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The Situation Room

Florida Braces For Hurricane Wilma; Saddam Hussein Trial Begins; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tells Iran and Syria to Choose War or Peace; California Shark Attack

Aired October 19, 2005 - 15:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time.
Happening now, fears of Hurricane Wilma. There's no calm before this storm, as many in Florida are already bracing for a weekend blow from the massive Category 5 hurricane. Evacuations are going on right now, as some forecasters say they just don't know how parts of Florida can escape a direct hit.

In Baghdad, a compelling courtroom drama unfolds. At the first day of the first trial against Saddam Hussein, the defendant was defensive and defiant. Saddam Hussein says he's the president of Iraq and is not guilty of torturing and murdering scores of his own people.

And could U.S. troops be in Iraq 10 years from now? The secretary of State won't rule it out. And, on Iran and Syria, Condoleezza Rice bluntly says they should choose either the side of war or cause of peace.

I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

It's the most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. And all signs indicate it's heading for Florida. Hurricane Wilma has exploded in just 24 hours into a monstrous Category 5 storm, capable of catastrophic damage. We're going to the CNN Hurricane Center in just a moment for all the details.

First, though, there's other news just coming into CNN right now -- a warrant out for the arrest of Republican Congressman Tom DeLay in connection with his indictment on campaign finance charges.

Let's go straight to our congressional correspondent, Joe Johns. He's standing by here in Washington. Joe, what's going on?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that's right. We are hearing that an arrest warrant is being issued for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. We're being told that warrant is being issued in Austin, Texas, in Travis County. We're also being told that bond will be set for Mr. DeLay as a result of his indictment on several charges, will be about $10,000.

Now, we're being told as well that he is expected to appear at the Fort Bend County Texas Jail for booking, not clear when that is expected to occur. As you know, on Friday, Mr. DeLay is also expected to appear in Austin, first court appearance.

We're also being told, according to sources in the court in Texas, that this is all a very routine matter. It's all part of the process leading up to Mr. DeLay's first appearance in court.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Is he being treated the same or differently than his two co-defendants?

JOHNS: Well, it's interesting. We're trying to get a better handle on why he would be appearing in Fort Bend County, which is, of course, his own home district, as opposed to Austin, which is where he was indicted, in Travis County -- no clear word on that -- of course, some suggestion, talking to people around the court, that Mr. DeLay and/or one of his lawyers might have had a concern about the potential for a circus atmosphere if he were to be booked in Travis County -- just not clear right now.

Wolf.

BLITZER: But he has to appear and make a personal, physical appearance on Friday, before this proceeding?

JOHNS: That's the indication. And that's what we have always been told up until now.

Now that we have gotten this extra wrinkle, if you will, of Fort Bend County, we don't know how that's going to factor into the bigger picture. But just probably 45 to -- minutes -- to an hour ago, I talked to the office of Tom DeLay. They told me they were expecting him to make an appearance in Travis County on Friday -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And he'll be fingerprinted and photographed, all the regular stuff that anybody who is indicted goes through?

JOHNS: It -- it sounds like it. It sounds like it -- in all likelihood, there, yes, will be a -- a -- a mug shot, if you will. There will be fingerprints.

A lot of people are telling us that they're trying to make some effort, so that he won't have to walk in front of the cameras, a perp walk, if you will -- nonetheless, some real attempts to get Mr. DeLay at least to talk to reporters following his first appearance in Travis County, if it goes forward, Wolf.

BLITZER: I know DeLay's supporters and his lawyers had hoped to avoid such a spectacle. We will see what happens on Friday. Thanks, Joe, for reporting this for us. Joe Johns is our congressional correspondent.

We will move on now to Hurricane Wilma. It's storming toward the Florida coast.

CNN's severe weather expert Chad Myers has the forecast. He's joining us now live from the CNN Hurricane Center. What is the latest information we're getting, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Unprecedented, Wolf. Right now, the wind speed, hurricane hunter aircraft, in the plane, 175 miles per hour, only about four millibars, very, very little from the strongest storm ever. And, for a while today, this storm had the lowest pressure ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin -- the Gulf, Caribbean or the Atlantic, the lowest pressure ever. Now, there may have been other storms that were earlier than we had planes to record the pressure. But this is the strongest one that we know of.

What I want you to see now is how this thing is wobbling. Typically, big storms go in a big straight line and then we know where they're going. Well, the problem with this one is, if it's going to wobble like this the entire time, can't really tell you right on the money where this thing is going.

Here's the hurricane hunter forecast from the Hurricane Center, from 8:00 a.m. on Friday. There's Saturday -- and a landfall somewhere in Florida on Saturday afternoon.

Here's one of the models. You know, we talk about these models all the time. It's really a simulation. Here's the simulation of one of our in-house models, getting very close to Cancun in about 48 hours, and it looks like making landfall as a Category 2 or 3 in Florida.

