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CNN Connie Chung Tonight

Latest bin Laden Tape Stirs Debate, Fear of New Attacks

Aired November 12, 2002 - 20:00   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.


CONNIE CHUNG, CNN HOST: Good evening. I'm Connie Chung.
Tonight, a new audiotape believed to be Osama bin Laden. Is the terror mastermind still alive?

ANNOUNCER: The words on the tape praise the terrorists and their recent attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The killing of the Britains and the Australians and the latest action in Moscow is only a response to what is happening to all Muslim brothers around the world.

ANNOUNCER: Is it really the voice of Osama bin Laden?

Rejected. The Iraqi parliament votes no on U.N. weapons inspection.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Iraqi Parliament is nothing but a rubber-stamp for Saddam Hussein. There's no democracy. The guy's a dictator.

ANNOUNCER: Now all eyes are on Saddam. Plus, an ominous sign that Iraq may be getting ready for a conflict.

Survivor stories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't quite ready when I came around the corner see that it was, yeah, nothing, but the flag poll standing.

ANNOUNCER: In the aftermath of the deadly tornadoes, one family who lived through the devastation tells their story to Connie.

Writer, director and actor Stanley Tucci on his latest Broadway drama.

STANLEY TUCCI, ACTOR: What did you think? All I did was cook.

His latest film co-stars and his work helping the hungry.

ANNOUNCER: This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, Connie Chung.

CHUNG: Good evening. Tonight, a chilling new tape and a new mystery. Is Osama bin Laden still alive? And is it his voice on a threatening new audiotape broadcast today by the Al-Jazeera news agency? U.S. intelligence is working right now to authenticate the tape. If it is bin Laden, it would be the first time he has directly addressed the United States and its allies. Sources say it may prove to be the strongest piece of evidence yet that Osama bin Laden is still alive and running the al Qaeda terrorist network.

CNN national correspondent Mike Boettcher has heard the tape and he has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If there was any question whether Osama bin Laden was alive, the audiotape sent to Al- Jazeera seemed to settle that, especially the reference to the recent string of attacks around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The killings of Germans in Tunisia and French in Karachi and the bombing of the U.S. tanker in Yemen and the killing of the Marines in Filaka (ph) and the killings of the British and Australians in Bali and the latest Moscow operation are just some of the attacks here and there and are only a reaction to how the Muslims have been treated in response to what God had ordered them.

BOETTCHER: In the past, bin Laden has addressed his messages to his followers. This time the message was aimed at those he termed allies of -- quote -- "the oppressive U.S. Government."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): So why are your governments allying themselves, allying themselves with America and attacking us in Afghanistan? Especially to mention Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany and Australia?

BOETTCHER: In Europe, security forces were already on their highest state of alert since 9/11 after a recent threat against France and Germany from bin Laden's lieutenant, Ayman Al-Zawarhi (ph). So why is bin Laden talking now?

PROF. MAGNUS RANSTORP: Usually, in the past, whenever bin Laden has surfaced, making a statement, there has been a major attack against a U.S. or western target.

BOETTCHER: Coalition intelligence officials have been telling CNN for months they believe bin Laden is alive and hiding out along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

As for this latest message, U.S. intelligence officials are assessing the tape, comparing it to previous bin Laden statements before they're willing to say it's authentic.

Those who have listened to previous bin Laden tapes say it sounds like him, but with some changes.

HISHAM MELHEM, LEBANESE JOURNALIST: Yes, it sounds like him. But the voice is not as soft as previous tapes by Osama bin Laden and delivery is not as slow as previous delivery. BOETTCHER: Osama bin Laden invoked Iraq, Palestine and Chechnya, all places, he said, where Muslims were being murdered. And he ended with a warning.

Just like you kill us, we will kill you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOETTCHER: Now experts we've spoken to who have read the particular words of the bin Laden statements say this is less a message and more an extreme threat -- Connie.

CHUNG: That's an ominous threat, Mike. Tell us -- I know that your sources are telling you that previous bin Laden tapes have been played for the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Is that what is happening now with this particular tape as well?

BOETTCHER: That will be done. I don't know if it's being done right now, but it was done in the last round of audiotapes that came out in late September and early October of bin Laden and Ayman Al- Zawarhi (ph), his No. 2. Less for identification and more to see if there are any messages embedded there or to try to read between the lines of what bin Laden was saying -- Connie.

CHUNG: You mean if there might be some kind of coded attack signals within the audiotape?

BOETTCHER: Exactly. It's been suspected by coalition intelligence agencies for quite some time that often attack messages are included in some of these statements, and as you heard Dr. Magnus Ranstorp say in the story earlier, oftentimes after one of these statements comes out, there is indeed an attack and that's one of the reasons why they're on high alert in Europe right now because a statement from Dr. Ayman Al-Zawarhi, talking specifically about Germany.

CHUNG: Do you have any idea, Mike, why this was an audiotape and not a videotape?

BOETTCHER: Well, it would be purely speculation, but I have to tell you that I have heard rumors out there, one source rumors we haven't been able to verify, that bin Laden's appearance might be different.

The other thing is, Connie, we know for a fact that he was from coalition intelligence sources -- that Osama bin Laden was wounded in Tora Bora, in December, underwent some surgery and has been recuperating. He may not be still in the best of health, although other experts who have listened to the tape say he speaks with a various sort of voice this time, a very threatening voice.

CHUNG: All right. Mike Boettcher, thank you so much.

Let's go now to White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, has the Bush administration confirmed that this is the voice of Osama bin Laden?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Way too soon for that, Connie. They have not confirmed it. They say they're looking into the reports. They are very interested in this. One senior White House official saying that it does not change the policy of the United States, really that short of having Osama bin Laden in our possession, he says, we really do not know whether or not he is dead or alive.

CHUNG: Well Suzanne, now that Osama bin Laden has reared his ugly head, does that deter the United States and its efforts against Iraq and Saddam Hussein?

MALVEAUX: Well, the Bush administration argues that it does exactly the opposite. That this is simply a war on terror and involves not only going after al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, but also Saddam Hussein. They argue it does not undercut the sense of urgency to go after Saddam Hussein. They say it's really all about going after the terrorists, all a part of the same thing.

CHUNG: Suzanne, the Iraqi Parliament rejected the U.N. resolution. I want to play a clip of what President Bush had to say in response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: If Saddam Hussein does not comply with the -- to the detail of the resolution, we will lead a coalition to disarm him. It's over. We are through negotiations. There's no more time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHUNG: Suzanne, we keep asking again and again, but the question is does President Bush mean that if Saddam Hussein rejects the U.N. resolution as well, just the way the parliament did -- does that mean that the United States will attack immediately with the help of other countries?

MALVEAUX: That's a very good question, Connie, and there is a process involved. The administration has said before, Look if there's a comma out of place, we are not necessarily going to react right away, but it will become apparent, very clear if Saddam Hussein decides to not cooperate with weapons inspections. They say they are looking for a pattern of material breach.

So what does this mean? Would they attack right away? Not necessarily. There's a process in place. The United States would go back to the U.N. Security council members for consultations, for discussions, but again, the Bush administration also emphasizing it reserves the right to go ahead to use military force if necessary, to lead a coalition of international leaders to do so, but again, looking for a pattern of material breach and, again also. consulting with our allies, as well.

CHUNG: And just to clarify once again, what would be a material breach? MALVEAUX: Well, it's a very sticky definition, actually, and it's one of the things that was caused so much of the confusion and the wrangling between Russia, France and the United States. But material breach essentially is a violation of the U.N. resolutions whether it's a past resolution or one currently or even if he decides that he was not cooperating.

You know there's a deadline on Friday. Now some are saying, clearly, obviously, that is a material breach. Others would say, Well, let's take a look at the whole picture. Let's take a look at the pattern to see whether or not we would define that very moment as a material breach. But, yes, a lot of questions and there's going to be a lot of discussion around that.

CHUNG: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you.

There was other disturbing news about Iraq today, hints that Baghdad is preparing for war, taking action that suggests the Iraqis may be getting ready to use nerve gas.

National security correspondent David Ensor has the chilling details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraq earlier this year ordered more than a million doses of a drug used to counter the effects of nerve gas from Turkish companies, Bush administration officials confirmed, saying they are pressing Turkish officials to prevent the sales from going through. Turkish officials say there have been no such exports to date.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Obviously, Turkey shares our concern about making sure Iraq doesn't get anything that could further a program of weapons of mass destruction or be possibly involved with making it easier for Iraq to use weapons of mass destruction.

ENSOR: The drug atropine, and the auto injectors for Iraqis to give themselves doses, would be highly effective to block nerve agents like sarin and VX gas, both of which Iraq has admitted in the past having made and stockpiled. Iraq claims its entire stock of nerve gasses was destroyed. U.S. intelligence officials and outside experts say they do not believe it.

AMY SMITHSON, STIMSON CENTER: I would look at this as indicative of they've got something, and they're worried about it either being blown up or blown back on their own troops, in the event that it gets used on the battlefield.

