Return to Transcripts main page
The Situation Room
New Details About Amman Suicide Bombing Emerge; 7.2 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Japan
Aired November 14, 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: And it's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information form around the world arrive at one place at the same time.
Happening now, it's midnight in Amman, Jordan. Is the war in Iraq spreading? A favorite weapon of insurgents finds a new target. Does a confession reveal a new type of threat?
It's 4:00 p.m. near Indianapolis, where a manhunt and an Amber Alert ends in a crash and a roadside arrest. Police say they have the suspect in a double killing and kidnapping.
And it's 4:00 p.m. in Iowa. Tornadoes strike terror in the heartland. And are more twisters, though, on the way?
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Her husband blew himself up. She said she failed in her mission. Their shocking new details have emerged about the suicide bombings which killed dozens in Amman. A televised confession from a would-be bomber whose family ties put her in close contact with al Qaeda's main man in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Our Brian Todd is standing by with a look at the growing trend of female suicide bombers.
But let's go to Amman. Our senior correspondent, international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is standing by with the latest from there. Nic
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it took Jordanian authorities just four hours after capturing Sajida al- Rishawi to put her on Jordanian television, parade her in front of the public. There she confessed to going with her husband to the Radisson hotel to attack the wedding party there.
She said she entered the ballroom where the bride and groom were with their family, enjoying the celebration. Her husband she said went to one corner of the room, she went to the other. They both tried to detonate their explosives at the same time. She said hers failed to go off, his exploded. She didn't know what to do.
She decided to leave the room and run away with everyone else who was escaping the blast. It did take another four days for Jordanian authorities to catch up with her. But they have learned many details. While she was on television, she showed how the suicide vest worked. Jordanian officials say that it contained RDX, a high explosive, that the detonator was something new. It was a detonator made from the detonator of a hand grenade. And she had showed how she tried to use the detonator to set the explosives off. That had failed to go off at the wedding, that's why she ran away.
But police here did pick her up, putting her on television.
Also today, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the Radisson hotel where 38 people died. She came, she said, to bring President Bush's condolences to Jordanian people and to show support and solidarity for Jordanians.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic, how are average Jordanians reacting, on this day after she appeared on television, to that shocking image of a woman confessing to be a suicide bomber?
ROBERTSON: Wolf, I think there is broadly two ways. Certainly, the better off in the community here, the more economically well off, those who would perhaps use the Radisson and some of the other hotels that have been attacked, are repulsed completely by what they've seen. Others here we talked to are also shocked, they say, by the terrorism. But at this time, they -- some of them, particularly in the more economically deprived areas, still say they don't think Zarqawi was behind it and won't believe it until they hear his voice claiming it.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Nic Robertson reporting from Amman. Nic, thank you very much.
It's become a weapon used around the world. And women no longer strangers to the world of suicide bombers.
Let's go over to the Pentagon. Our Brian Todd is standing by with a closer look. Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that televised image of a woman confessing her role in those attacks in Amman was startling to many who saw it, but terrorism experts tell us, don't be so shocked. You'll see more of those images in the future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice over): She looks like she could easily blend in at a wedding party. And according to her confession on Jordanian TV, she did, with nearly deadly effect.
SAJIDA MUBARAK ATROUS AL-RISHAWI, ATTEMPTED SUICIDE BOMBER (through translator): My husband took a corner, and I took another one. There was a wedding in the hotel, there were women and children. My husband executed and detonated his belt. I tried to detonate mine but I failed
TODD: Her husband and two others managed to kill nearly 60 people at three hotels in Amman. Terrorism experts say it's still rare for married couples to engage in suicide attacks, but it's no longer shocking to find women carrying them out on their own or in all-female teams.
Women were responsible for at least two suicide bombings targeting U.S. forces in Iraq. And in Russia, women played central roles in no fewer than four high-profile terrorist attacks over the past three years, leaving hundreds of people dead. There the profile is consistent. The women all believed to have been Chechen, some of them so-called "Black Widows."
SVANTE CORNELL, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: They are widows of men who fought in the war and were killed, but most of them have had their whole families exterminated by -- by the Russian army in this conflict.
TODD: Elsewhere, experts say the motives vary from a woman's own belief in the cause, to a loved one's, to economic desperation. And they say for terrorist groups, women possess important tactical advantages.
OLGA OLIKER, RAND CORP.: It's difficult to protect against. Security forces aren't used to looking at women, especially young women and girls who are often used as potentially the danger.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: And according to one former military intelligence officer, security forces in the Middle East have traditionally been reluctant to physically search women and culturally discouraged from doing so. But he says after those attacks in Amman, that is all starting to change with more women being recruited for security services in Jordan.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Brian Todd at the Pentagon. Brian, thank you very much.
