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Bush Confident U.N. Iraq Resolution Will Pass; Reagan Viewing Hours Extended in California

Aired June 08, 2004 - 13:57 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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a very important moment on making sure that our objective is achieved.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The future of Iraq hangs in the balance. President Bush predicting United Nations support for an Iraqi self government plan. We are all over this story, live at the U.N.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ted Rowlands, live in Moorpark, California, where thousands of people continue to wait hours to pay their final respects to former President Ronald Reagan. I'll have that report coming up.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Practicing for pomp, preparing for circumstances. This hour, inside the security for the nation's tribute to President Reagan.

And a not so happily ever after ending for a princess. Apparently, the pressure is just too much for one member of the Japanese royal family.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

O'BRIEN: We begin this hour in Iraq where car bombs, a threatening letter, and a special ops mission are shaking things up today. And four former hostages are undoubtedly grateful for the efforts of those special forces. Our Harris Whitbeck brings us details from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Officials confirmed the rescue of four foreign hostages, three Italians and one Pole, by coalition forces. Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, who commands the coalition military operation in Iraq, says that the rescue occurred south of Baghdad and that it involved combined coalition forces. The hostages were all released unarmed. The three Italians are on their way back to Italy. And the pole, we understand, is at the Polish embassy here in the Iraqi capital. General Sanchez said the former hostages are in good health and that they are now in very good hands. Meanwhile, more violence in Iraq today. Two car bombs, one in the city Baquba, about 30 kilometers north of Baghdad occurred outside a U.S. military installation, killing two people, one Iraqi civilian, one U.S. soldier, and wounding 16 others. Most of those who were wounded were Iraqi contract workers, civilian contract workers who were waiting outside the base to report for work.

Meanwhile in the northern city of Mosul, another car bomb, this outside the city hall there, coalition officials believe that it was targeting a convoy carrying members of the local governing council. Nine people killed there and 25 wounded.

As the U.N Security Council meets to discuss the latest resolution on Iraq, Iraq's most important religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, publicized a letter he says he sent to U.N Secretary General Kofi Annan criticizing the administrative law that will govern the transitional period here. And the administrative law is at the essence of the resolution being discussed at the United Nations. The grand ayatollah says that any law governing Iraq should be put forth by Iraqis themselves.

And a lot of the ayatollah's supporters took to the streets of Baghdad this afternoon, about 5000 denounced the United Nations and the U.S. and said "no" to an appointed government, again, saying that they prefer an Islamic constitution and a government appointed by Iraqis.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE) . O'BRIEN: We also have word that other hostages have been released in Iraq: two Turks and an Iraqi Turcoman driver, seized by gunmen Sunday have been freed by their kidnappers.

PHILLIPS: Blueprint to the future of Iraq. The United Nations Security Council expected to vote today on a resolution giving international endorsement to the interim Iraqi government. Our senior U.N correspondent, Richard Roth is keeping tabs on the vote -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The vote is expected maybe two-and-a-half to three to four hours here in New York at the Security Council, and it's going to be unanimous. Here at the Security Council the deputy U.S. ambassador after some talks today following last evening consultations, well, he says they went around the table and the U.S. didn't really get any further comment from countries such as France Germany, and Russia that have been debating this resolution and asking for changes for weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STUART HOLLIDAY, DEP. U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: In our consultations this morning, asked other members of the council if they wished to address any particular concerns, and in light of a vote this evening and we heard none. So we -- of course, we're very optimistic and we expect a positive outcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Unlike before the war, this resolution gives international authorization, legitimacy to this new Iraq government and the political process moving forward. It keeps the multinational forces led by the American commander in place, but the Iraqis have the power to terminate the mission should they see fit.

However, Iraqi officials such as the visiting Iraqi foreign minister thinks that would be dangerous at this time. It would create a power vacuum. Hoshyar Zebari even telling the Council on Foreign Relations today, quote: "It would leave the possibility of a junior Saddam coming up again in such a situation." Other members of the Security Council say they would like to look forward rather than back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUNTER FLEUGER, GERMAN AMB. TO U.N.: We have opened up an opportunity for a new phase for the political process and the economic reconstruction process in Iraq. It's an opportunity. It will now depend on how the Iraqis perceive this resolution and how they perceive the beginning of a new phase on the first of July.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: And the Iraqis know that now more of a focus will be on their administration and leadership. But the security situation may determine exactly what happens in the future there. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Richard Roth, thank you.

O'BRIEN: World leaders in the Deep South today, Iraq and the Middle East are likely to figure high on the agenda. Leaders of the eight richest nations kick off the G-8 summit on the Georgia coast. Our Dana Bash is in Savannah, Georgia, with the latest on all that.

Hello, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles. And the president's first meeting of the summit, first meeting of the day was with the prime minister of Japan Koizumi. He's the actually the only person that President Bush is meeting with today that supported him in the war in Iraq and actually sent a couple thousand troops to that country.

