, the Air Force today dropped court martial proceedings against an Air National Guard pilot who accidentally bombed Canadian troops who were maneuvering at the time.

Four Canadians died that day, eight were wounded. The Air Force says it acted after the pilot in question, Major Harry Schmitt (ph), said he would accept non-judicial punishment instead of demanding his day in court.

On now to the president and the special prosecutor, an hour and ten minute session at the Oval Office, in connection with the outing in the press of a CIA operative.

Doing so is illegal. Doing so, as alleged, for political payback is potentially radioactive. Add to that a photogenic spy, her savvy husband, Iraq, and bad blood between the White House and the CIA and you've got a lot for a prosecutor to unravel and quite a story besides.

Reporting from the White House tonight CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. Bush was not under oath and had only a newly-hired private attorney at his side as U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald tried to find out who may have leaked the covert identity of a CIA agent.

LANNY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SPECIAL COUNSEL: It doesn't mean he did anything wrong but it means that any thorough prosecutor would be obligated to interview the president.

BASH: At issue is this column last July by Robert Novak revealing former Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife was undercover at the CIA. Wilson accused the White House of blowing his wife's cover as retaliation for saying the president's State of the Union claim Iraq was trying to buy nuclear material was false.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you regret that your State of the Union accusation that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear materials in Africa?

BASH: After Wilson came forward, the president was plagued by questions about the claim, which the White House was forced to disavow. Administration officials say Mr. Bush was present at what they describe as routine strategy meetings where responding to Wilson's criticism was discussed.

The Oval Office interview comes nearly one month after a similar session with the vice president. While neither man gave sworn testimony, other senior staffers, including White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, have testified before a federal grand jury.

Although there are still outstanding subpoenas to journalists, legal experts say Thursday's interview could signal the investigation is wrapping up.

LARRY BARCELLA, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Clearly, you'd wait and have the vice president and the president be the last of the people that you would likely interview.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And when asked if the president, who vowed to change the culture in Washington, was disturbed about being questioned in a criminal probe of his own administration. Through a spokesman he simply said that he wants to get to the bottom of this matter -- Aaron.

BROWN: Dana, thank you, Dana Bash at the White House tonight.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that for now at least the vice president does not have to make public the names of the people he talked to when formulating the administration's energy policy.

The justices sent back to a lower court for a new round of hearings. This doesn't end the case but it does mean the names, if they ever become public, will not be divulged before the November election, reporting on that for us tonight, CNN's Bob Franken.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): It was a victory for the vice president and the administration but a temporary one. By a 7-2 margin, the court decided, as Anthony Kennedy wrote: "Special considerations applicable to the president and the vice president" meant that Cheney did not yet have to publicly release documents accumulated by his energy task force, documents critics charge would show policy was secretly influenced by corporate interests. The justices bought the vice president's arguments.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're setting a terrible precedent. We're saying the vice president cannot have confidential meetings.

FRANKEN: Justice Kennedy described it as a "paramount necessity of protecting the Executive Branch from vexatious litigation."

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: It was a case in which there is substantial agreement on the court that it's a 7-2 victory in this respect. FRANKEN: Lower courts can still ultimately order the documents released under an open government law but not for a while.

DAVID BOOKBINDER, SIERRA CLUB LEGAL DIRECTOR: In the Bush administration's eyes, keeping things secret as long as possible is a victory and so they will be pleased by the court's decision because it does delay the ultimate day of reckoning.

FRANKEN: Justice Antonin Scalia had added to the controversy by refusing to remove himself after disclosures he had accepted an invitation to go duck hunting with the vice president. He ruled in favor of Cheney.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: And the question of the day what does vexatious mean? It means annoying and what this ruling does, it takes an issue that was annoying to the vice president off the election table -- Aaron.

BROWN: It does indeed. Bob, thank you and thank you for that. We were all wondering.

Ahead on the program tonight more from Iraq where suicide bombers and planned attacks claimed the lives of at least 100 people today, some of them American soldiers. We'll talk with another reporter on the ground. He'll also give us a look inside Fallujah.

And, as promised, another look at the young Afghan boy we told you about the other night, why the U.S. government will not help his family.

Around the world this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A different war.

We've gotten a ton of mail over the last couple of days from viewers touched by correspondent Ryan Chilcote's story of the young boy in Afghanistan, his family's eldest son who was shot and badly wounded by an American soldier who took him for a threat.

By all appearances it was just one of those things that happens in wartime where insurgents mix with civilians and soldiers have to sort it all out on the spot.

What struck so many viewers at the time was the fact that the military doesn't compensate families after such incidents in Afghanistan. In Iraq, yes it does sometimes, but Afghanistan, no. As you might imagine it is a bit more complicated than that.

Here's CNN's Kathleen Koch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Because of this my son is injured. My cattle went missing.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under international law and a U.S. law called the Foreign Claims Act, if damage, injury or death occurs during combat operations, the U.S. is not legally liable.

LARRY DI RITA, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: We're not obligated under the law of war. We're not obligated and, in fact, I think under the same statute for combat damage.

KOCH: The law does say the military may pay claims for the wrongful or negligent acts of its forces. It's made such payments in Afghanistan, though the military couldn't say precisely how much.

Since it began paying claims in Iraq in June, 2003, the U.S. Army has paid nearly 6,000 claims for more than $4.5 million, here for damage to a man's car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's why we paid because we knew we were wrong. We were negligent.

KOCH: But it's up to military investigators to decide how an incident is classified and thus whether or not a family is compensated. Human rights groups insist investigations have not occurred into many incidents.

JOE STORK, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: There are incidents where there are suspicious deaths frankly where there is reason to say, hey, should those people really have died at this checkpoint or in this return of fire or in this house raid or whatever?

KOCH (on camera): Because the Foreign Claims Act has limitations, the military has also authorized some claims to be paid informally by commanders on the ground. The goodwill payments from an emergency response program are made at commanders' discretion.

(voice-over): The case of Azizullah the Afghan boy shot in the back is still being investigated. If classified as wrongful or negligent his family might be compensated under the law. If not, his family might receive a sympathy payment.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: In the meantime, a private fund has been set up to help. If you would like to contribute here's what you do. Go to our Web site, cnn.com/newsnight. Send us an e-mail with "Azizullah" in the subject line and we will send you the information you need, though it may take us a couple of days to get to all of this. There has been a bunch of it.

On to other matters, a new CNN/USA Today Gallup poll looks at Iraq and the presidential election, a significant finding here. For the first time since the start of the war a majority of Americans, 54 percent, say the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq. That is up from 41 percent earlier in the month, so it's a pretty dramatic shift all things considered. Today's attacks not reflected in those numbers.

As for the presidential election not a whole lot of movement here, not a whole lot of distance between the candidates either, 49 percent of likely voters say they'll vote for President Bush, 48 percent say they will back John Kerry, well within the margin of error a tie at this point in the polling.

Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, former chief stops by our new home to speak with the king. We'll talk about that with one of his contemporaries, a couple of them.

Still later high school in New Jersey where sacrifice for country is one of the most important lessons learned, a break first.

From New York this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: For what it's worth, the Center for Media and Public Affairs says that so far this month former President Bill Clinton has been the butt of more jokes on the late night talk shows than President Bush and his Democratic foe John Kerry combined, one measure we guess of a presidential memoir, which brings us to our guest on the night that the former president appeared for an hour with Larry King.

