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The Situation Room
Exile Offer for Saddam Hussein; White House Reacts; Al Qaeda Members May Be Questioned In Soviet-Era Prison; Sometimes Prayer Considered Suspicious Behavior; Paris Riots Continue; British Royalty Consider Media A Nemesis
Aired November 02, 2005 - 17:00 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. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Was Saddam Hussein willing to leave Iraq on the eve of the U.S.- led invasion? Was there a lost opportunity to head off the conflict which has cost so many lives?
CNN's Aneesh Raman is standing by in Baghdad. Our senior Arab affairs editor, Octavia Nasr, is at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
But let's begin with our Brian Todd. He's here in Washington with some new information on this story. Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we have a startling new claim by leaders of one Arab nation that on the eve of war their late president was close to brokering an extraordinary deal with Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice over): March 2003, dramatic days before war that included a very public ultimatum.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict.
TODD: But at the time there were also some private maneuverings among some Arab leaders to try to forestall the U.S. invasion. Now CNN is told that roughly three weeks before the first U.S. strike, Saddam Hussein agreed in principle to accept an offer of exile. The offer came from the United Arab Emirates and was presented to other Arab leaders during a summit of the Arab League in Egypt. The proposal, we are told, was never acted upon.
CNN obtained the information about Saddam's alleged agreement with the UAE from two sources who attended the Arab League summit, and it was confirmed by a senior UAE government official. Separately, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, which is part of the United Arab Emirates, recently spoke to the Al-Arabiya network about the initiative, which was spearheaded by his late father, UAE's president at the time.
SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN ZAYED AL NAHYAN (through translator): During those days, the circumstances that we used to work under needed a very swift decision, an immediate response. We have security approval of the main players, everyone who was involved. And the main concern, Saddam Hussein in 24 hours.
TODD: The crown prince was otherwise vague on details. But a senior UAE official tells CNN Saddam wanted certain guarantees, including an Arab League resolution approving the exile.
We caught up with the Arab League ambassador to the U.S., Hussein Hassouna. He says leaders at that summit were surprised by the proposal because it had not been on the pre-approved agenda. We asked him why the Arab leaders failed to even discuss the matter.
HUSSEIN HASSOUNA, ARAB LEAGUE AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: In my own view, there was not enough consultations prior to seizing (ph) the summits with this very sensitive issue. After all, you have to realize, this was in fact putting an item whereby the Arab League would ask the head of state, of a member state, to go into exile.
TODD: Senior State Department officials tell CNN they knew about the UAE proposal at the time, but they say it wasn't seriously considered, in part because the Arab League never acted on it. And they didn't believe Saddam would really step down.
Middle East scholar Shibley Telhami has long-standing contacts in the United Arab Emirates and met with the late president. He believes the accounts from UAE officials of this deal are credible.
SHIBLEY TELHAMI, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: The former president of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed, who was an incredible and influential man, we know had a great deal of interest in preserving Iraq as a unified and strong state.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: But Telhami and the Arab League ambassador tell us there is no guarantee Saddam's exile would ever have come to pass, even if the Arab League had approved it. They say at that point it was very late in the game before the war, and there was mistrust between many nations, including the U.S. and Iraq, that could have scuttled any agreement.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting. Very important story. Thanks, Brian, very much.
Let's get some more perspective now on this story. CNN's Aneesh Raman is standing by live in Baghdad. What are you picking up there, Aneesh?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the essential question is, of course, did Saddam Hussein himself sign on to this deal? You'll recall in the weeks leading up to the war there were any number of proposals for Saddam to go into exile to avert conflict.
Those sources in the UAE mention specifically Adnan Pachachi. You know he is a prominent Sunni here. He was in exile at the time. He attended the summit. The UAE sources said he was aware of all the details of this deal.
But we spoke to Mr. Pachachi a short time ago. He is in London right now. He says he was aware generally of a deal, but was not aware of any of the specifics that are now being reported, not the least of which, one can presume, is whether Saddam himself had signed on.
So the big question, of course, did Saddam sign on the dotted line? Only Saddam himself, it seems, will know the answer to that.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Very briefly, Aneesh, remind our viewers now what Saddam Hussein's status is as far as his trial is concerned.
RAMAN: Well, the trial has been adjourned until November 28. He, along with seven other defendants, are facing crimes among humanity. They met for one session where the defense put in a motion for a delay.
Also, though, we were told by the sitting judge that witnesses did not show up out of fear of their own lives. So the court dealing with a number of specifics right now, witness transport, as well as those defense petitions for a delay.
They're set to resume November 28. It could be a very lengthy process.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Aneesh Raman in Baghdad. Thank you, Aneesh, very much.
Why is this information coming out right now, more than two-and- a-half years after the invasion?
