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The Situation Room
State Department Issues Travel Warning; House Debates Iraq War Pullout
Aired November 18, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where we're getting word just now of a new travel warning affecting Americans, and including information on what's being described as the advanced stages of a terrorist attack.
Also happening now, in the political theater here in Washington, the drama over the Iraq war is about to hit a climactic moment. House Republicans have forced the issue of immediately withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq to a vote that's expected to happen momentarily.
And from political storms to those of Mother Nature. Right now a tropical storm named Gamma is howling in the Caribbean, and it could follow the same path as Hurricane Wilma -- possibly, possibly slamming into Florida Monday.
And it's 4:00 p.m. in California, where fierce winds are fueling a wildfire burning north of Los Angeles. It's scorched 2,000 acres already, and hundreds of residents could evacuate as the fire creeps ever closer to their homes.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
A week of political fireworks over Iraq is building to a dramatic climax. The U.S. House of Representatives preparing to vote on a resolution to withdraw U.S. troops immediately from Iraq. It's happening against the backdrop of new bloodshed in Iraq.
We have correspondents in Baghdad, in Washington, but first let's go out to Capitol Hill. Ed Henry is standing by with the looming vote. What's going on, Ed?
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Speaker Dennis Hastert decided to basically call the Democrats' bluff, suggesting that he would bring up John Murtha's resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops, bring it up for a vote tonight. Republicans believing the Murtha plan would be rejected so soundly that this would embarrass the Democrats. The Republicans could make a political point about supporting the troops.
But there's a twist. Instead of using the Murtha resolution, instead Republicans decided to draft a different resolution that did not have a six-month cushion for getting the troops out as quickly as possible. That's giving the Democrats an opportunity to pounce, and this floor debate so far has been nasty, personal, downright mean on both sides, back and forth, battling each other. Take a listen to this exchange between Republican Duncan Hunter and Democrat David Obey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R-CA), CHAIRMAN, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: "I am a U.S. Army captain currently serving in Iraq and I..."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want an answer from you, not somebody else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentleman from California has the time.
HUNTER: "I am shocked and appalled by Rep. Murtha's call for an immediate withdrawal. Please, please, please convince your colleague to let us finish this critical job. He is correct that deployments in service and the casualties are hard on all of us. He is wrong about what is demoralizing us. What is demoralizing is a Congress which no longer stands behind our mission."
That's why we're offering this resolution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will the gentleman yield?
HUNTER: That's obviously the message that's going out to thousands of servicemen...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will the gentleman yield?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's because you're sending that message! Jack Murtha isn't sending that message. You are and the White House is!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentleman from Massachusetts...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 24 hours, you have maligned a great member of this house, a decorated Vietnam War veteran. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: You know, Republican Senator John Warner just put out a statement moments ago, saying this debate in the House shows why we need bipartisanship in the war in Iraq. That bipartisanship in very little supply tonight, Wolf.
BLITZER: Clearly invisible right now on the House side of the U.S. Congress. Thanks very much, Ed, for that.
This push for a vote comes after Congressman John Murtha called the Bush administration's efforts in Iraq, and I'm quoting now, "a flawed policy wrapped in illusion."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: We're charged, Congress is charged with sending our sons and daughters into battle, and it's our responsibility, our obligation to speak out for them. That's why I'm speaking out. Our military's done everything that has been asked of it. The U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It's time to bring the troops home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: President Bush monitoring this situation as he participates in high-level talks in Asia this hour, still keeping tabs, very much so, on this debate happening back home.
Our White House correspondent Dana Bash is traveling with the president. She's covering the story for us. She's joining us now live from South Korea. It's just after 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning, Dana, where you are.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Correct, Wolf. And, you know, the White House on that vote, they have been carefully coordinating, as you know, with congressional Republicans on the overall strategy to hit back on Democrats on the political debate over the Iraq war, but on this one, it appears that the House Republicans were on their own. And some at the White House we talked to say that they didn't necessarily think that this was a wise or well-thought-out strategy, to put this in the way they did it on the House floor.
Ed Henry was just reporting, the idea was to get Democrats to vote against, or I should say vote for withdrawing troops from Iraq. It doesn't appear that that's going to happen. So it's unclear how much of a political victory Republicans or even the White House will have out of this.
