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The Situation Room
North Korea Threatens to Test Long-Range Missile; New York Subway Terrorism Plot Called Off?; Former Defense Secretary Weighs in on Possible North Korea Missile Test; New Orleans Calls for State Help after Weekend Murder Spree; Houston Hit by Flash Flooding; Police to Use Unmanned Drones in L.A.
Aired June 19, 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 already 6:00 a.m. in North Korea, where the countdown may be under way to test a missile capable of reaching the United States. As Iran stands firm on its own nuclear program, both nations get tough warnings from the Bush administration.
In Iraq, where it's 1:00 a.m., a group linked to al Qaeda says it's kidnapped two missing American soldiers, as Vice President Dick Cheney still insists, the insurgency is in its last throes, a year after he first said it.
And it's 5:00 p.m. in New York City. Why did al Qaeda reportedly call off a plot to release poison gas in the New York City subway system? Are members of a sleeper cell still at large? Is New York still at risk?
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
All that coming up, but let's begin with a new development happening right now out of Iraq, where the U.S. military says three American soldiers face charges, including murder, in the death of three detainees who appeared to be shot while fleeing.
Let's go straight on our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.
Jamie, what's going on?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this happened last month.
And the U.S. military now believes that these three soldiers killed three Iraqi males, and then tried to make it look like they were shot while they were fleeing. But, instead, they say it was premeditated murder, and then there was a conspiracy among the three to cover it up.
Charged are a staff sergeant, a private and a specialist from the 101st Airborne Division. The charges include murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, communicating a threat, obstructing justice. They're in pretrial confinement now. And we have just released their -- they have just released their names, Staff Sergeant Raymond Gerard (ph), Private 1st Class Cory Klagett (ph), and Specialist William Hunsacker (ph) of the U.S. Army facing very serious charges now.
They will go to an Article 32 hearing, which is the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury. And, from there, they will decide whether they will proceed to court-martial -- Wolf.
BLITZER: If convicted, they could face the death sentence; is that right?
MCINTYRE: Premeditated murder in the military does carry a potential death penalty. That's true.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, thank you very much. Jamie is going to be back on another story he's watching.
By all accounts, it's fueled and ready to be test-fired, a North Korean missile with the range to reach the United States. The Bush administration is launching a preemptive verbal strike, aimed at trying to dissuade the North Koreans from going through with the test.
Let's turn to our national security correspondent, David Ensor -- David.
ENSOR: Well, Wolf, the Bush administration is warning North Korea to reconsider launching a long-range missile in the coming days.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: It would be a very serious matter, and indeed a provocative act, should North Korea decide to -- to launch that missile.
ENSOR (voice-over): Rice and President Bush have been talking to Japan, China, South Korea and others about what to do if North Korea, as expected, goes ahead.
The North Korean launching pad is one of the sites most often photographed from space. Cloud cover since the long-range missile was deployed there and has been fueled has prevented commercial photos, but U.S. spy satellites with radar and other capabilities to see through bad weather show a Taepodong-2 ready to launch.
The missile, believed to have two stages, could reach Alaska, and possibly as far as the northwest coast of the lower 48 states.
WENDY SHERMAN, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT ADVISER: North Korea is saying, well, maybe Iran has oil, and that's why they're getting attention. Maybe, if we have long-range missiles, we can get the United States' attention.
ENSOR: Eight years ago, North Korea tested a medium-range missile, firing it into the mid-Pacific Ocean over the top of Japan. Analysts say it could face even more sanctions and U.N. Security Council condemnation if it goes ahead this time.
Clinton-era negotiator Wendy Sherman says, as with Iran, what is needed is tough diplomacy.
SHERMAN: The United States has to go back into discussions with its partners in the six-party talk and put together a real package with incentives and disincentives that can be put in front of North Korea. And they have to begin very nitty-gritty engagement.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: U.S. officials say, while North Korea has nuclear devices, there's no evidence it has managed the difficult feat of building one small and hardy enough to sit atop an intercontinental missile. Still, a long-range missile test would amount to a classic 21st century case of saber-rattling -- Wolf.
BLITZER: David, thanks very much.
Let's get a closer look now at the possible reach of this North Korean missile and the threat it potentially could pose to the United States.
CNN's Tom Foreman is here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Tom, what is -- what are you seeing here?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, when we talk about long- range, we will make it very simple here and simply look at what long- range means.
This is the facility in question. If you move into North Korea, we will highlight it right here. This is the place we're talking about, right up here on the coast. That little dot is roughly where we're talking about, but this is the range of that. Look at that. Almost half the globe is where it reaches to.
