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Six Killed in Jerusalem Suicide Bomb Attack; U.S. Intelligence Intercept Message Warning of September 11 Attack; New Clues From Only Eyewitness of Abduction of Elizabeth Smart.
Aired June 19, 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.
ANNOUNCER: A deadly day in the Holy Land. As Israelis bury those killed in yesterday's massive suicide bombing, another blast rocks Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a terrible war and this is very tragic. And it doesn't seem to end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Hours later, an Israeli response. The war of words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be no immunity, obviously, for terrorists. Terrorists cannot expect to come kill Israelis and then hide anywhere within what is known today as the Palestinian Authority.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot accept all the finger pointing and conditions from the Israeli government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: We'll speak with both sides in this deadly conflict.
A day late, a message proclaiming, "tomorrow is zero day" is intercepted on September 10 but not translated until the day after the attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's about as bad as it gets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: As Colorado's largest wildfire ever burns out of control, word that the blaze may have been sparked deliberately.
New clues from the only eyewitness of the abduction of Elizabeth Smart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've had four formal interviews with her, and we are confident we have a good piece of information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: CNN's live from Jerusalem, Washington, Salt Lake City, Colorado and other datelines around the globe. Here now is Christiane Amanpour.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, HOST: For the second straight day, a deadly suicide bombing in Jerusalem. This one killing six people and leaving 37 people wounded, including small children. And for the second straight day, Israel is retaliating, inconsistency with what it calls a major shift in policy to retake Palestinian land.
Earlier this evening, Israel sent troops and armor into the Ramallah area. And in the last few minutes, we have seen flares go up over what we believe to be Bethlehem. Perhaps there is an incursion planned there as well.
Even earlier, right after the suicide bombing attack, Israel sent in helicopter gunships to Gaza and launched missile strikes on several targets in three different areas there. We are told by Palestinian sources that several so-called metal working factories were hit. Israel has long called them bomb-making and weapons-making factories and they indeed may have been the target.
We hear from Israeli officials that targets belonging to Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the two militant groups that have claimed responsibility for suicide bombings just this week, indeed, have been one of those struck tonight in those helicopter gunship missile attacks.
This, as I say, in response to the deadly suicide bombing that left seven people dead and more than two dozen people wounded. CNN's Jerrold Kessel has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No let-up in terror. The second Palestinian suicide bombing in as many days to strike Jerusalem. This time in the French Hill neighborhood in the eastern part of the city just before dusk on a bright summer evening, as people headed home.
(on-camera): The way eyewitnesses tell it is that the man approached in a car from the north of this intersection. That's from the direction of the Palestinian town of Ramallah on the West Bank. As he got close, some 30 meters, 30 yards from the intersection, he got out of the car, began moving at speed, even running, eyewitnesses say, toward this bus station -- this soldiers' hitchhiking station at the intersection.
But this is a place where it's just been hit several times before in terror strikes and the Israelis have posted armed security in the area. As one of them approached the man, he apparently realized that they knew who he was and that's when, according to the eyewitnesses, he set off his explosives.
(voice-over): "Enough," Israelis are telling their prime minister, telling the United States. "This has to end," they say. But most cannot see from where the end is likely to come, like this woman, who tells us that she came upon the gristly scene as she was driving home from a funeral of a woman killed in the previous day's attacks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't see any solution. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to live further. I don't know. And I have a son, a 20 year old -- a 29-year-old son and I'm very much worried about his future.
KESSEL: She, like Jerusalem, like Israel, is still mourning for the previous day's dead, killed in Tuesday's bus bombing. At the scene of that attack, some people have come to light candles, some to lay wreaths, some to pray, mostly quiet prayers.
Beyond, the question reverberating as Israel prepares for yet more funerals and braces for yet more attacks -- is the Mid East conflict again moving into a different dimension after Israel's declaration of a tough, new approach in its battle to combat the suicide bombers?
As Israeli troops moved into two Palestinian towns, a statement from Prime Minister Sharon's office said the revised policy would involve retaking of Palestinian Authority territory until the terrorists stop and that further acts of terror would lead to more areas being taken. But for now, the bombers are continuing to strike.
Israel and the Palestinians looking anxiously to see how this latest Palestinian bombing campaign and Israel's response to it might reshape the U.S. vision of a solution to an increasingly desperate situation.
