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How Army Private's Capture has Touched Home Town; Tom Ridge Announces Task Force to Oversee Busy Summer; SUVs vs. Sedans

Aired April 19, 2004 - 15:00   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news at this hour: promoting the Patriot Act. President Bush will speak in Hershey, Pennsylvania, this hour. He says the Patriot Act is a vital tool in the post-9/11 fight against terror. He wants Congress to renew major provisions which are set to expire next week. Critics charge the law violates American civil liberties.
Two former political foes are friends on the campaign trail. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry campaigning in Florida today with his former rival, Senator Joe Lieberman. Kerry attacked Bush's record on foreign policy and the economy.

He helped McDonald's revamp its image after its first-ever quarterly losses. Company chairman and CEO Jim Cantalupo died of an apparent heart attack at a McDonald's convention in Orlando today. He worked at McDonald's for 28 years. He was lured back from retirement 16 months ago to help revitalizes the fast-food chain.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour, "Plan of Attack." That's Bob Woodward's new book revealing and/or alleging some never before heard details from the earliest days of the run-up to the war in Iraq. And we do mean early. On "60 minutes," Woodward talked about a quiet exchange between President Bush and his defense secretary in November of 2001.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB WOODWARD, WASHINGTON POST: President Bush after a National Security Council meeting, takes Don Rumsfeld aside, collars him physically, and takes him into a little cubby hole room and closes the door and says, "What have you got in terms of plans for Iraq? What is the status of the war planning? I want you to get on it. I want you to keep it secret."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Woodward says by July 2002, eight months before U.S. troops would invade, the White House secretly diverted $700 million from the war in Afghanistan to prepare. Congress is not informed. According to Woodward, the president's decision that war was unavoidable came in January of 2003, and the Saudi ambassador to Washington found out before the secretary of state.

Woodward further claims that Saudi Prince Bandar promised the Bush administration to pump up oil production in time to let gas prices slide before Election Day this November. That doesn't sit well with Democratic presidential nominee to be, John Kerry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here's the catch: the American people would have to wait until the election, until November of 2004, the presidential election, until the Saudis lower those prices. Now, if this sounds wrong to you, that's because it is fundamentally wrong. And if, as Bob Woodward reports, it is true that gas supplies and prices in America are tied to the American election, then tied to a secret White House deal, that is outrageous and unacceptable to the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Publicly, the Saudis say their promise consists of preventing shortages that could destabilize the world economy.

Well, you can hear directly from Bob Woodward tonight and ask your own questions. He's scheduled to appear on "LARRY KING LIVE," 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.

O'BRIEN: Well, as expected, the president has tapped John Negroponte to be the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Lately, he's been pushing the Bush administration's policies at the United Nations. If confirmed by the Senate, Negroponte would assume his new duties June 30. That's when power is transferred to a new Iraqi government.

Spain's not waiting around. Incoming Prime Minister Zapatero has ordered that country's 1,400-plus troops home as soon as possible. Coalition leaders say Spain's withdrawal from southern Iraq will not create a security vacuum.

In Fallujah, hopes for a cease-fire, meanwhile. But it all depends on Sunni insurgents who have been battling U.S. Marines there. Civic leaders say they hope they can convince the fighters to lay down their weapons.

An unconfirmed report from Baghdad to tell you about. An Iraqi TV reporter's been killed, according to those reports, along with his driver. The victim's colleagues say their vehicle was attacked by U.S. troops about 60 miles north of Baghdad.

Former Iraq prisoner of war, Jessica lynch, called the mother of U.S. Army Private Keith Matthew Maupin, offering moral support. The two spoke yesterday. The 20-year-old Ohio reservist is one of at least seven people held hostage by Iraqi insurgents.

CNN's Chris Lawrence has more on how Maupin's capture has touched his home town.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: We're reaching out to Mr. Maupin's family.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Reverend Jesse Jackson is offering to help based on what he heard in this videotape released Friday. In it, Maupin's captors offered to trade him for prisoners being held by the coalition in Iraq. U.S. officials say they don't negotiate with hostage takers, but that's not stopping this private citizen from getting involved.

JACKSON: But I think that in a situation like this, as they seek to get back to the table in Fallujah, the issue of negotiation and prisoner swap must not be out of the picture.