But meanwhile, President Bush later today is going to once again engage in that debate going on back in Washington. He's going to Busan air base here in South Korea, where he will be talking about the debate back home over the Iraq war and quote, as aides have been doing over the past 24 hours to some of us reporters, commanders on the ground in Baghdad, like Major General William Webster, saying that withdrawing troops would be a recipe for disaster. The president, according to an excerpt just released, will say, quote: "So long as I am commander in chief, our strategy in Iraq will be driven by the sober judgment of our military commanders on the ground. So we will fight the terrorists in Iraq and we will stay in the fight until we have achieved the victory our brave troops have fought and bled for."
So another day, Wolf, on the world stage for the president, but still fighting the political debate half a world away back in Washington.
BLITZER: And we are standing by for that vote of the House floor, Dana. Dana Bash, thank you very much.
And now to a story that's just coming into CNN. The State Department is issuing a travel warning to Indonesia. Let's get some details. Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel standing by. What's going on, Andrea?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the State Department says that based on some information that it was able to get on a raid that it conducted in Indonesia earlier this month, that Indonesian police conducted, they now believe that terrorists affiliated with the -- what's known as the Jemaa Islamiyah, it's a radical Islamic group that's believed to have links to al Qaeda -- that they were in the final stages of planning an attack against Western targets, both Americans, Australians, British and Italians in Indonesia.
They say that they found 35 bombs that were ready to go. They also found a videotaped threat from a hooded terrorist who was threatening to launch these attacks against Westerners.
Wolf, this is the same group that was responsible for that terrorist attack back on October 1st of this year, which killed over a dozen people in the Indonesian island of Bali, and injured more than 100 people.
And there's this final chilling fact, Wolf. They say that the terrorists in Indonesia are believed to be changing their tactics now to specifically target individual Western citizens. That they're now likely planning to attack Westerners riding in cars or walking on street sidewalks or pedestrian overpasses in Jakarta.
The bottom line, if you have unessential travel to Jakarta, the State Department is saying, don't go -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Andrea Koppel, thank you very much. Andrea Koppel over at the State Department. The travel warning just issued.
Let's get some more on this. Our Abbi Tatton is standing by. She's monitoring the situation online -- Abbi.
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, the extensive details and this travel warning available at the State Department's Web site in their travel section. This has warnings for some 27 countries, including that of Indonesia. It's linked from the front page there. You can read it at the State Department Web site.
BLITZER: All right, Abbi, thank you very much. Abbi Tatton with the latest on that.
As the war of words over Iraq heats up, the war itself is seeing stepped up violence as well. Suicide attacks at two mosques, killing dozens of civilians, many of them children. Let's get details. Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, standing by in Baghdad -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the first attack today, a chilling resemblance to an attack three weeks ago claimed by al Qaeda, attacking a hotel where Western journalists and Western contractors were living. A double suicide bomb. The first bomber driving a big white van full of explosives, trying to blast a hole through the security barrier. The second vehicle driving, trying to drive through that hole, detonating its explosives. Six people were killed there, two of them children, one of them a woman. Forty people injured. Families trapped in neighboring apartments by falling rubble.
About 85 miles northeast of Baghdad, close to the Iranian border, a much more deadly attack. Two suicide bombers there entered two separate mosques, right at noontime prayers. The mosques were full of prayer goers. More than 90 people there killed, we're told many of them children, because typically on Friday, the holy day, a lot of fathers taking their children into the mosque with them, Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic Robertson in Baghdad for us, where the situation is continuing as usual. Thank you, Nic, very much.
Our Zain Verjee is off today. Mary Snow filling in. She's joining us from New York with a closer look at some other stories making news. Hi, Mary.
SNOW: Hi, Wolf. A civil jury says actor Robert Blake is liable in the 2001 shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. Today, it ordered Blake to pay Bakley's children $30 million in the wrongful death suit brought by her estate. Blake was acquitted of his wife's murder in March. He says he's almost broke.
Later this house, trial lawyer, author and co-founder of Legal Zoom, Robert Shapiro, will join us with his take on the Blake verdict.
Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald is signaling that his investigation of the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity is far from over.
In a new court filing today Fitzgerald indicated that he will bring more information to a grand jury. This is the first time since the indictment of Cheney, Chief of Staff Scooter Libby, that Fitzgerald has said he expects more grand jury proceedings.
And Oscar-winning Actor Russell Crowe has been sentenced to a conditional discharge, and ordered to pay court costs after pleading guilty today to third degree assault.
Crowe was arrested in June for throwing a telephone that hit a Manhattan hotel concierge. Under his sentence he must not get arrested for a year. Had Crowe been convicted of more serious charges against him the Australian actor could have lost the right to work in the U.S.--Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Mary. Thanks very much. We'll check back with you.
We're watching developments on the floor of the house of representatives right now in a bitter and dramatic vote on withdrawing troops from Iraq about to take place. We'll go there live once it does.
