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The Situation Room

Did Messy Divorce Fuel Death Wish?; Military Massacre Probe

Aired July 10, 2006 - 16:59   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, did a messy divorce fuel a death wish?

It's 5:00 p.m. in New York, where a building blast seemed like a bomb to nervous New Yorkers. Now officials are trying to piece together a puzzle involving a bitter battle and some very pricey real estate.

If North Korea will pay for launching missiles, it will have to wait.

It's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington, where the Bush administration is supporting a delay in a vote on whether or not to impose sanctions on the defiant nation.

And it's 1:00 a.m. in Iraq, where there are now disturbing new details concerning two probes of whether or not U.S. troops murdered Iraqis in Iraq. I'll ask Republican Senator John Warner, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, what he knows, what he thinks.

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

But up first this hour, a messy divorce and an apparent death wish, a massive explosion, a fiery aftermath. Those are the apparent pieces to a very bizarre puzzle that's now coming together.

A building collapsed today in New York City, and witnesses thought they were being bombed. Right now, some streets in Manhattan's upper-crust East Side are closed as officials try to figure out exactly what happened.

Let's go to Mary Snow. She's on the scene for us with the very latest -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's been nearly eight hours now since fire department officials were first called to the scene, and officials say they are still putting out this fire.

Five civilians were injured, including one person inside a home who suffered serious burns. Four others were hurt as they were passing by. Also, the fire department says 10 firefighters, not life- threatening injuries, but they have been injured.

This, as officials say all signs point to a gas explosion. When it happened, many feared for the worst.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice over): This is the moment it happened. A passerby giving these cell phone shots to CNN as a building on Manhattan's Upper East Side burst into flames. It happened during the morning rush hour.

CNN's Larry King was at a nearby hotel.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": And I heard the loudest sound I've ever heard in my life, an incredible boom, obviously an explosion. I thought it was a bomb. The first thing you think of is 9/11, naturally.

SNOW: And he was not the only one. Shortly after the explosion, the White House issued a statement saying the incident was not terrorism-related.

Among the emergency workers at the site, Coast Guard officers, part of the Department of Homeland Security.

BRAD GAIR, OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MGMT.: The Coast Guard, of course, we're in a new world now. They're part of the Department of Homeland Security as everything is being looked at.

SNOW: While officials quickly ruled out terrorism, the city's fire department commissioner said the owner of the building may have tried to take his own life.

NICHOLAS SCOPPETTA, FDNY COMMISSIONER: We don't have any comment beyond the fact that we're investigating the fact that the occupant of the building appears to have talked to somebody, notified somebody that there was a potential for suicide.

SNOW: A police official knowledgeable with the investigation says the person most seriously hurt in the explosion had written a rambling suicide note to his estranged wife, who turned it over to police. This official says they were locked in a bitter divorce battle.

Officials say they are investigating the circumstances leading to the explosion. Some engineers say a gas stove could cause an explosion like this that would collapse a building, but it's not common for it to happen.

HOLLICE STONE, HINMAN CONSULTING ENGINEERS: Without an initial explosion or an earthquake or something like that, it's very uncommon for a building to collapse like this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And as investigators put together the pieces of what happened, fire officials here say it could take several days before they get a very clear picture -- Wolf.

BLITZER: It looks like a mess behind you, but then again, it is always messy this time in New York. It's much worse today, though.

SNOW: Absolutely, Wolf. And traffic had been cut off for several blocks around this area earlier today. It was reopened to traffic, but again, with rush hour only adding to this mess -- and the street behind me is exactly where it happened. So that has been cut off as well.

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

There's another developing story we're following right here in Washington, a critical ruling in a controversial case pitting the Congress against the Bush administration. In just the last hour, a federal judge ruled that an FBI raid on the office of Democratic Congressman William Jefferson was constitutional.

Let's bring back our senior national correspondent, John Roberts -- John.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf.

It's a big win for the Justice Department, no question, and a big blow to the legislative branch. Chief Justice Thomas Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled, as you said, that the search of Congressman William Jefferson's office was, in fact, according to the Constitution.

Jefferson had argued that the search of his congressional offices the Capitol building on May 20th and 21st of this year violated the speech or debate clause of the Constitution which prohibits the executive branch from interfering in legislative business. In a hearing a few weeks back, Hogan tipped his hand that he didn't buy that argument, saying that the speech or debate clause is not a "hide and conceal" clause.

And in addition to ruling that the search was constitutional, Hogan also ordered that all of the materials seized in that search -- it includes a lot of documents, computer hard drives which had been placed under seal after President Bush ordered a 45-day cooling-off period -- all those documents and materials would be turned over to the Department of Justice immediately, and that investigators are free to look at them as of today.

Jefferson is under investigation on suspicion of taking bribes. The FBI says they have him on videotape taking $100,000 from a government informant. The FBI later found, as you'll recall in a highly publicized case, $90,000 of that money, allegedly of that money, in a freezer in Jefferson's Washington home.

Now, the ruling is extremely significant because the raid on Jefferson's office was the first time that federal agents had searched the Capitol building, at least looking for criminal materials. House Speaker Dennis Hastert had strongly objected to it, but now Judge Hogan says it is in fact constitutional to initiate a search in the Capitol building.

An attorney for Jefferson says he's going to appeal the ruling. No surprise there -- Wolf.

BLITZER: So, it may not necessarily be the last word, although it's a huge setback not only for Jefferson, but for Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

ROBERTS: It will be the last world if it's upheld by the court of appeals and then on to the Supreme Court. If it's overturned, of course, Wolf, then that's another story.

But one of the reasons why members of Congress are worried about this is because there are a few people up on Capitol Hill who are worried abut the investigation into the Jack Abramoff scandal, worried now that the FBI may come calling, looking for certain documents.

