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The Situation Room
Cheney Says Nobody Else Can Be Blamed In Hunting Accident; More Photos Released of Abu Ghraib Abuse; Chertoff In The Hot Seat Over Katrina Response; Cheney Far From First Or Last Washington Figure To Face Glare Of This Particular Spotlight; Condoleezza Rice Grilled On Capitol Hill; Is America Losing Battle For Hearts And Minds In Muslim World?
Aired February 15, 2006 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's almost 5:00 p.m. here in Washington, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive at one place at the same time.
Happening now, Vice President Cheney breaks his silence and takes the blame for shooting a hunting companion, saying -- and I'm quoting now -- "I'm the guy who pulled the trigger." But can he make the case that his misfire wasn't mishandled?
On Capitol Hill, the Homeland Security chief gets hammered over Hurricane Katrina and concedes his department prolonged the suffering of disaster victims.
And it's 1:00 a.m. In Baghdad. They were pictures that shocked the world and sent some U.S. soldiers to prison themselves. Now there are more grisly images of abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. Their impact has yet to be measured.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Four days after wounding a fellow hunter, the vice president, Dick Cheney, is now calling it "One of the worst days in my life." With the White House taking heat for its handling of the incident, the vice president finally goes public, taking the blame for shooting a friend and trying to explain why it took so long to bring the facts to the American people.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is standing by in Corpus Christi, Texas, at the hospital. But let's begin with our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, in talking with someone who knows the vice president fairly well, he said this really wasn't a case of cover-up but tone deafness, that really that the vice president was mortified by what had actually happened and he also understood the political realities that he needed to come forth and to simply explain, to outline what had happened to his dear friend Harry Whittington. That is exactly what he did.
Very interesting from the very beginning, taking full responsibility for this accidental shooting, saying -- and I'm quoting here -- that "Ultimately I am the guy who pulled the trigger and fired the gun that hit Harry. You can talk about all the other conditions that existed at the time, but that's the bottom line."
"It's not Harry's fault. I can't blame anybody else. I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend. And you can say that it is a day that I will never forget."
He also goes ahead very descriptive and a very emotional way of how he was shaken by this event. According to the person very close to the vice president, saying that this was something that truly affected him.
In the interview, he says, "The image of him falling is something I will never be able to get out of my mind. I fired, and there's Harry falling. And I will have to say one of the worst days of my life at that moment."
But also very interesting, Wolf, he was not apologetic about how the story unfolded. This is day four after the incident and he's coming before the cameras, and it was some time at least close to 24 hours before the public was made aware. But he explained and justified that it was Katharine Armstrong, the ranch owner, who should have been the first person to go to the local media the next day to explain what had happened.
He says in the interview, "I still think the accuracy was enormously important. I had not have a press person with me. I didn't have any press people with me. I was there on a private weekend with friends on a private ranch."
And again, people saying who know the vice president very well that this was not ill-intentioned, that it's not set up, you don't have the same kind of structure to get that information out to the public as quickly as some others -- Wolf.
BLITZER: We've been hearing even here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Suzanne, in the past hour, even some Republicans suggesting, now that the president has given one sit-down interview, it's time for him to have a full-scale news conference at the White House before the national press corps.
Is there any sense you're getting at the White House whatsoever that this vice president is even contemplating doing that?
MALVEAUX: They are very satisfied that they gave his view. They gave the line, the story line. They don't feel like they need to answer a whole bunch of additional questions.
According to one person I spoke with over the last half-hour, he said really the histrionics of the briefing room were not the appropriate place for this, that they felt they were going to do a sit-down, a one-on-one to simply explain this. But he understood the political realities here.
There was a lot of discussion and, again, people saying that there was quite a bit of anger as well coming from this building, from the White House to the vice president's office, as to why this didn't get out sooner. They realize it should have gotten out sooner, but the vice president is making no apologies about how this all happened.
BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux over at the White House.
Thank you, Suzanne.
Coming up, did the White House mishandle the Cheney misfire? I'll ask former Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke. She's an expert in public relations strategy. I'll ask her what the vice president should have done, what he should be doing right now.
The man wounded by the vice president is doing better today. We're told that by hospital officials who say 78-year-old Harry Whittington has a normal heart rhythm again after suffering complications when a birdshot pellet reached his heart.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is over at the hospital in Corpus Christi. He's joining us now with more -- Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf.
Well, you know, Harry Whittington hasn't made any public statements or released any statements since he was admitted here to this hospital in Corpus Christi. But there is good news coming from the doctors, and it is the doctors that are disseminating the information on his condition at the family's wishes.