Paul Begala is the former strategist for Bill Clinton. Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist Haynes Johnson has written three best-selling books about the Clinton presidency. They join us from Washington to talk about the former president and a few of the things he had to say tonight. It's good to see you both.

Haynes, let me start with you. You know the former president did a huge number when he appeared on "60 Minutes." I assume he's going to do a very big number rating tonight. Obviously people are still fascinated by him. What is it about him that we all find so fascinating, like him or hate him?

HAYNES JOHNSON, AUTHOR: He's everyone -- he's us really. He comes from the background, small town boy, the American story. He made it out of poverty, out of abuse, alcoholic parents, goes all the way up, becomes president of the United States, becomes incredibly controversial and he has this ability, no matter whether you love him or hate him, he is always fascinating.

BROWN: Paul, do you find it somewhat amazing that the intensity of the feeling both for and against him?

PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": I do. I've always been curious about that and David Marinas (ph) who wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Bill Clinton asked him about this years ago just as Clinton was starting his presidency and David was beginning his research on him.

And he said, he's always been that way. There's just something about him that either people just love or hate. I mean some of it I'm sure his detractors always saw him as Slick Willy and, of course, his supporters think that he's a remarkably gifted and able person who's able to articulate complex ideas in a very simple way.

So, I just think part of it is his gifts. I think Haynes makes a point too though. Part of it is that he is just so much one of us and maybe for some people it reminds them of the neighbor that always annoyed him. For other people it reminds them maybe of a brother who they particularly loved who was maybe a bit of a rascal but also really quite a genius.

BROWN: I mean to me kind of disproportionate on both sides of love and dislike. Haynes, just is it the '60s being played back? Is it more, less, or unknowable?

JOHNSON: It's probably unknowable.

BROWN: Yes.

JOHNSON: It also is the '60s. It's also generational. But there's also the life story. I mean you can't -- watching him tonight this was a much more subdued presidential low keyed. It was almost somber against, appropriate for the background of the news you've been reporting from Iraq and all the rest.

But he talked about divorce and maybe not making it suicides and tragedies and depression and getting counseling and there was a somber quality to it and that's a side of Clinton we don't see much.

Usually there's the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) joking, schmoozing, charming and all that. Tonight was another side I thought but it's all part of his character, this all American interesting figure.

BROWN: One piece of sound out of the interview tonight obviously it's as we say around here the money byte. Everyone wants to know how he's going to explain the Lewinsky matter and here's how he explained it tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Well, when you say you did it because you could do it, you did it because it was there, a lot of people, I think we need some elaboration because people are taking that.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, because it wasn't -- wrongly. When I say I did it because I could, if you take it out of context it sounds (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and snippy and arrogant and unfeeling toward Monica Lewinsky or my family or anything else.

That is not what I meant. I meant if you -- well, you know, you've lived long enough to make a few mistakes. Anybody that has lived a certain time has made some mistakes. If you look back on your life and you think about the things that you did wrong that you knew at the time you shouldn't do, about the best explanation is you did it because you could. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Paul, you like this guy a lot. You've described him as the best president of your lifetime more times than I can count. Is he handling this difficult matter correctly?

BEGALA: I think so. You know, Aaron, that was the first test, the candor test and I went up to see him a couple of weeks before the book came out and he showed me the whole book but I, of course, went right to the money part to see how he handled it.

I think he definitely crosses a threshold. I mean golly he's told us more about his private life, his private failings, and now, unlike when he was first caught, now, he really is fully candid. He's come to grips with what he did wrong, how he wronged the country, but, more importantly, how he wronged his wife and his daughter and Monica Lewinsky. And I think he's just completely candid.

I have a friend who is on the far fringes of the far right, not a big supporter of Bill Clinton. And when he said to that, he said to me, my friend said, gee, that's the first honest thing I've ever heard Clinton say. Because it is true. When you make a mistake, instead of a lot of complicated psychobabble answers, he said, I did it because I could. And it's the worst reason in the world for doing something. And I think it's disarming candor that maybe people weren't prepared for.

BROWN: Haynes, do you think that, no matter what he says, to some extent, it doesn't matter, because there are lots of people, even people who believed in him quite strongly, who will never forgive him for it all?

JOHNSON: Oh, absolutely.

He will be always a dividing, polarizing figure, always in history, I think. And later on, we're going to look back on this period. It was a remarkable period. It's like a time tube almost. You unearth it and there's Bill Clinton jumping out from the '60s, the '70s, the '80s, the '90s. And now we're in this new era of terror, and all those other things, he's gone yet he's this figure. He's still there.

BROWN: Paul, let me give you the last word, in 20 seconds or so. Do you think that Mr. Clinton knows what kind of ex-president he wants to be?

BEGALA: I do.

I think he needs to pay off the debts that he incurred because of his legal bills. But beyond that, he's never been very motivated by money. He very much -- you saw how animated he got with Larry when he was talking about his work on AIDS.

I've been surprised. He's been a very unfocused guy in many ways. I've been surprised and impressed at how really relentless focused he's been on this work in AIDS around the world. He's really become an expert on it. And he's doing an awful lot of good. Let me say it one more time. He's cut the cost of AIDS drugs by 70 percent in poor countries around the world. That's a wonderful thing to do. And that's really where his focus is.

BROWN: Is the Carter model, is that how he sees his ex- presidency, or is that too simple?

BEGALA: I think -- well, Jimmy Carter has been a model ex- president, but not a model for Bill Clinton.

I think Bill Clinton has got to be a bit of Teddy Roosevelt and a bit of Jimmy Carter. He has got to be himself. He's never going to be ignored. He's going to probably I think probably more controversial, although Jimmy Carter has had his share of controversy, too, speaking out on public issues. But he's got to be Clinton.

He's -- wee used to call him Elvis back in the campaign for a reason. And Elvis has not left the building. I couldn't be happier.

BROWN: Well, he certainly hasn't this week.

Thank you, Paul. It's nice to see you.

Haynes, always good to have you. Thank you both.

JOHNSON: Thank you, Aaron.

BROWN: A few more items to get in from around the country tonight.

New travel restrictions issued by the Bush administration this week are setting off an outcry among many Cuban Americans. Others believe it's the right thing to do in an effort to pressure the Castro regime. The new rules take effect next Wednesday and limit the number of visits to relatives in Cuba to once every three years instead of once a year.

The charter companies flying out of South Florida and travel agents are scrambling to add flights while they can and to warn customers who have already left on visits to Cuba.

In Vancouver, British Columbia, today, NHL hockey star Todd Bertuzzi was charged with assault for a sucker punch that broke an opponent's neck during a game in March. The attack set off an outcry over hockey violence again and led to a four-month investigation. If convicted Mr. Bertuzzi could face a penalty ranging from jail time to a guilty verdict, but no criminal record.

Back to the war now in Iraq. And addressing a rough day all around, Iraq's new prime minister said the attacks in fact were less organized than they might appear. That, we think, remains to be seen. We do know it is better to have many sets of eyes and ears on the story as possible, as hard as that can be sometimes.

So we go back to Baghdad. We're glad Michael Ware made it to our location. Michael reports for "TIME" magazine. He's been in and out for a long time in Iraq. And we're glad to have him with us tonight.

What's your take on what happened for you yesterday, the degree of coordination between various groups?

MICHAEL WARE, "TIME": This was clearly a coordinated display of the insurgents' resolve and growing power in the Sunni areas.