Jerrold Kessel, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AMANPOUR: And indeed, as Jerrold mentioned, despite the horror of these suicide bombings, many people in Israel, and indeed, on the Palestinian side are hoping for eventually some kind of political track to take shape. They had been expecting to hear from President George Bush this week on a potential new outline and roadmap for peace. We go now to the White House and CNN's John King where we believe that may have been put on hold.
What is the latest, John?
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christiane, the latest is the president's new framework for how he believes the Israelis and Palestinians should proceed toward a political track, toward negotiations on hold at least temporarily. Some officials saying there is some possibility the speech could come as early as Friday. Others, though, say it may wait until next week. They say Mr. Bush is monitoring the situation, especially the ongoing Israeli military response. They say he believes it critical that he wait for the right moment, a moment when he gets the Israelis and the Palestinians to focus on his proposal. As one senior aide put it: The president is well aware he must -- quote -- "let the dust settle."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): The president told top aides he saw no choice but to put his new Middle East framework on hold.
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Let me just say that the president wants to give a speech at a time when it will have the maximum impact, to bring the maximum prospects for peace to the region.
KING: A second deadly suicide bombing in as many days was one reason for the delay. A new Israeli military operation into Palestinian territories another.
Israel says the tanks will stay until the attacks stop, further complicating the White House goal of turning the focus from confrontation to diplomacy.
FLEISCHER: As Israel defends herself, the president asks that Israel continue to remember the consequences of any actions so that the path to peace, the political path, can also be pursued.
KING: Secretary of State Powell was among those summoned to an early evening White House meeting on Middle East strategy. And some believe the debate goes beyond just deciding when to deliver the new framework.
RICHARD MURPHY, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Certainly, the bombings of the last two days in Jerusalem have given pause to the administration as it planned to move ahead with an announcement, apparently, about a provisional Palestinian state.
KING: Another meeting on the president's afternoon schedule brought reminders the stakes go well beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Central Command Chief General Tommy Franks were among those at the White House to discuss military options for ousting Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
Any operation in Iraq is said to be months away, but Arab support is critical. And Arab leaders consulted by the president in recent months say their top priority is the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING (on camera): Now, Mr. Bush told one top aide today he is not reworking his new Middle East framework, just waiting for the right moment to deliver it. Administration officials though are under increasing criticism, including from members of Congress who say putting forward a proposal right now for a Palestinian state would be rewarding terrorism -- Christiane.
AMANPOUR: John, there's been a great deal of speculation about whether the president has reached consensus on the precise details of his road map, if you like. Is there a clear layout, do you know, about what he will offer in his speech if and when he makes one?
KING: We are told that it will include an outline for how to get to a Palestinian state and it will make clear that first the Palestinian Authority must adopt security and political reforms. Unclear, though, exactly how Mr. Bush will outline that proposal. There is a debate in the administration as to whether to set a firm timeline for statehood.
We are told the president tells top aides he knows what he wants to say, a great deal of secrecy though around this. And we also know there is a continuing tug of war not only among the president's top advisors, but the Israeli government also saying here -- the Israeli government also saying here that these latest bombings are proof to the Sharon government that Mr. Bush should not be talking about statehood now.
Christiane, I must make this point -- we have an evacuation under way here at the White House. We do understand how important the situation is. We're just simply told by the Secret Service there's an unidentified aircraft in the air near the White House. No details just yet and don't want to cause any alarm, but we need to move at the moment.
AMANPOUR: Well, on that note, John, we leave you there at the White House. And we turn here to Gideon Meir, a former Israeli official here in Israel.
Mr. Meir, can you give us details about the retaliation that Israel is taking right now? What is happening in the Ramallah area and anywhere else?
GIDEON MEIR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY: It's not retaliation. It's a response out of operational needs to stop this terror and to fight the terrorists' organizations.
So we are, in some of the cities and towns of the Palestinians, where we have precise intelligence information that terror is coming out with a huge infrastructure of terror, some of it we destroyed during Operation Defensive Shield. Some of it, we have to go back and to continue our work. The Israeli people expect from the Israeli government to defend them.
AMANPOUR: Today, earlier today, Wednesday, the Israeli government essentially declared what they called was a major shift in policy, that they would go and essentially reoccupy, segment by segment, the Palestinian territory until suicide bombings stop.
Is that something that the Israeli government really wants? Does it really want to go in and start running Palestinian lives again and completely reoccupying the situation?
