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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

London Attacks

Aired July 21, 2005 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I saw is people running for their lives and there was no room for me to get away to the next carriage. There was no way I could away from there. All I did is say a prayer and wait for it.

AARON BROWN, HOST: Two weeks to the day, it seemed to be happening again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just saw lots of people running to our carriage and then we started to smell smoke and then we got off the train. It was just like lots of panic and confusion.

BROWN: Three explosions underground; a blast on a double-decker bus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We seem to be seeing simultaneous multiply- sighted explosions and that does very much follow on from the attacks a fortnight ago.

BROWN: Two attacks, two weeks apart: What is happening to London?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Good evening again. There are, tonight, so many questions about what happened and what might have happened in London today, two weeks to the day after the terror attacks that killed more than 50 there. A city hit once way buy terror is changed. What happens when you hit twice in two weeks? Who did the hitting? How did they do it? Are the attacks related?

At four locations in the city, four new attacks today. Police, we believe, have collected crucial evidence, but what do they know tonight? We begin with CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One bus and three underground trains: this attack strikingly similar to the multiple bombings exactly two weeks ago. London is again left struggling with an attack in the heart of their city. It began at lunch time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It started to smell like rubber or wire and it got a bit worse. And then suddenly, people were starting screaming and shouting and running to get into the second carriage.

ROBERTSON: An incident was reported at the Oval underground station south of the river. Seven minutes later, ambulances were called to Warren Street station in the city center. And soon after that, the police responded to an incident at Shepherds Bush station. Within minutes, a bus in East London had its windows blown out in an explosion the bus driver described as small.

IAN BLAIR, COMMISSIONER, LONDON POLICE: In each of these scenes, attempts have been made to set off explosive devices.

ROBERTSON: The striking difference between these attacks and two weeks ago: No one killed, no one seriously injured. But no doubt, the intent of the attack...

BLAIR: Clearly, the intention must have been to kill. I mean, you don't do this with any other intention.

ROBERTSON: Also, unlike the attacks of two weeks ago, the bombers appear to have survived and are even now on the run.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suddenly, I saw a guy running from the stairs and then, people chasing him. And I was carrying two bags, so I couldn't really do anything.

ROBERTSON: And not only did the terrorists survive, some of their bombs failed to fully detonate, leaving police critical evidence about the explosives they didn't get last time.

RICHARD BRYAN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT POLICE COMMISSIONER: It looks as though we've got some forensic recovery from this series of events today and that's a very important breakthrough for us.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Should I read into that then, that some of the bombs didn't explode, therefore your forensic evidence?

BRYAN: I wouldn't read anything into it, but if we have unexploded devices, clearly that's an important breakthrough for it.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): What sort of explosives or why the bombs didn't go off, they won't say.

(on camera): If the two attacks are related, it could radically reshape and refocus the police investigation.

(voice-over): As one source told me, if the same bombs were used in both attacks and it was homemade TATP, which has a limited shelf life and if the explosives in both attacks were brewed in the same batch, it is quite conceivable that these bombs were too old to detonate. The police appear far from jumping to that conclusion just yet, but any similarity will help their investigation.

BLAIR: There's a resonance here, isn't there? I mean, these are four attacks. There were four attacks before.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROBERTSON: And the other big clue out there for the investigators, of course: The bombers. And the police say they do hope to catch them soon -- Aaron?

BROWN: I saw one description of what happened in London today describing it as amateurish. Is that the sense of what Londoners feel and what the police feel? That this was an amateurish attack?

ROBERTSON: Well, the police aren't saying what they feel. Again, as they did in the investigation before, they're playing it very close to their chest. What do people here feel? Was it amateurish? It certainly worried people, but as I walked around the streets this evening, there was still plenty of people out; plenty of people enjoying themselves.