Also, Florida being warned right now to prepare, get this, for another tropical storm. This one Gamma. Our severe weather expert Chad Myers standing by with the latest forecast.
Plus, on a very different note. The world's largest aquarium about to open in Atlanta. I'll speak with the man who made it all possible. The Home Depot founder, Bernie Marcus. I'll ask him, why he's spending millions, $200 million, specifically, to do this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A raging wildfire on the West Coast and a tropical storm that could hit the Gulf Coast as early as Monday.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is joining us live from the fire line in Ventura, California, but first let's go to our severe weather expert Chad Myers. He's at the CNN weather center with more on this tropical storm--Chad.
CHAD MYERS, METEOROLOGIST: Twenty-fourth named storm of the year, Wolf. Tropical storm Gamma. We had Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and if there was another one it would be Delta. A, B, C, D, basically in the Greek alphabet.
Here it is right there now 45 miles per hour that's the wind speed just north of the coast of Honduras, near the island of Roatan. And then on up toward Cancun, and then making a big right hand turn.
And the forecast, almost 45 miles per hour now. The forecast at least that was four hours ago is for somewhere here in south Florida by Monday.
But let me tell you, I guarantee you, now that they know where this thing is, and they plug everything into the computers this track will be different by tomorrow. So you need to turn the TV on tomorrow and see where it goes left or goes right or goes over to Cuba or whatever.
Now, the first forecast is never the most perfect because the computers are just getting this data to plug in. It will be better by tomorrow.
BLITZER: Presumably, as it goes across the warm waters of the Gulf, it will pick up steam.
MYERS: Certainly could. The same place that Wilma was. It went from 150 to 175 and then down again. We have no indications that this storm is going to be anywhere near that because the waters, in fact, are much colder than they were when Wilma was there.
BLITZER: Let's go out to California, Chad. What's the latest on those winds and those wildfires happening out West?
MYERS: The winds are absolutely coming down, Wolf. We know it for a couple of reasons. We know it because the smoke is going more straight up than when it was getting blown across.
There's L.A. Here's Ventura. Here's Oxnard. The winds here only six miles per hour at Oxnard.
Now, I know this looks like rainfall, but in fact the Doppler doesn't know what's in the way. The radar is sending out a signal. It's bouncing off something, and that signal is going back to the radar. That signal is getting bounced back by the smoke particles.
The smoke through the canyons, and you can really see the canyons here. This is very, rough, rough terrain. Here is the smoke particles we're seeing on the Doppler Radar now.
You get all the way down to the town of Ventura, all the way back out to Lahall (ph) Canyon, and then farther up to the North, Wolf. You can actually see the fire line right there as the smoke rises from the fires that are out there now.
BLITZER: All right, Chad, thanks very much.
Let's head out to Ventura. Our Ted Rowlands is on the scene for us. What are you seeing firsthand--Ted?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm seeing a beautiful California evening here, Wolf, which is a stark difference of what we saw of just a few hours ago here in Ventura. This was an inferno.
If you look in the back here this, charred hillside. This was full of smoke and flames, and it was quite dramatic. People were gathering their items and getting out. Those people are now coming back in to find that their homes have been saved.
The firefighters worked furiously and mother nature helped out. As Chad mentioned, the winds dropped dramatically this afternoon. It gave firefighters the opportunity to get the upper hand for now.
The hope is that mother nature will continue to cooperate. They'll be monitoring those winds as evening comes in the next few hours here and overnight--Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. We'll hope for the best.
Ted Rowlands, thank you very much.
Still to come here in THE SITUATION ROOM. It's been a tough week for everyone here in Washington. It's about to come to a head on the floor of the house of representatives with a vote on withdrawing troops in Iraq. We'll get reaction from both sides.
Plus, terror tape from one of the world's most wanted men. We have the story. Stay with us here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: More now on our top story, the bitter vote in the House of Representatives on whether the U.S. should start pulling out troops from Iraq immediately.
We are joined now by the Majority Whip Roy Blunt, who is also the acting majority leader. Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.
REP. ROY BLUNT (R-MO), MAJORITY WHIP: Wolf, nice to be with you.
BLITZER: You've been in Washington a long time. So have I. When I hear one of your Republican colleagues, Jean Schmidt, call Congressman John Murtha, himself a highly-decorated Vietnam War veteran, someone who has been very close to the military all these years a coward -- a coward -- that sends shockwaves through me and I'm sure a lot of your colleagues.