Let's turn to our senior Arab affairs editor, Octavia Nasr. She's joining us from the CNN Center. What about the timing of this report, Octavia?
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS: Well, that's a question that's on many minds, especially in the Arab world. When this documentary aired last weekend, it didn't get much attention in the Arab media, because go back to the beginning, you know, right before the invasion of Iraq, the tense moments prior to that, and that offer for asylum -- many people thought that Sheik Zayed at the time was using this opportunity to leave a legacy behind. He was an aging leader, and many observers thought that this was his attempt to leave a legacy behind.
No -- not many people believed that this was going to work, especially countries like Egypt were very skeptical about it. Even the president of Egypt in that same documentary that was mentioned, he says that Saddam Hussein is a difficult man and no one knew what he was thinking.
Basically, a lot of doubt around the offer and what Saddam Hussein was going to do with it.
BLITZER: All right, Octavia. Thank you very much. Octavia Nasr helping us understand this important story.
Meanwhile, in Iraq today, as candidates campaign for next month's parliamentary elections, insurgents are stepping up their campaign of violence -- the worst of it today was in the town of Musayyib in an area south of Baghdad known as the Triangle of Death. There at least 20 people were killed and dozens wounded when a suicide bomber struck a Shiite neighborhood crowded with people shopping for the end of the Ramadan holiday.
In the northern city of Kirkuk, a car bombing killed two people and wounded seven others in the central business district.
And in another development, two U.S. Marines were killed today when their helicopter gunship went down near Ramadi. Marine officials say they don't know what caused the crash, but hours later a fighter jet stuck a reported insurgent command center that's nearby.
More death and destruction in Iraq.
Let's go to Jack Cafferty in New York. He's got a new question, a new one for this hour. Hi, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. President Bush was recently interviewed by a reporter from an Argentine newspaper. And the reporter was curious. He asked the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth what he had in his pockets.
The president fished around and came up with nothing except a handkerchief. Of course presidents don't have to carry things like the rest of us mere mortals do, stuff like money or keys or a cell phone. They have people that do that for them, an entourage.
But still, we thought we'd have a little fun with this. Here's the question this hour.
What should the president of the United States carry in his pockets? You can email your answers to CaffertyFile@CNN.com.
And in case you're wondering, Wolf, the president does wear a wristwatch, a Timex.
BLITZER: A Timex? How do you know that?
CAFFERTY: Well, apparently he told this reporter from this newspaper in Argentina.
BLITZER: Oh, that's...
CAFFERTY: But that was -- the reporter said something about, you know, do you have a watch? And he said, yes, I wear a Timex.
BLITZER: Very good information. All right.
CAFFERTY: I read all the Argentine newspapers every day.
BLITZER: I didn't know that. It's a side of you that I'm not familiar with, Jack. Thank you very much.
CAFFERTY: Sure.
BLITZER: Up ahead, anti-terror tactics at a football game? It's the competing interest of security versus liberty. Three Muslim men say they were unfairly targeted because they were praying.
And Hurricane Katrina whipped out large chunks of New Orleans, forcing many residents to flee. But how many left permanently, and how many just for the time being? We'll have the new numbers tracked zip code by zip code.
And a royal charm offensive. The prince and a duchess here in Washington, how are they being received?
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to THE SITUATION ROOM.
These are difficult days over at the White House with the indictment of the vice president's now former chief of staff in connection with that CIA leak case, and the Senate Democrats now demanding action in a probe of prewar intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq.
Joining us now to talk about that and more, the counselor to the president, Dan Bartlett. Dan, thanks very much for joining us.
DAN BARTLETT, WITE HOUSE COUNSELOR: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Let's talk a little bit about the Lewis Scooter Libby indictment. In our new CNN/"USAToday"/Gallup poll, the charges against Libby are, an isolated incident -- 38 percent thought it was isolated, 56 percent thought it a sign of low ethical standards in the Bush administration.
It looks like you have a serious problem with the American public here.
BARTLETT: Well, there's no question this was a serious allegation that took place in the first place. It was something that President Bush felt very -- it was very important that we get to the bottom of it. The indictment that was handed down by special prosecutor Fitzgerald was a very serious matter and one that the president takes very seriously.
As you know, Wolf, though, it's also important in our criminal justice system that somebody is presumed innocent and is expected to have a fair trial. And we think it's very important that that process be able to move forward. In addition to that, as you know, special prosecutor Fitzgerald continues his own investigation into other matters. And it's going to be important that us here at the White House don't try to discuss the details of that investigation, so I'm not going to be able to go shed a lot of detail on the information of the investigation.
But I will say that what I think the American people do want the president to focus on are issues that matter to them, whether it be high energy prices, education, cutting spending to make sure that we can fund our priorities, winning the war on terror.
BLITZER: All right.