They were able to conduct operations across a wide geographical area, from Fallujah and Baquba to the south all the way to Mosul in the north. And what we saw was their ability to act in cohesion, that is, a large number of groups of different motivations pulled together by some thread and able to act as one. And when I was in Fallujah yesterday, it was as though I was watching a tap being turned on and being turned off, as the uprising began, and then when I arrived, to see it finish as the call came out from the mosques to pull back and to stop firing.

It really was impressive and frightening on some level.

BROWN: Michael, I want to focus for the two minutes we have left on Fallujah. Do we know what's going on in there? I've seen a number of accounts. And it sounds like madness is going on in there.

WARE: Well, essentially the insurgents have complete, unfettered control of Fallujah, and not just the insurgents. We're talking about the Islamists now, Iraqi Islamists and a horde, an unknown number of foreign Islamists.

These are men who aren't necessarily al Qaeda. Some of them may be. They're certainly inspired by al Qaeda. They act like them. They share the same ideology. This is who now controls Fallujah. And for them, it has become a sanctuary. No one can go in there. Coalition forces can't go in. The government has zero authority. It is now the authority of the mosques. And the hard-line mosques are backing these men.

BROWN: People talk about it as a Taliban-like state, where Islamic law is the rule of the day, hands being chopped off, music stores shut down, liquor stores shut down, Afghanistan revisited.

WARE: We're certainly getting reports of that.

As I stood at what was the front line yesterday and is the entrance to Fallujah, they said to me, if you go in there, you are dead under any circumstances. However, we're hearing about just these things, barbers who refuse to clip beards, to allow them to grow, music being taken from taxis, an introduction of Sharia law.

I've spent time with some of these men in their farms in their hideouts behind Fallujah. And it was like I'd been transplanted back in Afghanistan, the austerity of the environment, the soberness of their mood. These men are against pictures of themselves or anything on the wall. It very much in some regards has a Taliban feel. I've seen this before.

BROWN: Michael, it's good to see you again. Stay safe. It sounds like the next week or more is going to be pretty crazy there. So be well and we'll talk to you soon. Thank you, Michael Ware of "TIME" magazine.

Still to come on the program tonight, another athlete charged in the BALCO doping scandal, this one the world record holder, the boyfriend of Marion Jones. We'll give you details coming up.

And why did -- oh, come on, you guys -- why did the rooster cross the road? To pick up morning papers, of course.

A break first. From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Today, another running shoe dropped in the doping scandal that swept up several U.S. Olympic track and field athletes. This time, the shoe belongs to Tim Montgomery, the world record holder in the 100 meters, normally described as the fastest man in the world.

Today, "The San Francisco Chronicle" reported that it had obtained Mr. Montgomery's sworn testimony before a grand jury investigating the Bay area laboratory cooperative, or BALCO. During the questioning last November, the paper says the world's fastest man admitted what he has been denying publicly.

Reporting for us, CNN's Josie Burke.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSIE BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The grand jury testimony that appeared in "The San Francisco Chronicle" today said Tim Montgomery told the grand jury he used the banned substance human growth hormone, along with a steroid that had previously been undetectable.

Montgomery said he got the drugs from Victor Conte, the head of BALCO, who was one of four people indicted on drug charges if February. Publicly, Montgomery has denied he broke track and field's doping rules. In response to "The Chronicle"'s report, one of Montgomery's lawyers, Cristina Arguedas, told the paper -- quote -- "No one can legally or legitimately have Tim's grand jury testimony. And if they think they have it, I would like to see it."

Montgomery is the boyfriend of Olympian Marion Jones. According to "The Chronicle," prosecutors did not ask Montgomery whether during his grand jury testimony whether Jones used illegal drugs. Jones has not been charged with any doping violations. But she has been a target of the United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation. She has denied using banned substances and continues to wage an intense public relations campaign to clear her name.

But Montgomery did not hesitate to point a finger at baseball superstar Barry Bonds. According to "The Chronicle," Montgomery told prosecutors he was told that Conte had provided the home run king with the steroid Winstrol. Today, Bonds responded to the report: "It bother me when people I don't even know are saying stuff about me. If any of the statements are true, they're going to talk to my attorney, I guarantee that, in a lawsuit."

In addition, USADA formally charged Montgomery and sprinter Michelle Collins with doping violations and informed them they face a lifetime ban. Montgomery's attorney said the sprinter would appeal the ruling.

Josie Burke, CNN, Colorado Springs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT tonight, students volunteering for service in wartime and what moved them to do it.

And enough of the rooster jokes. We'll have morning papers and a joke or two there, too.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: In a working-class community in southern New Jersey last night, Pemberton High School graduated its class of 2004. Each year, the school typically sees 10 percent to 12 percent of its graduates enlist in the military. This year, with the war in Iraq not withstanding, 15 percent enlisted, even as two alums of Pemberton were killed in combat in Iraq.

Tonight, we hear from two graduates who soon could be on the front line, voices we don't often hear from the larger story in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON DIDOMENICO, ENLISTED IN U.S. ARMY: I like the fact that, in the military, it's very egalitarian. The person next to you, regardless of their gender, their race or where they are, we all wear the same uniform. We all do the same job.

RACHEL CHANDLER, ENLISTED IN U.S. ARMY: College, that's the one thing that I want. And my parents said they could pay for college and everything. But I don't want them to pay for it. I want to do something on my own.

SGT. ROBERT WILLIAMS, U.S. ARMY INSTRUCTOR: Suddenly, you find yourself in the 12th grade. Where do you go now? Where do you go? The kids that join the military, they're looking for financial help. And some of them are trying to fulfill their dreams of being a military person.

DIDOMENICO: It's not always an easy, glamorous life being in the military. It's a very noble, but it's an enduring job. And it takes a lot of sacrifice to be in the military. It takes a lot of heart.

WILLIAMS: I'm always afraid of these kids going over there. They're young 18-year-old kids. They ship them right off to Iraq and they have no idea what's going on. And I let them know there's a chance if you go into the military that you could lose your life. And a lot of them will tell me, I understand that, but this is what I want to do, or, Sarge, my mother and father don't have the income to send me to college. So I'm trying to get a scholarship. Or I just want to go over there, grow up a little bit, save a little money and get out.

DIDOMENICO: Nobody wants to go to war. Nobody wants to fight. And that's not why I'm in the Army. That's not why my friends are joining the Army. But sometimes it happens. And there's nothing that we can do about it. We just have a job to do and we have to do it.

CHANDLER: Every day, I turn on the news and I hear, oh, another five soldiers died this morning. These are people who were just like me who wanted to do something with their lives. And they did.

I know their family's very proud of them, but they didn't have to lose their lives. And it's scary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Inspection. Arms.

CHANDLER: I'm ready to fight. I'm ready. It doesn't matter to me. I'm ready to do anything just for this country, for my family, to protect. I just want to protect everyone, just make sure that no one else gets hurt. And if it means sacrificing my life, then so be it.

DIDOMENICO: Sergeant, Didomenico reports as ordered.

WILLIAMS: These kids here, they are kind of gung-ho right now. They want to go and they want to go right now. I don't think they realize the danger, that going to war is life and death.

DIDOMENICO: Of course I'm scared. Everyone is always scared. But as far as being ready for it, knowing that other people are willing to put their life down so that I can enjoy the freedoms I have in this country, it only, you know, fuels my desire more to give back what they sacrificed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Morning papers after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: OK, time to check the morning papers from around the country and the world. Yesterday, last night, all of you were with us, weren't you? You remember, there was no clear lead. Today, the leads are pretty clear, as you'll see, though we do kind of get different takes on it.

