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The Situation Room
Severe Weather Threatens Heartland; Bush Visits Asia
Aired November 15, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: And good evening. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you the day's top stories.
Happening now, severe weather threatens the heartland. It's 6 p.m. in Evansville, Indiana, just one of many cities and towns that have been under tornado warnings and watches. We'll take you live to one community slammed by a storm.
It's 9 a.m. Wednesday in Kyoto, Japan, where President Bush is trying to stay focused on his Asian tour. But a challenge back home from fellow Republicans frustrated about the Iraq war, is hard for the president to ignore.
It's also Wednesday morning in China, where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to capitalize on his star power. Can he get trade-offs that will help Californians?
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thanks for joining us. Wolf is off today.
Right now tornado spottings, warnings in over 100 watches in the Midwest and Southeast and at least 21 tornadoes have already touched down. In states like Indiana, many people are stranded knee deep in streams of water that once were streets. In many places, strong thunderstorms have caused severe rain and flooding.
CNN's Rick Sanchez is live for us tonight in Nashville, Tennessee.
But we begin with CNN severe weather expert, Chad Myers. He's tracking the tornadoes from the CNN Weather Center.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We sent Rick to the most important place right now, at least for this hour. We do have reports of damage in more than 23 places across the country, across the Midwest, John.
But Nashville, about to really get smacked. They are under a tornado warning now. Tornado sirens are going off. Tornadoes have been reported to the west of the city. A lot of damage in Paris, Tennessee.
Also, if you move yourself up, a little bit up, just a little bit up here to Bowling Green, Kentucky, tornado sirens going off there, with rotation in the storms in Bowling Green.
But we'll take you right on down into Nashville and into Hendersonville. There's the line of weather. The weather with this storm, even if there's not a tornado in this line, because of its little bow echo shape, I don't think so, but the winds could approach 80 miles-per-hour, just with that storm itself.
Now, on the tail end of the storms, on the tail end of what these little breaks are called here, that's where you could actually pick up the tornadoes for Nashville. So that's why you're hearing the tornado sirens. You need to be taking cover right now -- lowest level of your house. If you don't have a basement, get inside the house, away from the windows and just stay there. Make sure the kids and pets are all taken care of. This is going to be one dangerous storm for Nashville, Tennessee, in the next 45 minutes or so.
John?
KING: All right Chad, stand by for us in just a minute.
As we continue to cover this story, we want to show you now some new video just into CNN from WSMV, our affiliate, this is from Paris, Tennessee. You see obviously some of the destruction here. A welcome mat outside a home that has been heavily damaged in this afternoon's severe weather. See the boat there on the property, as well. These pictures just in to CNN.
You can see the destruction from the storm there. Obviously getting more and more reports throughout the day as we've been tracking this all afternoon, this new video from Paris, Tennessee.
And right now in Tennessee, we have Rick Sanchez standing by in Nashville. Tornado sirens are blaring as the state braces for the possibility of more tornadoes tonight. Rick, standing by now. Rick, what's the latest where you are?
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, it looks like things are about to get real difficult for some of the people living along this side of Nashville.
Let me show you where we are right now. That's the Cumberland River over there. That's the Coliseum. NFL football fans will know -- that's where the Tennessee Titans play.
Coming along this way now, John, if we can give you a shot, you'll see this down here is the part of Nashville where the storm will be coming from.
We're heading due west as you look at our camera facing that area. The first lines of the storm are starting to come in now. This rain just started about 10 minutes ago.
Let me tell you what some of the officials are saying about what's going on. You saw that video, that John was showing you moments ago when he talked about it after he talked to some of the folks in our Weather Center, with Chad Myers.
There's some of the first thunder that we're hearing right now. That's around Waverly and around Henry County where we understand there has been already at least one touchdown of a tornado. People have been calling some of the local affiliates, some of the local stations here, from their basements, saying something is going over me right now.
There's already a lot of structural damage. We understand that there are also some cars that have been turned over, trees have been toppled, people have been calling in saying I don't know exactly what it is, but this thing sounded real strong. So they're sending crews out there to try and get a sense of what exactly is going on.
Here's what officials here are doing. They're going to hospital by hospital every four hours to make sure there are enough beds in the hospital because they're expecting that this thing could come into Nashville. And of course, this is obviously one of the most heavily populated areas in the state. They're also checking with other officials to make sure that everyone is battening down the hatches, as it were, because this thing could be about an hour or so away. We'll get more details on that when we talk to Chad Myers in just a little bit.
But this is a town that knows tornadoes, because back in April of 1998, there was a tornado that blew through here, in fact there were three of them -- 10 in Tennessee, three coming directly through Nashville, a big city like this where something like that doesn't usually happen.
