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CNN Live Event/Special
Profiles in Leadership
Aired January 01, 2002 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Miles O'Brien at CNN Center in Atlanta.
For the next hour here on CNN, we are bringing you "Profiles in Leadership," an in-depth look at the leaders shaping our world day in and day out, as the U.S. responds to the attacks of September 11th. Their stories are straight ahead.
But, first, let's check this hour's latest developments for you.
The only person indicted for a direct role in the September 11 attacks is expected to plead not guilty tomorrow in federal court. Zacarias Moussaoui is scheduled to be arraigned in a Virginia courtroom, not far from the Pentagon. He faces six counts of conspiracy involving murder and a host of other charges. Prosecutors have not said if they will seek the death penalty.
U.S. Marines took part in a search operation in Afghanistan today, in an area where Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is believed to be hiding. Officially, the operation was designed to uncover intelligence left behind by fleeing Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, but military sources are telling CNN Mullah Omar is believed to be holed up in the region, protected by Taliban fighters.
A change of scenery for the detained Taliban American fighter John Walker. Eight detainees, including Walker, were transferred yesterday from the USS Peleliu to the USS Bataan in the North Arabian Sea. A military official is telling CNN the move was necessary because Marines will be returning to the Peleliu soon and the ship will be needed for other missions. There are 210 suspected Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in U.S. detention.
Republican businessman Michael Bloomberg is officially in charge as the mayor of New York City. After a third and final swearing-in ceremony at City Hall, Bloomberg takes over for Rudy Giuliani at one of the most difficult times in that city's history.
In his address, Bloomberg vowed to cut spending, balance the budget, and fight bigotry. He said the days ahead will not be easy, but he assured New Yorkers their city will persevere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: To meet the challenges facing our city, we must work together to draw upon the energy, entrepreneurship, and talents of all New Yorkers. We are the toughest, most resilient, and most determined people on the planet. Throughout our history, New Yorkers have always made the sacrifices necessary to achieve a better tomorrow, and there will be a better tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So just who is Michael Bloomberg, and how does he plan to tackle the challenges that await him? A closer look at the Big Apple's new man in charge from CNN's Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're looking at a man who built a billion-dollar media empire -- from scratch -- who, with no political experience, beat the odds in a competitive mayoral race. Michael Bloomberg is used to challenges, and he's about to meet another one.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: The most important thing for the mayor to focus on within the backdrop of safe streets, clean streets, balanced budget is the educational system of this city.
CARROLL: There's a long list of problems the new mayor will have to address, and it's as diverse...
NEW YORKER: Improve hospitals.
CARROLL: ... as the people who call the city home.
NEW YORK: I think he should be rebuilding New York and concentrating on the deficit that he's about to encounter.
CARROLL: Bloomberg will face a deficit in the billions and the economic rebuilding of downtown on a scale no new mayor ever had to deal with, better race relations, improved education, affordable housing, and now there's also the issue of security.
DAVID GARTH, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: We saw the city in a certain sense really shaken, and I think that that -- if that came back, that fear, that would be the toughest thing he has to handle.
ALAN HEVESI, FORMER DEMOCRATIC NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: He's very very smart.
CARROLL: Support from an unlikely source, former Democratic candidate for mayor Alan Hevesi. He says Bloomberg has already made some smart moves, quietly reaching out to people.
HEVESI: Symbolic gestures like the trip to Puerto Rico, the trip to the Dominican Republic, the support for Israel -- very important to constituents to know that he wants to reflect their world view and their values.
CARROLL: Perhaps Bloomberg should take a cue from Rudy Giuliani, who, in his final days of office, gave some advice to the man he endorsed.
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Just to be true to himself and be honest and be straight.
CARROLL: And to rise to the many challenges that face him.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: In Argentina, lawmakers are meeting to choose that country's fifth president in two weeks. The man you see here, Eduardo Camano, was sworn in as president just yesterday. The parade of temporary leaders began last month when elected president Fernando De la Rua resigned, following street protests over the nation's worsening economic situation.
U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni plans to return to the Middle East this week to attempt again to start peace talks. Western leaders often urge negotiations and dialogue to resolve ancient hostilities, but the message from the West often falls on deaf ears.
CNN's Rula Amin looks at the background of the conflict from the Palestinian perspective.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With these flames, Yasser Arafat marks the 37th anniversary of what Palestinians consider the start of their armed revolution.
On January 1st, 1965, Yasser Arafat's group, Fatah, was founded. Then, the gun was the way to achieve independence. In 1991, Palestinians led by Fatah laid down their weapons and chose a different path -- negotiations.
Ten years later, still no Palestinian state, frustration led many to change their mind. During the last 15 months of confrontation with Israel, the gun appeared again, often in the hands of young Fatah members. This group is part of Fatah's new generation.