"The International Herald Tribune," published by "The New York Times," "Rebels Stage Attacks in Five Cities in Iraq, Violence on the Rise As Transition Nears." Also a very good news analysis piece. We -- actually, we tried to do this last night. It just didn't happen. "Behind Bush Step, Asian Pressure." The administration pretty much flip-flopped on how it is dealing with North Korea. It's a very complicated problem. And I don't mean anything pejorative in the flip-flop. They just have. And it's an explanation of how it came to be, sort of going from stick to carrot, if you will.

"Miami Herald." "Attacks on Police Sites Kill 100, Injure 300." Iraq is the lead. This is also a good story. "Court Puts Lid Back On TV-Radio Ownership." Remember the big flap at the FCC about consolidating radio and TV stations. Newspapers, too, were involved in it. The court has put the kibosh on that for now.

"Bloody Iraq" is the "Metro" lead in the Boston edition of "Metro." This is a paper that appears in a number of cities. They also put this on the front page. I'll bet this is on many papers, though, tomorrow. "Cheney Swears At Senator." There's a kind of little nasty little flap going on in the Senate over that. And the vice president used a naughty word.

"Atlanta Journal-Constitution." "Atlanta Teen Is NBA's No. 1 Pick." Lead with a local kid. Good for him. "Magic Made Child's Dream Come True For Dwight Howard." All accounts I've read about him, he's not only a fabulous basketball player, but he's a really good kid. And so we wish him nothing but good luck.

How we doing on time? OK.

"Washington Times": "100 Killed in Violence Across Iraq. Zarqawi Takes Blame For Attacks in Six Cities." Some have it as five. Some have it as six. "Insurgents Wreak Havoc in Fallujah." The Fallujah story is the most interesting story to me right now, in part I suppose because we can't see it. And that always makes me wonder. You just can't get in there. Nobody is getting in there, as Michael Ware talked about.

"Philadelphia Inquirer." "A Day of Planned Chaos" is the way they led the Iraq story. "About 100 Die in Iraq Attacks. U.S. Says Most Order Restored." Michael Moore on the front page. "Fahrenheit Has Its Highs and Lows." The movie opens tomorrow. Jeff Greenfield weighs in on that for us.

And, finally, "The Chicago" -- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scratch my eye in front of you that way. "Chicago Sun-Times." "Hastert Leads Call for Ryan to Quit Race." This is the senator, the sex clubs, you know what I'm talking about here. That's on their front page. "Vice President to Senator," OK, these are things I cannot say, but they can print. So there you go. The weather tomorrow in Chicago sounds like my kind of day: "Let's play two."

We'll take a break and wrap it up for the night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Before we go, Bill Hemmer with a look ahead at tomorrow's "AMERICAN MORNING."

It's a quiet show they have planned for tomorrow. We've gotten a lot -- we'll fix that.

We've got a lot of mail already on people wanting to help this young Afghan boy. Let me again tell you how to do this, if this is something you're interested in. It's the kid who was, tragically, mistakenly shot by U.S. troops. Go to CNN.com/NEWSNIGHT. There it is and there I am. And then send us an e-mail and indicate in the subject line you want to help the youngster, help the kid, Alizah (ph) his name, Afghan boy, I want to help.

Somehow, that helps us sort through it. I'm not sure why we're doing this in quite the clumsy way we are, but we're going to get it done in any case. So, if you want to help, that's how you do it.

We'll see you all tomorrow. It's Friday, 10:00 Eastern time. For NEWSNIGHT, good night.

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 June 24, 2004 - 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.
Those of you with us earlier in the week know that I used this page the other night to take consider umbrage, and I don't do that often, at the words of Paul Wolfowitz, the number two at the Pentagon, words he spoke at a congressional hearing the other day.

Mr. Wolfowitz was complaining about the coverage in Iraq and he said too many reporters were afraid to travel outside of Baghdad, so they just sat there and repeated rumors, something he argued was contributing to an unbalanced view of the events in Iraq.

We need not go over what I said then, except to say that I thought he was wrong. Today, he issued a letter of apology. The note, directed to all reporters who have covered the events in Iraq, is gracious and thoughtful and I suspect will be well received. Iraq is a messy and complicated place and today, sadly, more proof.

The whip begins in Baghdad. Christiane Amanpour starts us off, Christiane, on a bad day there, a headline from you.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was one of the worst days that they have seen here. (AUDIO GAP) coordinated attack that they had not seen for months and they think perhaps this might be something we might see again in the run-up to the handover.

BROWN: Christiane, thank you.

The White House next and questions for the president over the spy outing scandal, CNN's Dana Bash with the duty tonight, Dana a headline.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, it's a rare thing for a sitting president to be interviewed in a criminal probe. That's exactly what happened here today. For 70 minutes, Mr. Bush was interviewed in the Oval Office by a special prosecutor who wants to know who leaked the covert identity of a CIA agent -- Aaron.

BROWN: Dana, thank you.

Finally, a Supreme Court ruling on a hot political potato, CNN's Bob Franken covers, Bob a headline.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, score one for the vice president, Aaron, in the constitutional competition over separation of powers. While the game isn't over, it may be delayed too long to matter.

BROWN: Bob, thank you. We get back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up on the program tonight an update on a story we brought you the other night, one that seemed to strike a chord with many of you, the story of a young 12-year-old Afghan boy shot by U.S. soldiers, tonight more on why the U.S. government won't help and how you can if you'd like to.

Plus another casualty in the doping scandal, this one resulting in a possible lifetime ban for an Olympic sprinter, not Marion Jones, but someone very close and perhaps the fastest person in the world.

And later what comes first, the rooster or the papers? That's an easy one, morning papers will end it all tonight as they so often do, all that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin tonight in Iraq less than a week from the political handover and, by the looks of it, a world away from being ready. Looks, of course, can be deceiving.

That's the point of an insurgency making the moment, horrible as it is, seem even worse, turning a Tet into a Waterloo but looks can also be telling and tonight they tell of an insurgency that isn't going away and a government sorely challenged.

We begin our coverage in Baghdad and CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Simultaneous attacks sent shockwaves through the country as insurgents stepped up their assault on Iraq's security forces. And from Mosul and Baquba in the north to Ramadi in the west, scores of people were killed and many more were injured in suicide attacks and car bombs.

The casualties were Iraqi troops, policemen and civilians and three American soldiers. Emergency wards were overwhelmed as doctors fought to deal with the dead and save the wounded.

DR. BASSEM ABDEL HUSSEIN, BAQUBA HOSPITAL (through translator): The wounded people have multiple injuries, some to the chest and head.

AMANPOUR: The doctor said two children were among the dead.

In Ramadi in the violent Sunni Triangle the hotbed of anti- American insurgence, it was the same.

DR. YASSIR YOUSSEF, RAMADI HOSPITAL (through translator): This morning we heard a big explosion and all the doctors ran into the emergency room. Most of the wounded were policemen.

AMANPOUR: Also in the Sunni Triangle, pitched battles broke out between U.S. Marines and insurgents on the outskirts of Fallujah. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The American tried to enter Fallujah from the east using all kinds of weapons, including artillery and helicopters but the mujahideen stopped them from entering the city.