ENSOR: In 1988, Saddam Hussein ordered the use of chemical weapons against his own people, Iraqis, in the Kurdish area along the border with Iran. So, the question of whether Iraq might use them again if U.S. forces should invade, is hardly academic.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: I can assure you that the Department of Defense is going to do everything they can to protect our troops, if they are called in to disarm Saddam Hussein.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: U.S. officials say they take Iraq's attempt to stockpile chemical weapons antidote seriously, though one said it is possible that Iraq placed the orders knowing they wouldn't be fulfilled, just in order to raise concerns in the West about the risk of a war against Iraq -- Connie.

CHUNG: David, does the administration consider this an ominous threat?

ENSOR: They do think it's ominous that Iraq was gathering or trying to gather so many anecdotes. It does suggest that they may have the weapons in place, in fact, in rather large quantities. So, yes, ominous would be the right word.

CHUNG: All right. David Ensor, thank you. Before we leave the subject of the new audiotape that is believed to be Osama bin Laden's voice, we hope we are not giving you whiplash here, but we want to go back to Osama bin Laden because we have a journalist, Eric Margolis, joining us now from Toronto who has heard Osama bin Laden's voice, and has even met him face-to-face.

Thank you, Mr. Margolis for being with us.

ERIC MARGOLIS, JOURNALIST: Good evening.

CHUNG: Do you believe that the tape is authentic, that it is the voice of Osama bin Laden?

MARGOLIS: It sounds like -- pretty much like the voice of Osama bin Laden, but not 100 percent. I would say there is a 50 percent possibility this tape is authentic.

I read the translation of his statement. Stylistically, it does not sound or match bin Laden's usual prose style. It could -- this tape could have been made by one of his subordinates, or it could be a piece of disinformation, trying to link bin Laden to other groups, for example, the Russians have been very actively trying to link the Chechen independence fighters to bin Laden to discredit them. So, I think we have to approach this tape with a certain amount of caution.

CHUNG: Would Osama bin Laden, in your estimation, take credit for all of these various incidents in which people were killed?

MARGOLIS: Well, that's an excellent question. He's not done so in the past, and he really doesn't in this. He seems to take credit for only one act, which is the Bali bombing, saying we warned you of this, that it would happen, but the others -- he seems to say that the other attacks have been carried out by enraged Muslims who are retaliating against Western attacks.

So it's a very, very vague statement. It's by no means claiming direct responsibility.

CHUNG: So is it your feeling that it could have been released by al Qaeda, not necessarily Osama bin Laden's voice?

MARGOLIS: That's right. He has many subordinates, and you know, I'm surprised that on the 6th of October, Ayman al-Zawahiri, his number two, and really the strong man in his organization, threatened major overwhelming attacks against Western economic targets, and this is what we would expect from al Qaeda, but what we've seen so far and what this tape takes credit for, seem to be relatively more modest or more minor in some cases, amateurish attacks that don't seem to fit into their pattern, their method of operations.

CHUNG: All right. Eric Margolis, journalist, thank you so much for your analysis.

MARGOLIS: You are very welcome.

CHUNG: And still ahead, a member of Iraq's parliament has very strong words to say about President Bush. Our conversation with him when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: As we reported earlier, Iraq's parliament has rejected the U.N. resolution that would force Saddam Hussein to disarm, and would allow weapons inspectors to return to that country.

Earlier, I spoke with Iraqi parliament member Mudhaffar Al-Adhami in Baghdad, and you'll hear he has some very harsh things to say about the United States and President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHUNG: Do you believe that Saddam Hussein will accept or reject the U.N. resolution?

MUDHAFFAR AL-ADHAMI, IRAQI PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Actually, it's too early to judge whether President Saddam Hussein will accept that or not. We are waiting. This is a recommendation by the parliament, and we are waiting.

CHUNG: If Saddam Hussein rejects the U.N. resolution, do you believe that you are prepared for war?

AL-ADHAMI: We are already prepared for war. You know, because the threat to launch an aggression against us is not now -- the Americans are already bombing Iraq. Airplanes of Americans and the British are bombing Iraq every day since 1991, since 1998.

So if they are going to launch another aggression, or a wide aggression, let's say, that means we have to defend ourselves. Why? Because this aggression is there already, even before this resolution, they were threatening, and they're still threatening to launch an aggression.

This resolution, actually, is only a method, a way to make their aggression legitimate. This is what they are trying to do. That's why this resolution became very complicated, and it's unacceptable. CHUNG: Iraq has not complied with the earlier resolutions. In fact, Iraq did not allow...

AL-ADHAMI: Pardon? No. Iraq complied. Iraq complied, and we were dealing with inspection committees for seven years and a half.

CHUNG: If Iraq is correct that there are no weapons of mass destruction, why not let inspectors go in and inspect?

AL-ADHAMI: We have no weapons of mass destruction. We allowed the inspection -- we actually agreed to readmit the inspection committees, and we had conversations, and we have a dialogue with the United Nations and we reached agreements and the inspections supposed to be in Iraq the 19th of last month. but the Americans put obstacles on the way of the inspection committees because they know very well that we don't have any weapons of mass destruction. And the end of the Americans is to launch an aggression. They are not behind the weapons of mass destruction.

If they are, if they were behind the weapons of mass destruction, why didn't they say anything about the announcement of the Koreans that they got nuclear weapons? Why Rumsfeld only said -- well, in CNN and Tribune said they would leave it to Japan and other countries to deal with it. That means they have another plan.

They know very well Iraq hasn't got these weapons, but they are trying to put in force their plan to control our oil fields, to redivide the area, to solve the Palestinian questions for the benefit of the Israelis. This is what they want because they want to control the whole world. This what the American administration wants.

CHUNG: Sir, it's not just the United States. It's not just the United States, it is the entire U.N. Security Council that voted unanimously to pass this resolution.

AL-ALHAMI: Well, we have to defend ourselves, we are trying -- I will tell you that we are trying to avoid it is war in our diplomatic and political means. We don't want war. We don't like war.

But if we forced to do so, we have to defend ourself. We have to resist the American aggression because this is our country. This is our -- and our people will defend themselves. We have no choice. This is our future and this is our country and we have to defend it.

CHUNG: Sir, the United States has dismissed the vote that the parliament had taken, calling it pure theater.

AL-ALHAMI: We don't care about Bush and what he say. He wants to control the whole world. He wants to be the second Hitler in this world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHUNG: Some very strong words from a member of Iraq's parliament. Although the Iraqi parliament is strongly opposed to new U.N. weapons inspections, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan isn't paying much attention to the parliament's action. Annan says he is, quote, "looking forward to receiving Iraq's final decision on the matter from Saddam Hussein." Iraq has until Friday to accept the terms of the U.N. resolution on weapons inspections.

And joining us now for more reaction from Iraq where it's very, very early Wednesday morning is Baghdad Bureau Chief Jane Arraf.

Jane, can you interpret why the parliament would reject the U.N. resolution knowing that Saddam Hussein's oldest son, that's Ude (ph) was recommending to support the U.N. resolution?

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Well, as we heard from the member of parliament, there's a very long list of grievances, Connie. When he referred to bombing every day, for instance, that's the bombing in the northern and southern no-fly zones as well as all of the reasons they think this resolution is unworkable. So they had to get that out in the public record.

Although Iraq is still suspected to accept this resolution, indicated by that statement you referred to by Ude Saddam Hussein, they're not going to roll over and accept it quite so easily. So that's why they felt they had license to do this and why indeed it was orchestrated that way, perhaps, as a forum, over two days to allow those objects to be made and then at the end of it, to allow President Saddam Hussein, through his eldest son as well, to say that for the good of the country, that they would go along with a resolution -- Connie.

CHUNG: Are you saying that the parliamentary debate was indeed a sham? That President Bush is correct in saying that the parliament rubber-stamps whatever Saddam Hussein wants?

ARRAF: I think a lot of people here in the region would say it doesn't really matter how you get to a decision if it's the right decision, that's what counts. And for Iraq to be accepting what's a very, very tough U.N. resolution would be quite remarkable because it is a huge turnaround, really.

Now, this resolution, as you know, calls for in very strong terms for unimpeded, unconditional, unrestricted access and that essentially means that U.N. weapons inspectors can go anywhere including the presidential palaces at any time. They will virtually have complete control over the sites they want to inspect. Now that's a very hard thing for any country to swallow and particularly difficult for Iraq.

So the feeling among many people is if it has to do this through the theater of the national assembly and the president's eldest son getting involved, so be it. At end of the day what counts is the decision -- Connie

CHUNG: All, right, Jane Arraf from Baghdad, thank you so much for being with us. And still ahead, we'll go back to Columbine High. One student who escaped the bloodshed explains why he thinks those two young men went on a rampage. We'll be right back.

ANNOUNCER: Next, the aftermath. Surviving a deadly tornado. One family who lost everything except each other. CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: Survivors in half a dozen states are trying to piece their lives together after violent storms cut a path of destruction from Louisiana to Pennsylvania. A string of tornadoes in combination with massive thunderstorms destroyed homes and businesses and in some cases leveled entire towns. At least 36 people died, at least 225 people were injured in the severe weather. All together, more than 70 tornadoes ripped through more than six states.