Remember, Wolf, this thing wobbling back and forth, it could go south of Florida altogether through Cuba. It could go as far north as Tampa, or even into Cedar Key. You have to keep watching it. This is a dangerous storm, unprecedented. The storm got so big overnight, so fast. The conditions were perfect. And, right now, they're not bad either.

BLITZER: Well, how extraordinary is for a tropical storm of what, 60- or 70-mile-an-hour winds to go to a Category 5, 175-mile-an-hour winds, within 24 hours?

MYERS: Everything had to be perfect, and it was. And one of the reasons why this storm, Wolf, is wobbling is because there's no real wind to push it one way or the other. When you don't get winds to sheer the tops of the thunderstorms off, that storm can get bigger and bigger and bigger. And that's exactly what the hurricane did yesterday. And obviously, the water down there is still very warm. It's not winter yet, by any means. Water is down there still 87 degrees.

BLITZER: But the -- but the hurricane itself, I take it, is not that big, massive. It's relatively small?

MYERS: Yes. That's kind of ironic. People were saying, is this the biggest storm ever? Is this the -- you know, is this it? And from -- for a while today, from the 175- mile-per-hour wind -- now it's 165 -- it went down a little bit -- 175 to the hurricane, which was only 75, that was only 15 miles. And, then, after that, there was just tropical-storm-force winds. This thing, if it would have hit something today -- and it didn't, thank goodness, it was in the water -- would have been a 10- mile wide F4, F3 tornado that went -- would have went through somebody's neighborhood. Now, in the rest, it would not have had the catastrophic damage like Katrina for hundreds of miles, but it would have had catastrophic damage for 15 or 20.

BLITZER: All right, Chad, thanks very much. We are going to check back with you, Chad Myers at the CNN Hurricane Center.

You will probably recognize Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center. Just a short time ago, earlier today, he issued this very sobering warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: If this were the only hurricane of the season, this would be the event of the year. But we've had other hurricanes. And I guess, if I could put it in perspective, you know, we had well over 1,000 lives lost in Katrina. If Wilma, you know, comes into the U.S., to the Florida coast as a Category 3 or 4 hurricane, that potential for large loss of life is with us here with this hurricane.

And, in fact, I remember, back in June, my first congressional hearing this year, I mentioned specifically the greater New Orleans area and the Florida Keys as the two areas of greatest concern for that loss of life. So, people in the Florida Keys and elsewhere in the Florida Peninsula need to listen very carefully to the advice of their local officials and start thinking about the preparations that they're going to have to make.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Colonel Christopher Knight is one of those officials Floridians will want to listen to. He's director of the State Highway Patrol. And he's joining us now on the phone from the state capital in Tallahassee.

Colonel, thanks very much for joining us. So, what -- what's the latest with evacuations?

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER KNIGHT, DIRECTOR, FLORIDA STATE HIGHWAY PATROL: Well, as of right now, we're -- we are monitoring traffic that's coming out of the Keys. There's a -- not a mandatory, but a voluntary, evacuation coming out of the Keys for visitors and those that live in low-lying areas of the Keys. And, as with all storms, we watch them closely, and, just, we're ready to evacuate if it's necessary.

BLITZER: Well, right now, this hurricane, at least the projection is, it will hit west coast of Southern Florida someplace, and then move quickly across the peninsula and retain a lot of its speed as it goes across. Where -- where should people evacuate to?

KNIGHT: Well, we will -- we will recommend our -- we -- will bring people north out of Southern Florida and actually in the Central Florida area. So, our interstates -- and we have about 300 troopers ready to go right now to get our citizens and -- and those that are vacationing in South Florida out quickly as we can.

BLITZER: And did you have plans for making some of those -- the turnpike, the interstate, some of those major highways flow in one direction, all one way? Is that necessary at any time soon?

KNIGHT: It's not necessary any time soon. We make those -- we make that call 48 hours out, if we determine that that's going to be necessary. We have that capability. We have the capability to one-way six of our roadways into what we call a shoulder movement on one -- on I-75 over in the Sarasota area. But, if that's necessary, we can do that. We have the personnel to do that. And we work with local law enforcement to get that accomplished.

We have not had to do that in the state of Florida yet.

BLITZER: We all remember the disaster getting out of Houston, only a few weeks go, when we saw those huge traffic jams. We will remind our viewers. We will show -- show our viewers some of those pictures. I assume you would -- you remember those pictures and you -- you have learned some of the lessons of what went right, what went wrong in Houston.

KNIGHT: Yes, we do. We had -- naturally saw what -- what went on in Houston. But, as specifically speaking Florida, we -- we feel like we are well-prepared to do whatever we have to do as far as to move our -- our citizens.

BLITZER: Based on the information, Colonel, that you're getting, how far north do people really have to go in Florida and perhaps into Georgia or someplace else to -- to try to feel safe?

KNIGHT: Well, it's not a matter of how far you go. We do recommend that they go to local shelters, if it's possible.