Down here, we have got Japan, one of the places that is obviously easily within its range. We mentioned that Alaska might be in question. You swing all the way over here, that's included in the scope of it. If you move down to Hawaii, we recently had that designation of the Marine sanctuary there. That area would be part of it, right up to Midway Island, not quite up to the main islands. But we are not sure about all of this.
U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan easily within the range of this missile, folks down in Indonesia, who have become very important in the global war on terrorism, concerns down there, obviously within the range of it, that's what we're talking about here, a missile that has very long-range capabilities, spanning a very significant part of the globe.
Maybe they don't have the technology all in place yet to do all they might want to do with that, but that's the very reason the U.S. and many other governments are taking this quite seriously.
BLITZER: And it potentially could reach California, the continental United States, as well, in addition to Alaska and Hawaii.
FOREMAN: A little more reach there, a little more reach to reach California, Oregon or Washington.
But the thing is, all of this is based on intelligence. We don't know all the details on what this might be able to do.
BLITZER: We are going to talk a little bit more about this with the former Defense Secretary William Cohen. That's coming up this hour.
Tom, thanks very much.
North Korea does not have the administration's undivided attention, by any means. Iran was on the president's mind earlier today. He warned, he will seek sanctions if Iran does not give up its nuclear activities and accept a compromise deal with -- from the West.
Speaking at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the president once again accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and said that nuclear weapons in the hands of the Iranian regime would be a grave threat to the rest of the world.
In Iraq, nine people were killed and dozens wounded today when bombs ripped through a Baghdad market and two Iraqi checkpoints. This comes as thousands of U.S. troops search for two missing American soldiers. An Islamic Web site says they have been kidnapped by al Qaeda.
The vice president, Dick Cheney, was asked about the Iraq situation earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: About a year ago, you said that the insurgency in Iraq was in its final throes. Do you still believe this?
RICHARD B. CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I do.
What I was referring to was the series of events that took place in 1995. I think the key turning point, when we get back 10 years from now, say, and look back on this period of time, and with respect to the campaign in Iraq, will be that series of events when -- when the Iraqis...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Unfortunately, we lost the rest of that clip, but the vice president not backing away, as you just heard, from his assertion almost -- more -- a little bit more than a year ago that the insurgency was now in its last throes. And he said that what has happened last year in Iraq underscores the shift in -- in the war, and he says the U.S. is clearly making progress and moving ahead.
At the same time, though, there are those two missing American soldiers and a massive search that is now under way. Let's once again go to our Pentagon senior correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
MCINTYRE: Wolf, you mentioned those claims posted on an Islamist Web site that the two missing soldiers have been captured.
The U.S. military remains highly skeptical of that claim, and they're using every means at their disposal to try to find them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (voice-over): It was Friday night about dusk in the Iraqi town of Yusufiyah, a hotbed of insurgent activity just southwest of Baghdad, smack in an area known by U.S. troops as the Triangle of Death.
Three soldiers in their Humvee were manning a checkpoint at a portable bridge that had been stretched over a canal. At 7:55 p.m., soldiers at another traffic control point nearby heard an explosion and small-arms fire coming from the bridge, and radioed for help. By 8:10 p.m., a small quick-reaction force arrived and found one soldier dead, two others missing.
Immediately, a full-scale hunt was launched, and military dive teams began searching the canal.
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, U.S. ARMY SPOKESMAN, COALITION FORCES IN IRAQ: We are using all available assets, coalition and Iraqi, to find our soldiers, and will not stop looking until we find them. We will never stop looking for our service members, until their status is definitively determined.
MCINTYRE: Over the weekend, the search was expanded to include 8,000 U.S. military and Iraqi army and police, along with manned and unmanned spy planes. Even F-18s from the aircraft carrier Enterprise are pressed into service to use their sophisticated targeting systems to look for clues.
The missing soldiers are 23-year-old Private Kristian Menchaca of Houston, Texas, and 25-year-old Private Thomas Tucker of Madras, Oregon. Their fate has attracted the attention of the highest levels of the U.S. government.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: And, obviously, their safe return is something that everyone will work for, and their safe return is something that everyone will pray for.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: Now, there have been local reports that the troops might have been lured away, some troops, by a diversionary attack, and that left the three remaining soldiers at the bridge vulnerable.
But U.S. military officials say, at this point, they have no official information that would confirm that account. And they are, at this time, continuing to operate under the assumption that an active search should remain under way -- Wolf.
