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President Bush Addresses UN General Assembly; One American, Briton Remain in Hands of Captors; Is Shrimp the Latest Health Hazard of the Sea?

Aired September 21, 2004 - 13:00   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.


PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: The proper response to difficulty is not to retreat. It is to prevail. The advance of freedom always carries a cost, paid by the bravest among us.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president talks global democracy at the UN. Is this what the world wants to hear? The speech, the reaction, and the implications. We're live from New York.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An American and a Brit remain in the hands of killers. There's a raid that's more of al-Sadr's henchmen. We'll have all the latest from Baghdad.

PHILLIPS: He says the campaign had nothing to do with it. A Kerry advisor answers questions about the Bush documents flap at CBS.

O'BRIEN: A banned drug with known health dangers. Is it lurking in your gumbo? Say it ain't so. Today's health warning: shrimp gets the Dr. Gupta treatment. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien. Good to be back in the house -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It's great to have you back in the house. And I'm Kyra Phillips. It's Tuesday, September 21st. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now. Up first this hour, President Bush on the global stage, campaigning for his vision of truth, justice, and the American way, just one day after rival John Kerry called his Iraq policy a colossal failure.

Exactly six weeks from election day, Bush delivered his annual address to the UN General Assembly, where he made a point of pointing out a delegation that wasn't there last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Since the last meeting of this General Assembly, the people of Iraq have regained sovereignty. Today, in this hall, the prime minister of Iraq and his delegation represent a country that has rejoined the community of nations. The government of Prime Minister Allawi has earned the support of every nation that believes in self- determination and desires peace.

And under Security Council Resolutions 1511 and 1546, the world is providing that support. The UN and its member nations must respond to Prime Minister Allawi's request and do more to help build an Iraq that is secure, democratic, federal, and free. O'BRIEN: The president's speech isn't the administration's only focus at the United Nations. President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell are meeting with world leaders, including Iraq's interim prime minister. Oh, to be a fly on the wall. CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel live at the UN. She's been doing the best she can to find out what they're saying behind closed doors, reading between the lines in the speech. And Andrea, it's kind of a tale of three elections. We know the president's election is coming up. Let's talk about two others that are very important, at least behind the scenes there.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. In front of the scenes as well, Miles, one next month in Afghanistan, and one that's supposed to happen, scheduled to happen four months from now, and that is the nationwide elections in Afghanistan. The U.S. is privately very concerned that unless the security situation in Iraq is stabilized that these elections, even if they do go forward, may not be able to happen in enough cities in Iraq that they would be viewed, not just by the Iraqi people, but by the international community as having been legitimate.

And one of the main reasons, besides the fact that the situation on the ground is so insecure, that these elections could be in jeopardy, is that the United Nations, which usually sends out these workforces to register voters, to get polling stations set up, and then to observe elections around the world, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has already told the U.S., "Look, I don't feel comfortable sending my folks in there unless there is an adequate protection force."

And so, what President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell are trying to do today at the United Nations, and what Secretary Powell will continue to do this week, is to try to convince Kofi Annan and other member states to ante up, basically, to get a protection force of several thousand armed guards on the ground there so that the UN can go in in force.

In addition, Miles, there's also a senior U.S. delegation that's making the rounds around the world, particularly in the Middle East, in Europe and in Asia, basically hat in hand, asking other countries to do what they can to contribute to a protection force. They're also speaking to NGOs to say, "Look, if the UN can't go in to set up these polling stations to get voters registered, could your organizations do so on the ground?" -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, it is so terribly dangerous there that you have to wonder if it's just a complete fanciful notion to think about elections in January under any circumstances.

KOPPEL: Well, right now, no one is saying that elections can't go forward or should not go forward. And certainly, the interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has been saying in interviews since he arrived in the United States this week that he intends for these elections to go forward. He is after all the key word there, "interim Iraqi prime minister." He has not been elected by the Iraqi people. There is no elected government in place. And right now, the United States and other coalition forces are moving forward as if these elections are going to happen. But the U.S. is so concerned, Miles, that the security situation there is really tenuous that they are shifting three and a half billion dollars out of big ticket reconstruction items into beefing up Iraqi security. But that's something that's really going to take another couple of years before there is a sizable enough for to make a difference on the ground, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Andrea Koppel at the United Nations, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: ... preceded to the UN podium by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who last week called the Iraq invasion illegal in a BBC interview. Today, Annan staked out a stark defense of the rule of law. With more now on the Bush speech and the mutual ambivalence surrounding it, CNN's John King. Hi, John.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra. Mr. Bush following by about 20 minutes, 25 minutes or so, Kofi Annan's speech. Kofi Annan talking about the rule of law implicit in that, that the United States, in his view, broke it, or at least broke the rules of the United Nations Security Council in going to war in Iraq.