It ripped off part of the Coliseum. That's not all it did, though. One person was killed, 100 people were injured, 300 buildings suffered structural damage. It was, to say the very least, a wake-up call for the folks here in Tennessee. So now they say they're ready, they've made provisions.
As a matter of fact, let me show you something. Michael, give me that light if you possibly could. John, let's see if we can get a shot. Here's something that they've done. Follow me out here if you can. I'm going to point my light. Do you see that right there? See that? It looks like a speaker with four sides. That's actually a giant alarm.
When there is a tornado in the area, and EMS officials fear that it could strike this area, that alarm will begin to go off. It did so just about 15 minutes ago, letting the people in this area know that there is a tornado and there's one in the area that could be coming this way.
Speaking of EMS, let's talk to one of the folks who works over at EMS. Thanks so much. Let's talk to one of the folks who works at EMS who has been doing all these preparations for this area now for quite some time.
Kevin Penney, good enough to join us. Good luck trying to keep that umbrella down. First of all, tell us how the alarms work. When will we hear those? What will it mean?
KEVIN PENNEY, NASHVILLE EMS: Well, actually, the mayor's office of emergency management made this a priority with Mayor Purcell in 1999 - a major initiative to install 70 outdoor warning sirens for Nashville and Davidson County, to warn the public of tornado warnings that are issued for the county by the National Weather Service.
SANCHEZ: So, it went off 15 minutes ago. Does that mean that we're now effectively under a tornado warning?
PENNEY: We certainly area. Northwest Davidson County is under a tornado warning currently issued by the National Weather Service.
SANCHEZ: So what do we expect the people living in this area who heard that to do?
PENNEY: To seek cover immediately, especially in the downtown area. We've alerted, for instance, our Gaylord Entertainment Center officials to bring people inside and take care of those who need to seek shelter immediately.
SANCHEZ: People are listening right now in their homes in this area. What do you tell them?
PENNEY: I think that the most important thing to do is to stay tuned to local media for tornado warnings, if they have a weather radio or other warning device, to monitor that device throughout the evening for tornado warnings for Davidson County, and in the area that could be approaching here. And if they're outside, to please seek cover and be cautious for the impending severe weather.
SANCHEZ: Do you have a sense at this point as to whether or not this place really is a little more vulnerable at this point?
PENNEY: Well, certainly, anytime of the year is a possible tornado.
SANCHEZ: No. I mean with these particular tornadoes. You've been watching them, you've followed these, you've lived here for a while. What do you think? What do you sense?
PENNEY: Well, the 1998 tornado, there are some earmarks with this system that are similar. We definitely depend on the Storm Prediction Center, the National Weather Service, the experts to provide us the information. This does have a history, this afternoon and this evening, of tornadoes actually touching down and producing damage and injuries.
SANCHEZ: Kevin Penny with the EMS center over at the mayor's office. Thanks so much for joining us. Stick around, we may be talking to you again.
Meanwhile, we're trying to get a sense here as to when exactly this storm will come through here. We've been following the line. John, we drove in from the East following this area. You can almost see the clouds, as they started to darken. You could tell the weather was going to be quite ominous. And now that we're here, it's turning to night, and indeed that seems to be taking place as we speak.
John, let me take it back over to you. KING: Rick, you stand by and stay safe as you continue to track developments. As you were speaking, we're showing our viewers in THE SITUATION ROOM, a live picture from WSMV of the Nashville skyline. You can see the lightning intensify behind you.
Chad, we're bring you back in. We have our expert now, Chad Myers. Tell Rick Sanchez and our viewers in that area as you watch these conditions, what's headed their way.
MYERS: John, we actually have two different weather patterns moving that way -- some storms that are coming up from the Southwest, and then a very large line of severe weather coming in from the West.
In fact, they may merge right over the city of Nashville. All the warnings here, everywhere you see in red, including Nashville, up to Bowling Green, back out to Ashland City, that entire area under a tornado warning now, all of those counties. And literally, there are 25 counties across parts of the country from Indiana, all the way down to Mississippi, that have tornado warnings going on right now.
Here's the rain that I think we're seeing right now on some of the cameras there out of Nashville. But the most severe weather is still to the west of Nashville and also to the north of Nashville, moving up into Bowling Green, where there's still rotation in the storm.
In Clarksville, that city right there, about six miles south of the city, significant damage from a tornado along Highway 13 about an hour ago. And then this very large line, a bow echo if you will, of heavy, heavy winds going to blow north of Nashville.
And we're still waiting for the weather from Nashville to come in from this direction here, and possibly this cell right there. With spin in the cell, Doppler radar indicating that spin. How we know that -- Doppler radar, it's almost like sitting there listening to a train go by when you're at a train track. When the train is coming, it is a different pitch than when it's leaving, the horn is.