So they say that he is in good spirits, eating regular food, alert, and in fact was actually working on some of his law work. But doctors also say that he's still being kept in the intensive care unit, but not for medical reasons, and they insist that he's not receiving any preferential treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER BANKO, HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR: He's in stable condition in our ICU right now. He's actually in our ICU strictly due to personal privacy reasons. They are not -- he's not there due to his medical condition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: Now, Mr. Whittington still has that pellet lodged in his heart and doctors, again, reiterated today that there is no plan to go in there and remove it. They say surgery of that magnitude would be very disruptive for Mr. Whittington -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Is it a fact, do we know for sure that he has 200 of these tiny little pellets in his body right now?
LAVANDERA: Well, doctors are saying that it could be anywhere between, you know, several dozen and 100, perhaps as many as 200. There's definitely quite a bit. It shows up on the x-rays. But they're also quick to point out that there is only one pellet -- and these are very tiny pellets -- but there's only one that they're concerned about, and that's the one that made its way to the heart.
BLITZER: And we certainly wish Harry Whittington a speedy recovery.
Ed, thank you very much.
Much more on the Cheney hunting accident. That's coming up. But first, there's some other important news we're following here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
They were images that stunned and sickened people worldwide, United States military troops abusing Iraqis at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. Now more images have surfaced.
Let's go live to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it has been more than two years since the Abu Ghraib prison scandal first came to light. Now, disturbing additional images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): Australian television was the first to broadcast these, some of the hundreds of additional photos and videos of soldiers physically abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The U.S. government did not want these disturbing images made public. Australian television did not disclose how they obtained the pictures.
One sequence showing a restrained prisoner hitting his head against a wall. The Australian report described the man as mentally disturbed.
With riots across the Islamic world in response to cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, this all could not come at a worse time. The U.S. military has long worried the release of the photos could lead to a violent reaction in the Arab world.
Last September, General John Abizaid made clear he thought new photos on an old story were damaging.
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: When we -- when we continue to pick at the wound and show the pictures over and over again, it just creates the image, which is a false image, like this is the sort of stuff that is happening anew. And it's not.
STARR: The American Civil Liberties Union is one of several groups suing the Bush administration for access to unreleased photos.
CAROLYN FREDERICKSON, ACLU: People in the Middle East and Muslims around the world see that the United States is actually holding people accountable. I think that is the very best way to deal with that kind of a situation.
(END VIDEOTAPE) STARR: Wolf, the Pentagon does not expect any new prosecutions as a result of these images, but they emphasize very strongly that any allegations of prisoner abuse are thoroughly investigated -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon -- thanks.
Let's go up to New York now. Jack Cafferty once again standing by with "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Wolf, a little more on what Barbara was just talking about. It's not like this country doesn't have enough image problem in the Muslim world, what with those cartoons and the whole first episode of the Abu Ghraib photographs.
Now we have another batch. Granted, they were taken in 2003, but in light of the worldwide violence in the Muslim world over the cartoons, you wonder about the timing of the release of these pictures and whether or not this might serve as the trigger point for more violent protests. Let's hope not.
A spokesman for the coalition in Iraq says that the timing of the release of these is unnecessarily provocative and irresponsible. Little hard to argue with that, perhaps, but -- and he says the photos don't reflect what's going on in Abu Ghraib right now.
But there probably isn't ever a good time for pictures like these to come out. And you could probably make the argument it might have been better to just release everything back in 2003 when the story broke, because it's like Chinese water torture. You get, you know, photograph after photograph, and here we are almost three years later and the whole issue is being revisited.
ACLU, as Barbara mentioned, is suing to get all of the pictures released. The question that we're interested in for this hour is, what do you think the impact of these newly released Abu Ghraib pictures will be on America's image? Which ain't so great in a lot of parts of the world anyway.
E-mail us at CaffertyFile@CNN.com.
Do we have any time, Wolf? Can I just offer a thought on the Cheney thing real quick?
BLITZER: Yes, go ahead.
CAFFERTY: If we had a gun expert on, a 28-gauge shotgun firing very small birdshot -- they said the shot was fired from a distance of about 30 yards, and yet one of those pellets made it through the clothing, through the chest wall and into the heart muscle.
I don't know a whole lot about shotguns, but I know a little. And it would seem to me -- and I'd be -- I'd love to hear a gun expert talk about this -- that you might have to be closer to 30 yards for a piece of birdshot, number 8 or number 9 size birdshot, to go that deeply into a human being. A 28-gauge is not the most powerful shotgun. A 10-gauge, 12- gauge, 16-gauge, 20-gauge, 28-gauge and then 410. So, it's next to the weakest. Just a thought, but we ought to maybe try to round up a gun expert and ask him some questions.