And there are disturbing new details emerging about an alleged terrorism plot in Australia, including some newly released documents indicating a possible target.
Let's go to CNN's Zain Verjee. She's joining us now from the CNN Center with the story. Zain?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Wolf, those court documents show that three of the 18 terror suspects arrested last week were stopped by police last year near Australia's only nuclear facility.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: (voice over): The Lucas Heights nuclear reactor near Sydney. Australian prosecutors now say it was a possible target of an alleged terror plot thwarted last week with the arrest of 18 men. Court documents unsealed today say three of the men were stopped by police near the reactor last year. The men had a mountain bike with them and said they were there to ride. But police say they later gave conflicting stories when they were questioned separately.
And investigators found a lock on a gate to the reactor had been cut. The court documents also show a litany of bomb-making materials the suspects allegedly obtained or tried to obtain, including dozens of gallons of brake fluid, hydrochloric acid, glycerin and timers.
Prosecutors say they also seized 165 detonators, hundreds of batteries, dozens of cell phones, a shotgun, pistols, swords and machetes, As well as one videotape called Osama's Training Course and another titled "Are You Ready to Die?"
The court papers also cite taped conversations between some of the suspects and their alleged spiritual leader, Abdul Benbrika, a Muslim cleric based in Melbourne. He allegedly tells them, "If we want to die for jihad, we have to do maximum damage. Maximum damage. Damage their buildings, everything. Damage their lives."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: Wolf, Australian television reports that the lawyer for at least one of the suspects calls the case against his client flimsy. And he also complained about harsh detention conditions, essentially comparing them to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The suspects themselves, Wolf, are due in court again next month.
BLITZER: Thanks very much. Zain Verjee reporting for us.
Let's go up to New York. Jack Cafferty standing by with the answers to his question from last hour and a new question as well. Jack?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: That's true. We have a little catching up to do.
The California atheist who has been trying to ban the "Pledge of Allegiance" in public schools is now challenging the phrase "In God We Trust," which is printed on U.S. currency. Michael Newdow says he's going to file a federal lawsuit this week asking that "In God We Trust" be removed from coins and paper money. So the question we asked last hour, along with, "Why would President Bush decide to go to Mongolia?" was this: Should "In God We Trust" be taken off American currency?
Dave in Kissimmee, Florida, "No, we should not. It doesn't seem to bother anyone at all. I've never heard of anyone refusing money because of that motto, not even the nut cases that are always squawking about it."
Becky in Murfreesboro, Tennessee: "Mongolia is OK. Taking 'In God We Trust' off our money and out of the pledge is not OK. We need all the help we can get."
Mike writes: "Keep the motto and throw the bum out of the country."
That would be, we presume, Mr. Newdow he's talking about.
Jim in Washington writes: "Mongolia? Isn't that where the national sport involves riding on horses, trying to steal a dead goat? Perhaps President Bush is looking for a game he can win."
Actually, that game is called Buzkashi. And it's pretty disgusting but exciting. They do, they get up teams and they ride around trying to steal this dead goat from each other.
P.J. in Toledo, Ohio: "As everyone in Mongolia already knows, it's wrong to have 'In God We Trust' on U.S. money. We are a democracy, not a theocracy.
On to other things.
The Clintons apparently one big happy family these days, or so it seemed over the weekend. Check out this picture. Photographed holding hands, the junior New York senator and the former president took a detour during a visit to Israel. Now, they went to Jordan yesterday at the invitation of King Abdullah II, where they visited one of those hotels attacked by terrorists last week. Senator Clinton said the acts of the suicide bombers "should be condemned by all people everywhere."
Earlier yesterday, the senator brushed aside questions about whether she plans to run for president in 2008. Mrs. Clinton said, "I've been already to the White House." That was not the answer to the question.
The question was, do you plan to run for president? Why can't the politicians simply answer the damn question? Because they don't. That's why.
Here's our question. What message is Hillary Clinton sending by going to Jordan? CaffertyFile@CNN.com. And if other events don't intervene, we will plan to read some of your responses in 30 minutes or so.
BLITZER: All right. We'll look forward to it, Jack. Thanks very much.
CAFFERTY: Did you ever see them play Buzkashi?
BLITZER: I have seen video. Not in person. I've never been to Mongolia.
CAFFERTY: No, no, I haven't either
BLITZER: No.