BLITZER: There's one other American soldier who is officially listed as still missing, Sergeant Keith Maupin; is that right?
MCINTYRE: Keith Matthew Maupin is still listed as missing. There was a -- a claim that he had been murdered by insurgents, but the videotape they released was inconclusive. They couldn't tell. And, so, his fate remains uncertain.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, thanks very much for that report.
Let's go back to New York. Jack Cafferty has got "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Wolf.
Listen to this quote: "I think energy independence is going too far." You know who said that? The president of one of the big oil companies, of course. John Hofmeister, who runs Shell, a division of Royal Dutch Shell, said in a TV interview that energy independence is the wrong goal for the U.S. He thinks it's good for international relations and for the economy to get our oil from all over the world.
His company sells a lot of oil to this country of ours. He's promoting something that he calls energy security through energy diversity, which means combining the use of conventional oil and gas, along with alternative energy sources.
Meanwhile, government stats show 57 percent of the oil used in this country is imported. Last week, the average price of a gallon of gasoline, $2.93, up 40 percent from a year ago. Polls show most Americans blame Shell and the other oil companies for the spike in gas prices. But Hofmeister refuses to apologize for the industry's record profits.
Here's the question: The president of Shell Oil company says that energy independence is going too far. Do you agree?
E-mail your thoughts to CaffertyFile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile. I guess, if you were in the business of selling shoes, your position would be that the world needs to keep buying shoes -- Wolf.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Jack, thank you very much -- Jack Cafferty with "The Cafferty File."
And if you want a sneak preview, by the way, of Jack's questions, plus an early read on the day's political news and what's ahead right here in THE SITUATION ROOM, you can sign up for our daily e-mail alert. A simple way to do, just go to CNN.com/SITUATIONROOM.
Up ahead: the latest on a developing story we're following in New Orleans, 10 months after Katrina, National Guard troops once again being deployed to New Orleans, but their mission this time is very different. We will go there live.
Also, it's an invaluable tool of the -- in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now law enforcement in Los Angeles are getting ready to use it there. We're going to tell you what it is.
Plus, new details of that alleged al Qaeda plot to attack New York's subway system with poison gas -- we will get special insight from our terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
In our CNN "Security Watch": A chilling new report says al Qaeda came very close to carrying out a plot to spread poison gas in the New York City subway system. The city says that that's one more reason why it needs more homeland security funds from the federal government.
Here's CNN's Mary Snow.
Unfortunately, Mary Snow's report is not -- we're having some technical problems from New York. We're going to fix those problems, go to Mary Snow, as soon as that technical problem works out. We will take a quick break -- much more of our coverage right here in THE SITUATION ROOM after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
We will do our CNN "Security Watch" now. There is a chilling new report that says al Qaeda came very close to carrying out a plot to spread poison gas in the New York City subway system.
Let's bring in CNN's Mary Snow. She is joining us from one of those subway stations in New York -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, that was detailed in a new book, claiming that it was involving cyanide, and it was about 45 days before being launched on a system that generally carries about five million riders.
This also comes as New York City saw its homeland security funds cut by 40 percent. The mayor of this city has been very critical. And, today, he met up with President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): A new book detailing an al Qaeda plot to disperse cyanide on New York City subways in 2003 has New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg taking his concerns about homeland security funding cuts straight to the president. Bloomberg greeted him at JFK Airport, as the president arrived for a commencement speech.
Bloomberg doesn't blame the president for the cut in funding, but is disappointed in the process. MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), MAYOR OF NEW YORK: This goes to show why we deserve to get a larger amount of the homeland security budget.
SNOW: Bloomberg says he was aware of the plot detailed in Ron Suskind's "The One Percent Doctrine." It claims the plan to poison the subways was called off by Osama bin Laden's deputy 45 days before its launch. Bloomberg didn't reveal details, but said at the time the city didn't cite any specific threats to New York.
BLOOMBERG: We were completely posted by Washington, and we took appropriate precautions. And I guess history shows, since nothing happened, that we did what was correct.
SNOW: Why the plot was called off remains a question mark, as well as a claim cited in the book that cell members were inside the U.S.
Pat D'Amuro was the assistant director of the New York FBI branch at the time.
PAT D'AMURO, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: The bureau was never able to identify some of the individuals that they said were in the country ready to conduct this attack.
SNOW: Congressman Peter King, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, traveled with the president to New York and said he relayed concerns.
