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Raging Battle in Pakistan; A Year in Iraq; Multiple Explosions Heard in Baghdad; Interview With Paul Bremer

Aired March 19, 2004 - 12:00   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.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Unfolding in this hour, the next hour here on CNN, the fierce battle along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan happening right now. Pakistani forces on the trail of a high value target that could be al Quad's second in command, Ayman al- Zawahiri. We're live with fast-moving developments.
President Bush, as we've just seen, marking the anniversary of the war in Iraq with an optimistic view of how things are going one year later. This hour, I'll speak live with Ambassador Paul Bremer -- he's the chief U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq -- about the future of that war-torn country. He'll join us live from Baghdad.

First, let's check some of the headlines this hour.

Taiwan's national election will take place tomorrow as scheduled despite the shooting of the President Chen Shui-bian at the campaign parade. The president is out of the hospital right now, and so is the vice president of Taiwan who was grazed in the attack. At this hour, there are no known suspects.

President Bush has one assurance from the president of Poland, that Polish troops will remain in Iraq. Yesterday, the president, Alexander Kwasniewski, said he had been misled before the Iraq war about weapons of mass destruction. In a phone call today, he reportedly told Mr. Bush that Polish troops will stay in Iraq "as long as needed."

Also today, police -- that is, public schools in a lockdown right here in the nation's capital. Police are conducting security sweeps after a non-specific bomb threat was received over the Internet. The threat is now being described as low risk.

Up first this hour, the raging battle in Pakistan that may involve Osama Ladder's most trusted lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Pakistan is pouring in reinforcements today to tighten the noose around hundreds of militant fighters in the region that's believed to harbor al Qaeda's top leaders. Some reports say the fighting has spread, and Afghan officials now are claiming arrests of ranking terrorist figures on their side of the border.

CNN's Nic Robertson begins our coverage. He's live in Islamabad -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Pakistan military officials say that the bombardment of what they believe the terrorist hideouts are inside Waziristan, quite close to the Afghan border, has been stepped up throughout the today. They say they've been using Cobra attack helicopters, pounding the area with artillery, and having gun battles as well.

They say that the people they're trying to attack are firing back with mortars, with rockets. They've also been firing back from guns.

Now, as it's described to us by military Pakistani officials today, it sounds like the situation there is developing into a sort of standoff, if you will. The Pakistani military has not been going in to any of these compounds. The area that we know is a fairly large area, perhaps 12 to 15 square miles, a number of what the Pakistani military describe as mud-built fortified compounds, the targets of the Pakistani military at this time.

But they haven't appeared to have gone into any of these areas. What the Pakistani military is saying it's doing at the moment is or cordoning the area, controlling this area. They say they have an inner and outer cordon. However, they say since this operation began Tuesday, they've been meeting much stiffer resistance than expected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. SHOUKAT SULTAN, PAKISTAN ARMY: There are two targets. I'm not going to name those two or three persons, but their names keep on appearing in the media generally, the wanted men, their houses.

So this is where (UNINTELLIGIBLE) have gone to carry out the search. They have actually underestimated the resistance that they would face. That is why probably they were not in that much strength. So they actually barged into harder (ph) terrorist depth (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, Pakistani military officials say the offer for these 200 people or so to surrender still stands open. They say they took another eight people into detention today. They described three of them as being Pakistani, five of them, they say, were non-- Pakistani foreigners. One of those people they say they took into custody was injured -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Are you getting sort of pushed away from this notion with your briefings there in Islamabad, Nic, that Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are possibly the targets of this right now? Are they suggesting that both of them are together, or suggesting maybe only that Ayman al-Zawahiri might be there?

ROBERTSON: Really, what we are hearing from military officials behind the scenes and intelligence officials near Pakistan -- because publicly the government here won't say this is Ayman al-Zawahiri that they believe is holed up in one of those compounds -- they're talking behind the scenes still about Ayman al-Zawahiri. We haven't heard a widespread linking of Osama bin Laden with Ayman al-Zawahiri. That certainly not being put across by government officials here.

But as far as backing away from Ayman al-Zawahiri, that's not happening. What appears to be happening here, a standoff seems to be developing. The Pakistani government aware that they have a very large area here to contain and control, irrespective of the number of troops that they've put in.

One Pakistani military official told us that it's very, very difficult, perhaps impossible to properly seal off that area. There would be concerns that perhaps Ayman al-Zawahiri or others could get out of that region. So perhaps just playing down expectations a little having laid this out so much already -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Nic Robertson in Islamabad for us. Nic, thanks very much.

Let's go over to the Pentagon now. Our Barbara Starr is monitoring developments over there.

Barbara, tell our viewers what you've learned about what's being described as a ferocious battle under way right now in western Pakistan.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, by all accounts here at the Pentagon and across Washington, nearly 24 hours after this situation has unfolded, officials here say they still have no direct information about whether Ayman al-Zawahiri is inside that compound that is now the subject of this attack. They say they are waiting to get more information from the Pakistani government.

Now, it does not come as a total surprise, of course, to the Bush administration that this fight has unfolded over the last several weeks. The Pakistani military has moved through this area. They have had better intelligence, better tactics, a lot of troops pouring in to take advantage of some of that intelligence. And the feeling was it was just a matter of time before they might come across one of these so-called high value targets.

but the Bush administration, the Pentagon already looking at this much more broadly in the strategic sense. What does it all mean for the war on terrorism if one of the top al Qaeda leaders is actually captured or killed? General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke about that on CNN earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: It's one step in a many-step process to defeat international terrorism. So by itself, it's not going to stop plots that are already under way. It's not going to stop some of these operatives from continuing to operate.

But when you take the head off an organization, it's obviously going to have an impact. He's been around for a long time in this organization, supporting it and leading it. So it will be a significant event, but it will just be one more step in many steps that have to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: And, of course, Wolf, as Nic Robertson just said, perhaps one of the most interesting questions that cannot be answered at the moment, what about Osama bin Laden? Did he go on the run again before this latest battle unfolded? Is he making his way back into Afghanistan?

Nobody knows. But by all accounts, U.S. forces now very closely monitoring that border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, watching those mountain passes, making sure no high value targets are on the run there -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara, it's now after 10:00 p.m. in Pakistan. It's nighttime, clearly. Does that make a difference as far as what you know about the Pakistani military capability? Do they have the kind of night vision equipment that the U.S. military has that would allow them to fight in the Middle of the night?

STARR: Well, the question is going to be their night vision capability in terms of reconnaissance and surveillance, of course. Night vision goggles for an individual soldier will give them some capability but, of course, it will just be very narrow what they can see in their own field of view.

The question really that no one of course knows the answer to is whether or not U.S. intelligence is providing any overhead nighttime surveillance. Are any U.S. predators, those unmanned drones, flying over the area at night, keeps watching for an infrared signature perhaps, vehicles on the move? Any indication that anyone is trying to get away.

Now, we can tell you that we have been told no U.S. military reconnaissance or intelligence assets are flying over Pakistan at the moment. But that certainly leaves any intelligence assets that might have been operated by the CIA as an open question -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon with that report. Barbara, thanks very much.

The military might, the firepower, and the resolve of a Bush administration. A year ago tonight, Iraqis felt it for a second time in a dozen years. This time around, a coalition of the willing made it into Baghdad and forced Saddam Hussein out.

President Bush has said it was a fight for the heart and soul of a democratic Iraq. On this first anniversary and start of the start of the war, he spoke about the progress, the losses and the challenges.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is over at the White House. She's joining us live.

Within the past hour, we heard the president speak live here on CNN, Kathleen. And he made the case that the war in Iraq was part of the bigger war against terror.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Wolf, and this speech had a very strong message not only for U.S. allies but of course for terrorists around the world. And the president delivered this speech to an audience of some representatives of 83 Nations, ambassadors. And not only Nations that joined in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, but very notably several that didn't, specifically France, Germany, and Russia.

And the president referred directly to them in this speech, saying that, while there have been disagreements in this matter among what he called old and valued allies, the president said that those differences belonged to the past. Mr. Bush spoke sweepingly about the war on terror, saying that there is no neutral ground, that there can be no separate peace with the terrorist enemy.

