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The Situation Room
Six Major World Powers Announce Deal To Present To Iran; Military Investigates If U.S. Marines Killed Civilians in Haditha; U.S. Military Preparing for Hurricane Season; FEMA Director Works to Improve Key Areas; Family Grieves After Mistaken Identity Revealed; Chicago Mayor in Hot Water Over Bald Remarks
Aired June 01, 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 to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time.
Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you today's top stories.
Happening now, it's 11:00 p.m. in Vienna, Austria, where six major world powers have just announced a deal they'll present to Iran: Stop the nuclear activity and receive benefits or continue and there will be costs.
It's 1:00 a.m. in Iraq, where military superiors say disobedience from the rank and file will not be tolerated. To remind them what they should and should never do, troops will take a refresher course on the military's legal, moral and ethical standards.
And today is the start of this year's hurricane season. The U.S. military is getting ready, the federal government is preparing, but are you?
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Just an hour ago we learned of a deal to end the Iranian nuclear crisis. Capping frenzied negotiations, six major world powers have now agreed to offer Iran incentives if it gives up its nuclear activities, and penalties if it doesn't.
The secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, is in Vienna, Austria, helping hammer out the deal. Today Iran reportedly rejected earlier U.S. overtures from multilateral talks. But President Bush says the ball is now in Iran's court.
Our John Roberts has more on the White House strategy, but let's begin our coverage with CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor. He's on the scene joining us on the phone from Vienna -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this was really one of those moments here in Vienna on this cold night tonight when the television pictures tell the story. What you had inside the British embassy behind me here today was the Russian foreign minister, the Chinese representative standing shoulder to shoulder with the Europeans and the American secretary of state, and saying to Iran, you must make a choice. The choice is between the incentives that are being offered under a package that was hammered out here tonight, or the punishments that were also agreed to here.
Now, the representatives here have said they do not want to detail those for the world yet. They want Iran to have a private look at them first. Officials we've been speaking to have been suggesting that the timetable they have in mind is a matter of weeks, not months, for Iran to do that.
And the -- while people are not talking here about the specifics, we have over the last few days heard that the incentives include some real assistance for Iran to have a civilian nuclear program, one that cannot proliferate if it wishes to. And the disincentives, the punishments, while one official called them severe, one said they would harm Iran, do not include any sanctions against Iran's crucial oil and gas industry -- Wolf.
BLITZER: David Ensor on the scene for us.
Dramatic developments happening in Vienna, Austria. The official announcement came from the new British foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARGARET BECKETT, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: We are prepared to resume negotiations should Iran resume suspension of all enrichment- related and reprocessing activities as required by the IAEA. And we would also suspend action in the Security Council.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And you see her surrounded there in that picture by the U.S. secretary of state, the representative from the European Union, the Russians, the Chinese. Very dramatic developments today in Vienna, Austria.
So what does the Bush administration hope to gain from this deal and from these negotiations, if they do in fact get started?
Our senior national correspondent, John Roberts, is watching this, learning more about the U.S. strategy -- John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Wolf.
This is a very high-stakes game of chess. The prize, the support of Europe, Russia and China. And with Iran's insistence that it will not agree to talks with preconditions, the U.S., for the moment, appears to be winning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice over): Iran's rejection of the White House offer was not just expected, it was part of the plan. According to administration officials, the entire goal of this new overture was meant to heighten awareness of the world to Iran's intransigence.
KEN POLLACK, SABAN CENTER BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: In the eyes of Europe, China, Russia, and in many other countries, it is going to look like Iran is the problem, like Iran is the country that doesn't want to see a peaceful resolution of this process.
ROBERTS: What looks on the surface like a softening of the U.S. position, the offer of face-to-face talks, is actually just another play in their game of diplomat hardball to force Iran to give up its nuclear program.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If they choose not to suspend and verify, if they continue their obstinance, if they continue to say to the world, we really don't care what your opinion is, then the world is going to act in concert.
ROBERTS: The tricky part for the White House has been coming up with a set of punitive measures Russia and China could agree to. An oil export ban would have been the harshest, perhaps most effective, penalty. But sanctions expert Gary Hufbauer says, because of its effect on the global economy, that's off the table.
