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House Republicans Ignore Bush Veto Threat; The Storm And The Ports; Three Arrested In Connection With Alabama Church Fires; Showdown Over Iran's Nuclear Program About To Move To United Nations Security Council; Southern California Sheriff's Deputy Charged With Voluntary Attempted Manslaughter For The Videotaped Shooting Of An Unarmed Iraqi War Veteran; Elite U.S. Troops Being Deployed At U.S. Embassies Abroad To Gather Information On Possible Terror Threats; Close-Up Look At Two Places In Dubai You Have To See To Believe; House Appropriations Committee Votes To Block Dubai Ports Deal
Aired March 08, 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: 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, it's 4:00 p.m. in Birmingham, Alabama, where old- fashioned police work leads to arrests in the burning of 10 Baptist churches. The suspects, college students. The burning question today, why?
It's 4:00 p.m. in New Orleans, where President Bush gets another look at the damage from Katrina and calls on Congress to pass the hat for hurricane relief. But are fellow Republicans more focused on halting the hand-over of American ports? At least the operations to an Arab firm?
And it's 1:30 a.m. in Tehran, where Iran is threatening to inflict harm and pain on the United States if its punished for its nuclear activities. Is the Bush administration backing off?
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We're following several developing stories right now. We're waiting for a news conference any moment now following the arrests of three college students in the Alabama church burnings.
But let's begin with the storm over the deal to hand over American port operations to a state-owned Arab company.
The president made his 10th visit to the Katrina disaster zone today and urged Congress to pass a measure which would provide billions to help homeowners recover from the hurricane. But many Republican lawmakers are very busy right now with a measure that would block the takeover of key American ports by a company from the Middle East.
Our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux , is live in New Orleans, but let's begin with our congressional correspondent, Ed Henry. He's watching all of these dramatic developments unfold on Capitol Hill -- Ed. ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a major political program for President Bush, obviously, but also growing political pressure on the Republican Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, because he's getting it from all sides.
He's got Democrats charging that he's blocking an amendment that basically would kill this port deal once and for all, but also Frist facing pressure from his fellow Republicans, his Republican counterpart in the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, because even as Frist is urging patience, saying he's been growing more comfortable with this port deal, also saying that Republicans should stand down, let the 45-day review go forward, you have Republicans in the House Appropriations Committee this hour meeting to vote on an amendment that would stop this port deal. And they haven't. They're offering that with the blessing of Speaking Hastert.
Take a listen to the speaker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I think the House of Representatives is concerned about the safety of the American people. We've been talking about safety since 9/11 and before that. We're talking about safety for our children here. And we have some concerns about the safety of this country and the port deal. And we'll continue to do our best judgment on how to protect the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: While that's happening in the House, just about an hour ago in the Senate -- just about an hour ago, Democrat Chuck Schumer offered a similar amendment on the Senate floor to kill this port deal. And Majority Leader Frist seemed to be caught off guard by this move.
In fact, charging that Schumer had brought it up in a deceptive way. So Frist used a procedural move to stop this amendment for now, but it puts him in the awkward position of seeming that he's actually defending the port deal.
Democrats fired back that Schumer was actually not acting in a deceptive way, that he had every right to offer this amendment. And Democrats are vowing to keep bringing this amendment up on practically every bill that comes up on the Senate floor.
In the worlds of Democrat Dick Durbin, "Senator Frist can run, but he can't hide" -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Are there any Republicans really out front in the House, on the House side who are saying the president is right, this deal must go forward? Do you hear any outspoken supporter at all in the House of Representatives?
HENRY: Wolf, I could not hear your question, but the Republicans are basically -- it's partial revolt here, with House Republicans basically going against their president. And I think I heard you say that they added it to this must-pass spending bill in the House.
What it is, it's a bill that would fund the military operations in Iraq, as well as Afghanistan and Katrina. That's a must-pass bill.
The White House doesn't want to muck it up with anything. But Republicans in the House are pushing forward, adding it anyway, Wolf. A real political problem for the president.
BLITZER: All right, Ed. We'll fix your audio over there and we'll get back to that question later. Thanks very much.
Ed Henry reporting.
The White House is making it clear the president is sticking to his veto threat if congressional Republicans try to torpedo the ports deal.
Our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, is traveling with the president as he toured the Gulf Coast region today. She's joining us live from New Orleans -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, clearly, there are two tracks here, of course, the public comments of the president, as well as his officials are making. The White House press secretary today saying that the president's position remains unchanged, that they are open to the concerns of Congress. However, that he will veto any legislation that blocks this port deal.