Mr. Bush would have none of that. His tone was polite. But he said quite clearly that he believed his decision was the right decision to go to war in Iraq, because, he said, the Security Council refused to enforce the severe consequences, the serious consequences it had voted to impose on Saddam Hussein.

Mr. Bush also looking ahead. Many, including Senator John Kerry, say this president is overly optimistic in his campaign speeches when he talks about the situation on the ground in Iraq, and the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. Mr. Bush, perhaps, a more sober assessment today, acknowledging the Taliban, for example, trying to come back in Afghanistan, the insurgency continuing, and quite violently, in Iraq.

But Mr. Bush saying, that yes, there are problems, but what he also said was that those two countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, should be certain of this one thing: he will not let them down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: We can expect terrorist attacks to escalate as Afghanistan and Iraq approach national elections. The work ahead is demanding. But these difficulties will not shake our conviction that the future of Afghanistan and Iraq is a future of liberty. The proper response to difficulty is not to retreat. It is to prevail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, that speech, and Mr. Bush's entire agenda here, and his schedule here at the United Nations in New York, not only designed to speak to a global audience, but also designed to speak to the voters who, of course, six weeks from today, will decide whether this president gets a second term. His is, at this hour, meeting with the interim prime minister of Iraq, Prime Minister Allawi.

Mr. Bush believes it is critical that the United Nations give Mr. Allawi that help Andrea just talked about with the elections. He also is hoping that Mr. Allawi makes an impressive case to the American people, both in his speech here in New York and in a speech he will give to a joint session of Congress later this week, the president hoping that the American people will see in Prime Minister Allawi a strong, tough leader, and say yes, perhaps there are problems on the ground in Iraq, and perhaps some voters even will blame some of those problems on President Bush.

But he is hoping by the end of this week, he builds more support for his basic message, which is, yes, there are problems, but it is critical to stay the course -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John, you talk about sort of a skeptical global audience. You also mentioned U.S. voters. Who is the president really going after here? Are U.S. voters wanting to hear about AIDS and Sudan? And obviously, they want to hear about Iraq, but there were a lot of international issues that a lot of people here at home just really don't connect with. They want to hear about jobs, and healthcare, and what he's going to do for them domestically.

KING: Those issues may not be front and center in the campaign. But if you just step back and look at the theme Mr. Bush gave, it was trying to rebut a central criticism of John Kerry, who says that this president is essentially a cowboy, a go it alone leader who does not care what other nations in the world think, what other institutions in the world think.

Mr. Bush trying to make the case that he will always try diplomacy first, always try international cooperation first by saying he does have an AIDS initiative, urging the United Nations to do more and do it quickly when it comes to what he calls genocide in Sudan. So Mr. Bush touching on issues that might not be front and center in the presidential campaign here at home, but hoping to convince people that, yes, he did go to war in Iraq, and he will defend that decision, and he did do that against the wishes of much of the world, but that he does try, as a first option.

And there are critics to this approach, critics who say Mr. Bush does not mean it when he says it. But Kyra, this president says he always tries diplomacy first, but that he will not allow his hands to be tied by the United Nations or anyone else around the world.