GARY HUFBAUER, INST. FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: If you put sanctions on oil exports, I think the global pain is too great given that we're already a little over $70 a barrel and people are already screaming at the pump.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: However, one idea talked about is an oil-for-food program like the one that was leveled in Iraq for many years. More likely, though, says Gary Hufbauer, would be sanctions that targeted Iran's ability to do business in the world: freezing assets, denying visas, perhaps even sanctions personally aimed at Iran's elite, such as denying their children entry to universities or private schools abroad -- Wolf.
BLITZER: John, it's an important diplomat triumph, if you will, for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. But it's too early to be corking champagne bottles over at the White House.
ROBERTS: Yes. I mean, there is nothing to suggest, Wolf, that even though they have agreed on a set of sanctions that anything is going to get past the U.N. Security Council.
Don't forget, there has been resolution on sanctions against North Korea because of its nuclear program that's been languishing for three years. And then, of course, there is the issue, if they do get sanctions leveled against Iraq -- leveled against Iran, are they going to work? Don't forget, Iraq endured 11 years of sanctions, and, you know, we still had to go to war to get rid of what it was that they had.
BLITZER: Good point, John. Thank you very much.
And we're going to have lots more on this story coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM during our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour.
Zain Verjee joining us once again from the CNN Center with a closer look at other important stories making news right now -- Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, on this first day of the new Atlantic hurricane season, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is out with a new report on what caused New Orleans' levees to fail last year. It says the levees didn't withstand flooding from Hurricane Katrina because they were built in a disjointed fashion. The Corps also says outdated data was used to construct the levees.
New FEMA director David Paulison will join us a little bit later this hour in THE SITUATION ROOM to tell us if FEMA's ready for the 2006 hurricane season. And National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield will also join us.
New Orleans' re-elected mayor says he's been tried and tested and weathered just like the Crescent City. At his inauguration today, his second term, Mayor Ray Nagin promised that he and his supporters will rebuild New Orleans. He said the city will survive Hurricane Katrina just like it and it survived other storms and floods.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has agreed to send his state's National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border. That's according to The Associated Press. This ends a 17-day standoff with the Bush administration.
Governor Schwarzenegger and the White House have really been at odds over whether California guardsmen would join the Border Patrol and who would pay for it. California's now going to contribute about a thousand guardsmen and the federal government will pick up the tab -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you, Zain, for that.
Let's go up to New York. Jack Cafferty is standing by with "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: There is a petition drive under way in Nebraska to get a judge to resign. Judge Christine Cecava sentenced a sex offender to probation instead of prison because she thinks he's too short to survive in prison. This pervert is 5'1" tall. He wasn't too short to have sex with a girl who is now 14.
He could have gotten 10 years in the joint, but instead, this liberal weenie judge, Cecava, put him on probation. Now maybe he can go out and commit statutory rape against another child. Cecava had no comment.
The attorney general and county attorney are appealing the sentence, saying it's too lenient. And the woman who started the petition drive to throw this judge out on her ear already has about 700 signatures. Good for her.
Here's the question: Should a judge who sentenced a sex offender to probation instead of prison because he was short be forced to resign?
E-mail us at CaffertyFile@CNN.com or you can go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile -- Wolf.
BLITZER: The judge's fear is that he could be hurt in prison? Is that it, because he was little?
CAFFERTY: Yes.
BLITZER: All right.
CAFFERTY: Which would probably be the best thing for him.
BLITZER: Jack, thank you very much.
Up ahead, new fallout from an alleged massacre by U.S. Marines in Iraq. Troops now ordered to receive what are being called core warrior values training. We'll show you what it is and why some question whether it will work.
Also, it's the start of the hurricane season. One of the country's top experts standing by to join us live here in THE SITUATION ROOM, the National Hurricane Center director, Max Mayfield.
And Chicago's mayor finds himself in a hairy situation over his remarks to a bald reporter. We're going to show you what the controversy is all about.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The United States military is investigating whether or not U.S. Marines killed 24 innocent Iraqi civilians in Iraq last November. Right now there are new developments to this story and we have two reports.
Brian Todd is standing by with more on the values training about to be imposed on U.S. troops, but let's go to the Pentagon. Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is following the latest developments -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as you're well aware, there are two major investigations into what happened at Haditha, one into whether there was a crime, the other into whether there was a cover-up. And tonight we have some new information about that second investigation.