They don't seem to be particularly bothered about this. It will obviously be on people's minds. But amateurish? I think the overall assessment is that the bombers got it wrong this time; that their explosives didn't go off for whatever reason. We don't know. So, I think people are very aware that the potential is still out there, but again, this does seem to be a city that has taken it in its stride, Aaron.

BROWN: Nic, thank you. Nic Robertson in London tonight.

What made the attacks today especially chilling, is that they happened despite the heightened security throughout the city of London. Londoners have been on edge for two weeks now, more or less and today the other shoe dropped. Here's CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): During the attacks, there was not much to see this time. Rather, passengers on London's underground smelled trouble.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It started to smell like burning wires and it felt like and unusual smell. I have experienced a smell of the train when it breaks before and that was nothing like that. Suddenly, people panicked and started screaming, making their way to the next carriage.

Then I realized it was more serious than that. Thankfully, they evacuated to the next one to give room to others to go through and then some gentleman started shouting "Don't panic. Don't panic."

AMANPOUR: Londoners had been warned that terrorists might strike again. But twice, in two weeks?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's worrying, yes, because you never know. You know, you didn't think two weeks later, it would happen again.

AMANPOUR: Near the 26 bus which had windows blown out, but again no injuries, an eyewitness recalls UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was on the bus behind. I saw a number 26 pulled over at the bus stop, people being evacuated. The police arrived very tick quickly on the spot, started cordoning off the bus. And I didn't see any sign of injury.

AMANPOUR: Twice in two weeks. It did frighten some away from the tube; some but not all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live a minute up that way. I work a minute down that way and this is my home, so it's just taking it on the chin.

AMANPOUR: Londoners are left asking: Could this be a pattern they'll have to learn to live with?

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: What we don't know tonight is or exactly how the two London attacks are connected. And to that end, we also, of course, don't know who else might be involved, but officials do believe there is a line that runs from Pakistan through London and Leeds and all the way across the ocean to the United States West Coast in Seattle. Here's CNN's Rusty Dornin.

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RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are a web of connections between the London attacks, the Dar-es Salaam (ph) mosque in Seattle and this desolate ranch in Bly, Oregon.

We start with this man. He was born in Seattle, as James Ernest Thompson. When he quest converted to Islam he changed his name to James Ujaama. He attended the mosque on Union Street, which has since been torn down.

But in July, 2002, he was arrested for terrorist activities and later pleaded guilty to conspiring to support the Taliban in Afghanistan. U.S. authorities say he didn't work alone. That he had, in the technical jargon of court papers, three "unindicted coconspirators."

Of the three men, who were not named in the documents, investigators say it is coconspirator number three who is now getting attention from British authorities in connection with the London attacks.

(on camera): Officials familiar with both the London investigation and the Ujaama case say his name is Haroon Rashid Aswat and that he provided some type of support to the now-dead London bombers and left Britain just days before the attacks.

(voice-over): What is he alleged to have done in the U.S.? The court documents say he traveled here to Bly, Oregon, to help set up a terrorist training camp. In 1999, while visiting the potential camp along with Ujaama and others to work up a security plan, according to the court documents, Aswat interviewed potential candidates for jihad training and participated in firearms training. All of this allegedly went on right under the nose of their neighbors.

CHESTER BROWN, BLY, OREGON RESIDENT: If it was happening, I'd know it. I live across from that ranch. If there was any automatic fire out there. We'd have heard it right here in the center of town.

DORNIN: The court documents allege Aswat went to Seattle in 2000 where he quote, "expounded on the writings and teaching of radical British cleric Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Masri." Ujaama, meanwhile, went to London to work on Abu Hamza's Web site. Abu Hamza is now jailed in London and wanted by U.S. authorities to stand trial on terrorism charges.

So where is Haroon Rashid Aswat, the man who went to Oregon to set up the terror camp? Officials with knowledge of the London investigation say before his latest visit to Britain, he was last known to be in South Africa, and now there's a worldwide manhunt for him.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Seattle, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Earlier today, we spoke with "Newsweek" magazine investigative reporter Mark Hosenball. He's been working on the Haroon Rashid Aswat case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK HOSENBALL, NEWSWEEK: There is some evidence that his cell phone may have made some calls to the suspected London bombers, although maybe -- they're not sure that he made those calls. Maybe his cell phone was being used by somebody else.