MEIR: Absolutely not. We are not reoccupying. We are there out of operational needs in order to stop the terror. And we already saw during Operation Defensive Shield, when the Israeli defensive forces were there in the towns, we had some quiet and calm here in Israel for about four or five weeks. So we need to produce this kind of a calm by the very presence of our forces in the places you right now mention.
AMANPOUR: Now, the obvious question has to be, Mr. Meir, you've tried this already. You've done Operation Defensive Shield. You had a certain amount of quiet for those weeks. You're trying fences. You're trying all sorts of different things and it doesn't seem to be working. So what do you have to do to eliminate suicide bombing?
MEIR: The fence is not ready yet so we start to build it right now. It will take some time. The war against terror is a long war. We need a lot of perseverance, persistence, patience. It takes time to fight terror, as you are well aware. It's in America. When you fight terror in Afghanistan, wherever terror is being felt, we have to be patient.
AMANPOUR: Now, there are a great -- there is a great deal of difference between members of the Israeli Cabinet, the Israeli government, you're from the foreign ministry and I believe that you believe that a political track is pretty much the only way to put an end to violence.
President Bush has put his speech on hold. First of all, what were you expecting from President Bush when he makes his speech and do you think it will go some way to stopping this?
MEIR: There is no difference in Israel about the understanding that the only solution is a political solution and not an army solution, not a military solution. We all understand that in Israel, the majority of the Israeli people. But we have to see first a stop to terror, and then to go back to the negotiating table.
If I would have been a Palestinian today, I would have asked my leadership -- what did we gain to kill innocent babies, children and women? So where are we now? Where -- are we better off today than 20 months ago when Ehud Barak made all these efforts to the Palestinians, including a Palestinian state?
So I think in the Palestinian street, the stuff bubbling against their own leadership and rightly so. Now, they must understand that the only solution and the only political gain can be around the negotiating table.
As to your question about the president's standing, we know that the America administration understands the need of Israel of self- defense and at the same time, to provide a political horizon for the Palestinians. But the political horizon can be there only after we can feel secure to walk freely on the streets of Jerusalem.
AMANPOUR: You say there's not much difference within the Israeli government, but in fact, there is some difference. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said quite clearly that he doesn't believe there is the need or the desirability to declare any kind of Palestinian state right now.
If President Bush does talk about a provisional Palestinian state, do you expect him to declare a timetable? What do you -- what do you think -- because you must have been told some of what he's going to put into his speech -- what are you expecting?
MEIR: Christiane, I think at this very moment, it's premature for me to talk about the political expectations. In a few hours, Israel will wake up to a new morning of funerals, funerals of babies, of innocent mothers and fathers. And this is what we're about at right now, to stop this terror. Once we will be able to concentrate, without terror, on the peace or the political horizon, then I will be able easily to answer your question.
AMANPOUR: Well, clearly President Bush has taken that on board as well, saying that he wants to see the dust settle before he makes his speech. But the militants are clearly in charge of the agenda right now. And if every time there is a suicide bombing, the political track gets put off. Then this will never happen.
So is there a time when one just has to make a leap of faith, do you believe?
MEIR: No, this is an easy way out -- to blame the terrorist organizations. For us, the responsibility falls on the leadership, which was elected by the Palestinian people, namely, the Palestinian Authority.
And you know, we see something very peculiar here. We see Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian leadership using two armies. They have official defense organizations, the security organizations that are supposed to stop terror. And they have the terror organizations, which they're using according to their needs. And we want to see a full stop and I mean a full stop to terror, and at least to see 100 percent effort by the Palestinian leadership of the responsibility of what we saw in the past two days in the bus station. Last night falls totally on the shoulders of Yasser Arafat.
AMANPOUR: And on that note, Mr. Meir, thank you very much for joining us.
And you heard what Mr. Meir said about the responsibility of Yasser Arafat. Well, today, this evening, for the first time, he called not only condemning the suicide attack against Israelis today, but for the first time calling for a complete halt to suicide attacks against Israeli civilians saying that this is counterproductive to the Palestinian cause and is not in the interests of Palestinians' legitimate response to occupation. That is the latest from here at the moment.
(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF BREAKING NEWS)
AMANPOUR: And indeed, we turn to Washington now where we find Nabil Shaath, a senior minister in the Palestinian Authority.