So when they see the Dopplers doing the same thing, the returns of the Doppler radar are coming in at different frequencies and we know what direction the raindrops are moving in a storm. And if they are moving around in a circle, we know the storm is rotating and we know there could be a potential tornado in that storm.
John.
KING: We can see, Rick. He knows what direction the rain is coming from. Go ahead, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Yes. It is coming from the west, no doubt. As -- I'm sure -- I can't see the picture. We see fire trucks coming through the area now. We don't know if they're responding to any particular emergency, but as Chad was saying, it looks like we're probably still not in it.
Chad, can you give us a sense to the people of the area what we'll first experience as the lines come through and whether or not they're able to make -- get a better sense as to whether or not they're close to what would cause tornadic activity or an actual tornado near them?
MYERS: Two completely separate weather patterns going on here. For the people south and east of Nashville, a storm coming up from the south. This storm had tornado damage in Waynesboro south and southwest of the city of Nashville. And then this area of weather is going to come slamming in from the west.
So you're going to get two separate areas. The folks in western Nashville, the western areas here, not going to see anything really from the first line, except they'll be -- hear some lightning and maybe a little bit of rain.
But this is the weather here, still about 45 minutes away for you, Rick. That's where the weather is spinning, that's where the storms have the most potential for damage, 30 minutes, 45 minutes away from you now.
KING: All right. Chad Myers in the Weather Center.
SANCHEZ: That's good information. Thanks, guys.
KING: Rick Sanchez live in Nashville. You stay safe and we'll check in with you throughout the hour, both of your gentlemen. Thank you both very much.
Now, time for the "Cafferty File," Jack Cafferty joining us from New York. Jack?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: John, President Bush is on his Asian tour. He is in Kyoto, Japan, tonight. What's the phrase in Washington? If you want a friend, get a dog. Members of the president's own party were putting the squeeze on the President Bush today while he was out of the country in regards to the war in Iraq and looking for some sort of indication from the administration that they're thinking about pulling our troops out and getting out of there.
The Democrats wanted an actual timetable for the pullout from Iraq. That failed in the Senate today. But a Republican measure, the president's own party, which passed, calls 2006 a "period of significant transition." It calls on the administration to explain its Iraq policy, and for Iraqi forces to take over their country's security. Either way, there is a growing chorus of voices in this country that it's time to start thinking about how to get out there of.
President Bush has said we will accept nothing less than total victory, but what exactly is that? Is it complete autonomy for the new Iraqi government? Is it Iraqi forces taking control of their country's security.
Here's the question this hour. What should be the timetable for a U.S. pullout for getting out of Iraq? The email address, CaffertyFile@CNN.com, or you can go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile. John, the president can't catch a break.
The poll numbers out this week show worsening approval ratings in overall job performance and the war in Iraq and immigration and the economy. Now he has got Republicans, presumably some who might be up for reelection next year, beginning to appear to push themselves away from the administration's position vis-a-vis the war in Iraq.
And then, of course, there's that whole CIA leak thing going on. There's the whole growing investigation into whether or not intelligence was manipulated in order to convince the public in this country that it was necessary to invade Iraq. He's supposed to go to Mongolia. He may decide to stay there.
KING: Jack Cafferty, we'll check in on those emails a bit later today.
"We think we bottomed out" is what one of the president's top advisers said on our air this morning. We'll see in the weeks ahead if that is true.
And coming up, we'll continue to track the storms as they move across the country. We'll go back to Nashville shortly.
Plus, allegations that U.S. servicemen literally threw Iraqi detainees to the lions. Is there any truth to it? Our Tom Foreman investigates.
Republicans join Democrats in calling on the Bush administration to better explain its Iraq policy. The Democrats want a timeline there for a pullout. Does that mean, as some Republicans say, they want to cut and run? I will ask Senator Joe Biden.
And she was caught on camera apparently talking on her cell phone as she robbed bank after bank after bank. Now, police say they have caught the cell phone bandit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: New claims of prisoner abuse by U.S. forces in Iraq includes some bizarre allegations. Two former detainees say they were threatened with lions.
CNN's Tom Foreman is here with more. Tom?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, even in terms of these kind of allegations, these are whoppers. Basically what the story is, is this. In 2003, these two detainees who I talked to yesterday, said that they were at this man's business in Baghdad when U.S. troops swooped in, grabbed them and about 20 other people, beat them, put hoods over their heads, handcuffed them, took them in a truck and drove them off into the evening.
It became dark, and they wound up at one of the former palaces of Saddam Hussein. There, these people say, they were confronted with a cage full of lions and one after another they say they were lifted up, carried to the back gate of this thing. The gate was swung open, and the servicemen sort of pushed and held them in there while the lions charged. And at the last moment they were yanked out and the door was slammed shut.