"We believe the armed struggle is the way," this young man told us. "Seven years of negotiations didn't produce much."
Marwan Barghouti has become the most popular Fatah figure after Yasser Arafat since he took a leading role in the current Intifada. So popular, it was hard to have a conversation with him on the streets.
MARWAN BARGHOUTI, FATAH PARTY: People blame Fatah and Mr. Arafat because we promised the people that during neg -- through negotiations, we will achieve our independence and an end for the Israeli occupation.
We have tried those two tracks: 100 years fighting without negotiations, 10 years of negotiations without fighting. I think this is the time to go ahead together, to fight and to negotiate.
AMIN: A belief that is gaining popularity among this new generation.
PALESTINIAN: Since 1967, the Palestinian people have nothing under the gun of Israelis. They've had no weapons. They have -- there's no hope.
Thus, with Fatah, they show them their guns. They do operations. They -- it gives people the hope that one day maybe we'll have our own state.
AMIN: Despite their strong conviction that fighting is the way, some of these activists told us they chose Fatah because it's one of the few Palestinian groups that actually leaves room for peaceful coexistence with Israel.
"I think it's possible," says this young man, "to live in peace side by side with Israel, as long as we have our own state and Jerusalem as its capital. That's why I chose Fatah."
Fatah is a national movement, no specific ideology, which allows it to attract both the religious and the secular. A simple goal seems to unite them all.
"What do I want?" this activist asks. "I want to live free," he says, "in a state where I can go to work, I can move freely within my own country, to be able to go and see my family in other towns."
"Yasser Arafat, give us weapons," they chant. Fatah activists at the anniversary march.
Yasser Arafat says no more guns, no more fire. So far, they have abided by his call for a cease-fire, but it's precarious.
"Why should our children live seeing their mothers humiliated, their fathers killed?" asks this young man. "We are determined to make our children happy, like the rest of the children in the world."
It's the same spirit that started Fatah in 1965 and kept the flame going since.
Rula Amin, CNN, Ramallah on the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The wildfires raging outside Sydney, Australia, continue to burn out of control at this hour. Gusty winds and temperatures near 100 degrees are pushing the blazes to within 11 miles of downtown Sydney.
Officials say the main urban areas are not in danger, but, so far, 150 suburban homes have been lost, more than 700,000 acres of forest and farmland have been charred. There are no reports of casualties, however. Coming up on our program, we will begin our special presentation, "Profiles in Leadership," an in-depth look at how September 11th challenged and inspired leaders, like President George W. Bush and the man a heart beat away from the Oval Office as quell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: My wife describes him as the E.F. Hutton of American politics. He doesn't always talk publicly or even privately very much, but when he speak, it's really worth listening to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: "Profiles in Leadership" just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back. It's time now for our "Profiles in Leadership."
George W. Bush did not soar to the White House last year by any means. Shackled by an election quagmire that divided the nation, he reached the Oval Office without winning the popular vote.
Today, the nation is united, and the president is breaking records for popular support.
CNN White House Correspondent John King has watched the metamorphosis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It all changed with this whisper.
ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: We knew that America was under attack, and I very quickly moved into making sure that the president had all of his abilities to perform the functions of a president.
KING: A little more than 100 days later, still more questions than answers.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It may happen tomorrow, it may happen in a month, it may happen in a year, but he is going to be brought to justice. He's on the run.
KING: An elusive enemy. A war of uncertain scope and duration. New threats here at home. And recession only adds to the challenge of a presidency transformed by September 11th.
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER REAGAN CHIEF OF STAFF: That has forever changed the outlook not only for the first year but for all the years. He has become a wartime president like FDR. KING: A president who came to office amid controversy gets high marks for crisis management. Eighty-two percent of Americans in a year-end CNN/"Time" poll approve of the way Mr. Bush is handling his job as president. Seventy-nine percent say he is a strong and decisive leader.
STANLEY GREENBERG, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: There are some other, you know, big issues, big doubts that are still on the table, but they're not relevant at the moment.
KING: At the moment, the American people see eye-to-eye with their president on the mission.
BILL MCINTURFF, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: People in this country want to see Osama bin Laden either captured or dead, and when you ask people, "Look, the Taliban has been eradicated from Afghanistan. They're are all in retreat. Is this a -- are we -- is this a, quote, 'victory'?" the answer is no.
KING: One major Bush challenge is sustaining that support.
KAREN HUGHES, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: Every time I talk with him, he reminds me we've got -- we're in a -- we have to educate people that this is a different kind of war, that it's fought on a lot of different fronts, that it's not the kind of war that we're accustomed to, and so that's been -- he's been conveying that to me almost every time we meet, and we do meet every day.