BLUNT: Well, I didn't actually hear what she said. I think she was quoting somebody else talking about people who were willing to leave at this point and certainly nobody here would intend to suggest that Jack Murtha is a coward or anything but a public servant.
But even a good public servant could be wrong and we think that's where Jack is on this issue, that sending this message through al- Jazeera -- not that he intended to be the poster boy for this week's al-Jazeera, but sending that message around the world that somehow Congress is ready to give up on our efforts in Iraq is so far from the truth, we decided we needed to talk about that.
BLITZER: Congressman, isn't that unfair to say he's sending a message through al-Jazeera? That was front-page in the "Washington Post" today, front page in the "New York Times," I'm sure in your hometown of Missouri as well. All over the country and on all of the television stations they're talking about this decorated war hero saying enough is enough. Let's bring these troops home.
BLUNT: Well, that's true, Wolf. And, you know, I didn't mean to sound like to say that he was just sending the message there, but clearly that message has been there for a couple of days now and it does make a difference when somebody who has the record of John Murtha on making this decision, on doing what we need to do to fight terrorism, begins to say that that fight is over, particularly right before the Iraqis are set to go to the polls for what will be the third time in a year.
This will be really the biggest of those moments because it's the time when a final government gets put into place. We've had significant input today during the evening from soldiers themselves and from members of soldiers in Iraq who said thank you for finally standing up and sending the right message to the troops in the field.
BLITZER: Congressman, here's another shocking item that I just saw in roll call that just moved on their Web site. Republican lawmakers say that ties between Congressman John Murtha and his brother's lobbying firm, KSA Consulting, may warrant investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Is that true?
BLUNT: I don't think that there's any reason to suggest that Jack Murtha needs to be investigated in any way or that he's not a good public servant and dedicated. He's a friend of mine. I've been with him with the people where we represented our country together. I think he's a fine American and a great public servant, but you could be wrong in that situation and our resolution doesn't say anything about Jack Murtha.
The Democrats want to make this about Jack Murtha. What this is really about is this whole discussion now that we somehow should right on the eve of these final elections should cut our losses and get out of Iraq. This is not the time to do that, certainly not the time to set a timetable, but the time to do what we need to do to continue to encourage movements toward democracy in this country.
BLITZER: Roy Blunt is the majority whip in the House of Representatives, the acting majority leader. Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.
Let's check in with CNN's Anderson Cooper now for a preview of what's coming up on his program later tonight -- Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Wolf, at 10:00 Eastern, the war over war. Tonight, I sit down with the man who you've just been talking about, Congressman John Murtha. You'll hear why he says he has been misunderstood.
Plus, some tough love, a student lets her grades drop and her mother takes action, making her stand on a street corner with sign that says I don't do my homework and I act up in school, so my parents are preparing for my future. Will work for food. I'll talk with the mom and daughter to find out if the unusual punishment actually worked. That's tonight on "360," 10:00 Eastern, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Anderson, we'll be watching. Thanks very much.
Let's stay in New York now. Mary Snow is joining us for a look at other stories making news around the world -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, the World Health Organization is giving China high marks for its openness regarding bird flu. The Chinese government is confirmed its first two human cases of the illness and now says the virus is spending among poultry flocks despite prevention efforts. Vietnam said today that the avian flu had spread to flocks of poultry in three more provinces.
Scientists are closely watching Colombia's Galeras volcano. The fears of an impending eruption have sent an estimated 10,000 people fleeing from Colombia's southwest region. Galeras last erupted in 1993, killing nine people. Colombia's Geology and Mines Institute raised the warning for Galeras to level two three weeks ago. That means that an eruption could happen within weeks, perhaps even days.
And Britain's Prince Charles is suing the publisher of a London tabloid newspaper. A spokesman for the Prince of Wales says the decision was made after excerpts from his personal journal were published in the Sunday edition of "The Mail." In them, Prince Charles described Chinese diplomats as, in his words, "appalling old waxworks." The prince's private secretary says it's a matter of principle. The published -- the publisher, that is, Associated Newspapers," has 14 days to respond -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Mary Snow, thank you very much.
Just ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, a bitter battle taking shape on the floor of the House of Representatives right now. GOP leaders forcing a vote on the rancorous issue of Iraq. We'll have an update.
And later, Robert Blake acquitted of murdering his wife, but found liable today in a civil lawsuit. Our legal eagle tells us what this means for the near-bankrupt actor. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: More now on our top story, that bitter vote of the House of Representatives on whether to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq. We just heard from the Republican leader, the majority leader, the acting majority leader, Roy Blunt.