Then they go on into a list of many, many other allegations, including they were put before a mock execution squad -- all of this in the first 24 hours, by the way -- a mock execution squad where they had blanks shot at them. They were beaten more. They were handcuffed to a fence and made to stand for several hours in blistering heat and had to run a gauntlet with the people beating them with batons on both sides.
These are the allegations, and then they go on through months of other things happening. All of this is part of a lawsuit. I shouldn't say all of it. Most of this is part of a series of lawsuits filed against top military leaders in this country. The ACLU is part of this. And what they're trying to do is get on the record that these military leaders, including Donald Rumsfeld, should be held accountable in international and U.S. court for violations of laws.
Important to note, however, the lion accusation is not part of the lawsuit. And when we tried to look into this today and find out if any of the lions were even in cages around Baghdad or around the palaces at that time, the International Fund for Animal Welfare told us that the lions that had been held, owned by Uday Hussein, Saddam Hussein's son who's now dead -- that his lions had actually been transferred a month before these arrests took place.
Very complex story, fascinating stuff. We'll have a lot of details tonight on ANDERSON COOPER 360. Hope you'll be there.
KING: 10:00 tonight, Tom Foreman, an amazing job. Tough reporting. Full report tonight at 10:00. Thank you very much, Tom Foreman.
And still to come here in THE SITUATION ROOM, the killer of John Lennon speaks out. Why David Chapman says nothing could have stopped him from killing the former Beatle.
Plus, criticizing the war. Senator Joe Biden in THE SITUATION ROOM. Is he advocating an exit strategy of pushing the United States to cut and run? I'll ask him the tough questions.
Stay right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Let's bring in our Zain Verjee now from the CNN Center in Atlanta, with a closer look at other stories making news. Hey, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, three strikes and you're out -- you're doing a pretty good job, John, so -- no, actually, that is under the new Major League Baseball steroid rules. Owners and players have agreed on a tough policy that calls for a 50-game suspension after the first positive test, 100-game suspension after the second, and a lifetime ban after testing positive three times for steroids. Rules are slated to go into effect next season. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it will stop paying for hotel rooms for most hurricane evacuees on the 1st of December. About 53,000 Gulf Coast residents are still relying on hotel housing in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The goal is to move them into longer-term housing. FEMA says it has spent at least $250 million on rooms since the storms hit a few months back.
The robber just stood there, caught on camera, talking on her cell phone, while she robbed one bank after another. Now, police say they have their cell phone bandit. A 19-year-old Virginia woman was arrested early this morning, and court documents say she admitted robbing four banks in recent weeks. Her boyfriend is accused of driving the get-away car.
He murdered John Lennon 25 years ago. Nearly a dozen years later, he spoke about the killing, saying it was like a runaway train. There was no stopping it. Mark David Chapman said he heard a voice in his head saying "do it." Those chilling comments first were used in a British documentary. Now, "Dateline NBC" is going to be airing them again. Chapman is eligible for parole again next year. Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has repeatedly argued against his release.
John.
KING: Zain Verjee in Atlanta, thank you very much, Zain.
And just ahead, the Bush administration catching flack from both sides of the aisle. Is Congress finding common ground on Iraq? I'll ask Democratic Senator Joe Biden.
Also, twisters and torrential rains. We have severe weather warnings from the South through the Midwest. We'll help you keep track of the danger.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: President Bush is accustomed to taking heat from Democrats about the Iraq war. But a bipartisan Senate vote today demanding regular updates on the U.S. mission may have tilted the political balance for a president already reeling from record low poll numbers.
I spoke today with the leading critic of the president's Iraq policy, Senator Joseph Biden, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Senator Joseph Biden, Democrat of Delaware, thank you for joining us today in THE SITUATION ROOM.
A remarkable day in the United States Senate -- a debate on an exit strategy in Iraq at a time when the president is overseas in Asia, on a trip that will take him to three countries that have troops in Iraq. That certainly adds to the drama of this moment, sir. As the Senate voted today, I want to ask you about this. The Republican leader, the majority leader of the Senate, said: "They want an exit strategy, a cut-and-run exit strategy. What we are for is a successful strategy." Is that what you as a Democrat want, a cut-and- run exit strategy?
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D-DE), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Absolutely not. That's not what we wanted. We ended up with 79 people voting for a strategy that said -- which we've been trying to do for some time -- Mr. President, give us your strategy and a timetable for achieving it. And the incredible thing, John -- you haven't seen 79 votes on Iraq since the war resolution. This is a clear statement to the president that the vast majority of the Senate doesn't think he has an understandable strategy, and he's not been reporting to us.
And there's another piece of it, as you know, John. It says you must report to us, Mr. President, within 90 days, and then 90 days -- every 90 days thereafter as to how you're moving toward accomplishing it.
The only difference in the two resolutions was, we said, Mr. President, when you give us your strategy, whether it is working or not, tell us how that affects -- how that affects the number of troops in Iraq. That was taken out, and 79 votes.