Now, privately, behind the scenes, of course, the White House strategy here is simply to stick to the message here, but also to buy time. The political calculus here is that, yes, let the House Republicans go for it, make a statement on this, but that it is not going to prevail in the Senate side, that this ultimately will die.
But the idea is to just buy time, let that 45-day period time simply go through. Perhaps they will win a couple of votes or key support from those Republicans, or perhaps Dubai Ports World will even consider some of the options, restructuring, perhaps a new board of directors, if you will, to satisfy some of those concerns of Republicans. But clearly, to downplay this political problem that the White House is having now -- Wolf.
BLITZER: What did we learn about the president's Hurricane Katrina relief effort today? What was his basic message in making this 10th trip to the coast, the Gulf Coast area?
MALVEAUX: Well, it was very interesting, because there were three points. I mean, it was his 10th trip to the Gulf Coat region, but really his first time that he was in the Ninth Ward, devastated by Hurricane Katrina, a predominantly poor black area.
The president, that is where he went today to make three points. First, of course, talking about a housing initiative for Louisiana residents in the tune of $4.2 billion, up to $150,000 for those who lost their homes. This is something that he's pushing for in Congress.
Also talking about the need, of course, to clear a lot of the debris that has been left over in that ward and other areas.
And then finally, this promise that he has made about the levees to restore, repair the 355-mile levee system by the next hurricane season, which is less than 100 days away. Simply, Wolf, the president saying that he gets it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I appreciate the determination by the folks down here to rebuild. I fully understand and I hope our country understands the pain and agony that the people of New Orleans and Louisiana and the parishes surrounding New Orleans went through. But I think people would be impressed by the desire for the people in this part of the country to pick up and move on and rebuild.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And wolf, his second stop was Goche (ph), Mississippi. That is where, of course, he also emphasized the need to rebuild there. The president now back on his way to Washington -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Suzanne, you're from New Orleans. Give us a little personal reflection on what it's like to see it, what -- it's been six months-plus since Hurricane Katrina struck. Give us a little sense of how you feel down there today.
MALVEAUX: Well, you know, Wolf, it's very interesting. I'm going to see all my relatives tomorrow, and my family, like many others, it's really kind of a mixed blessing here, because on the one hand, there's one family, they are in an apartment in New Orleans.
There's another family, a cousin of mine, who's working out of his trailer. He's living there. And yet another family that's in Baton Rouge, five grown men to one hotel room, who really aren't doing as well as the others.
So many people in different phases here. And you get a sense that, look, you know, many of these places are just like they were six months ago. They haven't been rebuilt. And some people are very hopeful, some of my cousins. Others or not. So...
BLITZER: Well, let's wish them the best. Suzanne, thanks very much. Give them all our love.
A major break in the case that's been terrorizing churches in rural Alabama. Three college students are in federal custody, suspected of a string of arson fires that may have started as a prank.
CNN's Fredricka Whitfield is joining us now live from Birmingham with the latest.
Fred, update our viewers. FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf.
Well, great disappointment at this college being expressed right now after learning that two of the three students arrested in connection with those nine church bombings attended classes here. And now, pending the investigation, they are suspended and banned from campus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALICE MARTIN, U.S. ATTORNEY: Three individuals have been arrested and are suspects in the church fires.
WHITFIELD (voice over): Ben Moseley and Russell Debusk, both 19- year-old students at the private faith-based Birmingham Southern College, were arrested this morning and hauled before a federal judge who ordered them held on arson charges pending a Friday hearing. Hours later, a third suspect was arrested, 20-year-old Matthew Lee Cloyd, a student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The men are suspects in a series of arson fires at rural Alabama churches. Half predominantly black, the other half predominantly white.
According to the affidavit in the case, Cloyd told a witness the fire started as a joke that got out of hand.
JAMES CAVANAUGH, ATF: In the complaint, you'll see that they said that after they lit the first two fires in Bibb County, that it became to spontaneous.
WHITFIELD: And that fires in western Alabama were set to throw investigators off track.
Alabama's state fire marshal said authorities were led to Cloyd by a set of unusual tire tracks traced to a dealer in Shelby, Alabama, who then led police to Cloyd, who in turn told investigators about Moseley and Debusk.
Police say all three have admitted involvement and that none have criminal records.
MARTIN: They face the possibility of a minimum mandatory five years per church if each church was charged. And five years on conspiracy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And Wolf, again, right here on the Campus of Birmingham Southern College, they are holding a press conference being attended by the president of the college campus, as well as the chief of campus police. They are very disappointed. They say that in no way the actions of these two students that attend this campus, at least what they are being alleged of carrying out, is no reflection of the student body of 1,400 people.