Now the White House is, to put it mildly, elated about what Richard was talking about. The fact that they are starting the summit here with the victory of having a U.N. resolution. It is a victory that they have been waiting for for months after getting what seemed to be only bad news coming from Iraq. And they are determined to make the case here that the corner is turning there and also, as they meet here, the corner is turning among allies whose relations have been frayed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BUSH: Well, first, I'm delighted that we're about to get a Security Council resolution. There were some who said we would never get one, and it looks like if things go well it would be a unanimous vote thereby saying to the world that members of the Security Council are interested in working together to make sure that Iraq is free and peaceful and democratic. I think this is a very important moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now other leaders that the president is meeting with today, they all opposed the war in Iraq, the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. There you see the Canadian prime minister, Paul Martin. His predecessor, Jean Chretien, also was somebody who opposed the war in Iraq. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also on the president's agenda, a bilateral with him.

It is unlikely that any of these leaders, although they now support the idea of moving forward politically in Iraq, and the blueprint of that is the U.N. resolution, it's unlikely that any of them to send new troops to Iraq. The president said today that anything that they are willing to contribute would be fine. He said that they will contribute as they see fit.

But the White House concede that this is resolution is probably largely symbolic and it will, they hope, add some credibility to this Iraqi government, the interim government now and eventually the elected Iraqi officials and credibility that the U.S. alone couldn't give them without the U.N. in Savannah. This is about 80 miles away, I should tell you, from where the actual summit is taking place. That is under tight security, really away from anybody, protesters who are out somewhat near there. But the...

O'BRIEN: All right, Dana, by the way, we're watching Tony Blair arrive as we speak at Hunter Army Air Field there in Savannah. A quick question for you on that. Tony Blair and President Bush obviously going to have an opportunity to talk Iraq strategy in the course of this event. Tell us about that. What do we know about the behind closed door aspect of this?

BASH: Well, Tony Blair obviously has been the number one ally of President Bush from the get-go on the war in Iraq. He stood shoulder to shoulder with President Bush even though the majority of the people in his country were really opposed to it. He has gone under -- been under the same scrutiny as President Bush because of questionable intelligence leading up to the war, intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that have not yet turned up. The prime minister will have a meeting with President Bush tomorrow morning, and the two of them talk quite frequently so this is going to be a chance to catch up with President Bush and his number one ally.

O'BRIEN: All right, well, and of course you say he's been under the same level of scrutiny as President Bush. In many ways he has faced much harsher criticism in his home country. He arrives politically damaged goods as a result of all this, doesn't he?

BASH: He does. And that has been the concern of some in Great Britain and some in other countries where the leaders supported the war in Iraq and the people there didn't. For example, you saw President Bush meeting with the prime minister of Japan Koizumi. He also sent a couple thousand troops to Iraq, and there have been protests in the streets of Japan because of that.

So you look at what happened in Madrid, recently. Jose Maria Aznar, his successor, was defeated for a lot of reasons, people think, because of his support in Iraq. Obviously there was a terrorist attack, but it was all related, people think, to the war in Iraq. So there have been some problems with people's viability, political viability because of their allegiance to President Bush, particularly on the war in Iraq.

O'BRIEN: When the subject of Iraq comes up among these G-8 leaders, Dana, there has got to be tremendous lingering acrimony over that debate we witnessed. Tell us a little bit about how they are trying to patch things up.

BASH: Well, if you just look to see what President Bush tried to do over the weekend when he was actually in Paris, it was an extraordinary set of photo ops, if you will, with President Bush and the French president, Jacques Chirac. Those two certainly there was no love lost between them. And it's particularly noteworthy for President Bush, who puts a lot of stake in personal relationships and there was a lot of strain there. But they tried very hard publicly to put that behind them. And that is definitely going to be the name of the game at this summit as President Bush meets with other leaders whom he has had problems with over the past year or so.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's listen to "God Save the Queen" and the welcoming here for just a minute. Dana Bash, stand by.

O'BRIEN: All right, the arrival of Tony Blair to the G-8 summit -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Old and young, different races, various backgrounds, all faces of America, slowly filing past the flag-covered casket of Ronald Reagan. They waited in line for hours for the chance to walk past the coffin and pay their respects to the late president. Live pictures now as CNN's Ted Rowlands gives us their stories -- Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're in Moorpark, California, where people continue to wait in line for an opportunity to pay their last requests respects to former President Reagan. You can see the amount of people here in line. It's as if this is the last stage of their journey. These folks say there's been in line for a couple of hours.

As of 6:00 a.m. this morning, according to Reagan's staff members, 40,000 people had walked past the flag-draped coffin of former President Reagan, 20,000 they estimate are in line. Once they are in the lobby of the presidential library they have about five minutes to pay their respects to former President Reagan. The people waiting in line here run the gamut.

Many people who are here, they are Californians and they remember Ronald Reagan, not only as their president but also as their governor. Some of the older folks here remember him as an actor. There are also a lot of children here, brought here by their parents. Many folks want to mark this time in history for their children.

One of the most emotionally stirring moments involving young people happened this morning when a group of boy scouts lined an entire side of the president's flag-draped casket and then simultaneous saluted the former commander-in-chief. To a person everybody that has endured the long lines and the waiting has said after they have exited that it has been worth it for them.