Mr. Shaath, thank you very much indeed for joining us. First of all, I want to ask you -- you've heard it before, the Israelis have consistently and so, too, the United States, called on Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to crack down, to stop any of these terrorist attacks, whether it's by Hamas, Islamic Jihad or whoever it is. We know your response, which is that how can you do this when the Israelis basically are now in control security wise and have disrupted your security apparatus.
But the fact is that Arafat and your authority have been able to, in the past, issue clear orders and have been able to have almost a total cessation of suicide bombings notably in the 1990s. So the question right now, a very long-winded question -- after Mr. Arafat's call tonight for a halt to these suicide bombings, will he do what it takes to make sure these suicide bombings stop?
NABIL SHAATH, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY MINISTER: Christiane, you just provided the answer in your question.
In 1996, Arafat was able to do it. He had a full authority with policemen all around the place and he had the political support of all the Palestinian people after the Israelis withdrew from 40 percent of the West Bank and allowed elections for his job and for the legislative council all over the occupied territory. He had full political support and he had the capability. And he went after the terrorist bombers and he was able to stop them and to imprison them and to put a total halt to any such activity.
Since that 1996 episode, Israel has really experienced one of its safest periods. But at this very time, it's totally the other way around. The Israeli occupation continues and assassinations and exclusion and division into Bantu stands and this siege of all the Palestinians and the total destruction of security forces everywhere, imprisoning of -- some 6,000 to 8,000 of them are in Israeli prisons of these very policemen that are asked to protect Israel. And this is the difference between the two positions.
AMANPOUR: So are you saying, Mr. Shaath, that despite Mr. Arafat's call for a stop to suicide attacks tonight, are you saying that he is helpless and completely powerless? And if that's the case, then is he irrelevant now?
SHAATH: He is not totally helpless. He was able, in Gaza, for example, where the Israelis have not tried a total onslaught. They continue hitting at Henu (ph) and some other places, but he was able in Gaza to stop suicidal bombers and to, in fact, arrest the leaders of Islamic Jihad and he was able, despite that, to, for example, just before the onslaught of March, he was able to arrest the Ze'evi killers. And he can do more persuasion.
But if all the Israeli army, with all its occupation of the West Bank, using all its forces, which are far more superior than his, were not able to stop these horrible bombings of today and yesterday. Do you expect him to do much better than the Israeli forces? AMANPOUR: Let me ask you about the political track, which is on hold because of the latest suicide bombings. You presented to the United States -- and it's been confirmed by Palestinian officials in the authority -- basically an outline of your position. Can you confirm to us that you have retreated from the language calling for a right of return of refugees and that you are now calling for a just and agreed settlement to the solution -- to the problem?
SHAATH: We have agreed to the Arab peace proposal, which is based on the Saudi initiative, which calls for a just solution of the refugee problem agreed to on the basis of Resolution 194 of the General Assembly. And that position that was unanimously approved by the Arab countries is a position we accept as well.
AMANPOUR: Mr. Shaath, thank you very much indeed for joining us. I'm afraid we do have to leave it there at the moment. But indeed if that is the case, as Mr. Shaath has said it is, it does represent a breakthrough. And indeed, the whole issue of the right of return of refugees, that language was what caused the breakdown of the previous peace negotiations notably at Camp David.
We've been talking a lot about the issue of peace and war, terrorism and Israeli response and Martin Savidge has been exploring this issue. He's also been exploring the toll it's taken on the Israeli population. This constant living in a state of emergency, and they have had 500 people killed over the last nearly two years of this intafada.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An incredible scene.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Americans, there's only one date of terror they can't forget. For Israelis, there is so many, they can't remember them all.
Since the latest wave of violence began 20 months ago, more than 500 Israelis have been killed. Officials can tell you the toll terror has taken in lives, what's not so easy to calculate, the toll it's taken on Israeli life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have friends that won't go to Jerusalem now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hardly sleep at night because I was very afraid of terrorists.
SAVIDGE (on-camera): The tension here is almost palpable. The constant threat of terror forces you to think about everything, from being in crowded places to choosing a restaurant to even riding a bus.
(voice-over): No place is safe and no one is immune. Israelis even look at each other in a way they never had before. This woman said her backpack made her a target of suspicion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone was around me. And I realized they were thinking that maybe I'm a terrorist.
SAVIDGE: Psychologists call this constant state of alertness hyper vigilance. And they say it's having an effect on the mental health of Israelis.