KING: The changes go beyond less sleep and more gray. The National Security Council meets almost every day, and the wartime routine includes a weekly meeting with congressional leaders. But he is still a president who prefers handshakes to treaties and whose tongue has a decidedly Texas flavor.
BUSH: There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, "Wanted: Dead or Alive."
DUBERSTEIN: A lot of people turned their nose up to it and said that wasn't in an eloquent way. But you know something? It communicated to everybody in America and the world his steely personality.
KING: There are parallels to the first President Bush.
GREENBERG: Almost all those doubts, you know, center on, you know, is he -- how is he going to handle economy, is he going to be for the average person.
KING: Consider it a lesson learned. This President Bush is well aware it could be the economy that matters most by the time he faces reelection.
BUSH: The long-term solution is more jobs.
KING: That debate will carry over to the new year, along with the many other challenges facing a president and a presidency redefined on an unforgettable September morning.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: And then there is the second in command. Vice presidents are often kept away from the limelight, usually because they wield little real power.
Not so with this vice president. Dick Cheney may be out of sight in that undisclosed secure location, but he is by no means out of mind, as John King returns to explain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A memorable September 11th snapshot, a secure bunker deep below the White House. No question who's in charge here.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: My wife describes him as the E.F. Hutton of American politics. He doesn't always talk publicly or even privately very much, but when he speaks, it's really worth listening to.
KING: From the beginning, the vice president has been in sync with the president. His point man on Capitol Hill, on energy policy.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is possible to have more energy and a cleaner environment.
KING: And well before the events of September 11th, the leading voice within the administration about adapting to a changing world.
CHENEY: The threat to the continental United States and our infrastructure is changing and evolving, and we need to look at this whole area that's oftentimes referred to as homeland defense.
KING: The vice president was at the White House when the terrorists struck and directed the minute-by-minute government response in the early hours, until the president made it back from Florida.
He has been less visible in the three months since, often kept away from the president and the White House because of security concerns.
JAMES STEINBERG, FORMER DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The sense of kind of the vicar of foreign policy for the administration, I think, has been changed both because the president is playing a much more visible role and the key Cabinet members are out there as well.
KING: The president and vice president usually talk several times a day, and Cheney's impact is critical, even if not always obvious.
The Imir Afghana (ph) is a familiar face because of Cheney's Gulf War days at the Pentagon and his private-sector work as CEO of a major energy company.
So it was Cheney who called to voice administration complaints that Afghana's (ph) Al-Jazeera satellite network was giving so much air time to Osama bin Laden and other anti-American viewpoints.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz is an old Cheney friend, and a few weeks back, the recipient of a phone call in which the vice president urged more focus on the war in Afghanistan and less public talk about the prospect of another showdown with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
And it was Cheney who took the calls from worried conservatives during the recent debate about how much emergency money should be added to the federal budget.
LOTT: I said, "Mr. Vice President, here's where we are. I think this is the right thing do and, by the way, if we don't get an agreement to limit it to this number, it will go up." And typically of the vice president, he said, "I hear you." Within a very short period of time, he called back and said, "OK. We'll go with that."
KING: It was Cheney who recommended Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge for the new post of director of homeland security and Cheney who coined the phrase many top officials now use to describe the changing times.
CHENEY: I think of it as the new normalcy.
KING: His own version of new normalcy includes a new opening line.
CHENEY: Lynn and I don't get many visitors at the cave.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: And one important lesson of September 11th is that when it comes to the vice president, out of sight hardly means out of the loop.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Like Dick Cheney, our next leader is an experienced hand in Washington, and the events of September 11th put that resume to the test. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has guided the military through a most unconventional war with a very unconventional style. Love it or hate, he is leading with authority.
CNN National Correspondent Bob Franken looks at the man they call Rummy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: There is no question but that the events of September 11th have had a significant effect on the world.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And no question that the attacks of September 11th have had a profound effect on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Moments after the commandeered jetliner crashed into his Pentagon, he showed up to make his presence known during the rescue, and he's been making his presence known ever since as the civilian director of the U.S. military counterattack on terrorism.
RUMSFELD: You will receive only honest, direct answers from me.
FRANKEN: Virtually all who know him agree that Donald Rumsfeld is direct.
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER REAGAN CHIEF OF STAFF: He says, "Fine. I've signed up. I'm going to get that job done. You know, whether it's breaking some bones, whether it's knocking some heads, the answer is I've got a mission to do. I'm going to do it."
FRANKEN: On September 10th, Rumsfeld was not only breaking bones but shattering egos and, in the minds of many, running roughshod over the military and its congressional patrons.
RUMSFELD: I have no desire to attack the Pentagon. I want to liberate it. We need to save it from itself.