And an unveiled reference to the recent election results in Spain. The president said that any sign of weakness or retreat invites more violence for all Nations, Nations that Mr. Bush said can only overcome terrorism by standing United.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are the Nations that have recognized the threat of terrorism, and we are the Nations that will defeat that threat. Each of us has pledged before the world we will never bow to the violence of a few. We will face this mortal danger and we will overcome it together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: President Bush ended his speech focusing on the war one year ago that began in Iraq, calling that day a day of deliverance. Mr. Bush said that all can now agree that the action removed a source of violence, aggression and instability in the Middle East, calling the invasion a turning point and a crucial advance for human liberty.

The only mention that the president made in this speech, interestingly, of weapons of mass destruction, which have not obviously been found in Iraq, was his brief insistence that it was a good thing that years of what he called employment of elicit weapons there have come to an end. So a tough speech vowing solidarity against terrorists, who the president said are trying to weaken our will, insisting that they are only finding resolve -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House. Kathleen, thanks very much.

Meanwhile, in Iraq today, the anniversary has been met with both praise and protest, and a surprise visit from a top Bush administration official. Our senior international correspondent, Walter Rodgers, is joining us now. All of our viewers remember he raced with the 37th Cavalry through the desert to Baghdad. He's back one year later.

All right. First, Walter, Secretary of State Colin Powell made a brief visit to Baghdad. What happened?

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was interesting, Wolf, because the undertone of the secretary of state's visit seemed to be an attempt to still persuade the international community that the Bush administration acted correctly when it invaded Iraq a year ago. Of course, the secretary was here to meet with Paul Bremer, the chief American envoy here, the chief American administrator, and also met with the Governing Council.

The secretary of state faced a New conference here and got some very tough questions. Among them, how long is it going to take for the Americans to turn the corner and end the violence which is plaguing Iraqi civilians? The secretary acknowledged the car bombings here, the drive-by shootings, and seemed to suggest that the best hope for curbing that violence here in Iraq lies not so much with the American occupation forces, but with an embryonic Iraqi police force which the Americans are training, but it's still an embryonic operation.

He repeated again the necessity of the war on terror in Iraq. It was even suggested in one question there was no terror in Iraq, no terrorism in Iraq until the Americans invaded. The secretary of state responded to that by saying that the president was totally right in his commitment to the onslaught to topple Saddam Hussein, and that there was no place to run and hide, and there was no neutral ground in this particular war.

There was an awkward moment for the secretary in the news conference. Iraqi journalists got up, read a statement of protest, and walk out en masse. This was because one of the -- or two Arab journalists were killed at an American military checkpoint yesterday. Again, it was something the secretary said would be investigated, but it caused him, again, humiliation and some embarrassment.

And on the streets of Baghdad, again, while the secretary was here, demonstrations against the United States. People calling for an end of the military occupation. And you will recall this is just one year after Saddam Hussein was toppled, yet Iraqis were out on the street shouting, "No to Saddam and no to America." Not a very auspicious moment for the secretary of state's visit -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Walter, all of our viewers in the United States and around the world recall a year ago your very vivid, dramatic reporting from this 37th Cavalry as you moved from Kuwait up through Iraq towards Baghdad. You're back there now a year later. Share with our viewers some of your thoughts on this first anniversary of the start of the war.

RODGERS: Wolf, the first thing I thought of a short while ago was how darned cold the desert gets at night when you sleep in it. One thing more interesting and substantive, however, is the fact that a year ago, every one of the soldiers I was with believed that they were coming to Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein and to liberate the Iraqi people.

The soldiers I was with in the 7th Cavalry were totally persuaded they were embarked on a moral cause, that they were liberating the Iraqi people, and they believed that they would encounter weapons of mass destruction. They believed those weapons of mass destruction would be launched at them. That was the mood a year ago. As you know now, there are no weapons of mass destruction. And the Americans have acknowledged that pretty much.

As for the Iraqis being grateful for the removal of Saddam Hussein, that's one of those things, well, that's what you did yesterday. What have you done for me today? And as can you see, the Iraqis are not overly enthused about the Americans being here because the Americans have not given them security in the post-Saddam era, security from car bombs -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Walter Rodgers back in Baghdad for us. Walter, thanks very much.

What does the future hold for Iraq? The top U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, he'll be joining me live this hour from Baghdad.

Also coming up next, he led coalition land forces during the war. What is Lieutenant General David McKiernan saying one year later? He'll join me live. That's coming up next. He'll be joining me live from Kuwait City.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(AUDIO GAP)

LT. GEN. DAVID MCKIERNAN, U.S. ARMY: Wolf, no, we didn't have a 100 percent guarantee that we were going to find weapons of mass destruction. What we did have was a series of targets, locations where the material or parts of programs potentially were. And we had a good plan to exploit those sites as we maneuvered north.

And, in fact, by the time we had gotten to Baghdad and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein, we had exploited hundreds of those sites. Not finding anything material, but we did have a series of targets that we had planned for, for sometime to look at.

BLITZER: I remember those days vividly. I was in Kuwait, and I remember all the U.S. troops as they moved into Iraq basically had all the chemical gear, all the protective gear on, the gas masks. They assumed the worst case scenario. With hindsight, was that wise?

MCKIERNAN: I believe it was absolutely wise. We -- as a military, we always prepare for the worst thing that could happen to us. And so we did do extensive training and made sure that we had the right equipment and the right procedures and techniques to deal with biological or chemical contamination. So our preparedness was a scary thing for all of us, but it was a necessary thing to be ready for that kind of environment.

BLITZER: When Saddam Hussein insisted that he had no weapons of mass destruction before the war, and most of almost everyone thought he was lying, is it possible he may have been telling the truth?

MCKIERNAN: Wolf, I would probably leave that to far wiser analysts than myself. But from my perspective, there was a history of lies. So I don't think anybody felt confident that he was telling the truth on that.

BLITZER: What was the major lesson that you learned during those 40 days as you moved into Iraq and you removed Saddam Hussein from power? The major ground force lesson that you came away with?

MCKIERNAN: I'm not sure I learned a variety of new lessons. A lot of lessons were reinforced to me, such as the power of fighting in a joint formation, where the air, the ground, the special operations and the maritime capabilities are all synchronized to provide the right effects, the right place at the right time.

I learned -- re-learned and reinforced the value of leadership and of training. And I will tell you, quite frankly, there was never a doubt in my mind that our coalition military forces would accomplish the mission.

BLITZER: Was there -- looking back, was it a mistake to see the entire Iraqi armies, some 400,000 troops see that crumble basically, and be disbanded, given what's happened since then?

MCKIERNAN: Well, I think it's a fair assessment to say that the Iraqi army basically dissolved. Those that elected to stay and fight were defeated or destroyed. There were significant amount of Iraqi military formations that simply gave up and went home, and there were some that blended into those elements, that chose to fight in a variety of organizations and mostly urban terrain. So there wasn't what I would call any sort of cohesive Iraqi army by the time we got to Baghdad and to quickly reform and get back to work.

BLITZER: All right. General, I want to you stand by for a moment. We're going to take a quick commercial break.

As we do this, we're getting reports now from Baghdad that once again sirens are being heard, some explosions apparently once again happening in Baghdad. We'll check in with our people there on the scene.

You're looking at some live pictures from Baghdad right now. We'll check all that and continue our discussion with Lieutenant General David McKiernan. He's in Kuwait City.

Also, still to come, the top U.S. top civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, he'll be joining me live from Baghdad. That's coming up as well.

First, though, let's also get a quick check of the markets. The Dow Jones industrials down about 12 points right now. We'll continue to watch Wall Street. More importantly, we'll continue to watch what's happening in Baghdad on this first anniversary of the start of the U.S.-led war against Saddam Hussein.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: You're looking at live pictures of Baghdad right now. You can clearly hear sounds. You can see a helicopter flying overhead. Explosions have been heard only within the past few minutes. At the same time, sirens are going off in the headquarters compound of the coalition forces in Baghdad, in the so-called Green Zone.

We'll keep watching these pictures, get some more information for you. But let's bring back Lieutenant General David McKiernan. He's in Kuwait. He was the commanding general of the U.S.-led coalition land forces, the invasion of Iraq one year ago. It began one year ago today.