KING: Let me ask you this. One of the things adding to the partisan atmosphere about this debate is that in recent days, we've had a restirring, if you will, of the whole debate over the pre-war intelligence, and whether, as some Democrats say, the president hyped the case, exaggerate the case for war. One of your Democratic colleagues, Senator Jay Rockefeller, said: "It was disingenuous, the case the president made to the American people." I want you to listen quickly, before responding, to this from one of your Republican colleagues, Senator John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Was there intelligence failures? Absolutely. Were they colossal? Yes. But they do not mean in any way that the president lied to the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Did the president lie, Senator Biden? Was he disingenuous in your view?
BIDEN: He didn't lie to the American people. He chose to take, what you covered, John, a portion of the intelligence data which there was great dispute on, like aluminum tubes, like whether al Qaeda was involved in with Saddam Hussein, like whether or not they had UAVs, like whether or not they had reconstituted their nuclear arsenal. And he took the minority view of the intelligence community and offered it as the view of the intelligence community.
Simultaneously -- you interviewed me, you interviewed me at the time that the vice president said that Saddam had reconstituted his nuclear capability. I and many others said no, not true, didn't happen. No evidence it happened. You interviewed me about those aluminum tubes. Eighty percent of the community said those aluminum tubes were for multiple rocket launchers, not for a gas centrifuge system.
The only person who took information that was questionable and offered it, that the intelligence community said was questionable and offered it as fact, was the administration.
KING: Well, the White House would say that many Democrats who voted for the war, perhaps Senator Joe Biden among them, are trying to rewrite history, if you will.
I want to read you a quote from a leading Democratic senator, August 4, 2002. "This is a guy who is an extreme danger to the world" -- meaning Saddam Hussein -- and "this is a guy who is in every way possible seeking weapons of mass destruction." That was you, Senator Biden.
BIDEN: That's true. And he was. He was seeking them. And -- but you also -- if you go on and read that statement, I said, but he presents no imminent threat at this point. If we let him go for five years with no sanctions, he will get them. So what we should be doing now is we should be further tightening the noose on him. We should be bringing the rest of the world in on this deal with him.
And when we finally did go prematurely, because there was -- think of this. Why did the president go, after I held those hearings on Iraq where it was clear it would take us years and years after we took him down to succeed, why did they immediately start talking about nuclear weapons? Why did they start talking about having weaponized -- no evidence -- having weaponized all the material we all thought they did have stockpiled? It was because they had to create the sense there was an imminent danger.
Look throughout everything I said. There was no imminent danger.
You asked me, John, what was a greater threat, North Korea or Iraq? I said no question, North Korea, is because there is no imminent threat. If you let this guy fester, let him hang around with a couple billion bucks a year, with no sanctions, yes, in the next five years, he will be a real problem.
KING: Let me look forward a bit. I want to quote to you -- read you a quote from a former colleague in the Senate who you just might be running into soon in, say, Iowa or New Hampshire as the next presidential campaign heats up. This is from Senator John Edwards -- former Senator John Edwards now.
BIDEN: Yes.
KING: "I was wrong" -- meaning his vote in favor to give the president the authority to go to war. "I was wrong. It was a mistake to vote for this war in 2002. I take responsibility for that mistake. While we can't change the past, we need to accept responsibility."
Was your vote a mistake?
BIDEN: My vote was a mistake. Because I assumed, as many others did, that the president had not made up his mind, that he was going to use the authority we gave him to tighten the noose on Saddam, that he was in fact, along with Colin Powell, going to see to it that we further isolated Saddam, and then, if the rest of the world would not join us, that, over time, we would have to go in and take him out.
I never anticipated the incompetence of this administration in how they went in, what they did after they went in, and how they've conducted the war in contravention of what most of their military personnel suggested they should be doing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And now the Bush administration's take on Iraq policy and Iraq politics. Deputy National Security Adviser J.D. Crouch joins us here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Veteran of the White House Situation Room. Welcome to our humble room.
Let me start...
J.D. CROUCH, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Pleasure, John.
KING: ... start on the point Senator Biden just ended on. He said he never expected the administration would manage the war with such incompetence, his word. I want you to listen before you answer and respond to something from his leader in the Senate, the Democratic leader, Harry Reid, explaining why he thought the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans, went on the record today demanding an exit strategy from the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: It's an important day, because the American people have seen the United States Senate with a vote of no confidence for the stay-the-course policy in Iraq. The United States Senate said the policy must change. Staying the course will not do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: He says staying the course will not do. It's a vote of no confidence. Senator Biden and other Democrats say it shows incompetence on the part of the administration.