Many of the survivors remain stunned, struggling to deal with what happened and feeling lucky, very lucky to be alive. We are joined now by Ron and Melissa Mengerink and their 13-year-old son Ethan. A tornado ripped through the Ohio home they were building, scattering it across miles of farmland. And Ron, Melissa and Ethan are in Van Wert, Ohio to be with us.

Thank you so much. We are so happy to see you and hope that you're safe now. Tell us, Melissa and Ron, you were there with Ethan, one of your three children and you heard the sirens go off. You weren't taking it seriously in the beginning, but finally you did and Melissa, you looked down and what did you see?

MELISSA MENGERINK, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I see nothing, but a black cloud. At first it wasn't touching the ground from our view. It was behind the trees. And I told my husband, I said, That's a tornado and he says, No it's not. It's not a tornado. He said, It's just a bad wind storm. I told him I said, Look at the white cloud that's around it. And it just was so wide that he said, No it's not a tornado. Usually tornadoes you see on TV, there's just like a small funnel all the way to the ground.

CHUNG: Right, but Ron finally believed you, didn't he, Melissa? Thank goodness.

M. MENGERINK: Yes he did.

CHUNG: And they you opened the windows, which is what you were told to do, Ron, and then you ran down, eventually arrived in a closet in the basement with your son and your wife. And as the tornado was passing overhead what did you hear?

M. MENGERINK: Oh, it just sounded like a train roaring or someone said it was like buffaloes, a herd of buffaloes going over the top of you. Like a jet flying low. It was just like a roaring sound you can't explain.

CHUNG: Ethan, were you scared? ETHAN MENGERINK, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Not really. I wasn't -- well, I wasn't really scared for my life, but I was scared that the house was going to be gone or something bad.

CHUNG: You were in that closet with your parents. Where -- what were you doing while they were trying to hold the door of that closet shut?

E. MENGERINK: I was just sitting there and...

M. MENGERINK: He was hanging on to me. I had my back to him. I guess to protect him and he was just hanging on my back leaning over the top of me and we was all hovered together.

CHUNG: Ron, how were you able to keep that door shut? Because wasn't the wind just trying to pull it open?

RON MENGERINK, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Yes, I had a metal shelf that I had bolted to the wall. And I had to wrap my arm around it and one or two times it did slip out of my hands.

M. MENGERINK: And I grabbed it.

R. MENGERINK: And finally, I just made my mind up no matter how bad it was crushing my hand that I would just hold onto it and just hope that we could be alive when this was over.

CHUNG: Did you have some doubts, Ron?

R. MENGERINK: At first, I didn't because I thought it was all a big joke, but when the door blew open the one time I got a mouthful of insulation and I knew then that the house was probably gone and by the way it was pulling on us, I thought we are were going to be sucked outside of there and that would be it.

CHUNG: Melissa, when the storm finally passed and you emerged, was your house still around you?

M. MENGERINK: The basement was there and the floor above us was there, so we've seen in the daylight through the other stairwell that went up to the garage. So my husband goes, Oh, just the garage is gone. So I thought, You go up that way. I'm going up the other stairwell to see if the house is there.

And Ethan and I went to go up the other stairwell and we looked up the other stairwell and we looked up and there was daylight. There was nothing. Nothing, but the floor.

When they got up on top, I seen a man sitting on our front door and I'm, like, who's that because there was blood streaming down his face and I noticed it was our neighbor and I said, How did you get here, Jim? And he goes, I don't know. He goes, Alls I remember, I had to get to safety and I thought I'd come to your basement because we don't have a basement. And he goes, I tried your garage door and it was locked so I come to the front door and it was locked. And he goes, There was no time to go anywhere so I just held on to the door handle. And he goes, That's all I remember.

CHUNG: Oh, my gosh. Ron...

M. MENGERINK: You could see up on the front...

CHUNG: Go ahead.

M. MENGERINK: You could see up on the front what happened. That wall just flopped right over on him and it held him down through the whole tornado.

CHUNG: And then, Ron, this is the clincher to your story and that is you got a phone call from someone who was 70 miles away who found something that belonged to you. What was it?

R. MENGERINK: It was a canceled check.

M. MENGERINK: A canceled check from 1992.

CHUNG: Could you believe it?

M. MENGERINK: No. We had sold our house in town and we was living in a rental house while this house was being built. And we had stored all of our belongings in drums in a shed out back of the house. I had probably anywhere from 50 to 75 drums of the kids' clothes, their toys, games and just plates and dishes and my canceled checks. I always kept my canceled checks and put them in a drum. And we had two calls from Toledo, Ohio that found checks.

Someone called from Defiance, Ohio today. Somebody called our neighbor yesterday and said they found a cookbook in Toledo, Ohio and I said that was probably ours and I had a full drum of cookbooks and they said it had Van Wert so it's probably one of mine.

CHUNG: Thank goodness you are all safe. God bless you, Ron, Melissa and Ethan. Thank you so much for telling your story. We appreciate you being with us and stay safe.

M. MENGERINK: Thank you, Connie.

CHUNG: We'll be right back.

ANNOUNCER: Next, he was warned to get out by the columbine killers moments before the massacre. Tonight, one survivor finally breaks his silence when CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: Moments before Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris began their shooting rampage at Columbine High School, Eric Harris warned one student to stay away. It was Brooks Brown, a friend of the killers who was outside having a cigarette. Brown followed instructions from Harris to, quote, "get out of here and go home."

So he was able to escape the horror of that day when 12 students and a teacher died. Brown says his experience and his friendship with the killers gave him a unique perspective on the shooting and he's put that in a new book written with journalist Rob Meritt titled no "Easy Answers, the Truth Behind Death at Columbine."

Brooks Brown and Rob Meritt join me now. Thank you both for being with us.

Brooks, your book basically has a very clear and distinct message. Why do you think those two boys went on this rampage?

BROOKS BROWN, FRIEND OF COLUMBINE KILLERS: There is a million reasons that factored into why Eric and Dylan specifically did. The big three though are the administration of Columbine High School put a large amount of emphasis on the jock culture that was there and enforced it. That Eric and Dylan were both humiliated every day, a few times a day for basically six years, throughout junior high and high school.

CHUNG: So basically, you're saying it was a bullying problem, that there was bullying at the school. That the administration supported the in-crowd which was the jocks.

BROWN: Right. They enforced actually the hierarchy they existed within Columbine.

CHUNG: What do you mean, though?

BROWN: They basically made it OK for us to get beat up. They wouldn't suspend the other kids and they'd suspend us for simply getting beaten up. We put a number of examples of that in the book. Also, as Rob said, he talked to a number of people who also had similar experiences.

CHUNG: So, are you saying that the administration had enough warning signs to know that something was wrong with the two boys?

BROWN: The administration had enough warning signs to know something was wrong with the school. Specifically Eric and Dylan, I can't say, although as we do talk about in the book, the police department had many, many warnings signs.

CHUNG: OK, I'm going to get to that in just a moment, but Rob, there were other warning signs that you discovered in your investigative reporting.

ROB MERRITT, JOURNALIST: Yes, and one of the interesting things is that those continue to come out to this day. There are still police documents that are only recently being leaked. One example is only a month ago, the juvenile diversion report for Eric Harris was released, and in that, it indicated that when he went into juvenile diversion for breaking into a van back in March of '98, he had to fill out a psychological profile, and on that, he marked that he was homicidal and suicidal.

This was a full year before Columbine happened, and he wrote this for authorities, and that's just one red flag among many.

CHUNG: And nothing happened as a result of that?

MERRITT: Nothing at all.

BROWN: Not that we can tell.

CHUNG: You knew Dylan Klebold very well because, basically, you grew up with him although you separated a little bit in the middle.

BROWN: Right.

CHUNG: What kind of boy was he?

BROWN: He was a nice, insecure, kind kid. Probably the best way to put it. Someone I was very proud to call my friend.

CHUNG: And Eric Harris?

BROWN: Well, up until he and I -- he and I had a rather rocky relationship throughout high school, and up until that, he was very smart. Kind of quick to anger, but still a good guy, too.

CHUNG: But you're saying that both of them were outcasts, and you were too -- you were part of -- sort of, the outsiders.

BROWN: Right. I was in drama, I was in theater, so that amicably (ph) labeled me a homosexual, which they don't like, and -- the jocks never liked that, and then I was in debate too, to top it off. So, I was a brainiac, and somehow that was an insult. In those two ways, I was labeled an outsider. Eric and Dylan, because they loved computers, that was that, you know.

CHUNG: But, actually, those who have analyzed the situation in Columbine quickly attribute their problems to video games and violent videos.

BROWN: Which I have nothing but disagreement with. I am not a violent person, and I never have been, and I know a number of people have played "Doom," which is the famous video game now that caused Eric and Dylan to do it supposedly. Also Marilyn Manson, violent music, violent movies. There is a million people out there who are embedded with this violence every day and do not go out and kill.