BLITZER: And he was asked today if it was about 30 yards and he said he didn't measure it, but that would be a fair estimate in his opinion.
CAFFERTY: Just a thought.
BLITZER: All right. Let's see what the experts out there say.
CAFFERTY: Just trying to help, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Jack Cafferty.
There's a developing story we're following in Detroit right now. Let's bring in CNN's Carol Lin from the CNN Center.
What are you picking up, Carol?
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Wolf, it looks like there's a bank robbery and a hostage situation going on right now in southwest Detroit at the Comerica bank building. You're looking at a live picture there.
This is what we understand from the statement that the deputy police chief of Detroit has made. That earlier, three hostages had been released. There were about approximately five people still inside the bank. And just seconds ago, I've heard that three more people have been released, but that still leaves a handful of people inside that bank.
So, a hostage situation going on right now as a bank robbery went afoul and the bank robbers are still inside. It's an ongoing developing story, Wolf. We'll stay on top of it for you.
BLITZER: And Carol, it's in Detroit proper, not one of the suburbs, is that right?
LIN: That's right. And for people who are familiar with the area, it's right about Fort and Military streets. So, it is in the Detroit proper area.
BLITZER: All right. We'll continue to watch this story, together with you, Carol. Thank you very much.
Up ahead, a Senate panel grills the Homeland Security secretary about the Hurricane Katrina response. New admissions and defense by Michael Chertoff. Details of the sometimes heated testimony coming up.
Also, a new and unusual effort to secure the release of an American reporter held hostage in Iraq. We're going to show you what's being done. Plus, has the story about the vice president's hunting accident become a full-fledged news media feeding frenzy? Our national correspondent, Bruce Morton, has a reality check.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: In the hot seat, the Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, the latest official to testify before a Senate panel probing the response to Hurricane Katrina. Chertoff made some concessions, but also did a lot of defending.
Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, standing by with details -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Michael Chertoff said if he had to do it over again, he would do some things differently.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): This was Michael Chertoff's terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. The Homeland security secretary raked over the coals for going to bed the night Katrina hit unaware levees had been breached, New Orleans flooded.
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: We have testimony saying that the helicopter, the Coast Guard man flew over, saw the breach in the morning, confirmed it in the evening, took the pictures, which I believe Senator Dayton showed you. Those pictures all were there before you went to bed.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I agree that by late Monday, by Monday -- by the time those pictures were taken...
LEVIN: How did these screw-ups happen? I mean, have you looked into them?
CHERTOFF: Yes. The answer is I have looked into them.
LEVIN: And how did they happen?
CHERTOFF: I think it's a combination. Some of these messages never got to the operation center. Some of them did, but there were conflicting stories.
MESERVE: Chertoff acknowledged many lapses in his department's response to Katrina, saying the storm was one of the most difficult and traumatic experiences of his life. But he strongly disputed allegations that he and the White House were detached.
CHERTOFF: I have to say that the idea that this department and this administration and the president were somehow detached from Katrina is simply not correct. MESERVE: Meanwhile, on the House side, a report skewering government at all levels for failing to prepare for and respond to Katrina. Among it findings, the response might have been faster if the president had gotten involved sooner, that Chertoff performed his duties late, ineffectively, or not at all, and that the Department of Defense did not coordinate well with DHS.
The bottom line, the committee says lives were lost because leaders failed to lead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Chertoff said today he was astonished at testimony from the former head of FEMA, Michael Brown, that talking to Chertoff was "a waste of time." And Chertoff said if he had to do it over, he would not give Brown responsibility for the relief effort.
Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much, Jeanne.
Coming up, the family of the kidnapped American reporter takes an unusual step to try to get her freed. We're going to show you what happened.
And coming up in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour, talk radio buzzing about the vice president's hunting accident. We'll have details of what people are saying.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: An Iraqi TV station partly funded by the United States is broadcasting public service announcements calling for the release of the kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll.
CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad. He has the story -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, with no word on the fate of American hostage Jill Carroll, the "Christian Science Monitor" has now put together a new public service announcement that began airing late yesterday on the state-run Iraqi network. In the public service announcement, a number of voices are heard from.
An Iraqi woman who says that the hostage takers should look at Jill Carroll as if she was their wife or their sister. Also, Jill Carroll's mother is heard from making a statement that is translated into Arabic.