FRANKEN: It's become a Washington cliche. A day later, when the terrorists attacked, Rumsfeld switched from Secretary of Defense to Secretary of War.
The turf battles were set aside. The nation marched in lockstep. And Rumsfeld's blunt public style turned him into a virtual rock star. But that style at his news briefings can seem dismissive.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Going back the report on the U.S. military waging a war of extermination, General Myers...
RUMSFELD: A report by whom?
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: In today's "Washington Post." Mentioned a war of extermination.
RUMSFELD: Wow! That is inflammatory language, isn't it? Who said it?
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: They quoted another military official as saying that.
RUMSFELD: In what country?
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: USA. And General -- they also mentioned...
RUMSFELD: Say it again. Let...
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Extermination.
RUMSFELD: And -- make a full sentence for me.
(LAUGHTER)
FRANKEN: Before September 11th, many in Washington were not amused with that approach.
LAWRENCE KORB, FORMER ASSISTANT DEFENSE SECRETARY: He alienated the military chiefs. He alienated even strong supporters of defense in Congress and was not able really to get done what he needed to do. In peacetime, you need a different skills than you do in wartime.
FRANKEN: But there are those who've gone toe-to-toe with Rumsfeld who believe that wartime just might mellowed him a bit, making him more interested in consultation.
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), ARMED SERVICES CHAIRMAN: That lesson, which is very dramatically demonstrated by the way in which our armed forces have worked together in wartime, I think, would just have a natural carryover towards how he runs the department in peacetime.
FRANKEN: But that certainly will not be the only carryover.
DUBERSTEIN: He has built up so many chips, so much clout that people, in fact, accept Rummy's rules, his wisdom now, that he knows how to get a job done.
FRANKEN (on-camera): That's what his friends call him, Rummy, but his adversaries call Donald Rumsfeld many other things, and his job may get even tougher.
(voice-over): Rummy will have to sell the administration's idea that the U.S. military, which seems to have performed so well, still needs to be fundamentally changed.
Bob Franken, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: When we return, our "Profiles in Leadership" takes an international turn as a Muslim general takes mammoth risk to fight terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Napoleon once said, "I wish all my generals had luck." Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, has been very, very lucky since September 11th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The price of leadership when our profile continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Here's a battle the State Department is keeping an eye on, the rising tensions on the Indian/Pakistan border. The United States found an ally during America's war on terrorism in Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, a leader who showed great determination amid some strong opposition at home.
CNN Senior International Correspondent Walter Rodgers has more from Pakistan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Napoleon once said, "I wish all my generals had luck." Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, has been very, very lucky since September 11th.
Amid threats of a military coup against him, even possible assassination, Musharraf nudged Pakistan along a knife's edge between his radical Islamists, who supported Osama bin Laden, and the West, which demanded Musharraf cooperate against bin Laden and the Taliban.
RIFAT HUSSEIN, PAKISTANI ANALYST: If there were a civilian government, that would not have lasted very long. It would have either been overthrown by the jihad protests, or it would have been sidelined by the military.
RODGERS: Islamist conservatives demanded Musharraf's head because he allowed the United States to use Pakistani bases for the war against terrorism across the border in Afghanistan.
Muslim clerics like Qazi Hussein Ahmed were virulent, until Musharraf muzzled them with house arrest shortly after this interview.
QAZI HUSSEIN AHMED, PAKISTANI MUSLIM CLERIC: The people have lost confidence in Pervez Musharraf government. Pervez Musharraf government has got no popular support. He is isolated from the people.
RODGERS: But Musharraf had luck. American bombing in Afghanistan, though unpopular in Pakistan, turned the Taliban into losers, marginalizing pro-Taliban supporters in Pakistan.
NAZEEM ZEHRA, JOURNALIST: There is a dynamic of power that is at play, and when success tends to attract power and defeat of the Taliban, I think, has played a major role.
RODGERS: The September 11th bombings also turned into a huge break for Musharraf. America suddenly needed Pakistan in the war on terror. Pakistan suddenly broke out of its diplomatic political and economic isolation.
Before, General Musharraf was snubbed because he overthrew a terribly corrupt civilian government. Pakistan was also being punished for earlier testing a nuclear bomb. (on camera): Testing a bomb, Pakistan defied the world, but Musharraf could not do it twice, could not defy the United States and the war on terror despite majority Pakistani sentiment for the Taliban. Pakistan would have risked being branded a terrorist state, so Musharraf made an unpopular choice at home: He sided with Washington.
RIFAT HUSSEIN: Very difficult choice at the particular time. And then took everybody into confidence.
RODGERS (voice-over): Sounding at first the reluctant partner in the war, behind the scenes, Musharraf was a brilliant politician, courting and seducing the critics, the moderate clergy, intellectuals, tribal leaders, and journalists, all through his consultative consensus building.