MCINTYRE (voice over): One of the big questions surrounding the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha is why the cover story that they were killed by a roadside bomb and resulting firefight held up for months from November until February when "TIME" magazine began raising questions about it? The answer, according to Pentagon sources familiar with an investigation done by Army Major General Eldon Bargewell (ph) is that the Marines involved in the killings allegedly gave false information about what happened and their superior officers allegedly failed to scrutinize their accounts.
There was another failing as well, sources tell CNN. Marines who arrived afterward were confronted and in some cases even photographed bodies that had been shot at close range, but did not challenge the official story. The mother of one Marine, Lance Corporal Ryan Briones, who was assigned to help clean up and document the scene, told CNN her son knew he had witnessed an atrocity.
SUSIE BRIONES, MOTHER OF LANCE CORPORAL RYAN BRIONES: It was horrific. It was a terrible scene. The biggest thing that keeps to his mind is the children, you know, that were there.
MCINTYRE: In the wake of the findings of investigators, all 150,000 U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq are getting refresher training on the law of war and the responsibility to protect non- combatants caught in a war zone. The message is simple and direct.
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, MULTINATIONAL FORCE SPOKESMAN: I don't think there is any question in our mind, if you're carrying a locked and loaded weapon, you're not going to pick it up and aim it at somebody unless you feel your light is threatened.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: And Wolf, part of that message is it is not enough to adhere to the laws of war itself, but if you see atrocities being conducted by others, it is your responsibility to speak up -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie, thanks very much.
Amid the Haditha investigation, U.S. military officials now say troops will retake a course on the military's legal, moral and ethical standards.
Brian Todd is looking into this part of the story -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, some veterans who have been in situations not unlike Haditha tell us any level of enhanced training is worth it. But they have serious concerns about how it will hold up in battle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice over): From Iraq to Vietnam, combat veterans we spoke to say Marines and soldiers have already gotten training in ethics and morality on the battlefield, and they have strong opinions on how this new program might work in situations like Haditha.
GARRETT REPPENHAGEN, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: This ethical training that they're talking about right now is a temporary Band-Aid.
TODD: Garrett Reppenhagen was an Army sniper in Iraq. In battle zones like Baquba, he says, his unit was ambushed several times. He says he killed civilians he thought were targeting his unit but turned out to be unarmed. And he says moral and ethical training often breaks down in battle. REPPENHAGEN: You're dealing with a guerrilla warfare in a heavily urbanized environment, where the combatants and the non- combatants are dressed the same way. You're being attacked by weapons with no distinguishable enemy.
TODD: In Vietnam, Rick Weidman served as an Army medic in the same division as Lieutenant William Calley, who was convicted of murder in the My Lai massacre. Weidman was not at My Lai, but his unit was booby-trapped and ambushed repeatedly with civilians often in the mix.
Mention battlefield ethics to him, he recalls the time he worked on a Vietnamese girl of about 12 wounded by American troops. The girl, he says, had no nose left. He was furious with his unit.
RICK WEIDMAN, VIETNAM VETERAN: Until I found out that they had pulled her out from -- that she had opened up on our troops and killed four guys and wounded three others. So who's the enemy?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: But Rick Weidman, Reppenhagen and other vets we spoke to were just as quick to say none of the stress excuses the Marines' alleged behavior at Haditha. They say morality training can work, but only if it works hand in hand with the leadership of officers or combat team leaders in the field who can pull their troops back from these situations -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian, thank you very much.
Brian Todd with the latest on that.
Coming up, a rough month for America's automakers. We're going to show you what one of them is planning to do to try to boost sales. And that could save you potentially, at least, a lot of money.
Plus, hurricane season is here. We're going to talk about what to expect and what we've learned. Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center is standing by to join us live, as is the FEMA director, David Paulison.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Let's check in with our Ali Velshi. He's got "The Bottom Line".
(BUSINESS REPORT)
BLITZER: We're learning the Justice Department is engaged in ongoing conversations with major Internet companies over how long they can hold on to certain information on their subscribers. The data, say officials, may prove crucial in investigating certain federal crimes.
Abbi Tatton is watching the story -- Abbi.
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, the issue here, how long these leading Internet companies keep hold of customer data, certain records of customer activity online. Among the participants, AOL, Verizon, Google, Microsoft, Comcast.
