Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Insurgents Strike in Iraq While Massive Security Sweep is Underway; President Bush Announced Details of Plan to Bolster Government in Baghdad; Government Audit Finds FEMA May Have Handed Out $1 billion for Improper or Fraudulent Claims After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; New Boss For Iraqi Branch of al Qaeda?; William Caldwell Interview; Administration May Be Muzzling Top Climate Researchers; Condoleezza Rice Proves She Has Followers; Bush's Aide Leaves To Attend Harvard

Aired June 14, 2006 - 17:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: 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 5:00 p.m. in Washington, where President Bush has jetlag but still flying high after his trip to Baghdad.

As Iraqi forces mount a massive security sweep, is an end in sight for American troops? I'll ask the president's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley.

It's 1:00 a.m. in Baghdad, where U.S. forces are already on the hunt for the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. But are they sure just who he is? I'll ask Major General Bill Caldwell in Baghdad.

Also, he broke up with one of the Bush twins but has remained a close aide to the president. Now a White House boy wonder packs his bags looking for a new challenge.

I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Just hours after an overnight flight from Iraq, President Bush today said U.S. and Iraqi forces are making steady progress. Encouraged by his visit to Baghdad, the president nevertheless said there will be zero tolerance -- there will not be any zero violence, that is, anytime soon. And despite calls to bring U.S. troops home soon, Mr. Bush made it clear that won't happen until Iraq can take care of its own security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our policy is stand up, stand down. As the Iraqis stand up, we'll stand down. But if we stand down too soon, it won't enable us to achieve our objectives. And we will support this Iraqi government.

This is what I went to tell him. We'll do what it takes to support him. And part of that support is the presence of coalition forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Iraq has launched a major security crackdown in its capital involving tens of thousands of troops and police.

For the situation on the ground, let's turn to CNN's John Vause. He's in Baghdad -- John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the security sweep began just after dawn, but as the Iraqi government put into motion Operation Forward Together, the insurgents managed to strike.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE (voice-over): Even a widespread security sweep wasn't enough to stop this car bomb which left two civilians dead in northern Baghdad. "One of the terrorists left his car here and detonated it by remote control," said this policeman.

A police patrol was also targeted not far from here by a road side bomb. But no one was hurt. And Iraqi soldiers came under fire from insurgents in a Sunni neighborhood. No injuries were reported despite a 30-minute shootout.

The government called this Operation Forward Together. Hundreds of checkpoints were manned on roads into the capital, vehicles were searched. Police say they found Katyusha rockets and diffused roadside bombs.

Many Iraqis welcomed the extra security despite long lines of traffic in the searing heat of the Baghdad summer.

"We're getting late to work because of the checkpoint," says this man. "But this is good to arrest terrorists and seize car bombs."

For now, there has been no all-out offensive in the most violence-prone areas, neighborhoods controlled by militias and insurgents.

And a day after the visit by the U.S. president, more than 2,000 protested the American-led occupation. Most are followers of the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a powerful Shiite leader who in the past has led bloody uprisings against U.S. forces.

"We condemn the ill-fated visit by the leader of the occupation, Bush. We tell him, no. No America," said one of al-Sadr aides. But for many others, the president's brief five-hour visit left behind a rare sense of optimism.

"Bush came to boost the morale of the Iraqi government and give assurances of support," says this man. "We hope it will end the problems of the militias and put an end to the kidnappings and mass killings."

(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: No one here is expecting quiet overnight, but the Iraqi government has now made a start and says Operation Forward Together will be escalated in coming days -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John Vause in Baghdad.

Thanks very much.

Following a surprise visit to Iraq, President Bush has announced details of a plan to try to bolster the government in Baghdad, saying that could bring the United States closer to completing its mission in Iraq. But will the security situation allow a U.S. military exit anytime soon?

Joining us now from the White House is the president's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley.

Thanks very much for joining us, Mr. Hadley.

I guess coming out of that John Vause piece, this Muqtada al- Sadr, this radical Shiite cleric, did the president get a commitment from the new prime minister of Iraq that they're going to crack down on these Shiite militias?

STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The Iraqi prime minister has set out objectives for his new organization, for his new government. They have talked about enhancing security, and you're already seeing that begin with this operation in the capital today. He's also talked about needing to deal with the issue of militias, bringing some into the political process, breaking up their forces, integrating those where possible, and using force against those where it is not.

This is part of a broader effort at reconciliation, dealing with militias on the one hand, and bringing people, particularly Sunni groups, out of the insurgency on the other. He's got a plan. And the purpose of the president's visit was to make an assessment of the plan and an assessment of whether these group of leaders now who have come forward and established this unity government are committed to carrying it out. And I think the president felt very good about the answers he received.

BLITZER: What about the answer he received when he raised the issue -- I assume he raised the issue -- of Iran and what some see as a growing Iranian influence in Iraq given the Shiite-led government? What kind of assurances did he get from the prime minister and others that Iran's influence in Iraq won't escalate?

HADLEY: One of the things we've heard consistently is that Iraq now, for the -- having emerged from tyranny with the fall of Saddam, having an opportunity to bring all communities into the government, are not about to turn over the sovereignty they've now obtained to the Iranians. We think that's true of all communities, including the Shia.

Obviously, we're concerned about some of the Iranian influence in Iraq. There are a lot of Iraqis that are concerned about Iranian influence in Iraq. And one of the messages the government is making very clear to its neighbors is they need to be supportive of this effort to build democracy and prosperity and peace, not countering it. And that's an important message for them to send, and it's a message, of course, that we will reinforce and we hope the international community will reinforce as well.

BLITZER: Will the U.S. ambassadors, Zalmay Khalilzad, be meeting with Iranian diplomats in Baghdad anytime soon?

HADLEY: The Iranians have indicated they no longer have any interest in doing that. Where we have focused in terms of our diplomacy with the Iranians, of course, is on the nuclear issue. And as you know, Wolf, what we have said is, if the Iranians will suspend their nuclear enrichment activity which we believe is part of the path to a nuclear weapon, then we would be willing to join France, Britain, Germany, possibly Russia and China to sit down and try and negotiate a permanent solution to that problem.

So the forum for negotiations really has moved to the nuclear issue in the context I described, and we're hopeful that Iran will -- the Iranian regime will see it in their interest to accept this offer and return to negotiations. And we can begin discussing this issue directly.

BLITZER: What about this new al Qaeda in Iraq leader that has emerged in the aftermath of the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi? What do we make of this guy?

HADLEY: We don't know a lot about him at this point. We'll have to -- have to see. I think the important thing is that the death of Zarqawi is an important element and victory in the war on terror. It's important progress in the war on terror because Zarqawi was not just about Iraq.

Zarqawi was the al Qaeda operations boss in Iraq, where he planned operations not just in Iraq, but against his neighbors, Europe, and ultimately potentially against the United States. And so it is a -- it is a blow to al Qaeda in Iraq. That makes it a blow to al Qaeda generally and helps to enhance the security not only in the region of our -- but the American people.

Zarqawi was a very accomplished man. And having him out of the scene and out of the operation is important progress.

BLITZER: There are about 150,000 coalition forces in Iraqi right now, 130,000, 135,000 of whom are U.S. forces. The Iraqi national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, told me on Sunday that there would be fewer than 100,000 coalition forces in Iraq by the end of this year.

Is he right?

HADLEY: Well, I've heard those reports. At this point, the -- those were made, of course, at a time when we didn't even have a minister of defense. And one of the things that was clear at this trip is that the next step is for the new minister of defense to sit down with General Casey, Ambassador Khalilzad and talk about their security plan going forward and how we can support that plan.

Obviously, the president said we want a country that can govern itself, defend itself, sustain itself, and be an ally in the war on terror. I think that's a shared objective with the Iraqis.

They want to take more responsibility for security. They've made clear that at some point they want to take full responsibility for that security. So do we. But the mode of how that's going to be done is something that needs to be worked out with the new government.