As you respond, put it in the context. The president of the United States is overseas, visiting three countries that have troop deployments in Iraq that have caused some domestic political problems for the leaders of those countries. How does the president press those leaders to keep their troops in Iraq when he's under such heat back home?
CROUCH: I think it's really important the American people understand what happened in the Senate today, because it was an important day. The Senate rejected an amendment by a bipartisan -- Republicans joined by some Democrats -- that would have mandated a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces for Iraq. This was a wise rejection of their policy, and I think support for the president's policy. As you know, we've been -- we've opposed setting a timetable. And that's because a timetable is something that would really support the terrorists. It would support the insurgents. It would undermine the political process.
KING: As you know, sorry to interrupt, but as you know, many Republicans say yes, that a timetable is a bad idea. Some Democrats joined them in saying a timetable is a bad idea. But members of both parties say that they are not satisfied with the president's plan or that the Congress is getting enough answers.
CROUCH: You know, I haven't spent -- I haven't studied this amendment that closely, but I looked at it today before I came over, and it seems to me that in large measure, the amendment endorses the strategy that we are currently looking at. I mean, it talks about asking for quarterly reports. We do understand that we've got to provide more information to the Congress. We will be providing -- in fact, we are already providing quarterly reports to the Congress. We've had General Casey and General Abizaid up briefing them on our plan very recently, and just recently, of course, Secretary Rice gave testimony on the subject.
So we're going to continue to engage and try to provide information to the Congress. But I think if you look at the amendment, you will see that the kinds of information that they're asking for are really key to the plan that we've been briefing to them.
KING: Let's look at another part of this. One amendment that was passed as part of this debate would limit the administration's powers, limit the interrogation tactics the administration has for detainees. The White House has said the president would veto any attempt by the Congress to tie the administration's hands in that regard.
Does that stand? Will the president veto this legislation if it restricts interrogations beyond his powers now?
CROUCH: You know, the president has been very clear on this issue, that we do not torture, and that -- and we respect the law of the land. This is a nation of laws.
At the same time, this is a nation that's at war, and the president also has the obligation to protect the American people. And in this kind of a war, which is a war fought in the shadows against terrorists who are not in uniforms, we need to be able to get information.
KING: Is that a yes, the president will veto this? Is that a yes?
CROUCH: So it's -- we're obviously -- at this point, we are engaged. Our policy on this has not changed. We're also engaged in a discussion with the Congress on this issue. And we hope to be able to go forward on a basis where, as the president has said, there will be -- there is no torture. We're going to abide by the laws. We have been abiding by the laws. But at the same time, we have to be able to provide and get the information necessary to protect the American people from attacks (INAUDIBLE). KING: We're out of time. I want to beg you for a yes or no answer. But in this debate over the pre-war intelligence, the president says Congress looked at the same intelligence. Many members of Congress say, no, we don't get everything the president sees. Who's right?
CROUCH: Look, if you go back to three different administrations, you will see that there was a broad consensus among Republicans and Democrats, and the last Democratic administration, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. That was based on the intelligence judgments of the intelligence community, which doesn't change, by and large, between administrations.
So I think that the Congress has gotten access to that information through the intel -- intel committees, as well as, obviously through the various reports that we've provided.
KING: This debate will continue. We thank you for adding your voice.
CROUCH: My pleasure.
KING: J.D. Crouch, the deputy national security advisor, joining us here.
And stay in THE SITUATION ROOM. We're tracking tornadoes and severe storms now hammering a large swath of the country. We will have the very latest on those, where the danger is now, and who could be hit next.
And he's had problems at home in California, but now Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is making a big pitch overseas. Will the Chinese buy it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We want to take you immediately now back to Tennessee, bracing for the possibilities of more tornadoes tonight.
CNN's Rick Sanchez is in Nashville, where I can hear the alarm going off, Rick.
SANCHEZ: You're absolutely right, John. It started going off again about three or four minutes ago. And the situation here has, indeed, worsened somewhat. Just a while ago, we started to get a series of lightning and thunderheads that came through. We had to scurry inside the truck to just -- to try and get away from the rain and the danger, of course, that's posed by that. We shut everything down.
Now it appears that it's gone away. We don't know for how long, but we are able to explain to you some of the information that we've been getting here.
I just got off the phone moments ago with some of Tennessee's emergency officials. Here's what they tell me. Here's the latest, John.
In Henry County, three homes completely destroyed. There are 12 injuries in Harris County. By the way now, John, that's around the city of Paris that you had alluded to earlier in your newscast. An industrial park there -- they call it an industrial facility, they say had been severely damaged. Part of a roof has come down.
Now, we take you to Montgomery County. We're being told there are three injuries there. A grocery store in part of a town in Montgomery County -- don't know the exact city -- has been destroyed. And mobile homes -- exactly how many, don't know, but a mobile home park has been destroyed. Many of the homes are down. They're trying to get a better sense of how many injuries, but at this point, just doing the math, we're talking about 15 injuries. As far as I know, Talking to emergency officials, when I ask them are they life threatening, they said no.