REP. PETER KING (R-NY), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: These are real threats. They're a real concern. And a number have been thwarted. But, also, there are still some that are on -- of ongoing concern to New York City. And it's -- New York is, by far, the city most at risk in this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now, Congressman Peter King says he plans to hold a hearing this Wednesday on the security threat to New York. And he says among those planned to testify is Mayor Mike Bloomberg -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Mary Snow, in New York, thanks very much.
So, does al Qaeda have poison gas or other weapons of mass destruction? And is it prepared to use them? If so, why would the subway plot have been called off?
Joining us now, our CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen. His latest book is entitled "The Osama bin Laden I Know."
Peter, let's get to some of those questions. Why would Ayman Al- Zawahri, the number-two guy of al Qaeda, call off this plot 45 days before it was about to go down?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Let's presume that that in fact happened. It's a little puzzling, but there's always been a debate within al Qaeda about the use of weapons of mass destruction. You may remember, Wolf, that part of the 9/11 plan initially, according to the operational commander of the plan, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, was to send those planes into an American nuclear plant.
Now, they called that off, that part of the plan off, because they didn't really know what was going to happen. And maybe, if indeed Zawahri did call this off, you know, there were unintended consequences. Maybe this would have turned off support -- the support they have in the Muslim world if they amped it up to weapons of mass destruction.
Clearly, they have a strong interest in that. You may remember, Wolf, the pictures of the dog that we recovered at CNN, the al Qaeda training tapes of a dog being gassed. That was almost certainly cyanide gas. They were experimenting with these things. They have had a strong interest in them.
But I do find it puzzling why they would stop if they had -- if it was a real plot, going forward.
BLITZER: One -- one explanation that Ron Suskind, the author of this new book -- he will be here in THE SITUATION ROOM tomorrow -- offers, potentially, is that Ayman al-Zawahri, the al Qaeda deputy to Osama bin Laden, didn't think it would kill enough people, that they wanted, after 9/11, the next major al Qaeda attack in the United States to even be more spectacular than 9/11 was, and, as result, he said: Don't do this one. Hold off. We're patient. We will get the real big one. And that will be the next one.
BERGEN: Well, that's -- that's possible.
Certainly, if you remember the sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway in 1995, a similar kind of plan which was actually executed, only killed 12 people in the end.
But I -- but I think that the psychological effect of any -- even a small weapons of mass destruction attack in the United States would be pretty large. Just think back to the anthrax attacks that killed five people shortly after 9/11. They had a pretty large psychological effect.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: But people don't -- to this day, don't know who was responsible for that anthrax attack.
BERGEN: Indeed. That remains unsolved.
BLITZER: With the letter bombs.
Here is what -- I interviewed the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, yesterday. And he -- he suggested that there were sleeper cells, al Qaeda sleeper cells, still here in the United States. And, based on this book, Ron Suskind's book, the -- those who plotted this subway attack, using the cyanide gas, those individuals remain at large.
But listen to the exchange with Senator Roberts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Let me just pick up on one point. Are you saying that there are al Qaeda or al Qaeda-related sleeper cells in the United States right now?
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-KS), SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Well, let's just say the NSA program that we have that is monitoring the calls coming from a terrorist camp from al Qaeda to the United States, they're not calling the United States simply to be calling the United States. And I'll just leave it at that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Earlier in the interview, he did say there were sleeper cells here in the United States.
Do you believe there are al Qaeda sleeper cells in the United States right now?
BERGEN: I have been skeptical, but I'm changing my mind.
I think that, if you look at the recent arrests in Canada, second-generation, self-starting guys who were planning to attack targets in Ontario, if you look at a case in Torrance, California, right now, which is going to go to trial in the fall this year, plans to attack American synagogues and U.S. military bases, I think the short answer is yes.
BLITZER: Peter Bergen, our terrorism analyst, thanks very much.
BERGEN: Thank you.
BLITZER: And, to our viewers, remember to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
And don't forget, tomorrow, here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Ron Suskind, the author this new book, "The One Percent Doctrine," he will be joining us tomorrow in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Zain Verjee is off today. Betty Nguyen is joining us for a closer with some other -- at some stories making news -- Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Wolf.
Episcopalians are making and considering bold decisions within their church in the U.S. Today, they're debating whether or not the church should temporarily ban gays from becoming bishops. That's at the request of world Anglican leaders upset over the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop.
Meanwhile, yesterday, the Episcopal Church elected its first woman presiding bishop. Katharine Jefferts Schori' election could further anger conservative Episcopalians.
Well, it is an alternative fuel that is supposed to cost less, but new research says that ethanol-blended gasoline is actually costing consumers more, according to the Oil Price Information Service, 20 to 30 cents more per gallon, to be exact. One expert says that more people are turning to ethanol to avoid sky-high gas prices. And that is causing shortages in the ethanol supply. Ethanol is produced from corn right here in the U.S.