Back in April, in a speech on child pornography, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said that he would be reaching out to Internet companies. He said that if these companies don't keep data for long enough, it hampers the ability of the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute online predators. But this may not be the only reason for the discussion.
A source tells CNN that during one meeting, the FBI made clear that they wanted data for other reasons as well, and that terrorism was mentioned. A spokesman for the Department of Justice said that all discussions were preliminary and stressed that the government was not asking for access to any content of messages -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Abbi, for that.
Coming up, hurricane season now officially under way. Today, this year's season begins. And the federal government it's mounting major efforts to try to make sure it is ready for any coming storms. We're going to talk to the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield.
And in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour, Batwoman will soon be having a coming out party of sorts. We're going to tell you how the comic book character is telling all about her secret life. Jeanne Moos will that have story.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to THE SITUATION ROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Today marks the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season. But officials on every level have been preparing for months under the shadow of some hard-learned lessons from Hurricane Katrina. And that includes the United States military.
Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This command center didn't even exist the day Hurricane Katrina slammed into the United States. Admiral Timothy Keating will coordinate active duty military relief efforts for this year's hurricane season.
ADM. TIMOTHY KEATING, COMMANDER, U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND: Katrina was our first real acid test, and we learned a lot. We observed much. We're working real hard to take lessons observed and make sure they are lessons learned and mistakes not repeated.
STARR: A new report from the Government Accountability Office says many things must be done, including using reconnaissance assets such as drones to quickly survey damage, having communications gear that can survive a catastrophic storm, stepping up the military's role in search and rescue.
(on camera): One of the issues is, certainly last hurricane season America's public confidence was shaken when it saw the federal government and the military response to Katrina. Why should people believe you this year?
KEATING: We have -- I have been in discussions with the very highest levels of government. We have been given clear -- a clear mandate from the White House, through Department of Defense. Look at this with no holds barred.
STARR (voice over): Military planners are already in the hurricane states. Active duty units already are earmarked to move into the stricken areas as soon as requested, to do everything from search and rescue to bringing in food and water. That means thousands of troops theoretically could be on the ground quickly.
But the big lesson learned, perhaps the most simple, get there quickly to help those who cannot help themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
STARR (on camera): And how satisfied are you? Do you think you've thought of everything?
KEATING: I doubt that we have, Barbara. There may be -- for example, New Orleans is looking to do -- emphasize evacuation more this summer. We have to help the Louisiana officials provide bus drivers, we're going to be prepared to do that.
So have we thought of everything? Probably not. But we're much better prepared coming into this summer than we were last summer.
STARR: Commanders here say they are ready for hurricane season. But clearly, FEMA and state and local governments will have a major role to play if another disaster occurs.
Barbara Starr, CNN, U.S. Northern Command, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And for more now, we're joined by one of the country's top experts, Max Mayfield is the director of the National Hurricane Center. He's joining us from Miami.
Mr. Mayfield, always good to have you on the program. Would it surprise you, now that the official hurricane season has started, if there were a tropical storm as early as next week?
MAX MAYFIELD, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Well, not much surprises me any more, Wolf. We may not have it next week. About every other year we'll have something in the month of June.
But the start of the hurricane program, and we've at this carefully, there's not a really good correlation between the hurricane season actually starts and the amount of activity that we end up with, you know, throughout the year. So even if we don't have too much in June, but even in July, we still don't want to let our guard down here. The peak of the season is August through October.
BLITZER: We've done some research over the past 25 years, and the first storm with the letter "A," Allison in 1995, hit as early, you probably remember, as June 3. Andrew in 1992 hit as late as August 16. Andrew, very close to your heart because it hit your home, I seem to recall.
MAYFIELD: Well, about half the staff here at the National Hurricane Center went through the eye wall of Hurricane Andrew, so we can certainly identify with the folks living in temporary housing. I mean, my wife and three kids and I were in a mobile home after Andrew.
And I know that we have 110,000 families in temporary housing, most in these FEMA trailers in Mississippi and Louisiana. I know exactly what they're thinking about. They're thinking about getting their homes rebuilt, their insurance settlements completed and just their livelihoods and things for their families.
They're not really focusing on hurricanes. I understand that. But it's very important for them to know that they need to get plans. They'll be the first people likely to evacuated. You can't stay in a mobile home or a trailer in a hurricane or even a strong tropical storm.