And what the president heard, oddly enough, was not a concern that Americans were not at some point going to leave Iraq. The concern he heard from really all groups was, don't let -- America, don't leave too soon. Don't leave before we are ready to take responsibility for our own security. And that will be the subject of these conversations, what's the Iraqi plan and what we can do to support it.

BLITZER: Very quickly, because we only have a few seconds left, there's a report out there that North Korea has developed a new intercontinental ballistic missile potentially capable of reaching the United States.

Is that true?

HADLEY: There's no news there. No new news there.

They have had a missile called the Taepo Dong-2. There have been reports in the press that they might be readying some kind of test launch of that missile. You may remember they did that in the late 1990s.

We think that would be a bad idea for North Korea. We think what North Korea ought to do is come back to the six-party talks and talk about how they're going to give up their nuclear program.

BLITZER: Stephen Hadley is the president's national security adviser.

Thanks very much for joining us.

HADLEY: Nice to be with you.

BLITZER: And coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM, more than $1 billion in fraud in the wake of Hurricane Katrina? We're going to show you the results of a new government audit. And you might be shocked at where some of that money went.

Also, new buzz about Condoleezza Rice and a possible presidential race. Yes, there's buzz about it. What it means, we're going to tell you.

Stay with us. And this, the president's right-hand man. He'd widely seen but rarely heard. Why is he leaving the White House, what he describes is the best job in the world? This young guy only 26 years old. We're going to tell you.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A government audit finds FEMA may have handed out more than $1 billion for improper or fraudulent claims in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve joining us with details -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, some members of Congress were unhappy that the director of FEMA and secretary of Homeland Security declined invitations to testify about FEMA and fraud today. They want to hold someone accountable for all the money that appears to have been wasted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): Thirty-seven hundred dollars worth of diamond jewelry, a $2,200 all-inclusive vacation in the Dominican Republic, $2,000 for New Orleans Saints season tickets, $600 for strippers, $400 for adult erotica products, $300 for "Girls Gone Wild" videos, all bought with debit cards issued to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Your tax dollars at work.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), TEXAS: This is an affront to the American taxpayer, who has been fleeced by the actions of these criminals.

MESERVE: The Government Accountability Office estimates 16 percent of the payments by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about $1 billion worth, were made on fraudulent claims.

REP. BILL PASCRELL JR. (D), NEW JERSEY: We're talking about a lot of money here. We're not even talking about contractual fraud yet. Wait until we get into that.

MESERVE: Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophe of unprecedented scope. Thousands upon thousands lost everything they owned, including identification. FEMA says its systems and personnel were overwhelmed.

DONNA DANNELS, FEMA: We just made the calculated decision that we were going help as many people as we could and that we would have to go back and identify those people who we either paid in error or that defrauded us and deal with that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: FEMA says it is making efforts to recover the money. It also claims to have revamped how it verifies and cross-checks information. By the way, FEMA will not be issuing those debit cards this year -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeanne, thanks very much.

Let's check back with Zain Verjee for a closer look at some other stories making news.

Hi, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf.

Federal authorities are now joining police in Massachusetts investigating drugs found inside Home Depot merchandise. A contractor found 50 pounds of marijuana inside a vanity purchased at the home improvement chain. And another person reported finding a large quantity of illegal drugs inside merchandise.

The country's emergency care system is "at a breaking point." That's the conclusion of a new study by the Institute of Medicine. It says demand for emergency care is surging with 114 million ER visits in 2003 alone. But at the same time, the capacity of hospitals, ambulances and ER workers is actually dropping.

Palestinian civil servants stormed the parliament building today demanding back wages. They've gone unpaid as Western nations cut aid to the Hamas-led government for refusing to renounce violence and refusing to recognize Israel.

Wolf is going to be talking about the growing Palestinian crisis with the former Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He's standing by to join us in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And Indonesian officials are putting the area around Mount Merapi volcano back on the highest alert. The mountain's becoming more active and experts say a major eruption could come at any time. Eleven thousand people have already been evacuated -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Zain, thank you for that.