A total of five counties, though, had seen some type of tornadic activity. The two that I just mentioned to you, that's Henry County and Montgomery County, have actually experienced tornado touchdowns or reported tornado touchdowns.
As far as Nashville is concerned, I think the weather seems to be coming this way. Of course, it's just a matter of happenstance with tornadoes, whether they're going to hit in this area or in some other area. To probably get a better idea -- I don't know if Chad is available. Chad, if you're around, where do we stand right now, at least in this particular locale where we are here?
MYERS: We had a spin. We had a tornado vortex signature south of you around Franklin a few minutes ago -- a tornado warning on that storm, and now a brand new tornado warning for the city of Nashville including Davidson County. That's the entire area around Nashville.
This storm very close to Belle Meade now, which is just off to your west, Rick. I'm going to in to the map here a little bit to show you what's going on. All of the counties in this area under the red tornado warnings, but to the west, southwest of Nashville is where the rotation is.
Here is the little hook on the storm. That's I-40 West and the storm is moving into Nashville now with that rotation, with that tornado vortex signature. And just from the south, from Brentwood to Franklin and back up to the north of you, Hendersonville, all going to get into this storm as it rotates right into Nashville.
So you're going to hear those -- the sirens going off. And it is going to be one busy night here. In the next maybe 15 to 20 minutes, that rotation, that rotation right there, part of that hook of that part right there, the bottom of that storm, is going to be moving right into Nashville. And although it is only Doppler radar indicated, certainly could be a tornado on the ground right now.
SANCHEZ: Well, they had one in Nashville back in 1998 in April. But it's a rare occurrence for a tornado to come to an area as big as this. What particular precautions, Chad, would you tell the people to take if they are in the metropolitan area as opposed to some of the rural areas?
MYERS: Well, you know what? No matter where you are, if you're anywhere around Tennessee or Kentucky, you need to be inside the room, inside the home, away from windows, in a basement, if you have one.
KING: All right. Chad Myers in the Weather Center.
SANCHEZ: I was told that's what we'll be doing here as well. Thanks, guys.
KING: Rick Sanchez, thanks you to. Stay safe. Chad Myers, as well. We should also note there are reports tonight of one death in Kentucky from this severe weather tonight. We will continue to track it. Stay with CNN throughout the night.
And let's find out now what's coming up at the top of the hour on PAULA ZAHN now. Hey, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, John. Thanks so much. Just about 14 minutes from now, one of the most disturbing issues in the war on terrorism. Is the torture of suspected terrorists ever justified? Senator John McCain says no, but the Bush administration is resisting the senator's bill to ban torture even though the president says the U.S. never uses it.
Also, the building outrage over an art show, not because of the artwork that's for sale, but because the artist is a convicted rapist, and serial killer. Should he actually be allowed to profit from his prison art? And as you can imagine, John, the families of some of the victims are absolutely outraged by this. And they call it murderabilia and say the only reason he's going to make money off of it is because he is going to be celebrated as a serial killer.
KING: Fascinating story, Paula. We'll watch. Thank you very much.
ZAHN: Thank you.
KING: And up next, he's familiar with promoting movies around the world, but can Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California governor, promote his state to China? We'll tell you how the governor's trade mission is going.
And many Democrats want a timetable for getting out of Iraq. Many Republicans call that a plan to cut and run. Well, what do you think? Should there be a timetable? And if so, what should it be? Our Jack Cafferty has your e-mail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in China, fresh from that stinging defeat at the polls, where voters rejected his entire slate of reform measures.
CNN's Ali Velshi is in New York for us with the "Bottom Line" on the governor's trade initiative. ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, John. I mean, it's not news to most of us that China is the biggest country in the world. There's a lot going on there. But recently, you will notice from a lot of the reports we've been covering about politicians, China has become a very popular destination.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): What is with the sudden rush to get to China? In recent months, U.S. politicians have shown a remarkable interest in the world's most populous country. And now you can add another name to that list -- Arnold Schwarzenegger. And the Terminator is not used to being the underdog. In this case, as the governor and self-appointed statesman for California, he is.
China is already the world's biggest manufacturer. Much of the $250 billion worth of Chinese goods imported to the United States this year will arrive at California's Long Beach and Los Angeles Ports.
Well, America wants more trade to go the other way. And Schwarzenegger is traveling with 79 business leaders to sell California's wares to the Chinese.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: We all see the incredible opportunities that lie ahead. That's why we're here. That's why we have brought the huge delegation and all the business leaders from California. This will be one of the largest markets in the world for our products and for our service.