And now to Iraq -- a group with ties to al Qaeda says it's holding four Russian diplomats hostage, and they're giving Moscow 48 hours to meet two conditions, one, withdraw Russian troops from Chechnya, and release what the group regards as brothers and sisters from prison.
The group has posted its demands on a Web site. Now, this same group also claims to be holding the two American soldiers now missing in Iraq since Friday. None of the group's claims can yet be verified -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Betty, thank you very much.
Let's get back to one of or top stories now: tough warnings today for two pillars of the president's old so-called axis of evil. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took on North Korea over its apparent plans for a long-range missile test, saying a launch would be -- quote -- "very serious and provocative."
The president personally told Iran that the West's offer of a nuclear deal is an offer it should not refuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Iran's leaders reject our offer, it will result in action before the Security Council, further isolation from the world, and progressively stronger political and economic sanctions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Joining us now, a key member of CNN's Security Council, our world affairs analyst, the former Defense Secretary William Cohen. He's chairman and CEO of The Cohen Group here in Washington.
What do you make of this possibility that the North Koreans will test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile in the coming days?
WILLIAM COHEN, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think the probability looks rather high at this particular point. I have not seen the reports, whether the -- the fueling of those rockets has been complete. But, if so, it would leave a fairly small window for them to then complete and take the test and conduct it as such.
So, I -- I think, given everything we have seen to date, the likelihood is great that they will. They are masters of deception. They're also masters of miscalculation. And I think the miscalculation here is, it could in fact solidify even stronger opposition to the North Koreans, including that coming from China.
If they were to test-fire a missile, Japan becomes very concerned about that. If Japan becomes concerned, China should be concerned about Japan's insecurity. So, there's a real connection over here that Japan is looking at this. They have had one missile test-fired over their -- over their territory in 1998.
Now, they have -- as a result of that, they have really increased their missile defense cooperation with the United States. That has gotten the attention of China. So, there's a real nexus here. And, so, China really is the key, I think, to preventing this from going forward, if it's going to be prevented at all.
BLITZER: If they go ahead and test this intercontinental ballistic missile, what should the U.S. do?
COHEN: I think the -- the U.S. should bring it before the Security Council. We have Australia, Japan, the United States. We have the South Koreans, who would certainly would be urging action on the part of the Security Council. China and Russia once again play a key role here.
But to point out, China has a lot at stake here. If, in fact, North Korea fires this missile, test-fires this, and it is seen as being supportive or not coming out in strong opposition to it, that could certainly have an impact upon China, as well.
BLITZER: Looking back to the '90s, when the U.S. thought it had a deal with North Korea to end its uranium enrichment and to work for peaceful purposes -- you remember the deal that was struck early on in the Clinton administration before you became defense secretary, was that all a mistake? Should the U.S. have taken military action then and there early on to destroy North Korea's nuclear capabilities?
COWEN: When we talk about taking military action against North Korea, it's certainly always an option, but it's one which all of the experts who have looked at this understand there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives at stake, should there be a military confrontation that....
BLITZER: It was an option -- your predecessor William Perry had an option to do that.
COWEN: He sent a very strong signal that we were prepared to do that, and I think President Bush would also reserve that. But we also want to make sure we exhaust diplomacy. Taking military action when you have half a million -- 800,000 troops just north of the DMZ is not something that we should look upon lightly.
BLITZER: The South Koreans would get nervous at that, understandably, as well.
The president spoke out about Iran earlier today, and they said they have incentives to go forward and to suspend its uranium enrichment, but he also said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Iran's leaders reject or offer, it will result in action before the Security Council, further isolation from the world, and progressively stronger political and economic sanctions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Is it realistic to assume, though, that the Iranians under any scenario, are going to do what Libya had did, for example, and give up its nuclear ambitions?
COWEN: Well, it's hard to say at this point. The likelihood is not great that they will do so, given all that we understand in terms of this becoming a national priority for the Iranian people, but they have to take into account what this would mean in terms of going forward with this nuclear weapons program.
They would face greater isolation. They would face the prospect that we would seek coercive measures short of military force. Not ruling out military force ultimately, but seeking real financial hardship, inflicting that upon them.
They have to take that into account and weigh that against the so-called carrots that have been offered. Diplomatic recognition, infusion of economic assistance, integration into the international community, those are very positive things that they have to weigh very carefully and weigh that against going forward, saying as a matter of national pride, they're entitled to having nuclear power, which they then conflate and merge with nuclear weapons so people don't understand the difference. We do; the Iranian people may not. But that's what the goal is.