AMANPOUR: U.S. Marines say one of their helicopters was hit by small arms fire but made a safe emergency landing back at base. In Fallujah, the U.S. has twice this week launched air strikes on safe houses said to belong to the al Qaeda suspect Abu Musab Zarqawi. The U.S. claims to have killed more than 20 foreign fighters.

Mosul, which suffered the heaviest casualties, has extended an overnight curfew. In Baghdad, a suicide bomber blew himself up killing five people. Iraq's interim government is discussing emergency measures to crack down on what ministers call a serious threat.

BARHAM SALEH, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: They are determined to derail our political transition in Iraq. Equally so, I can tell you that the government is determined to win this battle with the help of the international community.

AMANPOUR: The government won't say exactly how it plans to crack down. Its own forces are unable to do the job alone, according to the U.S. here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Now, according to U.S. officials, some 20 to 30 insurgents were killed in Baquba during yesterday's struggles and the people here are really desperate for some kind of harsh crackdown.

And we're waiting for a press conference later today our time from the new ministers of defense and interior, who have the security brief and wondering what they might say in terms of precise measures to combat this militantism and this insurgency -- Aaron.

BROWN: What do they have to work with? It's not like there's a standing army that they can wage war against, so what are the tools that they might consider to lash back at the insurgents?

AMANPOUR: Well, they have a new force. It's called the Intervention Force, which they plan to deploy here in Baghdad at least. That is apparently proficient in urban fighting.

And they're talking about receiving a lot more equipment from the United States. We heard that from a top U.S. general and we'll get some more details on that later today.

But they do admit that their forces are not able to do this on their own and so they might, there probably will be a great deal of help and coordination with U.S. forces.

BROWN: And just briefly as you can, did all of this in Baghdad just freeze the city today? AMANPOUR: No because most of it wasn't in Baghdad today. It was -- it froze quite a lot of the other cities where the violence was. But, again, we've been briefed that this may hit Baghdad.

You know, people are very careful about what might happen but they don't expect, at least this is what we heard from U.S. officials yesterday, to see any marked decrease in this activity ahead of the handover.

BROWN: It's going to be a difficult week. Christiane, thank you, Christiane Amanpour.

You may remember the skirmish in the run up to the war over how many American troops would be needed for the occupation. General Eric Shinseki, then the Army Chief of Staff, put the number at several hundred thousand, which put him at odds with the secretary of defense and later with war plans that envisioned fewer than 50,000 troops on the ground by now. Instead the number has been creeping up and while it isn't yet approaching General Shinseki's estimate, it could take another jump soon.

From the Pentagon tonight, CNN's Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN has learned that if the violence grows worse, U.S. military planners are preparing for the possibility of sending in as many as 15,000 additional ground troops, three brigades on an emergency basis.

Separately at his Senate confirmation hearing General George Casey, who will soon take over as head of coalition forces, confirmed only that a plan is in the works because of concerns the insurgency may gain strength.

GEN. GEORGE CASEY, NOMINEE, MULTINATIONAL FORCE COMMANDER: CENTCOM is doing some contingency planning for increased levels of violence.

STARR: Officials now readily acknowledge the security situation is likely to be very bad for sometime. Attacks are expected well past the June 30 date for returning sovereignty to Iraqis and perhaps into next year when elections will be scheduled. The continuing high levels of violence now a major concern for Congress and the military in dealing with Iraq.

CASEY: It is not how I envisioned it to be, Senator.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: What do you think has gone wrong?

CASEY: I think the insurgency is much stronger than I certainly would have anticipated.

STARR: As the next commander, Casey says his priorities are protecting a U.N. mission that will help with elections, providing security in the violent Sunni Triangle, getting better intelligence from Iraqis to fight the insurgency but getting Iraqis to provide for their own security remains a challenge.

(on camera): General Casey says Iraqi security forces are not yet ready to protect their entire country opening the door to the possibility U.S. and coalition forces will remain in Iraq for some months to come.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, more on Iraq a little bit later in the program.

A quick update now on an incident that grabbed a lot of attention more than two years ago in Afghanistan, the Air Force today dropped court martial proceedings against an Air National Guard pilot who accidentally bombed Canadian troops who were maneuvering at the time.

Four Canadians died that day, eight were wounded. The Air Force says it acted after the pilot in question, Major Harry Schmitt (ph), said he would accept non-judicial punishment instead of demanding his day in court.

On now to the president and the special prosecutor, an hour and ten minute session at the Oval Office, in connection with the outing in the press of a CIA operative.

Doing so is illegal. Doing so, as alleged, for political payback is potentially radioactive. Add to that a photogenic spy, her savvy husband, Iraq, and bad blood between the White House and the CIA and you've got a lot for a prosecutor to unravel and quite a story besides.

Reporting from the White House tonight CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. Bush was not under oath and had only a newly-hired private attorney at his side as U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald tried to find out who may have leaked the covert identity of a CIA agent.

LANNY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SPECIAL COUNSEL: It doesn't mean he did anything wrong but it means that any thorough prosecutor would be obligated to interview the president.

BASH: At issue is this column last July by Robert Novak revealing former Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife was undercover at the CIA. Wilson accused the White House of blowing his wife's cover as retaliation for saying the president's State of the Union claim Iraq was trying to buy nuclear material was false.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you regret that your State of the Union accusation that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear materials in Africa?

BASH: After Wilson came forward, the president was plagued by questions about the claim, which the White House was forced to disavow. Administration officials say Mr. Bush was present at what they describe as routine strategy meetings where responding to Wilson's criticism was discussed.

The Oval Office interview comes nearly one month after a similar session with the vice president. While neither man gave sworn testimony, other senior staffers, including White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, have testified before a federal grand jury.

Although there are still outstanding subpoenas to journalists, legal experts say Thursday's interview could signal the investigation is wrapping up.

LARRY BARCELLA, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Clearly, you'd wait and have the vice president and the president be the last of the people that you would likely interview.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And when asked if the president, who vowed to change the culture in Washington, was disturbed about being questioned in a criminal probe of his own administration. Through a spokesman he simply said that he wants to get to the bottom of this matter -- Aaron.

BROWN: Dana, thank you, Dana Bash at the White House tonight.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that for now at least the vice president does not have to make public the names of the people he talked to when formulating the administration's energy policy.

The justices sent back to a lower court for a new round of hearings. This doesn't end the case but it does mean the names, if they ever become public, will not be divulged before the November election, reporting on that for us tonight, CNN's Bob Franken.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): It was a victory for the vice president and the administration but a temporary one. By a 7-2 margin, the court decided, as Anthony Kennedy wrote: "Special considerations applicable to the president and the vice president" meant that Cheney did not yet have to publicly release documents accumulated by his energy task force, documents critics charge would show policy was secretly influenced by corporate interests. The justices bought the vice president's arguments.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're setting a terrible precedent. We're saying the vice president cannot have confidential meetings.

FRANKEN: Justice Kennedy described it as a "paramount necessity of protecting the Executive Branch from vexatious litigation."

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: It was a case in which there is substantial agreement on the court that it's a 7-2 victory in this respect. FRANKEN: Lower courts can still ultimately order the documents released under an open government law but not for a while.

DAVID BOOKBINDER, SIERRA CLUB LEGAL DIRECTOR: In the Bush administration's eyes, keeping things secret as long as possible is a victory and so they will be pleased by the court's decision because it does delay the ultimate day of reckoning.

FRANKEN: Justice Antonin Scalia had added to the controversy by refusing to remove himself after disclosures he had accepted an invitation to go duck hunting with the vice president. He ruled in favor of Cheney.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: And the question of the day what does vexatious mean? It means annoying and what this ruling does, it takes an issue that was annoying to the vice president off the election table -- Aaron.