It is estimated that this will continue through the visitation period, which has been extended because of the overwhelming response here. Now people will be able to view the president until 10:00 p.m. local time here. However, if they are not in line by 3:00 p.m., they will not have that opportunity, giving a seven-hour window for people to go through the process here.

But safe to say that the family is overwhelmed by this response, along with the folks here and security but they are doing everything they can to allow as many Californians as possible to pay their final respects to President Reagan.

PHILLIPS: Ted Rowlands, live from Moorpark, thanks so much.

And two former presidents and first ladies remember Ronald Reagan with CNN's Larry King. That's tonight, Gerald and Betty Ford.

And then on Wednesday, the man who served as Reagan's vice president then followed him into the White House, former President George Bush and his wife Barbara, those exclusive interviews both nights at 9 p.m. Eastern only on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."

Preparations for the funeral down to the last detail under way in the nation's capital. Just ahead, how the military is getting ready to salute their former commander-in-chief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been some points where I just wanted to quite, just give up and go home and figure out how to pay for it myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Wounded in battle now hurt on the home front. Why some soldiers say the military is adding insult to injury.

And Venus does a dance with the sun. Miles has the pictures of a celestial show just ahead.

Whoops, wrong pictures there, sorry about that. That's actually preparations for the funeral but I promise we will have the pictures of Venus straight ahead. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: Attorney General John Ashcroft says he doesn't know of any order by President Bush that would violate U.S. laws or treaties banning torture of military prisoners in Iraq or elsewhere. Ashcroft told the Senate Judiciary Committee today the administration rejects torture. He would not comment directly about a 2002 policy paper in which administration lawyers suggested the president could legally authorize torture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I condemn torture. I think it...

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: So it is not justified then.

ASHCROFT: I don't think it's productive let alone justified.

BIDEN: Well, I don't either, and by the way there's a reason -- I'll conclude by saying there's a reason why we sign these treaties, to protect my son in the military. That's why we have these treaties. So when Americans are captured they are not tortured. That's the reason. In case anybody forgets it. That's the reason.

ASHCROFT: Well, as a person whose son is in the military now on active duty, and has been in the Gulf within the last several months, I'm aware of those considerations. And I care about your son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Now members of the media yesterday first reported on the 2002 internal White House memo offering a legal rational for getting around anti-torture laws.

PHILLIPS: The late President Ronald Reagan will receive full military honors in his state funeral in Washington Friday. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr live with the details now on the military preparations -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Kyra. Military preparations, rehearsals under way at a number of locations across Washington today as the military gets ready to bid farewell to their commander-in-chief. Here today a practice session at Capitol Hill, as the coffin moves with a caisson. This is one of the caissons from 1918 that will be used.

And the honor guard here quite bluntly practicing the silent march that they conduct, carrying the casket up the Capitol steps, because, of course, these young members of the United States military recently, you know, took on this duty. The last state funeral in Washington was over 30 years ago for the late President Johnson. So these young men have never practiced this exact task of carrying a casket up the Capitol steps at a state funeral. So this rehearsal with the music, with some of the other members of the military, under way today.

Now, also, the cannon on Capitol Hill, they are having a practice session with their troops. Many years since they have conducted that 21-gun salute for a former president of the United States in a state funeral.

All of these -- this going on quietly across Washington today, various military units practicing the march, practicing their maneuvers, how...

(AUDIO GAP)

STARR: ... that funeral cortege here in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night when President Reagan's body is returned to the nation's capital and then begins to move towards Capitol Hill to lie in state in the Rotunda.

And earlier today we went to look at another very unique aspect of the preparations. We went to Ft. Meyer, Virginia, here in Northern Virginia, right next to Arlington Cemetery where the Old Guard military unit is getting the horses ready for their procession. These horses will pull the caisson carrying the president's casket. It will be a team of six horses. We can tell you all the horses today getting bathed. They are getting re-shoed so that as they move down the avenue they will have no problems. All of the tack here being polished, refurbished, all of it very spit and polished. The Old Guard military unit of the United States Army taking great pride in its decades of tradition in performing the military rituals of a state funeral, rituals, Kyra, that go all the way back to the funeral of President Abraham Lincoln -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And no doubt it will be flawless and beautiful. Barbara Starr, LIVE FROM... the Pentagon, thanks.

O'BRIEN: Astronomers and stargazer around the world have been watching with awe at something no living person has seen until today. You know, they say men are from Mars, women are from Venus. You know what that comes from, Kyra, right?

PHILLIPS: Believe me Miles, after working with you I have had to read the book a number of times.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet you have. The Roman god of war was Mars. The Roman goddess of love was Venus. This is the love planet. We were watching the love planet all getting smitten.

PHILLIPS: I like the airplane there.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: That was the transit of Boeing.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: That's more frequent than the transit of Venus.