PHILLIPS: John King, thanks -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Democrats today can't help but note the Bush administration's on-again, off-again love-hate relationship with the UN and all it represents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WESLEY CLARK, (D), FMR. PRES. CANDIDATE: We did have a lot of support from within the United Nations three years ago after 9/11. But the actions by the administration in Iraq squandered that support. And even after the war, most of the fighting was over there, in early 2003... the administration acted to exclude the United Nations. So the president's got to dig the United States out of a hole. And the language, the tone, the lack of ideas, it just didn't help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: For his part, John Kerry today accused Bush of being in denial, and suggested he mend fences with allies that he pushed aside in Iraq. That's his quote -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: In Iraq today, the barbaric behavior lamented by the UN secretary general is still on display, with indiscriminant bombings and fears of yet another grizzly execution of yet another hostage. With more on that, here's CNN's Walter Rodgers in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do not know if both the remaining hostages, the American Jack Hensley or the British subject Kenneth Bigley, are alive at this hour. The horrible truth is we sit in Baghdad and await the release another video announcing that one or both of those men have decapitated. The release of a videotape is exactly how the execution, the decapitation of another American, Eugene Armstrong, was announced yesterday on an Islamist Web site.

There are graphic pictures of a man reading a death sentence, saying the execution about to be carried out was, quote, "God's law." Then they cut off Armstrong's head, brutally. You can hear him screaming for six or seven seconds before he dies. And then, you'll never forget that sound if, indeed, you heard it.

That same fate probably awaits the two other westerners Hensley and Bigley at this hour. And Hensley's wife Pati expressed the helplessness of these hostages' families.

PATI HENSLEY, HOSTAGE'S WIFE: If I could just say to the captors, we are more than willing to work on this together. We don't know how to get in touch or how we even begin to open the lines of communication, other than through what Bank UU (ph) and the media have provided for us.

RODGERS: But the Muslim militants have so far rejected any pleas for mercy, accommodation, or negotiation. They one singular demand, and that is the release of all women prisoners in this country, in Iraq. And unless that happens, they say, the executions, the decapitations will continue. Walter Rodgers, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The heartbroken family of murdered hostage Eugene Armstrong says it doesn't want revenge or retaliation, only justice. And it's praying for the other captives and other families who are living in fear and dread. CNN's Keith Oppenheim reports from Hillsdale, Michigan. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CYNDI ARMSTRONG, FAMILY SPOKESWOMAN: We're just praying every day.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cindy Armstrong was carrying the emotions and burdens of her family, handling the media interviews. But the news only got worse as the Armstrongs learned that Eugene, the man everyone in town called Jack, was executed. Within hours of the bad news, his community came together. About 100 people, many who never knew Jack Armstrong, came to the county courthouse for a candlelight vigil.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: The solidarity meant a lot to the Armstrongs. Still, for a family where everyone worked in construction, it was hard to comprehend how Jack Armstrong could be murdered.

ARMSTRONG: I don't understand. Jack was there to help them, not hurt them, and this is what they did.

OPPENHEIM (on-camera): Even though Armstrong had left his hometown, there were many people in Hillsdale who remembered him from years ago and understood his need for adventure overseas.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: He was just trying to make a living over there, basically, you know. And to die like that at the hands of madmen like that, you know, it's bad.

OPPENHEIM (voice-over): A devastating day for a family and a community, who now finds itself praying for other hostages, but hopes they will be more fortunate than Jack Armstrong. Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Hillsdale, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The president was meeting with the Iraqi prime minister Allawi... subsequent to that, had a conversation with reporters. We're going to have some reaction for you in just a few moments from the president.

In London today, the family of kidnapped Brit Kenneth Bigley is begging the British government to do something, anything, to help. Bigley is a 62-year-old grandfather to be, whose plight, officials say, is a top concern on Downing Street. But the government insists it will not negotiate with terrorists. Understandably, Bigley's brother has a different perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIP BIGLEY, HOSTAGE'S BROTHER: This message goes to the prime minister, to the foreign office, to Jack Straw, to all the politicians, and it goes to the militants over in Iraq, who are holding my brother and the other American hostage. We are begging you not to kill them. We are begging you to find a solution, a compromise that will help to save two lives, innocent lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Now, regarding the specific kidnappers demands, the U.S. and the UK insist they have no Iraqi women in Iraqi jails, except for two Saddam Hussein loyalists with links to biological weapons research -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now that the dates are set for the presidential debates, what about the rules of engagement? Some of them might surprise you. LIVE FROM's got the face-off facts that you demand, coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: They called me and said, "This guy wants to talk to you." I was happy to talk to him. And that's sort of the beginning and end of the story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Probably not. The Joe Lockhart interview next, as the investigation into the CBS document drama continues. Shrimp cocktail, shrimp et tuffe, coconut shrimp, dangerous shrimp... I love that movie. Dr. Gupta's got the latest health hazard of the sea. LIVE FROM's picking through the lunch buffet right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, we're pretty sure it won't be the last word, but the latest word on that scoop turned scandal at CBS News comes from a former White House press secretary who now advises the Kerry campaign. Joe Lockhart denies he colluded with the now discredited source of those unflattering memos supposedly from George W. Bush's days in the Air National Guard.