General McKiernan, as you hear these sounds, you hear these reports of explosions and sirens going off in Baghdad, what goes through your mind?

MCKIERNAN: Well, Wolf, I don't think it's a surprise to anybody, at least of all the military conducting operations in Iraq, that we're still in a fight that is still a volatile environment. And I'm not surprised that there are reports of incidents in Baghdad and other places in Iraq.

BLITZER: Tell our viewers what your job is right now in the military. What's your mission?

MCKIERNAN: I'm still a coalition land forces commander, but my area of responsibility now is primarily Kuwait. And what we are in the process of doing is rotating forces into Kuwait, through Kuwait, into Iraq, and back out of Iraq to re-deploy back to the United States or Europe.

So we have a tremendously complex and large operation going on that really started from about January and will extend for some time, where more than a quarter of a million soldiers and Marines and coalition formations will come one of two directions through Kuwait, either re-deploying or deploying, and that's quite an operation.

BLITZER: It's a very dangerous operation as well. You have new troops coming in who may not necessarily have the experience those of troops who have been there for a year right now. It requires an enormous logistical challenge to keep everyone safe during this kind of transition. How dangerous of a mission is it?

MCKIERNAN: Well, it's a combat zone. So it is dangerous by nature, and it is true that you lose some experience when you bring units out that have been operating in that environment for up to a year.

But I will tell you also that we have taken what we do, what we call lessons learned, and we've applied a lot of techniques and tactics and cultural awareness, and brought those experiences to our formations that are deploying to Iraq. And made sure that we have trained on the right things to prepare those men and women the best we can to operate in that environment. So it's not completely green troops that are moving up there.

BLITZER: I read an account the other day of a convoy moving in from Kuwait, from northern Kuwait, into Iraq up through Iraq towards Baghdad. The dangers for that kind of convoy, it was a pretty harrowing experience.

Are you satisfied that the convoys have the kind of armored equipment, the Humvees that are needed to protect these troops as they move into their positions in Iraq?

MCKIERNAN: Well, we are still not at 100 percent of the requirements that we would like to see over here in terms of armored Humvees and other add-on armor that we're putting on some of our wheeled vehicles. But we get better in that every week through a tremendous logistics effort. But we do other things as well here in Kuwait.

We do convoy live-fire training, so that those convoys that are moving north know how to react to ambushes, they know how to react to improvised explosive devices. And we take the current threat conditions that exist in Iraq and apply those to our training before units leave Kuwait. So we provide, I think, a very good force protection stance for those units moving north.

BLITZER: General McKiernan, thanks very much for joining us. Good luck to you and good luck to all the men and women you command. You have a very dangerous assignment. We will continue to stay in touch with you.

Lieutenant General David McKiernan, joining from us Kuwait on this first anniversary of the start of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

MCKIERNAN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And we want to show our viewers live pictures we're getting from Baghdad right now. Only within the past few moments, we've seen and heard explosions in the so-called Green Zone. That's the most secure area, the home of the U.S.-led coalition forces.

Sirens wailing there. We're going to get some update on what exactly is going on in Baghdad. We'll check in, in fact, with the U.S. civilian administrator, the coalition administrator who confirmed the capture of Saddam Hussein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR IN IRAQ: We got him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: One year after the war began, is everything going as planned in Iraq? I'll speak live with the top U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, even as sirens are wailing in Baghdad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BUSH: My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger. On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That was the president exactly one year ago today, announcing that the war had begun. So how far has Iraq come since then? And are plans to return power to the Iraqis on track?

Joining us now from Baghdad with a progress report, the man in charge of the coalition provisional authority, Ambassador Paul Bremer.

Mr. Ambassador, welcome back. I want to play for you our viewers, the explosions, the sounds we just heard in Baghdad, where you are, only moments ago. Listen to this.

(EXPLOSIONS)

Mr. Ambassador, you heard the explosions. You hear the sirens going off. I don't know if you've been briefed, but do you know what's going on?

BREMER: Well, I've actually been here at the studio. I understand from my people that we've heard some explosions. You just played them. We think they are outside the Green Zone but we just don't know yet. It's only just happened.

BLITZER: How worried are you, though, that at this first anniversary of the war and as you approach June 30th, when you want to hand over power to the Iraqis, that this is only going to continue, the enemies, the insurgents terrorists are going to step up their efforts to try to derail this entire process?

BREMER: I think it's quite likely that we will face a concerted effort by the terrorists between now and June 30th, because they know indeed, as Mr. Zarqawi in his famous letter said, they know that once the Iraqis have a government here, there's really no pretext for the attacks any longer.

So I think we'll continue to have that. We'll have some ups and downs between now and June 30th. There's no doubt about it.

BLITZER: Is there anything else that the coalition should be doing together with Iraqis that you're not doing? Does anything come to mind?

BREMER: I think we've got the right strategy here, Wolf, which is to try to get the best intelligence we can so we can get out and capture or kill the terrorists before they kill, to build up the Iraqi security forces so they can play a bigger role in defending their own country. And we've got a very accelerated program there on the police, on the army, on the civil defense force, on the border police. And you can only do that so fast, because you've got to have some quality control as you go forward. We've had some problems, particularly in the police, and we're going about it as fast as you can go.

BLITZER: I get the sense -- correct me if I'm wrong -- that those who oppose you, the terrorists out there, they're increasingly going after what are being described as soft targets, like the hotel in Baghdad the other day, as opposed to U.S. military targets that are obviously much more difficult to try to penetrate. Is that your intelligence assessment?

BREMER: There certainly is a tendency, and it goes back more than just recently. There's a tendency that really goes back to the fall for the terrorists to try to attack civilians.

We saw it really starting with the bombing on August 29th in Najaf which killed almost 100 Iraqis, most of them Shia worshippers, including a very senior ayatollah. So it's something we've seen before. It's clear that the terrorists have shifted their tactic a bit in the last, say, 60 to 90 days to go after softer targets. But this is typical of terrorists.

Terrorists want to kill people. And they want to kill as many as they can. And as far as they're concerned, the best thing to do is find mobs of people and set off bombs. It's a very difficult tactic against which to defend.

BLITZER: We've heard some conflicting accounts over Iraqis reacting to these most recent terrorist attacks in Baghdad and Basra. Some Iraqis expressing their horror and condemnation of the terrorists, but others saying the U.S. is responsible for getting them into this situation to begin with. What are you hearing?

BREMER: Well, I hear both of those things. But I have to tell you, if you look carefully at the press and at the polls, the vast majority of Iraqis are very fed up with these terrorists attacking them, and they don't blame the United States. They blame the terrorists, and that's where the blame belongs.

You can always find somebody on the streets to give an interview who will blame us in the heat of the emotion. But if you look carefully at the polls over the last five or six months, it's pretty clear the Iraqis know how to blame, and that's the terrorists.

BLITZER: But do they also suggest that the U.S. should be doing more to provide security?

BREMER: There are sort of two trends of thinking on the part of the Iraqis. One of them is that they would like to do more themselves. They very much want to be more responsible for security. We agree with that. I already mentioned what we're doing.

The other one is, as you point out, to blame us when security goes wrong. That's an understandable reaction. And the way we have to fix that is with better intelligence so we can get the terrorists before they can attack us.

But, you know very well that terrorism is a form of asymmetrical warfare. And it's very difficult to defend against. And there is know such thing as 100 percent security. So if you have people who are willing to put on explosive belts and put themselves into a big crowd, as happened in Karbala a couple of weeks ago, it's very hard to stop.

BLITZER: As you know, the new Spanish government says it will pull out its 1,300 troops from Iraq unless there's a new U.N. Security Council resolution, putting the entire process effectively under U.N. control. Is that realistic?

BREMER: Well, I don't know. I think it's a little early to judge what the Spanish government -- after all, the people who are making these comments are not yet in government. They'll have to come into government, and they'll have to review the files and make some decisions. And let's see what they say.

But let's not lose track of the fact we have more than 30 other countries here with or without the Spanish. We've got a lot of troops here and a lot of countries here. This is a very broad international effort, as the president said in his speech earlier today, and it will remain a very broad international effort whether the Spanish choose to stay or whatever their choice is.