PHILLIPS: It got a cameo. O'BRIEN: The last time this happened it was 1882, there were no transits of Boeing. In any case, we know more about the second rock from the sun than we did 122 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN (voice-over): After months of Mars mania, a lot of scientists will be happy to focus on our neighbor on the other side of the street, the reclusive one we don't know so well. Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, the victim of a runaway greenhouse affect. Many astrobiologists believe when the sun was young and cooler Venus was a lot like Earth. But when the sun cranked up the thermostat, literally all hell broke loose here. The oceans boiled away and acid clouds enshrouded the planet, sending temperatures past 900 Fahrenheit, not the kind of place you would find life, right?

Well, Venus may still be kicking with active volcanoes and earthquakes. If NASA is from Mars, planetary scientist David Grinspoon is from Venus.

DAVID GRINSPOON, SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Mars is mostly long dead, and Mercury, the Moon, they're all dead. Earth is the living planet in terms of geology. Venus we think might still also be a living planet and it would be really neat to have another one so close by that is still geologically active with volcanoes and Venus quakes and other kinds of -- you know, where you are not studying the past but you are studying ongoing geology.

O'BRIEN: Studying Venus is fraught with peril, the Soviets put four plucky landers named Venera on the red hot rocks beginning in the mid '70s. Before their kamikaze missions ended with a meltdown, they sent back a few postcards, greetings from Venus, be glad you are not here.

GRINSPOON: And at night, the rocks would actually glow faintly because it's so hot. Now it's red hot on the surface. And you know, it would be a very bizarre, alien place, not a comfortable for you and I to be in unless we had a really well-designed suit to wear.

O'BRIEN: Alien indeed, Grinspoon thinks there could be acid- loving microbes living inside the clouds. Maybe NASA is looking in the wrong direction as it searches for signs of alien life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Time for a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: For three days now Americans have praised President Ronald Reagan. After Friday the historians will take over again to judge his record. No matter what the experts say, Gallup poll editor Frank Newport is with us to tell us how Americans think Reagan will go down in history.

Frank, hello. FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP POLL: Hello, Miles.

Indeed, it just so happened that this weekend we were updating our measure where we ask Americans how do you think these presidents, we gave them a long list, will go down in history?

So here's the data from the weekend on how Americans look at Reagan. And it's pretty positive. This is of June 3 through 6, 15 percent say that Reagan will go down as an outstanding president. But another big group of 43 percent of Americans say he will be above average. Most of the rest say average, just a few say below average.

What that means is well over half, about 58 percent of Americans, say Reagan will be above average in history. Relatively speaking that puts him at the top of the list. Only John Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt, of those more recent presidents we included in the list, were higher than Reagan retrospectively.

Pretty positive news. However, just to remind you, while Reagan was in office, his ratings weren't nearly all that good. He was bedeviled by problems of the recession in the first two years of the '80s, and by Iran-Contra at the last years. So when you average the ratings out, just a 53 percent average for Reagan. Better than Carter, but as you see on the right-hand side there, Miles, not as high as Bush or as even Clinton who was two points higher than Ronald Reagan while they were in office.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk about the current president. He's in Georgia for the G-8 summit. How are his ratings doing?

NEWPORT: Well, 49 percent, that's the number. That's the (UNINTELLIGIGBLE)-Gallup job approval number that we've been tracking since Franklin Roosevelt for all of the presidents. That's a little better. He was at 46 percent a few weeks ago. But clearly below the 50 percent line that an incumbent would like to be at.

Here it is broken down by sub-areas. These are approvals of Bush's handling of his presidency. World affairs, not great, 44. Look at Iraq and economy, those are the two biggest problems facing the country the people tell us. Bush is getting only 41 percent on both of those percent job approval rating. He does best as he has since 9/11 on the public rating of his handling of terrorism.

How is he stacking up among John Kerry? Among likely voters it's up and down, been too close to call. Actually Kerry has now moved a little ahead, 50 to 44, among likely voters over the weekend. But this is a further example of the kind of volatility, right around the middle, we have been seeing in the race. No clear cut front runner in the race as of this weekend -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. You asked about gas prices as well, how are people handling that?

NEWPORT: Fascinating information, Miles. We gave Americans a list of things and said, are you doing these because the price is up? And I think this is something probably you and I are doing, maybe not you, Miles, but I certainly am, shopping for cheaper gas; 69 percent of us are probably wasting as much gas driving around, looking around for the cheapest price, as we are saving on the 5 cents a gallon. But seven out of 10 say they are doing that.

You see the other information here. The good news I think is economically speaking the big ticket items, cutting back on spending here or altering vacation plans are fairly low down the list. So no sign that there's major economic impact yet as far as consumer behavior is concerned from the higher prices at the pump.

O'BRIEN: All right. So admit it, you drive all the way across town to save a couple of pennies, right?

NEWPORT: Yes, my wife gets mad at me, I'll spend five gallons of gas saving 2 cents a gallon on the stuff I put in my tank.

O'BRIEN: We have the same discussion in our household, roles reversed. Sandy (ph) is a long-time cheap gas buyer. And she will drive all over creation to look for it. All right, Frank Newport, thanks very much.