We'll air a large part of Lockhart's interview from "CNN'S AMERICAN MORNING" in just a moment. But first, the fallout for CBS and demands from the Bush camp for the Kerry folks to come clean. Here's CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A "60 Minutes" 180 from CBS. The network says it made a mistake and cannot authenticate documents it had presented as genuine 12 days ago. The man who CBS says gave it the documents, Bill Burkett, says he did not forge them, and he believes they're real. In his first on-air interview with CBS, Burkett argued forcefully that he had misled the network in order to protect his source.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BURKETT: Well, I didn't totally mislead you. I did mislead you on the one individual. You know, your staff pressured me to appoint, to reveal that source.

DAN RATHER, CBS NEWS: Well, we were trying to get the chain of possession.

BURKETT: I understand that.

RATHER: And you said you had received them from someone...

BURKETT: I understand that.

RATHER: ... and we did pressure you to say, well, you received them from someone, and that someone was whom.

BURKETT: Yes.

RATHER: And it's true, we pressured you, because it was a very important point for us.

BURKETT: Yes. And I simply threw out a name that was basically, it was a... I guess to get a little pressure off for a moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: But CBS failed to nail down the source, or the authenticity of the documents, something Burkett says he told the network to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RATHER: The failure of CBS News to do just that, to properly, fully scrutinize the documents and their source, led to our airing the documents when we should not have done so. It was a mistake. CBS News deeply regrets it. Also, I want to say personally and directly, I'm sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Bill Burkett has, in the past, sued the Texas National Guard over medical benefits, and alleged that President Bush's military records were sanitized, a charge that former Bush aids have called hogwash. The White House pounced on the revelation that Burkett, a Democrat, was CBS's source.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What contacts did Mr. Burkett have with Democrats? There were reports that he had senior level contacts with members of...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: As we mentioned to you, the president of the United States meeting with the interim Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi. Here's some comments made to reporters shortly thereafter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE -- PRESS CONFERENCE)

O'BRIEN: All right, we've been listening to the president of the United States, seated beside the interim Prime Minister of Iraq, Ayad Allawi, subsequent to their talks at the United Nations in New York. The president saying, kind of the lead quote, "We will not allow these thugs..." referring to the terrorists who have held captive many kidnapped people -- most recently, of course, the three that were kidnapped. "We will not allow these thugs and terrorists to decide your fate and decide my fate," referring to himself, and then referring to Prime Minister Allawi.

In just a few moments, we will check in with some of the journalists there, as you look at some live pictures there from the United Nations. I believe the secretary of state is with him, as well, Colin Powell, as they make their way through the halls there, as this General Assembly meets.

In just a few moments, we'll see what the view is from Europe. We'll check in with two journalists -- one based in London, one based in Paris -- well, at least their publications are. They're over here, and they cover the United Nations. And we'll ask them how they're going to write the lead paragraph to their stories for their readers in just a moment -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, from politics to your pocketbook, let's move over tot he New York Stock Exchange, check in with Rhonda Schaffler for a market check. Hi, Rhonda.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.

Of course, everyone on pins and needles, waiting for the Federal Reserve to announce its decision on interest rates within the hour. It's all but certain the Fed is going to bump up interest rates later this afternoon. The current rate stands at one-and-a-half percent. Economists widely expect a quarter-point increase. It would be the third straight hike this year, and that's after nearly four years when the Fed went on a cutting spree or held rates steady.

Investors, as always, will closely be looking at Alan Greenspan's comments on the economy. They're trying to figure out if there are going to be future rate moves.