CAFFERTY: But, you k now, this could be the new hot destination for tourists around the world.
BLITZER: It could be a happening place, Jack. Thanks very much.
CAFFERTY: See you later.
BLITZER: Jack Cafferty reporting for us.
Let's go back to CNN's Zain Verjee. She's at the CNN Center. I take it, Zain, there's a developing story we're watching?
VERJEE: Yes, Wolf. The Associated Press is reporting that a 6.9 magnitude quake has hit the ocean east of Japan. A tsunami warning has been issued. We don't have any more information, Wolf. We'll work on getting more of it.
Again, The Associated Press only reporting that a 6.9 magnitude quake has hit the ocean east of Japan, and a tsunami warning has been issued.
Wolf.
BLITZER: And we don't know how far to the east or how far off the coast? This is just literally coming in from the AP right now?
VERJEE: That's correct, Wolf. We don't know how far. We don't know any specifics. We just know that that alert has been issued, and we'll bring you more information when we get it.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. We'll get some more information.
The president of the United States heading out towards Japan and China and Korea in the coming days. He'll be making a stop over in Alaska in the next hour.
Much more on this earthquake coming up. A magnitude 6.9 quake hitting off the coast of Japan.
Remember, THE SITUATION ROOM also now airs weeknights, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. It's coming up later tonight.
But just ahead this hour, the latest on that teenager suspected of killing his 14-year-old girlfriend's parents after an argument in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
And could a tropical depression swirling in the Caribbean right now dangerously upgrade to a tropical storm? We'll tell you why many people and forecasters are worried.
And add them to the list of the president's problems. Lower public opinion poll numbers about his presidency and higher anxiety from members of his own party. How might the president stop what some are calling the free-for-all? I'll ask the White House communications director, Nicolle Wallace. She's standing by.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: We're getting some more details on this 6.9 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan. Let's go to CNN's Zain Verjee at the CNN Center. She's monitoring what's going on. What are we learning, Zain?
VERJEE: Wolf, The Associated Press reporting that a strong quake has shook northern Japan early on Tuesday. Japan's meteorological agency has issued tsunami warnings.
Now, the quake in magnitude was 6.9. And it occurred at 6:39 a.m. local time. It was centered off the coast of a place called Sanriku. That's in northern Japan. That's according to the meteorological agency of Japan. The agency, Wolf, also added that the tsunami could reach the coastlines on Japan's Pacific coast between 7:10 in the morning and 7:30 a.m. in the morning. So you've got Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Hokkaido the cities that could be affected by this. There were no reports of injuries reporting to the local broadcast.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Zain. We'll get some more information.
(WEATHER REPORT)
BLITZER: All right. We're going to continue to monitor this situation. The president is going to be heading over. His first stop in Asia is going to be Kyoto, Japan. We'll watch that situation as well.
Abbi Tatton is getting some more information online on this magnitude -- what, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake off the northern coast of Japan. Abbi?
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, and that's the number we're now seeing online as information comes in, 7.2. This is at the University at Edinburgh, their worldwide earthquake locator site, their latest earthquake there, saying off the east coast of Honshu, Japan. Click through to a map there with the location.
They also have more details, taking you to the USGS site, which is giving the first updates about this earthquake. The USGS.gov site calling this a major earthquake.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Abbi, thank you very much. We'll continue to monitor this story for our viewers.
Let's go over to the White House. Nicolle Wallace is standing by.
Just Breaking News, Nicolle. The president is on his way to Japan -- an earthquake off the northern coast of Japan. I assume his schedule is pretty much in line. This is not going to affect his flight from Alaska. He's going to refuel in Alaska within the next hour, make a speech and move on to Japan.
Are you getting other information at the White House?
You know, I first heard about the earthquake here waiting to talk to you, Wolf. So I haven't been able to check in with anyone on the road. But they will be stopped in Alaska for the speech the president is giving today to the troops there. So there will be a chance for us to check in, you with your correspondent traveling with him, and me obviously with all the staff traveling with the president.
BLITZER: Literally within the past few minutes, Nicolle, this breaking word about this earthquake offer the northern coast of Japan
WALLACE: Right. And our thoughts and prayers are certainly with the people of Japan. I think here in this country we have seen the devastation that Mother Nature can bring
BLITZER: We certainly have.
All right, Nicolle. Let's move on to something you can talk about, which is the president's trip. In the next hour he's going to be delivering a speech. Is he once again going to start hammering his critics for the war? Is that the major thrust of this speech he's about to deliver?
