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President Bush Addresses Nation Tonight on Iraq War; Inside the Mind of the BTK Killer

Aired June 28, 2005 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: History comes to life off the coast of southern England today. An armada of ships from five nations staging a mock sea battle to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. This is a live look right now. The British victory over French and Spanish forces helped assure England's rule of the seas for the next century.
And in a solemn ceremony, Pope John Paul II starts on the road to possible sainthood today. Roman Catholic clerics gathered for a ceremony called "The Cause," just three months after the pontiff's death. Traditionally there is a five-year waiting period before the beatification process begins.

NASA, it is facing new questions over the safety improvements implemented after the Columbia tragedy. A task force concluded yesterday that two years of painstaking work have fallen short of fulfilling three of the recommendations. A House committee is discussing those concerns and the future of NASA this hour on Capitol Hill.

And now there is a whole new way to get your news on the Web, with free video at CNN.com. Just log on to our Web site, click on "watch" to check out the most popular stories. It's free video under your command right now at CNN.com.

And we are just learning now that the energy bill has passed the Senate with a vote of 85 yes and 12 no. And of course this is going to have to be rectified with the House version of this energy bill, which with the House version, it would cost less and it is more favorable to industry. But the Senate version is more environmentally friendly. At $16 billion, the House bill is asking for $8 billion. But again, the Senate has just approved an energy bill today, 85 voting yes, 12 voting no. We'll keep you on top of this.

President Bush addresses the nation tonight on the Iraq war, and the battle this time is not for the hearts and minds of the Iraqis. It is the American public that's gradually turned from the mission and is growing in its growing death toll.

We'll look at the polls in just a moment. But first, the politics which are at play right now. And CNN's David Ensor is at the White House to sort all of this out.

Hi, David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty. Well, the spokesman here, Scott McClellan, just called this a very significant speech by the commander in chief at a critical time in the war on terrorism. Officials here at the because believe this is a key speech for Mr. Bush, at which he will set a strategy for how to win the war on terrorism, as he describes it.

They of course have seen the polls and they've seen the very bloody pictures from Iraq over the last couple of months. They are also hearing this morning from their political opponents about how big of a job Mr. Bush will have tonight.

In "The New York Times" today, John Kerry, his opponent in the last election, says, quote, "The administration must immediately draw up a detailed plan with clear milestones and deadlines for the transfer of military and police responsibilities to Iraqis after the December election." Mr. Kerry goes on, "If Mr. Bush fails to take these steps, we will stumble along, our troops at greater risk, casualties rising, costs rising, the patience of the American people wearing thin and the specter of quagmire staring us in the face."

A similar theme today from the House minority Leader Nancy Pelosi after a breakfast meeting with Mr. Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: I'm not talking about a timetable. We're talking about benchmarks. I think the timetable -- the only timetable we want is to soon have a strategy for success. After that, it's about benchmarks, benchmarks about training the Iraqi troops, benchmarks about turning on the lights in Iraq and making the domestic situation better, and third, involving neighboring countries in the diplomatic efforts to help in the military effort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENSOR: If there are going to be benchmarks in the speech tonight, Scott McLellan is not willing to tell us about them yet. He's just saying stay tuned, watch the speech. At least one major network, ABC, is going to clear it, and of course CNN will have it live -- Betty.

NGUYEN: And a lot of the American public is probably looking for some specifics tonight. Do we know exactly what we might hear? I know they are being a little bit vague, but I know we won't hear a timetable, that's correct, right?

ENSOR: He'll tell why he doesn't want to set a timetable, why a timetable would simply give the insurgents a timetable for waiting us out, as he puts it. We'll hear plenty of that tonight. There may be some specifics about goals that he hopes to achieve, but they're not showing their hand here yet -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right, CNN's David Ensor at the White House. Thank you.

And you'll want to stay with CNN for special coverage of President Bush's address to the nation. That begins tonight at 7:00 Eastern, 4:00 Pacific.

The presidential address, as we mentioned, will come from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I want to give you a closer look at that base and its role in the Iraq war. Fort Bragg Army Base is primarily home to airborne and special forces. The largest division base there is the 82nd Airborne.

Nearly 15,000 Ft. Bragg troops are deployed in the war on terror. Ft. Bragg and neighboring Pope Air Force Base have suffered at least 87 deaths since the start of the war on terror.

Now the numbers behind the waiting -- behind the public and the support there, if the public is sending its support to President Bush. We got some new numbers in, and we want to talk about those numbers.

Senior political analyst Bill Schneider has the latest poll results.