SALIB BOKHARI, NEWSPAPER EDITOR: This experience of handling this situation, a very critical situation after 11 September tragedy, has punished him. I would now rate him as a greater statesman than probably the political leaders in the past.
RODGERS: But is the ever-contemplative Musharraf out of danger now? The general's cooperation with Washington leaves him vulnerable to widespread anti-Americanism at home, and he is constantly tested by India over the disputed Kashmir.
ZEHRA: You can have a military ruler at the top, but, certainly, at the end of the day, it's what the public thinks of him which will define his future.
RODGERS: Pakistan's future remains worrisome, and Musharraf will need double the luck he's already had. Illiteracy and poverty are staggering.
RIFAT HUSSEIN: If, as a result of the depressed economic situation, the people were to begin to feel the hurt and if they were to come out on the streets, maybe seven or six months down the road, at a time when he wants to hold national elections, there is a very good chance that the right-wing elements here, who do not like his withdrawing support from the Taliban and who hate his alliance with the United States, could make very significant electoral gains.
RODGERS: But President and General Musharraf has outsmarted the oddsmakers and outmaneuvered opponents through a soldier's constancy of purpose. His purpose: The preservation of Pakistan.
MUSHARRAF: The vision remains constant. The vision is constant. Vision never changes. Vision and strategy and national interest never change. They remain constant, and they remain constant even now.
The modalities and the method to reaching those may get adjusted and readjusted, but the final objective of vision and strategy and national interest will always remain constant.
RODGERS: That vision has, so far, placed Musharraf on the winning side during the seismic events of the last year. Walter Rodgers, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: It's time for us to take a break. Coming up, we'll have more leadership profiles after we take a quick check of the headlines. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome to CNN's special presentation of "Profiles in Leadership." I'm Miles O'Brien at CNN Center in Atlanta. We'll continue our look at the leader-shaping events in the war on terror in just a moment. But first, a quick look at the developments this hour.
The man prosecutors say was supposed to be the 20th hijacker in the September 11 terrorist attacks is scheduled to be in federal court tomorrow. Zacarias Moussaoui is expected to plead not guilty.
CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti is following the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Moussaoui is charged with six conspiracy counts, including using a plane as a weapon of mass destruction.
AICHA EL WAFI, MOUSSAOUI'S MOTHER (through translator): I am his mother. He tells me he didn't do it, so I believe that.
CANDIOTTI: If found guilty, he could face the death penalty, not permitted in France.
EL WAFI (through translator): I will fight, nonetheless, with all of my strength against the death penalty for him.
CANDIOTTI: He was not with the 19 terrorists who took down four planes September 11, but authorities allege he intended to kill.
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Moussaoui is charged with undergoing the same training, receiving the same funding, and pledging the same commitment to kill Americans.
CANDIOTTI: The case appears largely circumstantial. He will went to U.S. flight schools and allegedly had crop dusting materials in his apartment when he was arrested. Similar behavior to suspected ringleader Mohamed Atta and others. The indictment also alleges Moussaoui received money from accused international terror fugitive Ramsey Binalshibh. He's accused of funneling money to pay for the September 11 attacks.
EUGENE FIDELL, INSTITUTE OF MILITARY JUSTICE: The flow of money, the availability of money is a factor that prosecutors will try to make much of, and to show connections between Mr. Moussaoui and other people who were involved in the network. CANDIOTTI: In recent developments, U.S. officials are investigating whether Moussaoui, trained in the same Afghan al Qaeda camp as alleged shoe bomber Richard Reid. They both attended the same London mosque, though officials there never saw them together. Before Moussaoui was asked to leave that mosque in the late '90s, those who knew him sensed a change.
ABDUL HAQQ BAKER, BRIXTON MOSQUE CHMN.: Very arrogant. Disdain for us. Coming into this room where we are now, picking arguments, trying to influence some of the more unsuspecting individuals. Why'd you come do this mosque? Don't listen to their teachings. These that don't know anything about Islam.
CANDIOTTI: It's not clear whether Moussaoui's lawyers will ask for a change of venue. The courthouse not far from the site of the Pentagon attack.
STANLEY COHEN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You've got pre-trial publicity. You've got jury animus. You've got bias. You've got a lot of problems, even before you get into what's the case about.
CANDIOTTI: It's about Moussaoui's alleged role in a terror plot. The first September 11 trial could come fairly quickly in the so- called rocket docket, but no sooner than March.
Susan Candiotti, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: It's been more than three months since the attacks on the World Trade Center towers. And the remains of another victim were found at ground zero this afternoon. The latest estimate of the death toll at the Trade Center stands below 3,000 now. 2,937 people perished there.