WALLACE: The president's not interested in hammering critics of the policy of the war. That's actually a right and a privilege that we celebrate in this country. The right to dissent and disagree is frankly one of the things that makes us different.
But where we draw a bright line is against those that are trying to rewrite history, those who looked at the same intelligence assessment that we looked at, those that reached the same conclusions that the French and the U.N. and the Clinton administration reached, and now would like to rewrite their positions and almost whitewash their previous statements and launch political attacks on this president.
You know, John McCain yesterday called it a lie to say that George Bush is lying or lied to the American people about the reasons for getting Saddam Hussein
BLITZER: But what about the argument that he was cherry picking, he was only using -- he and the vice president, the defense secretary, other top officials -- they were looking for intelligence that would support going to war, and ignoring that intelligence, including that DIA intelligence assessment that was declassified last week, saying there was no connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, and that he was ignoring that kind of intelligence which was available to him and other policymakers?
WALLACE: I'm really glad you asked that, because the issue of cherry picking intelligence is happening. And it's happening -- the Democrats are cherry picking intelligence. And it is very dangerous.
The American people need to understand that the way policymakers consume intelligence, the way it comes to decision makers -- and this has been covered in four reports that have done -- you know, we have investigated intelligence failures, and four bipartisan and nonpartisan commissions have looked at it. And the cherry picking that's taking on now is -- is inexcusable, but it's happening on the Democratic side.
BLITZER: Well, how do you explain the fact that, even when the president and the vice president and the secretary of state were talking about an al Qaeda connection with Saddam Hussein, the Defense Intelligence Agency had circulated a classified memorandum saying there was no such connection?
WALLACE: Again, what all of the investigations in intelligence have turned up -- and you've looked over them and spent as much time on them as I have -- we have to be two of the only people who have probably read every page of the Silberman-Robb report -- what they found was that at no point did the president, the vice president or anyone in the administration mislead. And they also have found that what they looked at and what Congress looked at was the NIE, which is the National Intelligence Estimate, which is the gold standard of intelligence.
And that represented -- and Steve Hadley went over this on your show yesterday -- I enjoyed watching -- went over the collective judgment of the intelligence community. And that is how policy -- American people need to understand that that is how policymakers consume intelligence.
And that is precisely what we're addressing here in Washington. And you would hope it would be done in a bipartisan fashion. But we have a new director of national intelligence who is overseeing massive, massive reforms and overhauling of our intelligence services.
BLITZER: I want to get into some politics, but what the Silberman-Robb Commission report stated, and the Senate Intelligence Committee report, is they didn't find any evidence of pressuring analysts, but they both said they weren't authorized to look into this other issue of how the administration dealt with the intelligence which raises the issue of the cherry picking. But that's an issue the Senate Intelligence Committee is now going to investigate as part of what they call phase two.
Let me get into this political issue, this new poll number that CNN/ "USA Today"/Gallup poll has. How is the president handling his job as president? In our poll, CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, 37 percent approve, 60 percent disapprove. And on the question of the situation in Iraq, "Was it worth going to war over?" It is now down to a low of 38 percent say yes, 60 percent say no.
Those are pretty horrible numbers for the White House, Nicolle
WALLACE: Well, I think the service that we do to the American people is to focus on their priorities. And I think if the American people turned -- tuned in to this program and saw White House staff wringing their hands about poll numbers, they would be deeply disappointed that we weren't focused on securing the borders, on reigning in spending here in Washington, on winning the war on terror, on articulating our strategy for victory, which the Democrats again today lied about.
You know, every time Senator Reid goes out and says there's no plan, he is either telling the worth that he was sleeping through the briefing that he got from our generals and most respected leaders, folks from the ground that come out to the states -- they leave their posts in Iraq to brief the senators on the strategy for victory. So when Senator Reid did what he did today and goes out and talks about how there is no plan, he's doing a real disservice to the American people, and it does feel a bad feeling about what's happening in Washington.
But our job is to remain focused on the people's priorities. And that's what we'll do.
BLITZER: Are you sure you want to say that the Senate Democratic leader lied? Is that the White House line now?
WALLACE: It is a lie to say that there is no plan for victory in Iraq. So I understood that from a transcript of a C-SPAN press conference that I read today that was declared by Senator Reid was that there was no plan for victory.
So if that happens to be true -- and thank you for letting me qualify that -- if that happens to be true, that is a lie. There is a strategy for victory. Senator Reid has been briefed on that strategy. And again, I welcome his explanation or details about what he meant.
BLITZER: All right. Nicolle Wallace joining us from the White House. Thanks very much. Nicolle Wallace is the communications director for the White House.