Some economists argue the Fed should stop raising rates, because the recovery has weakened and higher rates usually hurt consumers. But since the last round of hikes, most interest rates that impact consumers have held steady or dropped.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired September 21, 2004 - 13:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: The proper response to difficulty is not to retreat. It is to prevail. The advance of freedom always carries a cost, paid by the bravest among us.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president talks global democracy at the UN. Is this what the world wants to hear? The speech, the reaction, and the implications. We're live from New York.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An American and a Brit remain in the hands of killers. There's a raid that's more of al-Sadr's henchmen. We'll have all the latest from Baghdad.

PHILLIPS: He says the campaign had nothing to do with it. A Kerry advisor answers questions about the Bush documents flap at CBS.

O'BRIEN: A banned drug with known health dangers. Is it lurking in your gumbo? Say it ain't so. Today's health warning: shrimp gets the Dr. Gupta treatment. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien. Good to be back in the house -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It's great to have you back in the house. And I'm Kyra Phillips. It's Tuesday, September 21st. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now. Up first this hour, President Bush on the global stage, campaigning for his vision of truth, justice, and the American way, just one day after rival John Kerry called his Iraq policy a colossal failure.

Exactly six weeks from election day, Bush delivered his annual address to the UN General Assembly, where he made a point of pointing out a delegation that wasn't there last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Since the last meeting of this General Assembly, the people of Iraq have regained sovereignty. Today, in this hall, the prime minister of Iraq and his delegation represent a country that has rejoined the community of nations. The government of Prime Minister Allawi has earned the support of every nation that believes in self- determination and desires peace.

And under Security Council Resolutions 1511 and 1546, the world is providing that support. The UN and its member nations must respond to Prime Minister Allawi's request and do more to help build an Iraq that is secure, democratic, federal, and free. O'BRIEN: The president's speech isn't the administration's only focus at the United Nations. President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell are meeting with world leaders, including Iraq's interim prime minister. Oh, to be a fly on the wall. CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel live at the UN. She's been doing the best she can to find out what they're saying behind closed doors, reading between the lines in the speech. And Andrea, it's kind of a tale of three elections. We know the president's election is coming up. Let's talk about two others that are very important, at least behind the scenes there.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. In front of the scenes as well, Miles, one next month in Afghanistan, and one that's supposed to happen, scheduled to happen four months from now, and that is the nationwide elections in Afghanistan. The U.S. is privately very concerned that unless the security situation in Iraq is stabilized that these elections, even if they do go forward, may not be able to happen in enough cities in Iraq that they would be viewed, not just by the Iraqi people, but by the international community as having been legitimate.

And one of the main reasons, besides the fact that the situation on the ground is so insecure, that these elections could be in jeopardy, is that the United Nations, which usually sends out these workforces to register voters, to get polling stations set up, and then to observe elections around the world, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has already told the U.S., "Look, I don't feel comfortable sending my folks in there unless there is an adequate protection force."

And so, what President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell are trying to do today at the United Nations, and what Secretary Powell will continue to do this week, is to try to convince Kofi Annan and other member states to ante up, basically, to get a protection force of several thousand armed guards on the ground there so that the UN can go in in force.

In addition, Miles, there's also a senior U.S. delegation that's making the rounds around the world, particularly in the Middle East, in Europe and in Asia, basically hat in hand, asking other countries to do what they can to contribute to a protection force. They're also speaking to NGOs to say, "Look, if the UN can't go in to set up these polling stations to get voters registered, could your organizations do so on the ground?" -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, it is so terribly dangerous there that you have to wonder if it's just a complete fanciful notion to think about elections in January under any circumstances.

KOPPEL: Well, right now, no one is saying that elections can't go forward or should not go forward. And certainly, the interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has been saying in interviews since he arrived in the United States this week that he intends for these elections to go forward. He is after all the key word there, "interim Iraqi prime minister." He has not been elected by the Iraqi people. There is no elected government in place. And right now, the United States and other coalition forces are moving forward as if these elections are going to happen. But the U.S. is so concerned, Miles, that the security situation there is really tenuous that they are shifting three and a half billion dollars out of big ticket reconstruction items into beefing up Iraqi security. But that's something that's really going to take another couple of years before there is a sizable enough for to make a difference on the ground, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Andrea Koppel at the United Nations, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: ... preceded to the UN podium by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who last week called the Iraq invasion illegal in a BBC interview. Today, Annan staked out a stark defense of the rule of law. With more now on the Bush speech and the mutual ambivalence surrounding it, CNN's John King. Hi, John.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra. Mr. Bush following by about 20 minutes, 25 minutes or so, Kofi Annan's speech. Kofi Annan talking about the rule of law implicit in that, that the United States, in his view, broke it, or at least broke the rules of the United Nations Security Council in going to war in Iraq.