BLITZER: Nuclear brinksmanship with North Korea and Iran. Unfortunately, I suspect we're going to continue this conversation down the road. Thanks for coming in.
COWEN: Appreciate it, Wolf.
BLITZER: And coming up, stopping the bloodshed. Six people dead from a weekend of violence in New Orleans, the mayor, Ray Nagin, pleading for help, now the governor, Kathleen Blanco, acting.
And one place has too much of it while another place needs more of it. We're talking about water. It's causing flooding in Houston, while firefighters need more water to battle a blaze in Arizona. Stay with us. We'll have the latest. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
There are new developments in a story we've been following. Louisiana's governor is now ordering National Guard troops and state police deployed to New Orleans after six killings this weekend.
CNN Gulf Coast correspondent Susan Roesgen is joining us now live from New Orleans with the latest -- Susan.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you're right.
Just in the last hour, Governor Kathleen Blanco released a statement saying that she is going to send National Guard troops and state police here to the city first thing in the morning.
Crime was always a big problem in this city before Katrina, especially drug crime, but some people are beginning to wonder whether it's going to be worse after Katrina. The number of murders has gone up in this city every month since the hurricanes, and then last weekend the last straw: five teenagers killed in one shooting, and that led the mayor and the city council to ask for help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY NAGIN, MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS: The things that happened pre- Katrina are definitely no longer acceptable, and we are coming together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because if we don't have a storm we have a storm. If we don't have wind knocking us down, we have people, murderers shooting us down, and that is unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Now, Governor Blanco is supposed to have a news conference in the next hour to talk about sending the National Guard here to New Orleans, but also, Wolf, CNN's Sean Callebs has just finished interviewing the chief of police here, and he says, wait a minute, this whole thing has been blown out of portion. The chief says the city is actually safer now than it was before Katrina. So you'll hear much more from Sean Callebs a little later tonight on THE SITUATION ROOM -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much, Susan Roesgen reporting for us. Sean will be joining us here during our 7 p.m. Eastern hour.
Hurricane Katrina was at the heart of a surge of charitable contributions by Americans last year, an outpouring of support a new report is simply calling extraordinary. Our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton, is standing by with details -- Abbi.
ABBI TATTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, $260 billion. That's how much Americans gave to charity in 2005. That's up almost three percent after the figures are adjusted for inflation. According to a new report by Giving USA, they do this study every year.
The reason for this outpouring of support? Major natural disasters. Here, at home, and also abroad. And the overwhelming majority of these donations are given by individuals. They gave $4.25 billion to the Gulf Coast hurricane effort. The tsunami received $1.5 billion, $40 million to the Pakistan earthquake.
The major recipients of this money, what's called human services organizations like the Bush/Clinton Katrina fund, also the American Red Cross, which got $2.4 billion -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you, Abbi, for that.
Still to come, fire and floods raising worry and woe in two places. In Arizona, thousands of acres are burning, while in Houston, floodwaters are making roads look like small rivers. We're going to have an update.
And in our 7 p.m. Eastern hour, Howard Dean, he hopes to put Democrats back in control of both houses come November, but what's his plan to do that? I'll ask him. That's coming up in our 7 p.m. Eastern hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here's a look at some of the "Hot Shots" coming in from our friends at the Associated Press, pictures likely to be in your hometown newspapers tomorrow.
In Afghanistan, Operation Mountain Thrust, soldiers on the offensive in southern Afghanistan wait for resupplies carried by Chinook helicopters.
In Kentucky, 2-year-old Will Meredith runs into the arms of his father who just returned from duty in Iraq.
In Nashville, drill sergeant competition. Soldiers from around the country to compete for a week to win drill sergeant of the year. The soldier Army Sergeant First Class Steven Howard (ph) did 70 pushups in two minutes. Not bad.
In Kings Point, New York, graduates at the Merchant Marine Academy celebrate their graduation. President Bush gives the commencement speech.
Some of today's "Hot Shots", pictures often worth 1,000 words.
Betty Nguyen is joining us once again from the CNN Center with a closer look at some other important stories making news.
Hi, Betty.
NGUYEN: Hi, Wolf.
A dire warning of a possible regional war in the Horn of Africa. It comes from the top U.N. enjoy to Somalia, who is urging the Security Council to take action. He says neighboring Ethiopia has amassed troops along its border with Somalia. Since an Islamic militia seized control of the Somali capital from a U.S.-backed coalition of warlords.