Meantime, these students are expected to be back in court as early as this Friday -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Fredricka Whitfield reporting for us from Birmingham.
Thanks, Fred, very much.
Jack Cafferty is here in New York. He's always here in New York. But I'm rarely in New York. But we're here together, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: And the first day we've actually had a chance to shake hands and meet even though we've worked together for six months on this program.
It's nice to have you with us.
BLITZER: Six months plus.
CAFFERTY: Has it been that long?
BLITZER: It's been -- yes.
CAFFERTY: Time flies when you're having this much fun.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of this fine city one of the hottest politicians around, according to a new poll. Quinnipiac University asked voters to rate well-known politicians on its feeling thermometer. Don't ask. That means the higher the number the warmer the feelings.
So here's how they stack up.
Giuliani leads the pack with 63 percent. Senators Barack Obama and John McCain are both close, at 60 percent, followed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at 57 percent.
Senator Hillary Clinton gets 50 percent rating. And President Bush, 44 percent, which would put him closer to the cold end of the poll, rather than the hot end of the poll.
So, here's the question: Which politician do you feel warmest about and which one gives you the chills?
E-mail us at CaffertyFile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile.
I don't think of Rudy Giuliani as a warm, fuzzy guy. But I guess after what he did on 9/11, people have feelings for his leadership.
BLITZER: Yes. He did -- he came across great, obviously.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
BLITZER: Sort of like a Q factor a Q rating, in our business, right?
CAFFERTY: Which would have been a better choice of words than feeling thermometer, probably.
BLITZER: Feeling thermometer, Q rating, yes.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
BLITZER: You have a high Q.
CAFFERTY: I doubt that very seriously.
BLITZER: I know. In my mind you have a high Q.
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Jack Cafferty, thanks very much.
Up ahead, Iran essentially tells the United States to bring it on. Iran is warning the U.S. of what it calls harm and pain in the nuclear crisis standoff. We are going to tell you how the U.S. is responding.
And he's the Colorado teacher who compared President Bush to Adolf Hitler in class. Now his family says he's getting threats on his life.
And he's New York's top cop, the police commissioner, Ray Kelly. With one of the ports in the Dubai Ports deal just over the water in New Jersey, another one here in New York, what does he think about the deal? I'll ask him, one-on-one interview.
That's coming up right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The showdown over Iran's nuclear program is about to move to the United Nations Security Council. But Iran is threatening to inflict "harm and pain" if it's punished.
Let's go live to our national security correspondent, Dave Ensor. He's joining us from Washington -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that comment came more than once from a senior Iranian official in response to comments by U.S. officials. The whole war of words is heating up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice over): With Iran referred to the United Nations where it could face punishment for its nuclear programs, the war of words is escalating fast.
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The international community is prepared to impose meaningful consequences.
JAVAD VAEEDI, IRANIAN NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: The United States may have the power to cause harm and pain, but it's also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wishes to choose that path, let the ball roll. ENSOR: In House hearings, administration officials made clear the breathing period is over for Iran to consider the broad international coalition already against it and to reconsider its uranium enrichment plans.
NICHOLAS BURNS, UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE: The 30 days are up. And we believe that next Monday or Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council will begin a very active debate about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
ENSOR: Officials said Iran appears to have been using the time to speed ahead with what the U.S. says is work towards a nuclear bomb.
ROBERT JOSEPH, UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE: It has since January put both feet on the accelerator.
ENSOR: There was skepticism in the hearing about the president's endorsement of a compromise proposal. Russian President Putin's offer, to give Iran nuclear reactor fuel and then take it back before it can be reprocessed into bomb-grade material.
REP. TOM LANTOS (D), INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Giving Putin's (INAUDIBLE) control of this process would be putting the fox in charge of the hen house.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: But the U.S. knows it does not now have the votes in the U.N. Security Council for tough economic sanctions. Officials say next week they will seek support first for a statement calling on Iran to give into the demand for a uranium enrichment freeze -- Wolf.
BLITZER: David Ensor reporting for us.
David, thanks very much.
With Iran threatening harm and pain if it's punished for its nuclear activities, could that harm and pain be felt right next door, namely in Iraq?
CNN's Aneesh Raman has the story from Baghdad -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, amid all the diplomatic talk on Iran, it's hard to ignore Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Iran and the U.S. are now likely to battle at the United Nations over Iran's nuclear program, but it's a battle that has Iraq right in the middle.