BARTLETT: Those are the type of issues the public cares about. And those are the types of issues President Bush is going to focus on.
BLITZER: A lot of people are recommending that the president of the United States and vice president, for that matter, either hold a news conference or do a serious interview and answer some of these questions that are being asked that have -- that have come up from the CIA leak investigation, without -- and a lot of experts are saying, including friends of the administration, they can do this without jeopardizing some of the legal questions that are outstanding.
Why not have the president and the vice president answer those questions from the White House press corps or from others?
BARTLETT: Well, I know there's a lot of advice being given from the outside. And we do appreciate it. And many of those people aren't burdened by the type of responsibilities that we have here at the White House when it comes to a very sensitive legal investigation that is still under way. Special prosecutor Fitzgerald on Friday made that very clear -- that this is an active investigation. And had the president or vice president weighed in to the details of this in the middle of the investigation, it wouldn't be appropriate and would violate the request that he made of the White House.
But look, President Bush and Vice President Cheney are elected officials. They're accountable to the American people. He takes questions from the -- from the press corps often, and he will answer questions at the appropriate time. He always does, and recognizes the role he plays as president of the United States. This is a very serious matter and something that he takes very seriously.
BLITZER: Your boss, Karl Rove, the deputy White House chief of staff, was not accused of any criminal wrongdoing. He was not indicted, although the investigation, as the prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald says, continues. But he has been identified as so-called Official A, who leaked word of Joe Wilson's wife working at the CIA to columnist Robert Novak. Matt Cooper says Karl Rove told him about Valeria Plame, the CIA -- the CIA operative.
Forget about the law right now. Was it appropriate for Karl Rove to be talking about Joe Wilson's wife, a CIA operative, with reporters? BARTLETT: Well, again, Wolf, as much as I would like to discuss this -- and I don't know the details of the indictment. You say you know who Official A is. I haven't been formally told who Official A is.
Those are very sensitive discussions and matters of fact that is actively under investigation by the special prosecutor. So it's not going to be appropriate -- as much as any of us here at the White House would like to dive into the details of this with you on live TV, I don't think it would be appropriate. I can't just set aside the law. This is a very important investigation that's going on, and it's going to be important that we honor it.
BLITZER: Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, is well liked by a lot of the reporters but seems to have a problem because of this. This exchange he had on October 10, 2003, shortly after -- a couple months after the Bob Novak column appeared.
Listen to this exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Those individuals, I talked -- I spoke to those individuals, as I pointed out. And those individuals assured me they were not involved in this. And that's where it stands.
QUESTION: So none of them told any reporter...
MCCLELLAN: They assured me that they were not involved in this.
Yes. Go ahead, Ed.
(CROSSTALK)
MCCLELLAN: The leaking of classified information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right. He was referring to Karl Rove, Elliot Abrams, who works on the NSC staff, and Scooter Libby.
He says he personally was assured by them they had nothing to do with releasing the name of the CIA operative, Valerie Plame. Does he owe -- does he owe a further explanation, an apology, if you will, to the reporters and to the American public because of that? That clearly -- someone was either lying to him, or trying to mislead him.
BARTLETT: Well, you did start this aspect of the interview with the appropriate point, that Scott McClellan has earned quite a bit of trust with the press corps here at the White House, and that's because he does his very best job of telling it like it is, to give them the information that they need to do to help report to the American people about what's happening here at the White House.
And again, Wolf, people like Scott McClellan and others would love to be able to dive into the details of these issues. These are very issues that are part of the ongoing investigation. Fitzgerald has made it very clear that he doesn't want us talking about that.
Again, Scott McClellan is somebody who has worked every day to try to earn the trust of the American people, as well as the reporters who cover this White House. And I think he has done a pretty good job of doing that. And I think the reporters here also have to understand the sensitivity of this investigation.
BLITZER: Ken Duberstein, a former Reagan White House chief of staff, was on this program. He also has an op-ed piece in the "New York Times" saying this, among other things: "If George W. Bush is going to change his presidential momentum, he might take a few lessons from the Reagan playbook. First, every second term needs new blood."
Is it time for some new blood in the White House?
BARTLETT: Well, Ken's a well-respected man who knows a lot about the White House and about Washington. And he's providing important advice. But at the end of the day, it's President Bush who will make determinations about who is going to serve in this White House, who is going to help him advance an agenda on behalf of the American people.
When we walk through these gates every day, it's a privilege. And it's one in which we understand that we serve at the pleasure of the president. And if he decides he wants to move people out and move people in, which he has every prerogative to do, he'll do it and he'll do it on his own timeframe.
BLITZER: You've been there from the beginning. Do you feel burnt out?
BARTLETT: Maybe I need to consult my wife on that. It is a hard job, Wolf. It's one that takes a lot of dedication and energy. But at the same time, it's an incredible honor to walk through that gate every day and serve the American people. And we're honored to do it. We're honored to work for this president. And as long as he wants us here working, we'll follow his lead.