BLITZER: Is the June 30th deadline for the transition to Iraqi sovereignty, is that set in concrete? Or is there any wiggle room on moving that date?

BREMER: No, that's the date we're going to pass sovereignty back to an Iraqi government.

BLITZER: How confident are you that things will move smoothly? I know you're supposed to leave yourself right after that date. But how confident are you that the Iraqis are ready to accept sovereignty? Because, at least in my mind, I'm still not clear exactly who takes over on July 1st.

BREMER: There are two questions. As for who takes over on July 1st, that is a matter that the Iraqi Governing Council yesterday invited the U.N. to come back and work with us and the Governing Council on. We're going to have to figure out what that government is like.

We'd like to have a broader political base in that government as we go forward. But that government will be put together in time for June 30th, and that will be the government to whom we will hand sovereignty on June 30th. I think that much is clear. Exactly what it's going to look like, I think that's something we have to work on.

BLITZER: Have you worked out some of the disputes, some of the differences with the Shiite leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al- Sistani, who clearly opposed the caucus system that you had come up with a few months ago in terms of some sort of direct election following this transition? BREMER: Well, the transitional law which was passed on March 8th actually prepares the country for four elections next year. So there are going to be direct elections, as the Ayatollah has asked for.

We have a lot of work to do to get ready for those elections, and that's one of the urgent things that the United Nations is going to be coming in here to work with us on. Setting up an electoral commission, writing in an electoral law and writing a political parties law, getting a voters' list ready, all of these things have to be done very quickly to meet the deadline for the first of those four elections in January next year.

BLITZER: And wrapping up, Mr. Ambassador, on this first anniversary of the start of the war, to our viewers in the United States and around the world, what is going through your mind on this day?

BREMER: You know, I think back -- of course, I wasn't here a year ago. I'm sitting in a room where Baghdad Bob used to hold his so-called press conferences. I'm sitting in a free Iraq. I'm sitting in an Iraq where there are over 200 newspapers that have sprung up since the liberation, where 25 million people are thirsting for democracy.

A year really makes a huge amount of difference to these people, and it's a great year for Iraqis. And what's really good is the Iraqis recognize how much better off they are now. But even more important, the polls show they're very optimistic about how they're going to be next year. And I agree, next year they'll have an elected government here.

BLITZER: Mr. Ambassador, good luck to you, good luck to all the people that you're working with. Let's hope it goes smoothly. Let's hope the sirens and these explosions stop becoming a nearly daily occurrence in Baghdad. I fear, though, that they won't.

Good to speak to you always. Thanks very much.

BREMER: Nice to be with you.

BLITZER: And one year after the launch of air strikes in Baghdad, we've heard from the president, the president of the United States. We heard from him earlier.

But what about the Kerry campaign? What are they saying? Their take, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: There can be no separate peace with the terrorist enemy. Any sign of weakness or retreat simply validates terrorist violence and invites more violence for all nations. The only certain way to protect our people is by uniting and decisive action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: President Bush says the fall of Saddam Hussein marks a turning point in the Middle East. The president marked the one-year anniversary of the start of the war with a speech today over at the White House. He called on all nations to remain united in the war on terror.

Here with reaction to the speech is Rand Beers. He's a national security adviser to the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Rand, thanks very much for joining us. What's your bottom-line reaction to what the president had to say?

RAND BEERS, KERRY CAMPAIGN: Well, I think that the president gave a very good speech in terms of what where we ought to be with respect to our goals. But obviously getting there asks the question about what are the details. And I think that's what represents the heart of the difference between John Kerry and the president.

BLITZER: Well, let's get to them. What would be the major difference right now -- forget about what happened leading up to the war. But right now, if John Kerry were president of the United States, what would he be doing differently in Iraq right now than what the president is doing?

BEERS: John Kerry would be working to get the United Nations back in as quickly as possible, and he would give them the role of designing the political future of Iraq. And he would be working with the allies at the same time in order to increase the level of participation and the number of forces there. He would be working, as the president is, to try to ensure that the Spanish don't withdraw, that the Poles don't withdraw. But we need more people there, not less.

BLITZER: But I heard Ambassador Bremer say he wants the U.N. to come in and help with the election, get the election organized, make sure the transition to Iraqi sovereignty is smooth. It sounds like they're both moving in the same direction, the president and John Kerry.

BEERS: If I was confident that the administration was prepared to do what was necessary in order for the United Nations to be more involved, then I would agree with you. But the history is that this administration has not been prepared to make the moves politically in order to draw the U.N. into a greater involvement.

And so I have to ask, are they prepared now, finally, on the eve of the transition to do that? I don't know the answer to that, but history doesn't suggest that.

BLITZER: As you know, the president, the vice president, the Bush-Cheney campaign in their commercials, their supporters, they're hammering at John Kerry for the inconsistencies that he apparently had going into the war, after the war, and specifically on the sensitive issue that he voted against the $87 billion appropriation bill. The president in his speech in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, yesterday, saying, if John Kerry had his way, the troops there wouldn't have the helmets, the protective gear they need to protect themselves.

BEERS: You know, I find that really an overly misuse of reality. The president of the United States was prepared to veto that bill for an issue having to do with whether or not 50 percent of the money that would have gone to the Iraqis was going to be on a loan basis.

Now, if he's going to veto the bill, why can't John Kerry stand on principle and say, Mr. President, I don't support your policy. I think it ought to change. I think that cannot give you a blank check. And, therefore, I have to vote no because you're not willing to change your policy. The president was saying the same to Congress.

BLITZER: And explain what John Kerry meant when he said, I voted for the bill, but then I voted against the bill.

BEERS: He meant that he voted for at amendment to rescind the tax cuts. Which had it been included in the bill, he probably would have voted for the bill. Then he voted no because that issue was not resolved to his way.

BLITZER: Was it a mistake for John Kerry to say that unnamed foreign leaders are suggesting to him privately without mentioning any names that they want Bush out and him in?

BEERS: No, I don't think it was a mistake. He was simply stating what I think was obvious. It wasn't a problem for the Bush administration before the war to say that they had a number of Arab governments that were prepared to participate, but they couldn't name them at the time. And I don't see any reason that John Kerry should reveal private conversations.

BLITZER: Rand Beers, thanks very much. Former National Security Council official, now supporting John Kerry.

BEERS: Thank you. Pleasure to be here.

BLITZER: Thank you.

And the unfolding story along the border of Pakistan. Does Pakistan's military have Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant cornered? We'll have a live update. That's coming up in the next hour of CNN on "LIVE FROM."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: I'll be back later today, every day weekday, 5:00 p.m. Eastern for "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS." We've got a busy day ahead. I'll be talking to the former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright. She's a major supporter of John Kerry right now.

Then it's the inside edge with Carlos Watson. He'll bring us details on the Bush and Kerry campaigns that you haven't heard about before.

And finally, this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, "THE APPRENTICE": Wolf, I don't like the job you're doing. You're fired.

BLITZER: You're fired.

TRUMP: Whoa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: I had some fun with Donald Trump. He'll be my guest as well. All of that coming up.

Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

"LIVE FROM" with Fredricka Whitfield is coming up next.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Zeroing in on a high value target. Will a fierce battle in Pakistan net one of al Qaeda's top leaders?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: We'll never turn over Iraq to terrorists who intend our own destruction. We will not feel the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Marking one year of war with a vow to finish the job in Iraq.

A close call for the president of Taiwan. Check this out. An assassin's bullet goes through the car's window but only grazes the president.

Panic at a zoo. A gorilla goes on a rampage, attacking several people, include a woman and her child. You'll hear from the woman this hour.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Miles O'Brien and Kyra Phillips are off today. CNN's "LIVE FROM" begins right now.

Up first this hour, standoff in South Waziristan. And that's the remote and rugged chunk of northeast Pakistan, where thousands of government troops continue to battle hundreds of al Qaeda fighters and Pakistani tribesman. The latter group is presumed to be defending a high valued target, possibly the man considered to be the brains of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. And the next 48 hours, says one top official, may be conclusive.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Islamabad with the latest -- Nic. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the very latest from here, we've heard a statement read on a regional...