KEN POLLACK, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The Iran nuclear issue tends to be divorced from the reconstruction of Iraq, but most senior officials here in Washington recognize that the two are intimately intertwined. RAMAN: The backbone of Iraq's government, the Shia Religious Alliance, is very close to Iran. Many of its leaders spent years there in exile during Saddam Hussein's dictatorship when the Shia were persecuted in Iraq. The two countries are the biggest in the Muslim world, where Shias outnumber Sunnis, and the U.S. says Iran is undermining American efforts in Iraq, smuggling weapons, arming and training Shia militias.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: They are currently putting people into Iraq to do things that are harmful to the future of Iraq, and -- and we know it.
RAMAN: An allegation made by Sunnis as well. A leading Sunni politician fears his country will become an even bigger battlefield.
SALEH AL-MUTAGH, SUNNI POLITICIAN: They want to do their attack first. They want to start the attack on the -- on the -- on the Americans in Iraq, and they want to make from Iraq the ground for the battle. Not Iraq.
RAMAN: The United States worked hard for more than two years to create a secular government in Iraq, a U.S. ally in the region, but Shias linked to Iran won big in every election.
MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: But we will not allow our Iraqi territory to be used against any of our neighbors. We do not want to get involved in this.
RAMAN: Something not lost on Washington.
POLLACK: They're forced to temper their actions regarding Iran's nuclear program by the recognition that this if they push too hard, they might wind up dooming the reconstruction of Iraq.
RAMAN: Reconstructing Iraq, analysts say, is the most important national security issue facing the Bush administration.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAMAN: This is a bad time for Iraq to be drawn into a brewing diplomatic dispute caught now between its influential neighbor, Iran, and the U.S., whose troops, many say, are what are holding Iraq together -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Aneesh Raman.
Thanks very much.
And a man you might remember from the days before the Iraq war, Mohammed Aldouri, he was Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations. I caught up with him in Dubai. You are going to see that interview tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on THE SITUATION ROOM.
Coming up, a disturbing development concerning Ann Richard's health. We're going to tell you what the former Texas governor is facing. And when you think of politicians, warm and fuzzy might not necessarily come to mind. But our Jack Cafferty is asking which politicians do you like? Which ones give you the chills?
Jack Cafferty with your e-mail, that's coming up this hour, as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: President Bush has just landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, outside Washington, D.C. There you see him. He just got off Air Force One, walking across the tarmac to Marine One, which will chopper him back to the south lawn of the White House.
The president flew to Texas yesterday to vote in the primary elections there. Today he spent the day in the Gulf Coast in New Orleans, as well as in Mississippi. This his 10th visit to the area since Hurricane Katrina.
You see the first lady, Mrs. Bush, walking on Marine One first. And it's about a 10, 15-minute little flight from Andrews over to the White House. The president back in the nation's capital.
Coming up, a California sheriff's deputy goes to court for the shooting of an unarmed airman just back from Iraq. It is a case that was caught on videotape.
And we're just back from Dubai. Literally. You know, it's the home port for the ports deal that's caused so much controversy here in the United States. We're going to show you more about Dubai.
And get this, indoor, that's what you're seeing right there. Indoor skiing in the desert. Only in Dubai.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. We're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting today from New York.
Zain Verjee is joining us from the CNN Center in Atlanta with a closer look at other stories making news.
Hi, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi again, Wolf.
There's some confusion over a missile launch by North Korea. The White House says the country apparently launched two missiles today similar to test launches in the past. But Japan's Kyoto news agency quotes sources as saying the short-range missiles were fired to the east from the country's eastern coast and may have been launched by mistake. The family of a Colorado teacher says they are receiving death threats over some controversial comments he made in class. A student recorded Jay Bennish saying parts of a speech by President Bush sounds "a lot like the things that Adolf Hitler used to say." Bennish is on paid leave while the district investigates.
Former Texas governor Ann Richards says that she has cancer of the esophagus. An aide says the 72-year-old Democrat went in for tests on Monday and got the diagnosis yesterday. Richards also suffers from osteoporosis.
She was the governor of Texas from 1991 until 1995, when she lost to George W. Bush.
Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan has a memoir deal. The Penguin Press will publish his book next year.
Industry experts say bidding for Greenspan's story topped $7 million. The 80-year-old retired this year after almost two decades in charge of the Fed and he's widely viewed as the most successful chairman ever -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Zain, thanks very much.
Today in Houston, big developments in the Enron trial. The government's star witness, the former Enron chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, faced some brutal questioning from the defense.
For more on the man considered the architect of Enron's multibillion-dollar fraud, let's go to our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton -- Abbi.
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: There were over 100 counts against Andrew Fastow in this final indictment here: wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering. He pleaded guilty to two of them and agreed to give up $23 million in assets, a house in Galveston, Texas, a house in Vermont, amongst other things, in exchange for his testimony.