CHUNG: The bottom line is you believe that bullying was the cause, the genesis.

BROWN: Absolutely. The bullying and humiliation, absolutely.

CHUNG: So your message, basically, is school officials, teachers, you have to be on the lookout.

BROWN: Absolutely. Because bullying is what caused the massacre at Columbine High School. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

CHUNG: Brooks Brown, thank you so much. Rob Merritt, appreciate your being with us. We'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: You might say that Stanley Tucci is one very lucky guy. He gets to work with women like J. Lo, Jennifer Lopez, Isabella Rossellini, and the "Sopranos'" Edie Falco, who he gets to bed eight times in one week on Broadway in the play "Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune."

It's about two very New York characters, a short order cook, that's Stanley, and a waitress, Edie, who fall in love over the course of just one night.

And let me tell you, I saw the play, and I got to see more of Stanley Tucci than I ever thought possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just hear you now at work, Hey, guys, that Frankie put her finger in your ear.

TUCCI: No. See, that is just about the last thing in the entire world that I would ever do about tonight, talk about it to anybody, especially those animals at work. You really don't know me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wouldn't be the first time one of the guys yack yack yack about it.

TUCCI: Yes, but women yack too. No ketchup.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

TUCCI: But all yacking is dumb. I slept with this one. Oh yes? Well, I slept with Connie Chung. Oh big f-ing, pardon my French (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHUNG: You slept with me? I, obviously, don't remember it as a momentous...

TUCCI: Well, I remember it very fondly.

CHUNG: You do?

TUCCI: Yes.

CHUNG: When I was at the play last Sunday, and I heard my name, I went, Whoa! Turned around...

TUCCI: I didn't know you were there that day, I...

CHUNG: Yes, you didn't, otherwise maybe you would have changed the name.

TUCCI: I don't know what I would have said.

CHUNG: Was that originally in the text, in McNally's script? TUCCI: It wasn't -- he updated it. I don't remember what it was originally, now. But, your name came up. I remember when Terrence just said, Connie Chung. Connie Chung? OK.

CHUNG: You didn't have to go, Connie Chung.

TUCCI: It was a good thing. It was a good thing.

CHUNG: OK. Now, honestly, you know, I don't think I'm prudish. I really don't. But when I saw you totally naked...

TUCCI: Yes.

CHUNG: ... and even walking around a little bit, and it wasn't that dark -- I mean, I was on the wrong side of the stage, though, and I kept going, I can't see.

TUCCI: Thanks a lot.

CHUNG: No, no, no. I didn't mean that personally either.

TUCCI: No, I'm only kidding.

CHUNG: But you and Edie Falco are just the full Monty. How can you do that?

TUCCI: Oh, it's easy.

CHUNG: Is it?

TUCCI: Well, you know, we get paid for it.

CHUNG: Yes. So, I mean...

TUCCI: No, it's not. The first performance was scary...

CHUNG: Right.

TUCCI: ... to say the least.

CHUNG: OK.

TUCCI: And rehearsals were even scarier -- I mean, we actually didn't really do it in rehearsal. We just -- it was at a dress rehearsal...

CHUNG: But you didn't do it during the play, either.

TUCCI: No, we didn't do it in the play.

CHUNG: We should tell them in the very beginning of the play, you are actually making love with Edie Falco.

TUCCI: Yes, we simulate lovemaking for about, I don't know, a minute and a half or something.

CHUNG: It seems like an eternity.

TUCCI: Does it really?

CHUNG: Yes.

TUCCI: How is that? I mean, I have never seen it, so I'm assuming that -- I have been told that it's tastefully presented, which makes one feel more comfortable.

CHUNG: Yes.

TUCCI: And I can feel the lights come up slowly as the lovemaking progresses, and finally when we finish, there is a fair amount of play and then she starts to turn lights on, and changes.

CHUNG: And she puts on a robe...

TUCCI: And she puts on a robe, and I stayed...

CHUNG: Naked.

TUCCI: ... naked for a while.

CHUNG: Yes. You are in great shape.

TUCCI: Oh, thanks. Thanks.

CHUNG: You work out, no doubt.

TUCCI: Thanks. Yes. Yes.

CHUNG: I made certain assumptions about you, so I'm going to utter them and you tell me if I'm correct.

TUCCI: OK.

CHUNG: I mean, it's just what I feel, because I don't know, and I've read a lot about you, but these things do not emerge from what I read.

TUCCI: OK. All right.

CHUNG: Very smart.

TUCCI: So right. You're dead on, in fact.

CHUNG: Even intellectual.

TUCCI: I would say no. No.

CHUNG: Obsessively compulsively neat.

TUCCI: Yes. I would say that, yes.

CHUNG: See, I knew that, right?

TUCCI: That's true. Yes. Yes.

CHUNG: I could tell by the way you were putting -- moving things around on the stage.

TUCCI: Yes. I wish I had more to do on the stage, actually, as far as objects go.

CHUNG: To occupy you?

TUCCI: Yes. Yes.

CHUNG: Someone who can cook and loves to cook.

TUCCI: Yes. Yes.

CHUNG: And then also, you directed and produced that wonderful movie "Big Night."

TUCCI: "Big Night," yes.

CHUNG: It was a gastronomical success.

TUCCI: It was, it was, it was, yes. I even went into a post- cranial (ph) depression after that movie.

CHUNG: You have done so many movies -- you have got one coming out called "Maid in Manhattan."

TUCCI: "Maid in Manhattan," yes.

CHUNG: And that "maid" is M-A-I-D.

TUCCI: Yes it is, yes it is.

CHUNG: I just have one gossipy question to ask you, all right?

TUCCI: I don't know.

CHUNG: Was Jennifer Lopez around, and Ben Affleck, was he around?

TUCCI: I never saw Ben Affleck and that's the God's honest truth. Nor did I see Kim out.

CHUNG: All right.

There are so many actors and actresses who have favorite charities but -- and sometimes I wince a little when they start talking about it, but honestly, I know you love yours. I want you to tell me about it. It's called Canstruction?

TUCCI: Yes, I love this thing. I've been involved in this for about five years. Design and architectural firms -- major design and architectural firms in the city put together what are called canstructions, which are these structures that are...

CHUNG: Actually made out of cans.

TUCCI: Actually made out of cans of food that are basically sculptures, for all practical purposes, OK? And they have very strict guidelines. They have to work within a 10 by 10 by 8 space. They can use only tape, rubber bands and cardboard to hold these structures together.

CHUNG: Oh that's great.

TUCCI: They have to use the labels. The labels have to remain intact and basically it's tens of thousands of cans. All of these structures are then judged by...

CHUNG: You.

TUCCI: ...other designers and architects and myself and these other celebrities and at the end, all of this food gets distributed to hungry people in New York, of which there are, I think, 1.5 million, I think is the statistic, 500,000 of them being children.

CHUNG: This is annually?

TUCCI: This is annually, so it happens every year and it's taking place now in 50 cities across the country. It's an extraordinary event. And it's -- not only is it an incredibly important thing, I think, to do, particularly in this day and age, but it's really enjoyable and to see what these really mind comes up with, it's pretty fascinating.

CHUNG: Terrific.

TUCCI: Yes.

CHUNG: Stanley, thank you so much for being with us.

TUCCI: Thank you. Thank you.

CHUNG: And I loved seeing you in that play. I mean really seeing you, It was a good thing.

TUCCI: Yes. Yes. I'm glad. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

CHUNG: Thank you. We'll be back in just a moment. The hunt for the D.C. area sniper, is there a bigger target ahead for Chief Moose? Wait until you hear what it is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: We'll have the story of a major new challenge for Chief Charles Moose. But first, let's see how your money's doing. ere's tonight's "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" update.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOU DOBBS, CNN HOST: I'm Lou Dobbs. Technology issues erasing all of yesterday's losses. The Nasdaq gained 30 points today. The Dow up 27. And William Webster stepped down as the chairman of the Accounting Oversight Board. Watch "MONEYLINE," weeknights 6:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN. CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns in 90 seconds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: And finally tonight, if the U.S. goes to war against Iraq, the man who led the hunt for the D.C. area sniper could be hunting for a bigger target. A much bigger target: Saddam Hussein.

For the -- there he is.

CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE CHIEF: By the Montgomery County task force. We believe that Mr. Muhammad may have information..

CHUNG: For the past three years, Montgomery County, Maryland Police Chief Charles Moose has been a member of the D.C. Air National Guard Unit. In the event of a war, his unit could be activated and sent to Iraq and that would mean that Chief Moose would have a different rank and title. Police Chief Moose would be Major Moose, commander of the guard's 113th security forces squadron.

And tomorrow, the latest on the U.S.-Iraqi showdown. Plus, Wall Street: a man's world? That's an understatement after you hear what one woman claims happened her.

And coming up next on "LARRY KING LIVE,"the Jon Benet Ramsey case. John and Patsy Ramsey's attorney brings exclusive new video. Goodnight everybody.