Explosions Heard in Baghdad; Interview With Paul Bremer>


Aired March 19, 2004 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Unfolding in this hour, the next hour here on CNN, the fierce battle along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan happening right now. Pakistani forces on the trail of a high value target that could be al Quad's second in command, Ayman al- Zawahiri. We're live with fast-moving developments.
President Bush, as we've just seen, marking the anniversary of the war in Iraq with an optimistic view of how things are going one year later. This hour, I'll speak live with Ambassador Paul Bremer -- he's the chief U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq -- about the future of that war-torn country. He'll join us live from Baghdad.

First, let's check some of the headlines this hour.

Taiwan's national election will take place tomorrow as scheduled despite the shooting of the President Chen Shui-bian at the campaign parade. The president is out of the hospital right now, and so is the vice president of Taiwan who was grazed in the attack. At this hour, there are no known suspects.

President Bush has one assurance from the president of Poland, that Polish troops will remain in Iraq. Yesterday, the president, Alexander Kwasniewski, said he had been misled before the Iraq war about weapons of mass destruction. In a phone call today, he reportedly told Mr. Bush that Polish troops will stay in Iraq "as long as needed."

Also today, police -- that is, public schools in a lockdown right here in the nation's capital. Police are conducting security sweeps after a non-specific bomb threat was received over the Internet. The threat is now being described as low risk.

Up first this hour, the raging battle in Pakistan that may involve Osama Ladder's most trusted lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Pakistan is pouring in reinforcements today to tighten the noose around hundreds of militant fighters in the region that's believed to harbor al Qaeda's top leaders. Some reports say the fighting has spread, and Afghan officials now are claiming arrests of ranking terrorist figures on their side of the border.

CNN's Nic Robertson begins our coverage. He's live in Islamabad -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Pakistan military officials say that the bombardment of what they believe the terrorist hideouts are inside Waziristan, quite close to the Afghan border, has been stepped up throughout the today. They say they've been using Cobra attack helicopters, pounding the area with artillery, and having gun battles as well.

They say that the people they're trying to attack are firing back with mortars, with rockets. They've also been firing back from guns.

Now, as it's described to us by military Pakistani officials today, it sounds like the situation there is developing into a sort of standoff, if you will. The Pakistani military has not been going in to any of these compounds. The area that we know is a fairly large area, perhaps 12 to 15 square miles, a number of what the Pakistani military describe as mud-built fortified compounds, the targets of the Pakistani military at this time.

But they haven't appeared to have gone into any of these areas. What the Pakistani military is saying it's doing at the moment is or cordoning the area, controlling this area. They say they have an inner and outer cordon. However, they say since this operation began Tuesday, they've been meeting much stiffer resistance than expected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. SHOUKAT SULTAN, PAKISTAN ARMY: There are two targets. I'm not going to name those two or three persons, but their names keep on appearing in the media generally, the wanted men, their houses.

So this is where (UNINTELLIGIBLE) have gone to carry out the search. They have actually underestimated the resistance that they would face. That is why probably they were not in that much strength. So they actually barged into harder (ph) terrorist depth (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, Pakistani military officials say the offer for these 200 people or so to surrender still stands open. They say they took another eight people into detention today. They described three of them as being Pakistani, five of them, they say, were non-- Pakistani foreigners. One of those people they say they took into custody was injured -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Are you getting sort of pushed away from this notion with your briefings there in Islamabad, Nic, that Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are possibly the targets of this right now? Are they suggesting that both of them are together, or suggesting maybe only that Ayman al-Zawahiri might be there?

ROBERTSON: Really, what we are hearing from military officials behind the scenes and intelligence officials near Pakistan -- because publicly the government here won't say this is Ayman al-Zawahiri that they believe is holed up in one of those compounds -- they're talking behind the scenes still about Ayman al-Zawahiri. We haven't heard a widespread linking of Osama bin Laden with Ayman al-Zawahiri. That certainly not being put across by government officials here.

But as far as backing away from Ayman al-Zawahiri, that's not happening. What appears to be happening here, a standoff seems to be developing. The Pakistani government aware that they have a very large area here to contain and control, irrespective of the number of troops that they've put in.

One Pakistani military official told us that it's very, very difficult, perhaps impossible to properly seal off that area. There would be concerns that perhaps Ayman al-Zawahiri or others could get out of that region. So perhaps just playing down expectations a little having laid this out so much already -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Nic Robertson in Islamabad for us. Nic, thanks very much.

Let's go over to the Pentagon now. Our Barbara Starr is monitoring developments over there.

Barbara, tell our viewers what you've learned about what's being described as a ferocious battle under way right now in western Pakistan.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, by all accounts here at the Pentagon and across Washington, nearly 24 hours after this situation has unfolded, officials here say they still have no direct information about whether Ayman al-Zawahiri is inside that compound that is now the subject of this attack. They say they are waiting to get more information from the Pakistani government.

Now, it does not come as a total surprise, of course, to the Bush administration that this fight has unfolded over the last several weeks. The Pakistani military has moved through this area. They have had better intelligence, better tactics, a lot of troops pouring in to take advantage of some of that intelligence. And the feeling was it was just a matter of time before they might come across one of these so-called high value targets.

but the Bush administration, the Pentagon already looking at this much more broadly in the strategic sense. What does it all mean for the war on terrorism if one of the top al Qaeda leaders is actually captured or killed? General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke about that on CNN earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: It's one step in a many-step process to defeat international terrorism. So by itself, it's not going to stop plots that are already under way. It's not going to stop some of these operatives from continuing to operate.

But when you take the head off an organization, it's obviously going to have an impact. He's been around for a long time in this organization, supporting it and leading it. So it will be a significant event, but it will just be one more step in many steps that have to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: And, of course, Wolf, as Nic Robertson just said, perhaps one of the most interesting questions that cannot be answered at the moment, what about Osama bin Laden? Did he go on the run again before this latest battle unfolded? Is he making his way back into Afghanistan?

Nobody knows. But by all accounts, U.S. forces now very closely monitoring that border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, watching those mountain passes, making sure no high value targets are on the run there -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara, it's now after 10:00 p.m. in Pakistan. It's nighttime, clearly. Does that make a difference as far as what you know about the Pakistani military capability? Do they have the kind of night vision equipment that the U.S. military has that would allow them to fight in the Middle of the night?

STARR: Well, the question is going to be their night vision capability in terms of reconnaissance and surveillance, of course. Night vision goggles for an individual soldier will give them some capability but, of course, it will just be very narrow what they can see in their own field of view.

The question really that no one of course knows the answer to is whether or not U.S. intelligence is providing any overhead nighttime surveillance. Are any U.S. predators, those unmanned drones, flying over the area at night, keeps watching for an infrared signature perhaps, vehicles on the move? Any indication that anyone is trying to get away.

Now, we can tell you that we have been told no U.S. military reconnaissance or intelligence assets are flying over Pakistan at the moment. But that certainly leaves any intelligence assets that might have been operated by the CIA as an open question -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon with that report. Barbara, thanks very much.

The military might, the firepower, and the resolve of a Bush administration. A year ago tonight, Iraqis felt it for a second time in a dozen years. This time around, a coalition of the willing made it into Baghdad and forced Saddam Hussein out.

President Bush has said it was a fight for the heart and soul of a democratic Iraq. On this first anniversary and start of the start of the war, he spoke about the progress, the losses and the challenges.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is over at the White House. She's joining us live.

Within the past hour, we heard the president speak live here on CNN, Kathleen. And he made the case that the war in Iraq was part of the bigger war against terror.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Wolf, and this speech had a very strong message not only for U.S. allies but of course for terrorists around the world. And the president delivered this speech to an audience of some representatives of 83 Nations, ambassadors. And not only Nations that joined in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, but very notably several that didn't, specifically France, Germany, and Russia.

And the president referred directly to them in this speech, saying that, while there have been disagreements in this matter among what he called old and valued allies, the president said that those differences belonged to the past. Mr. Bush spoke sweepingly about the war on terror, saying that there is no neutral ground, that there can be no separate peace with the terrorist enemy.