What he said was he and other Enron executives fraudulently manipulated Enron's finances. The purpose was to mislead investors -- investors.
There has been so much released in the course of the Enron investigation, thousands of e-mails between Enron employees, audio tapes. They really paint a picture of what was going on inside the company. Some of them have been put into easily searchable databases. Search a Fastow here in this Enron e-mail database, and you see e- mails between Andrew Fastow and Jeff Skilling.
Lawyers today for Skilling, they ripped into Fastow today, disputing his testimony -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Abbi, thanks very much.
In Southern California, a sheriff's deputy is charged with voluntary attempted manslaughter for the shooting of an unarmed Iraqi war veteran, an incident that was all caught on videotape.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is joining us live from L.A. with more -- Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf.
It's a case that's got people reevaluating the importance of home video tape, wondering what might have happened if this tape wasn't available. Now, today, just one day after the man he shot went home from the hospital, Sheriff's Deputy Webb walked out of a courtroom, earlier this morning, just a few hours ago.
Again, as you mentioned, he has been charged and pleaded not guilty to attempted manslaughter. You know, that's attempted voluntary manslaughter.
And from what we have been able to talk to with some of the prosecutors and officials in this case, the difference comes down to this. A lot of the family said that he should have been charged with attempted murder. Now, the family has been quite outspoken about this, but prosecutors say, when they looked at that videotape and they amplified the audio, and they clarified some of the video, and they got right down to it, they have clarified that Deputy Webb told the victim, Elio Carrion, to get up.
And they were able to get through that. And they know now that he did say get up. Elio Carrion starts to get up, and that's when he shot him. But the thing that prosecutors come back to is that, Deputy Webb honestly believed that he might have been in some danger. There had just been a high-speed chase, hitting sometimes over 100 miles per hour. It was dark. He didn't know who these two men were.
So, what they determined was that Deputy Webb honestly thought that he might be in danger, but, at the same time, a reasonable officer in the same circumstances would not have fired his weapon in that way. So, that's where they came up with the charge of attempted voluntary manslaughter -- Wolf.
BLITZER: What a story.
Chris Lawrence, thanks very much for that.
Word of another mission for U.S. special operations forces -- elite troops are being deployed in small numbers at U.S. embassies abroad to gather information on possible terror threats.
Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, has the story -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this has been going on for a couple of years now, according to the Pentagon.
But it was first brought to a lot of people's attention in an article in "The New York Times" today. These are small numbers of special operations troops, two, three, sometimes a single person, sent to embassies around the world to coordinate the information that U.S. commanders use as they are trying to fashion a -- a battle plan against terrorism.
As you well know, the U.S. Special Operations Command has been given the lead role in that, as -- something that was testified today to on Capitol Hill by the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS O'CONNELL, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR SPECIAL OPERATIONS AND LOW- INTENSITY CONFLICT: We're faced by a network, sometimes structured, of radical extremists, who inflict terror -- terror -- with no concern for their innocent victims. These networks will migrate to places where they can survive, operate, and grow.
Our challenge, then, is to develop counter-networks to monitor, isolate, disrupt and destroy hostile elements.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: The Pentagon says that these small number of teams are called military liaison units, and their basic job is that, liaison.
These are not special operations forces that are going to be out scouring the countryside, hunting down terrorists. But if there is that kind of an operation in -- in a country, those are the members that would coordinate with the State Department, the CIA, all the agencies involved, under the leadership of the U.S. Embassy in individual countries.
Military people, they're not undercover. They are in a -- a public role, but they are working on a very important mission of counterterrorism -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre reporting -- thanks, Jamie.
Still to come -- get this -- a giant ultra-luxury hotel and a massive ski slope, all in the middle of the desert, just some of the extraordinary things we saw in Dubai this week. We're going to show you what's going on.
Plus, more on the ports controversy. I will speak about it with New York City's police commissioner, Ray Kelly. He's standing by to join us right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: I was in Dubai just this morning. It is truly an amazing place. It's known for much more than ports, actually. You can really go snow skiing in the desert. Right now, I want to give you a close-up look at two places in Dubai you have to see to believe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): This is the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, arguably, one of the manmade wonders of the world. It's the world's tallest hotel, complete with a helipad near the top. It's also one of the world's most expensive.
Luc Delafosse, originally from Paris, is the hotel's general manager and gave us a tour.
LUC DELAFOSSE, GENERAL MANAGER, BURJ AL ARAB HOTEL: This is quite something unique in the world today and it represents Dubai. We have a magnificent view anywhere and the building itself soars at 321 meters. So you are in suite 2008, that is actually one of our panoramic suites and the particularity of this suite particularly is this fantastic window where you can actually really see Dubai at your feet.