(MARKET REPORT)

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Aired June 8, 2004 - 13:57 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a very important moment on making sure that our objective is achieved.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The future of Iraq hangs in the balance. President Bush predicting United Nations support for an Iraqi self government plan. We are all over this story, live at the U.N.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ted Rowlands, live in Moorpark, California, where thousands of people continue to wait hours to pay their final respects to former President Ronald Reagan. I'll have that report coming up.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Practicing for pomp, preparing for circumstances. This hour, inside the security for the nation's tribute to President Reagan.

And a not so happily ever after ending for a princess. Apparently, the pressure is just too much for one member of the Japanese royal family.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

O'BRIEN: We begin this hour in Iraq where car bombs, a threatening letter, and a special ops mission are shaking things up today. And four former hostages are undoubtedly grateful for the efforts of those special forces. Our Harris Whitbeck brings us details from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Officials confirmed the rescue of four foreign hostages, three Italians and one Pole, by coalition forces. Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, who commands the coalition military operation in Iraq, says that the rescue occurred south of Baghdad and that it involved combined coalition forces. The hostages were all released unarmed. The three Italians are on their way back to Italy. And the pole, we understand, is at the Polish embassy here in the Iraqi capital. General Sanchez said the former hostages are in good health and that they are now in very good hands. Meanwhile, more violence in Iraq today. Two car bombs, one in the city Baquba, about 30 kilometers north of Baghdad occurred outside a U.S. military installation, killing two people, one Iraqi civilian, one U.S. soldier, and wounding 16 others. Most of those who were wounded were Iraqi contract workers, civilian contract workers who were waiting outside the base to report for work.

Meanwhile in the northern city of Mosul, another car bomb, this outside the city hall there, coalition officials believe that it was targeting a convoy carrying members of the local governing council. Nine people killed there and 25 wounded.

As the U.N Security Council meets to discuss the latest resolution on Iraq, Iraq's most important religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, publicized a letter he says he sent to U.N Secretary General Kofi Annan criticizing the administrative law that will govern the transitional period here. And the administrative law is at the essence of the resolution being discussed at the United Nations. The grand ayatollah says that any law governing Iraq should be put forth by Iraqis themselves.

And a lot of the ayatollah's supporters took to the streets of Baghdad this afternoon, about 5000 denounced the United Nations and the U.S. and said "no" to an appointed government, again, saying that they prefer an Islamic constitution and a government appointed by Iraqis.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE) . O'BRIEN: We also have word that other hostages have been released in Iraq: two Turks and an Iraqi Turcoman driver, seized by gunmen Sunday have been freed by their kidnappers.

PHILLIPS: Blueprint to the future of Iraq. The United Nations Security Council expected to vote today on a resolution giving international endorsement to the interim Iraqi government. Our senior U.N correspondent, Richard Roth is keeping tabs on the vote -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The vote is expected maybe two-and-a-half to three to four hours here in New York at the Security Council, and it's going to be unanimous. Here at the Security Council the deputy U.S. ambassador after some talks today following last evening consultations, well, he says they went around the table and the U.S. didn't really get any further comment from countries such as France Germany, and Russia that have been debating this resolution and asking for changes for weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STUART HOLLIDAY, DEP. U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: In our consultations this morning, asked other members of the council if they wished to address any particular concerns, and in light of a vote this evening and we heard none. So we -- of course, we're very optimistic and we expect a positive outcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Unlike before the war, this resolution gives international authorization, legitimacy to this new Iraq government and the political process moving forward. It keeps the multinational forces led by the American commander in place, but the Iraqis have the power to terminate the mission should they see fit.

However, Iraqi officials such as the visiting Iraqi foreign minister thinks that would be dangerous at this time. It would create a power vacuum. Hoshyar Zebari even telling the Council on Foreign Relations today, quote: "It would leave the possibility of a junior Saddam coming up again in such a situation." Other members of the Security Council say they would like to look forward rather than back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUNTER FLEUGER, GERMAN AMB. TO U.N.: We have opened up an opportunity for a new phase for the political process and the economic reconstruction process in Iraq. It's an opportunity. It will now depend on how the Iraqis perceive this resolution and how they perceive the beginning of a new phase on the first of July.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: And the Iraqis know that now more of a focus will be on their administration and leadership. But the security situation may determine exactly what happens in the future there. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Richard Roth, thank you.

O'BRIEN: World leaders in the Deep South today, Iraq and the Middle East are likely to figure high on the agenda. Leaders of the eight richest nations kick off the G-8 summit on the Georgia coast. Our Dana Bash is in Savannah, Georgia, with the latest on all that.

Hello, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles. And the president's first meeting of the summit, first meeting of the day was with the prime minister of Japan Koizumi. He's the actually the only person that President Bush is meeting with today that supported him in the war in Iraq and actually sent a couple thousand troops to that country.