And an unveiled reference to the recent election results in Spain. The president said that any sign of weakness or retreat invites more violence for all Nations, Nations that Mr. Bush said can only overcome terrorism by standing United.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are the Nations that have recognized the threat of terrorism, and we are the Nations that will defeat that threat. Each of us has pledged before the world we will never bow to the violence of a few. We will face this mortal danger and we will overcome it together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: President Bush ended his speech focusing on the war one year ago that began in Iraq, calling that day a day of deliverance. Mr. Bush said that all can now agree that the action removed a source of violence, aggression and instability in the Middle East, calling the invasion a turning point and a crucial advance for human liberty.

The only mention that the president made in this speech, interestingly, of weapons of mass destruction, which have not obviously been found in Iraq, was his brief insistence that it was a good thing that years of what he called employment of elicit weapons there have come to an end. So a tough speech vowing solidarity against terrorists, who the president said are trying to weaken our will, insisting that they are only finding resolve -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House. Kathleen, thanks very much.

Meanwhile, in Iraq today, the anniversary has been met with both praise and protest, and a surprise visit from a top Bush administration official. Our senior international correspondent, Walter Rodgers, is joining us now. All of our viewers remember he raced with the 37th Cavalry through the desert to Baghdad. He's back one year later.

All right. First, Walter, Secretary of State Colin Powell made a brief visit to Baghdad. What happened?

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was interesting, Wolf, because the undertone of the secretary of state's visit seemed to be an attempt to still persuade the international community that the Bush administration acted correctly when it invaded Iraq a year ago. Of course, the secretary was here to meet with Paul Bremer, the chief American envoy here, the chief American administrator, and also met with the Governing Council.

The secretary of state faced a New conference here and got some very tough questions. Among them, how long is it going to take for the Americans to turn the corner and end the violence which is plaguing Iraqi civilians? The secretary acknowledged the car bombings here, the drive-by shootings, and seemed to suggest that the best hope for curbing that violence here in Iraq lies not so much with the American occupation forces, but with an embryonic Iraqi police force which the Americans are training, but it's still an embryonic operation.

He repeated again the necessity of the war on terror in Iraq. It was even suggested in one question there was no terror in Iraq, no terrorism in Iraq until the Americans invaded. The secretary of state responded to that by saying that the president was totally right in his commitment to the onslaught to topple Saddam Hussein, and that there was no place to run and hide, and there was no neutral ground in this particular war.

There was an awkward moment for the secretary in the news conference. Iraqi journalists got up, read a statement of protest, and walk out en masse. This was because one of the -- or two Arab journalists were killed at an American military checkpoint yesterday. Again, it was something the secretary said would be investigated, but it caused him, again, humiliation and some embarrassment.

And on the streets of Baghdad, again, while the secretary was here, demonstrations against the United States. People calling for an end of the military occupation. And you will recall this is just one year after Saddam Hussein was toppled, yet Iraqis were out on the street shouting, "No to Saddam and no to America." Not a very auspicious moment for the secretary of state's visit -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Walter, all of our viewers in the United States and around the world recall a year ago your very vivid, dramatic reporting from this 37th Cavalry as you moved from Kuwait up through Iraq towards Baghdad. You're back there now a year later. Share with our viewers some of your thoughts on this first anniversary of the start of the war.

RODGERS: Wolf, the first thing I thought of a short while ago was how darned cold the desert gets at night when you sleep in it. One thing more interesting and substantive, however, is the fact that a year ago, every one of the soldiers I was with believed that they were coming to Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein and to liberate the Iraqi people.

The soldiers I was with in the 7th Cavalry were totally persuaded they were embarked on a moral cause, that they were liberating the Iraqi people, and they believed that they would encounter weapons of mass destruction. They believed those weapons of mass destruction would be launched at them. That was the mood a year ago. As you know now, there are no weapons of mass destruction. And the Americans have acknowledged that pretty much.

As for the Iraqis being grateful for the removal of Saddam Hussein, that's one of those things, well, that's what you did yesterday. What have you done for me today? And as can you see, the Iraqis are not overly enthused about the Americans being here because the Americans have not given them security in the post-Saddam era, security from car bombs -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Walter Rodgers back in Baghdad for us. Walter, thanks very much.

What does the future hold for Iraq? The top U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, he'll be joining me live this hour from Baghdad.

Also coming up next, he led coalition land forces during the war. What is Lieutenant General David McKiernan saying one year later? He'll join me live. That's coming up next. He'll be joining me live from Kuwait City.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(AUDIO GAP)

LT. GEN. DAVID MCKIERNAN, U.S. ARMY: Wolf, no, we didn't have a 100 percent guarantee that we were going to find weapons of mass destruction. What we did have was a series of targets, locations where the material or parts of programs potentially were. And we had a good plan to exploit those sites as we maneuvered north.

And, in fact, by the time we had gotten to Baghdad and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein, we had exploited hundreds of those sites. Not finding anything material, but we did have a series of targets that we had planned for, for sometime to look at.

BLITZER: I remember those days vividly. I was in Kuwait, and I remember all the U.S. troops as they moved into Iraq basically had all the chemical gear, all the protective gear on, the gas masks. They assumed the worst case scenario. With hindsight, was that wise?

MCKIERNAN: I believe it was absolutely wise. We -- as a military, we always prepare for the worst thing that could happen to us. And so we did do extensive training and made sure that we had the right equipment and the right procedures and techniques to deal with biological or chemical contamination. So our preparedness was a scary thing for all of us, but it was a necessary thing to be ready for that kind of environment.

BLITZER: When Saddam Hussein insisted that he had no weapons of mass destruction before the war, and most of almost everyone thought he was lying, is it possible he may have been telling the truth?

MCKIERNAN: Wolf, I would probably leave that to far wiser analysts than myself. But from my perspective, there was a history of lies. So I don't think anybody felt confident that he was telling the truth on that.

BLITZER: What was the major lesson that you learned during those 40 days as you moved into Iraq and you removed Saddam Hussein from power? The major ground force lesson that you came away with?

MCKIERNAN: I'm not sure I learned a variety of new lessons. A lot of lessons were reinforced to me, such as the power of fighting in a joint formation, where the air, the ground, the special operations and the maritime capabilities are all synchronized to provide the right effects, the right place at the right time.

I learned -- re-learned and reinforced the value of leadership and of training. And I will tell you, quite frankly, there was never a doubt in my mind that our coalition military forces would accomplish the mission.

BLITZER: Was there -- looking back, was it a mistake to see the entire Iraqi armies, some 400,000 troops see that crumble basically, and be disbanded, given what's happened since then?

MCKIERNAN: Well, I think it's a fair assessment to say that the Iraqi army basically dissolved. Those that elected to stay and fight were defeated or destroyed. There were significant amount of Iraqi military formations that simply gave up and went home, and there were some that blended into those elements, that chose to fight in a variety of organizations and mostly urban terrain. So there wasn't what I would call any sort of cohesive Iraqi army by the time we got to Baghdad and to quickly reform and get back to work.

BLITZER: All right. General, I want to you stand by for a moment. We're going to take a quick commercial break.

As we do this, we're getting reports now from Baghdad that once again sirens are being heard, some explosions apparently once again happening in Baghdad. We'll check in with our people there on the scene.

You're looking at some live pictures from Baghdad right now. We'll check all that and continue our discussion with Lieutenant General David McKiernan. He's in Kuwait City.

Also, still to come, the top U.S. top civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, he'll be joining me live from Baghdad. That's coming up as well.

First, though, let's also get a quick check of the markets. The Dow Jones industrials down about 12 points right now. We'll continue to watch Wall Street. More importantly, we'll continue to watch what's happening in Baghdad on this first anniversary of the start of the U.S.-led war against Saddam Hussein.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: You're looking at live pictures of Baghdad right now. You can clearly hear sounds. You can see a helicopter flying overhead. Explosions have been heard only within the past few minutes. At the same time, sirens are going off in the headquarters compound of the coalition forces in Baghdad, in the so-called Green Zone.

We'll keep watching these pictures, get some more information for you. But let's bring back Lieutenant General David McKiernan. He's in Kuwait. He was the commanding general of the U.S.-led coalition land forces, the invasion of Iraq one year ago. It began one year ago today.