Coming up, one of the country's best-known columnists takes one of the world's biggest automakers to task. Our Internet reporter is going to show you what's going on. They'll have the situation online.

Plus, details about the man many say is now replacing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is working the story. She'll have the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's check in with our Ali Velshi. He's standing by in New York and he has "The Bottom Line." .

(BUSINESS REPORT)

BLITZER: What if you were guaranteed not to pay more than $1.99 a gallon -- for a gallon of gas for an entire year? General Motors is getting flack for offering just such a promotion with some of its newest cars.

Let's learn why from our Internet reporter, Jacki Schechner -- Jacki.

JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, the offer is good in Florida and California, and it's certain new cars. Some of them fuel-efficient, some of them not so much, like the gas-guzzling Hummer.

Well, "New York Times" columnist Thomas Friedman took on GM in a column on May 31st calling General Motors a crack dealer looking to keep his addicts on a short lease, or at least making that analogy. Well, General Motors fired back online on its blog, saying that the column was misleading, this isn't the GM they know, they said. And they reiterated their commitment to fuel efficiency.

Well, they went back and forth with "The New York Times" trying to get a letter to the editor published as well. And "The Times" says they negotiated in good faith, but the two sides couldn't agree on language or tone or length of the article. And in the day and age of the Internet, well, GM put the entire thing online on its blog.

You can read the e-mails back and forth. Here you can see them haggling over length.

GM says, "How about 300 words?" And "The New York Times" says, "Well, you can do it in 200."

Thomas Friedman went back today, took on GM again, again reiterating his displeasure with this program. GM says they plan to fire back to the latest article later today again online on their blog -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much for that, Jacki.

Coming up, one terrorist dies, another apparently fills his shoes. But who's taking over for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq? U.S. military officials think they know.

Up next, my interview with Major General Bill Caldwell. He's the spokesman for the multinational force in Iraq.

And strikes and revenge. Right now Palestinians are facing mounting problems and Israel is battling Islamic militants. I'll speak with the former Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, about those developments and more. He's standing by live.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

As Palestinians face chaos and possible civil war, Israel is involved in a bloody series of strikes and counterstrikes with Islamic militants and now faces possible new threats directly from al Qaeda. Joining us in New York is the former Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He's now the leader of the opposition Likud Party in Israel's Knesset.

Mr. Prime Minister, thanks very much for coming in.

We all saw that heart-wrenching video of that little girl on the Gaza beach crying hysterically when her family was killed. The allegation is it was done by an Israeli mortar. The Human Rights Watch organization issued a statement on Tuesday saying, "There has been much speculation about the cause of the beach killings, but the evidence we have gathered strongly suggests Israeli artillery fire was to blame."

What do you know, if anything, about this?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, FMR. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's still being looked at, but the more we look at it, the more it looks like it may have been something totally unrelated with the Israeli army. But it may have been some charge that had been laid there in the sand by Palestinians, it may have misfired. That is, it could have been an accident.

In any case, it certainly wasn't something that we directed at innocent civilians. And, of course, everybody in Israel saw this heart-wrenching story and felt the same way.

The terrible thing is that we have terror strikes from Gaza against Israeli civilians. Hundreds and hundreds of rockets that pummeled into our towns and villages next to Gaza. We vacated Gaza. We gave every last inch up. Why are they firing at us?

BLITZER: Well this, raises another question. The threat now from the Hamas-led Palestinian government to break the truce, the informal truce they've had over the past year and a half or so, not launch terror attacks against Israel.

I've spoken to several Israelis in recent days who say it's in Israel's best interest to try to come to some sort of truce, if you will, with this Hamas government, not that they necessarily have to recognize Israel's right to exist, but just don't launch terror attacks because that could cause a lot of Israeli deaths, economic hardship for Israel, as you well know.

What should Israel be doing now to encourage this Hamas-led government to avoid attacking Israel?

NETANYAHU: First of all, the Hamas has not been in a truce with us. They've enabled Palestinian-controlled territories which they control to be used for rocketing our civilians. And so they've been doing this on and off, more on than off.