BLITZER: There was an extraordinary move by the Democrats yesterday in the U.S. Senate to effectively close the doors, have a secret session. They argued that it was the result of stonewalling on the part of the Republican leadership in the Senate to prevent the completion of an investigation into prewar intelligence that justified the war.
Listen to what Senator Jay Rockefeller, the vice chairman, a Democrat from West Virginia, said here in THE SITUATION ROOM yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: I have a feeling that the White House has -- anything which has sort of begun to tread on their territory, they call down to the Congress and Republicans, back off. I don't respect that at all. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: What about that?
BARTLETT: Well, they don't have to have a secret session to have this debate. We ought to have it out in the open where the American people can see it. And maybe the investigation can start with the previous administration or Jay Rockefeller himself.
He himself said that there was unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein was developing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Harry Reid himself, who voted for the war, cited the same intelligence President Bush did.
President Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Vice President Al Gore, John Kerry, there's a whole list of Democrats who stepped up, as did President Bush, looked at the threat in a post-9/11 world and said, this man is a threat.
We removed this dictator for good reasons. Now, everybody recognizes that the intelligence was incorrect. But the decision was correct in a post-9/11 world.
We could not have a type of destabilizing figure, who everybody in the world thought had weapons of mass destruction, who was the only place in the world where actively our U.S. pilots and British pilots would be shot at every day by Iraqi forces this. This man was a threat, and it was important that we remove this threat.
And every one of these Democrats who voted for the war should look at their own analysis and their own conclusions that they have drawn from this debate. And we're willing to have it open. It doesn't have to be in secret session. All the American people can see it, and we're willing to have that discussion.
BLITZER: We just heard Dianne Feinstein, a Democratic member of that committee, tell us here that she felt duped by the intelligence that your administration provided. She voted for that resolution and she deeply regrets it.
BARTLETT: Well, I'm wondering if -- I respectfully disagree with the senator. And I'm sure she maybe thinks that President Bill Clinton was duped, who urged the very same type of action in 1998. He said that we ought to have a policy in the United States for regime change in Iraq.
This is -- this is a silly debate, Wolf. And the fact that people are trying to revise history here, not only did the United States government through two administrations, but also the United Nations, the French, the Germans, the British, all of our key allies, all of their intelligence communities had the exact same analysis we did.
Now, did that analysis turn out to be right? No. But was it still right to remove Saddam Hussein from power? Yes. And we're willing to have that debate any time, any place. BLITZER: I've got to go because we're out of time. But you say a silly debate? A lot of people think 2,000 dead U.S. troops, 15,000 injured, hundreds of billions of dollars spent, that's anything by a silly debate.
BARTLETT: That's absolutely right, Wolf. And let's discuss why it's important to be in Iraq today, why it's important winning the war on terror.
What is silly is for people to stand up before the American people and try to revise history. That's what I'm talking about, because the record speaks for itself.
They cast the votes. They took positions. They made the same statements that President Bush made. And it's important that we have a debate about the war now, not about a debate about silly politics, is what I'm talking about.
BLITZER: All right.
BARTLETT: The politics of revising history. So you're right, it is critically important that we have a debate about why it's important that we win this central battle in the war on terror. And that's where the president's focus is, and that's where the United States Congress' focus should be.
BLITZER: Dan Bartlett, thanks for joining us.
BARTLETT: You're welcome.
BLITZER: Coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM, inside Giant Stadium, allegations of racial profiling. Was it appropriate or outrageous security measure?
And it's been called one of the largest migrations in U.S. history. An update on what Hurricane Katrina has done to citizens along the Gulf Coast.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: New numbers released by the postal service are giving us a better idea of just how massive the exodus from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina has been. In fact, it turns out to be one of the largest migrations in history.
CNN's Mary Snow has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's been more than two months since Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast. But only now are some residents admitting they can no longer call New Orleans home -- a stark dose of reality in a simple change of address form. MIKE FRANCO, DISPLACED NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Having an address gave us as a family, my wife and my children and I, a place that we could at least call home, even though it is a temporary home.
SNOW: Mike and Minion Franco (ph) say they were emotional last week after changing their address listing to Baton Rouge. But they are just a few of the estimated 300,000 people changing their addresses with the U.S. Post Office following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It's expected that number will double in weeks.
It's the first detailed picture emerging of where people wound up after fleeing to places like Houston's Astrodome. A picture showing 38,000 new addresses listed in Baton Rouge, over 29,000 appearing in Houston, 138,000 in New Orleans' suburbs. And these are just the top three relocations. Evacuees have spread out to more than 40 states.