General McKiernan, as you hear these sounds, you hear these reports of explosions and sirens going off in Baghdad, what goes through your mind?

MCKIERNAN: Well, Wolf, I don't think it's a surprise to anybody, at least of all the military conducting operations in Iraq, that we're still in a fight that is still a volatile environment. And I'm not surprised that there are reports of incidents in Baghdad and other places in Iraq.

BLITZER: Tell our viewers what your job is right now in the military. What's your mission?

MCKIERNAN: I'm still a coalition land forces commander, but my area of responsibility now is primarily Kuwait. And what we are in the process of doing is rotating forces into Kuwait, through Kuwait, into Iraq, and back out of Iraq to re-deploy back to the United States or Europe.

So we have a tremendously complex and large operation going on that really started from about January and will extend for some time, where more than a quarter of a million soldiers and Marines and coalition formations will come one of two directions through Kuwait, either re-deploying or deploying, and that's quite an operation.

BLITZER: It's a very dangerous operation as well. You have new troops coming in who may not necessarily have the experience those of troops who have been there for a year right now. It requires an enormous logistical challenge to keep everyone safe during this kind of transition. How dangerous of a mission is it?

MCKIERNAN: Well, it's a combat zone. So it is dangerous by nature, and it is true that you lose some experience when you bring units out that have been operating in that environment for up to a year.

But I will tell you also that we have taken what we do, what we call lessons learned, and we've applied a lot of techniques and tactics and cultural awareness, and brought those experiences to our formations that are deploying to Iraq. And made sure that we have trained on the right things to prepare those men and women the best we can to operate in that environment. So it's not completely green troops that are moving up there.

BLITZER: I read an account the other day of a convoy moving in from Kuwait, from northern Kuwait, into Iraq up through Iraq towards Baghdad. The dangers for that kind of convoy, it was a pretty harrowing experience.

Are you satisfied that the convoys have the kind of armored equipment, the Humvees that are needed to protect these troops as they move into their positions in Iraq?

MCKIERNAN: Well, we are still not at 100 percent of the requirements that we would like to see over here in terms of armored Humvees and other add-on armor that we're putting on some of our wheeled vehicles. But we get better in that every week through a tremendous logistics effort. But we do other things as well here in Kuwait.

We do convoy live-fire training, so that those convoys that are moving north know how to react to ambushes, they know how to react to improvised explosive devices. And we take the current threat conditions that exist in Iraq and apply those to our training before units leave Kuwait. So we provide, I think, a very good force protection stance for those units moving north.

BLITZER: General McKiernan, thanks very much for joining us. Good luck to you and good luck to all the men and women you command. You have a very dangerous assignment. We will continue to stay in touch with you.

Lieutenant General David McKiernan, joining from us Kuwait on this first anniversary of the start of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

MCKIERNAN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And we want to show our viewers live pictures we're getting from Baghdad right now. Only within the past few moments, we've seen and heard explosions in the so-called Green Zone. That's the most secure area, the home of the U.S.-led coalition forces.

Sirens wailing there. We're going to get some update on what exactly is going on in Baghdad. We'll check in, in fact, with the U.S. civilian administrator, the coalition administrator who confirmed the capture of Saddam Hussein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR IN IRAQ: We got him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: One year after the war began, is everything going as planned in Iraq? I'll speak live with the top U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, even as sirens are wailing in Baghdad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BUSH: My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger. On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That was the president exactly one year ago today, announcing that the war had begun. So how far has Iraq come since then? And are plans to return power to the Iraqis on track?

Joining us now from Baghdad with a progress report, the man in charge of the coalition provisional authority, Ambassador Paul Bremer.

Mr. Ambassador, welcome back. I want to play for you our viewers, the explosions, the sounds we just heard in Baghdad, where you are, only moments ago. Listen to this.

(EXPLOSIONS)

Mr. Ambassador, you heard the explosions. You hear the sirens going off. I don't know if you've been briefed, but do you know what's going on?

BREMER: Well, I've actually been here at the studio. I understand from my people that we've heard some explosions. You just played them. We think they are outside the Green Zone but we just don't know yet. It's only just happened.

BLITZER: How worried are you, though, that at this first anniversary of the war and as you approach June 30th, when you want to hand over power to the Iraqis, that this is only going to continue, the enemies, the insurgents terrorists are going to step up their efforts to try to derail this entire process?

BREMER: I think it's quite likely that we will face a concerted effort by the terrorists between now and June 30th, because they know indeed, as Mr. Zarqawi in his famous letter said, they know that once the Iraqis have a government here, there's really no pretext for the attacks any longer.

So I think we'll continue to have that. We'll have some ups and downs between now and June 30th. There's no doubt about it.

BLITZER: Is there anything else that the coalition should be doing together with Iraqis that you're not doing? Does anything come to mind?

BREMER: I think we've got the right strategy here, Wolf, which is to try to get the best intelligence we can so we can get out and capture or kill the terrorists before they kill, to build up the Iraqi security forces so they can play a bigger role in defending their own country. And we've got a very accelerated program there on the police, on the army, on the civil defense force, on the border police. And you can only do that so fast, because you've got to have some quality control as you go forward. We've had some problems, particularly in the police, and we're going about it as fast as you can go.

BLITZER: I get the sense -- correct me if I'm wrong -- that those who oppose you, the terrorists out there, they're increasingly going after what are being described as soft targets, like the hotel in Baghdad the other day, as opposed to U.S. military targets that are obviously much more difficult to try to penetrate. Is that your intelligence assessment?

BREMER: There certainly is a tendency, and it goes back more than just recently. There's a tendency that really goes back to the fall for the terrorists to try to attack civilians.

We saw it really starting with the bombing on August 29th in Najaf which killed almost 100 Iraqis, most of them Shia worshippers, including a very senior ayatollah. So it's something we've seen before. It's clear that the terrorists have shifted their tactic a bit in the last, say, 60 to 90 days to go after softer targets. But this is typical of terrorists.

Terrorists want to kill people. And they want to kill as many as they can. And as far as they're concerned, the best thing to do is find mobs of people and set off bombs. It's a very difficult tactic against which to defend.

BLITZER: We've heard some conflicting accounts over Iraqis reacting to these most recent terrorist attacks in Baghdad and Basra. Some Iraqis expressing their horror and condemnation of the terrorists, but others saying the U.S. is responsible for getting them into this situation to begin with. What are you hearing?

BREMER: Well, I hear both of those things. But I have to tell you, if you look carefully at the press and at the polls, the vast majority of Iraqis are very fed up with these terrorists attacking them, and they don't blame the United States. They blame the terrorists, and that's where the blame belongs.

You can always find somebody on the streets to give an interview who will blame us in the heat of the emotion. But if you look carefully at the polls over the last five or six months, it's pretty clear the Iraqis know how to blame, and that's the terrorists.

BLITZER: But do they also suggest that the U.S. should be doing more to provide security?

BREMER: There are sort of two trends of thinking on the part of the Iraqis. One of them is that they would like to do more themselves. They very much want to be more responsible for security. We agree with that. I already mentioned what we're doing.

The other one is, as you point out, to blame us when security goes wrong. That's an understandable reaction. And the way we have to fix that is with better intelligence so we can get the terrorists before they can attack us.

But, you know very well that terrorism is a form of asymmetrical warfare. And it's very difficult to defend against. And there is know such thing as 100 percent security. So if you have people who are willing to put on explosive belts and put themselves into a big crowd, as happened in Karbala a couple of weeks ago, it's very hard to stop.

BLITZER: As you know, the new Spanish government says it will pull out its 1,300 troops from Iraq unless there's a new U.N. Security Council resolution, putting the entire process effectively under U.N. control. Is that realistic?

BREMER: Well, I don't know. I think it's a little early to judge what the Spanish government -- after all, the people who are making these comments are not yet in government. They'll have to come into government, and they'll have to review the files and make some decisions. And let's see what they say.

But let's not lose track of the fact we have more than 30 other countries here with or without the Spanish. We've got a lot of troops here and a lot of countries here. This is a very broad international effort, as the president said in his speech earlier today, and it will remain a very broad international effort whether the Spanish choose to stay or whatever their choice is.