However, my understanding is, despite various reports of various newspapers, which seem very confident this morning, this guy has apparently not been captured, or at least the British government told me that they didn't believe he'd been captured. The American government told me that he'd not been captured, so that's another encouraging thought, that this guy's on the loose. But they're looking for such a suspect, and he's regarded as a potentially significant figure in the July 7th bombings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: The pieces of not one puzzle tonight, but two.

The point of terrorism, of course, is to make people afraid. Fair to say whoever is behind the attacks two weeks ago in London and those again today, has succeeded in that respect. But feeling fear and giving in to it are not the same. Here's CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every day, they face the terrorist threat, refusing to buckle. People like John Fadden (ph), a city banker, who takes a London bus to work and back, not out of necessity, but out of choice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our normal route used to be the tube every day, but because of what has gone on, we thought, well, it's just absolutely ridiculous to use the tube. So we don't use that. But we won't give in to the terrorists. So every day, we're on the number 30 bus, and we go on the top deck, because we owe that to the people, not to be beaten by the terrorists.

CHANCE: The same bus route bombed two weeks ago. Every day, he travels past the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said to my girlfriend, I was quite surprised that they hadn't done something (INAUDIBLE) get the Olympic Games. So I kind of guessed something would happen. And the Londoners were always prepared for that. We always know there's going to be something. The bus, the bus goes past our window every day and, you know, what can you do? You have to get on with your life and you don't submit to terrorism.

CHANCE: But these are uncertain days for a city already on edge. Memories of the carnage two weeks ago still vivid. And with fears rife of a bombing campaign without end, legendary British nerve is under strain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd just like our country back as it was before.

CHANCE: And in most ways, the country is as it was. English pubs still packed with drinkers, if not oblivious, then trying hard to be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I myself remain completely unaffected by all the events that happened, and therefore while I have sympathy for those that have been affected, I try to make my life as disaffected by it as possible.

CHANCE: But on the streets, attitudes are more sober. London's transport system plunged into chaos yet again.

(on camera): For the second time in two weeks, these are the scenes on the streets of central London. Roads normally jam-packed with traffic empty, of buses, of trucks and of cars. What's more, thousands of commuters are struggling to make it home.

(voice-over): But for most, like John Fadden (ph), it is a struggle worth making, never to surrender to terrorism, but to fight it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The English people, London people in particular, take it on the chin. We'll stand up. We'll be resilient. We've taken two world wars, we've taken the Irish terrorism, and we'll continue. And if anybody out there thinks they're going to beat us, they can do one (ph).

CHANCE: Britain's resolve, under assault again, seems for the moment to be holding.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We have much more on this tonight. In a moment, subway security here in the United States. The next step in security. But first, a little early tonight, almost a quarter past the hour, we go to Atlanta. Erica Hill is standing by with the night's headlines -- Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Aaron, we're actually going to stick with that beat, terrorism the focus in Washington tonight as well as in London, of course. Tonight, the House voting by a large margin to renew expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, anti- terrorism measures which were passed after the 9/11 attacks. This all happened within just the last half hour. The House considered a number of amendments. One that passed overwhelmingly requires the FBI director to personally approve any FBI requests for book store or library records of suspected terrorists.

In Khartoum, Sudan, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with the country's president, some of her staff and members of the press were roughed up by Sudan's secret police. One of Rice's aides said, "we have a free press in the U.S." The response from a Sudanese official: "We don't here." Rice got an apology from the Sudanese foreign minister.

And three Canadians came out of a tunnel and went into federal jail in Seattle today. The Canadians now face drug smuggling charges. Federal authorities say they dug a tunnel to get across the Canadian border into Washington state. Two Americans were also arrested, charged with transporting marijuana through the tunnel.