WILLIAM FREY, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: It's very big and very sudden. And I think that way it's somewhat different than a lot of other major migrations in the United States -- the great migration of blacks to the South.
SNOW: Bill Frey of the Brookings Institution calls the evacuees reluctant migrants since they never intended to leave New Orleans. Despite the damage, he thinks they will return.
FREY: The mayor says maybe half of the people in New Orleans won't come back. I think that's way too high. Maybe 20 percent won't come back.
SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: For more on the Katrina evacuees around the country, our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton is checking the situation online. What are you picking up, Abbi?
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, online databases established after the hurricane to track these evacuees now show just how widely disbursed they are. This is the Red Cross site, together with Microsoft. They set up katrinasafe.org -- over 300,000 names in the database. Search on a name like Johnson, for example, you'll see people once in shelters now across Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, Minnesota, along with many other states.
Individual states as well have their own databases showing who has resettled there. This is Arkansas's Operation Care Web site showing over 35,000 names of evacuees now living in that state.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Abbi.
Coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM, with the fans and the photographers, it may look like rock stars on tour, but it's actually a royal globe trot, Charles and Camilla. Is their U.S. tour a fairytale come true?
And tempers and fires are burning outside Paris. Many immigrants are protesting, complaining of what they say is wrong in France. We'll tell you what's going on.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: There are new questions today about the whereabouts and treatment of detainees seized in the war on terrorism.
Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre. Jamie?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, big front-page story in the "Washington Post" today, alleging that the CIA is hiding and questioning some top al Qaeda operatives in a Soviet-era prison somewhere in Eastern Europe.
The revelations about a secret CIA prison come as the Pentagon is grappling with a new policy on the treatment and interrogation of detainees.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (voice-over): The Pentagon has always insisted its treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other undisclosed prisons around the world meets the spirit of Geneva Conventions, even as the U.S. government argues terrorism suspects are not entitled to POW status, under the letter of the law. And Bush administration officials argue the fact that some detentions may not be made public doesn't change that.
STEPHEN L. HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The fact that they're secret, assuming there are such sites, does not mean that, simply because something is -- you know, some people say that the test of -- of your principles are what you do when no one is looking. And the president has insisted that, whether it's in the public or is in the private, the same principles will apply.
MCINTYRE: The Pentagon insists it does not sanction torture and punishes anyone who violates that standard. But the current internal debate centers on how written guidelines should spell out restrictions on cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment, language straight from the Geneva Conventions. The concern -- those broad labels could be applied by critics to a wide range of interrogation techniques the Pentagon considers legal and legitimate.
But an attorney who represents several detainees at Guantanamo says the debate over the legal fine points is sending the wrong message to the rest of the world.
KRISTINE HUSKEY, ATTORNEY: We're shooting ourselves in -- in the -- in the foot. By not treating people in accordance with the law, we tell other countries that it's OK to violate the law, it's OK to derogate from your international obligations. And -- and we -- we push people away or countries away that could be our allies in the war on terror.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: This internal debate mirrors one that is going on, on Capitol Hill. The Senate passed a bill sponsored by Senator John McCain that would make the Army field manual the standard for the interrogation of detainees. The House-Senate conference committee is expected to take that up as soon as this week.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, thanks very much.
Amid the current climate of terrorist concerns, a story about prayer, possible paranoia at a football game pitting liberty versus Security. Were five Muslim men targets of racial profiling at a New York Giants game because they were praying?
Let's bring in CNN's Mary Snow. She's joining us from New York. Mary?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, authorities encourage people, if they see suspicious behavior, say something.
The FBI says that is what happened at Giants Stadium, when a group of men were questioned. But those men say prayer should not be considered suspicious behavior.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): Mostafa Kahlifa and Sami Shaban say they're walking a fine line between personal liberty and public security. Both men say they and three friends were profiled by authorities after praying at a football game at Giants Stadium September 19. The New Orleans Saints were playing the New York Giants for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. And former President Bush was on hand. The men said they were detained by the FBI because they were seen praying.
MOSTAFA KAHLIFA, DETAINED AT GIANTS STADIUM: Let's be real here. If somebody with my description does anything, even scratches their ear, people get nervous, all right? You know, but what is that profile? That's the question.
SNOW: But the FBI says they weren't profiled. It says -- quote -- "It had nothing to do with who they were. It had to do with where they were." And the owners of the stadium say, someone reported suspicious behavior.
GEORGE ZOFFINGER, NEW JERSEY SPORTS AND EXPOSITION AUTHORITY: Our security personnel observed that they entered the area that's by the air duct. And they called it to the attention of the FBI, which is the proper procedure.
SAMI SHABAN, DETAINED AT GIANTS STADIUM: If we were near an air ventilation shaft, we had no idea of it.
SNOW: Shaban, who is a second-year law student, says, after the group finished praying, they went to their seats. Later on in the game, they say guards escorted them out and took them to a small room, where they were questioned by FBI agents.