Let's get the other side of the story. Now for that, we're joined by Democratic Congressman Harold Ford of Tennessee. Congressman, thanks for joining us.
REP. HAROLD FORD (D), TENN.: Thanks for having me.
BLITZER: Listen to what Republican representative Jean Schmidt said earlier today in this debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JEAN SCHMIDT (R), OHIO: He asked me to send Congress a message, stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message. That cowards cut and run, Marines never do. Danny and the rest of America and the world want the assurance from this body that we will see this through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The house will be in order! The house will be in order!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Sounds more like the British House of Commons, the parliament, than normal business in Washington. You heard what she said. You then had an angry exchange with her.
FORD: No no, I didn't have an angry exchange in Ms. Schmidt. In fairness to Ms. Schmidt, I think that she's new to the Congress. I would imagine her and her staff are still learning the rules about floor etiquette. As soon as she's learned that a mistake was made, she promptly apologized and asked for her own words to be taken down. There were words with colleagues on the floor about the appropriateness of it.
I think we've been here all week long, we made some major cuts to social programs last night that really had passions running high and spirits running high.
And then today's debate about war. I think many of us take issue with the fact that Mr. President Bush and Vice President Cheney and now my colleagues in the Congress are suggesting that some of us lack a level of patriotism and a resolve in determination to win the war, which is just not true, and I think that's what you saw today.
BLITZER: What were you doing when we saw you, sort of, running across the aisle over there. What was that all about?
FORD: I jumped. Well, the aisle, there's a little area that separates. So I jumped across and a few of my colleagues were talking with some of my Republican colleagues who were -- sounded as if they were defending Ms. Schmidt's words. And even Ms. Schmidt recognized that her words were inappropriate, as did the chairman of the committee, Duncan Hunter. And even the chairman of the rules committee, David Dreier, who I saw huddled trying to help her understand.
We now are in recess, as you know. And we will learn in a few minutes if indeed we will vote on this resolution. The smart thing to do would be to pull it. Tonight is not the night to politicize a war. As a matter of fact, there's never a night to do that.
But certainly not this evening, after what's happened on the floor. We should come back, conduct business as we normally do, which is to bring this before committee, let it be heard. Then, bring a serious discussion to the House floor about Iraq and our activities there and what we should do going forward.
BLITZER: Some of the Democrat colleagues say what the Republican majority is trying to do now is nothing short of a political stunt to try to embarrass Congressman Murtha. Are you among those?
FORD: I don't think there's any doubt that we are debating this tonight, because Mr. Murtha made this proposal yesterday. Now, or this morning, I believe it was. I'm not even certain that I would vote for the resolution that Mr. Murtha has put forward.
I'm studying it like everyone else. I don't believe an immediate withdrawal is the right thing to do. But I think you have to be careful when you lodge and level personal attacks, especially against John Murtha, who, I don't know of a more respected member of Congress, Democrat or Republican, than him.
And he has every right to raise a plan and lay out a proposal that Congress should consider. And what we're doing tonight is really just a mimic of it, and it's almost a gimmick in many ways, how we've gone about doing this. And I hope they pull the bill tonight. That would be the dignified thing to do. And let's deal with this when we get back after the Thanksgiving break.
BLITZER: Harold Ford, thanks very much for joining us.
FORD: Happy holidays.
BLITZER: Thank you.
Could a voice booming on a new audiotape be that of the al Qaeda's top man in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The voice makes grizzly threats of violence against Jordan's King Abdullah and promises scenes of violence, even more devastating than last week's attacks in Jordan.
Let's go to CNN's Brian Todd. He's in Washington with more. Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been pursued by coalition forces and been in hiding since the early stages of the Gulf War. If the tape we're hearing is in fact from al- Zarqawi, it's the latest in an extraordinary series of public transmissions from this very wanted man.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): He is the face of the violent insurgency against coalition forces in Iraq. Now, it is his apparent voice raising the attention of intelligence officials in Washington and the Middle East.
An audio statement believed to be from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, claims the group did not intentionally target civilians in the deadly November 9th hotel bombings in Amman, Jordan.
According to the speaker, the targets were U.S., Iraqi and Israeli intelligence agents working inside the three hotels hit by three suicide bombers.
VOICE THOUGHT TO BE ABU MUSAB AL-ZARQAWI (through translator): Three lions left their dens in Baghdad and headed to the heart of Amman to carry out the blessed attacks against three targets known to be headquarters of Jews, Crusaders, and other enemies of God.
TODD: CNN cannot independently verify that this is in fact Zarqawi speaking, but our experts say it sounds like his voice. And the audio was posted on an Internet message board used by radical Islamists in the past, including Zarqawi's group. U.S. officials say the CIA is conducting technical analysis of the tape.