A lot of times, when people get moving northbound, the hotels fill up and there's really nowhere to go and they just keep going north. And we have -- we have problems, as far as congestion, get in to traffic in and out of -- in and out of gas stations. So, we do recommend to go to the local shelters, versus traveling long distances to evacuate.

BLITZER: All right. Good luck, Colonel Christopher Knight, director of the Florida Highway Patrol. Appreciate it very much.

KNIGHT: You're very welcome.

BLITZER: We will stay in touch with you.

The threat from Wilma comes as the Homeland Security Department is revamping its emergency response procedures. The secretary, Michael Chertoff, testified before a House committee investigating the slow response to the Katrina disaster. He acknowledged that things went wrong, but also defended himself, saying he's not a hurricane expert and that he was relying on FEMA experts and on the former director of FEMA, Mike Brown, who has since resigned. Chertoff said in the future, reconnaissance teams will be dispatched to pave the way for rapid aid deployment.

MTV's Latin American Video Music Awards show is being moved up because of the threat from Hurricane Wilma. The Colombian pop star Shakira leads the field with five nominations, including best female artist. The awards are being held today, instead of tomorrow, in the Mexican resort town of Playa del Carmen.

Let's go to Jack Cafferty. He's standing by in New York. And I assume, Jack, this is an amazing hurricane season for not only you and me, but for everyone who has been watching.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. I -- I -- you and I have been very fortunate that we haven't had to have any firsthand acquaintance with any of these. But, I mean, these poor people that live in the Southeastern quadrant of the country, I can't imagine.

I mean, you -- you -- I know how you feel in the Northeast by about the first of March, when the snowstorms have been coming every week for, like, 10, 12, 14 weeks. And it just grinds you down. I mean, I don't -- I don't know what it must be like when these are life- threatening situations.

Enough of that. Too much down news here.

We're going to talk about something on the upside. What would you do with $1 million? What would you do with $340 million? That could be the jackpot in tonight's Powerball drawing. It would make it the largest single lottery prize ever.

The odds again against winning this thing, before you go out and blow the life savings on tickets, 146 million to 1 against. But somebody at some point will win it. The question this hour is, what would you do with $340 million? CaffertyFile@CNN.com or CNN.com/caffertyfile -- to me, those sound exactly alike, but I'm told that they're different.

You know, they say money can't buy happiness. These kind of windfalls, Wolf, are the acid test of that. And ironically, in many cases, people wind up miserable a year or two down the road, after having come into huge sums of money. Their lives change in ways they never imagined. And -- and they wind, in many ways, unhappier than they -- when they were a just struggling working stiff doing the 9:00- to-5:00 thing and trying to make the mortgage payment.

BLITZER: That's why I didn't run -- rush out and buy one of those Powerball tickets.

CAFFERTY: Me either. I'd hate to be miserable trying to figure out what to do with $340 million. So, I didn't buy any tickets either.

BLITZER: Yes. And we are so happy in THE SITUATION ROOM to begin with.

CAFFERTY: You and I are joyous...

BLITZER: How -- how could we be happier?

(LAUGHTER)

CAFFERTY: That's right. What more to life is there than being here with you in THE SITUATION ROOM...

BLITZER: It doesn't...

CAFFERTY: ... and -- and, of course, old Zain what-is-her-name down there in Atlanta?

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Life doesn't get much better than that.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: All right.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Thanks, Jack.

(LAUGHTER)

CAFFERTY: Goodbye.

BLITZER: Coming up, a day of defiance in a Baghdad courtroom. The former president, Saddam Hussein, goes on trial.

In the thick of battle, a military assault on a Baghdad hotel -- a journalist is killed. Does it warrant a charge of murder against three American soldiers?

And later, a Russian village finds itself under quarantine, as bird flu wings its way west. Where will it turn up next?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Just when you think it's enough -- enough is enough -- it's happening once again, this time, maybe even bigger. It's a monster hurricane right now, a Category 5, winds right now, about 165 miles per hour, were, those winds, at 175 miles an hour. It is the most powerful hurricane so far ever in the Atlantic region.

J.P. Hervis is with our Miami affiliate WSVN. He's joining us from the Keys in Key Largo right now. How are they preparing for this monster storm?

J.P. HERVIS, WSVN REPORTER: Slowly but surely, Wolf. Right now, officials have set an evacuation order for all nonresidents, all tourists throughout the entire Keys. Officials have also canceled school.

Take a look at some of the traffic right now. This is just for nonresidents. As for residents, it's expected that all of them will be asked to leave, at least the residents who live in the Lower Keys, beginning noon tomorrow.

Now, this is actually pretty good traffic for an evacuation. The primary reason we see that is because it's Wednesday. There aren't many weekend warriors, weekend travelers here. And, of course, we're out of vacation season. But once residents are asked to leave, this traffic will start to get bad.

Now, one thing that will -- that will not change is the level of frustration for many of the residents here -- a lot of them putting up their shutters, even though they really don't want to. For example, even this funeral home right here, we spoke to somebody that was over there earlier today. They actually had just taken their shutters down from Rita, that just grazed the lower part of the Keys, weeks ago. And some of the outer bands of that storm reached north.