And we'll get a different perspective. Senator Chris Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, he's going to be joining us live. That's coming up later this hour as well.
Also, we're watching that 7.2 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan. A tsunami warning has been issued. The president of the United States after a stopover in Alaska is heading to Japan to Kyoto. We'll get an update on what's going on in Japan.
All that coming up in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're following a developing story out of Japan, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake off the northern coast of Japan. A tsunami warning has been issued.
We're getting some pictures, some videotape in from our affiliate in Japan, MHK. We'll show you those pictures.
There it is. You can see some of the rattling that's going on in Japan right now. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake off the coast of northern Japan. Let's get some perspective on what this means. Waverly -- Waverly Person is a geophysicist with the U.S. National Earthquake Information Center, is joining us from Golden, Colorado. Dr. Person, thanks very much for joining us.
We hear the words 7.2 magnitude earthquake. A tsunami warning has been issued. How concerned should people in Japan be?
DR. WAVERLY PERSON, US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY'S NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE INFORMATION CENTER: Well, I didn't hear that a tsunami warning was issued. The Japanese probably issued one. But all the tsunami warning people that -- Honolulu put out an information bulletin telling them that the earthquake had occurred and stand by for additional and information.
This earthquake is located quite a ways off the coast from Sendai, approximately 200-and-some miles. And, so, we don't expect that there will be any damage. It might be some wave activity locally, but we haven't heard that at this time.
It's a major earthquake, but it's quite a ways from population.
BLITZER: Is -- because we had heard from our -- our Chad Myers, our meteorologist, that that water is very deep over there, off the coast of northern Japan.
And, if it's 7.2-magnitude quake, it would be, obviously, a lot different than the -- the tsunami that developed almost a year ago in the Indian Ocean.
PERSON: Well, it could be, but this is not near large an earthquake as that one was off Sumatra. That was a 9.0. This is only 7.2.
BLITZER: Seven-point-two -- so, you don't expect a tsunami? Is that the bottom line?
PERSON: That's -- at this time, we have no reports of it.
BLITZER: And -- and...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Yes, go ahead.
PERSON: And we -- if it is any kind of tsunami wave, it will probably be localized, but we haven't heard that yet.
BLITZER: Is there anything that is going on now that's causing all these -- these -- these very, very chaotic weather patterns that are developing, or is this just part of the normal fluctuation of bad weather? Between tsunamis, and earthquakes, and hurricanes, and tornadoes, it seems, to the average person out there, like there is some -- there is something going on that maybe our scientists aren't fully appreciating.
PERSON: Well, I don't think -- when we look at it, seismically speaking, we're having earthquakes that -- about the same pace we have had them in the past, when you look at the world.
And we don't see any definite increase. And we don't see anything related to the hurricanes, any of that kind of a thing. And earthquakes just occur for us around the world, just about at the same pace they're occurring now
BLITZER: All right. We will continue to monitor this situation. Waverly Person, thanks so much for joining us. We will be checking back with you.
Let's go to Tokyo right now. Steve Herman is a journalist. He's joining us on the phone. What are you picking up there, Steve?
STEVE HERMAN, JOURNALIST: Well, a tsunami alert had been issued for quite a wide area of the Pacific coast of northern Japan, from Tokyo on north.
Those tsunami were supposed to be in the neighborhood of 30 to 50 centimeters. So, that's about, what, a foot or so. But we have had no actual reports of any waves -- larger-than-usual waves hitting the beach. This quake, Wolf, was felt over quite a wide area of the Pacific coast of Japan, but it did not cause relatively strong ground motion, because it was so far off the coast.
But I did feel it in Tokyo, but it was by no means among the larger quakes that we felt even during this year.
BLITZER: And you're hundreds of files away from -- presumably -- from that earthquake. How far is Tokyo from where we believe that epicenter was?
HERMAN: I haven't measured it yet. It was quite a ways away in the -- in the Pacific Ocean. And, so, that -- as the -- as the -- as the ground motion fanned out, it -- it did cause it to be felt fairly uniformly across a good portion of northern Japan. So, in terms of a -- a Richter scale, The Japanese Meteorological Agency is saying 6.9, which is quite a bit below the 7.2, 7.3 we have heard coming from the U.S. and elsewhere. But, in -- in terms of quakes that we get during the year, as far as the ground motion in communities, it was not that strong. And we have had no reports of any damage or injuries in Japan.
BLITZER: Steve Herman is -- is a journalist in Tokyo. Steve, thanks very much.