When we asked if members of any intelligence agency were among the casualties in the Amman attack, U.S. counterterrorism officials would not comment. Most of those killed were Jordanians attending a wedding party at the Radisson Hotel.
We asked terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman about the claim that those civilians were not part of the plan.
BRUCE HOFFMAN, TERRORISM EXPERT: I would think this is almost the height of one of the most cynical claims we ever heard, because al-Zarqawi has built his representation, precisely on the bloodshed and bodies of innumerable victims of terrorism, who are innocent civilians in Iraq.
TODD: This would be the fourth statement issued by al-Zarqawi's group since the Amman bombings. Including the initial claim of responsibility. They come after widespread protests and condemnation of al-Zarqawi in his native Jordan.
Why the apparent P.R. campaign from a shadowy insurgent leader who's in hiding? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has to come out. He feels that this was a successful operation. And, he feels that he has to go and take credit and basically take a shot at the Jordanian government and the Jordanian leadership in the person of the King of Jordan, King Abdullah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (on camera): In part of the tape, the speaker does more than that. His words, directed at King Abdullah, quote, "You will not escape your fate. You descendant of traitors, we will be able to reach your head and chop it off," end quote. Wolf?
BLITZER: Tough words. Brian, Brian Todd, thank you very much.
Up next, here in THE SITUATION ROOM, the case of the former "Baretta" star, Robert Blake. It sounds a lot like O.J. Simpson right now. They were both accused and acquitted of killing their wives. And now, civil trials have found both men liable for the wives' deaths.
I'll speak with the former Simpson lawyer, Robert Shapiro, about these eerie similarities.
And is the former Terminator about to square off with a martial arts master? Well, not exactly. But, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan will be teaming up for a fight.
We'll tell you why, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here's a look at some of the hot shots coming in from our friends over at the Associated Press. Pictures likely to be in your hometown newspapers tomorrow.
First to Iraq, a woman sits on a destroyed car after two suicide bombers attacked in Baghdad today.
Let's go to Trent, New Jersey. Graduation day there. State police recruits stand at attention before marching into their graduation ceremony. One hundred thirty-one new troopers will be added to the force.
To Caracas, Venezuela, dolls of President Hugo Chavez sold out today at the local mall. Pull the cord in the back, and the doll says sort of political slogans.
And in Shanghai, China, California First Lady Maria Shriver gets teary while watching a short film about orphans in China with an 8- year-old girl waiting to be adopted.
Shriver is accompanying her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger on a six-day trade mission in Asia.
Those are some of today's hot shots, pictures often worth a thousand words.
He was acquitted of the killing in a criminal court, but today a civil jury found the actor Robert Blake liable for the 2001 shooting death of his wife.
He's being ordered to pay her children $30 million in damages. The case is strikingly similar to that of O.J. Simpson, who was also acquitted on criminal charges in the death of his wife, but found liable in a subsequent civil lawsuit.
Robert Shapiro was part of that so-called legal dream team that defended O.J. Simpson. He's joining us now live.
Bob, thanks very much for joining us. This is pretty eerie, the similarities here, isn't it?
ROBERT SHAPIRO, TRIAL LAWYER: It is, Wolf, but it really is quite predictable. In the criminal cases we have the presumption of innocence, and with the presumption of innocence there is the right of a person charged or accused not to take the witness stand in their own behalf.
Both of those things disappear in a civil case. The presumption of innocence fades away, and you have the preponderance of the evidence. The weighing of the scales of justice, which side produces just a little more evidence than the other.
And you have the law which makes it mandatory for the person who's being sued to take the witness stand and be cross examined.
BLITZER: But in terms of substance, it could be apparent victory. If he's broke, he's not going to be able to come up with $30 million although it's a huge moral loss for him.
SHAPIRO: You never know, maybe they're going to have re-runs of Baretta and get the series going again.
BLITZER; Will the children then be able to take that money?
SHAPIRO: Absolutely.
BLITZER: Any earnings he makes from now on will go under California law to the kids.
SHAPIRO: Absolutely, unless it's protected under a pension plan or is otherwise outside of the scope of recovery. But generally any income that comes from any source would be available for the people in the civil victory.
BLITZER: What if he were to do what O.J. Simpson has done, leave California, and move to Florida where the rules are a lot different.
SHAPIRO: Well, in Florida, what happens there is it protects your home. So if somebody wants to put a lot of money that they have into a homestead there that money cannot be taken in a proceeding that would force someone into bankruptcy, and that's always somebody's right.