U.S. Marines and special forces in Afghanistan assisted anti- Taliban forces in two operations today. Officially, the goal of the mission was to collect intelligence, but the operations were carried out in an area of southern Afghanistan where sources are telling CNN the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar is believed to be hiding.
In Washington, the Environmental Protection Agency says efforts to rid the Hart Senate office building of anthrax are almost complete now. Over the weekend, experts pumped more chlorine dioxide gas through the section of the building contaminated by anthrax. Final test results could take another week, however. The building has been closed since early October, when an envelope containing anthrax spores was opened in the offices of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
The U.S. embassy in Israel confirms Middle East envoy General Anthony Zinni is headed back to the region this week. Zinni left the Middle East during the violence that flared, after the assassination of an Israeli cabinet minister. In recent days, that violence has largely subsided.
President Bush has issued an emergency declaration to help people in Buffalo dig out from almost seven feet of snow now. The snowstorm that walloped the city beginning on Christmas Eve was bad, even by Buffalo standards. A city official says crews have to physically remove the snow from streets because the drifts are higher than the blades on the city snow plows. And a rarity for the South, a winter storm is making a beeline for that part of the country. Meteorologist Chad Myers has details on winter misery due for arrive tonight.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Just ahead on our program, more "Profiles in Leadership." We'll examine a man who rose through the military ranks to claim political clout and a woman whose enviable closeness to the President is much talked about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secretaries Powell and Rumsfeld may take the lead, but Rice also is a major player communicating the administration's views.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Our in-depth look at leadership continues in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Immediately after September 11, Secretary of State Colin Powell met with one foreign minister after another, trying to shore up support for the war on terrorism. That push by Powell not only led to a coalition of nations, but a promise of peace in Afghanistan.
CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel has been watching it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the weeks following the September 11 attacks, the State Department became a revolving door.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: It's a pleasure to once again meet with my colleague...
KOPPEL: Secretary of State Colin Powell lobbying ministers from around the world to join an international coalition against terrorism. The pitch, you're either with the U.S. or you're against it. Among the most important players in the campaign, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, one of the first to sign on, a close ally of the Taliban and Afghanistan's neighbor to the east, Pakistan's support was essential.
RICHARD ARMITAGE, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: It was black or white. There are no shades of gray, with us or against us. And President Musharraf made the decision he made. And we've been pressing on since then.
KOPPEL: Another critical component to the campaign's success, convincing Russia, in the words of one senior State Department official, to "jump in with both feet." President Vladimir Putin quickly offered the U.S. unconditional support for targeting Afghanistan and courting former Soviet Republics in Central Asia.
Powell's aides credit his success in building this broadbased coalition to the many relationships he cultivated in the early days of the Bush administration. By September 11, Powell had already met with more than 100 foreign ministers, what one aide called "putting capital in the bank." Diplomats too say that "face time" with Powell made a difference.
GUY VERHOFSTADT, BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER: The fact that he came to the European Union, not to talk about foreign affairs but to talk and to say thanks to the ministers of justice of the European Union is one of the examples how he is involved and how he's working in a positive way.
KOPPEL: Only weeks before September 11, some called Powell the "odd man out" in the Bush administration, questioning his clout in making U.S. foreign policy. Beginning with a misstep on North Korea, Powell suffered a series of embarrassing setbacks, culminating in an August magazine cover wondering where he had gone.
But after September 11, Powell's presence was front and center at the White House. In the President's post 9/11 address to Congress, he put the Taliban on notice.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And tonight, the United States of America makes the following demands on the Taliban.
KOPPEL: That ultimatum to the Taliban and another key element to the President's speech, warning nations against harboring or supporting terrorism were, Powell's aides say, his suggestions. Another push by Powell was to keep the war focused on Afghanistan.
LEE HAMILTON, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: This was one of the victories for Colin Powell this year. He has succeeded in restraining some of the more hawkish voices within the administration that wanted to go after Iraq, even though there is not a direct, clear linkage between Iraq and the events of September 11.
KOPPEL: Not only did Powell not believe there was a link to Iraq, he had a coalition to maintain. Arab leaders had made crystal clear their priority was the ever-escalating Palestinian-Israeli crisis.
ARMITAGE: For every phone call Secretary Powell was making to try to put together and maintain the coalition, he was having a phone call to Mr. Sharon and to chairman Arafat, to try to keep a lid on things.
KOPPEL: But Powell's diplomacy by phone never materialized into a Mideast trip. Instead, since September 11, Powell has toured central and south Asia, as he worked on the next stage of the war in Afghanistan, winning the peace.
MUSHARRAF: We agreed that durable peace in Afghanistan would only be possible through the establishment of a broad-based, multiethnic government.