Now, Iraqis that we spoke to today, some have seen this PSA, others have not. Most are well aware of the situation surrounding Jill Carroll. Since her abduction on January 7, there's been an unprecedented level of support calling for her release from virtually every segment of the Iraqi society, and now this PSA, put together by the "Christian Science Monitor" with some help from CNN, is meant to really put the focus back on Jill Carroll as that new deadline of February 26 looms -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Aneesh Raman in Baghdad.
Thanks very much.
Our Zain Verjee is on assignment this week. In New York, Carol Lin filling in. She's joining us from the CNN Center with a closer look at some other stories, including this developing story you told us about just a few moments ago in Detroit, Carol.
What's the latest?
LIN: Well, the latest is, Wolf, that there have been some big developments. All the hostages have been released.
CNN counted at least six hostages coming out of that Comerica building in southwest Detroit at the corner of Fort Street and Military Street. There has been a bank robbery under way, and according to the affiliates in Detroit, the gunman is dead.
We're staying on top of that story as it develops, if there are any new developments there, Wolf.
In the meantime, we want to show you some protests out of Pakistan for the third straight day. They're over the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. There were demonstrations in the capital, Islamabad, and riots elsewhere left at least three people dead and dozens more injured. The European Union is criticizing the cartoons and the violence.
All right. A federal judge is letting confessed al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui back into the courtroom. Jury selection is continuing in Moussaoui's sentencing trial. The judge had banned Moussaoui yesterday because he would not stay quiet.
Now, potential jurors are being asked their views on the death penalty. A jury will decide if Moussaoui should be executed or get life in prison.
And in our CNN "Security Watch," the number of names in a U.S. terror database has quadrupled since just 2003. Now, that's according to counterterrorism officials.
They say the National Counterterrorism Center has 325,000 names of international terror suspects and the people who allegedly help them. And they add U.S. citizens make up just a fraction of that number -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Carol, thanks very much.
While the terrorist list is a matter of national security, the Counterterrorism Center has been surprisingly open with much of its information online.
With a look at the landscape right now, let's go to our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton -- Abbi. ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, the center is an intelligence hub for more than two dozen federal agencies and at its Web site keeps a database which is open to searching by the public of incidents, terrorist incidents worldwide dating back to 1968.
You can search on the site here by country, focus in on a region. If you put in the United States here, you can focus in on a city here. On New York, you can see September 11, the terrorist attacks then are one of 171 incidents listed for that city.
Smaller incidents here in Seattle, the Earth Liberation attack on a research facility there.
You can also search further afield. Look at Spain here, the north of Spain and a concentration of attacks there by Basque separatists.
Also at the site here, comprehensive looks at each of the terrorist organizations known here in the United States -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Abbi, thanks very much.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Coming up, the vice president's hunting accident the classic example of a public relations nightmare. We'll talk about it with an expert in crisis management, CNN contributor and former Pentagon spokeswoman, Torie Clarke.
Plus, do you know what the average age is of the U.S. car and how your ride compares? You might be surprised. Our Ali Velshi standing by with "The Bottom Line."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: You're back in THE SITUATION ROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident is putting the spotlight on legislation far from Texas.
CNN's Mary Snow is joining us now live from New York with more on this story -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, there are ripple effects of the vice president's accident being felt in the New York state capital of Albany. It is because of timing.
A hunting safety bill not linked to the vice president in any way is being dubbed "Cheney's Law" by both Republicans and Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): Senate Bill 1425 is the official name in New York's Senate. Just by coincidence, it was up for consideration this week for the third year in a row. Now Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident is giving this little-known bill much more prominence.
GEORGE WINNER (R), NEW YORK STATE SENATE: Given the travails again of the vice president, it was amusingly labeled "Cheney's Law."
SNOW: Lawmakers stress that the circumstances of the vice president's hunting accident and the bill are completely unrelated. The bill makes it a felony to leave the scene of a hunting accident where someone is seriously injured. A crime punishable by at least seven years in prison.
To be clear, officials say the vice president did not leave the scene of Saturday's accident. But, because of the timing of the mishap, the hunting safety bill is getting much more attention than ever before.
RICHARD BRODSKY (D), NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY: It changed the political dynamic here quite dramatically, quite swiftly. Almost unlike anything else that's happened.
SNOW: And because it's a Republican vice president, political observers say it sparked interest in state Democrats, who have until now blocked the bill.
FREDRIC DICKER, STATE EDITOR, "THE NEW YORK POST": It's very ironic. This Cheney bill, now backed by Democrats, really can be credited to the vice president. It looks like it's going to become law. And, down the road, it actually might save some people's lives.
SNOW: Republican supporters say, despite the fact that the vice president's accident has nothing to do with the bill, they welcome the attention that is now predicted to turn this proposal into law.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And the National Conference of State Legislatures say, to its knowledge, there are no other state bills like this, outside of New York state -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Mary -- Mary Snow in New York.