BATYA LUDMAN, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: They are having difficulty concentrating, difficulty focusing, difficulty remembering details. They're hyper vigilant. You hear a noise, you hear a plane, people look up.
SAVIDGE: After each new attack, Israeli television runs this public service announcement promoting a mental health hot line. And the phones start ringing. Calls are up a staggering 1300 percent since 1998.
JUDITH YOVEL RECANATI, ISRAELI TRAUMA CENTER: Each terrorist attack evokes in them what was maybe a little bit smaller before. So it gets stronger and stronger.
SAVIDGE (on-camera): There have been very few psychological studies that have been conducted on Israelis as a result of the continuation of terror. The researchers say the reason for that is that attacks like these have just been coming too frequently.
(voice-over): But those that have been done suggest the cumulative effect of regular exposure to lesser forms of terror has a greater mental impact than a single nugatory event. A survey of New Yorkers after September 11 found just over seven percent of those living in the city showed signs of post-traumatic stress. A similar study of Israelis, found one in four showing symptoms of post- traumatic stress.
RONY BERGER, ISRAEL TRAUMA CENTER: That shows to you that the infiltration of THE terror threats got into everyone.
SAVIDGE: And since some medical studies have linked stress to reducing the body's immune system. Berger believes in the long run the threat of terror could be just as deadly as terror attacks themselves.
BERGER: I would expect the incidents of terminal diseases such as cancer or heart disease will increase if you don't do anything to prevent it.
SAVIDGE: With U.S. officials warning Americans of an increase of terror at home, the worries Israelis is waging in their minds is capturing the attention of American mental health experts. To them, Israel is more than just an interesting case. It may be a window into the future revealing things to come.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AMANPOUR: As Martin said some 500 Israelis have been killed in almost two years of this intifada. But on the Palestinian side, more than 1,400 people have been killed.
The Israelis have adopted the U.S. language that their response amounts to a war on terror. But unlike al Qaeda, which has no grievance, it is universally accepted that the Palestinians do have a legitimate grievance: the 35-year occupation of their land. However, international law is clear that an attack on civilians is not an act of war or resistance, but a war crime.
And tonight, for the first time, Yasser Arafat said that an attack on Israeli civilians is not in Palestinians' legitimate resistance to occupation. And he said that has to stop because it is universally acknowledged that the Palestinians do have a legitimate right to an independent state, but it must be won that is gained through legitimate means. I'm Christiane Amanpour. Back to you in Atlanta.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you very much. Christiane Amanpour live from Jerusalem.
And the latest now on the evacuation of the White House. It turns out that President Bush actually arrived back at the White House just as it was being evacuated. We're going to have more on exactly what happened and this report of a mysterious airplane in the vicinity. John King will go live from the White House in just a moment.
Also, next, a message from the terrorists decoded a day too late. Their chilling warnings when we come back.
Plus, something is still not adding up in the Colorado fire investigation. Did a forest service worker intentionally set Colorado's massive fire? A live report from the frontlines of a raging wildfire.
ANNOUNCER: Also ahead, two weeks after Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her bedroom, new clues from the only eyewitness: her little sister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mary Catherine is just doing -- I can't believe how well she's doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: We'll go live to Salt Lake City.
And later, a wild ride for some tourists Down Under.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: In case you're just joining us, we had a report of an unidentified aircraft in the vicinity of the White House. The Secret Service evacuated the White House, the press corps, the remaining staff there. But shortly thereafter, the coast was clear. We're still checking on the reports of this aircraft, whether there was an unidentified aircraft. John King is working on that right now.
But it turns out that the president of the United States, returning from an American fundraiser, arrived back at the White House just in time to witness the evacuation. That's what we know on that.
In the meantime, we move on here. It turns out that the day before the September 11th attacks, U.S. intelligence intercepted two messages with cryptic references about what would happen the next day. But the messages weren't translated until two days later. CNN national security correspondent David Ensor has been following this story also from Washington tonight -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, CNN has learned the exact phrases used in the two conversations intercepted by U.S. intelligence the day before the attacks, September 11, words warning that something major was planned.
In one intercepted communication September 10 by the U.S. National Security Agency, congressional and other sources tell CNN a person presumed to be from al Qaeda said, quote, "the match begins tomorrow."