And a deep divide on the Supreme Court, as it ruled today on wetlands development. In a 5-4 decision, the justices said the Army Corps of Engineers overstepped its bounds by trying to block two Michigan projects, but the ruling was very narrow, and Chief Justice John Roberts noted the decision provides little guidance to lower courts looking at similar matters.
Well, the heat is on, the winds are up and it is rough going for crews battling a 3,000-acre wildfire near Sedona, Arizona. About 500 homes and businesses are under a mandatory evacuation order. Meanwhile, three lightning-sparked wildfires have burned about 24,000 acres in neighboring New Mexico and threatening 150 homes -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Betty, thank you very much.
We're following a developing story as well in Houston, which has been inundated by heavy rain and flooding today. More rain, in fact, may be on the way.
CNN's Jonathan Freed is joining us now live from Houston with more.
How bad is it, Jonathan?
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Wolf.
I can tell you that I'm standing in front of the White Oak Bayou (ph), and the scene here is drastically different from what is normally the case. We are just out -- just east of downtown Houston. Take a look at the current here.
The locals tell us, Wolf, that normally you can see the bottom here, but we're estimating, watching debris floating by, that the current is moving five, six, maybe even seven knots.
And if you take a look over at the pylons beneath the roadway support over there, you can see the water pushing by it and you can tell that the high watermark was definitely a couple of feet higher than where it is now.
In all, Wolf, they got in some parts of Houston 11 inches of rain earlier today. Some 500 people were rescued by the fire department, mostly because they were driving into high water -- Wolf.
BLITZER: What a mess in Houston. Jonathan, thank you very much.
Abbi Tatton is using the Internet to track some dangerous travel conditions in and around the Houston area.
Abbi, what are you picking up?
TATTON: Wolf, we've been tracking the Houston transfer site all day. This is a traffic and emergency management agency in the city there.
Things clearing up a bit more now, but looking at the maps of the rainfall over the last 24 hours, you can see just how heavily hit some areas, over nine inches here, seven inches right there nearby of those areas corresponded with some of these emergency areas right now.
High water locations, we counted 15 currently there right now, but earlier on, we saw somewhat around 50 high water locations. Things, as I said, clearing up. They say that the water is receding at about an inch as hour right now, but it's the access roads that are still flooded. Local residents have been taking photos of just what the situation is. This is from Trey Phillips (ph) on Flicker. You can see that things are pretty serious in southeast Houston -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Abbi.
Let's go up to New York. Lou Dobbs is getting ready for his program that begins at the top of the hour. Lou standing by with a preview.
Welcome back, Lou.
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Good to be back, Wolf. Thank you.
Coming up at the top of the hour here on CNN, we'll be reporting on dangerous new threats from two countries in the axis of evil. Is the United States administration talking tough or running a bluff? Among my guests tonight, two leading national security analysts.
Also tonight, more than 40 of this country's leading conservative Republicans demanding that President Bush abandon his amnesty program for illegal aliens. One of those Republicans, Bill Bennett, joins me.
And Congress has voted to give itself another pay raise, so let's ask ourselves, just what has Congress done to earn that raise? And what has it done for this country's lowest-paid workers? We'll have the shocking answers. Please be with us for that.
And the Bush White House giving away American assets, wants to turn over our ports. Now it's all excited about giving up control of our airlines to foreign interests. The great American giveaway, adamantly opposed by at least one congressman, Frank Lobiando (ph). He'll be our guest here tonight. Please be with us.
Wolf, back to you.
DOBBS: All right, Lou. We'll see you in a few moments. Lou Dobbs coming up.
Up ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, look up. They're used in Iraq and Afghanistan to find terrorists, high-flying drones. Now you may be surprised to learn what American city they'll be watching.
Also, is energy independence the wrong goal for the United States? The president of one oil company seems to think so, but what do you think? Jack Cafferty has your e-mails. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Check back with Jack in New York -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: Thanks, Wolf. The question this hour, the president of Royal Dutch Shell oil company says, and this is a quote, "Energy independence is going too far", unquote. Talking about the United States. The question is, do you agree with that statement?
Chris in Ohio: "Jack, welcome back. That's rich. Any oil company thinking we're going too far, separating ourselves from their profit and loss statements. What number do they put on their tax form in the box for dependents? Two hundred and seventy-eight million?"
Peter in Washington, D.C.: "This comment seems reminiscent of the self-interest loaded statements of tobacco chiefs. For the sake of us all, these people should all come with public health warnings attached."