And also we have a particularity as well at the Burj Al Arab is very amazing service we give in our suites to all our guests. We have a team of 150 butlers working on a 24-hour basis. So it's made of the ground floor, where you have a bar area, you have a lounge area. We call it actually the majlis here, for example, in this region. You have a dining room, you have two bedrooms. You have a bedroom on the one floor and you also have the master bedroom on the mezzanine level on the upper floor.
BLITZER (on camera): This suite is per night, how much?
DELAFOSSE: I would say in terms of dollars, you know, it will be something like around $4,000 or $5,000 a night. We have a magnificent spa located on the 18th floor, an amazing place. Our actually, commitment, or mission, is to be clearly the world's most luxurious hotel.
BLITZER (voice-over): Not far from the hotel is this mall. What's extraordinary is what's inside, it's called Ski Dubai.
(on camera): It's hard to believe that we're right in the middle of the desert. Yes, we're in the desert, even though it's cold in here, you can say my breath, it's very cold, it's below zero. But these people are skiing, they are going on chair lifts. We're in the middle of Dubai and yes, there's a ski lift and there are ski slopes indoors.
(voice-over): It's the most bizarre scene, people from all over the world snowboarding and skiing downhill and indoors. The snow is manmade, as is the below-freezing temperature. But everything else is very real. Check it out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Only in Dubai.
While I was in Dubai, I spoke with Mohammed Al-Douri. He was Saddam Hussein's ambassador to the United Nations in the days leading up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. You probably remember him. You can see our special conversation. That will come up tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Zain Verjee is joining us once again from the CNN Center in Atlanta with a closer look at other stories making news.
Zain, first of all, have you gone skiing in Dubai?
VERJEE: No, I have never gone skiing. I have usually just sit by the Jumeirah Beach and looked at the beautiful environment there, or gone shopping on Sheikh Zayed Road.
(LAUGHTER)
VERJEE: That's all I have done.
But let's take a look at some headlines here.
It's a really stunning church confessional. Ireland's Roman Catholic Church says 102 priests in Dublin might have sexually abused children. The church says 32 of them have been sued, and eight convicted of criminal offenses. It results from an extensive church review of priests.
Next week, the Irish government starts an investigation of church and state officials conspired to conceal child abuse within the Dublin priesthood.
It's Afghanistan's battle against drugs. Today, anti-drug officials plowed through fields full of poppies. It is part of a plan funded by the U.S. and Britain to eradicate opium from the country. Taliban insurgents vow to protect the poppy fields. Afghanistan supplies almost 90 percent of the world's opium and heroin.
And Israeli military says that, tomorrow, the country will reopen the Karni cargo crossing between Gaza and Israel. Now, that crossing is used, essentially, to get food and supplies in and out of the seaside territory. Israel close -- closed the crossing in January, over fears that Palestinian militants might attack. Palestinians say the closure amounted to punishment, after Hamas won parliamentary elections last month -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Zain, thanks very much.
Today, there are some troubling reports of a Hamas-endorsed Web site directed at children that preaches hatred and encourages suicide bombings and terrorism.
CNN has launched its own investigation into the veracity of these reports.
Closely following the story for us is our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton.
Abbi, what are we learning?
TATTON: Wolf, this is a site that has been getting a lot of attention today, so much so that it's currently down.
It looks like it has been hacked. But what we did earlier today is save up a few of these pages to show you the contents. What are we talking about here?
First of all, the site is clearly aimed at children. There are cartoons all over the place -- this image here, a small child on the back of a horse with a large sword. Also, there are many disturbing images on the site.
As to reports that this site is new, that is not the case. Counterterrorism analyst Laura Mansfield tells us she has been following the contents of this site since it was registered in 2002.
As to whether it's promoting martyrdom, we had senior editor Octavia Nasr here at CNN look around and translate the contents. She says the site talks about the struggle. There are pictures of kids throwing rocks. They're called heroes on the site.
In the context of the struggle, there is glorification of images of suicide bombers. Now, the Beirut-based Web master, Laura Mansfield tells us, does have ties to Hamas, rather than the site being from Hamas itself. We tried to get comment from that Web master and from Hamas, but we were unable -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Abbi, thanks very much. Thanks to our entire Internet team for bringing that to us.
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: Thank you, Wolf.
Coming up at 6:00 here on CNN, it has been an extraordinary news day: two missiles fired by North Korea, threats against the United States by Iran, and one governor deciding to send more National Guard troops to the Mexican border.