The unrelenting 24-hours news cycle, now it has fastened on the vice president, Dick Cheney, in the wake of his hunting trip accident.
But CNN national correspondent Bruce Morton reports, Cheney is far from the first or the last Washington figure to face the glare of this particular spotlight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Feeding frenzy? You know it when you see it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leave her alone!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leave her alone!
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.
MORTON: How many stakeouts, how many cameras, how many times would we play the hug? Twenty bucks a play, one cynic said, and we could have cured cancer.
They don't have to be in Washington. Remember the runaway bride? Not kidnapped, it turned out, just shy. But we kept covering it anyway. Off in Washington, though, remember Congressman Gary Condit and the missing Chandra Levy?
RICHARD NIXON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not a crook.
MORTON: Watergate, the longest frenzy, maybe, though Ken Starr and Monica kept theirs a while, too. Another sure sign, official spokesmen acting, well, official. Watergate was a third-rate burglary. Cheney?
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You know, keep in mind that there is not a traveling press corps that was along with the vice president on this trip. And with that said, though, as I said, I think it's always important to get information out as quickly as possible.
MORTON: But official tempers can grow short.
MCCLELLAN: If you all want to continue spending time on this, that's fine. But this administration is focused on doing what the American people want us to do and that's to address the biggest priorities facing this country.
MORTON: Do feeding frenzies matter? Does this one matter?
STUART ROTHENBERG, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I don't think this is going to change any votes in the November '06 midterm elections. But it's another headache, another embarrassment for an administration that has already had too many and doesn't need another one.
MORTON: True, it won't affect Bush directly. And he can't run again anyway. And it won't affect Cheney, who has said often he is not running for president. But it a fuss, a frenzy, if you will, the Republicans could have done without.
Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Vice President Cheney is breaking his silence about his accidental shooting of a hunting partner.
But, by keeping quiet for so long, did he shoot himself in the foot, and did the White House mishandle Cheney's misfire?
And joining us now, CNN contributor Torie Clarke, a former Pentagon spokeswoman.
Torie, the vice president has now accepted full responsibility for shooting his close friend. The question is this. Why didn't he do this right away? Why did he wait four or five days?
VICTORIA CLARKE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, he -- obviously, I think he should have. And I think he needs to take responsibility, obviously, not just for the hunting accident, but for what happens -- what has happened for the last four days.
Letting your friend alert the local Texas newspaper as to what happened is not suffice, in terms of getting out the bad news. And, as vice president of the United States, it's a big responsibility. I think he should have made this call a lot earlier.
BLITZER: He says that he didn't have any media people with him. It was a private trip, a hunting trip, to Texas -- no press person.
But when asked if he -- looking back, should he have allowed Katharine Armstrong, his friend, to release the information the next day to that Corpus Christi newspaper, he says, even looking back, it was the right thing to do. And you disagree with that strategy.
CLARKE: I do.
They may have thought that was the right thing to do Sunday morning, which is fine, but, by Sunday afternoon, Sunday evening, and certainly Monday morning, we all realized that was the wrong decision. There is a difference between your run-of-the-mill person out there involved in a hunting accident and the vice president of the United States.
And I think he had a responsibility, himself. I realize the staff wasn't there. That's part of the problem here. But he had a responsibility himself to get the word out about what had happened.
BLITZER: In your new book, "Lipstick on a Pig," you wrote this, giving advice to people who are in trouble: "One of the best reasons to fess up early and completely is to move past a bad story. When you aren't forthright about your mistakes, stories dog you much longer than they need to," which is very good advice, advice he didn't listen to, at least he wasn't aware of, early on.
CLARKE: No.
And, you know, I'm a big supporter of the vice president, which is one of the reasons this pains me so much. And this is not the end of the world. But think about the last four days. Think about the kinds of issues, the kind of events that the White House, that the national press corps, the White House press corps, ought to be focused on, instead of this one.
And if he just very early had come and said, this is what happened, it was terrible, I am going to answer any questions you have, and my friend Katharine, who was there, who sought it, will also answer any questions you have, then this would have been dealt with primarily on the late-night shows on Monday night, and we would be done with it.
BLITZER: The other piece of advice that struck me from your book was this: "Wait for somebody else to tell the story, and you are probably not going to like how they tell it. If reporters believe they have caught you doing something you were hoping to hide, the coverage is magnified by a factor of 10." Is this what we saw this time as well?