BROWN: It does indeed. Bob, thank you and thank you for that. We were all wondering.

Ahead on the program tonight more from Iraq where suicide bombers and planned attacks claimed the lives of at least 100 people today, some of them American soldiers. We'll talk with another reporter on the ground. He'll also give us a look inside Fallujah.

And, as promised, another look at the young Afghan boy we told you about the other night, why the U.S. government will not help his family.

Around the world this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A different war.

We've gotten a ton of mail over the last couple of days from viewers touched by correspondent Ryan Chilcote's story of the young boy in Afghanistan, his family's eldest son who was shot and badly wounded by an American soldier who took him for a threat.

By all appearances it was just one of those things that happens in wartime where insurgents mix with civilians and soldiers have to sort it all out on the spot.

What struck so many viewers at the time was the fact that the military doesn't compensate families after such incidents in Afghanistan. In Iraq, yes it does sometimes, but Afghanistan, no. As you might imagine it is a bit more complicated than that.

Here's CNN's Kathleen Koch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Because of this my son is injured. My cattle went missing.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under international law and a U.S. law called the Foreign Claims Act, if damage, injury or death occurs during combat operations, the U.S. is not legally liable.

LARRY DI RITA, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: We're not obligated under the law of war. We're not obligated and, in fact, I think under the same statute for combat damage.

KOCH: The law does say the military may pay claims for the wrongful or negligent acts of its forces. It's made such payments in Afghanistan, though the military couldn't say precisely how much.

Since it began paying claims in Iraq in June, 2003, the U.S. Army has paid nearly 6,000 claims for more than $4.5 million, here for damage to a man's car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's why we paid because we knew we were wrong. We were negligent.

KOCH: But it's up to military investigators to decide how an incident is classified and thus whether or not a family is compensated. Human rights groups insist investigations have not occurred into many incidents.

JOE STORK, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: There are incidents where there are suspicious deaths frankly where there is reason to say, hey, should those people really have died at this checkpoint or in this return of fire or in this house raid or whatever?

KOCH (on camera): Because the Foreign Claims Act has limitations, the military has also authorized some claims to be paid informally by commanders on the ground. The goodwill payments from an emergency response program are made at commanders' discretion.

(voice-over): The case of Azizullah the Afghan boy shot in the back is still being investigated. If classified as wrongful or negligent his family might be compensated under the law. If not, his family might receive a sympathy payment.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: In the meantime, a private fund has been set up to help. If you would like to contribute here's what you do. Go to our Web site, cnn.com/newsnight. Send us an e-mail with "Azizullah" in the subject line and we will send you the information you need, though it may take us a couple of days to get to all of this. There has been a bunch of it.

On to other matters, a new CNN/USA Today Gallup poll looks at Iraq and the presidential election, a significant finding here. For the first time since the start of the war a majority of Americans, 54 percent, say the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq. That is up from 41 percent earlier in the month, so it's a pretty dramatic shift all things considered. Today's attacks not reflected in those numbers.

As for the presidential election not a whole lot of movement here, not a whole lot of distance between the candidates either, 49 percent of likely voters say they'll vote for President Bush, 48 percent say they will back John Kerry, well within the margin of error a tie at this point in the polling.

Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, former chief stops by our new home to speak with the king. We'll talk about that with one of his contemporaries, a couple of them.

Still later high school in New Jersey where sacrifice for country is one of the most important lessons learned, a break first.

From New York this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: For what it's worth, the Center for Media and Public Affairs says that so far this month former President Bill Clinton has been the butt of more jokes on the late night talk shows than President Bush and his Democratic foe John Kerry combined, one measure we guess of a presidential memoir, which brings us to our guest on the night that the former president appeared for an hour with Larry King.

Paul Begala is the former strategist for Bill Clinton. Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist Haynes Johnson has written three best-selling books about the Clinton presidency. They join us from Washington to talk about the former president and a few of the things he had to say tonight. It's good to see you both.

Haynes, let me start with you. You know the former president did a huge number when he appeared on "60 Minutes." I assume he's going to do a very big number rating tonight. Obviously people are still fascinated by him. What is it about him that we all find so fascinating, like him or hate him?

HAYNES JOHNSON, AUTHOR: He's everyone -- he's us really. He comes from the background, small town boy, the American story. He made it out of poverty, out of abuse, alcoholic parents, goes all the way up, becomes president of the United States, becomes incredibly controversial and he has this ability, no matter whether you love him or hate him, he is always fascinating.

BROWN: Paul, do you find it somewhat amazing that the intensity of the feeling both for and against him?

PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": I do. I've always been curious about that and David Marinas (ph) who wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Bill Clinton asked him about this years ago just as Clinton was starting his presidency and David was beginning his research on him.

And he said, he's always been that way. There's just something about him that either people just love or hate. I mean some of it I'm sure his detractors always saw him as Slick Willy and, of course, his supporters think that he's a remarkably gifted and able person who's able to articulate complex ideas in a very simple way.

So, I just think part of it is his gifts. I think Haynes makes a point too though. Part of it is that he is just so much one of us and maybe for some people it reminds them of the neighbor that always annoyed him. For other people it reminds them maybe of a brother who they particularly loved who was maybe a bit of a rascal but also really quite a genius.

BROWN: I mean to me kind of disproportionate on both sides of love and dislike. Haynes, just is it the '60s being played back? Is it more, less, or unknowable?

JOHNSON: It's probably unknowable.

BROWN: Yes.

JOHNSON: It also is the '60s. It's also generational. But there's also the life story. I mean you can't -- watching him tonight this was a much more subdued presidential low keyed. It was almost somber against, appropriate for the background of the news you've been reporting from Iraq and all the rest.

But he talked about divorce and maybe not making it suicides and tragedies and depression and getting counseling and there was a somber quality to it and that's a side of Clinton we don't see much.

Usually there's the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) joking, schmoozing, charming and all that. Tonight was another side I thought but it's all part of his character, this all American interesting figure.

BROWN: One piece of sound out of the interview tonight obviously it's as we say around here the money byte. Everyone wants to know how he's going to explain the Lewinsky matter and here's how he explained it tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Well, when you say you did it because you could do it, you did it because it was there, a lot of people, I think we need some elaboration because people are taking that.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, because it wasn't -- wrongly. When I say I did it because I could, if you take it out of context it sounds (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and snippy and arrogant and unfeeling toward Monica Lewinsky or my family or anything else.

That is not what I meant. I meant if you -- well, you know, you've lived long enough to make a few mistakes. Anybody that has lived a certain time has made some mistakes. If you look back on your life and you think about the things that you did wrong that you knew at the time you shouldn't do, about the best explanation is you did it because you could. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Paul, you like this guy a lot. You've described him as the best president of your lifetime more times than I can count. Is he handling this difficult matter correctly?

BEGALA: I think so. You know, Aaron, that was the first test, the candor test and I went up to see him a couple of weeks before the book came out and he showed me the whole book but I, of course, went right to the money part to see how he handled it.

I think he definitely crosses a threshold. I mean golly he's told us more about his private life, his private failings, and now, unlike when he was first caught, now, he really is fully candid. He's come to grips with what he did wrong, how he wronged the country, but, more importantly, how he wronged his wife and his daughter and Monica Lewinsky. And I think he's just completely candid.