The same rules in Texas apply.
BLITZER: You know California law about as well as anyone. What are the chances he could get this reversed on appeal?
SHAPIRO: Civil cases have a greater chance of being reversed on appeal than criminal cases, and so I haven't sat through the trial. I don't know if there were any serious errors made either by the judge in instructing the jury or other technical issues.
Cases in the civil court are not going to be reversed because the jury reached a wrong verdict based on the facts.
BLITZER: One final question, Bob, before I let you go. Ten years after O.J. Simpson and his trial. You still ever hear from him?
SHAPIRO: I have not heard from him at all since his trial.
BLITZER: That's it? No contact at all?
SHAPIRO: None whatsoever.
BLITZER: Bob Shapiro, as usual, thanks very much for coming in.
SHAPIRO: My pleasure, Wolf. Thank you.
BLITZER: Appreciate it very much.
Robert Shapiro, the famed criminal defense attorney in California.
Up next, let's go up to Paula Zahn. She's standing by in New York with a little preview of what's coming up at the top of the hour.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf.
We're going to kick off the hour with an unbelievable story that poses some very troubling questions for all of us to debate. How do you defend parents whose baby died because they chose prayer over a doctor? Is it merely a tragedy or is it a crime?
Also, the hunt for a suspect in a sickening crime that's made headlines here, and has left New Yorkers on edge. He seems to be thumbing his nose at police and getting away with it. Why can't they find him? An update on that investigation at the top of the hour-- Wolf.
BLITZER: Excellent. Thanks very much, Paula, "Paula Zahn Now." That's coming up in about 15 minutes.
Up next here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan teaming up for a big fight, Yes. We'll tell you what these two action heroes have set their sights on.
And check this out. It's a big fish of sorts. Building a tank though for that big fish not exactly easy or cheap. It's the work of a billionaire and the world's largest aquarium. We'll tell you what's going on, and we'll show you.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Sunset in California. Fires, though, continuing to burn out there. We're watching the situation, update you as we get more information. Beautiful sunset though, out West.
Meanwhile, two action heroes are teaming up for a fight. A fight over DVD piracy.
CNN's Ali Velshi is here in THE SITUATION ROOM with "The Bottom Line."
What's going on Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is that China tour that everybody is on right now. We talked earlier in the week.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is there with 79 California business people. They have been talking trade. They have been talking nice. This is the final day of his trip, and he decided to get a little tough today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: We need your help.
VELSHI (voice over): It would be the action move of all time, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan. But this isn't a trailer for a movie. It's a public service announcement featuring two Hollywood tough guys. The enemies pirates. Not real pirates, counterfeit pirates.
Schwarzenegger used his final day in Asia to take a strong stance against the pirated DVDs that flood China's entertainment market.
Pirated DVDs start on a feature films opening night. A small high quality video camera is smuggled into a theater. As soon as the movie is over, it's duplicated onto DVDs and sold on streets and markets, and even in shops across China.
Some are straight copies of DVDs that have already been released. Others started as legitimate licensed DVDs, which, shall we say, fell off a truck on the way to the distributor.
Bootleg DVDs make up an estimated 98 percent of the home entertainment market in China. They can cost as little as 69 cents. Going to a movie in China costs more than $4.
And it's not just DVDs. It's software, too. An estimated 90 percent of software sold in China is thought to be bootlegged -- watches, too and brand name hand bags. Even prescription drugs. It's rampant, but it's not legal. China agreed to clamp down on counterfeiting when it was admitted to the World Trade Organization. Schwarzenegger wants to sell more made-in-California goods to the Chinese, and moves would be an obvious choice. But why would anyone in China pay retail price for DVDs when they're readily available for a fraction of the cost?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: And that's what it's got to do with. This is a country where the per-capita income is under $1,000, depending on how you measure it. Why not pay under $1 for these things when doing it the right way -- so it's going to have to be a cultural change. They're going to have to decide that in fact, movies do cost more than they are paying for them in China.
BLITZER: It's thievery, short and sweet.
Ali, thanks very much. Ali is in town. He's going to be hosting "ON THE STORY," airs Saturday night, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, from George Washington University. Ali, thanks very much.
VELSHI: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Let's check in with Jacki Schechner. She's here to tell us about another kind of piracy online. What are you picking up?
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Well, Wolf, DVD piracy is very big in Asia, but actually Internet piracy is much more prevalent in the Western world.
When a movie like "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" comes out, there is such an enormous fan base, that there is a possibility that people will try to get the movie online and sharable before it even comes out.