KOPPEL: But this new spirit of international cooperation on Afghanistan has not changed certain realities in the U.S. relationship with some of its new partners. Just this month, President Bush notified Russia the U.S. planned to withdraw from the 1972 ABM Treaty, in order to build a missile defense shield. That despite Secretary Powell's attempts to accommodate Russia's preference for modifying the treaty.
HAMILTON: But in the end, we did not accommodate it. We withdrew. That's what many in the Bush administration wanted. That's what Secretary Powell did not want. So he lost that battle.
KOPPEL (on camera): And as the war against terrorism moves beyond Afghanistan to other fronts, the ideological battles within the Bush administration are likely to continue, pitting Powell against other, more conservative members of the President's cabinet. Now, however, in the wake of September 11, Powell's position as chief coalition builder may carry more weight, helping him to win more battles than he loses.
Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: During a time of national crisis, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice stepped up to the plate, demonstrating her abilities as a great communicator and a strong adviser. Once again, here's CNN senior White House correspondent John King with that story.
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JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Condoleezza Rice had the President's ear long before the tragic events of September 11. The first woman to serve as national security adviser was the architect of the September 1999 Bush campaign speech, that is the foundation of administration policy now.
BUSH: Let me be clear about this, our first line of defense is a simple message. Every group or nation must know that if they sponsor such attacks, our response will be devastating.
KING: Now Condi Rice is the gatekeeper of a wartime national security team.
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FMR. REAGAN CHIEF OF STAFF: Isn't it great that he's getting the advice from a Colin Powell and a Don Rumsfeld and a Dick Cheney and a Condi Rice? That's the way America does its very best.
I don't see any problem whatsoever. In fact, I only see health.
KING: Just days before the terrorist strikes, Rice took pains to dismiss talks her proximity to the President was causing tension.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Nobody should by any means be confused here. I'm not the Secretary of State. The President doesn't need two Secretaries of State. He's got a very fine one.
KING: The National Security Council meets almost daily now. And by all accounts, the team is functioning well.
JIM STEINBERG, FMR. DEPUTY NAT'L SEC. ADVISER: She's obviously getting the support she needs from the key actors. But at a time like this, getting all the elements to fit together (UNINTELLIGIBLE) diplomacy, the military, all the economic activity that's going on around this, that's when this process is working its best. And that's the part that she's responsible for.
KING: Secretaries Powell and Rumsfeld may take the lead, but Rice also is a major player in communicating the administration's views.
RICE: If I did not have respect for al Jazeera, I would not be doing this interview. I think it's important that there be a network that reaches broad Arab audiences.
KING: She was a National Security Council deputy in the first Bush White House. And later, as Professor Rice at Stanford, she called the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty obsolete, a view now central to the President's delicate effort to fundamentally reshape U.S. Russia relations.
Ask a question about sensitive data and get a glimpse at Rice's trademark caution.
RICE: I don't want to comment on what we are or are not seeing. And I think you'll understand that.
KING: Soft spoken by choice, but not afraid to talk tough when the issue is Saddam Hussein.
RICE: Obviously, we would like to increase the pressure on him. And we're going to go about doing that.
KING: Or Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat.
RICE: It is extremely important to separate yourself from international terrorists. You cannot help us with al Qaeda and hug Hezbollah. That's not acceptable, or Hamas.
KING: Also, not shy about taking after Democrats who question the President's standing on the world stage.
RICE: You don't question the President's leadership as he's leading -- as Air Force One is taking off. It's really frankly appalling.
KING: It is clear Mr. Bush not only values her advice, but likes her company.
BUSH: Senorita Condoleezza Arroz.
(APPLAUSE)
KING: Rice has lived the life in a hurry, enrolling at the University of Denver at age 15. She is an accomplished pianist. Though practice time is hard to come by these days.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Well, to say the least, it's been quite a year for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Up next, a profile of the man who led New York through an unforgettable moment in history. Stay with us.
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AHAI RAI, NEW YORKER: I think he did an awesome job. You know, the guy was good. He had some guts to do some things. He made some good calls. I hope the new mayor does the same thing. He brought the city back a little bit. It's nice for people to be safe.
DAVE LUMBARTH, NEW YORKER: When he was first elected, I wasn't a big fan. I thought he was a little too harsh, but I think that the job that he's done with the city turning it around even before the 11th was phenomenal. And since the 11th, he's blown away all expectations.
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O'BRIEN: Rudy Giuliani carried out his last official act as mayor of New York City last night, presiding over the Times Square New Year's Eve celebrations. He leaves office with heroic stature, a man almost universally praised for his handling of the September 11th attacks and the aftermath.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick takes a look.