So as of now, nonresidents are leaving, and it's expected that residents will be asked to leave beginning Thursday at noon.

Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, thanks very much, J.P. Hervis from our affiliate WSVN. We will check back with you, J.P. Thanks very much.

And, remember, in the next hour, we're standing by for a new forecast from Max Mayfield, the National Hurricane Center. We're going to bring that to you live. That's coming up in the next hour here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

In the meantime, another very important, powerful story happening halfway around the world. The accusations are as caustic as the alleged crimes were cruel, killing, imprisoning his own people, even torturing them -- those charges lodged against the former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, today at the start of his first trial in Baghdad. It centers on the aftermath of a failed assassination attempt on Hussein back in 1982.

He refused to recognize the court's jurisdiction today, saying he's still the president of Iraq. Here's one testy exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADDAM HUSSEIN, FORMER IRAQI PRESIDENT (through translator): I bear no hatred to any of you. But I'm holding to the rights. And out of respect to the will of the great Iraqi people in choosing me. I say I don't respond to this so-called court, with all due respect to its persons. And I reserve my constitutional right as a president of the country of Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): These matters can be....

HUSSEIN (through translator): Please, if you don't mind. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is not the time.

HUSSEIN (through translator): I will not go long. I just need to comment on your own words, because you asked for my I.D. And you know my I.D. information. This is one of the formalities of the court.

Therefore, I don't recognize the entity that authorized you. Neither do I recognize the aggression. Everything that is built on falsehood is falsehood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Please, go ahead and sit down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's get some more from CNN's Aneesh Raman. He's joining us now live from Baghdad.

Later, he did say he was not guilty. He did plead formally not guilty, Aneesh. But give our viewers who are not up here on -- in -- in the United States, literally, in the middle of the night, morning, your time, gives a little flavor of what happened in the -- the drama in that courtroom.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Wolf, good afternoon, incredible imagery, important, of course, for Iraqis -- the world, though, watching as well.

The deposed dictator, the last of the eight defendants to be brought into the courtroom, he was seated in the first of three pews that were essentially cages, where the defendants were stationed in front of the judge.

At first, he was incredibly combative. That sound bite you played there came after the judge simply asked each defendant to state their name. Saddam embarked on a speech of sorts.

We also saw other defendants say that they were not allowed to wear their headdresses. Everyone but Saddam Hussein was wearing the -- the dishdash. That is traditional Arabic clothing. Saddam was wearing a gray suit and a white shirt. The judge allowed the headdresses to be brought into the courtroom and given back to the defendants.

Saddam incredibly combative at the beginning, saying that the court was illegitimate, as you heard, saying that he is still the president of Iraq, still operates under a constitution that exonerates him from any of these charges. He turned then, though, to a resigned look, glaring at the chief prosecutor, as, in specifics, the charges were laid out in front of him. We got the first glimpse of the evidence that the prosecution has. They alluded to execution orders that were signed by Saddam Hussein himself in connection with the murder of some 143 villagers from that northern town of Dujail.

By the end, he entered a not-guilty plea, and then was taken and escorted out of the courtroom. Perhaps the most interesting moments came when the cameras were not rolling. Our own -- CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, was in the courtroom during those recesses, Saddam Hussein mingling with the other defendants, at one point, glaring, Wolf, at the Iraqi soldiers as they tried to carry him out. They simply walked along side him in the end.

Wolf.

BLITZER: They're now in recess, literally, until the end of November. Is that right?

RAMAN: That is. They took a 40-day leave of absence, essentially, to deal with the defense petition. We also heard today, though, Wolf from Saddam's daughter, Raghad Saddam Hussein, who insisted, as she has before, as she will likely continue to do so throughout, that her father is nothing short of a hero.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAGHAD SADDAM HUSSEIN, DAUGHTER OF FORMER IRAQI PRESIDENT SADDAM HUSSEIN (through translator): He is a hero. And he will remain a hero. And the hoodlums, when they step forward, let them describe their own self. And they do not dare to describe my father as if he is not brave. That description suits them only.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: So, Wolf, another big day for this new Iraq, trying to bring closure to the time of Saddam Hussein, bring to light the new Iraq that now moves forward. The court, again, will meet on November 28 next.

Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Aneesh, thanks very much. Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad for us.

Meanwhile, Spain's National Court has issued an arrest warrant for three U.S. soldiers. It charges them with war crimes in connection with death of a Spanish journalist during the coalition's advance on Baghdad two-and-a-half years ago.

Our Senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is joining us now with details. Jamie?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, that's right.

That Spanish National Court judge named three U.S. Army soldiers, a tank commander, Sergeant Shawn Gibson, and two of his superiors, Captain Philip Wolford and Lieutenant Colonel Philip le -- de Camp, all who were part of the initial invasion force into Iraq two-and-a- half years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MCINTYRE (voice-over): The April 8, 2003, incident, just 20 days into the Iraq war, sparked outrage from journalist groups around the world.