And in fact, as I said, we've had hundreds and hundreds of rockets launched into our cities. Just imagine Detroit, imagine Miami, imagine any town along the Canadian border that receives hundreds of rockets. You can understand how absurd the situation is. I don't think we can have peace with Hamas. I think there is a battle inside Palestinian society right now between the more moderate elements and the Hamas militants. It's a political battle. Sometimes it flares up into more than that.

I think it's in our interest and in the interest of peace, in the interest of Israel and in the interest of the Palestinians that the Palestinians replace this Hamas militant government -- which is really a proxy of Iran -- that it replace it with a moderate government with which we can negotiate peace.

BLITZER: On that point, though, let me press you. What can Israel do right now to encourage that encourage that more moderate element in the Palestinian community? I assume you're referring to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. What should Israel be doing to encourage a more moderate Palestinian leadership?

NETANYAHU: Well, the first thing we should do is not strengthen the Hamas militants. And I think we're getting signals as wide as a barn from the Abu Mazen, the other Palestinian leader. We're getting signals as wide as two barns from King Abdullah of Jordan.

And we're having hemming and hawing from the Egyptians about this approval of what the government, the current Israeli government, plans to do, which is to hand over territory gratis to Hamas. That strengthens Hamas. It really weakens the moderate.

So if we want to make sure that the moderates prevail -- and I do -- then the last thing we should do is give free handouts of territory to Hamas. Because, as I and others predicted, that territory is merely used to launch rockets at Israel. It just makes the rockets move closer, not peace.

BLITZER: This is what the prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, says, that a withdrawal from at least parts of the West Bank inevitable, in his opinion. You disagree. I know you disagree with him on that. That was a big issue in the election.

NETANYAHU: Well, I disagree on doing unilaterally. I agree that we should encourage the rise of a moderate Palestinian partner with which we can negotiate a final peace settlement, which would involve mutual concessions, both on the Israeli side and on the Palestinian side. That's a good thing to have, real peace.

But what we have with the Palestinians with these unilateral withdrawals -- and it's becoming apparent after the elections. It's becoming apparent now because we just saw in the Friday poll that there's a growing majority of Israelis, a majority of over 20 percent, against giving unilateral concessions to Hamas in the West Bank, not because people wanted to necessarily stay there, but because they realize that the only ones who will benefit from unilateral concessions right now are the Palestinian extremists. That's not good for peace.

BLITZER: We're almost out of time. A quick question on Iran. How do you feel about the Bush administration now deciding to go forward and to enter into direct talks with the Iranian government if they suspend their uranium enrichment program?

NETANYAHU: It's the "if" part that, of course, is central to this equation. And I think the Iranians have to prove that they will stop it. I think their goal right now is to -- the Iranians' goal is to do anything in their power to continue the rush to develop atomic weapons.

If they develop atomic weapons, all the promises that they will give the U.S., that they will give the world now, are meaningless. They'll be null and void. They will take over the Arabian Peninsula and the world oil supply, and they may very well be the first to use atomic weapons either in threats or in actuality. And that is a grave development for mankind.

I think that the U.S. goal should be to verify, to assure that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons. How it does it is a combination of diplomacy and other means. But I wouldn't believe necessarily that the Iranians are willing to play ball. I'd be very, very skeptical of that.

BLITZER: We're going to leave it right there. The former prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. Thanks for joining us here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

NETANYAHU: Thank you.

BLITZER: And still to come, some people dismiss concerns about global warming. But is the White House putting a muzzle on its climate experts? One senator wants to know and is asking for an investigation.

And what kind of poll would put Condoleezza Rice ahead of Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie? We're going to tell you the question and the surprising results. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Less than a week after Abu Musab al- Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike, does the Iraqi branch of al Qaeda have a new boss? Let's turn to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there is now new information about the next most wanted man in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Just hours after Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed, the U.S. identified another foreigner, an Egyptian, as the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.

MAJ. GEN. BILL CALDWELL, MULTINATIONAL FORCE IN IRAQ: Probably Abu al-Masri, if you had to pick somebody, would be the person that is going to try to occupy the position that Zarqawi had.