Jim writes: "Do you really believe destroying the economies of the Middle East by becoming totally energy independent is really in the best interest of the United States?"
Yes, I do.
Teresa in New York: "Are you kidding me? With all of this country's technological advancement, we all know there's only one reason we're not getting into cars that run on compost or cooking oil: the oil companies!"
Joan in Boca Raton: "The hell with Shell. If energy independence means cutting the fossil fuel umbilical, it couldn't happen soon enough. It's just a matter of time before alternative sources will be economically viable. The days of monopolistic oil barons raping the planet and pillaging our pocketbooks are numbered."
And Ray in California: "Jack, I think my driving to a Shell station for gasoline has just become too far!" -- Wolf.
BLITZER: I was waiting for someone to say that. Thanks very much, Jack. We'll see you back here in one hour in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Up next, how do you keep a close eye on criminals without them even knowing? Officials in one American city think they've found an answer with a quiet crime-fighting weapon used by the U.S. military.
Chris Lawrence is standing by. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
Aerial surveillance tools keeping track of a criminal's every move. Might be that be another way law enforcement combats crime? Our next story suggests that may be the future, and the future may be now.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is joining us live from Los Angeles with our "Welcome to the Future" report.
Chris, what's going on in L.A.?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's a nearly invisible eye in the sky. Versions have been used in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in the next few weeks, a SWAT team will put a drone to use right here in Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice-over): It's no bigger than a model airplane and launched with a good hard throw.
SAM DE LA TORRE, SKY SEER INVENTOR: It flies about 21 knots. We've proven it in altitudes up to 8,000 feet.
LAWRENCE: It takes one man five minutes to get the Sky Seer airborne. And when the mission is done, he can pack it up and toss it over his shoulder. It's cheaper than a helicopter, and can hover silently over a crime scene with no risk to a pilot.
COMMANDER SID HILL, L.A. POLICE: And so as a result we have the vertical perspective without the ambient noise.
LAWRENCE: Sky Seer's two campers will give the L.A. County sheriffs real-time images from the air, while suspects may have no idea they're even under surveillance.
HILL: I can tell you we're already being watched.
LAWRENCE: Commander Sid Hill says every ATM, grocery store and parking garage is using some kind of camera.
HILL: And interestingly enough, no one has really objected to that, because it's intended to be safer for the public.
JODY ARMOUR, USC LAW PROFESSOR: The problem is we don't have surveillance cameras over our backyards.
LAWRENCE: USC law professor Jody Armour says Sky Seer tilts the balance in favor of security over privacy.
ARMOUR: Certainly initially it may be for emergency situations, SWAT activities and the like, but it may be irresistible when you're fighting crime and doing a good job as our sheriff's department does, not to be tempted to take it a step further.
LAWRENCE: "Terminator 3" showed you are a film maker's vision of futuristic drones, but sheriffs say unlike the movies, Sky Seer has serious limitations on what it can do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: For example, the pictures from its camera is almost unusable above 300 feet, and at least to start, the Sky Seer won't look at anything that the sheriffs aren't already allowed to see with conventional aircraft -- Wolf.
BLITZER: So they're going to start this whole program fairly soon. How well-developed of a program do they anticipate in L.A.?
LAWRENCE: Right now they have already purchased one Sky Seer. The commander has already trained one person. They'll then use him to train other people in the SWAT unit. And they expect to deploy it with a SWAT team sometime in the next few weeks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Chris Lawrence in Los Angeles with our "Welcome to the Future report. Chris, thanks very much.
Let's go back to Jacki Schechner, our Internet reporter. She's watching an important story online.
What are you picking up, Jacki?
SCHECHNER: Well, Wolf, it's a new online magazine that just launched today. While you may think you've seen something like it before, it's really the powerhouses behind it that are making people take notice.
For example, you've got Stan Greenberg, who's a former poll analyst for President Clinton. You've got Bill Calston, who is with the Brookings Institute, and you've got Roy Teixeira, who is with the Center for American Progress. Donna Brazile, a CNN contributor, Jerome Armstrong, a big blogger.
These are all Democratic strategists, getting together to do this new magazine. It's going to be monthly, and then they're going to do a daily update online. They say the idea is to combine Democratic strategy with real hard data and to formulate a forward thinking strategy for the upcoming election cycle.
So we're going to keep an eye on it, Wolf, and we'll let you know if it actually makes a difference.
BLITZER: Jacki, thanks very much. Jacki Schechner, part of the best political team on television. CNN, America's campaign headquarters.
Lou Dobbs part of that team, as well. He's standing by in New York -- Lou.
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