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 November 12, 2002 - 20:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CONNIE CHUNG, CNN HOST: Good evening. I'm Connie Chung.
Tonight, a new audiotape believed to be Osama bin Laden. Is the terror mastermind still alive?

ANNOUNCER: The words on the tape praise the terrorists and their recent attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The killing of the Britains and the Australians and the latest action in Moscow is only a response to what is happening to all Muslim brothers around the world.

ANNOUNCER: Is it really the voice of Osama bin Laden?

Rejected. The Iraqi parliament votes no on U.N. weapons inspection.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Iraqi Parliament is nothing but a rubber-stamp for Saddam Hussein. There's no democracy. The guy's a dictator.

ANNOUNCER: Now all eyes are on Saddam. Plus, an ominous sign that Iraq may be getting ready for a conflict.

Survivor stories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't quite ready when I came around the corner see that it was, yeah, nothing, but the flag poll standing.

ANNOUNCER: In the aftermath of the deadly tornadoes, one family who lived through the devastation tells their story to Connie.

Writer, director and actor Stanley Tucci on his latest Broadway drama.

STANLEY TUCCI, ACTOR: What did you think? All I did was cook.

His latest film co-stars and his work helping the hungry.

ANNOUNCER: This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, Connie Chung.

CHUNG: Good evening. Tonight, a chilling new tape and a new mystery. Is Osama bin Laden still alive? And is it his voice on a threatening new audiotape broadcast today by the Al-Jazeera news agency? U.S. intelligence is working right now to authenticate the tape. If it is bin Laden, it would be the first time he has directly addressed the United States and its allies. Sources say it may prove to be the strongest piece of evidence yet that Osama bin Laden is still alive and running the al Qaeda terrorist network.

CNN national correspondent Mike Boettcher has heard the tape and he has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If there was any question whether Osama bin Laden was alive, the audiotape sent to Al- Jazeera seemed to settle that, especially the reference to the recent string of attacks around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The killings of Germans in Tunisia and French in Karachi and the bombing of the U.S. tanker in Yemen and the killing of the Marines in Filaka (ph) and the killings of the British and Australians in Bali and the latest Moscow operation are just some of the attacks here and there and are only a reaction to how the Muslims have been treated in response to what God had ordered them.

BOETTCHER: In the past, bin Laden has addressed his messages to his followers. This time the message was aimed at those he termed allies of -- quote -- "the oppressive U.S. Government."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): So why are your governments allying themselves, allying themselves with America and attacking us in Afghanistan? Especially to mention Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany and Australia?

BOETTCHER: In Europe, security forces were already on their highest state of alert since 9/11 after a recent threat against France and Germany from bin Laden's lieutenant, Ayman Al-Zawarhi (ph). So why is bin Laden talking now?

PROF. MAGNUS RANSTORP: Usually, in the past, whenever bin Laden has surfaced, making a statement, there has been a major attack against a U.S. or western target.

BOETTCHER: Coalition intelligence officials have been telling CNN for months they believe bin Laden is alive and hiding out along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

As for this latest message, U.S. intelligence officials are assessing the tape, comparing it to previous bin Laden statements before they're willing to say it's authentic.

Those who have listened to previous bin Laden tapes say it sounds like him, but with some changes.

HISHAM MELHEM, LEBANESE JOURNALIST: Yes, it sounds like him. But the voice is not as soft as previous tapes by Osama bin Laden and delivery is not as slow as previous delivery. BOETTCHER: Osama bin Laden invoked Iraq, Palestine and Chechnya, all places, he said, where Muslims were being murdered. And he ended with a warning.

Just like you kill us, we will kill you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOETTCHER: Now experts we've spoken to who have read the particular words of the bin Laden statements say this is less a message and more an extreme threat -- Connie.

CHUNG: That's an ominous threat, Mike. Tell us -- I know that your sources are telling you that previous bin Laden tapes have been played for the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Is that what is happening now with this particular tape as well?

BOETTCHER: That will be done. I don't know if it's being done right now, but it was done in the last round of audiotapes that came out in late September and early October of bin Laden and Ayman Al- Zawarhi (ph), his No. 2. Less for identification and more to see if there are any messages embedded there or to try to read between the lines of what bin Laden was saying -- Connie.

CHUNG: You mean if there might be some kind of coded attack signals within the audiotape?

BOETTCHER: Exactly. It's been suspected by coalition intelligence agencies for quite some time that often attack messages are included in some of these statements, and as you heard Dr. Magnus Ranstorp say in the story earlier, oftentimes after one of these statements comes out, there is indeed an attack and that's one of the reasons why they're on high alert in Europe right now because a statement from Dr. Ayman Al-Zawarhi, talking specifically about Germany.

CHUNG: Do you have any idea, Mike, why this was an audiotape and not a videotape?

BOETTCHER: Well, it would be purely speculation, but I have to tell you that I have heard rumors out there, one source rumors we haven't been able to verify, that bin Laden's appearance might be different.

The other thing is, Connie, we know for a fact that he was from coalition intelligence sources -- that Osama bin Laden was wounded in Tora Bora, in December, underwent some surgery and has been recuperating. He may not be still in the best of health, although other experts who have listened to the tape say he speaks with a various sort of voice this time, a very threatening voice.

CHUNG: All right. Mike Boettcher, thank you so much.

Let's go now to White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, has the Bush administration confirmed that this is the voice of Osama bin Laden?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Way too soon for that, Connie. They have not confirmed it. They say they're looking into the reports. They are very interested in this. One senior White House official saying that it does not change the policy of the United States, really that short of having Osama bin Laden in our possession, he says, we really do not know whether or not he is dead or alive.

CHUNG: Well Suzanne, now that Osama bin Laden has reared his ugly head, does that deter the United States and its efforts against Iraq and Saddam Hussein?

MALVEAUX: Well, the Bush administration argues that it does exactly the opposite. That this is simply a war on terror and involves not only going after al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, but also Saddam Hussein. They argue it does not undercut the sense of urgency to go after Saddam Hussein. They say it's really all about going after the terrorists, all a part of the same thing.

CHUNG: Suzanne, the Iraqi Parliament rejected the U.N. resolution. I want to play a clip of what President Bush had to say in response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: If Saddam Hussein does not comply with the -- to the detail of the resolution, we will lead a coalition to disarm him. It's over. We are through negotiations. There's no more time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHUNG: Suzanne, we keep asking again and again, but the question is does President Bush mean that if Saddam Hussein rejects the U.N. resolution as well, just the way the parliament did -- does that mean that the United States will attack immediately with the help of other countries?

MALVEAUX: That's a very good question, Connie, and there is a process involved. The administration has said before, Look if there's a comma out of place, we are not necessarily going to react right away, but it will become apparent, very clear if Saddam Hussein decides to not cooperate with weapons inspections. They say they are looking for a pattern of material breach.

So what does this mean? Would they attack right away? Not necessarily. There's a process in place. The United States would go back to the U.N. Security council members for consultations, for discussions, but again, the Bush administration also emphasizing it reserves the right to go ahead to use military force if necessary, to lead a coalition of international leaders to do so, but again, looking for a pattern of material breach and, again also. consulting with our allies, as well.

CHUNG: And just to clarify once again, what would be a material breach? MALVEAUX: Well, it's a very sticky definition, actually, and it's one of the things that was caused so much of the confusion and the wrangling between Russia, France and the United States. But material breach essentially is a violation of the U.N. resolutions whether it's a past resolution or one currently or even if he decides that he was not cooperating.

You know there's a deadline on Friday. Now some are saying, clearly, obviously, that is a material breach. Others would say, Well, let's take a look at the whole picture. Let's take a look at the pattern to see whether or not we would define that very moment as a material breach. But, yes, a lot of questions and there's going to be a lot of discussion around that.

CHUNG: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you.

There was other disturbing news about Iraq today, hints that Baghdad is preparing for war, taking action that suggests the Iraqis may be getting ready to use nerve gas.

National security correspondent David Ensor has the chilling details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraq earlier this year ordered more than a million doses of a drug used to counter the effects of nerve gas from Turkish companies, Bush administration officials confirmed, saying they are pressing Turkish officials to prevent the sales from going through. Turkish officials say there have been no such exports to date.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Obviously, Turkey shares our concern about making sure Iraq doesn't get anything that could further a program of weapons of mass destruction or be possibly involved with making it easier for Iraq to use weapons of mass destruction.

ENSOR: The drug atropine, and the auto injectors for Iraqis to give themselves doses, would be highly effective to block nerve agents like sarin and VX gas, both of which Iraq has admitted in the past having made and stockpiled. Iraq claims its entire stock of nerve gasses was destroyed. U.S. intelligence officials and outside experts say they do not believe it.

AMY SMITHSON, STIMSON CENTER: I would look at this as indicative of they've got something, and they're worried about it either being blown up or blown back on their own troops, in the event that it gets used on the battlefield.