Now the White House is, to put it mildly, elated about what Richard was talking about. The fact that they are starting the summit here with the victory of having a U.N. resolution. It is a victory that they have been waiting for for months after getting what seemed to be only bad news coming from Iraq. And they are determined to make the case here that the corner is turning there and also, as they meet here, the corner is turning among allies whose relations have been frayed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BUSH: Well, first, I'm delighted that we're about to get a Security Council resolution. There were some who said we would never get one, and it looks like if things go well it would be a unanimous vote thereby saying to the world that members of the Security Council are interested in working together to make sure that Iraq is free and peaceful and democratic. I think this is a very important moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now other leaders that the president is meeting with today, they all opposed the war in Iraq, the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. There you see the Canadian prime minister, Paul Martin. His predecessor, Jean Chretien, also was somebody who opposed the war in Iraq. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also on the president's agenda, a bilateral with him.

It is unlikely that any of these leaders, although they now support the idea of moving forward politically in Iraq, and the blueprint of that is the U.N. resolution, it's unlikely that any of them to send new troops to Iraq. The president said today that anything that they are willing to contribute would be fine. He said that they will contribute as they see fit.

But the White House concede that this is resolution is probably largely symbolic and it will, they hope, add some credibility to this Iraqi government, the interim government now and eventually the elected Iraqi officials and credibility that the U.S. alone couldn't give them without the U.N. in Savannah. This is about 80 miles away, I should tell you, from where the actual summit is taking place. That is under tight security, really away from anybody, protesters who are out somewhat near there. But the...

O'BRIEN: All right, Dana, by the way, we're watching Tony Blair arrive as we speak at Hunter Army Air Field there in Savannah. A quick question for you on that. Tony Blair and President Bush obviously going to have an opportunity to talk Iraq strategy in the course of this event. Tell us about that. What do we know about the behind closed door aspect of this?

BASH: Well, Tony Blair obviously has been the number one ally of President Bush from the get-go on the war in Iraq. He stood shoulder to shoulder with President Bush even though the majority of the people in his country were really opposed to it. He has gone under -- been under the same scrutiny as President Bush because of questionable intelligence leading up to the war, intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that have not yet turned up. The prime minister will have a meeting with President Bush tomorrow morning, and the two of them talk quite frequently so this is going to be a chance to catch up with President Bush and his number one ally.

O'BRIEN: All right, well, and of course you say he's been under the same level of scrutiny as President Bush. In many ways he has faced much harsher criticism in his home country. He arrives politically damaged goods as a result of all this, doesn't he?

BASH: He does. And that has been the concern of some in Great Britain and some in other countries where the leaders supported the war in Iraq and the people there didn't. For example, you saw President Bush meeting with the prime minister of Japan Koizumi. He also sent a couple thousand troops to Iraq, and there have been protests in the streets of Japan because of that.

So you look at what happened in Madrid, recently. Jose Maria Aznar, his successor, was defeated for a lot of reasons, people think, because of his support in Iraq. Obviously there was a terrorist attack, but it was all related, people think, to the war in Iraq. So there have been some problems with people's viability, political viability because of their allegiance to President Bush, particularly on the war in Iraq.

O'BRIEN: When the subject of Iraq comes up among these G-8 leaders, Dana, there has got to be tremendous lingering acrimony over that debate we witnessed. Tell us a little bit about how they are trying to patch things up.

BASH: Well, if you just look to see what President Bush tried to do over the weekend when he was actually in Paris, it was an extraordinary set of photo ops, if you will, with President Bush and the French president, Jacques Chirac. Those two certainly there was no love lost between them. And it's particularly noteworthy for President Bush, who puts a lot of stake in personal relationships and there was a lot of strain there. But they tried very hard publicly to put that behind them. And that is definitely going to be the name of the game at this summit as President Bush meets with other leaders whom he has had problems with over the past year or so.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's listen to "God Save the Queen" and the welcoming here for just a minute. Dana Bash, stand by.

O'BRIEN: All right, the arrival of Tony Blair to the G-8 summit -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Old and young, different races, various backgrounds, all faces of America, slowly filing past the flag-covered casket of Ronald Reagan. They waited in line for hours for the chance to walk past the coffin and pay their respects to the late president. Live pictures now as CNN's Ted Rowlands gives us their stories -- Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're in Moorpark, California, where people continue to wait in line for an opportunity to pay their last requests respects to former President Reagan. You can see the amount of people here in line. It's as if this is the last stage of their journey. These folks say there's been in line for a couple of hours.

As of 6:00 a.m. this morning, according to Reagan's staff members, 40,000 people had walked past the flag-draped coffin of former President Reagan, 20,000 they estimate are in line. Once they are in the lobby of the presidential library they have about five minutes to pay their respects to former President Reagan. The people waiting in line here run the gamut.

Many people who are here, they are Californians and they remember Ronald Reagan, not only as their president but also as their governor. Some of the older folks here remember him as an actor. There are also a lot of children here, brought here by their parents. Many folks want to mark this time in history for their children.

One of the most emotionally stirring moments involving young people happened this morning when a group of boy scouts lined an entire side of the president's flag-draped casket and then simultaneous saluted the former commander-in-chief. To a person everybody that has endured the long lines and the waiting has said after they have exited that it has been worth it for them.