Mr. Bush would have none of that. His tone was polite. But he said quite clearly that he believed his decision was the right decision to go to war in Iraq, because, he said, the Security Council refused to enforce the severe consequences, the serious consequences it had voted to impose on Saddam Hussein.

Mr. Bush also looking ahead. Many, including Senator John Kerry, say this president is overly optimistic in his campaign speeches when he talks about the situation on the ground in Iraq, and the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. Mr. Bush, perhaps, a more sober assessment today, acknowledging the Taliban, for example, trying to come back in Afghanistan, the insurgency continuing, and quite violently, in Iraq.

But Mr. Bush saying, that yes, there are problems, but what he also said was that those two countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, should be certain of this one thing: he will not let them down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: We can expect terrorist attacks to escalate as Afghanistan and Iraq approach national elections. The work ahead is demanding. But these difficulties will not shake our conviction that the future of Afghanistan and Iraq is a future of liberty. The proper response to difficulty is not to retreat. It is to prevail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, that speech, and Mr. Bush's entire agenda here, and his schedule here at the United Nations in New York, not only designed to speak to a global audience, but also designed to speak to the voters who, of course, six weeks from today, will decide whether this president gets a second term. His is, at this hour, meeting with the interim prime minister of Iraq, Prime Minister Allawi.

Mr. Bush believes it is critical that the United Nations give Mr. Allawi that help Andrea just talked about with the elections. He also is hoping that Mr. Allawi makes an impressive case to the American people, both in his speech here in New York and in a speech he will give to a joint session of Congress later this week, the president hoping that the American people will see in Prime Minister Allawi a strong, tough leader, and say yes, perhaps there are problems on the ground in Iraq, and perhaps some voters even will blame some of those problems on President Bush.

But he is hoping by the end of this week, he builds more support for his basic message, which is, yes, there are problems, but it is critical to stay the course -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John, you talk about sort of a skeptical global audience. You also mentioned U.S. voters. Who is the president really going after here? Are U.S. voters wanting to hear about AIDS and Sudan? And obviously, they want to hear about Iraq, but there were a lot of international issues that a lot of people here at home just really don't connect with. They want to hear about jobs, and healthcare, and what he's going to do for them domestically.

KING: Those issues may not be front and center in the campaign. But if you just step back and look at the theme Mr. Bush gave, it was trying to rebut a central criticism of John Kerry, who says that this president is essentially a cowboy, a go it alone leader who does not care what other nations in the world think, what other institutions in the world think.

Mr. Bush trying to make the case that he will always try diplomacy first, always try international cooperation first by saying he does have an AIDS initiative, urging the United Nations to do more and do it quickly when it comes to what he calls genocide in Sudan. So Mr. Bush touching on issues that might not be front and center in the presidential campaign here at home, but hoping to convince people that, yes, he did go to war in Iraq, and he will defend that decision, and he did do that against the wishes of much of the world, but that he does try, as a first option.

And there are critics to this approach, critics who say Mr. Bush does not mean it when he says it. But Kyra, this president says he always tries diplomacy first, but that he will not allow his hands to be tied by the United Nations or anyone else around the world.

PHILLIPS: John King, thanks -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Democrats today can't help but note the Bush administration's on-again, off-again love-hate relationship with the UN and all it represents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WESLEY CLARK, (D), FMR. PRES. CANDIDATE: We did have a lot of support from within the United Nations three years ago after 9/11. But the actions by the administration in Iraq squandered that support. And even after the war, most of the fighting was over there, in early 2003... the administration acted to exclude the United Nations. So the president's got to dig the United States out of a hole. And the language, the tone, the lack of ideas, it just didn't help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: For his part, John Kerry today accused Bush of being in denial, and suggested he mend fences with allies that he pushed aside in Iraq. That's his quote -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: In Iraq today, the barbaric behavior lamented by the UN secretary general is still on display, with indiscriminant bombings and fears of yet another grizzly execution of yet another hostage. With more on that, here's CNN's Walter Rodgers in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do not know if both the remaining hostages, the American Jack Hensley or the British subject Kenneth Bigley, are alive at this hour. The horrible truth is we sit in Baghdad and await the release another video announcing that one or both of those men have decapitated. The release of a videotape is exactly how the execution, the decapitation of another American, Eugene Armstrong, was announced yesterday on an Islamist Web site.