And, Bill, let's start with the first one. What are Americans saying about U.S. troops being in Iraq?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POL. ANALYST: Well, a majority of Americans now say for the first time in a year that it was a mistake for the United States to send troops to Iraq. As you see, 53 percent say it was a mistake; 46 percent say it was not. It's a very close division. This is always been a very close split. But now for the first time in a year that number has reached the majority, which means Americans are beginning to rethink the commitment to Iraq, and wondering if there's no plan and no discernible exit strategy, no benchmarks, no timetables; what are we doing there?

NGUYEN: Well then, that leads to the next question. How does the American public view President Bush's handling of this war?

SCHNEIDER: Not very well. Only 40 percent say Bush is handling -- I approve of the way Bush is handling Iraq. That's the lowest rating he's ever gotten since the war started in 2003. That's down from 50 percent approval in February, just after the Iraqi election.

The Iraqi election was kind of a boost of confidence among Americans. They thought, well, finally the Iraqis have their own government, or are in the process of creating their on government. We'll be able to hand over authority to them. It's their country, they can run it themselves, and then since the January 30th election, after that boost of confidence, Americans have seen nothing but disorder, violence and an apparent lack of progress.

NGUYEN: So when it comes to an exit strategy, what do Americans think?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, well, the question is, does Bush have a clear plan for the situation in Iraq? And as you can see, that number is very negative. Sixty-one percent say, no, he doesn't. That is a devastating figure. As you can see, in January people were split, but now they have made up their minds, he does not have a clear plan. That more than anything else is his charge for his speech tonight, to tell the American people, yes there is a plan, yes, we are making progress, yes, we know what we're going to do there, because people are not convinced there is a plan.

NGUYEN: Now all of this leads up to his approval rating. We've seen the numbers and how they've dropped. How is that approval rating number doing?

SCHNEIDER: Well, this is the way he's handling his job as president. It's 45 percent. That is the lowest approval rating he's ever gotten in the CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, and you see majority disapprove of the way he's handling his job. At this point, in the beginning really, in the middle of his first year of the second term, that's a near record low rating for a president. I think it's probably the record in modern times for a president in the first year of his second term. It's a big problem for President Bush.

And in fact, the ABC News/"Washington Post" poll shows that 40 percent of Americans strongly disapprove of President Bush's performance in his job. That is a very high number. That is a larger number of strong disapprovals than Clinton got when he was in trouble in 1994. And then President Bush's father had in 1992 when he was in trouble on the economy and failed to win re-election.

And that, Betty, is why so many members of his own party are trying to distance themselves from this president, because they believe he's becoming a political problem.

NGUYEN: So, Bill, do you think this also signifies that the American public wants answers, it wants specifics, and is that what President Bush is going to have to deliver tonight.

SCHNEIDER: Well, what they want is some idea that we know what we're doing in Iraq, that there's a plan, that we're making progress toward the plan, because they simply don't see it. Americans tell the pollsters they're willing to stay in Iraq to restore order. They're not clearly demanding a withdrawal or a timetable. What they simply want is some notion that we know what we're doing. They don't see any evidence of that from the news reports of disorder and mounting casualties.

NGUYEN: Senior political analyst Bill Schneider. Thank you, Bill.

SCHNEIDER: Sure Betty.

And another reminder about the president's address tonight. Our special coverage begins at 7:00 Eastern with "ANDERSON COOPER."

Now you may have heard some Dennis Rader's chilling account, mentioning that one got away. Hear what a criminal profiler has to say about Rader's confessions.

And dramatic video of an accident involving a gasoline tanker in Indiana. Look at this. That's nothing. Wait until you hear how this story ends.

CNN LIVE TODAY continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Dennis Rader's confession to a string of sadistic murders was made even more chilling by the matter-of-fact way he described them. Rader entered a guilty plea Monday on what was to be the first day of his trial.

And CNN's Rick Sanchez sat down with a criminologist for a look inside the mind of BTK.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: From the start, Dennis Rader was workman-like. He didn't have victims, he had projects.

RADER: And I had many -- what I called them projects. They were different people in the town that I followed, watched. Kathryn Bright was one of the next targets.

SANCHEZ: That was Rader's chilling description of how he made his choices.

RADER: Stalking and trolling. You go through the trolling stage, and then a stalking stage. She was in the stalking stage when this happened.

SANCHEZ: She was Rader's fifth victim, 21-year-old Kathryn Bright, a worker at the Coleman Camping Factory, the same factory Rader left just a year before the murder.

WALLER: How did you select her?

SANCHEZ: Just driving by one day and I saw her go in the house with somebody else and I thought, that's a possibility.