An American M1A1 Abrams tank fired into the 15th floor of the Palestine Hotel, which was well-known as a base of operations for as many as 150 international journalists.

Two journalists were killed -- a Ukrainian cameraman and an employee of Spanish Television -- and three others were wounded. The U.S. military initially said the shelling was in response to hostile fire that came from the hotel. But later, troops involved in the attack said they were targeting an Iraqi spotter.

A U.S. military investigation concluded, the activities on the balcony of the Palestine Hotel were -- quote -- "consistent with that of an enemy combatant," and said that firing a single round in self- defense was in full accordance with the rules of engagement.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Now, the U.S. says the Spanish court has no jurisdiction over U.S. military personnel operating in a war zone. So, there are no plans to turn them over or, for that matter, even respond to the charges.

And Wolf, two different journalist organizations independently investigated this. Both concluded the soldiers didn't know they were firing at journalists, but they faulted higher-ups for not getting that information to troops on the battlefield.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, reporting for us. Jamie, thank you very much.

Still to come here on THE SITUATION ROOM, the latest on Hurricane Wilma. We will be getting an update from the National Hurricane Center. Stand by for that.

First indicted, now under arrest warrant. Texas prosecutors call for Congressman Tom DeLay to turn himself in.

And just ahead, Wilma hasn't even hit yet, and they're already starting to tally up the costs. Our Ali Velshi considers the economic impact of this powerful storm.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Much more coming up on Hurricane Wilma in just a few moments.

First, though, Zain Verjee standing by at the CNN Center in Atlanta with a closer look at other stories making news. Hi, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. An arrest warrant was issued today for Representative Tom DeLay. Prosecutors say it's a matter of course in light of DeLay's indictment on campaign finance charges. They also say bond of about $10,000 will be set. DeLay is expected to appear at some point in the jail in Fort Bend County, Texas, to be booked. His first court appearance is scheduled for Friday.

Two federal officials tell CNN that the information about the threat that shut down Baltimore Harbor Tunnel yesterday came from a prisoner in the Netherlands. An FBI spokesman says several dozen interviews and other follow-ups have produced no evidence that the threat was credible. The Harbor Tunnel on I-895 was closed entirely for a little less than two hours after what state police called an abundance of caution.

Russia's Agriculture Ministry says it's confirmed the detection of the so-called bird flu in chickens in Russia. It says the potentially deadly virus was found in birds from a village 165 miles south of Moscow. The village has been quarantined and local officials plan to destroy all 3,000 chickens on its farm. The bird flu virus was found in Siberia over the summer and has since spread westward.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a strong earthquake that rocked Japan today was centered in the sea 80 miles northeast of Tokyo. Japan's meteorological agency measured the quake at 6.2. But officials were unconcerned about the threat of a tsunami. Two people were reported injured but not seriously. High-speed train service north of Tokyo was briefly suspended. A magnitude 5.1 quake shook the region on Sunday.

Wolf.

BLITZER: ALl right, Zain. Thanks very much.

We're watching Hurricane Wilma. It's a Category 5 storm and the most intense on record in the Atlantic. We're already seeing economic fallouts.

CNN's Ali Velshi joining us New York with the "Bottom Line". What are we seeing, Ali?

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the good thing, Wolf is, because we have preparation and because we've had a few examples of what goes on and because, in Florida, they kind of know how to deal with these things, we are seeing now the preparations under way.

We just got off the phone with Ft. Lauderdale Airport, one of the biggest airports in the area. They've got a meeting with all the major airlines that work with them tomorrow. If things are on track to head into that direction -- of course Ft. Lauderdale's on the other side -- they will make sure that there are no large obstacles on the runway.

Over on the west coast of Florida, we spoke to Naples Airport. They, of course, like other airports, have a plan in place. They are fueling up all of the airplanes that are on the apron now.

That's something you'll be seeing at all of the airports in the area. Airplanes will be full of fuel, so that if this thing starts to track toward them, they get those planes out of the way.

Delta has said that customers should look at their Web site. There are a number of cities affected. Anybody flying to any of those cities in Florida, plus a couple in Mexico can reschedule now. They can fly earlier without any kind of penalties.

Jet Blue is saying the same sort of thing. So, we are seeing a lot of preparation go into place. We were just talking to the hotels as well, getting some sense of what their level of preparation is.

One of the things that's going to affect all of us is orange juice prices. Orange juice -- frozen oranges futures are way up. They had a bad crop last year because of hurricanes. And right now those oranges are full size and they're ready to fall off those trees. It's not going to take much wind to get them all off the trees and that's going to be a problem. You could expect a lot of these oranges to be affected.

That, of course will work its way through into orange juice prices. This, of course, is a very, very important crop to Florida. So, plans are being put in place as much as possible, Wolf. But some things they won't be able to plan for.