It is estimated that this will continue through the visitation period, which has been extended because of the overwhelming response here. Now people will be able to view the president until 10:00 p.m. local time here. However, if they are not in line by 3:00 p.m., they will not have that opportunity, giving a seven-hour window for people to go through the process here.

But safe to say that the family is overwhelmed by this response, along with the folks here and security but they are doing everything they can to allow as many Californians as possible to pay their final respects to President Reagan.

PHILLIPS: Ted Rowlands, live from Moorpark, thanks so much.

And two former presidents and first ladies remember Ronald Reagan with CNN's Larry King. That's tonight, Gerald and Betty Ford.

And then on Wednesday, the man who served as Reagan's vice president then followed him into the White House, former President George Bush and his wife Barbara, those exclusive interviews both nights at 9 p.m. Eastern only on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."

Preparations for the funeral down to the last detail under way in the nation's capital. Just ahead, how the military is getting ready to salute their former commander-in-chief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been some points where I just wanted to quite, just give up and go home and figure out how to pay for it myself.

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PHILLIPS: Wounded in battle now hurt on the home front. Why some soldiers say the military is adding insult to injury.

And Venus does a dance with the sun. Miles has the pictures of a celestial show just ahead.

Whoops, wrong pictures there, sorry about that. That's actually preparations for the funeral but I promise we will have the pictures of Venus straight ahead. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: Attorney General John Ashcroft says he doesn't know of any order by President Bush that would violate U.S. laws or treaties banning torture of military prisoners in Iraq or elsewhere. Ashcroft told the Senate Judiciary Committee today the administration rejects torture. He would not comment directly about a 2002 policy paper in which administration lawyers suggested the president could legally authorize torture.

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JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I condemn torture. I think it...

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: So it is not justified then.

ASHCROFT: I don't think it's productive let alone justified.

BIDEN: Well, I don't either, and by the way there's a reason -- I'll conclude by saying there's a reason why we sign these treaties, to protect my son in the military. That's why we have these treaties. So when Americans are captured they are not tortured. That's the reason. In case anybody forgets it. That's the reason.

ASHCROFT: Well, as a person whose son is in the military now on active duty, and has been in the Gulf within the last several months, I'm aware of those considerations. And I care about your son.

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O'BRIEN: Now members of the media yesterday first reported on the 2002 internal White House memo offering a legal rational for getting around anti-torture laws.

PHILLIPS: The late President Ronald Reagan will receive full military honors in his state funeral in Washington Friday. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr live with the details now on the military preparations -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Kyra. Military preparations, rehearsals under way at a number of locations across Washington today as the military gets ready to bid farewell to their commander-in-chief. Here today a practice session at Capitol Hill, as the coffin moves with a caisson. This is one of the caissons from 1918 that will be used.

And the honor guard here quite bluntly practicing the silent march that they conduct, carrying the casket up the Capitol steps, because, of course, these young members of the United States military recently, you know, took on this duty. The last state funeral in Washington was over 30 years ago for the late President Johnson. So these young men have never practiced this exact task of carrying a casket up the Capitol steps at a state funeral. So this rehearsal with the music, with some of the other members of the military, under way today.

Now, also, the cannon on Capitol Hill, they are having a practice session with their troops. Many years since they have conducted that 21-gun salute for a former president of the United States in a state funeral.

All of these -- this going on quietly across Washington today, various military units practicing the march, practicing their maneuvers, how...

(AUDIO GAP)

STARR: ... that funeral cortege here in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night when President Reagan's body is returned to the nation's capital and then begins to move towards Capitol Hill to lie in state in the Rotunda.

And earlier today we went to look at another very unique aspect of the preparations. We went to Ft. Meyer, Virginia, here in Northern Virginia, right next to Arlington Cemetery where the Old Guard military unit is getting the horses ready for their procession. These horses will pull the caisson carrying the president's casket. It will be a team of six horses. We can tell you all the horses today getting bathed. They are getting re-shoed so that as they move down the avenue they will have no problems. All of the tack here being polished, refurbished, all of it very spit and polished. The Old Guard military unit of the United States Army taking great pride in its decades of tradition in performing the military rituals of a state funeral, rituals, Kyra, that go all the way back to the funeral of President Abraham Lincoln -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And no doubt it will be flawless and beautiful. Barbara Starr, LIVE FROM... the Pentagon, thanks.

O'BRIEN: Astronomers and stargazer around the world have been watching with awe at something no living person has seen until today. You know, they say men are from Mars, women are from Venus. You know what that comes from, Kyra, right?

PHILLIPS: Believe me Miles, after working with you I have had to read the book a number of times.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet you have. The Roman god of war was Mars. The Roman goddess of love was Venus. This is the love planet. We were watching the love planet all getting smitten.

PHILLIPS: I like the airplane there.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: That was the transit of Boeing.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: That's more frequent than the transit of Venus.