There are graphic pictures of a man reading a death sentence, saying the execution about to be carried out was, quote, "God's law." Then they cut off Armstrong's head, brutally. You can hear him screaming for six or seven seconds before he dies. And then, you'll never forget that sound if, indeed, you heard it.

That same fate probably awaits the two other westerners Hensley and Bigley at this hour. And Hensley's wife Pati expressed the helplessness of these hostages' families.

PATI HENSLEY, HOSTAGE'S WIFE: If I could just say to the captors, we are more than willing to work on this together. We don't know how to get in touch or how we even begin to open the lines of communication, other than through what Bank UU (ph) and the media have provided for us.

RODGERS: But the Muslim militants have so far rejected any pleas for mercy, accommodation, or negotiation. They one singular demand, and that is the release of all women prisoners in this country, in Iraq. And unless that happens, they say, the executions, the decapitations will continue. Walter Rodgers, CNN, Baghdad.

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O'BRIEN: The heartbroken family of murdered hostage Eugene Armstrong says it doesn't want revenge or retaliation, only justice. And it's praying for the other captives and other families who are living in fear and dread. CNN's Keith Oppenheim reports from Hillsdale, Michigan. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CYNDI ARMSTRONG, FAMILY SPOKESWOMAN: We're just praying every day.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cindy Armstrong was carrying the emotions and burdens of her family, handling the media interviews. But the news only got worse as the Armstrongs learned that Eugene, the man everyone in town called Jack, was executed. Within hours of the bad news, his community came together. About 100 people, many who never knew Jack Armstrong, came to the county courthouse for a candlelight vigil.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: The solidarity meant a lot to the Armstrongs. Still, for a family where everyone worked in construction, it was hard to comprehend how Jack Armstrong could be murdered.

ARMSTRONG: I don't understand. Jack was there to help them, not hurt them, and this is what they did.

OPPENHEIM (on-camera): Even though Armstrong had left his hometown, there were many people in Hillsdale who remembered him from years ago and understood his need for adventure overseas.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: He was just trying to make a living over there, basically, you know. And to die like that at the hands of madmen like that, you know, it's bad.

OPPENHEIM (voice-over): A devastating day for a family and a community, who now finds itself praying for other hostages, but hopes they will be more fortunate than Jack Armstrong. Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Hillsdale, Michigan.

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O'BRIEN: The president was meeting with the Iraqi prime minister Allawi... subsequent to that, had a conversation with reporters. We're going to have some reaction for you in just a few moments from the president.

In London today, the family of kidnapped Brit Kenneth Bigley is begging the British government to do something, anything, to help. Bigley is a 62-year-old grandfather to be, whose plight, officials say, is a top concern on Downing Street. But the government insists it will not negotiate with terrorists. Understandably, Bigley's brother has a different perspective.

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PHILIP BIGLEY, HOSTAGE'S BROTHER: This message goes to the prime minister, to the foreign office, to Jack Straw, to all the politicians, and it goes to the militants over in Iraq, who are holding my brother and the other American hostage. We are begging you not to kill them. We are begging you to find a solution, a compromise that will help to save two lives, innocent lives.

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O'BRIEN: Now, regarding the specific kidnappers demands, the U.S. and the UK insist they have no Iraqi women in Iraqi jails, except for two Saddam Hussein loyalists with links to biological weapons research -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now that the dates are set for the presidential debates, what about the rules of engagement? Some of them might surprise you. LIVE FROM's got the face-off facts that you demand, coming up.

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UNIDENTIFIED MAN: They called me and said, "This guy wants to talk to you." I was happy to talk to him. And that's sort of the beginning and end of the story.

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PHILLIPS: Probably not. The Joe Lockhart interview next, as the investigation into the CBS document drama continues. Shrimp cocktail, shrimp et tuffe, coconut shrimp, dangerous shrimp... I love that movie. Dr. Gupta's got the latest health hazard of the sea. LIVE FROM's picking through the lunch buffet right after this.