I have a friend who is on the far fringes of the far right, not a big supporter of Bill Clinton. And when he said to that, he said to me, my friend said, gee, that's the first honest thing I've ever heard Clinton say. Because it is true. When you make a mistake, instead of a lot of complicated psychobabble answers, he said, I did it because I could. And it's the worst reason in the world for doing something. And I think it's disarming candor that maybe people weren't prepared for.

BROWN: Haynes, do you think that, no matter what he says, to some extent, it doesn't matter, because there are lots of people, even people who believed in him quite strongly, who will never forgive him for it all?

JOHNSON: Oh, absolutely.

He will be always a dividing, polarizing figure, always in history, I think. And later on, we're going to look back on this period. It was a remarkable period. It's like a time tube almost. You unearth it and there's Bill Clinton jumping out from the '60s, the '70s, the '80s, the '90s. And now we're in this new era of terror, and all those other things, he's gone yet he's this figure. He's still there.

BROWN: Paul, let me give you the last word, in 20 seconds or so. Do you think that Mr. Clinton knows what kind of ex-president he wants to be?

BEGALA: I do.

I think he needs to pay off the debts that he incurred because of his legal bills. But beyond that, he's never been very motivated by money. He very much -- you saw how animated he got with Larry when he was talking about his work on AIDS.

I've been surprised. He's been a very unfocused guy in many ways. I've been surprised and impressed at how really relentless focused he's been on this work in AIDS around the world. He's really become an expert on it. And he's doing an awful lot of good. Let me say it one more time. He's cut the cost of AIDS drugs by 70 percent in poor countries around the world. That's a wonderful thing to do. And that's really where his focus is.

BROWN: Is the Carter model, is that how he sees his ex- presidency, or is that too simple?

BEGALA: I think -- well, Jimmy Carter has been a model ex- president, but not a model for Bill Clinton.

I think Bill Clinton has got to be a bit of Teddy Roosevelt and a bit of Jimmy Carter. He has got to be himself. He's never going to be ignored. He's going to probably I think probably more controversial, although Jimmy Carter has had his share of controversy, too, speaking out on public issues. But he's got to be Clinton.

He's -- wee used to call him Elvis back in the campaign for a reason. And Elvis has not left the building. I couldn't be happier.

BROWN: Well, he certainly hasn't this week.

Thank you, Paul. It's nice to see you.

Haynes, always good to have you. Thank you both.

JOHNSON: Thank you, Aaron.

BROWN: A few more items to get in from around the country tonight.

New travel restrictions issued by the Bush administration this week are setting off an outcry among many Cuban Americans. Others believe it's the right thing to do in an effort to pressure the Castro regime. The new rules take effect next Wednesday and limit the number of visits to relatives in Cuba to once every three years instead of once a year.

The charter companies flying out of South Florida and travel agents are scrambling to add flights while they can and to warn customers who have already left on visits to Cuba.

In Vancouver, British Columbia, today, NHL hockey star Todd Bertuzzi was charged with assault for a sucker punch that broke an opponent's neck during a game in March. The attack set off an outcry over hockey violence again and led to a four-month investigation. If convicted Mr. Bertuzzi could face a penalty ranging from jail time to a guilty verdict, but no criminal record.

Back to the war now in Iraq. And addressing a rough day all around, Iraq's new prime minister said the attacks in fact were less organized than they might appear. That, we think, remains to be seen. We do know it is better to have many sets of eyes and ears on the story as possible, as hard as that can be sometimes.

So we go back to Baghdad. We're glad Michael Ware made it to our location. Michael reports for "TIME" magazine. He's been in and out for a long time in Iraq. And we're glad to have him with us tonight.

What's your take on what happened for you yesterday, the degree of coordination between various groups?

MICHAEL WARE, "TIME": This was clearly a coordinated display of the insurgents' resolve and growing power in the Sunni areas.

They were able to conduct operations across a wide geographical area, from Fallujah and Baquba to the south all the way to Mosul in the north. And what we saw was their ability to act in cohesion, that is, a large number of groups of different motivations pulled together by some thread and able to act as one. And when I was in Fallujah yesterday, it was as though I was watching a tap being turned on and being turned off, as the uprising began, and then when I arrived, to see it finish as the call came out from the mosques to pull back and to stop firing.

It really was impressive and frightening on some level.

BROWN: Michael, I want to focus for the two minutes we have left on Fallujah. Do we know what's going on in there? I've seen a number of accounts. And it sounds like madness is going on in there.

WARE: Well, essentially the insurgents have complete, unfettered control of Fallujah, and not just the insurgents. We're talking about the Islamists now, Iraqi Islamists and a horde, an unknown number of foreign Islamists.

These are men who aren't necessarily al Qaeda. Some of them may be. They're certainly inspired by al Qaeda. They act like them. They share the same ideology. This is who now controls Fallujah. And for them, it has become a sanctuary. No one can go in there. Coalition forces can't go in. The government has zero authority. It is now the authority of the mosques. And the hard-line mosques are backing these men.

BROWN: People talk about it as a Taliban-like state, where Islamic law is the rule of the day, hands being chopped off, music stores shut down, liquor stores shut down, Afghanistan revisited.

WARE: We're certainly getting reports of that.

As I stood at what was the front line yesterday and is the entrance to Fallujah, they said to me, if you go in there, you are dead under any circumstances. However, we're hearing about just these things, barbers who refuse to clip beards, to allow them to grow, music being taken from taxis, an introduction of Sharia law.

I've spent time with some of these men in their farms in their hideouts behind Fallujah. And it was like I'd been transplanted back in Afghanistan, the austerity of the environment, the soberness of their mood. These men are against pictures of themselves or anything on the wall. It very much in some regards has a Taliban feel. I've seen this before.

BROWN: Michael, it's good to see you again. Stay safe. It sounds like the next week or more is going to be pretty crazy there. So be well and we'll talk to you soon. Thank you, Michael Ware of "TIME" magazine.

Still to come on the program tonight, another athlete charged in the BALCO doping scandal, this one the world record holder, the boyfriend of Marion Jones. We'll give you details coming up.

And why did -- oh, come on, you guys -- why did the rooster cross the road? To pick up morning papers, of course.

A break first. From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Today, another running shoe dropped in the doping scandal that swept up several U.S. Olympic track and field athletes. This time, the shoe belongs to Tim Montgomery, the world record holder in the 100 meters, normally described as the fastest man in the world.

Today, "The San Francisco Chronicle" reported that it had obtained Mr. Montgomery's sworn testimony before a grand jury investigating the Bay area laboratory cooperative, or BALCO. During the questioning last November, the paper says the world's fastest man admitted what he has been denying publicly.

Reporting for us, CNN's Josie Burke.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSIE BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The grand jury testimony that appeared in "The San Francisco Chronicle" today said Tim Montgomery told the grand jury he used the banned substance human growth hormone, along with a steroid that had previously been undetectable.

Montgomery said he got the drugs from Victor Conte, the head of BALCO, who was one of four people indicted on drug charges if February. Publicly, Montgomery has denied he broke track and field's doping rules. In response to "The Chronicle"'s report, one of Montgomery's lawyers, Cristina Arguedas, told the paper -- quote -- "No one can legally or legitimately have Tim's grand jury testimony. And if they think they have it, I would like to see it."

Montgomery is the boyfriend of Olympian Marion Jones. According to "The Chronicle," prosecutors did not ask Montgomery whether during his grand jury testimony whether Jones used illegal drugs. Jones has not been charged with any doping violations. But she has been a target of the United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation. She has denied using banned substances and continues to wage an intense public relations campaign to clear her name.