SHABAN: What mosque do you go to? They even asked one of us, do you know the blind sheik?
SNOW: That's a reference to Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, who is in prison for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and had followers in New Jersey.
So far, the men have not filed lawsuits. The head of a civil rights advocacy group for Muslims says he encouraged the men to speak out to raise awareness.
WISSAM NASR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS, NEW YORK: We don't want to go to war with the Giants. We don't want to go to war with the -- with the FBI. We just want the American public to understand that Islam is a part of this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now, the question is, why talk now? The Council on American-Islamic Relations says it's speaking out now, several weeks after the fact, to coincide with an Islamic holiday tomorrow marking the end of Ramadan. It says it's hoping increased awareness of religious practices will help promote a positive solution.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Mary Snow, thank you very much.
Still to come here in THE SITUATION ROOM, he holds the fate of a nation in his hands. But what should President Bush carry in his pockets? We're waiting to read your -mail. Jack Cafferty is all over this. Stay with us on that.
And Charles and Camilla, George and Laura, the honored guests and their hosts getting ready for quite a bash over at the White House. We will get a live report -- a royal report, shall we say.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Our Zain Verjee is joining us now for the CNN Center in Atlanta with a closer look at other stories making news. Hi, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf.
There have been seven days of rage near Paris, as fear, fire, and frustration all smolder in the tough suburbs just outside of the city.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VERJEE (voice-over): Fire and red rage in at least nine suburbs, long-simmering tensions between French police and many of the country's ethnic immigrants now said to be boiling over.
In some incidents, youths threw molotov cocktails and rocks and police fired rubber bullets at advancing gangs of rioters -- the riots, fires and car burnings ignited by long-standing charges of racism.
French President Jacques Chirac is calling for calm, while France's prime minister says the violence will not be tolerated.
DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN, FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The government is entirely mobilized. Its immediate priority is to restore public order, and restore it without delay.
VERJEE: It began with what some are calling the senseless deaths of two teenagers of African background last Thursday. They were accidentally electrocuted in a power substation, where they were hiding to escape police they thought were chasing them. Police say they were not chasing the boys.
The roots of the problems run deep. Many of the suburbs are poor and home to many gritty, crime-infested ghettos. In the Seine-Saint- Denis region, northeast of Paris, jobs are scarce.
MARK NADAUD, VOLUNTEER YOUTH COUNSELOR: You will see no factory. There's no job for anyone. There's no job center here. And when you goes to look for a job and you just say that I'm from (INAUDIBLE) no one want to take you.
VERJEE: And residents of the area have the lowest average income in Paris -- all problems many say should be addressed.
DIDIER OSTRA, CITY COUNCILMAN: We hope that the government, after what happened here and in other cities, will realize that we have to change the policy.
VERJEE: And politics is also fanning the flames. France's interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, running for president in the 2007 elections, is touting a law-and-order image, promoting a zero- tolerance response to what some have called a war in the suburbs, and calling the rioters scum, and vowing to clean out the troubled regions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: Wolf, French experts we spoke to today said many of the suburbs are just a powder keg waiting to go off. And they say many immigrants and their children just need to feel respected and accepted as full French citizens.
BLITZER: Zain, thank you very much. Zain Verjee reporting for us.
Up next, the royal visit. The prince and his duchess are trying to drum up some positive PR. But they're going from photo-op to photo- op, and the news media certainly following them.
And when he turned out his pockets for an interviewer recently, President Bush had nothing but a handkerchief inside those pockets. If you could pick the president's pocket, what would you expect to find? What would you want to find? Jack Cafferty is reading your email.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Day two of the royal visit by Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall. Strengthening ties is the official purpose of their trip. But it's no secret, the royal couple -- couple -- are courting American public opinion. And, for that, they have to rely on that old royal nemesis, the news media.
CNN's Kimberly Osias is joining us here in Washington. She has more. Kimberly?
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nemesis, indeed, Wolf.
Well, Prince Charles has never really made a secret of his disdain for the media. And although he tries to maintain a stiff upper lip when it comes to dealing with them, occasionally, that royal lip will slip.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRINCE CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: I'm staggered by how thick the gossip columnists are on the ground in New York. Is there enough to go around?
OSIAS (voice-over): Yes, there's plenty to go around. The news media are infatuated with the visiting royal couple, although not all the coverage is kind. The "New York Post" dubbed Camilla "Frump Tower" for her choice of dress Tuesday night. And, inside, the "Post" ran a cartoon that is unflattering, to say the least, portraying Camilla as a horse.
And, overall, coverage of the prince and the duchess has been fairly complimentary and extensive, despite the polls that show the American public not terribly interested in the royal visit. News cameras are tracking their every move, including today's lunch and dinner at the White House. Through it all, they smile and wave, although who knows what they're saying under their breath. The prince has been caught before voicing his true feelings towards the press.