LAWRENCE: But until Maupin is released, even the oldest songs have a different meaning here, when one of their bravest isn't free to come home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: And some of their -- so far, what we've heard is that the family has been dealing with all of this privately, and even some of their closest friends have been asked to give them their space. But we've now moved over to a veterans park just a short drive from the family's home. And in less than an hour, a family spokesman will come out to give a public statement, and this would be the first communication we've had from the family since their initial reaction to the release of that videotape on Friday -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: So, Chris, we have no idea how they reacted to Jessica Lynch and Jesse Jackson's phone calls?

LAWRENCE: Well, I did speak with one of the U.S. Army officers who has been in the house for much of the weekend. He tells me that, although Jesse Jackson, the Reverend Jackson has made known to CNN and other media outlets that he's willing to help negotiate Private Maupin's release, he has not yet directly contacted the family. But he did say they were very, very encouraged by both Jessica Lynch's phone call and a separate phone call from Mrs. Lynch, Jessica's mother. They said they look at her as a kindred spirit, and it really helped to hear a lot from them.

O'BRIEN: Chris Lawrence in Ohio. Thank you very much.

Kyra?

PHILLIPS: An economic summit, major public holidays, two political conventions. If the Homeland Security Department has its way, an event-filled summer will be altogether uneventful.

CNN's Sean Callebs tells us how Tom Ridge is mustering the forces.

Sean, he does have a lot on his mind, doesn't he?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, without question. Today in Las Vegas, he announced that he is starting a task force to take a look at what can be done to increase security with all of these events coming up that Ridge just thinks will be very attractive to al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations. And think about it; here in the heart of Washington during the Memorial Day weekend, they will unveil the World War II Memorial. Later on, there will, of course, be the G-8 summit in the coast of Georgia, let alone the regular holidays; New York and Boston, two of the most populous cities in the nation will be teaming with convention-goers, as their GOP and Democratic conventions are slated for those two cities as well. And then the general election coming up in November.

Ridge says all of these could be very attractive to terrorists. So right now, homeland security is doing what it can to increase security and to increase the ability of various entities, state governments, federal governments to be able to discuss problems that could come up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We have sent the terrorists a clear and unmistakable message: you are not freedom fighters. You are murderers. You are civilization's collective shame. And on this issue, the world has come together. And the world is coming after you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: And Kyra, Tom Ridge says that this is a call to action. Basically, it is a time for shared responsibility and shared leadership.

PHILLIPS: Sean, tell us who makes up this task force and how exactly it's going to work.

CALLEBS: The Homeland Security Office will head it up. It will be eight cabinet level agencies, and they will be working with governors from all 50 states.

Basically, it is an extension of what homeland security has done for the past two and a half years. They say they have improved security at airports from the curb to the cockpit, they've improved security at our deep-water ports here in the U.S. as well. And now they say they want to make sort of a national database for infrastructure so that they can have real-time way to look into any kind of situation that could crop up across the country.

PHILLIPS: Sean Callebs live from Washington. Thank you.

Miles?

O'BRIEN: News across America for you now. Two grim anniversaries today. April 19, nine years ago, 168 died in the Oklahoma City bottoming. Families and friends remembered them at a ceremony at the site today. State prosecutors pushing ahead with the murder case against Terry Nichols accused, along with Timothy McVeigh, in that bombing.

And on this day in '93, the compound of the Branch Davidian leader, David Koresh, burned to the ground in Waco, Texas. The fire began as federal agents forced their way inside. Dozens died, including Koresh.

PHILLIPS: Well, if safety is say top priority for you when it comes to buying a car, you'll definitely wanted to see these new crash test results. That's straight ahead.

O'BRIEN: A brand new crew is headed for the International Space Station.

PHILLIPS: And later, the tunes you just can't seem to get out of your head. Wonder Magazine ranks the 50 worst pop songs.

O'BRIEN: Is "Feelings" on that list?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Highways are crowded with SUVs. And if you're not in one, well, they can look pretty intimidating. There's good reason for concern, too, as Kathleen Koch reports. New evidence now shows that most cars broadsided by SUVs don't do well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the same result in test after test: dummies' heads dealt lethal blows. It's the first time the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has crashed a barrier the size and shape of an SUV, or light truck, into a car.

ADRIAN LUNO, INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY: What consumers are afraid of is true. Most of the vehicles do poorly in this kind of test. Ten out of 13 vehicles we tested did not do well.

KOCH: Failing grades to 10 mid-sized vehicles. Only two of those tested, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, got good ratings. The Chevrolet Malibu was rated acceptable.