BLITZER: Last year Tropical Storm Arlene formed on June 9, and we all know it was a horrible hurricane season last year. The predictions, all the forecasts showed, could be very bad this year, as well. Should we simply assume it could happen any day this month?
MAYFIELD: Well, for the first storm, sure. We, you know, don't know -- we don't see anything on the horizon right now, but you know, we don't want to just focus on that first storm either. We've got six months ahead of us, and we need to be prepared.
BLITZER: Good point. Hurricane season goes from June 1 to November 30. You have some new technology that you've developed to help the American people out there be better prepared. I want you to show our viewers what you have.
MAYFIELD: Well, we do have some new probabilistic products this year. Here's one example. We're going to be able to show probabilities. I'm talking about storm force winds and hurricane force winds. Based on example from Katrina, the yellow for example there represents a 30 percent probability of hurricane force winds, and that will take some of the focus off of that skinny black line.
BLITZER: The whole nature of the technology and the forecasting, the American public, I have relatives who live in Florida. You live in Florida. They seem to think you guys know any -- know everything. And it creates what I suspect is a false sense of security, that people just sort of become nonchalant even after the disasters of last year.
MAYFIELD: And Wolf, I'm really concerned that the bar has been raised so high here that the forecast on Katrina and Wilma. We're not going to be that good every time. You know, we do the best we can. We try to make a perfect forecast. The atmosphere is unbelievably complex.
We know that we can't do that and people need to factor that -- the limitations we have in there. Also, if I could just show one graphic behind me here, this shows all the tracks and the storms and hurricanes we've had since 1851. And it's a little hard even to see the coastline there, but I think most people will look at that and understand that the United States indeed does have a hurricane problem.
BLITZER: One final question, Mr. Mayfield, before I let you go. Warm waters make these tropical storms and hurricanes much more dangerous. Are the waters in the Atlantic Ocean right now, the Gulf of Mexico, warmer than usual?
MAYFIELD: Actually, the gulf's cooled off a little bit in response to the cold front. But it will certainly warm up here as we get further into the season.
The tropical Atlantic is indeed warmer than average. The good news -- or some of the good news is that it's not as warm as it was last year, but still above average. That's one of the things we'll look at, and that's one of the reason we're forecasting above normal activity.
BLITZER: Max Mayfield, thanks very much for coming in. Appreciate it very much.
MAYFIELD: My pleasure, Wolf. Thank you.
BLITZER: And still to come here in THE SITUATION ROOM, with the coming storms, I'll speak with the FEMA director David Paulison and ask him what his agency is doing right now. What are the lessons that it's learned after the failures of Hurricane Katrina? David Paulison here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
And Chicago's mayor, Richard Daley's, hair-raising remarks. Why are some of his bald comments enraging some balding men? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
More now on the hurricane season, officially beginning today. When the first storm comes, no agency will be more closely watched than FEMA which was heavily criticized, as all of us recall, for the government's response to Katrina. David Paulison is the new FEMA director, confirmed by the U.S. Senate just last week. He's going to be sworn in formally in the coming days. He's been acting director since last September.
Mr. Paulison, thanks for coming into THE SITUATION ROOM.
DAVID PAULISON, FEMA DIRECTOR: Glad to be here.
BLITZER: I know you've said publicly you think FEMA is ready right now. Chris Shays, the Republican congressman from Connecticut, says this. He says, "I don't want everyone to say, you know, we're ready now. We're more ready. But if anyone says we're ready, they're giving me a line."
Is he wrong?
PAULISON: I don't agree with that. We are going to be ready. Are we as ready as we want to be? Do we have FEMA where we actually want it to be? The answer is probably not. This is a long-term thing that you can't fix in just a few months.
We have taken all those lessons learned in Katrina, that we saw, that the Congress saw, that the IG's office saw, the GAO saw. We're taking all the reports. We've put things into several buckets. And the four primary ones is one, logistics, two, communications, situation awareness and victim registration. Those are the four big ones.
BLITZER: Let's talk about communications for a moment. After 9/11 we saw horror stories of first responders unable to communicate with each other. The left-hand of the U.S. government couldn't speak with the right hand. Local and state first responders couldn't speak with federal first responders. Have you worked out the radio frequency so that everyone, if there is another disaster, can talk to each other?