Now, we spoke to Warner Brothers today that's released the movie, and they said as far as they know, there was no leak of this movie online ahead of time. They have a very large anti-piracy department there. Also, by the way, a subsidiary of Time Warner, like CNN. I just have to make that very clear.
But what we did is we went online today, and we dug around, and there are some files out there on the peer sharing network that look like they could possibly be the movie. They're exactly the right size to be that, but you have got to be very careful, because it can also be something -- a security measure that Warner Brothers or other companies put in place to stop you from downloading. It could be a Trojan horse that messes up your computer.
What you can do to go for a movie is not recent releases, but other stuff, is go to a legal site where you can download movies that you pay for -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jacki, thanks very much. Jacki Schechner reporting for us. Still to come, it's the world's largest aquarium, and one man made it all possible. You'll meet him, and see his creation. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Now to a whale of a story. A billionaire businessman opens the largest aquarium in the world. I spoke this week with Bernie Marcus of Home Depot.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Bernie Marcus, thanks very much for joining us. You must be very proud of what's behind you. First of all, tell us what is behind you.
BERNIE MARCUS, HOME DEPOT CO-FOUNDER: Well, you have five beautiful beluga whales, and these are magnificent animals. They are -- they swivel their necks. They're the most charismatic animals that I know of, and you fall in love with them. People just stay in front of the tanks watching them all day.
These are very large animals, by the way. They go from 11 feet to about 15. And what happened here is that we had two Mexican belugas that we rescued. They were under a rollercoaster ride in Mexico, and we introduced them, and they'd been there for a long time. And we introduced them to the three girls -- and I want to tell you something, some love affairs have already begun. They are swimming together, they're enjoying themselves, and we're hoping that somewhere along the line we're going to have an offspring.
BLITZER: Why did you bankroll this aquarium and how much money did you put into this?
MARCUS: Oh, Wolf, let me tell you something. It was more expensive than I thought it was going to be. It's a little over $200 million, and -- but I did it for a reason. You know, Home Depot, which is where my success came from, was one of the great success stories, Cinderella stories of all-time, and when I started Home Depot with my partners back in 1979, I was 49 years of age and really out of work at that time. And I thought of this idea of a Home Depot -- the people in Georgia just embraced me and all of us, and really it was a wonderful experience for all of us here. We were successful. All of the Southern charm came out in our stores, and a lot of the way Home Depot treats their customers came out of what we learned in the South.
And for this, I just felt I owed something to this area, and I wanted to do something magnanimous and something that our associates would love and something that our customers would love, so then when they walked in this beautiful building, you know, which is the largest aquarium in the world, that they would remember that this was built on the Home Depot, and because of their loyalty we were able to do this.
I'm getting a great thrill out of this. I can't wait to see the kids coming here. We think that 2.5 million people will be coming through this thing every single year. BLITZER: Beyond the whales that are behind you, what else have you put in the Georgia aquarium?
MARCUS: Well, we've got some real great fish. In fact, we have two whale sharks. Now, you think these guys are big -- let me tell you about the whale sharks. They're about 20 feet long today. They're babies. They're adolescents, and they are going grow to 45 to 55 feet.
Now, 45 to 55 feet, you're talking about a box car, and basically, if you think about it, how does a box car fit in this tank and how big is this tank? And this tank that we have them in is the biggest tank in the world. It has 6.1 million gallons of water. It's 30 feet deep. They have plenty of room to roam, and they're surrounded by all kinds of fish of the ocean -- groupers, sharks, rays, everything that you could possibly imagine.
And the only place that you could see these fish are Tokyo or the middle of the ocean somewhere, and most people are not going to be able to see them. So I'm telling you, people from all over the United States, people from all over the world are going to be coming here just to see these two fish.
People see them just instantly, if you get a glimpse, it's fine. Here, you are going to be able to study them, watch them, see what their habits are. And you become mesmerized. You watch them. I've seen them now for about three months, and I just can't take my eyes off of them.
So between these fish and all the other species that we have around here, it's going to be a great trip for people.
BLITZER: The Georgia Aquarium opens up on November 23rd, the largest aquarium in the world. Bernie Marcus, congratulations to you. Thanks very much for joining us.
MARCUS: Thank you. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us. Don't forget, we're on here in THE SITUATION ROOM, weekdays 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern, as well as 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Among my guests Sunday on "LATE EDITION," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Please join me Sunday morning, 11:00 a.m. Eastern.
Until then, thanks very much for joining us. Let's go to New York. Paula Zahn is standing by. Hi, Paula.
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