The key for all three, a strong vehicle compartment and a side air bag upgrade, especially airbags that protect the head. But that's no guarantee. One failing vehicle, the Saturn L, had a side airbag, but it was too short.

LUNO: If it had been deeper and covered more of the window, then the head would have stayed in contact with it.

KOCH: Nearly 10,000 people die every year inside crashes; 60 percent from head injuries. But side-impact airbags are standard equipment in only one-quarter of cars. And the federal government has never tested cars using an SUV-sized barrier. Its barrier hits below the window. It now plans to propose tougher testing standards next month.

JEFFREY RUNGE, ADMINISTRATOR, NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMIN.: We have declared an emergency to upgrade this side impact standard to protect people in vehicles when they're struck in the side. KOCH (on camera): Auto makers, for their part, say it's not fair to judge a car based on just one crash test. And all of these popular mid-sized cars did pass the government's side impact test. Auto makers, though, do say that by 2007, they have committed to put head protection side airbags like this in every new vehicle, with the entire fleet being equipped with this standard equipment by 2010.

Kathleen Koch, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: So what's the worst song ever for you?

O'BRIEN: Oh my god, anything by Christopher Cross. And I was thinking of "Feelings," whoa, whoa, whoa, feelings. Oh, my gosh.

PHILLIPS: They're going to kill us for this.

O'BRIEN: Please, please...

PHILLIPS: Well, we're going to actually tell you what songs made the worst songs list.

O'BRIEN: But we shan't forget something more important, which is...

PHILLIPS: You're going to sing them?

O'BRIEN: No, I'm not. The president of the United States, Hershey, Pennsylvania, he's going to be talking about the Patriot Act. It looks like he might be speaking shortly.

Are you going to stay with us or should we do a break? We'll take you there in a minute after all the hellos, how are yous, thank yous, and when he gets to the meat of the matter, we will make sure we bring it to you live.

Also...

PHILLIPS: What's big at the box office? Oh, we're going to give you a little hint. It's not the president, but Uma Thurman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live to Hershey, Pennsylvania, now. The president of the United States promoting the Patriot Act. He says that he believes this act is a vital tool in the post-9/11 fight against terror. A lot of controversy over the Patriot Act. Critics charge that that law violates American civil liberties.

Let's listen in.

(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)

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 April 19, 2004 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news at this hour: promoting the Patriot Act. President Bush will speak in Hershey, Pennsylvania, this hour. He says the Patriot Act is a vital tool in the post-9/11 fight against terror. He wants Congress to renew major provisions which are set to expire next week. Critics charge the law violates American civil liberties.
Two former political foes are friends on the campaign trail. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry campaigning in Florida today with his former rival, Senator Joe Lieberman. Kerry attacked Bush's record on foreign policy and the economy.

He helped McDonald's revamp its image after its first-ever quarterly losses. Company chairman and CEO Jim Cantalupo died of an apparent heart attack at a McDonald's convention in Orlando today. He worked at McDonald's for 28 years. He was lured back from retirement 16 months ago to help revitalizes the fast-food chain.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour, "Plan of Attack." That's Bob Woodward's new book revealing and/or alleging some never before heard details from the earliest days of the run-up to the war in Iraq. And we do mean early. On "60 minutes," Woodward talked about a quiet exchange between President Bush and his defense secretary in November of 2001.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB WOODWARD, WASHINGTON POST: President Bush after a National Security Council meeting, takes Don Rumsfeld aside, collars him physically, and takes him into a little cubby hole room and closes the door and says, "What have you got in terms of plans for Iraq? What is the status of the war planning? I want you to get on it. I want you to keep it secret."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Woodward says by July 2002, eight months before U.S. troops would invade, the White House secretly diverted $700 million from the war in Afghanistan to prepare. Congress is not informed. According to Woodward, the president's decision that war was unavoidable came in January of 2003, and the Saudi ambassador to Washington found out before the secretary of state.

Woodward further claims that Saudi Prince Bandar promised the Bush administration to pump up oil production in time to let gas prices slide before Election Day this November. That doesn't sit well with Democratic presidential nominee to be, John Kerry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here's the catch: the American people would have to wait until the election, until November of 2004, the presidential election, until the Saudis lower those prices. Now, if this sounds wrong to you, that's because it is fundamentally wrong. And if, as Bob Woodward reports, it is true that gas supplies and prices in America are tied to the American election, then tied to a secret White House deal, that is outrageous and unacceptable to the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Publicly, the Saudis say their promise consists of preventing shortages that could destabilize the world economy.