In another intercept that day, a different person said, quote, "tomorrow is zero hour." The intercepts were not translated until September 12, the day after the attacks. Now, General Michael Hayden, head of the NSA, which is the U.S. government's massive eavesdropping agency, was questioned at length Tuesday about the intercepts, according to congressional sources who were present. That's a House/Senate hearing behind closed doors into missed clues prior to 9/11.
The volume of intercepted communications each day is so huge, General Hayden told them, sources say, that despite the size and high- tech resources of the NSA, there was and still is no way that all the potentially relevant material can be translated same day. Intelligence officials say even if they had the intercepts translated that day, there were no specifics upon which to act, nothing on when, where, how or who.
Still, the chilling words, "tomorrow is zero hour" and "the match begins tomorrow" heard from al Qaeda September 10 indicate in the view of some in Congress that changes may be needed in the speed and quantity of U.S. intelligence analysis -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Thank you very much. David Ensor live in Washington.
Of course, life has really never been quite the same since September 11. And ironically, the same day that those messages made such a stir on Capitol Hill, a House subcommittee backs a measure to let commercial pilots have guns in the cockpit. The bill now goes to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Members are expected to vote on it next week. And if it does become law, pilots would undergo firearms training. But regardless of what happens, some people will still be apprehensive to fly commercially. And some are choosing to charter private planes, thinking they're safer. But as CNN's Patty Davis explains, terrorists could find them attractive too.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Todd Klein and his business colleagues have chartered a private jet to fly them to West Virginia. They say it's cheaper and safer.
TODD KLEIN, CHARTER AIR TRAVELER: I feel more secure, again, having some notion of who I'm traveling with. Specifically, the type of aircraft we're taking, the background of the company that's providing the travel service.
DAVIS: But while you see beefed-up security for commercial airline passengers...
SEN. HERB KOHL (D), WISCONSIN: There's no security in these private aircraft. None as of today. None.
DAVIS: That, critics such as Senator Herb Kohl say, is an invitation to terrorists, who could use the planes as missiles, much like the September 11 terror attacks.
(on camera): The Transportation Department will soon require passengers on the largest private jets, like 747s, to be screened, but not on the smaller private charters.
(voice-over): That despite a recent FBI warning that small planes could be used for terrorism.
JIM COYNE, NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSN.: Why would a terrorist use a chartered airplane? It's little bit like asking why would a bank robber use a limousine to hold up a bank?
DAVIS: Unlike commercial airlines...
BOB HAWTHORNE, MARTINAIR: I did hear that you did want to book the flight for Friday.
DAVIS: ... charter operators such as Bob Hawthorne say they know their customers, mostly business executives, celebrities and politicians -- not the type to blow up planes.
HAWTHORNE: If I don't know who the customer is, then chances are I'm not going to take the flight at all.
DAVIS: Hawthorne is taking extra precautions on his own...
UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: If you have any questions, just tap me on my shoulder. I'll be happy to assist you.
DAVIS: ... including authorizing his pilots to inspect bags and do pat-downs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That would not be an imposition at all, as far as I'm concerned.
DAVIS: No pat-downs for Todd Klein this time, and no worries either.
Patty Davis, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well, we've got a big holiday coming up here in the United States. Independence Day. And you remember the movie. Well, the nation's 56 FBI field offices have until tomorrow to tell Washington how they're going to handle Fourth of July security. The agency admits there aren't any specific threats, but says the sheer nature of the holiday could prompt an attack. Agents serve on joint terrorism task forces with state, local and city police who will carry out the security plans.
Well, several scientists today tried to convince a government advisory panel not to reinstate mandatory smallpox vaccinations. The U.S. quit doing that 30 years ago. The director for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Immunization Program told the panel there are other airborne illnesses that pose a much greater threat, and smallpox symptoms are fairly obvious.
So just what did Mary Catherine Smart see on the night her sister was kidnapped? The latest word from the only eyewitness is coming up.
Plus, did a forest worker deliberately spark the largest fire in Colorado's history? LIVE FROM... continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: President Bush has declared Colorado's largest ever fire a major disaster. And tonight, a forest service worker accused of starting that fire learned she might end up in prison for the rest of her life. For the latest, let's bring in CNN's Charles Molineaux, who is at the southern command center in Lake George -- Charles.
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol, actually that's about the way it adds up. Terry Lynn Barton was indicted today. And if she's convicted on all counts, the possible penalties could add up to as much as 65 years in jail, partly because one of those counts involves physical injury to a firefighter.