And, Aaron, apparently they knew about it for a while, but let them finish building it, and then arrested them.

BROWN: You know, they may have just been tunneling. That's a big sport in the northwest.

HILL: Is it overtaking curling?

BROWN: Not yet.

HILL: OK.

BROWN: Thank you. See you in a half an hour.

Much more ahead on the program, starting with a first in a city known for having seen it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: Essentially, it will be before you enter the system. Ideally, it will be before you go through the turnstile. BROWN (voice-over): Will searching people's bags make the subways of New York safer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no way you're going to be able to control the subway system. It's a can of worms through -- tunnels throughout everywhere.

BROWN: The plot thickens in the Karl Rove/Valerie Plame case.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, FORMER NSC STAFFER: Anything in a paragraph marked secret is -- needs to be deemed secret.

BROWN: But does the letter "s" mean secret to everyone? What does it mean to Karl Rove?

JASON TORRES: If you have a chance to save your child's life, you're going to do it.

BROWN: Even if it means making a decision no one would choose to face.

From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Brian Jenkins is a senior adviser to the president of the RAND Corporation, a longtime leading expert on terror. Finding out who does it, trying to stop them. Testifies frequently in Washington on fighting terrorism. And in the last two weeks, since July the 7th, he rode the London underground as a gesture of solidarity.

We spoke with Brian Jenkins earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Keeping in mind here that we're very early in the reporting of the story and in the investigation of the incident, and that some of the things we think are true now may prove not to be true as we go along...

BRIAN JENKINS, TERRORISM EXPERT: That's often the case.

BROWN: One of the reports that's out there is that London police or Scotland Yard has in its possession, and intact, unexploded bomb. If that proves to be true, how significant?

JENKINS: It would provide an enormous advantage. In fact, the investigation should move very, very rapidly, because the authorities have some advantages this time that they did not have on July 7.

And that is, they may have an intact device. And that device will provide a great many clues about the nature of the explosives. That, in turn, may tell them if there's any connection between this bombing and the July 7 bombings. It will tell them about the construction of the device itself, which, in turn, provides many investigative leads.

And, in this particular case, we have witnesses who will have seen the event, whereas on July 7, tragically, those who were closest to the bombs were killed.

BROWN: Does it surprise you, if, in fact, these are jihadis that were responsible for this, based on the history of al Qaeda and al Qaeda-like groups, that they would try and duplicate a "success," in quotes, of two weeks ago?

JENKINS: It -- the imitative quality of it, the attempt to replicate the event of July 7, down to even the last bomb on a bus, is unusual in that sense. Because we're not sure that that July 7 bomb on the bus was intended to go off on that bus. That may have been the product of something else that had gone wrong on their side. So that type of, sort of extreme imitation is a little bit unusual.

On the other hand, it is not unusual that these people, whether they are linked organizationally or not, would try to carry out an attack. All terrorist attacks are intended not only to harm the enemy, the terrorist enemy, but also are intended to galvanize the terrorist perceived constituents, demonstrate vulnerabilities and inspire others to do the same thing.

BROWN: Let me ask you one more question. This may sound whacky. It's not in any sense, meant to be. Is it realistic to believe that somebody on July the 7th looked at what happened in London on July the 7th and said, hey, that's a good idea, I think I'll try -- my group of guys will try and do that? And that they could have organized, built the bombs and pulled it off in two weeks?

JENKINS: It's not a wacky theory at all. Again, one attack is intended to inspire another attack. People could look at this and say, let's go ahead and take a run at this. They may not have had access to the same expertise in bomb building as the July 7 bomb builders. We simply don't know that.

BROWN: But could you do it in two weeks? Could you build four bombs? Could you figure out, find four guys? I mean could you do that in two weeks?

JENKINS: I'm -- without having some type of enterprise already in place, I think it would be a bit difficult.