Well, you can hear directly from Bob Woodward tonight and ask your own questions. He's scheduled to appear on "LARRY KING LIVE," 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.

O'BRIEN: Well, as expected, the president has tapped John Negroponte to be the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Lately, he's been pushing the Bush administration's policies at the United Nations. If confirmed by the Senate, Negroponte would assume his new duties June 30. That's when power is transferred to a new Iraqi government.

Spain's not waiting around. Incoming Prime Minister Zapatero has ordered that country's 1,400-plus troops home as soon as possible. Coalition leaders say Spain's withdrawal from southern Iraq will not create a security vacuum.

In Fallujah, hopes for a cease-fire, meanwhile. But it all depends on Sunni insurgents who have been battling U.S. Marines there. Civic leaders say they hope they can convince the fighters to lay down their weapons.

An unconfirmed report from Baghdad to tell you about. An Iraqi TV reporter's been killed, according to those reports, along with his driver. The victim's colleagues say their vehicle was attacked by U.S. troops about 60 miles north of Baghdad.

Former Iraq prisoner of war, Jessica lynch, called the mother of U.S. Army Private Keith Matthew Maupin, offering moral support. The two spoke yesterday. The 20-year-old Ohio reservist is one of at least seven people held hostage by Iraqi insurgents.

CNN's Chris Lawrence has more on how Maupin's capture has touched his home town.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: We're reaching out to Mr. Maupin's family.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Reverend Jesse Jackson is offering to help based on what he heard in this videotape released Friday. In it, Maupin's captors offered to trade him for prisoners being held by the coalition in Iraq. U.S. officials say they don't negotiate with hostage takers, but that's not stopping this private citizen from getting involved.

JACKSON: But I think that in a situation like this, as they seek to get back to the table in Fallujah, the issue of negotiation and prisoner swap must not be out of the picture.

LAWRENCE: But until Maupin is released, even the oldest songs have a different meaning here, when one of their bravest isn't free to come home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: And some of their -- so far, what we've heard is that the family has been dealing with all of this privately, and even some of their closest friends have been asked to give them their space. But we've now moved over to a veterans park just a short drive from the family's home. And in less than an hour, a family spokesman will come out to give a public statement, and this would be the first communication we've had from the family since their initial reaction to the release of that videotape on Friday -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: So, Chris, we have no idea how they reacted to Jessica Lynch and Jesse Jackson's phone calls?

LAWRENCE: Well, I did speak with one of the U.S. Army officers who has been in the house for much of the weekend. He tells me that, although Jesse Jackson, the Reverend Jackson has made known to CNN and other media outlets that he's willing to help negotiate Private Maupin's release, he has not yet directly contacted the family. But he did say they were very, very encouraged by both Jessica Lynch's phone call and a separate phone call from Mrs. Lynch, Jessica's mother. They said they look at her as a kindred spirit, and it really helped to hear a lot from them.

O'BRIEN: Chris Lawrence in Ohio. Thank you very much.

Kyra?

PHILLIPS: An economic summit, major public holidays, two political conventions. If the Homeland Security Department has its way, an event-filled summer will be altogether uneventful.

CNN's Sean Callebs tells us how Tom Ridge is mustering the forces.

Sean, he does have a lot on his mind, doesn't he?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, without question. Today in Las Vegas, he announced that he is starting a task force to take a look at what can be done to increase security with all of these events coming up that Ridge just thinks will be very attractive to al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations. And think about it; here in the heart of Washington during the Memorial Day weekend, they will unveil the World War II Memorial. Later on, there will, of course, be the G-8 summit in the coast of Georgia, let alone the regular holidays; New York and Boston, two of the most populous cities in the nation will be teaming with convention-goers, as their GOP and Democratic conventions are slated for those two cities as well. And then the general election coming up in November.

Ridge says all of these could be very attractive to terrorists. So right now, homeland security is doing what it can to increase security and to increase the ability of various entities, state governments, federal governments to be able to discuss problems that could come up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We have sent the terrorists a clear and unmistakable message: you are not freedom fighters. You are murderers. You are civilization's collective shame. And on this issue, the world has come together. And the world is coming after you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: And Kyra, Tom Ridge says that this is a call to action. Basically, it is a time for shared responsibility and shared leadership.