ENSOR: In 1988, Saddam Hussein ordered the use of chemical weapons against his own people, Iraqis, in the Kurdish area along the border with Iran. So, the question of whether Iraq might use them again if U.S. forces should invade, is hardly academic.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: I can assure you that the Department of Defense is going to do everything they can to protect our troops, if they are called in to disarm Saddam Hussein.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: U.S. officials say they take Iraq's attempt to stockpile chemical weapons antidote seriously, though one said it is possible that Iraq placed the orders knowing they wouldn't be fulfilled, just in order to raise concerns in the West about the risk of a war against Iraq -- Connie.

CHUNG: David, does the administration consider this an ominous threat?

ENSOR: They do think it's ominous that Iraq was gathering or trying to gather so many anecdotes. It does suggest that they may have the weapons in place, in fact, in rather large quantities. So, yes, ominous would be the right word.

CHUNG: All right. David Ensor, thank you. Before we leave the subject of the new audiotape that is believed to be Osama bin Laden's voice, we hope we are not giving you whiplash here, but we want to go back to Osama bin Laden because we have a journalist, Eric Margolis, joining us now from Toronto who has heard Osama bin Laden's voice, and has even met him face-to-face.

Thank you, Mr. Margolis for being with us.

ERIC MARGOLIS, JOURNALIST: Good evening.

CHUNG: Do you believe that the tape is authentic, that it is the voice of Osama bin Laden?

MARGOLIS: It sounds like -- pretty much like the voice of Osama bin Laden, but not 100 percent. I would say there is a 50 percent possibility this tape is authentic.

I read the translation of his statement. Stylistically, it does not sound or match bin Laden's usual prose style. It could -- this tape could have been made by one of his subordinates, or it could be a piece of disinformation, trying to link bin Laden to other groups, for example, the Russians have been very actively trying to link the Chechen independence fighters to bin Laden to discredit them. So, I think we have to approach this tape with a certain amount of caution.

CHUNG: Would Osama bin Laden, in your estimation, take credit for all of these various incidents in which people were killed?

MARGOLIS: Well, that's an excellent question. He's not done so in the past, and he really doesn't in this. He seems to take credit for only one act, which is the Bali bombing, saying we warned you of this, that it would happen, but the others -- he seems to say that the other attacks have been carried out by enraged Muslims who are retaliating against Western attacks.

So it's a very, very vague statement. It's by no means claiming direct responsibility.

CHUNG: So is it your feeling that it could have been released by al Qaeda, not necessarily Osama bin Laden's voice?

MARGOLIS: That's right. He has many subordinates, and you know, I'm surprised that on the 6th of October, Ayman al-Zawahiri, his number two, and really the strong man in his organization, threatened major overwhelming attacks against Western economic targets, and this is what we would expect from al Qaeda, but what we've seen so far and what this tape takes credit for, seem to be relatively more modest or more minor in some cases, amateurish attacks that don't seem to fit into their pattern, their method of operations.

CHUNG: All right. Eric Margolis, journalist, thank you so much for your analysis.

MARGOLIS: You are very welcome.

CHUNG: And still ahead, a member of Iraq's parliament has very strong words to say about President Bush. Our conversation with him when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: As we reported earlier, Iraq's parliament has rejected the U.N. resolution that would force Saddam Hussein to disarm, and would allow weapons inspectors to return to that country.

Earlier, I spoke with Iraqi parliament member Mudhaffar Al-Adhami in Baghdad, and you'll hear he has some very harsh things to say about the United States and President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHUNG: Do you believe that Saddam Hussein will accept or reject the U.N. resolution?

MUDHAFFAR AL-ADHAMI, IRAQI PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Actually, it's too early to judge whether President Saddam Hussein will accept that or not. We are waiting. This is a recommendation by the parliament, and we are waiting.

CHUNG: If Saddam Hussein rejects the U.N. resolution, do you believe that you are prepared for war?

AL-ADHAMI: We are already prepared for war. You know, because the threat to launch an aggression against us is not now -- the Americans are already bombing Iraq. Airplanes of Americans and the British are bombing Iraq every day since 1991, since 1998.

So if they are going to launch another aggression, or a wide aggression, let's say, that means we have to defend ourselves. Why? Because this aggression is there already, even before this resolution, they were threatening, and they're still threatening to launch an aggression.

This resolution, actually, is only a method, a way to make their aggression legitimate. This is what they are trying to do. That's why this resolution became very complicated, and it's unacceptable. CHUNG: Iraq has not complied with the earlier resolutions. In fact, Iraq did not allow...

AL-ADHAMI: Pardon? No. Iraq complied. Iraq complied, and we were dealing with inspection committees for seven years and a half.

CHUNG: If Iraq is correct that there are no weapons of mass destruction, why not let inspectors go in and inspect?

AL-ADHAMI: We have no weapons of mass destruction. We allowed the inspection -- we actually agreed to readmit the inspection committees, and we had conversations, and we have a dialogue with the United Nations and we reached agreements and the inspections supposed to be in Iraq the 19th of last month. but the Americans put obstacles on the way of the inspection committees because they know very well that we don't have any weapons of mass destruction. And the end of the Americans is to launch an aggression. They are not behind the weapons of mass destruction.

If they are, if they were behind the weapons of mass destruction, why didn't they say anything about the announcement of the Koreans that they got nuclear weapons? Why Rumsfeld only said -- well, in CNN and Tribune said they would leave it to Japan and other countries to deal with it. That means they have another plan.

They know very well Iraq hasn't got these weapons, but they are trying to put in force their plan to control our oil fields, to redivide the area, to solve the Palestinian questions for the benefit of the Israelis. This is what they want because they want to control the whole world. This what the American administration wants.

CHUNG: Sir, it's not just the United States. It's not just the United States, it is the entire U.N. Security Council that voted unanimously to pass this resolution.

AL-ALHAMI: Well, we have to defend ourselves, we are trying -- I will tell you that we are trying to avoid it is war in our diplomatic and political means. We don't want war. We don't like war.

But if we forced to do so, we have to defend ourself. We have to resist the American aggression because this is our country. This is our -- and our people will defend themselves. We have no choice. This is our future and this is our country and we have to defend it.

CHUNG: Sir, the United States has dismissed the vote that the parliament had taken, calling it pure theater.

AL-ALHAMI: We don't care about Bush and what he say. He wants to control the whole world. He wants to be the second Hitler in this world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHUNG: Some very strong words from a member of Iraq's parliament. Although the Iraqi parliament is strongly opposed to new U.N. weapons inspections, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan isn't paying much attention to the parliament's action. Annan says he is, quote, "looking forward to receiving Iraq's final decision on the matter from Saddam Hussein." Iraq has until Friday to accept the terms of the U.N. resolution on weapons inspections.

And joining us now for more reaction from Iraq where it's very, very early Wednesday morning is Baghdad Bureau Chief Jane Arraf.

Jane, can you interpret why the parliament would reject the U.N. resolution knowing that Saddam Hussein's oldest son, that's Ude (ph) was recommending to support the U.N. resolution?

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Well, as we heard from the member of parliament, there's a very long list of grievances, Connie. When he referred to bombing every day, for instance, that's the bombing in the northern and southern no-fly zones as well as all of the reasons they think this resolution is unworkable. So they had to get that out in the public record.

Although Iraq is still suspected to accept this resolution, indicated by that statement you referred to by Ude Saddam Hussein, they're not going to roll over and accept it quite so easily. So that's why they felt they had license to do this and why indeed it was orchestrated that way, perhaps, as a forum, over two days to allow those objects to be made and then at the end of it, to allow President Saddam Hussein, through his eldest son as well, to say that for the good of the country, that they would go along with a resolution -- Connie.

CHUNG: Are you saying that the parliamentary debate was indeed a sham? That President Bush is correct in saying that the parliament rubber-stamps whatever Saddam Hussein wants?

ARRAF: I think a lot of people here in the region would say it doesn't really matter how you get to a decision if it's the right decision, that's what counts. And for Iraq to be accepting what's a very, very tough U.N. resolution would be quite remarkable because it is a huge turnaround, really.

Now, this resolution, as you know, calls for in very strong terms for unimpeded, unconditional, unrestricted access and that essentially means that U.N. weapons inspectors can go anywhere including the presidential palaces at any time. They will virtually have complete control over the sites they want to inspect. Now that's a very hard thing for any country to swallow and particularly difficult for Iraq.

So the feeling among many people is if it has to do this through the theater of the national assembly and the president's eldest son getting involved, so be it. At end of the day what counts is the decision -- Connie

CHUNG: All, right, Jane Arraf from Baghdad, thank you so much for being with us. And still ahead, we'll go back to Columbine High. One student who escaped the bloodshed explains why he thinks those two young men went on a rampage. We'll be right back.

ANNOUNCER: Next, the aftermath. Surviving a deadly tornado. One family who lost everything except each other. CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: Survivors in half a dozen states are trying to piece their lives together after violent storms cut a path of destruction from Louisiana to Pennsylvania. A string of tornadoes in combination with massive thunderstorms destroyed homes and businesses and in some cases leveled entire towns. At least 36 people died, at least 225 people were injured in the severe weather. All together, more than 70 tornadoes ripped through more than six states.