Let's go to our meteorologist Chad Myers. He's getting some more information on this as well. Chad, what are you picking up?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Wolf, just like I said, the initial reports are going to be up and down.
We didn't know that the initial quake back in the big tsunami was nearly that 9. A lot of folks had it at about an 8.2. Then it kept going up and up and up, and now all the way up to about a 9.0. So, the 6.9 to 7.2, although it is a wide span of where it was, because it was so far offshore, literally 200 miles from land -- and I just measured it here, the arrow all the way back down under the -- 450 miles from Tokyo.
So, it really was a ways, really, offshore here. And if they were feeling it there in Tokyo, you know it was a pretty strong quake to go that far and to make that little bit of a wave. It's because it was so deep. The tornado and the -- the earthquake, rather -- that caused the tsunami that we knew about, you know, a year ago, that was shallow and it really pushed the dirt. It pushed the bottom of the ocean very close to the water, where this one, being almost, what, 20 miles deep, I think we called it, that was so far down there, that the earth, the bottom of the ocean didn't shake very much. So, the wave wasn't very large.
BLITZER: The -- so, the -- so, we don't expect huge waves to start moving in towards the northern coast of Japan? Is that the bottom line?
MYERS: That is the bottom line. Fifty to 30 centimeters was the -- even the forecast at that, about a foot-and-a-half to two feet. And looking at the U.S. Geological Survey, they did not -- and the joint tsunami warning system, they did not issue anything for Alaska, for British Columbia, for Washington, California or the Hawaiian Islands, just not going to get that far this way at all. It was forecast to come a billion farther. And it's not that far away.
When you're thinking of -- and it's not 10 miles. It's still 200. But you have some funneling that could go on here, Wolf. You get a little bit of funneling into these bays, and we know about that funneling when we're talking about the winds and the waves of a hurricane. We call it a storm surge. You can actually get a bigger surge, even if it's only a foot-and-a-half in the ocean. It can be an eight-foot wave in a bay or so -- but, right now, no reports of that at all.
BLITZER: And the president is expected -- scheduled to make his first stop in Asia in Kyoto...
MYERS: That's right.
BLITZER: ... after he refuels in Alaska in the next hour. He will be delivering a speech on the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska.
Kyoto, I -- I take it, it's, what, about 400 miles from the epicenter of this earthquake off the northern coast?
MYERS: And it probably was feeling something like a 2.5 or a 3.0 that far away. They didn't feel much shaking that far away.
BLITZER: All right. It's just after 7:30 in the morning in Tokyo already right now. We will continue to monitor this story, check back with you, Chad, as well.
Much more coming up on this earthquake off the northern coast of Japan. Once again, a tsunami warning has been issued, although experts are not suggesting it will be anything -- anything -- like the tsunami that occurred a little bit less than a year ago. Just ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, we will go live to Pennsylvania for that unfolding mystery of a teenager accused of killing his girlfriend's parents and then taking off with the girl -- much more of our coverage on that and the rest of the day's news in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Seven-point-two earthquake hitting off the northern coast of Japan. A tsunami warning has been issued, although it's not expected to cause much of a tsunami, if any wave action, whatsoever, because it's deep under water, a few hundred miles off the coast of northern Japan. But we are watching that story for you. We will update you as it unfolds.
Other stories we are following, including the search for a suspect ending, but the search for answers just be beginning. Indiana police now have in custody an 18-year-old man who allegedly killed his 14-year-old girlfriend's parents after an argument with them. Police say David Ludwig shot the girl's parents yesterday in Pennsylvania, then took off with the girl.
CNN's Mary Snow is in Warwick Township, Pennsylvania. She's got the latest. Mary?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We just heard from the police chief, Wolf. And he said that he has sent four detectives, along with FBI agents, who are going to Indiana, and they will bring the teens back. When they will get here is not known at this point, but, earlier today, that both teens were taken into police custody in Indiana. Authorities in both states are now working together, 18-year-old David Ludwig and 14-year-old Kara Borden -- this after a manhunt that lasted more than 24 hours and took them more than 500 miles here from this town in Pennsylvania.
Police believe that Ludwig shot and killed Borden's parents, each shot -- shooting them in the head, according to police. And this happened yesterday morning. Police say that he brought the girl home. She had been out all night. And, when the -- her father called him in, an argument ensued, according to police, and then shots were fired.
Police say that one of the girls was in the house and ran out to neighbors, along with a son. But both teens are said to be unharmed.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Mary, thank you very much. Mary Snow on the scene for us in Pennsylvania.