In the U.S. Senate, it looks like a complete sellout on the part of the Republican leadership to the White House. Senator Bill Frist has obviously fallen in line with the Bush White House on the Dubai ports deal and, in the process, may be sacrificing Republican incumbents in the Senate and the House come November.
From the House, Duncan Hunter, the chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, will join me to discuss legislation to roll back foreign ownership of key U.S. infrastructure assets.
Senator Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, joins me tonight, to discuss corruption in our immigration bureaucracy.
And, on illegal immigration, I will be talking tonight with the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Arlen Specter, about his legislation to legalize illegal aliens, what some are calling an amnesty bill.
And, Wolf, I know you are going to join us as well. We will be talking about Dubai and the Dubai Ports World deal. Looking forward to it.
Hope all of you can join us -- back to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Lou. Good to be in the same city as you are.
Up ahead, the New York City police commissioner, Ray Kelly, he's here in THE SITUATION ROOM. We will talk about the ports controversy, tackling terror, lots more.
And disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff tells his side of the story to "Vanity Fair" magazine about claims from those who say they barley know him, including President Bush -- that story, much more, coming up in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: And this just coming in from the House of Representatives.
Get this: The House Appropriations Committee has just voted on a controversial amendment that would block the Dubai ports deal here in the United States -- the vote, a very, very lopsided -- 62 in favor of the amendment, only two members of the House in the Appropriations Committee opposing this amendment, 62 to 2. The amendment now goes to the full House of Representatives. We're expecting a vote perhaps as early as next week.
It underscores the opposition in Washington right now to this controversial deal that would put an Arab company in charge of operations at six major ports in the United States.
Here to talk about that and more is the commissioner, the police commissioner of New York City, Ray Kelly.
Commissioner, thanks very much for joining us.
RAYMOND KELLY, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Good to be with you, Wolf.
BLITZER: How do you feel about this proposed deal?
KELLY: Well, I think it should be looked at very closely.
The 45-day period, where there's going to be an intense investigation, I thought -- I think that's very important. But I think there are much broader issues about port security than just who controls the port.
BLITZER: Because you have a huge port here in New York City.
KELLY: Absolutely.
BLITZER: And that's one of the port operations that would be controlled by Dubai Ports World, if the deal were to go through.
KELLY: Yes. Right. And, by the way, we were never consulted on that, and as I'm sure none of the other local authorities were consulted as well.
BLITZER: Well, let me just be precise on this. The police department in New York or anyone in New York was never consulted, as far as you know?
KELLY: No local entity was ever consulted about this, as far as I know, certainly not the police department.
BLITZER: That sounds -- it sounds pretty outrageous, when you think about it, doesn't it?
KELLY: It does.
But I think the committee that looks at these things really focusing on the financial aspects of it. This committee has been in place for years, and I think it really hasn't changed its focus that much in our post-9/11 world.
BLITZER: Now that there will be this 45-day national security review, I assume you will have a chance to weigh in.
KELLY: Well, I hope so.
But, as I say, I think the issues are much broader than just whether or not these companies are controlling the ports. I think we need to take a total clean-sheet-of-paper look at how we protect our ports. We, ultimately, have to be able to look into every container that is coming into this country. We are far from that now.
We need Congress to look at that, take the issue seriously, and, ultimately, in my judgment, provide the funding to do just that.
BLITZER: Because, right now, in New York, or the other major ports in the United States, only a tiny percentage...
KELLY: Right.
BLITZER: ... actually are physically inspected.
But you really have to inspect those containers where there -- when they leave, when they're on-loaded these ships, whether in Dubai or in anyplace else.
KELLY: Yes.
And there's a model that is in place now in Hong Kong that is very encouraging. They're actually scanning every container that comes in and goes out of Hong Kong. So, it can be done.
It costs a lot of money, no question about it. But we are concerned about that one event. And you can't just rely on this trusted shipper model that I think really relies on a drug smuggling model that simply doesn't work when we are concerned about one event.
BLITZER: D.P. World would take over operations from P&O, which is a privately owned British company, which has been conducting these operations in New York and these other ports. Did they do, basically, a good job, the British company?
KELLY: As far as I know, they did a good job.
But, again, the issue is broader than the companies. I think we are -- you know, we are very porous in our ports throughout America.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: And we need a new approach.
BLITZER: You were quoted in -- last summer as saying: "We have seen some improvement from the Bush administration, but it's not nearly what it should be, in my judgment. We're still defending the city pretty much on our dime."
You remember that quote?
KELLY: I do. I do remember that. We still...
BLITZER: Has it changed since then?
KELLY: Well, we will see.
There has been a lot of positive talk in Washington. We will see if we get money based on a threat analysis, which is what we have been proposing all along.