First of all, a little bit of this depends on whether these bombs -- if the bombs malfunctioned, if the detonators were to create a larger explosion, that is, set off a larger quantity of explosives, then that suggests that these things may also have been intended to be suicide attacks. We're not sure of that at this moment at all.

But if they were, the idea of simply in two weeks, locating some fellas for a suicide mission, that seems a bit farfetched. If they were not intended to be suicide bombings, then that's a different story.

BROWN: We always appreciate your experience and wisdom and perspective. It's good to see you again.

JENKINS: Thank you very much.

BROWN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Brian Jenkins. We talked earlier today.

Today's blasts in London were nothing, in many respects, compared to those of two weeks ago. But even if they didn't set off any major explosions, the aftershocks will be felt in lots of places, including here in New York, probably for years to come.

New York City subways, they are legend, you may not get a seat. You definitely won't get a first class seat, flight attendant or upgrades. But now you can get your bag checked. And that means searched just like at any airport.

Here's CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York's subway system, already under tight security.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have police on the train.

CARROLL: Coordinated checks of trains, heavily armed officers deployed, but as soon as tomorrow, for the first time, subway riders will see a new security measure, random bag checks.

RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: Essentially, it will be before you enter the system. You know, ideally, it will be before you go through the turnstile.

CARROLL: New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says the searches will be done in a reasonable, common sense way. Some subway riders...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's kind of an infringement on privacy.

CARROLL: ...aren't so sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way you'll able to control the subway system. It's a can of worms throughout tunnels, throughout anywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Could be a good deterrent. I think it's a good idea.

CARROLL: Kasi Ashrif, a grocery store worker, is keeping an open mind. But worries people like him will be subjected to racial profiling.

KASI ASHIRF, SUBWAY RIDER: We have to see how it's done before we can make some assumptions about it. CARROLL: Civil liberties groups will be watching.

(on camera): Your concern, racial profiling. And why do you think that's going to be an issue here?

BILL GOODMAN, CTR FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS: Because I think that obviously, people who look Middle Eastern, people who are wearing a cover over their head or over their face, people who are obviously Islamic are going to be targeted.

CARROLL (voice-over): Police won't specify how they'll choose someone to search. They'll only say they have a fair and systematic approach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll use our system that that will be articulable (ph) on the part of an officer where every certain number of people will be checked. It won't be done on a -- certainly, no racial profiling will be allowed.

CARROLL: Washington, D.C., transit officials are considering random searches on the metro. Massachusetts governor says there are no plans for the same in Boston. New York's mayor says it's time for new tactics, even though there's no specific threat.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (R) MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: And we just live in a world where sadly, these kinds of security measures are necessary. Are they intrusive? Yes. A little bit. But we're trying to find that right balance.

CARROLL: Finding that balance could take some time. Police say the random searches will be in place indefinitely.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Coming up on the program tonight, in London, remembering those lost two weeks ago even as new attacks shake the city.

Also ahead, why the letter "S" may mark a turning point in the Karl Rove/Valerie Plame affair.

And on the other hand, it's for NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The latest in the Rove-Plame-et-cetera affair answers some questions and raises others. It does not answer the $64,000 question: Was a crime committed. But as you'll see, it does make it clear the administration was nervous about Joe Wilson and what he was saying. And officials in the administration knew or clearly should have known that Wilson's wife was, in the eyes of the CIA, a secret agent. Here's CNN Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A covert CIA agent known as Valerie Plame, was named in a paragraph marked with an "S" for secret in a classified State Department memo federal investigators hope leads them to who leaked her identity.

Two government source who have seen the June 10, 2003, memo, confirm to CNN Plame was referred to by her married name, Valerie Wilson, without information she was undercover or her identity was protected. Nevertheless, a from national security staffer not privy to this memo says the rules are clear.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, FORMER NSC STAFFER: Yes. Anything in a paragraph marked secret is -- needs to be deemed secret and revealing it to someone without proper security clearance or without a need to know is not authorized and is a violation.