In March, microphones picked him up disparaging reporters during a photo opportunity in Switzerland with his sons.
PRINCE CHARLES: Bloody people. I can't bear that man anyway. He's so awful. He really is.
OSIAS: But, so far, no such slips on this trip. It's highly orchestrated and tightly controlled, with cameras kept a safe distance from the newlyweds, as they engage in pomp, pageantry and PR. (END VIDEOTAPE)
OSIAS: And that PR campaign continues this afternoon. Following lunch at the White House, the prince and duchess accompanied the president and the first lady on a visit to a Washington school. Tonight, they will attend a formal dinner in their honor back at the White House.
But it's not considered a state dinner, because the prince is not yet a head of state.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Kimberly, thank you very much.
Let's get some more now on the royal visit. For that, we're joined by Martin Walker. He's editor in chief of United Press International. He spent 25 years working at Britain's "Guardian" newspaper. Martin, thanks very much for joining us.
MARTIN WALKER, EDITOR IN CHIEF, UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL: Good to see you.
BLITZER: How are the prince and Camilla, Charles and Camilla, doing so far?
WALKER: Well, I think expectations are pretty low. And they're meeting them.
The -- the real problem that they have got is that, not just in the States, but back in Britain as well, they always have to cope with the ghost of Princess Di, of -- of Lady Di, who became so popular and so charming over here.
And I -- I think that the -- that the royal family as a whole, not just the prince, but the queen as well, is determined to try and get over that problem of the first tragic marriage of the prince. And now they're trying to -- they're -- they're trying to present them as just another rather ordinary middle-aged couple. And indeed, it's amazing how old the prince now looks, gray-haired. And his wife looks quite a contrast from that magical Princess Di.
BLITZER: All the publicity they're getting -- in New York yesterday, in Washington today, a big dinner, black-tie dinner, at the White House tonight. They are going to continue on this tour for another week or so. How important is that to Prince Charles and Camilla back in Britain?
WALKER: It is pretty important. I -- I think the -- for the -- for the royal family, there was a real moment of horror after the death of Princess Di, when you got opinion polls suggesting something close to a plurality of Brits were -- were expecting the -- the royal family to disappear at the end of the -- the current queen's reign.
They're trying to clamber back from that. And they're trying to do it without getting themselves, Di -- Charles and -- and Camilla, too much in the spotlight. They have got one great asset, which is Charles Di's two -- two sons, who are very charismatic, handsome, young, and the kind of young that gets people into trouble, whereas Charles and Camilla, they are an old married couple. They're beyond the age of trouble.
What they really want now is a sense of, once again, they have got a special relationship with the American presidency.
BLITZER: There were -- have been reports, though, in England that the -- the British public was sort of warming up to Camilla over -- over the past year or so. Is that true?
WALKER: It is true. She's -- she's comfortable. She's like an old pair of shoes or your favorite armchair. She's not going to surprise anybody. She's not going to shock anybody. Even the queen seems to be warming to her. After all, the queen decided, having not attended their wedding, that she would lend a second-best tiara for one of the events last week.
BLITZER: Martin Walker, thanks very much for joining us.
WALKER: Pleasure.
BLITZER: And this note to our viewers. On our special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM coming up at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, we will have some live coverage from over at the White House. We will watch the arrival ceremonies, maybe hear some of the toasts. You will want to stick around, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, a little bit more than an hour or so from now, live coverage of the dinner for Charles and Camilla over at the White House tonight.
Up next, picking the president's pockets. A reporter recently asked President Bush what was in them. But what we want to know and what you -- is what you think the president should be carrying in those pockets. Jack Cafferty has been going through your email.
Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: As CNN celebrates its silver anniversary, editors at "Entertainment Weekly" compiled their top 25 moments in pop culture.
Here's one from the hit list. On July 13, 1985, the music world came together on two continents to raise cash for famine relief in Africa. Organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in just 10 weeks, Live Aid was the largest-scale satellite link-up and TV broadcast of all time.
STEVE DALY, SENIOR WRITER, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Nobody had ever coordinated a live event that went out to television all over the world. But he managed to get this incredible lineup of acts. He got The Who with Roger Daltrey. He got Mick Jagger. He got Tina Turner. He got Phil Collins to perform live.
ANNOUNCER: The event eventually raised over $140 million and created a precedent.
(MUSIC)
ANNOUNCER: Mega-concerts that followed Live Aid's lead include Farm Aid, the Concert For New York, and the recent Live Aid sequel, Live 8.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Jack Cafferty has been going through your e-mail this hour. Jack, what have you come up with?