Now, there has been speculation as to why this fire has started. She allegedly told investigators that she was trying to burn a letter. Did they start this fire deliberately? Well, one of the forest service investigators says, hey, the affidavit says willfully and knowingly. Read between the lines. This all happened in Denver today.
Meanwhile, here on the fire lines, it was another rough day for firefighters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): As the shifting winds and unpredictable flames again chased firefighters away from the frontlines on Wednesday, the firestorm got hotter still for Terry Lynn Barton, the forest service worker accused of setting the Hayman fire. On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted her on four counts.
JOHN SUTHERS, U.S. DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Barton willfully and without authority set on fire timber, underbrush, grass and other inflammable material upon lands located within the Pike National Forest.
MOLINEAUX: And on Thursday, the Colorado attorney general's office plans meeting with local district attorneys to consider state arson charges against her too. Her case has brought forest fire hot fury among the almost 9,000 people now evacuated because of the fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of angry individuals. You know, it's sick. And especially the fact that she's part of the forest service makes it even worse.
MOLINEAUX: But some neighbors in her tiny community of Florissant know her as a lover of nature and the forest, who came to Colorado six years ago in the hopes of working with the forest service.
(on camera): Terry Barton's story is doubly shocking for the local crews working on the Hayman fire. Many of the people close to her are forestry workers and firefighters. Officially, they're not saying anything. Unofficially, they're saying a lot, that their small community is a big family, that they want to support her. But what's happening to her could happen to any of them.
(voice-over): Her former co-workers describe her as dedicated, saying there's no one in the forest service like her. Some say they don't remember seeing her in anything but her forest service clothing, that for her to take a lighter and start a fire, there's just no way as friends wish they could send her hugs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The community is pulling together as a result of this. We're standing together. And at this point, we're standing behind her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MOLINEAUX (on camera): We're going to have to wait and see what happens tomorrow. What was going to be a preliminary hearing will now probably be an arraignment in Denver. And prosecutors are still asking that Terry Lynn Barton be held without bond.
Meanwhile, we had another rough day. The biggest fire in Colorado history is now at 135,000 acres and some 9,000 people have been evacuated -- Carol.
LIN: Charles, on top of everything else, does it look like Terry Barton is going to face additional charges too? MOLINEAUX: Well, the possibility of state charges is out there. The state attorney general has brought together -- the district attorneys are going to get together tomorrow and talk about it.
However, they say there is no rush. The fire is still burning. She is already in custody. They'll wait and see how severe this ultimately turns out to be and also try to figure out if any individual district attorneys are going to bring charges against her or if the state attorney general will do it just by way of consolidating it. There are four district attorney districts involved. Five Colorado counties are on fire in the Hayman fire alone.
LIN: A whole lot of trouble. All right. Charles Molineaux, Lake George.
Well, as you can imagine, it is smoky over much of Denver. And it could be that way all summer long. The fire is only miles away, yet experts are warning young children and senior citizens to stay indoors and avoid breathing in the thick and choking air.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: For more than two weeks, police and volunteers in Salt Lake City have been searching for Elizabeth Smart and the man they believe kidnapped her. Well, today, authorities also tried to clear up a few things such as what did Elizabeth's younger sister actually see that night. CNN's Michael Okwu has that answer for us -- Michael.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol. Well, some of the details surrounding the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart are certainly getting a little bit more clear.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Day one: Salt Lake City police say Mary Catherine Smart, Elizabeth's nine-year-old sister, and the only known witness to the abduction, was threatened by the suspect. This helps her explain why it took her two hours to tell her parents.
Day 14: Police announce it was Elizabeth who was threatened. The suspect wasn't even aware Mary Catherine saw him, now raising the question, why did she wait so long?
Day 15: the answer.
CHIEF RICK DINSE, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: She originally heard the threat to her sister. When they left, she got up to leave to go tell her parents and saw the suspect again. Not knowing how long this suspect was in the house, she went back in fear.
OKWU: Law enforcement sources say the second time she saw him was in the hallway. Police say they wanted to clarify initial accounts which were based on hearsay, hurried details from dispatchers. Investigators have formally interviewed Mary Catherine four times and have had discussions with her while riding around the neighborhood. They say her account on what happened that night has never changed. Her family says she often asks how she can help find her sister.