VELSHI: China's energy consumption is growing twice as fast as any other nation's. Schwarzenegger touted a super-efficient solar panel that would move his conservation campaign to China.
SCHWARZENEGGER: This cell that I held up is a cell that has been developed and designed in Silicon Valley in California, but is manufactured in Shan-Chung, right here in China.
VELSHI: Politics aside, the former movie star was mobbed by fans on the streets of Beijing. Recognized everywhere he went, possibly from pirated DVDs of his Hollywood movies. California's film, music and software industries lose millions of dollars ever year to piracy.
It's a trade that China has not been very effective at limiting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (on camera): Well, you can bet that while the piracy is a major, major issue right now, there are bigger things that the politicians want to deal with. And in fact, on Saturday, President Bush will be arriving in China. This follows a number of politicians who have been there. Right now, China is the biggest focus for U.S. trade and they're going to be talking nice while they're there, John. There's not going to be a lot of criticism going on.
KING: Both the governor and the president, Ali, trying to maybe put some domestic problems behind them. Thanks very much. Still ahead, new information about the would-be female suicide bomber in Jordan. These are fresh details being reported about her marriage.
And lots of talk about the timetable for leaving Iraq. What do you think it should be? Jack Cafferty with your email.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Our Zain Verjee joins us now from the CNN Center in Atlanta with a closer look at other stories making news around the world. Hey, Zain.
VERJEE: Hey, John.
"TIME" magazine's Web site says the woman who was supposed to be the fourth suicide bomber in last week's terror attacks in Jordan was a newlywed. TIME.com says 35-year-old Sajida al-Rishawi was married just two weeks ago during an Islamic holiday. In a recent TV interview, she said that she was with her husband at the Radisson hotel, but after his detonated, hers failed and she left the room along with other guests.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has brokered an Israeli/Palestinian deal on Gaza border crossings. The agreement will open the border between Gaza and Egypt later this month. The deal essentially lets Palestinians travel across Israel in convoys, to and from the West Bank. Construction of a Gaza seaport is also to begin. Israel recently withdrew from Gaza after decades of occupation.
Two Asian countries devastated by bird flu are promising extreme measures to fight it. China says its now in the process of vaccinating 14 billion birds, its entire stock, against bird flu. China says its going to pay all costs.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese officials say farmers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City who kill or sell any poultry by Monday will be compensated at half the current market value.
Back to you in THE SITUATION ROOM, John. I don't care what Cafferty has been saying about you. I think you did a great job.
KING: Thanks for hanging in there with me today, Zain. Now, let's go straight to Jack Cafferty in New York. He's standing by with your "Cafferty File."
CAFFERTY: They're all alike. They make trouble whenever they go.
VERJEE: What do you mean by that?
CAFFERTY: You know exactly what I mean by that. I liked you better when you dressed up like a cow girl and had your whip.
VERJEE: Can we please forget that and continue?
CAFFERTY: No. I've got that on my TiVo, darling. Our question this hour is what should the timetable be for getting out of Iraq?
The letters come in as follows, beginning with Chuck, a retired U.S. Army first sergeant in Riverdale, Utah: "If we have forgotten the lessons from Vietnam, then its painfully a shame. Once the withdrawal policy was stated, Charlie, that would be the Viet Cong, just waited and then took over. To allow that to happen in Iraq would be a terrible mistake."
Vick in Orange Park, Florida: "How about immediately if not sooner? I don't believe the whole country is worth one more American serviceman's life, and I'm a retired veteran."
Bryon in Hudson, Wisconsin: "Ask Halliburton how long it takes to pump the world's second-largest oil reserve dry and you'll have the answer to your question."
Mary writes, from Maine: "how about we put it on the Iraqi ballot as a referendum? Do you want the Americans to leave or stay? Do you want an international peacekeeping force to stabilize the country while you set up your government?"
And finally, Lynn in Medford, Oregon: "The cut and run view has been with us since Vietnam. A political and media war. The liberals need to go to France and review this feminine viewpoint. There are actually evil people in the world, not ready to sing. Can't we all get together with Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy."
John?
KING: An interesting debate, some tough words in those emails. And Jack, it's only my second time in THE SITUATION ROOM. You weren't here last time. Now I know why they keep you and Zain so far apart.
CAFFERTY: It's all just a ruse. Actually, I'm very fond of Zain.
VERJEE: I'm very fond of Jack. Jack is deliciously blunt and excitingly acerbic.
KING: Only here can I ask Jack a question and, poof, Zain Verjee appears. See, Jack was smart enough to know he was not safe.
CAFFERTY: Nice job, John. Good to have you with us.
KING: A rookie in THE SITUATION ROOM, thank you both.
And thanks for joining us. Don't forget, from now on, we're here, in THE SITUATION ROOM, every weekday at this time and also from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm John King, have a great night.
Now here's Paula Zahn.
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