CLARKE: Well, I don't think they were trying to hide anything, necessarily, but I just think they did an awful job of getting the information out. And they knew they couldn't hide that. So, I don't think that is what they were trying to do.
I think they were just trying to take the easiest path possible, however. And how many times have we heard ourselves say, it's not the mistake somebody made; it's how they handled it in the days and weeks after? And this is a classic example of that.
BLITZER: The -- what struck me, from the interview that the vice president gave today, was how sad, how contrite, how awful he personally felt, as the shock of shooting his friend about 30 yards away or whatever, and then running over, seeing him bleeding, lying on the ground, he must have been in great shock, and perhaps that clouded some of his vision, in terms of dealing with the aftermath of this.
CLARKE: It may have.
And I heard parts of the interview. I didn't see the thing on television. But I heard parts of the interview. And I was struck by the tone of his voice. And he clearly was rattled by it. Anybody would. Absolutely anybody would. So, that may have.
But, still, that gets you through Saturday; that gets you through Sunday. That does not get you through Monday, Tuesday. Here we are, the end of Wednesday.
BLITZER: Anything else, Torie -- and you're a professional in this area -- he needs to do now to make sure that he overcomes the political damage from this crisis?
CLARKE: Well, I think what they will do is see what the impact of this individual interview is. Personally, if I were giving him advice, I would have said, stand up in as -- in front of as many cameras as you can find -- and you can find those easily in Washington -- and say what you're going to say and answer all the questions, until there aren't anymore.
I think a -- a lot of your colleagues are not going to be satisfied with one interview on FOX television.
BLITZER: Torie Clarke, thanks very much for joining us.
CLARKE: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Still to come, rethinking calcium in your bones. We will have the results of a giant new study just coming out and what it means for anyone concerned about strong, healthy bones.
Plus, President Bush drops in at Wendy's, but his visit wasn't about burgers. We will show you what it was about.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Let's head back to Carol at the CNN Center for a closer look at other stories making news -- Carol.
LIN: All right, interesting medical news, Wolf.
Calcium keeps your bones healthy right? Well, the biggest study yet of calcium in vitamin D supplements has some surprising results. Researchers found the supplements offered only limited protection against broken bones in older women, but they did seem to reduce the risk of broken hips in women over the age of 60. So, the bottom line, experts say, you should still take the supplements, if needed.
Now, Wal-Mart pharmacies in Massachusetts have been ordered to sell the so-called morning-after contraceptive pill. The state's pharmacy board ruled in favor of three women who complained that Wal- Mart refused to honor their prescriptions. Now, the morning-after pill has to be taken 72 hours after sex to prevent pregnancy. Wal- Mart says it will comply with the board's ruling.
And an encouraging update on the condition of Randy McCloy, the sole survivor of the Sago Mine disaster. According to his family, McCloy is now speaking and responding appropriately to questions. McCloy is at a rehabilitation center at Morgantown, West Virginia. And it has been almost 50 days since he was rescued, after being trapped underground for 42 hours. His 12 companions died.
Officials at four top Internet companies got an earful from House lawmakers on Capitol Hill today -- at issue, whether they're doing business in China at the expense of freedom of speech there. But an attorney for Microsoft told the House International Relations Committee, it's actually encouraging increased access to information.
That's all the news from here right now -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Carol.
Let's go over to CNN's Abbi Tatton right now. She's monitoring those hearings on Internet censorship in China -- Abbi.
TATTON: Wolf, spokesman for Google, one of four companies represented today in those hearings, giving testimony -- Google has recently come under fire for its new Chinese version of its search engine. If you search here -- just to show you how it filters content in China, you search on the U.S. version here on, for example, Tiananmen Square, you get about two million hits.
Oh, dropped my pen there.
If you do it over here, in the Chinese version, it's filtered, 13,000. Now, what Google said today was that the notification that it gives at the bottom of the screen here actually provides greater transparency.
Yahoo! was also present. They have been under fire recently for turning over information of Yahoo! users, two Yahoo! users in China.
Congressman Chris Smith, he's the chair of the committee, says today that he will be introducing legislation on this issue shortly -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Abbi, for that.
Burgers, shakes and cars -- and we're not talking about a drive- through.
Ali Velshi is in New York with the "Bottom Line."
What are we talking about...
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Well...
BLITZER: ... Ali?
VELSHI: It's -- it's rare that -- that it all comes together like -- like a drive-through.
Those are your choices of topics I can tell you about that are in the business news today, burgers, shakes or cars. What do you want?
BLITZER: That burger looks mighty good.
VELSHI: All right.
President Bush at Wendy's headquarters in Ohio, talking about health savings accounts. The way to think about these HSAs are, they are IRAs for your medical care. The idea is that the money that you put into an account, specifically for your medical care, gets deducted off your taxable income.