PAULISON: It was much more than that. It wasn't just the equipment or the frequencies or anything like that. That was part of it. But part of it was also protocols in place. How is the local community going to respond to the state, how is the state going to communicate with the federal government? And even inside the federal government itself, between FEMA and homeland security, major communications breakdown in how we're going to do that.
One of the big issues was a unified command post. Having everybody in the same room doing those 12-hour situation blocks of how we start planning...
BLITZER: So the radio frequencies -- has that been worked out so that local, state and federal officials will be able to communicate?
PAULISON: We have -- we have a communication system in place that will allow interoperable communications, particularly in Louisiana. The National Guard is putting in a communications band in each of the parishes down in the south end of the state to make sure that they're going to have interoperable communications. We have personally purchased satellite equipment where we can make sure we can communicate with the state and we can communicate with each other back in Washington.
BLITZER: So if you go in, FEMA goes in, local and state officials will be able to talk not only to themselves but to you?
PAULISON: That's correct. There is also and issue...
BLITZER: All over the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast?
PAULISON: The -- we have equipment that can do that. What we do have to do is make sure the local first responders know what capability we have. They can come to us. We can plug their radios into our system to develop that communication network.
BLITZER: Here is what Susan Collins, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said in her report May 24: "FEMA lacks the stature, the protection, the resources, the connections, with state and local officials and first responders and the direct communication with the president that are essential in responding to a catastrophe."
You, as the head of FEMA, you report to the secretary of homeland security. Do you feel you need to have direct access to the president?
PAULISON: I do not feel I need to do that. However, the president is going to be communicating with us. If he needs to get briefed on something, you know, I'm sure that I will be part of that. We were in the cabinet yesterday, the secretary and I, and the Undersecretary George Foresman, briefing the cabinet on what we're doing in the Gulf Coast particularly with evacuation plans. So I'm very comfortable that I'm going to have the access that I need, the equipment that I need.
BLITZER: You recall your predecessor, Michael Brown, complained he didn't have access. He was talking basically to a brick wall, he says.
PAULISON: Well, I didn't find that experience personally. I've got a tremendous amount of support out of the secretary. He's lent the full force of homeland security to help us put FEMA back on track.
BLITZER: Here's what a local disaster chief in Mississippi, Robert Latham, said: "There is no clear understanding of what to expect from the federal government and how it will be integrated into state and local logistical plans."
He's the Mississippi disaster chief, and he says he doesn't know what to expect from FEMA.
PAULISON: Well, Robert is a good friend. And he should know. We have put good plans in place. We have pre-identified federal coordinating officers for each state. We have one designed for his state. We have pre-designated the principal federal officer that will oversee those major areas. And to work with those people now, so there's no big surprises.
So when you have a disaster, if you have a disaster of any kind, it is not going to be a new face walking into that state emergency operation center. There's going to be somebody you know, somebody you recognize, a point of contact for you to go to.
BLITZER: I take it that between now and November 30, this hurricane season, no more vacation for you.
PAULISON: I told my wife don't even think about it.
BLITZER: You're going to be working non-stop. A lot of the top people were on vacation, as all of us remember, including the president and the vice president, on the eve of Hurricane Katrina, and that was one of the serious problems.
PAULISON: Well, our whole staff since Hurricane Katrina, quite frankly has been working seven days a week to get this organization back on track. We had a lot of work to do. We knew that. We have a tremendous amount of dedicated employees inside of FEMA, and they are committed, absolutely committed, to make this -- make this country proud of FEMA again.
BLITZER: One final question. All those thousands of trailers that we saw parked in Arkansas that have sort of just been sitting there, are they still sitting there? Have you found out a way to use those in some sort of more productive manner?
PAULISON: Well, we've moved some of them out of there. I have several thousand still, though, that I want to keep there. I want them right there to use them right, because they're right in hurricane alley coming into the south end. So we can use them for next hurricane season and perhaps the one after that.
We've also moved some to the west and some to the east side to cover -- we have tornadoes. We have forest fires. We had flooding, where we can use those other trailers -- those mobile homes.
BLITZER: David Paulison is going to be busy over these next months. First of all, congratulations. I guess we should say congratulations. I'm not sure this is going to be an easy assignment for you. But good work. Let's hope everything works out for FEMA and for you.