Our Internet reporter, Jacki Schechner, is standing by. She has got more on this story. What are you picking up online?
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Well, again, Wolf, 12 million teenagers with Web sites online. And David Ludwig was one of them. He had a couple Web sites. Here's his MySpace profile. You can see on it that Kara Beth, the young 14-year-old girl, her photo was on there as one of his network of friends. You can also see where she left a comment for him at the beginning of October.
As for the comment section of his Web site, his blog, they have hundreds of comments today, as people watched the story unfold. They went to his Web site and put comments in there -- somebody even posting a photo of him being arrested, again, in the comment section of his own Web site. He also had one on Xanga.com, which had a lot of photos, linking to picturetrail.com.
And these are pictures of David hunting, self-portraits, other photographs of him in different looks, different stages.
Wolf, you have got to remember, when you put this stuff online, it's available to the entire world to see.
BLITZER: All right, Jacki, thank you very much. Jacki Schechner with the situation online.
The situation off the northern coast of Japan right now, questionable. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a 7.2 quake has been monitored off the coast of Japan. A tsunami warning has been issued, although experts suggesting that's unlikely to occur. We are watching that story. We will go back there as we get more information.
Also, we are standing by to speak with influential Democratic Senator Chris Dodd. We will ask him about the Democrats' new demands. They're calling on President Bush to give specifics about his plan for the war in Iraq -- much more coming up.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: More tornado warnings here in the United States. Let's immediately go to CNN's Chad Myers at the CNN Weather Center. What's going on, Chad?
MYERS: Well, Wolf, we have a tornado watch in one area, and, in fact, a tornado warning completely out of the watch zone.
The storms are firing up here across northern Alabama. And now, for northwestern Winston County in northwestern Alabama, a tornado warning is in effect, which means that the Doppler is seeing enough spin to make the potential for a tornado.
Up here, inside this red box, there's a potential for a storm that might make a tornado. Here, in this red box, there's actually a storm that is strong enough, that could be producing a tornado itself. We can zoom into this storm. This is Huntsville, Alabama. And a very large storm just moved to the north and east of Huntsville, Alabama, another one to the northwest. And there's the county with the tornado warning on it right there, some spin, a little bit of a hook on the storm. Obviously, we saw some of that video of the tornadoes in Iowa. What scary video, that was. BLITZER: Let me -- let us show our viewers, Chad, that video from yesterday. Here it is. Let -- let -- let me just let our viewers watch it and listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) at this. (INAUDIBLE)
Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MYERS: Wolf, are you looking at all that debris falling from the sky?
BLITZER: Yes.
MYERS: You do not want to be outside filming a tornado when things like -- you got -- you got shingles doing 150 miles per hour over your head -- not smart. Don't do this. We want citizen journalists, but we don't want this.
BLITZER: It's amazing pictures, though. And you see how horrible it is. All right, Chad Myers, our severe weather expert, thanks.
MYERS: That was about an F-2 tornado there of 156 miles per hour, Wolf.
BLITZER: What a frightening sight, indeed.
MYERS: Yes.
BLITZER: Thanks, Chad, very much.
Up next, New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton touring the damage from those terror attacks in Amman, Jordan, but what message is the senator sending by going there? Jack Cafferty has been going through your email. We will get to that.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Senate Democrats are trying again today to hold President Bush's feet to the fire on Iraq by urging him to lay out a plan for finishing the mission -- the president expected to fire right back in the coming hour, accusing Democrats of being irresponsible by saying he misled the nation into war.
Joining us now is Democratic Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Dodd, we just heard Nicolle Devenish, the White House communications director, call the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid, a liar by saying that the president doesn't have a plan in Iraq.
What do you say to that?
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D-CT), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Well, you know, the rhetoric is getting heavy and hot here. But the fact of the matter is, we will stand down when Iraq stands up. That is the plan. And frankly, that is not a plan. That fits nicely on a bumper sticker, but doesn't tell us at all what we're doing there.
And listen, these are not Democrats that are raising these issues. You have got many Republicans in the United States who are raising the very same questions, senior military people. I was in Iraq about two or three weeks ago with Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a member of the Armed Services Committee. Without getting into names, Wolf, here, I can tell you, talking to senior military people, they're as concerned about this as anyone else is in the country.
This is not about Democrats and Republicans. This is about people who know what they're talking about.
BLITZER: So...
DODD: Listen to Brent Scowcroft...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: So, Senator, are you saying, the plan -- the administration does not have a plan in how to deal with Iraq?
DODD: There is no sense that there is. There's no idea of how we're moving forward here.