Now, the HSAs are accounts that you start up. They are high- deductible insurance agencies. The idea is that you pay the first $1,000, $1,500, or $2,000, if you're a family, and because you have to pay for your medical care, you will make better choices. The president is trying to encourage more and more Americans to pick up on that. He was using Wendy's as a backdrop for that -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Let's try the shake. VELSHI: Shakes -- well, this is a bit of a stretch, but it is the new Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, testifying today before Congress, shaking up the markets a little bit.
He basically says that, last year, at the end of the year, after hurricanes and high energy prices, the economy was in a bit of lull, but we're back on track again. And that might mean higher interest rates in the future -- Wolf.
BLITZER: If you're going to drive through, you need a car.
VELSHI: And a survey by R.L. Polk, which studies cars and all things related to them, say that American cars are lasting longer, going from an average of lasting eight years to nine years. And that means fewer cars going into the dump, in fact, the lowest number of cars being discarded since 1949. So, the cars are getting better -- Wolf.
BLITZER: They don't last as long as they do in Cuba, where they seem to last forever.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Forever.
BLITZER: Thanks very much for that, Ali.
Let's see what's coming up next here in THE SITUATION ROOM -- the secretary of state raked over the coals on Capitol Hill. Even Republicans tell her things are getting worse in Iraq and Iran -- and, in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour, what America is saying about the vice president's hunting accident and the way it has been handled. We're listening to talk radio, among other things, coming up, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Lou Dobbs getting ready for his program. That begins right at the top of the hour.
Lou, what are you working on?
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you.
Coming up at 6:00 here, we will have much more on why the vice president chose to speak out to one particular news organization, rather than the White House press corps.
And we will tell you what members of Able Danger knew a year before the September 11 attacks, and, also, what they knew two weeks before the attack on the USS Cole, and why that information wasn't used to save American lives. Congressman Curt Weldon, the man who pushed for these Able Danger hearings, is our guest.
And I will be talking with Dr. James Hansen, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute here in Manhattan. He was silenced on the topic of global warming by a 24-year-old NASA press aide appointed by the Bush administration.
We hope you will be with us for that, and a great deal more, at the top of the hour -- back to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Lou -- Lou Dobbs coming up very soon.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gets a grilling on Capitol Hill, as the Bush administration takes heat for some policy setbacks in the Middle East and the Muslim world.
Let's go to our national security correspondent, David Ensor -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, our viewers know well the Bush administration's advocacy of elections in the Middle East.
But some senators, including some Republicans, are worried about the results.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): The secretary of state faced pointed questions from senators worried about hard-liners elected in Iran and the Palestinian territories and religious Shiites set to lead Iraq.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: I don't see, Madam Secretary, how things are getting better. I think things are getting worse. I think they're getting worse in Iraq. I think they're getting worse in Iran.
SEN. LINCOLN CHAFEE (R), RHODE ISLAND: You won't argue that whatever has happened is disastrous? We have a terrorist organization winning an election.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: Hamas is a terrorist group. We have listed it as a terrorist group. We don't have discussions with -- with terrorists.
ENSOR: Democrat John Kerry argued, the administration, by not doing more to help the Palestinian president, is partly responsible for Hamas' win, a charge Rice rejects.
Responding to Iran's announcement this week that it has started enriching uranium, Rice said the U.N. Security Council needs to impose effective sanctions.
RICE: But let me be very clear: The international community is going to have to act, and act decisively, if Iran is to know that there's a consequence for their open defiance of the international community.
ENSOR: Aides say Rice will visit Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates next week to discuss ways of pressuring Hamas and Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: Many analysts and diplomats argue that efforts won't -- that -- that efforts such as the -- those that she subsequently mentioned, which was a $75 million program to help with broadcasts, and, in other ways, to try to reach the Iranian nation, won't make a dent in a nation where America is still labeled the great Satan.
But administration officials argue that it is important to show that they're against the government, not the people of Iran -- Wolf.
BLITZER: On another matter, terrorist are these audiotapes of Saddam Hussein from years ago that are now surfacing. What are you picking up on this?
ENSOR: These are audiotapes. Who knew that Saddam Hussein, like Richard Nixon, liked to record his meetings? They are mostly from the early '90s, according to U.S. officials I have spoken to who have listened to them.
They say that they -- the tapes don't change the story. They do make clear that Saddam wanted to have weapons of mass destruction way back, that he tried to conceal what programs he did have from the United Nations' inspectors. But the story is still there that, at the end, he wasn't able to get those programs up and running again, and there were no weapons when the troops came in -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, David -- David Ensor reporting.