BLITZER: All right, Ali. Thanks very much. We'll get back to you very, very soon.

Just ahead, Saddam Hussein faces justice. He's defensive and determined, calling the proceedings illegal while saying he's innocent. We'll talk more about all of these developments. That's coming up.

And Hurricane Wilma, looming very, very large, forecasters saying it's almost certain to hit Florida. I'll speak live with the mayor of Ft. Myers for what's happening there.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. There are new comments on the war in Iraq and some harsh words for Iran and Syria, all coming from the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Let's bring in our State Department correspondent, Andrea Koppel. Andrea, what did she say?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPODENT: Well, Wolf, Secretary Rice had about three-and-a-half hours of very sharp questioning by senators, during which she strongly defended the Bush administration's policy in Iraq. And she even went on to explain that, whatever happens from here on out, that the Bush administration's strategy there would be -- quote -- "assured victory."

Now, this was her first appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since February. And she came under a lot of questions over a series of subjects, including Iran and Syria. In fact, several lawmakers, including Senator Chris Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, wanted to know, and asked her repeatedly, whether or not the United States might use force in Syria, something that Secretary Rice refused to rule out -- the president never takes any of his options off the table concerning anything to do with military force.

But the course that we are currently on is a course to use our military power to try and to stem the tide of people who were coming in that area, to clear some of those towns in which insurgents have been living up in Al Khaim and that region and to put pressure on the Syrians diplomatically to take steps that would make it easier to stem the flow of the insurgents.

KOPPEL: Now, Secretary Rice just wrapped up a diplomatic mission through Europe and Russia. One of the subjects that was topping her agenda there was Syria and Lebanon, the U.S. looking for next steps on -- in particular, on Syria, what to do when this Millis (ph) report comes out --this is the U.N. investigation, Wolf.

The U.S. is talking to its allies and is expected to introduce, perhaps, a new U.N. resolution, sometime later this month.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Andrea, what did she say about U.S. troops remaining in Iraq, potentially for as long as another 10 years?

KOPPEL: This was a question that she was asked by Senator Paul Sarbanes, a Democrat of Maryland. And Secretary Rice merely repeated his words back to him and said that she couldn't say whether or not troops would be in Iraq, perhaps, for as long as 10 years.

That was the question that was asked to her by Senator Sarbanes. She said the president -- this is something we've heard time and again, Wolf, refused to set a time line for U.S. troops in Iraq.

BLITZER: Andrea Koppel at State Department. Thank you, Andrea.

And on the topic of Iraq, the beginning of the trial against Saddam Hussein. It got under way earlier today in Baghdad. It's adjourned now until the end of November.

Joining us, two guests. George Packer is a staff writer for "The New Yorker" magazine and the author of an important new book entitled "The Assassin's Gate: America in Iraq." He's joining us from New York. And Richard Dicker of the organization Human Rights Watch. He's joining us from Baghdad.

Gentlemen, thanks very much for joining us

Richard, let me begin with you in Baghdad. Were you happy, sad, impressed, not impressed, by day one of this trial?

RICHARD DICKER, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Well, I had mixed views on it, Wolf. On the one hand, it was very stirring to see Saddam Hussein in the dock as a defendant in a criminal trial. I think that event is long, long overdue given the horrific crimes that happened in this country over three decades.

At the same time, if justice is going to be done through this trial, it's got to be a fair trial, which means this court, the judges, the prosecutors, must allow the accused and his lawyers the right to defend him against the charges he's facing.

BLITZER: Well, based on what you saw today, Richard, were you encouraged that that would happen?

DICKER: Well, frankly, not wildly encouraged. I heard the prosecutor give a long, rambling, political discourse that didn't make much reference to the legal basis of charges in this trial and what he, the prosecutor, was going to prove on the basis of evidence that he was going to submit. It sounded more politicized to me than it did strictly legal, Wolf.

BLITZER: George, let me read to you a quote from Ruth Wedgwood. She's an international legal scholar at John Hopkins University. She says, "I really do think that for many Iraqis, until he is convicted and at a minimum, put in jail for rest of his natural life, no one will suppose he is really done for." Is that is the sense, based on all the work you've done in Iraq, the sense that you get, as well?

GEORGE PACKER, "THE NEW YORKER": That's certainly true among the Shia and the Kurds that I've talked to. In fact, put away for the rest of his life wouldn't be nearly enough for them. Some of them want to see him chopped into little pieces. I mean, the hatred for this man and this sense of terrible grievance for their destroyed lives is deep.

But the problem is, there's a political context for the trial. And the context is war an occupation. And this trial, however good proceedings are -- and I'm a little less worried than Mr. Dicker about that. I'm more worried about the effect it's going to have on Iraqi society. I'm afraid it's going to divide very much along the sectarian lines that are already deepening and causing so much friction.

BLITZER: So you're thinking he'll give strength? Is that what you're saying, George? Give strength to the insurgency?