We still believe, and I think the intelligence community believes, that we are at the top of the terrorist target list. They want to come back here, if they can. We are spending a lot of money protecting this city. The federal government has to chip in more than it has been doing.
BLITZER: The Quinnipiac University poll asked this question: Are you worried about another terrorist attack in New York City? And these are New York City voters. Sixty-three percent said they were very or somewhat worried. Thirty-six percent said they were not much worried or not at all worried.
How worried should New Yorkers be right now?
KELLY: They should be concerned.
You look at the history of this city. We have been attacked here twice successfully. There has been three other plots that have been aborted. So, this is the communications and capital of the world. And, in my mind, this is where they want to come back to make another statement. We are doing a lot to protect the city. And we need the federal government to chip in.
BLITZER: The same poll asked New York City voters, is New York prepared for another terrorist attack? Thirty-two percent said yes. Fifty-nine percent said no. so, there's concern here among rank-and- file New Yorkers.
KELLY: Yes.
We are better prepared now than we have ever been, but there's more to be done. And I think we get better virtually every day, as a result of our training, as a result of our awareness. We are working with other agencies, our federal partners. There's still a lot more to be done.
BLITZER: I will tell you this. And we will leave it with this note.
You will be happy to know, the poll asked, Ray Kelly, the New York City commissioner, what kind of job he is doing. You only got a 70 percent approval rating, Commissioner. Sixteen percent -- I don't know who they are...
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: ... disapprove of the job you're doing.
Thanks for coming in.
KELLY: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: And up next, which politician do you feel warmest about? Which gives you the chills? It's our question of the hour. Jack Cafferty is standing by with your e-mail.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Jack is in New York, together with me today. He's got "The Cafferty File."
Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Sixty-two to two, huh?
BLITZER: Only a 62-2 vote in the House Appropriations Committee.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: Well, there's hope for this republic.
Quinnipiac University asked voters to rate some politicians on their feeling thermometer. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani ranked the highest, 63 percent. He was followed by Senators Barack Obama, John McCain, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The question, then, is which politician do feel the warmest about and which one gives you the chills? Linda writes: "I'm looking for the one who can't afford Armani suits and two residences, can balance a checkbook, and doesn't think research is calling K Street, and actually listens, to give me the warm fuzzies. The real chill factor is the voters who just voted for DeLay."
Karen in Idaho Falls: "President Bush and Vice President Cheney give me the chills. I think they have both lost their minds. One trades nuclear technology for mangoes and gives away our ports, while he consistently harps on security. And the other one has an itchy trigger finger and mistakes his friend for a quail. I can't believe we trust these men to run our country."
Andres in San Antonio, Texas: "The politician who gives me the warmest feelings" -- sounds awkward -- "would be Senator Hutchison and President Bush, and, to somewhat of a lesser degree, Texas Governor Perry. I feel best about them. The one who gives me the chills is Hillary Clinton."
Cee writes: "Barack Obama seems to be an intelligent, caring individual who promotes a positive, humanizing image. John McCain is chilling. How can a man so maligned by the president's team in South Carolina during the primary ever carry water for the White House, as he has done? Has McCain sold his metaphoric soul for future presidential support?"
Allan writes: "It's really hard to come up with a warm, fuzzy politician. The only one I can come up with is Joe Biden. I'm especially wary of guys who seem to have perfect hair all the time, like DeLay, Frist, and Boehner. Jack, I guess if you and Wolf were politicians, you might make the warm and fuzzy category."
One of us would make the fuzzy category there, Allan.
And Kevin in Mechanicsville, Virginia: "I would hire John Murtha as my baby-sitter. My children would have their teeth brushed and their pajamas on, on time, and they would in bed by 8:00. As for the rest, my dog wouldn't let them in the house."
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Fuzzy. Is...
CAFFERTY: That was a reference to the...
BLITZER: I need to get it trimmed a little bit.
CAFFERTY: I have no hair anywhere on my head anymore.
BLITZER: No. You...
CAFFERTY: Or precious little.
BLITZER: ... look -- you look good.
(LAUGHTER) BLITZER: This is New York City. It's a lovely place.
CAFFERTY: You talked to the commissioner. Good man, Mr. Kelly.
Do you like our view here, Columbus Circle?
BLITZER: It's a -- I remember when you used to have a view at the Penn Plaza.
CAFFERTY: Oh, yes.
BLITZER: You remember that?
CAFFERTY: It was awful down there.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: You have improved a lot. Thanks very much.
We're here in THE SITUATION ROOM every weekday afternoon, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern.
We are back in one hour, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Until then, thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting from New York today.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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