Many of the survivors remain stunned, struggling to deal with what happened and feeling lucky, very lucky to be alive. We are joined now by Ron and Melissa Mengerink and their 13-year-old son Ethan. A tornado ripped through the Ohio home they were building, scattering it across miles of farmland. And Ron, Melissa and Ethan are in Van Wert, Ohio to be with us.

Thank you so much. We are so happy to see you and hope that you're safe now. Tell us, Melissa and Ron, you were there with Ethan, one of your three children and you heard the sirens go off. You weren't taking it seriously in the beginning, but finally you did and Melissa, you looked down and what did you see?

MELISSA MENGERINK, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I see nothing, but a black cloud. At first it wasn't touching the ground from our view. It was behind the trees. And I told my husband, I said, That's a tornado and he says, No it's not. It's not a tornado. He said, It's just a bad wind storm. I told him I said, Look at the white cloud that's around it. And it just was so wide that he said, No it's not a tornado. Usually tornadoes you see on TV, there's just like a small funnel all the way to the ground.

CHUNG: Right, but Ron finally believed you, didn't he, Melissa? Thank goodness.

M. MENGERINK: Yes he did.

CHUNG: And they you opened the windows, which is what you were told to do, Ron, and then you ran down, eventually arrived in a closet in the basement with your son and your wife. And as the tornado was passing overhead what did you hear?

M. MENGERINK: Oh, it just sounded like a train roaring or someone said it was like buffaloes, a herd of buffaloes going over the top of you. Like a jet flying low. It was just like a roaring sound you can't explain.

CHUNG: Ethan, were you scared? ETHAN MENGERINK, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Not really. I wasn't -- well, I wasn't really scared for my life, but I was scared that the house was going to be gone or something bad.

CHUNG: You were in that closet with your parents. Where -- what were you doing while they were trying to hold the door of that closet shut?

E. MENGERINK: I was just sitting there and...

M. MENGERINK: He was hanging on to me. I had my back to him. I guess to protect him and he was just hanging on my back leaning over the top of me and we was all hovered together.

CHUNG: Ron, how were you able to keep that door shut? Because wasn't the wind just trying to pull it open?

RON MENGERINK, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Yes, I had a metal shelf that I had bolted to the wall. And I had to wrap my arm around it and one or two times it did slip out of my hands.

M. MENGERINK: And I grabbed it.

R. MENGERINK: And finally, I just made my mind up no matter how bad it was crushing my hand that I would just hold onto it and just hope that we could be alive when this was over.

CHUNG: Did you have some doubts, Ron?

R. MENGERINK: At first, I didn't because I thought it was all a big joke, but when the door blew open the one time I got a mouthful of insulation and I knew then that the house was probably gone and by the way it was pulling on us, I thought we are were going to be sucked outside of there and that would be it.

CHUNG: Melissa, when the storm finally passed and you emerged, was your house still around you?

M. MENGERINK: The basement was there and the floor above us was there, so we've seen in the daylight through the other stairwell that went up to the garage. So my husband goes, Oh, just the garage is gone. So I thought, You go up that way. I'm going up the other stairwell to see if the house is there.

And Ethan and I went to go up the other stairwell and we looked up the other stairwell and we looked up and there was daylight. There was nothing. Nothing, but the floor.

When they got up on top, I seen a man sitting on our front door and I'm, like, who's that because there was blood streaming down his face and I noticed it was our neighbor and I said, How did you get here, Jim? And he goes, I don't know. He goes, Alls I remember, I had to get to safety and I thought I'd come to your basement because we don't have a basement. And he goes, I tried your garage door and it was locked so I come to the front door and it was locked. And he goes, There was no time to go anywhere so I just held on to the door handle. And he goes, That's all I remember.

CHUNG: Oh, my gosh. Ron...

M. MENGERINK: You could see up on the front...

CHUNG: Go ahead.

M. MENGERINK: You could see up on the front what happened. That wall just flopped right over on him and it held him down through the whole tornado.

CHUNG: And then, Ron, this is the clincher to your story and that is you got a phone call from someone who was 70 miles away who found something that belonged to you. What was it?

R. MENGERINK: It was a canceled check.

M. MENGERINK: A canceled check from 1992.

CHUNG: Could you believe it?

M. MENGERINK: No. We had sold our house in town and we was living in a rental house while this house was being built. And we had stored all of our belongings in drums in a shed out back of the house. I had probably anywhere from 50 to 75 drums of the kids' clothes, their toys, games and just plates and dishes and my canceled checks. I always kept my canceled checks and put them in a drum. And we had two calls from Toledo, Ohio that found checks.

Someone called from Defiance, Ohio today. Somebody called our neighbor yesterday and said they found a cookbook in Toledo, Ohio and I said that was probably ours and I had a full drum of cookbooks and they said it had Van Wert so it's probably one of mine.

CHUNG: Thank goodness you are all safe. God bless you, Ron, Melissa and Ethan. Thank you so much for telling your story. We appreciate you being with us and stay safe.

M. MENGERINK: Thank you, Connie.

CHUNG: We'll be right back.

ANNOUNCER: Next, he was warned to get out by the columbine killers moments before the massacre. Tonight, one survivor finally breaks his silence when CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: Moments before Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris began their shooting rampage at Columbine High School, Eric Harris warned one student to stay away. It was Brooks Brown, a friend of the killers who was outside having a cigarette. Brown followed instructions from Harris to, quote, "get out of here and go home."

So he was able to escape the horror of that day when 12 students and a teacher died. Brown says his experience and his friendship with the killers gave him a unique perspective on the shooting and he's put that in a new book written with journalist Rob Meritt titled no "Easy Answers, the Truth Behind Death at Columbine."

Brooks Brown and Rob Meritt join me now. Thank you both for being with us.

Brooks, your book basically has a very clear and distinct message. Why do you think those two boys went on this rampage?

BROOKS BROWN, FRIEND OF COLUMBINE KILLERS: There is a million reasons that factored into why Eric and Dylan specifically did. The big three though are the administration of Columbine High School put a large amount of emphasis on the jock culture that was there and enforced it. That Eric and Dylan were both humiliated every day, a few times a day for basically six years, throughout junior high and high school.

CHUNG: So basically, you're saying it was a bullying problem, that there was bullying at the school. That the administration supported the in-crowd which was the jocks.

BROWN: Right. They enforced actually the hierarchy they existed within Columbine.

CHUNG: What do you mean, though?

BROWN: They basically made it OK for us to get beat up. They wouldn't suspend the other kids and they'd suspend us for simply getting beaten up. We put a number of examples of that in the book. Also, as Rob said, he talked to a number of people who also had similar experiences.

CHUNG: So, are you saying that the administration had enough warning signs to know that something was wrong with the two boys?

BROWN: The administration had enough warning signs to know something was wrong with the school. Specifically Eric and Dylan, I can't say, although as we do talk about in the book, the police department had many, many warnings signs.

CHUNG: OK, I'm going to get to that in just a moment, but Rob, there were other warning signs that you discovered in your investigative reporting.

ROB MERRITT, JOURNALIST: Yes, and one of the interesting things is that those continue to come out to this day. There are still police documents that are only recently being leaked. One example is only a month ago, the juvenile diversion report for Eric Harris was released, and in that, it indicated that when he went into juvenile diversion for breaking into a van back in March of '98, he had to fill out a psychological profile, and on that, he marked that he was homicidal and suicidal.

This was a full year before Columbine happened, and he wrote this for authorities, and that's just one red flag among many.

CHUNG: And nothing happened as a result of that?

MERRITT: Nothing at all.

BROWN: Not that we can tell.

CHUNG: You knew Dylan Klebold very well because, basically, you grew up with him although you separated a little bit in the middle.

BROWN: Right.

CHUNG: What kind of boy was he?

BROWN: He was a nice, insecure, kind kid. Probably the best way to put it. Someone I was very proud to call my friend.

CHUNG: And Eric Harris?

BROWN: Well, up until he and I -- he and I had a rather rocky relationship throughout high school, and up until that, he was very smart. Kind of quick to anger, but still a good guy, too.

CHUNG: But you're saying that both of them were outcasts, and you were too -- you were part of -- sort of, the outsiders.

BROWN: Right. I was in drama, I was in theater, so that amicably (ph) labeled me a homosexual, which they don't like, and -- the jocks never liked that, and then I was in debate too, to top it off. So, I was a brainiac, and somehow that was an insult. In those two ways, I was labeled an outsider. Eric and Dylan, because they loved computers, that was that, you know.

CHUNG: But, actually, those who have analyzed the situation in Columbine quickly attribute their problems to video games and violent videos.

BROWN: Which I have nothing but disagreement with. I am not a violent person, and I never have been, and I know a number of people have played "Doom," which is the famous video game now that caused Eric and Dylan to do it supposedly. Also Marilyn Manson, violent music, violent movies. There is a million people out there who are embedded with this violence every day and do not go out and kill.