PAULISON: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: And most important, for the American public. David Paulison, the new FEMA director.
CNN special coverage of the start of hurricane season continues tonight. Anderson Cooper 360 will be live in New Orleans revealing some shocking details about how prepared we are for the coming storms. "AC 360" tonight, 10 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN. Anderson will be anchoring live from New Orleans.
Up ahead, a judge says a convicted sex offender is too short to go to prison. He could have faced 10 years behind bars. Instead he's out on probation. Shouldn't the judge lose her job?
And what would Batman and Robin say? Batwoman comes out of the closet. Did you know she was in it? Jeanne Moos investigates this new comic book twist. That's coming up in our 7 p.m. Eastern hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Zain is joining us once again from the CNN Center with a closer look at some other important stories making news -- Zain.
VERJEE: Hey, Wolf.
We're following a developing story this hour on a potential deal to end the nuclear standoff with Iran. The U.S. and five other world powers have agreed to offer Iran incentives if it gives up nuclear activities. Iran would face penalties if it doesn't stop manufacturing nuclear fuel. It says it has a right to do that.
The diplomatic solution was announced after a meeting today in Vienna between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and foreign ministers from France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China.
About 89 detainees are now on a hunger strike at the U.S. detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A U.S. Navy commander says six protestors are being force fed. Military officials say the strike may be planned to coincide with upcoming hearings and may also be related to a riot last month.
And Wolf, this is a really tragic case of mistaken identity. It stunned two families. Taylor University students Laura VanRyn and Whitney Cerak were in a van wreck back in April which killed five people. A sixth person was rushed to hospital in a coma. She was identified as Laura VanRyn.
But when she regained consciousness after several weeks, VanRyn's family realized that she was actually Whitney and that it was Laura who died in the crash. Both families say that the two girls, as you see in this picture, look strikingly similar -- Wolf.
BLITZER: What a heartbreaking tragedy, Zain.
VERJEE: Yes.
BLITZER: What a heartbreaking tragedy. Hard to believe this thing could happen. Let's bring in our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton. She has some answers on what are appearing on various web sites -- Abbi.
TATTON: Wolf, it's actually one web site in particular, a blog that was kept by the VanRyn family as they cared for the girl they thought was their daughter.
Amongst the first entries they described this girl's injuries, thinking it was their daughter: fractured ribs, an arm and leg in a cast, swelling in the face. That's from one of the initial entries just a couple of days after the accident.
The blog then describes the recovery of this girl they think is Laura, their daughter, their joy at her sitting up in her chair, although she was still unresponsive.
As she started to respond, that's when you can see that things start going wrong. "She's not recognizing us" is what they're saying. And she's finding it hard to talk and then her understanding what she's saying.
When they discovered what had happened yesterday, they posted on the news and today the site is just filled with prayers -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Abbi, thank you very much for that. What a story, horrible story.
On a much better note, on June 1, 1980, Ted Turner founded CNN, the world's news leader, the most trusted name in news. Of course, back then it was disparagingly known by some as the Chicken Noodle News network. But that was then, this is now. So get this: happy 26th birthday to all of us here at CNN, the Cable News Network.
And thanks so much to Ted Turner, our founder, for getting this enterprise under way. I think it's fair to say, Ted literally changed the world.
Lou Dobbs, you remember those days 26 years -- were you at CNN on day one, June 1, 1980?
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Wolf, I am the -- I am the last anchor standing from those days, the last of the original anchors still on the air, partner. So I was the youngest anchor when we started and I still am, by golly.
BLITZER: Lou Dobbs, tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour.
DOBBS: Wolf, thank you.
Coming up at the top of the hour we'll be reporting on the president's new political offensive to win support for his amnesty program for illegal aliens. He's demanding that the House of Representatives bend to the will of the Senate and, of course, the president. We'll be live with that report in Washington and across the country.
Also tonight, corporate America and special interests are spending millions of dollars trying to place commercial interests ahead of border security. We'll have that special report for you tonight.
We'll also examine why thousands of additional National Guard troops still haven't been deployed to our southern border. The National Guard's top officer, Lieutenant General Stephen Blum, is among my guests tonight. I'll be talking with "Washington Times" columnist Diana West. She says the Senate's amnesty bill for illegal aliens could be the end of America.
We hope you'll be with us for all of that and a great deal more, 6 Eastern right here on CNN. Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou, for that.