BASH: The memo discussed allegations Iraq tried to buy uranium from Africa. It notes Valerie Plame Wilson was in a meeting about sending her husband Ambassador Joe Wilson, to look into the claims, the officials say.

The question is: Who in the administration saw that memo? Sources familiar with the investigation say federal prosecutors asked several senior administration officials under oath if they had seen it. A senior U.S. official believes Secretary of State Colin Powell took it with him aboard Air Force One July 7, 2003, when he accompanied the president to Africa.

Investigators want to know if any senior Bush officials had access to the memo and as CNN previously reported, subpoenaed the passenger list of Air Force One. The timing of that trip could be crucial.

Just days before, Joe Wilson accused the White House of twisting intelligence on Iraq's weapons program to make a case for war. As Mr. Bush and his team were flying to Africa, back in Washington a stunning admission at the White House. The president went too far in his State of the Union address about Iraq's attempts to get uranium from the country of Niger. Throughout his trip, the president was dogged by questions.

QUESTION: Could you explain how an erroneous piece of intelligence on the Iraq-Niger connection got into your State of the Union speech?

BASH: Wilson insists senior officials leaked his wife's identity as payback.

(on camera): Prosecutors want to know if the classified memo naming Valerie Wilson led to the leak of her identity. A source familiar with and sympathetic to Karl Rove's testimony, says there's quote, "no indication he saw that memo."

Dana Bash, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BROWN: The Pentagon turn its first Congressionally mandated report card on Iraqi progress over to Congress today, a week late. And while it cites progress in many areas, one vital measure, Iraqi military capability, is clearly lagging and that raises questions about how soon U.S. troops can come home. From the Pentagon tonight, CNN's Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The report concedes what Congressional critics have complained about for weeks, that while the Pentagon touts that 171,000 Iraqi security forces are now trained and equipped, only a small fraction, roughly 2,500, are capable of mounting counter-insurgency operations on their own without help from the U.S. Military. And that makes it hard to see how they will replace U.S. forces anytime soon.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: We have got to transfer greater responsibility to the Iraqis. We've got to do it faster. We can't make an unlimited commitment to have our forces in Iraq.

MCINTYRE: CNN has learned the classified annex of the report shows of 84 Iraqi army battalions, only three can operate independently and none of the Iraqi special forces battalions are yet 100 percent battle-ready. Still, Pentagon officials insist it's not misleading to use the 170,000 number.

LT. GEN. WALTER L. SHARP, JOINT DIR. OF STRG. PLANS AND PLCY: Every one of the soldiers in those battalions are in the fight. We may be helping them with planning. We may be embedding them with our units out there that really try to be able to get at the insurgents. We may be mentoring them, but again, it doesn't mean they're not off to the sideline.

MCINTYRE: And Pentagon officials say with 84 percent of the attacks limited to just four provinces, including Baghdad and the so- called Sunni Triangle, other areas of Iraq may be put under Iraqi control by sometime next year.

PETER W. RODMAN, ASST. SECY. OF DEFENSE: I expect you will see a gradual process. As they become more capable, they'll take over more responsibilities. It's not going to be a dramatic shift from one day, you know, we're there, the next day we're gone.

MCINTYRE (on camera): One thing the report doesn't have is any timetable or projection for when substantial numbers of U.S. troops will be able to leave Iraq. Pentagon officials say that will depend as much on political progress as it will be on the ability of Iraqi forces to battle insurgents.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Still to come on the program tonight: He lost his wife and now is fighting for his child's life. What are the chances of a miracle?

Also ahead, a rare glimpse of Saddam. Looking and sounding pretty feisty in court today, he was.

From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A month ago today, Jason Torres held his hand on his wife's abdomen and felt his baby daughter kick for the first time. It is a ritual countless fathers have experienced, but one that Mr. Torres almost didn't.