But Montgomery did not hesitate to point a finger at baseball superstar Barry Bonds. According to "The Chronicle," Montgomery told prosecutors he was told that Conte had provided the home run king with the steroid Winstrol. Today, Bonds responded to the report: "It bother me when people I don't even know are saying stuff about me. If any of the statements are true, they're going to talk to my attorney, I guarantee that, in a lawsuit."

In addition, USADA formally charged Montgomery and sprinter Michelle Collins with doping violations and informed them they face a lifetime ban. Montgomery's attorney said the sprinter would appeal the ruling.

Josie Burke, CNN, Colorado Springs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT tonight, students volunteering for service in wartime and what moved them to do it.

And enough of the rooster jokes. We'll have morning papers and a joke or two there, too.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: In a working-class community in southern New Jersey last night, Pemberton High School graduated its class of 2004. Each year, the school typically sees 10 percent to 12 percent of its graduates enlist in the military. This year, with the war in Iraq not withstanding, 15 percent enlisted, even as two alums of Pemberton were killed in combat in Iraq.

Tonight, we hear from two graduates who soon could be on the front line, voices we don't often hear from the larger story in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON DIDOMENICO, ENLISTED IN U.S. ARMY: I like the fact that, in the military, it's very egalitarian. The person next to you, regardless of their gender, their race or where they are, we all wear the same uniform. We all do the same job.

RACHEL CHANDLER, ENLISTED IN U.S. ARMY: College, that's the one thing that I want. And my parents said they could pay for college and everything. But I don't want them to pay for it. I want to do something on my own.

SGT. ROBERT WILLIAMS, U.S. ARMY INSTRUCTOR: Suddenly, you find yourself in the 12th grade. Where do you go now? Where do you go? The kids that join the military, they're looking for financial help. And some of them are trying to fulfill their dreams of being a military person.

DIDOMENICO: It's not always an easy, glamorous life being in the military. It's a very noble, but it's an enduring job. And it takes a lot of sacrifice to be in the military. It takes a lot of heart.

WILLIAMS: I'm always afraid of these kids going over there. They're young 18-year-old kids. They ship them right off to Iraq and they have no idea what's going on. And I let them know there's a chance if you go into the military that you could lose your life. And a lot of them will tell me, I understand that, but this is what I want to do, or, Sarge, my mother and father don't have the income to send me to college. So I'm trying to get a scholarship. Or I just want to go over there, grow up a little bit, save a little money and get out.

DIDOMENICO: Nobody wants to go to war. Nobody wants to fight. And that's not why I'm in the Army. That's not why my friends are joining the Army. But sometimes it happens. And there's nothing that we can do about it. We just have a job to do and we have to do it.

CHANDLER: Every day, I turn on the news and I hear, oh, another five soldiers died this morning. These are people who were just like me who wanted to do something with their lives. And they did.

I know their family's very proud of them, but they didn't have to lose their lives. And it's scary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Inspection. Arms.

CHANDLER: I'm ready to fight. I'm ready. It doesn't matter to me. I'm ready to do anything just for this country, for my family, to protect. I just want to protect everyone, just make sure that no one else gets hurt. And if it means sacrificing my life, then so be it.

DIDOMENICO: Sergeant, Didomenico reports as ordered.

WILLIAMS: These kids here, they are kind of gung-ho right now. They want to go and they want to go right now. I don't think they realize the danger, that going to war is life and death.

DIDOMENICO: Of course I'm scared. Everyone is always scared. But as far as being ready for it, knowing that other people are willing to put their life down so that I can enjoy the freedoms I have in this country, it only, you know, fuels my desire more to give back what they sacrificed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Morning papers after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: OK, time to check the morning papers from around the country and the world. Yesterday, last night, all of you were with us, weren't you? You remember, there was no clear lead. Today, the leads are pretty clear, as you'll see, though we do kind of get different takes on it.

"The International Herald Tribune," published by "The New York Times," "Rebels Stage Attacks in Five Cities in Iraq, Violence on the Rise As Transition Nears." Also a very good news analysis piece. We -- actually, we tried to do this last night. It just didn't happen. "Behind Bush Step, Asian Pressure." The administration pretty much flip-flopped on how it is dealing with North Korea. It's a very complicated problem. And I don't mean anything pejorative in the flip-flop. They just have. And it's an explanation of how it came to be, sort of going from stick to carrot, if you will.

"Miami Herald." "Attacks on Police Sites Kill 100, Injure 300." Iraq is the lead. This is also a good story. "Court Puts Lid Back On TV-Radio Ownership." Remember the big flap at the FCC about consolidating radio and TV stations. Newspapers, too, were involved in it. The court has put the kibosh on that for now.

"Bloody Iraq" is the "Metro" lead in the Boston edition of "Metro." This is a paper that appears in a number of cities. They also put this on the front page. I'll bet this is on many papers, though, tomorrow. "Cheney Swears At Senator." There's a kind of little nasty little flap going on in the Senate over that. And the vice president used a naughty word.

"Atlanta Journal-Constitution." "Atlanta Teen Is NBA's No. 1 Pick." Lead with a local kid. Good for him. "Magic Made Child's Dream Come True For Dwight Howard." All accounts I've read about him, he's not only a fabulous basketball player, but he's a really good kid. And so we wish him nothing but good luck.

How we doing on time? OK.

"Washington Times": "100 Killed in Violence Across Iraq. Zarqawi Takes Blame For Attacks in Six Cities." Some have it as five. Some have it as six. "Insurgents Wreak Havoc in Fallujah." The Fallujah story is the most interesting story to me right now, in part I suppose because we can't see it. And that always makes me wonder. You just can't get in there. Nobody is getting in there, as Michael Ware talked about.

"Philadelphia Inquirer." "A Day of Planned Chaos" is the way they led the Iraq story. "About 100 Die in Iraq Attacks. U.S. Says Most Order Restored." Michael Moore on the front page. "Fahrenheit Has Its Highs and Lows." The movie opens tomorrow. Jeff Greenfield weighs in on that for us.

And, finally, "The Chicago" -- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scratch my eye in front of you that way. "Chicago Sun-Times." "Hastert Leads Call for Ryan to Quit Race." This is the senator, the sex clubs, you know what I'm talking about here. That's on their front page. "Vice President to Senator," OK, these are things I cannot say, but they can print. So there you go. The weather tomorrow in Chicago sounds like my kind of day: "Let's play two."

We'll take a break and wrap it up for the night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Before we go, Bill Hemmer with a look ahead at tomorrow's "AMERICAN MORNING."

It's a quiet show they have planned for tomorrow. We've gotten a lot -- we'll fix that.

We've got a lot of mail already on people wanting to help this young Afghan boy. Let me again tell you how to do this, if this is something you're interested in. It's the kid who was, tragically, mistakenly shot by U.S. troops. Go to CNN.com/NEWSNIGHT. There it is and there I am. And then send us an e-mail and indicate in the subject line you want to help the youngster, help the kid, Alizah (ph) his name, Afghan boy, I want to help.

Somehow, that helps us sort through it. I'm not sure why we're doing this in quite the clumsy way we are, but we're going to get it done in any case. So, if you want to help, that's how you do it.

We'll see you all tomorrow. It's Friday, 10:00 Eastern time. For NEWSNIGHT, good night.

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