BLITZER: Is the June 30th deadline for the transition to Iraqi sovereignty, is that set in concrete? Or is there any wiggle room on moving that date?

BREMER: No, that's the date we're going to pass sovereignty back to an Iraqi government.

BLITZER: How confident are you that things will move smoothly? I know you're supposed to leave yourself right after that date. But how confident are you that the Iraqis are ready to accept sovereignty? Because, at least in my mind, I'm still not clear exactly who takes over on July 1st.

BREMER: There are two questions. As for who takes over on July 1st, that is a matter that the Iraqi Governing Council yesterday invited the U.N. to come back and work with us and the Governing Council on. We're going to have to figure out what that government is like.

We'd like to have a broader political base in that government as we go forward. But that government will be put together in time for June 30th, and that will be the government to whom we will hand sovereignty on June 30th. I think that much is clear. Exactly what it's going to look like, I think that's something we have to work on.

BLITZER: Have you worked out some of the disputes, some of the differences with the Shiite leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al- Sistani, who clearly opposed the caucus system that you had come up with a few months ago in terms of some sort of direct election following this transition? BREMER: Well, the transitional law which was passed on March 8th actually prepares the country for four elections next year. So there are going to be direct elections, as the Ayatollah has asked for.

We have a lot of work to do to get ready for those elections, and that's one of the urgent things that the United Nations is going to be coming in here to work with us on. Setting up an electoral commission, writing in an electoral law and writing a political parties law, getting a voters' list ready, all of these things have to be done very quickly to meet the deadline for the first of those four elections in January next year.

BLITZER: And wrapping up, Mr. Ambassador, on this first anniversary of the start of the war, to our viewers in the United States and around the world, what is going through your mind on this day?

BREMER: You know, I think back -- of course, I wasn't here a year ago. I'm sitting in a room where Baghdad Bob used to hold his so-called press conferences. I'm sitting in a free Iraq. I'm sitting in an Iraq where there are over 200 newspapers that have sprung up since the liberation, where 25 million people are thirsting for democracy.

A year really makes a huge amount of difference to these people, and it's a great year for Iraqis. And what's really good is the Iraqis recognize how much better off they are now. But even more important, the polls show they're very optimistic about how they're going to be next year. And I agree, next year they'll have an elected government here.

BLITZER: Mr. Ambassador, good luck to you, good luck to all the people that you're working with. Let's hope it goes smoothly. Let's hope the sirens and these explosions stop becoming a nearly daily occurrence in Baghdad. I fear, though, that they won't.

Good to speak to you always. Thanks very much.

BREMER: Nice to be with you.

BLITZER: And one year after the launch of air strikes in Baghdad, we've heard from the president, the president of the United States. We heard from him earlier.

But what about the Kerry campaign? What are they saying? Their take, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: There can be no separate peace with the terrorist enemy. Any sign of weakness or retreat simply validates terrorist violence and invites more violence for all nations. The only certain way to protect our people is by uniting and decisive action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: President Bush says the fall of Saddam Hussein marks a turning point in the Middle East. The president marked the one-year anniversary of the start of the war with a speech today over at the White House. He called on all nations to remain united in the war on terror.

Here with reaction to the speech is Rand Beers. He's a national security adviser to the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Rand, thanks very much for joining us. What's your bottom-line reaction to what the president had to say?

RAND BEERS, KERRY CAMPAIGN: Well, I think that the president gave a very good speech in terms of what where we ought to be with respect to our goals. But obviously getting there asks the question about what are the details. And I think that's what represents the heart of the difference between John Kerry and the president.

BLITZER: Well, let's get to them. What would be the major difference right now -- forget about what happened leading up to the war. But right now, if John Kerry were president of the United States, what would he be doing differently in Iraq right now than what the president is doing?

BEERS: John Kerry would be working to get the United Nations back in as quickly as possible, and he would give them the role of designing the political future of Iraq. And he would be working with the allies at the same time in order to increase the level of participation and the number of forces there. He would be working, as the president is, to try to ensure that the Spanish don't withdraw, that the Poles don't withdraw. But we need more people there, not less.

BLITZER: But I heard Ambassador Bremer say he wants the U.N. to come in and help with the election, get the election organized, make sure the transition to Iraqi sovereignty is smooth. It sounds like they're both moving in the same direction, the president and John Kerry.

BEERS: If I was confident that the administration was prepared to do what was necessary in order for the United Nations to be more involved, then I would agree with you. But the history is that this administration has not been prepared to make the moves politically in order to draw the U.N. into a greater involvement.

And so I have to ask, are they prepared now, finally, on the eve of the transition to do that? I don't know the answer to that, but history doesn't suggest that.

BLITZER: As you know, the president, the vice president, the Bush-Cheney campaign in their commercials, their supporters, they're hammering at John Kerry for the inconsistencies that he apparently had going into the war, after the war, and specifically on the sensitive issue that he voted against the $87 billion appropriation bill. The president in his speech in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, yesterday, saying, if John Kerry had his way, the troops there wouldn't have the helmets, the protective gear they need to protect themselves.

BEERS: You know, I find that really an overly misuse of reality. The president of the United States was prepared to veto that bill for an issue having to do with whether or not 50 percent of the money that would have gone to the Iraqis was going to be on a loan basis.

Now, if he's going to veto the bill, why can't John Kerry stand on principle and say, Mr. President, I don't support your policy. I think it ought to change. I think that cannot give you a blank check. And, therefore, I have to vote no because you're not willing to change your policy. The president was saying the same to Congress.

BLITZER: And explain what John Kerry meant when he said, I voted for the bill, but then I voted against the bill.

BEERS: He meant that he voted for at amendment to rescind the tax cuts. Which had it been included in the bill, he probably would have voted for the bill. Then he voted no because that issue was not resolved to his way.

BLITZER: Was it a mistake for John Kerry to say that unnamed foreign leaders are suggesting to him privately without mentioning any names that they want Bush out and him in?

BEERS: No, I don't think it was a mistake. He was simply stating what I think was obvious. It wasn't a problem for the Bush administration before the war to say that they had a number of Arab governments that were prepared to participate, but they couldn't name them at the time. And I don't see any reason that John Kerry should reveal private conversations.

BLITZER: Rand Beers, thanks very much. Former National Security Council official, now supporting John Kerry.

BEERS: Thank you. Pleasure to be here.

BLITZER: Thank you.

And the unfolding story along the border of Pakistan. Does Pakistan's military have Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant cornered? We'll have a live update. That's coming up in the next hour of CNN on "LIVE FROM."

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BLITZER: I'll be back later today, every day weekday, 5:00 p.m. Eastern for "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS." We've got a busy day ahead. I'll be talking to the former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright. She's a major supporter of John Kerry right now.

Then it's the inside edge with Carlos Watson. He'll bring us details on the Bush and Kerry campaigns that you haven't heard about before.

And finally, this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, "THE APPRENTICE": Wolf, I don't like the job you're doing. You're fired.

BLITZER: You're fired.

TRUMP: Whoa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: I had some fun with Donald Trump. He'll be my guest as well. All of that coming up.

Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

"LIVE FROM" with Fredricka Whitfield is coming up next.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Zeroing in on a high value target. Will a fierce battle in Pakistan net one of al Qaeda's top leaders?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: We'll never turn over Iraq to terrorists who intend our own destruction. We will not feel the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Marking one year of war with a vow to finish the job in Iraq.

A close call for the president of Taiwan. Check this out. An assassin's bullet goes through the car's window but only grazes the president.

Panic at a zoo. A gorilla goes on a rampage, attacking several people, include a woman and her child. You'll hear from the woman this hour.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Miles O'Brien and Kyra Phillips are off today. CNN's "LIVE FROM" begins right now.

Up first this hour, standoff in South Waziristan. And that's the remote and rugged chunk of northeast Pakistan, where thousands of government troops continue to battle hundreds of al Qaeda fighters and Pakistani tribesman. The latter group is presumed to be defending a high valued target, possibly the man considered to be the brains of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. And the next 48 hours, says one top official, may be conclusive.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Islamabad with the latest -- Nic. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the very latest from here, we've heard a statement read on a regional...





Explosions Heard in Baghdad; Interview With Paul Bremer>