Up next, Abu Ghraib all over again -- there are more pictures that are surfacing now of the abuse at the infamous prison. What will the impact be on America's image? We are going to hear what you think.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Is America losing the battle for hearts and minds in the Muslim world? It's being fought in the streets and in the news media. And America seems to be taking it on the chin, at least for now.
Let's turn for details. Brian Todd is in the newsroom -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, America's image clearly has its peaks and valleys in the Middle East, and few would argue that, at this very moment, the perception of the U.S. and its allies is far from the mountaintop.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): For America's image-makers, the timing could not be worse -- in just two days, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's, Citibank branches gutted in Pakistan, an American flag burned, violent protests over a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed. Now newly released pictures showing abuse Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib could fan anti-U.S. sentiment even further. These were taken in 2003 at about the same time as other notorious photographs later leaked to the media. The U.S. military calls the airing of these pictures by an Australian TV network irresponsible.
But, as America's image takes another hit, a new report shows Iraqi insurgents are becoming more successful in their image campaign.
ROBERT MALLEY, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAM DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Videos, Internet sites, PDF files.
TODD: Robert Malley's International Crisis Group found Web sites produced by Iraq's main insurgent groups with slick, Madison Avenue- style packaging.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To George W. Bush, we say, you have asked us to bring it on. And so have we, like never expected. Have you another challenge?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Packaging that includes footage of insurgent attacks, part of what Malley calls a multimedia enterprise.
MALLEY: If they're going to go on a sniper attack and an IED attack, they send journalists, a media team, to tape it, record it, have commentary, and then it is posted on the Web site.
TODD: Torie Clarke, now a CNN analyst, helped project the U.S. image during the Iraq war as Pentagon spokeswoman.
CLARKE: It is real uphill battle for us, because we have to tell the truth. They don't. They can lie. They can cheat. They can deceive.
TODD: But other observers believe these messages, played against perceptions of American occupation and abuse, erode U.S. legitimacy in the region.
TIMOTHY ROEMER, FORMER 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: The Bush administration has taken precious little steps toward implementing a strategy to win the hearts and minds.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: But, contacted by CNN, a State Department spokesman vehemently disputes that notion. He says the majority of Iraqis are rejecting the insurgents' message. And he points to U.S. efforts on the ground to enhance its own message, things like funding scholarships and exchange programs, things that he says never get talked about -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks, Brian, for that -- Brian Todd reporting. Let's go back to New York. Jack Cafferty is joining us, once again, with "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: Hi, Wolf.
Disturbing images of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq at the hands of U.S. soldiers first surfaced in 2004. Now, two years later, an Australian television network, SBS, is airing previously unpublished video and photographs of what it says is abuse from the same time period.
The question we asked is, what is the impact of the newly released Abu Ghraib pictures on America's image? Excuse me.
Richard writes: "It was known at the time the scandal first broke that there was a lot more footage. It would have been better to release everything up front and deal with it, than try to hide images and risk them coming out in drip-drip fashion, as they seem to be doing now. This is how the administration's obsession with secrecy hurts us all."
Ken writes, from Mission Viejo, California: "what positive image do we have left, after this episode of lying, torture, denial of the World Court, Geneva Convention violations, and secret prisons?"
Bud writes, in Pineville, Louisiana: "Jack, who cares about a bunch of pictures of prisoners being abused, when the guilty have already been charged? The image that still floats around in many Americans' minds is the one of innocent international workers getting their heads chopped off. At least the prisoners will be able to tell their children about the abuse. The decapitated folks won't."
J.D. writes: "You're correct, Jack. More of these photos and videos will leak out, embarrassing the United States anew each time. It's idiotic on the part of the Pentagon to think they can keep this shameful episode under wraps."
And John writes in Dickinson, Texas: "Jack, I don't give a damn anymore about Muslim sensitivity. These people have rioted, burned innocent property, killed innocent people. I am sick and tired of listening to these crybabies yelling and screaming at the least provocation and accusing everybody they don't like, which is most of the world, of causing their flavor-of-the-month problem" -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jack, give us a little preview of what your question is at 7:00.
CAFFERTY: Well, we are going to talk a little about Dick Cheney, whose history in government and in high-profile positions of power in this country, goes all the way back to the Nixon administration. He has been in key positions in government for four decades. And we're going to take a look at how this shooting incident could impact whatever legacy he may have from all of that public service work.
BLITZER: Thanks, Jack.
See you in one hour, one hour from now.
We're in THE SITUATION ROOM weekdays 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern, back at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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