PHILLIPS: It got a cameo. O'BRIEN: The last time this happened it was 1882, there were no transits of Boeing. In any case, we know more about the second rock from the sun than we did 122 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN (voice-over): After months of Mars mania, a lot of scientists will be happy to focus on our neighbor on the other side of the street, the reclusive one we don't know so well. Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, the victim of a runaway greenhouse affect. Many astrobiologists believe when the sun was young and cooler Venus was a lot like Earth. But when the sun cranked up the thermostat, literally all hell broke loose here. The oceans boiled away and acid clouds enshrouded the planet, sending temperatures past 900 Fahrenheit, not the kind of place you would find life, right?

Well, Venus may still be kicking with active volcanoes and earthquakes. If NASA is from Mars, planetary scientist David Grinspoon is from Venus.

DAVID GRINSPOON, SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Mars is mostly long dead, and Mercury, the Moon, they're all dead. Earth is the living planet in terms of geology. Venus we think might still also be a living planet and it would be really neat to have another one so close by that is still geologically active with volcanoes and Venus quakes and other kinds of -- you know, where you are not studying the past but you are studying ongoing geology.

O'BRIEN: Studying Venus is fraught with peril, the Soviets put four plucky landers named Venera on the red hot rocks beginning in the mid '70s. Before their kamikaze missions ended with a meltdown, they sent back a few postcards, greetings from Venus, be glad you are not here.

GRINSPOON: And at night, the rocks would actually glow faintly because it's so hot. Now it's red hot on the surface. And you know, it would be a very bizarre, alien place, not a comfortable for you and I to be in unless we had a really well-designed suit to wear.

O'BRIEN: Alien indeed, Grinspoon thinks there could be acid- loving microbes living inside the clouds. Maybe NASA is looking in the wrong direction as it searches for signs of alien life.

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O'BRIEN: Time for a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: For three days now Americans have praised President Ronald Reagan. After Friday the historians will take over again to judge his record. No matter what the experts say, Gallup poll editor Frank Newport is with us to tell us how Americans think Reagan will go down in history.

Frank, hello. FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP POLL: Hello, Miles.

Indeed, it just so happened that this weekend we were updating our measure where we ask Americans how do you think these presidents, we gave them a long list, will go down in history?

So here's the data from the weekend on how Americans look at Reagan. And it's pretty positive. This is of June 3 through 6, 15 percent say that Reagan will go down as an outstanding president. But another big group of 43 percent of Americans say he will be above average. Most of the rest say average, just a few say below average.

What that means is well over half, about 58 percent of Americans, say Reagan will be above average in history. Relatively speaking that puts him at the top of the list. Only John Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt, of those more recent presidents we included in the list, were higher than Reagan retrospectively.

Pretty positive news. However, just to remind you, while Reagan was in office, his ratings weren't nearly all that good. He was bedeviled by problems of the recession in the first two years of the '80s, and by Iran-Contra at the last years. So when you average the ratings out, just a 53 percent average for Reagan. Better than Carter, but as you see on the right-hand side there, Miles, not as high as Bush or as even Clinton who was two points higher than Ronald Reagan while they were in office.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk about the current president. He's in Georgia for the G-8 summit. How are his ratings doing?

NEWPORT: Well, 49 percent, that's the number. That's the (UNINTELLIGIGBLE)-Gallup job approval number that we've been tracking since Franklin Roosevelt for all of the presidents. That's a little better. He was at 46 percent a few weeks ago. But clearly below the 50 percent line that an incumbent would like to be at.

Here it is broken down by sub-areas. These are approvals of Bush's handling of his presidency. World affairs, not great, 44. Look at Iraq and economy, those are the two biggest problems facing the country the people tell us. Bush is getting only 41 percent on both of those percent job approval rating. He does best as he has since 9/11 on the public rating of his handling of terrorism.

How is he stacking up among John Kerry? Among likely voters it's up and down, been too close to call. Actually Kerry has now moved a little ahead, 50 to 44, among likely voters over the weekend. But this is a further example of the kind of volatility, right around the middle, we have been seeing in the race. No clear cut front runner in the race as of this weekend -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. You asked about gas prices as well, how are people handling that?

NEWPORT: Fascinating information, Miles. We gave Americans a list of things and said, are you doing these because the price is up? And I think this is something probably you and I are doing, maybe not you, Miles, but I certainly am, shopping for cheaper gas; 69 percent of us are probably wasting as much gas driving around, looking around for the cheapest price, as we are saving on the 5 cents a gallon. But seven out of 10 say they are doing that.

You see the other information here. The good news I think is economically speaking the big ticket items, cutting back on spending here or altering vacation plans are fairly low down the list. So no sign that there's major economic impact yet as far as consumer behavior is concerned from the higher prices at the pump.

O'BRIEN: All right. So admit it, you drive all the way across town to save a couple of pennies, right?

NEWPORT: Yes, my wife gets mad at me, I'll spend five gallons of gas saving 2 cents a gallon on the stuff I put in my tank.

O'BRIEN: We have the same discussion in our household, roles reversed. Sandy (ph) is a long-time cheap gas buyer. And she will drive all over creation to look for it. All right, Frank Newport, thanks very much.

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