We have had some good events that have occurred. The elections have gone well. But that's hardly a strategy and a plan for how we turn these operations over to the Iraqi people, how we begin to deploy our troops elsewhere, how we begin to talk about not staying there indefinitely, which some people don't want to hear, how we be -- get the regional governments involved, how we get our allies back engaged with us.
You had Tony Blair today announcing they're going to have major troop withdrawals here in the year 2006. Now, that isn't certainly a plan. That's an announcement of what he's going to do. So, clearly, the concerns here are not being raised on a partisan basis. They're being raised by people who know this issue well and are deeply worried that we're in a chaotic situation and we need to get it straight.
BLITZER: So, do you agree with those, like Russ Feingold, your Democratic colleague from Wisconsin, that the U.S. should simply have a timetable now for withdrawal and get it -- get over it by then?
DODD: No, we haven't set a timetable here. We have talked about getting the president to come before the American people in the coming months and tell us what his strategy, what his plan is for us eventually removing ourselves from this situation, allowing the Iraqis to take over.
How does he intend to do it? We are spending $6 billion a month. The reason that people are so concerned about the loss of life and injuries is not just because we're losing brave and wonderful people, but because there is no end in sight here.
So, this is merely a request by responsible people, not just in Congress, but outside as well, to try and show us where we're headed here. What is the plan? What is the strategy?
My hope is that our colleagues, Republican colleagues, will join us on the Levin amendment, will be offered I think either tonight or tomorrow, which lays out this. How do we succeed in Iraq? That's the beginning sentence of the Levin amendment. And I am hopeful we can get broad bipartisan support for that.
BLITZER: All right, Senator, unfortunately, we have got to leave it there. Chris Dodd, thanks very much for joining us.
DODD: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Coming up, Jack Cafferty. He has been going through your email on Hillary Rodham Clinton's trip to Jordan and to Israel. What message is she sending by making that trip? Jack Cafferty and your email right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Jack Cafferty has been going through your email. He's joining us now from New York with some of the email, I guess. Jack?
CAFFERTY: That would be what we're going to do, is we are going to look at some of this here e-mail. Thanks, Wolf.
Mr. and Mrs. Clinton, as in the New York senator, Hillary, and the former president of the United States, Bill, were in Jordan yesterday, at the invitation of King Abdullah II. They visited one of the hotels in Amman that was attacked by terrorists last week. Earlier yesterday, the senator, Hillary, brushed off questions about whether she plans to run for president in 2008.
So, here is the question. What message is Hillary Clinton sending by going to Jordan?
Laura writes: "Hillary Clinton is sending the same message in Jordan as Condoleezza Rice, that Jordan is an ally of the United States and that the citizens of the U.S. offer their condolences at Jordan's loss to terrorists."
Britt in Nashville, Tennessee: "It is absolutely appropriate for Hillary Clinton to visit Jordan. In view of the recent bombings, it makes more sense for a U.S. political leader to visit Jordan than it does to visit Mongolia." Cathy in -- it doesn't have an address here: "I think Hillary's trip to Israel and Amman was completely staged and meant to upstage Condoleezza Rice's trip. What did she ever do for the Middle East peace process, except kiss Mrs. Arafat? Hillary is a phony. And her holding hands with Bill is a photo-op."
Stephen in Mooresville, North Carolina: "Hopefully, her message is, she wants to become a citizen of Jordan."
And Dan in Paso Robles, California: "Hillary got to Jordan faster than Bush and Brownie got to New Orleans. The race is on."
BLITZER: Enough about Hillary Rodham Clinton.
You heard Nicolle Wallace, the White House communications director, accuse -- her call Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader a liar for saying the president did not have a plan on how to get out of Iraq. The -- Reid's spokesman just put out a statement. Let me read it to you: "As the White House's credibility diminishes, it appears that their only reaction is to attack the truth. The American people have rejected these smear tactics. And they know that they were misled when the Bush administration made its case for war."
Jack, I got to tell you, it's getting ugly here in Washington.
CAFFERTY: Yes, it really is. And it's -- you know, it's a damn shame in a lot of ways. We got -- we got kids fighting in a theater where their lives are at risk every day. And the politicians seem to lose sight of that, sometimes, when they're carping and constantly attacking one another. We ought to be quiet and resolve this policy issue behind closed doors and let the troops know that we are all in support of them.
BLITZER: All right, Jack, thanks very much. I will see you in an hour, when we are back in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We are here weekdays 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern, back at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, just an hour from now. Until then, I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT starts right now. Lou is in New York. Hi, Lou.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Wolf.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