CAFFERTY: President Bush was recently interviewed by an Argentine newspaper. And the reporter for the paper was curious. And he asked the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth what he had in his pockets. The president fished around and he came up with absolutely nothing, except a handkerchief.
So, the question we asked is, what should the president of the United States carry in his pockets?
John -- hundreds of you wrote in about this -- kind of strange.
John in San Diego writes: "George Bush should carry a dollar bill in his pocket to remind him of something he has apparently forgotten: The buck stops here."
John in Scranton, Pennsylvania: "The president should carry one low-limit credit card for emergencies, ID, breath mints, spare change for the country he's in and two or three of those bordering it."
John, you took the question entirely too seriously.
Byron in Hudson, Wisconsin: "His crayons. That way, no matter where he is, he can change the terror alert level."
Cynthia: "A stack of get out of 'Monopoly' get-out-of-jail-free cards he can pass out to his staff as needed."
Bob in East Lansing, Michigan: "How about a remote control to turn off Jack Cafferty?"
And Bob writes: "A veto. Every president should use a pocket veto occasionally."
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Very -- very clever. We have got a lot of clever viewers out there. Jack, stand by.
There's a story developing in New York City. I want to go back to Mary Snow on this potentially significant story for tourists. Mary?
SNOW: Yes, Wolf, because everybody is familiar with the Christmas show at Radio City and the famous Rockettes. Well, now there's word that the Rockettes have walked off the job, this on the eve of the show's opening.
This is because musicians had been negotiating with Cablevision, which owns Radio City. These negotiations hit a snag. And we're told that the Rockettes have walked out in solidarity with those musicians.
Wolf.
BLITZER: I want to bring back Jack for a second on this story. Jack, Christmas, all the holiday spirit without the Rockettes in New York, what do you make of this?
CAFFERTY: Well, I have gone to that show many, many times, taken my kids when they were small. It's, arguably the greatest Christmas show maybe in the world.
In addition to the Rockettes, they have the live animals. They do the -- the birth of the Christ child, with -- with the animals that come right on the stage. The music is wonderful. And there will be a lot of heartbroken young kids in this city. And -- and they -- people come from all around to come to this thing. And it's a shame. I mean, I understand, unions got to -- got to do what they have do when they have some leverage. And, obviously, this time of the year, the Rockettes have some leverage -- but very unfortunate for all the -- the kids, in particular, who will miss, arguably, one of the greatest shows on Earth.
BLITZER: Mary, these are live pictures that we're showing our viewers from Radio City Music Hall. And Jack is absolutely right. Christmastime, the holiday spirit, without the Rockettes, it could be a great disappointment. Let's hope they can resolve this dispute.
How does it look?
SNOW: Right now, it's hard to tell. But, as he said, you know, people plan their trips around this -- and a lot of excitement around this show. So, we will keep you posted on it and try to find out what it looks like.
BLITZER: All right.
CAFFERTY: Maybe they could...
BLITZER: Well...
CAFFERTY: Maybe they could get Prince Charles and Camilla to fill in...
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: ... until they get the thing settled.
BLITZER: To...
(LAUGHTER) SNOW: They're in town, I hear.
BLITZER: Charles and Camilla, they're in Washington. They're not in New York. They're already here in Washington.
Stand by, guys. There's still a lot more to talk about.
Let's get a programming note, a very important programming note. Tonight, here on CNN, on PAULA ZAHN NOW, a very special focus on a problem affecting a lot of Americans.
Paula is joining us now with details. Paula, what do you got?
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Wolf.
The numbers are absolutely staggering. More than 10 million Americans suffer from some kind of eating disorder. It's a disease that comes in a lot of different forms, affects all kinds of people, from celebrities to teenagers, to kids as young as 5 years old, and men, about a million of them today in America.
And one of the people who will tell us her story tonight is actress Jamie-Lynn DiScala of the HBO series "The Sopranos." She suffered from a form of bulimia called exercise bulimia, obsessively exercising to make sure she burned off every calorie she ate and more. And it got to the point, Wolf, where she calculated everything on a calculator. She would take her laundry from the second floor down to the basement in 10 different trips to try to burn more calories off. And she talks, rather poignantly, about how she almost wanted to commit suicide when she was at her very worst.
So, if nothing else, the most important thing, I think, this hour will show you is that there is some hope. And I'm hoping everybody will join us tonight at 8:00 Eastern for "Walking the Thin Line."
BLITZER: Paula Zahn, thanks very much. We will be watching -- very important show coming up here on CNN.
And we are in THE SITUATION ROOM every weekday afternoon from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern. We are back at 7;00 p.m. Eastern tonight, one hour from now. We will take you inside the White House, as the president and the first lady host Charles and her highness the duchess of Cornwall.
Until then, thanks very much for joining us.
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT starts right now. Lou is in New York. Lou?
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Wolf.
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