Up next here in THE SITUATION ROOM, is there such a thing as a baldophobe? And is the mayor of Washington one of them? Ali Velshi standing by to show us a little bit of what's going on. A bald battle in the windy city.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Let's go back to Jack in New York -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: Wolf, there's a petition drive under way to get a Nebraska judge to resign. Judge Kristine Cecava sentenced a sex offender to probation instead of prison, because she thinks he's too short to survive in prison.
This is a mutant who was convicted of having sex with a little girl who just now is 14 years old, and he could have been sent to the joint for 10 years. But, no, this judge is going to let him go, just be on probation.
The question is should she be forced to resign?
Rob in Dallas: "Jack, if you believe 'Dateline', we have a generation of kids facing statutory rape from Internet chats. If the judges don't punish statutory rape, we've got a real problem on our hands. Dismiss the judge."
Mike in Lititz, Pennsylvania: "Jack, why am I not surprised? Since the sex offender is getting off of probation, we should sentence the judge to jail in his place. Throwing her out of office is the least we could do."
Jim writes, "I object to you referring to that moronic judge as a liberal weenie. I'm a flaming one, and I'm incensed and outraged. The judge is ignorant, stupid, lazy and dumb. Where's the petition? I want to sign it."
Rich in Sacramento: "No, a person so small in prison would be a sex toy or dead very shortly after arrival. The man should serve his probation at the home of the judge."
Luis in Maryland: "The judge's decision sends the wrong message to those abusing our children. If one can or can't survive in prison, that's his problem. He needs to pay for what he did. The law should not discriminate and -- and that should include height. I can't believe this is happening."
Barry in Rapid City, South Dakota: "The child molester doesn't go to prison because he's too short? But the victim, that's a little short on justice. Short and tall people alike will probably make the decision to cut this judge down to size. Maybe the judge and the molester should serve as practice dummies for the Nebraska Cornhusker football team."
And Dora in Austin, Texas: "I'm a liberal weenie. That judge is simply insane" -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much, Jack.
Let's stay in New York. Ali Velshi is watching an interesting story out of Chicago.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a "Chicago Tribune" columnist is calling Mayor Richard Daley a baldophobe. This all started with an off-the-cuff remark Daley made while he was talking to reporters yesterday, one of whom -- you guessed it -- is bald.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI (voice-over): Things were getting, well, hairy for Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. He was being grilled by reporters about allegations that city officials fully staffed highway toll booths to make sure the mayor didn't get caught in traffic on his way to his vacation home.
Daley called the allegations "silly".
MAYOR RICHARD DALEY (D), CHICAGO: That's the silliest thing I've ever heard in my life.
VELSHI: Over...
DALEY: It really is silly.
VELSHI: ... and over...
DALEY: Silly. Silly, silly.
VELSHI: ... and over again.
DALEY: It is silly, completely silly. Completely silly.
VELSHI: Several "sillies" later...
DALEY: It is silly. It is just silly.
VELSHI: ... a reporter with the "Chicago Tribune" logged the same question, and the mayor shot back with a twist.
DALEY: It's silly, baldheaded. He's baldheaded. Is that silly? No. Come on.
VELSHI: Reporter Matt Walberg, known to his colleagues as The Swede, is, indeed, bald. MATT WALBERG, REPORTER, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": I think my first reaction was I just started laughing. I mean, I obviously am bald, and I'm bald because, you know, I shave my head because if I didn't shave my head, I'd have a, you know, receding hairline.
VELSHI: Walberg says he's not offended in any way by Daley's remark.
WALBERG: But I can't speak for all bald men out there who may, you know, be feeling some anxiety over their loss of hair. So I think the -- the question of whether he owes -- owes me an apology is -- is best left to bald men across Chicago.
VELSHI: And lest anyone doubt that bald is, indeed, beautiful, consider this.
WALBERG: Apparently, you know, I've become something of a sex symbol overnight, is what I'm told. I was out of the office for some portion of the day today, but I hear that I've been getting a lot of fan mail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Chicago readers are responding. That poll, 5,800 people are responding. Fifty-three percent say Richard Daley should apologize; 47 percent don't think so -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ali, bald is beautiful. Thank you very much.
Let's go to New York. Lou Dobbs standing by -- Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you, Wolf.
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