PHILLIPS: Sean, tell us who makes up this task force and how exactly it's going to work.

CALLEBS: The Homeland Security Office will head it up. It will be eight cabinet level agencies, and they will be working with governors from all 50 states.

Basically, it is an extension of what homeland security has done for the past two and a half years. They say they have improved security at airports from the curb to the cockpit, they've improved security at our deep-water ports here in the U.S. as well. And now they say they want to make sort of a national database for infrastructure so that they can have real-time way to look into any kind of situation that could crop up across the country.

PHILLIPS: Sean Callebs live from Washington. Thank you.

Miles?

O'BRIEN: News across America for you now. Two grim anniversaries today. April 19, nine years ago, 168 died in the Oklahoma City bottoming. Families and friends remembered them at a ceremony at the site today. State prosecutors pushing ahead with the murder case against Terry Nichols accused, along with Timothy McVeigh, in that bombing.

And on this day in '93, the compound of the Branch Davidian leader, David Koresh, burned to the ground in Waco, Texas. The fire began as federal agents forced their way inside. Dozens died, including Koresh.

PHILLIPS: Well, if safety is say top priority for you when it comes to buying a car, you'll definitely wanted to see these new crash test results. That's straight ahead.

O'BRIEN: A brand new crew is headed for the International Space Station.

PHILLIPS: And later, the tunes you just can't seem to get out of your head. Wonder Magazine ranks the 50 worst pop songs.

O'BRIEN: Is "Feelings" on that list?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Highways are crowded with SUVs. And if you're not in one, well, they can look pretty intimidating. There's good reason for concern, too, as Kathleen Koch reports. New evidence now shows that most cars broadsided by SUVs don't do well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the same result in test after test: dummies' heads dealt lethal blows. It's the first time the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has crashed a barrier the size and shape of an SUV, or light truck, into a car.

ADRIAN LUNO, INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY: What consumers are afraid of is true. Most of the vehicles do poorly in this kind of test. Ten out of 13 vehicles we tested did not do well.

KOCH: Failing grades to 10 mid-sized vehicles. Only two of those tested, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, got good ratings. The Chevrolet Malibu was rated acceptable.

The key for all three, a strong vehicle compartment and a side air bag upgrade, especially airbags that protect the head. But that's no guarantee. One failing vehicle, the Saturn L, had a side airbag, but it was too short.

LUNO: If it had been deeper and covered more of the window, then the head would have stayed in contact with it.

KOCH: Nearly 10,000 people die every year inside crashes; 60 percent from head injuries. But side-impact airbags are standard equipment in only one-quarter of cars. And the federal government has never tested cars using an SUV-sized barrier. Its barrier hits below the window. It now plans to propose tougher testing standards next month.

JEFFREY RUNGE, ADMINISTRATOR, NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMIN.: We have declared an emergency to upgrade this side impact standard to protect people in vehicles when they're struck in the side. KOCH (on camera): Auto makers, for their part, say it's not fair to judge a car based on just one crash test. And all of these popular mid-sized cars did pass the government's side impact test. Auto makers, though, do say that by 2007, they have committed to put head protection side airbags like this in every new vehicle, with the entire fleet being equipped with this standard equipment by 2010.

Kathleen Koch, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: So what's the worst song ever for you?

O'BRIEN: Oh my god, anything by Christopher Cross. And I was thinking of "Feelings," whoa, whoa, whoa, feelings. Oh, my gosh.

PHILLIPS: They're going to kill us for this.

O'BRIEN: Please, please...

PHILLIPS: Well, we're going to actually tell you what songs made the worst songs list.

O'BRIEN: But we shan't forget something more important, which is...

PHILLIPS: You're going to sing them?

O'BRIEN: No, I'm not. The president of the United States, Hershey, Pennsylvania, he's going to be talking about the Patriot Act. It looks like he might be speaking shortly.

Are you going to stay with us or should we do a break? We'll take you there in a minute after all the hellos, how are yous, thank yous, and when he gets to the meat of the matter, we will make sure we bring it to you live.

Also...

PHILLIPS: What's big at the box office? Oh, we're going to give you a little hint. It's not the president, but Uma Thurman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live to Hershey, Pennsylvania, now. The president of the United States promoting the Patriot Act. He says that he believes this act is a vital tool in the post-9/11 fight against terror. A lot of controversy over the Patriot Act. Critics charge that that law violates American civil liberties.

Let's listen in.

(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com