PACKER: I think that many Sunni-Arab Iraqis are going to rally around a man whom they may not have loved when he was ruling over them, but whom they identify as, in a sense, their natural leader, because they don't have other leaders, and are going to see the government trying him as being an illegitimate government of the occupation. I think that those tendencies are already clear and they're only going get deeper as the trial goes on.

BLITZER: What will this do, Richard, in rest of the Arab world, the spectacle of Saddam Hussein that they all are very familiar with being brought before a criminal court and charged with crimes against humanity? What kind of ripple effect will that have?

DICKER: Well, I hope it would have a positive effect. I agree with the point that George made. There are real dangers here. There are dangers that this proceeding will lack legitimacy. And I think that's all the more reason it must be scrupulous in allowing a fair trial.

I think, if the trial is fair, that will help increase the message that I think the Iraqis I've spoken to want sent, and that is -- to the rest the Arab world -- that the crimes committed in this country by the Iraqi government against its own people at a time when various Arab regimes were supporting Saddam Hussein as a hero. I think the Iraqis I have spoken to want that truth to come out very, very clearly.

BLITZER: One final question to you, George. Your views on Iraq, the war in Iraq, over the past couple and a half years, like the views of a lot of people out there, have changed. But briefly summarize where you see this situation unfolding in the weeks and months to come.

PACKER: Well, there's two tracks in Iraq. One is political and the other is the war. And the administration has always hoped that the political track would put an end to the war. It hasn't happened. The December elections are going to be the crucial test of whether Sunni Iraqis are willing to leave aside the insurgency, to turn their back on it and to participate in the political game.

I think we'll know a lot more by December whether Sunnis have decided that their country needs to be saved and the only way to save it is through politics, not war. If that doesn't happen, if they become increasingly antagonized, we're going to be seeing years and years of conflict that country.

BLITZER: George Packer is the author of "Assassins' Gate." Richard Dicker is with Human Rights Watch. We'll be checking back with you, both of you, in the days and weeks to come. Thanks to both of you for joining us.

PACKER: Thank you.

BLITZER: And up next, much more on Hurricane Wilma. It's threatening to batter Florida. Many in the Keys already evacuating, emergency operations on standby. We'll have an update.

And the odds are overwhelmingly against it, but it's nice to have a dream, in any case. What would you do with $340 million? That would be the Powerball jackpot. Jack Cafferty, standing by with your e-mail. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's go back to CNN's Zain Verjee in the CNN Center in Atlanta. There's a story developing out in California. What's going on, Zain?

VERJEE: Wolf, there's been a shark attack in Sonoma County in California. It's believed that a 20-year-old woman has been attacked.

Lieutenant Roger Rude of Sonoma County Sheriff's Office is joining us now by phone. Thank you for being with us. Can you describe, first, exactly what happened and what kind of condition this woman is in?

LT. ROGER RUDE, SONOMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Well, what happened was, she was surfing off of Salmon Creek Beach, which is in Sonoma County, north of Bodega Bay. And as she was paddling her surfboard, she was struck from behind by a shark that she estimates to be around 14 feet long. And the shark grabbed her by the right leg and pulled her underwater, where it shook her. And she attempted to strike the shark, hitting something that she thought might be the tail or a fin. And then the shark released her. She wound up with a bite that stretched from her thigh to her calf, about 18 inches across.

VERJEE: Is she in stable condition now?

RUDE: Yes, she is. She was -- she made it to the beach with the assistance of other surfers. The surfer called 911, reported the incident. We launched our helicopter with the sheriff's department and the helicopter flew out, landed and picked her up. She was stable at that time on the beach and transported her to the nearest trauma center, which is Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

VERJEE: Lieutenant, what kind of shark was this? A great white shark?

RUDE: That would be the most likely candidate. This area, this is not new to this area. This is a location where we've had other attacks by great whites on surfers in the past. And we do have a healthy population of adult great whites in this area.

VERJEE: Lieutenant Roger Rude of Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. Thank you so much for joining us.

Back to Wolf now in THE SITUATION ROOM.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Zain.

More on our top story now. On the heels of Rita and Katrina, there are real worries about the potential for devastation from Hurricane Wilma. Winds right now hovering around a very dangerous 165 miles an hour, the storm threatening parts of Florida.

Let's bring in the mayor of Fort Myers, Florida, Jim Humphrey. He's joining us on the phone. Mr. Mayor, thanks very much for joining us. What are your experts telling you about Wilma?

MAYOR JIM HUMPHREY, FORT MYERS, FLORIDA: Well, while we're still currently in the cone of uncertainty, as they tell us. We are already starting to make our preparations. In fact, I go into a meeting at 4:30 today to try, frankly, to be ahead of any preparations for evacuation, particularly elderly and people without transportation.

BLITZER: Based on the latest tracking, it could hit as early -- either late Friday, maybe Saturday. At what point would you have to start evacuations?