ED SMART, ELIZABETH'S FATHER: We pray for her and we feel the prayer of others who are out there, thousands, millions of people.
OKWU: Today, police have not identified a suspect, but they have identified 1,300 hard leads from all around the country. So far, they followed up on 800 to 900 of them. There are still no plans to release any kind of composite sketch of a suspect.
Police say they would still like to question Bret Michael Edmunds, who they say is not a suspect, but they have not ruled him out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): Now, investigators still believe that the person responsible for this crime is very likely somebody who knows the Smart family, or at the very least a trusted person in this particular community. And they have canvassed just about every house within a several block radius of the smart residence. The fact is, though, the bottom line today is still no suspect and no Elizabeth -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Thank you very much. Michael Okwu in Salt Lake City with the latest on a search for a 14-year-old girl.
One quick final note, the parents of Elizabeth Smart will be Larry King's guests tonight. That's right after this program at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
And now we want to get the very latest from CNN's White House correspondent John King on this evacuation of the White House, and exactly what happened tonight, and about this report of a mysterious unidentified aircraft -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Carol, we are now told by Secret Service and other sources that a single engine Cessna plane did enter the restricted air space near the White House. We are told by these sources that the plane was about four miles from the White House off in a northeastern direction when it was closest to the White House -- again, in restricted air space.
The FAA and local air traffic controllers were unable to establish radio communication with that small plane, and because of that, the FAA notified the Secret Service and security protocols kicked in. That is the reason the Service evacuated reporters and staff from the West Wing of the White House.
We are told the plane was only in the air space for a very brief amount of time. It is now being tracked, and we are told that when it lands, the pilot and any occupants will be interviewed. Most believe this is a misunderstanding. There are occasional violations of the secure air space around the White House, so we have an all clear now at the White House. The investigation will continue. We should note that Mr. Bush was in the residence at the time. He had just returned to the White House from a Republican fund-raiser.
We're told his security protocols also were implemented. Officials don't tell us exactly what they are. But we do know there are secure bunkers deep beneath the White House complex. Again, Mr. Bush in the White House residence -- the all clear given now. This investigation will continue, but it appears to be just a case of the precautions kicking in -- Carol.
LIN: So, John, do they know anything more about the pilot, even from the flight plan that was filed earlier with this plane?
KING: I assume they do. As we speak we're getting this information very quickly. And remember, you will have now the FAA and the Transportation Department -- we are told at one point Air Force jets were scrambled, as well, as part of this investigation.
We are getting our information from Secret Service and other White House sources, so we need to wait for a little bit of it to filter through. But they say the protocols kicked in because the plane was about four miles from the White House, so there was a sense of concern, especially when they could not establish any radio communication.
LIN: Yes, that is pretty close. All right, thank you very much. John King, back at the White House.
Well, the piano man is singing the blues. Up next, find out what's troubling singer superstar Billy Joel.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Now we're going to take a look at the other stories in the headlines.
Mission accomplished for the Space Shuttle Endeavour. It returned to earth today two days late, and only after NASA officials gave up on having it land at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Bad weather there forced the shuttle down at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Hundreds of thousands of travelers were stranded today across much of Europe, as air traffic controllers went on strike. They're protesting plans to create a system that brings all air traffic controllers within the European Union under the same system.
Singer Billy Joel has checked himself into a Connecticut hospital for treatment of substance abuse. A spokeswoman is not saying exactly what the problem is, only that it developed recently. Joel is expected to be there for about 10 days.
Planes are supposed to fly in the sky, right? Well, then why is this vintage aircraft doing an impression of an over-sized bobsled? That explanation is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Well, bad weather forced this vintage airplane you're about to see to land in rural New Zealand. And when the crew tried to take off again, the plane skidded in the snow.
No one was hurt, but now the crew will have to wait for a thaw to attempt another takeoff.
Well, from this plane to that small plane that was flying near the White House that caused the evacuation of the White House, CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre says that Pentagon officials are telling him that that small plane has landed in Richmond, Virginia. It was escorted by two F-16s, which were dispatched from Andrews Air Force Base.
The plane was originally headed to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. It was about an hour ago that this unidentified aircraft was spotted about four miles near the White House. No one knew much about it, so as a precaution, they evacuated the White House. The president arrived back at the White House just in time to witness all that happening.
And that's our report for tonight. I'm Carol Lin. "LARRY KING LIVE" up next.
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