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O'BRIEN: Well, we're pretty sure it won't be the last word, but the latest word on that scoop turned scandal at CBS News comes from a former White House press secretary who now advises the Kerry campaign. Joe Lockhart denies he colluded with the now discredited source of those unflattering memos supposedly from George W. Bush's days in the Air National Guard.

We'll air a large part of Lockhart's interview from "CNN'S AMERICAN MORNING" in just a moment. But first, the fallout for CBS and demands from the Bush camp for the Kerry folks to come clean. Here's CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

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JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A "60 Minutes" 180 from CBS. The network says it made a mistake and cannot authenticate documents it had presented as genuine 12 days ago. The man who CBS says gave it the documents, Bill Burkett, says he did not forge them, and he believes they're real. In his first on-air interview with CBS, Burkett argued forcefully that he had misled the network in order to protect his source.

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BILL BURKETT: Well, I didn't totally mislead you. I did mislead you on the one individual. You know, your staff pressured me to appoint, to reveal that source.

DAN RATHER, CBS NEWS: Well, we were trying to get the chain of possession.

BURKETT: I understand that.

RATHER: And you said you had received them from someone...

BURKETT: I understand that.

RATHER: ... and we did pressure you to say, well, you received them from someone, and that someone was whom.

BURKETT: Yes.

RATHER: And it's true, we pressured you, because it was a very important point for us.

BURKETT: Yes. And I simply threw out a name that was basically, it was a... I guess to get a little pressure off for a moment.

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MESERVE: But CBS failed to nail down the source, or the authenticity of the documents, something Burkett says he told the network to do.

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RATHER: The failure of CBS News to do just that, to properly, fully scrutinize the documents and their source, led to our airing the documents when we should not have done so. It was a mistake. CBS News deeply regrets it. Also, I want to say personally and directly, I'm sorry.

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MESERVE: Bill Burkett has, in the past, sued the Texas National Guard over medical benefits, and alleged that President Bush's military records were sanitized, a charge that former Bush aids have called hogwash. The White House pounced on the revelation that Burkett, a Democrat, was CBS's source.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What contacts did Mr. Burkett have with Democrats? There were reports that he had senior level contacts with members of...

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O'BRIEN: As we mentioned to you, the president of the United States meeting with the interim Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi. Here's some comments made to reporters shortly thereafter.

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O'BRIEN: All right, we've been listening to the president of the United States, seated beside the interim Prime Minister of Iraq, Ayad Allawi, subsequent to their talks at the United Nations in New York. The president saying, kind of the lead quote, "We will not allow these thugs..." referring to the terrorists who have held captive many kidnapped people -- most recently, of course, the three that were kidnapped. "We will not allow these thugs and terrorists to decide your fate and decide my fate," referring to himself, and then referring to Prime Minister Allawi.

In just a few moments, we will check in with some of the journalists there, as you look at some live pictures there from the United Nations. I believe the secretary of state is with him, as well, Colin Powell, as they make their way through the halls there, as this General Assembly meets.

In just a few moments, we'll see what the view is from Europe. We'll check in with two journalists -- one based in London, one based in Paris -- well, at least their publications are. They're over here, and they cover the United Nations. And we'll ask them how they're going to write the lead paragraph to their stories for their readers in just a moment -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, from politics to your pocketbook, let's move over tot he New York Stock Exchange, check in with Rhonda Schaffler for a market check. Hi, Rhonda.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.

Of course, everyone on pins and needles, waiting for the Federal Reserve to announce its decision on interest rates within the hour. It's all but certain the Fed is going to bump up interest rates later this afternoon. The current rate stands at one-and-a-half percent. Economists widely expect a quarter-point increase. It would be the third straight hike this year, and that's after nearly four years when the Fed went on a cutting spree or held rates steady.

Investors, as always, will closely be looking at Alan Greenspan's comments on the economy. They're trying to figure out if there are going to be future rate moves.

Some economists argue the Fed should stop raising rates, because the recovery has weakened and higher rates usually hurt consumers. But since the last round of hikes, most interest rates that impact consumers have held steady or dropped.

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