HUMPHREY: Well, that's something we'll talk about this afternoon. But I think, frankly, tomorrow afternoon, as we start really getting the update. Because as you've just said, with its high winds and the possibility of flooding -- and the projections are still between Fort Myers and Key West, so it's something that we really have to think about the potential for life-threatening conditions.

BLITZER: Are you getting the support from state authorities and the federal government at this very early stage that you would hope for?

HUMPHREY: Well, actually, we feel a lot of this is still our responsibility early on as the local government, to make sure that we address the evacuation, and while we will be in through the counties' emergency, we are contacting state officials and the state has already supported our declaring a state of local emergency.

We're really depending on our local staff people to assist, and then to bring in the state as we know and prepare for more. But we're keeping them informed of our progress.

BLITZER: Mayor Jim Humphrey, of Fort Myers, Florida. Good luck mayor. Thanks very much for joining us.

HUMPHREY: Thank you, and a pleasure. And like you say, under a lot of pressure right now, but we will do our best to be prepared to save lives.

BLITZER: And in the coming hour, Mr. Mayor, we're going to be getting a new forecast from the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Max Mayfield will be bringing us that information, so stand by. We'll see where this hurricane Wilma is moving toward.

Up next, it's not one dream but $340 million of them. Powerball fever. What would you do with all of that money? Jack Cafferty reading your e-mails, standing by. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Jack Cafferty has been going through your e-mail. He's joining us once again from New York. Jack?

CAFFERTY: Three hundred and forty million dollars, the Powerball lottery prize. What would you do if you won the money? A couple of people said they would buy CNN and fire me. So I hope they don't win.

Victor in Las Vegas: "340 million, minus taxes, adjusted for inflation, taking into account gas prices, housing costs, college education for three kids. I would hope I'd be able to take my wife out to a nice dinner, maybe even a movie."

Jim in Whittier, California: "I'd by Jack a new hairpiece."

Come on, Jim, if I had a hairpiece, I'd buy one that's better than this. I don't have a hairpiece. This is the real deal.

Brad in Chattanooga has a good idea: "I'd buy you your own show."

Wally in Port Orange, Florida: "Fly you and Wolf to the best restaurant in the world, buy you guys dinner, so you can finally meet in person. Then I'd bribe Wolf to let me on the set, so I can actually be in THE SITUATION ROOM instead of standing here cooking dinner pretending just pretending I'm in THE SITUATION ROOM and dreaming about what I'd do with $340 million."

And Greg in Westville, Nova Scotia: "Neither my wife or I buy lottery tickets and we're fighting over what we'd do with the money. I want to take the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders out for the weekend on my new yacht. She wants to stay home with a life-size Cafferty poster and a set of darts."

BLITZER: It's those viewers in Canada, Nova Scotia, they always have something pithy.

CAFFERTY: Now that they're stuck inside, you know, for long periods of time up there. It's very cold. They have nothing to do.

BLITZER: Good people, the Canadians. We love them.

CAFFERTY: Absolutely. We have lots of viewers there.

BLITZER: Thanks very much. We do. Still ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, it's another Category 5 hurricane making a beeline for the Gulf Coast. Where will Wilma hit? How bad will it be? We'll carry a live update from the National Hurricane Center. That's coming up in the next hour. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: It's almost time for the markets to close and the closing bell. We're watching Hurricane Wilma at the same time. It's a Category 5 storm heading toward Florida right now. What's going on, Ali? People are making preparations.

VELSHI: Yes. We're making our calls, finding out what sort of preparations are under way. The airports have -- we have spoken to a few more. Fort Myers, of course, is one of the major airports. They call it Southwest Florida International Airport in the area.

We just spoke to somebody who said they're tying down everything on the ramp that may not need to be used. And until airlines decide they're canceling flights, they're going to keep on going. But they just moved into a new facility, and it's got hurricane resistant glass. So they're not going to be putting up shutters on the glass. They are in a state of alert right now, monitoring the storm as we are and monitoring what the airports are doing.

In Sarasota, they're also waiting to make some decision, but the issue here is whether airports, airlines are making a decision to fly or not. Delta has named the following cities: Naples, Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Sarasota and Tampa as affected airports.

If you are flying into or out of those airports between now and after the storm is expected to pass, call Delta. They will make arrangements for you, JetBlue saying the same thing. We're still waiting on American Airlines and we just heard from somebody who spoke to ATA who said that if it's not on Saturday or Sunday, you're out of luck. They're not going anything for you which is kind of weird because it would really be better for everybody to plan ahead. So I've got to call into ATA to find out what they're doing.

Over in Daytona Beach, there's a big thing called Biketoberfest, 100,000 motorcyclists headed there for a weekend of fun, including a Ms. Biketoberfest contest and a tattoo competition. Still waiting to see. As of last check, that's still on, Wolf. So we'll keep an eye on Biketoberfest.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Ali. We'll get back to you. Ali Velshi reporting from New York.

It's 4:00 p.m. here in Washington, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information from around the world are arriving all the time.

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