CHUNG: The bottom line is you believe that bullying was the cause, the genesis.

BROWN: Absolutely. The bullying and humiliation, absolutely.

CHUNG: So your message, basically, is school officials, teachers, you have to be on the lookout.

BROWN: Absolutely. Because bullying is what caused the massacre at Columbine High School. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

CHUNG: Brooks Brown, thank you so much. Rob Merritt, appreciate your being with us. We'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: You might say that Stanley Tucci is one very lucky guy. He gets to work with women like J. Lo, Jennifer Lopez, Isabella Rossellini, and the "Sopranos'" Edie Falco, who he gets to bed eight times in one week on Broadway in the play "Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune."

It's about two very New York characters, a short order cook, that's Stanley, and a waitress, Edie, who fall in love over the course of just one night.

And let me tell you, I saw the play, and I got to see more of Stanley Tucci than I ever thought possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just hear you now at work, Hey, guys, that Frankie put her finger in your ear.

TUCCI: No. See, that is just about the last thing in the entire world that I would ever do about tonight, talk about it to anybody, especially those animals at work. You really don't know me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wouldn't be the first time one of the guys yack yack yack about it.

TUCCI: Yes, but women yack too. No ketchup.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

TUCCI: But all yacking is dumb. I slept with this one. Oh yes? Well, I slept with Connie Chung. Oh big f-ing, pardon my French (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHUNG: You slept with me? I, obviously, don't remember it as a momentous...

TUCCI: Well, I remember it very fondly.

CHUNG: You do?

TUCCI: Yes.

CHUNG: When I was at the play last Sunday, and I heard my name, I went, Whoa! Turned around...

TUCCI: I didn't know you were there that day, I...

CHUNG: Yes, you didn't, otherwise maybe you would have changed the name.

TUCCI: I don't know what I would have said.

CHUNG: Was that originally in the text, in McNally's script? TUCCI: It wasn't -- he updated it. I don't remember what it was originally, now. But, your name came up. I remember when Terrence just said, Connie Chung. Connie Chung? OK.

CHUNG: You didn't have to go, Connie Chung.

TUCCI: It was a good thing. It was a good thing.

CHUNG: OK. Now, honestly, you know, I don't think I'm prudish. I really don't. But when I saw you totally naked...

TUCCI: Yes.

CHUNG: ... and even walking around a little bit, and it wasn't that dark -- I mean, I was on the wrong side of the stage, though, and I kept going, I can't see.

TUCCI: Thanks a lot.

CHUNG: No, no, no. I didn't mean that personally either.

TUCCI: No, I'm only kidding.

CHUNG: But you and Edie Falco are just the full Monty. How can you do that?

TUCCI: Oh, it's easy.

CHUNG: Is it?

TUCCI: Well, you know, we get paid for it.

CHUNG: Yes. So, I mean...

TUCCI: No, it's not. The first performance was scary...

CHUNG: Right.

TUCCI: ... to say the least.

CHUNG: OK.

TUCCI: And rehearsals were even scarier -- I mean, we actually didn't really do it in rehearsal. We just -- it was at a dress rehearsal...

CHUNG: But you didn't do it during the play, either.

TUCCI: No, we didn't do it in the play.

CHUNG: We should tell them in the very beginning of the play, you are actually making love with Edie Falco.

TUCCI: Yes, we simulate lovemaking for about, I don't know, a minute and a half or something.

CHUNG: It seems like an eternity.

TUCCI: Does it really?

CHUNG: Yes.

TUCCI: How is that? I mean, I have never seen it, so I'm assuming that -- I have been told that it's tastefully presented, which makes one feel more comfortable.

CHUNG: Yes.

TUCCI: And I can feel the lights come up slowly as the lovemaking progresses, and finally when we finish, there is a fair amount of play and then she starts to turn lights on, and changes.

CHUNG: And she puts on a robe...

TUCCI: And she puts on a robe, and I stayed...

CHUNG: Naked.

TUCCI: ... naked for a while.

CHUNG: Yes. You are in great shape.

TUCCI: Oh, thanks. Thanks.

CHUNG: You work out, no doubt.

TUCCI: Thanks. Yes. Yes.

CHUNG: I made certain assumptions about you, so I'm going to utter them and you tell me if I'm correct.

TUCCI: OK.

CHUNG: I mean, it's just what I feel, because I don't know, and I've read a lot about you, but these things do not emerge from what I read.

TUCCI: OK. All right.

CHUNG: Very smart.

TUCCI: So right. You're dead on, in fact.

CHUNG: Even intellectual.

TUCCI: I would say no. No.

CHUNG: Obsessively compulsively neat.

TUCCI: Yes. I would say that, yes.

CHUNG: See, I knew that, right?

TUCCI: That's true. Yes. Yes.

CHUNG: I could tell by the way you were putting -- moving things around on the stage.

TUCCI: Yes. I wish I had more to do on the stage, actually, as far as objects go.

CHUNG: To occupy you?

TUCCI: Yes. Yes.

CHUNG: Someone who can cook and loves to cook.

TUCCI: Yes. Yes.

CHUNG: And then also, you directed and produced that wonderful movie "Big Night."

TUCCI: "Big Night," yes.

CHUNG: It was a gastronomical success.

TUCCI: It was, it was, it was, yes. I even went into a post- cranial (ph) depression after that movie.

CHUNG: You have done so many movies -- you have got one coming out called "Maid in Manhattan."

TUCCI: "Maid in Manhattan," yes.

CHUNG: And that "maid" is M-A-I-D.

TUCCI: Yes it is, yes it is.

CHUNG: I just have one gossipy question to ask you, all right?

TUCCI: I don't know.

CHUNG: Was Jennifer Lopez around, and Ben Affleck, was he around?

TUCCI: I never saw Ben Affleck and that's the God's honest truth. Nor did I see Kim out.

CHUNG: All right.

There are so many actors and actresses who have favorite charities but -- and sometimes I wince a little when they start talking about it, but honestly, I know you love yours. I want you to tell me about it. It's called Canstruction?

TUCCI: Yes, I love this thing. I've been involved in this for about five years. Design and architectural firms -- major design and architectural firms in the city put together what are called canstructions, which are these structures that are...

CHUNG: Actually made out of cans.

TUCCI: Actually made out of cans of food that are basically sculptures, for all practical purposes, OK? And they have very strict guidelines. They have to work within a 10 by 10 by 8 space. They can use only tape, rubber bands and cardboard to hold these structures together.

CHUNG: Oh that's great.

TUCCI: They have to use the labels. The labels have to remain intact and basically it's tens of thousands of cans. All of these structures are then judged by...

CHUNG: You.

TUCCI: ...other designers and architects and myself and these other celebrities and at the end, all of this food gets distributed to hungry people in New York, of which there are, I think, 1.5 million, I think is the statistic, 500,000 of them being children.

CHUNG: This is annually?

TUCCI: This is annually, so it happens every year and it's taking place now in 50 cities across the country. It's an extraordinary event. And it's -- not only is it an incredibly important thing, I think, to do, particularly in this day and age, but it's really enjoyable and to see what these really mind comes up with, it's pretty fascinating.

CHUNG: Terrific.

TUCCI: Yes.

CHUNG: Stanley, thank you so much for being with us.

TUCCI: Thank you. Thank you.

CHUNG: And I loved seeing you in that play. I mean really seeing you, It was a good thing.

TUCCI: Yes. Yes. I'm glad. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

CHUNG: Thank you. We'll be back in just a moment. The hunt for the D.C. area sniper, is there a bigger target ahead for Chief Moose? Wait until you hear what it is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: We'll have the story of a major new challenge for Chief Charles Moose. But first, let's see how your money's doing. ere's tonight's "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" update.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOU DOBBS, CNN HOST: I'm Lou Dobbs. Technology issues erasing all of yesterday's losses. The Nasdaq gained 30 points today. The Dow up 27. And William Webster stepped down as the chairman of the Accounting Oversight Board. Watch "MONEYLINE," weeknights 6:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN. CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns in 90 seconds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: And finally tonight, if the U.S. goes to war against Iraq, the man who led the hunt for the D.C. area sniper could be hunting for a bigger target. A much bigger target: Saddam Hussein.

For the -- there he is.

CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE CHIEF: By the Montgomery County task force. We believe that Mr. Muhammad may have information..

CHUNG: For the past three years, Montgomery County, Maryland Police Chief Charles Moose has been a member of the D.C. Air National Guard Unit. In the event of a war, his unit could be activated and sent to Iraq and that would mean that Chief Moose would have a different rank and title. Police Chief Moose would be Major Moose, commander of the guard's 113th security forces squadron.

And tomorrow, the latest on the U.S.-Iraqi showdown. Plus, Wall Street: a man's world? That's an understatement after you hear what one woman claims happened her.

And coming up next on "LARRY KING LIVE,"the Jon Benet Ramsey case. John and Patsy Ramsey's attorney brings exclusive new video. Goodnight everybody.

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