His unborn child will never know her mother. Her birth, if all goes as planned, will be just a little bit short of a miracle. Here's Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Susan and Jason Torres weren't too worried, but in May, when she was three months pregnant with their second child, she started getting headaches.

JASON TORRES, HUSBAND: We'd gone around and gone through a couple doctors and tried to figure stuff out and she was dehydrated and things like that. And so, they said, you know, go home, feed her. You know, drink juice.

COHEN: So Jason took care of his wife, told her to lay down and rest. When he brought her something to eat...

TORRES: She was lying in bed. And I was talking to her, trying to get her to eat some more. Then, all of a sudden, she just stopped.

COHEN: Susan had had a stroke. Cancer had attacked her brain. It was too late to save her life. But they can, and they are, keeping her body functioning on a ventilator. But there's a risk, the melanoma that started in her skin and attacked her brain could also attack her baby.

DR. DAVID LAWSON, ONCOLOGIST, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Once it's in the blood stream, it can go almost anywhere -- melanoma.

COHEN: For Jason there was only one course of action.

TORRES: If you have a chance to save your child's life, you're going to do it. And I know for a fact that Susan would do whatever she needed to do just to give her child the chance.

COHEN: And now Jason hopes that their second child, due October 31 will stay in his wife's belly until at least July 11, to 25 weeks gestation.

DR. STEPHEN WEISS, OB/GYB, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Our good modern nursery care can save babies reliably starting at about 25 weeks.

COHEN: Jason's hopes are for his baby, since he knows, he's lost his wife.

TORRES: It sounds kind of hackneyed, but one day at a time.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Still ahead on the program, what's Donald Trump doing on Capitol Hill? Trying to persuade the Senate to give him a job, a job he says only he can do right. Imagine "the Donald" saying something like that. That's pretty incredible, isn't it? We'll give you the details after the break.

This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Been in Indiana, Pennsylvania. In a moment, two weeks on, a memorial in London. But first, quarter to the hour, time for other headlines. Erica Hill again. The last time tonight from Atlanta -- Erica.

HILL: That's right. And right on the nose. Nice work, Aaron.

We start off in Iraq where Saddam Hussein not too happy with the way things are being handled there. Judging by video of a legal hearing released today, the former dictator still sounding defiant, complains of poor access to legal aid, but also it's apparent from the tape, Hussein has confused the hearing with his actual trial.

Well, it's going to cost too much to rebuild the United Nations headquarters in New York, let Donald trump take over the project. That was the advice giving to a Senate subcommittee today by none other than "the Donald" himself. The high profile developer has offered to waive his fee. He says he can do the job for half of the $1.2 billion the U.N. says the project will cost, and a fraction of what he claims the cost could end up being.

And finally, today, friends and family remembered retired General William Westmoreland at his funeral in Charleston, South Carolina. Westmoreland, best known for his controversial leadership during the Vietnam War died on Monday at the age of 91.

And Aaron, that will do it for us on this end tonight. We'll hand it back over to you.

BROWN: Thank you. I like the sound of the Trump U.N. Towers. Thank you.

Back to London now, where a very different kind of memorial was held today. The two-week anniversary of the July 7 bombings. Paul Davies of ITN reports.

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PAUL DAVIES, ITN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Opera singer Leslie Garret led the memorial service. Hymns and music, such a contrast to the sound of explosions and sirens that echoed around this courtyard two weeks ago, and would return to the capital soon after this service finished.

The court yard inside the British Medical Association Headquarters became a field hospital two weeks ago when a bomb was detonated on the No. 30 bus outside in Tavistock Square. Doctors and staff from the BMA and many of the emergency workers who tended to the dying and injured that day stood in silence remembering the victims.

A short time earlier, the authorities had named the last of the 56 who lost their lives on July 7. He was Atik Sharifi, a 24-year-old from Afghanistan who Ironically left his own country to seek the safety of London after his parents were killed by the Taliban.

With a traditional hymn, "Abide With Me," all 56 who died in the bombings were remembered.