STARR: Military officials tell CNN that interrogations from captured insurgents and intelligence gathered in recent raids have convinced them Abu al-Masri has taken control. The military says al- Masri has been involved in IED attacks, but it is providing few details.

Most of the troops in Iraq have not heard of him or know what he looks like, even if they capture him. Al-Masri trained in Afghanistan as an explosives expert where he first met Zarqawi around 2001.

CALDWELL: We know that al-Masri came to Iraq before Zarqawi did, probably located somewhere around the Baghdad area, some time in around 2003, established probably the first al Qaeda in Iraq cell here in the Baghdad area.

STARR: U.S. military officials say al-Masri is now the senior operational commander for al Qaeda in Iraq. In Fallujah, he worked with Zarqawi lieutenants. He has supplied suicide bombers. He is now said to be responsible for all network operations in southern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Wolf, military officials still are debating whether to put out more information about al-Masri, including a photograph of him. That's a tough call for them to make because they are concerned about creating another icon like Zarqawi. But they do believe al- Masri, at this point, is operating in and around Baghdad -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Barbara. Thanks very much.

U.S. forces, as Barbara says, are on the hunt for this new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. Major General Bill Caldwell, who you just saw in Barbara's report, is the spokesman for the multinational force in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Do we assume that he was hand-picked by Abu Musab al- Zarqawi as his potential successor?

CALDWELL: Well, we know that before Zarqawi's death, he used Ayub al-Masri as his sort of second man in terms of running operations here in Iraq.

BLITZER: So we assume that that's probably why he's the new leader.

The president, the other day, said justice will be brought to this new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. What kind of life expectancy do you think he has?

CALDWELL: Well, if you talk to my boss, General Casey, he would tell you that he shouldn't expect to be around for a real long time.

BLITZER: Do you have any idea what part of the country he may be operating in right now?

CALDWELL: Honestly, Wolf, we have a very intensive effort going on already that's been shifted to look towards this man. We started it the day we got Zarqawi. And for operational reasons, I really shouldn't say, but there is an intense focus being made on him right now.

BLITZER: Here's a quote that he put out shortly after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed -- Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, who we now know as Ayub al-Masri, said this: "al Qaeda fighters in Iraq are more determined, more stable and more powerful than any time prior. The coming days will turn your children's hair gray and battles will reveal your false power." I wonder if you want to respond to that threat?

CALDWELL: Well, what I'd tell you is, we do take their threats very seriously, Wolf, and there's no question that we've come to a heightened state of alert as we watch for any retaliatory type of action by the al Qaeda in Iraq group against coalition forces.

But unfortunately, this group normally focuses on civilians, and innocent women and children, Iraqis here in this country, are the ones who really have felt the blow of that group, with over 68 percent of our casualties that we've seen here being innocent civilians at the hands of the al Qaeda.

BLITZER: Tell us about the information you've gleaned, in terms you're allowed to say, in the aftermath of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death. You've spoken of a treasure trove of information that you've picked up in these sweeps that you've launched.

CALDWELL: Well, coming off the objective that night, we were able to turn and rapidly go ahead and take down about 17 other objectives that we had been tracking, working, and had been utilized in working up the intelligence set that allowed us to find where Zarqawi was.

Off the site that night, and through the next day, we did what they call sensitive site exploitation, and we did pick up quite a bit of stuff out of the house, the safe house there. It's being exploited; it's led already to, directly, about 8 percent of the raids that we've conducted over this past week.

This past week, we've probably conducted right at 480 operations, at about company level and above. And of that, about 8 percent are directly attributable to the information we have taken off that objective.

BLITZER: Is it your sense that the new Iraqi military, the new Iraqi police force, will be able to crush this insurgency any time soon?

CALDWELL: When you say "crush," I'm not sure they're going to be able to crush anything real time soon, but they're getting stronger and better each and every day. We have about another 60,000 Iraqi Security Forces that still need to be trained, equipped, and put into their force out here. But each and every day they're getting better, Wolf.