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DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rudy Giuliani was so close to the World Trade Center, that when the first tower came crashing down, the mayor was trapped inside a nearby building. After a frantic search for an exit, a door opened. Giuliani and his team were on the move.
SUNNY MINDEL, GIULIANI COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: It was an amazing moment to see the mayor of New York going up Broadway, just like everyone else, collecting people, following him, evacuating.
RUDY GIULIANI, FMR. MAYOR, NEW YORK: Put your gas mask on. Put your gas mask on.
FEYERICK: That image, a mayor leading New Yorkers to safety, summed up everything he had worked for over eight years: a powerful police force, a strong emergency management unit ready for action, all of it seemingly geared for this single moment.
GIULIANI: Come with us. Come with us.
JOE LHOTA, FMR. DEPUTY MAYOR, NEW YORK: Rudy Giuliani loves to deal with the "what if?" Let's create scenarios. And let's plan accordingly. So when September 11th came, there never was a huddling around of the senior executives within the government to say, what do we do now? We all knew what we needed to do.
FEYERICK: That afternoon, Rudy Giuliani stepped into the spotlight, not as a Senate candidate dropping out of last year's high-profile race because of prostate cancer, not as a man whose marriage to a TV broadcaster was publicly melting down while he stepped out with a new friend. On September 11th, Rudy Giuliani showed himself as a true leader, comforting not only a frightened city, but a frightened nation.
GIULIANI: The City of New York and the United States of America is much stronger than any group of barbaric terrorists. That our democracy, that our rule of law, that our strength and our willingness to defend ourselves, will ultimately prevail.
FEYERICK: Giuliani's two terms have been filled with extreme highs. Crime cut in half, an economy revived, tourists pouring in, a city far better off than before. But his run has also had profound lows.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many?
CROWD: 40!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many?
CROWD: 41!
FEYERICK: Two racially-divisive police shootings, a bitter assault on a museum whose taste in art he disagreed with. Critics accused the mayor of trampling on basic rights, by seeing things his way and his way only.
ANDREW KIRTZMAN, GIULIANI BIOGRAPHER: The driving force behind Giuliani's approach to government is a feeling of righteousness, and a feeling that he has the key to knowledge, and the key to keeping the city under control. And it's been his best quality. And it's been his worst quality, because it means that he's been immune to pressure.
FEYERICK: Which may explain why Rudy Giuliani has taken on everyone from jaywalkers to hot dog vendors. One political insider calling him a classic wartime leader, who's done such a great job that ultimately he ran out of enemies to fight. Critics call him a bully. ED KOCH, FMR. MAYOR, NEW YORK: He showed great insensitivity to people, particularly minorities, and a certain cruelty in his relationships with people. You couldn't be a critic of Giuliani's and remain a friend, social or otherwise.
FEYERICK: That same "I know better" character trait that alienates people, also inspires extreme loyalty. Love it or hate it, it seems to be the key to his success.
KIRTZMAN: It's allowed him to drive home things that other mayors could never dream of accomplishing here.
LHOTA: Some people may say that he sets high goals. The fact of the matter is he does, and we all follow through, because he motivates us to follow through.
FEYERICK: Sunny Mindel is the mayor's communications director.
MINDEL: It is refreshing to work for a person who is so committed to the job and to the city, and has the courage of those convictions, and is not swayed by polling or an occasional blip in the media landscape.
FEYERICK: The public doesn't often see the gentler Giuliani, a man of great humor, compassion, and loyalty, who'll dress up in drag, or put off writing his year-end speech to attend a firefighter's funeral.
TOM VON ESSEN, NEW YORK FIRE DEPT.: He rescheduled that speech that had so many people involved. And people are all shaking their heads, "Oh my god, we have to reschedule this thing," but that was the kind of commitment he's had since September 11.
FEYERICK: So why not show this side more often?
PETE POWERS, FMR. DEPUTY MAYOR, NEW YORK: People confuse niceness and compassion with weakness very often. So if you go out there trying to act that way, you're not going to be able to accomplish your goals. In order to change New York from what it was to what it became, you had to be tough.
FEYERICK: Tough enough to triumph over profound tragedy.
KIRTZMAN: I think that in this crisis, people wanted a father figure. They wanted someone who could tell them that its OK to cry, it's OK to be scared, but that everything was going to be OK.
FEYERICK (on camera): The mayor likes to say, "be sure you're doing the right thing, and the rest will follow." Maybe that's why so many people followed him September 11.
Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Well, that wraps up our look at "Profiles in Leadership." Thanks for being with us.
I'm Miles O'Brien at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Coming up at the top of the hour "LIVE FROM AFGHANISTAN" with Nic Robertson. And I'll be back a half hour from now with a New Year's Day presentation, "REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS."
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