The service ended with flowers placed gently in the BMA fountain. It was a time for quiet contemplation. Sadly, soon to be interrupted by the latest terrorist alert.

Paul Davies, ITV News.

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BROWN: "Morning Papers" tonight, a Navy ship that can't float.

Break first.

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BROWN: Time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world. One of the reasons we like morning papers, is because most everybody leads with the London bombing, but it says a lot about the personality of the paper how they lead.

For example -- well, actually, many examples tonight. "Christian Science Monitor" leads thusly: "An echo of attacks on London. Four small explosions hit London bus, subway system yesterday. One person injured." And then they run a sidebar. "The sidewalks where terror breeds." A story we did the other day, taking a look at why it is that Britain seems to be having this problem these days.

"The Rocky Mountain News" out in Denver, Colorado. "Terror aftershock" is the way they headline the story, but their big story is local. "Colorado heat records take another lickin'." See that? A ruff day for Denver, 104 in the Mile-High City. That's a warm 104 too.

"San Antonio Express News," once again, "London in terrorist grip" is the lead. The big story, a sinking ship. The USS San Antonio, you see, this ship has a lot of problems. Electrical systems that don't work, watertightness, which I'm not a sailor, but I think it's kind of an important thing on a ship. Watertight integrity is compromised throughout the ship. Huh. Fire safety's an issue too. So they put it on the front page, and I would too. That's a good story, it will sell some papers for them.

"Washington Times," "bombers try to hit London" is the London lead. But again, the big story for them is political in Washington. "Democrats demand legal papers; Republicans see tactic to kill Roberts' court bid." I'll come back to that picture later.

"The Examiner" of Washington, the free newspaper in Washington. Kind of like our video. You can't get a better price than that, can you? "Second London attacks fizzle" is the way they lead it.

How are we doing on time, Wilson? How much? OK. A little less now.

"The Times of London." "Bombers on the run" -- I like the headline -- "after bungled attack." But what I really like here is the picture. Come in on that picture a little bit. This is a little boy and his stuffed animals and just -- doesn't his face tell you a lot about what's going on in London today? Man, I love that picture. I'd have picked that as the picture of the day. But I don't get a vote.

"The Daily News" tabloid here in New York. Well, I do get a vote, actually. "Ride and seek" is the way they have it. That's a pretty good headline. "London's bombed again." And for us, it's ride and seek, as in we'll look through your bags.

The upstate New York "Times Herald Record" leads local, didn't put London on the front page at all, but had one heck of a picture. "Pursuit ends in head-on crash." The cop walked away from this. Can you believe that? It says something about airbags, doesn't it? My goodness.

One more, I guess we have time. "Dallas Morning News." "London in panic." I didn't hear panic. I watched the stuff all day, listened to every story we did, I didn't hear anybody panicking. Well, there was some panic in the control room, but that's different. Anyway, "Dallas Morning News" found panic.

By the way, if you're traveling in the Midwest tomorrow, the weather in Chicago, according to "The Chicago Sun-Times," "pugnacious."

The picture of the day in a moment.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This week in history on July 23rd, 1967, a riot with racial overtones broke out on Detroit's 12th Street. It took federal troops and the National Guard five days to quell the disturbance. Five people died.

NEIL ARMSTRONG, ASTRONAUT: It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 1969, Neil Armstrong, who commanded the Apollo 11 mission, became the first person to walk on the moon.

And in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, police arrested serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer on July 22nd, 1991. He was later sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms.

That is this week in history.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And speaking of the moon, the picture of the day comes to us from Greece. This is a full moon. You know, everybody remembers where they were when -- the reason the moon's so big, by the way, is not that we, you know, did some trick to it. It's -- the moon is closer now than it will be for a long time, a couple of years or something.

Anyway. I remember I was in boot camp when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Man, I feel old.

Special NEWSNIGHT tomorrow. 9/11, the commission report, a year later. We'll see you then.

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