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: It is very typical that many serial killers start with a fantasy, then they take that fantasy and they start to act on it in minor ways by stalking, walking around, casing a joint, watching women through their windows, perhaps. And then it will actually proceed where the fantasy and the stalking is not enough.

SANCHEZ: Rader broke into Kathryn's home and waited hours until she returned. To his surprise, she did not return alone.

RADER: She and Kevin Bright came in. I wasn't expecting him to be there.

SANCHEZ: Kevin was Kathryn's brother. In Rader's mind, another witness. By now, he was prepared to put down, as he called it, anyone who got in his way. But his first attempt at killing Kevin Bright failed.

RADER: I went back to the other bedroom where Kevin was at and I tried to restrangle him at that time and he jumped up. I went back to finish the job on Kathryn, and she was fighting.

SANCHEZ: Though he was strangled and shot, somehow Kevin survived and escaped. And Dennis Rader learned a lesson, he's never again take on a project without his hit kit.

RADER: If I had brought my stuff and used my stuff, Kevin would probably be dead today. I'm not bragging on that, it's just a matter of fact. It's the bonds I tied him up with that he broke them.

SANCHEZ: The BTK hit kit? A briefcase containing ropes, plastic bags, and all the tools necessary to ply his deadly trade.

JORDAN: When Dennis Rader talks about his hit kits and his hit clothes, what he's trying to do, again, is convince you that he's extremely intelligent. It's really -- if you could just see the subtext of what he's really saying is, he's saying, look at how smart I am. Look at how well organized I am. Look at how successful I was. I thought this out and that's why I got away with it for a very long time.

SANCHEZ: Rick Sanchez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Let's take look at other stories making news coast to coast right now.

Crews are now repairing a roadway scorched by this fiery crash. Look at this. A tanker truck carrying fuel collided with a semi- trailer near the Indianapolis -- or near Indianapolis on Monday. Looking at the fire and all the crews that were there and all the water that's being sprayed on it to put it out, it's amazing that there was only one injury and that was to the tanker driver. He is hospitalized, but he is expected to recover. So there is good news there.

And looking closely at the surveillance video. An off-duty New York City police officer was stabbed when he tried to stop an armed robber. The suspect was trying to hold up a doughnut shop. The officer was waiting in line. Now he's hospitalized in stable condition. The suspect took off without any money and he is still at large.

And from Milwaukee, check out this big baby. And we are not kidding. Delaney Jessica Bizell (ph) came into the world weighing nearly -- brace yourself -- 14 pounds. Her dad has nicknamed her the Big Enchilada. Delaney's two older sisters were also born big, one almost 12 pounds, the other 10 and a half. And Dad's names for them? Whopper and Whopper, Jr.

All right. We're going to get a check of the markets. That is coming up next.

Plus, why some investors are kicking themselves for not buying Google stock. I'm one of them.

LIVE TODAY continues after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, the clock is ticking and the pressure mounting for basketball teams looking for promising new talent. In less than nine hours, the NBA draft gets underway and we have all the details online.

CNN's Veronica De La Cruz has a preview from the dot-com desk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: Madison Square Garden is playing host to the NBA draft and si.com is your home for all the action.

When it comes to top picks, will the Bucks go with Utah's seven- foot center Andrew Bogut, who took his team to the sweet 16? Or 19- year-old Marvin Williams from North Carolina, who arrived at Chapel Hill a top recruit, yet accepted a back seat for the Tar Heels national championship run.

You can check out other top college choices by clicking through this interactive gallery. When it comes to high school, the top prospect, Gerald Green, is drawing comparisons to a young Tracy McGrady for his athleticism and shooting stroke.

Follow the draft at home with these player profiles, which include bios and vital stats. And don't forget to log on to si.com/nbadraft Tuesday night for a live draft tracker and analysis.

From the dot-com news desk, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: It is 10:52 in Boston, Massachusetts, where summer heat is easing a bit today. And at 9:52 in St. Louis, Missouri, where heat and air pollution could make things a little unpleasant. So you want to stay with us, because when we come back, we'll have a quick check of this morning's forecast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Heavy rain triggered flash flooding in the mountains of North Carolina on Monday. Rescuers had to pull six motorists from submerged vehicles, and a summer camp was evacuated as a precaution. About nine inches of rain fell in a 12-hour period.

Winds -- they have died down this morning in southwestern Utah, where a wildfire threatened homes. Shifting winds forced evacuations around New Harmony late Monday. Flames, they rose 100 feet high at one development. But firefighters were able to save those homes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: And with Independence Day less than a week away, a demonstration now to frighten you into practicing fireworks safety. You will want to see it.

Also, a massive live reenactment of one of the greatest naval battles of all times. We take you there live. The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

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