We find them conducting more independent operations. About 30 percent of those operations were conducted independently by just Iraqi security forces, and about another 56 percent were conducted as combined operations. So they're taking on more responsibility, they're getting more trained and better organized each day, but we still have a ways to go with them.

BLITZER: When I was where you are right now, a year or so ago, in Baghdad with General Abizaid, a lot of soldiers said to me at the time, "You know what success will be? When we can leave our base, get into a car, drive down to downtown Baghdad, get a cup of coffee, go to a movie, or go to a restaurant and just drive back to base." Is that likely anytime soon?

CALDWELL: Wolf, I'm not sure it's going to be anytime real soon to have that kind of freedom of movement when you have got the al Qaeda in Iraq element, which will indiscriminately kill innocent civilians like they do. And we've clearly decapitated that head of that organization right now, but they've proven over time to be very resilient.

I'd say we're guardedly optimistic that we are having some very successful follow-on operations that are keeping them unbalanced at this point. And we're going to stay focused on them.

BLITZER: General Caldwell, I appreciate it very much, spending a few moments with us. Be careful over there, and we'll stay in touch.

CALDWELL: All right. Thank you, Wolf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And up ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, does it or does it not involve a government cover-up? Allegations that some top experts on global warming are being silenced by the Bush administration. Our John Roberts standing by with details.

And in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour, Cher is singing a new tune in front of the Congress. We're going to tell you why the pop icon has come to Washington. Here's a clue. It concerns a project very dear to her. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Right now, there's a brewing controversy over concerns about global warming. Let's bring in our senior national correspondent John Roberts. He's got details.

What's going on, John?

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good afternoon to you, Wolf.

Global warming high on the radar screen these days. First, Al Gore's new movie, and now Senator Lieberman is asking the president's top science adviser to look into whether the administration is muzzling its top climate researchers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS (voice-over): It was this June 6th letter that sparked Lieberman's call for an investigation. NASA admitted it wrongly prevented climate expert James Hansen from speaking to reporters. Strong evidence, the senator claims, of an administration pattern to silence the scientists on global warming.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: There probably has been suppression of scientific evidence that shows the effects and reality of global warming for reasons that are not scientific, that unfortunately may have more to do with policy.

ROBERTS: Just last week, another charge, leveled by a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, that there are problems with policies regarding the disclosure of scientific information, not only at NASA, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Forest Service. Other scientists have also alleged suppression at the Environmental Protection Agency.

LIEBERMAN: You've now got four different agencies, NASA, NOAA, EPA, and the U.S. Forest Service, where there are very credible reports that scientists have had their work on global warming suppressed. That's very troubling and wrong.

ROBERTS: Republican Congressman Sherwood Boehlert has concerns as well about suppression of climate data at NOAA. Like Senator Lieberman, he has asked the agency's director to take steps to ensure to open scientific communication.

But the president's top science adviser, John Marburger, doesn't see the need for an investigation in a statement to CNN saying, "I take any claims of suppression of scientific findings very seriously. As issues are brought to my attention, I look into them. I've found no basis to support Senator Lieberman's concerns." We shared that with the senator who seemed surprised Marburger would respond to us before him.

LIEBERMAN: This is Marburger's response to you? Yes, based on Dr. Marburger's response to you, as you've reported to me, it sounds to me like he's made up his mind that he hasn't found evidence of suppression of science.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Senator Lieberman is determined to not leave it there. The next step, he says, will be to ask for an independent investigation either by one of the inspectors general or the Government Accountability Office -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, John. Thank you very much.

Another story we're following. She says she's not interested, but that's not stopping growing talk of a possible White House bid in 2008 by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Let's bring in CNN's Mary Snow. She's joining us live from New York with a look at what's fueling the fire right now -- Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, whether it's an address to religious leaders with political muscle or a random survey, the secretary of state is proving she has followers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): She may rank number one in talk shows and she may grace mountains of magazine covers, but when it comes to picking a dinner guest, men over 25 pick Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as their top choice in an unscientific poll by "Esquire" magazine. Rice outranked both Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie. It speaks to Rice's popularity at a time when President Bush's poll numbers have been low.

LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: She has power, and that's intriguing to men.

SNOW: Will her popularity translate into political aspirations to the White House?

MARIE WILSON, THE WHITE HOUSE PROJECT: The women that are on the tips of everybody's tongues are Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Rodham Clinton as candidates for the United States presidency. They're kind of rock stars right now in one way or another.

SNOW: At the politically powerful Southern Baptist Convention, the crowd gave Rice several standing ovations.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If I serve to the end of my time as secretary of state, it will have been 12 years since a white man was secretary of state of the United States of America.

SNOW: Others want to see her accomplish another first. There's a movement to draft her to run in 2008. First Lady Laura Bush even voiced support for a vice presidential candidacy during a January interview.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Sure, I'd love to see her run. She's terrific.

SNOW: But Rice has insisted she's not running, as she told THE SITUATION ROOM a few weeks ago.

RICE: I have no desire to be president of the United States. It's not what I want to do with my life.

SNOW: Some political observers cast doubt that there is no chance she may run.

SABATO: Very few people can resist a draft or a near-draft.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And one addition to that "Esquire" poll of favored dinner guests, Rice didn't just outrank celebrities, she also came ahead of Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was listed as number seven on the list, and tied with Katie Couric -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Mary. Thank you very much. Mary Snow and John Roberts, part of the best political team on television. CNN, America's campaign headquarters.

Up next, he's traveled the world with President Bush, handling everything from Altoids to speeches. We're going to have details of a key White House player and why he's leaving right now. And he's only 26 years old.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: He's been described as part sherpa, part butler. And he's arguably spent more time with the president than almost anyone else over the past four years, with the possible exception of the first lady. Now, Mr. Bush's personal aide is leaving to attend the Harvard Business School. CNN's Tom Foreman is here with a little bit more on this very, very lucky, I should say, guy.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN ANALYST: Yes, lucky and skilled. What a terrific, terrific job. He was supposed to be done yesterday, but wasn't because the plane didn't get back from Baghdad until 3:00 this morning after the surprise trip over there for the president. What an amazing gig for a very young man coming to an end.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (voice-over): To say he has the president's ear is an understatement. He's also got his back and is always at his side. Blake Gottesman has worked for the last four years as personal aide to the president. The 26-year-old has known the Bush's daughters for years. He's seen here with Barbara, and he once dated Jenna.

Gottesman is constantly at the president's side, there to take things off his hands whether it be his dog Barney or flowers from fans. And he's always ready with something for his boss to hand out in return. Gottesman is the one who preps the stage for the president, then he waits in the wings, watching should something go wrong, like this time in Beijing, when Mr. Bush tried to exit a news conference through a locked door.

Gottesman has traveled the world with the president, his room always nearby, whether at Buckingham Palace or Vladimir Putin's vacation home. He's also good for some down time, just tossing a football with the leader of the free world. We rarely hear from Gottesman except for the traditional two-minute warning.

BLAKE GOTTESMAN, PERSONAL AIDE TO THE PRESIDENT: The two-minute warning for the press. Two minutes.

FOREMAN: But in an online White House chat two years ago he said, quote, "I consider myself very blessed and lucky to have had such fantastic experiences and to get to work for such a great person."

(END VIDEOTAPE) We may very well be hearing more from this young man as the years come. His relationship with the president, our White House people tell us, is very, very warm. The president often calls him Johnny Harvard, and he often makes jokes both with the president and at the president's expense. Not a bad claim to fame in your mid-20s.

BLITZER: These guys have a great job. They work really hard, but then again, they're very young. They can do it. When I was a White House correspondent, I remember Chris Ensco (ph) did that job for President Clinton, loved everything he was doing, and has moved on since then, as well. I assume Blake will as well.

FOREMAN: Best of luck to him.

BLITZER: Best of luck to him, indeed.

Let's go up to "LOU DOBBS." Tonight, Kitty Pilgrim is sitting in.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com