BLITZER: It could set a precedent.

Thanks very much.

John Roberts reporting.

Let's bring in our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton. She has more on what evidence the Justice Department should now be able to examine in the Jefferson case -- Abbi.

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, first of all, we're putting online right now that ruling that's just come out from U.S. district court saying that this search of the office was indeed constitutional. So now these documents, the evidenced that's seized, is going to be turned over to the Department of Justice. And there are some clues as what some of those materials are from the affidavit that accompanied that search warrant before the search on May 20th and 21st.

Here's that affidavit here. Now, some of it is heavily redacted. We can't see item by item what those agents were looking for, but read on and you'll see some clues here.

They want communications, faxes, ledgers, travel records related to Congressman Jefferson. Also some details there. A folder labeled "Ghana."

All of this in the affidavit, which we're now putting back online. It's all there at cnn.com/situationreport -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you, Abbi.

Now to the status of two military probes whose details are different but whose questions are disturbingly the same. Did U.S. troops murder innocent civilians in Iraq?

One involves the Haditha investigation, involving the alleged massacre of 24 Iraqis. The other concerns events in Mahmoudiya, where three Iraqis were allegedly killed and an Iraqi woman was allegedly raped.

Let's start with the investigation into the atrocities in Haditha. Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, has the latest -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, one investigation of Haditha has concluded that it wasn't so much of a cover-up as a leadership letdown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice over): An administrative investigation separate from the criminal probe into the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha last year found a failure by Marine Corps officers to follow up conflicting reports on how the civilians died, a defense official with direct knowledge of the findings tells CNN.

The voluminous report has been forwarded to the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey, by his deputy, Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, who the official says expressed frustration at the failure of leadership. The report finds specifically the initial reporting of the incident was untimely, inaccurate and incomplete, that officers throughout the 2nd Marine Division failed to sufficiently and adequately investigate those reports, and that they missed red flags, including the payment of $38,000 in compensation to families of the victims.

The attorney for one of the three Marine officers relieved of command back in April insists his client, Captain Luke McConnell (ph), passed accurate and complete reports up the chain of command and had no reason to disbelieve Marines who said they used deadly force because they were under attack. The attorney for one of the Marines at the scene, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, admits his client's initial report was incomplete but insists he updated it later in the day after more Iraqis were killed.

NEAL PUCKETT, ATTORNEY FOR STAFF SGT. FRANK WUTERICH: He was asked by whoever was on the other end of the radio, "How many KIA?: And he said, "Approximately 12 to 15." So that's where the "15" number comes from that's been so widely reported.

MCINTYRE: And defense attorneys argue an inaccurate press release attributing 15 civilian deaths to a roadside bomb was likely the result of an honest communication.

GARY MYERS, ATTORNEY FOR HADITHA MARINE: So, yes, press releases go out, they're sometimes not completely right. Does that mean that there is some massive cover-up? Of course not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: And while the failure to look into obvious inconsistencies may not rise to a criminal offense, defense officials say it could indicate a lack of leadership that could result in career-ending discipline -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre reporting.

Jamie, thank you very much.

The U.S. military says four more soldiers standing accused of the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and with killing three other members of her family in Mahmoudiya. A fifth soldier is charged with failing to report the atrocities.

They're all charged with conspiring with former private Steven Green to commit the crimes. Green, who is out of the Army right now, last week pleaded not guilty in a civilian federal court to charges of rape and murder.

Meanwhile, as these investigations continue, so, too, does the violence in Iraq. Right now at least eight people are dead after a series of bombings around Iraq.

In one incident, five died after a car bombing in Baghdad. In another, a truck packed with explosives detonated in Kirkuk, killing three.

And in the Saddam Hussein trial, a judge tells the defiant ex- dictator, come to court or else. Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants were not in court today, and the judge threatened to physically drag them in. Saddam Hussein and the others have threatened to boycott unless the court meets a list of their demands.

Let's go to Jack Cafferty in New York. He's standing by with "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, the White House apparently is at it again. Here's a portion of a letter that was written to President Bush in May.

"The U.S. Congress simply should not have to play 20 questions in order to get information that it deserves under our Constitution." The letter's author is a Republican, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Peter Hoekstra of Michigan.

He's accusing the administration of failing to inform Congress about a significant intelligence program. He says he only found out about it after a government whistleblower tipped him off, and only then was his intelligence committee briefed.

And this ought to make you sleep well. Hoekstra wouldn't say what the program is, but he said it's not the NSA wiretapping operation and it's not the Treasury Department bank monitoring program.

So something else is going on, boys and girls, that we don't know anything about.

Hoekstra says the administration's not telling his committee about the program could be a violation of law.

I wonder when anybody is going to bother to find out if that in fact is a violation. Nobody seems interested in addressing that question.

Here's our question, though. What does it mean when congressional oversight committees find out about secret White House programs by accident?

E-mail us at caffertyfile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/caffertyfile -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jack, thank you.

And if you want a sneak preview, by the way, of Jack's questions, plus an early read on the day's political news ad what's ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, sign up for our daily e-mail alert. Just go to CNN.com/situationroom.

Up ahead, a first strike against North Korea by Japan? Does that country have the capability and the will to take out a North Korean missile?

Also, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the road in Tajikistan. We're going to show you why that country plays a critical role in the war on terror.

Plus, shuttle astronauts take a walk in space and make some important repairs. Our Internet reporters standing by to show us the situation online.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: On hold right now, efforts at the United Nations Security Council to try to pass a resolution punishing North Korea for its missiles launches. Now all eyes are on Pyongyang, where Chinese diplomats are on the ground trying to pressure North Korea to return to the six-party talks.

Our senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth, is joining us from New York with the latest -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the U.N. Security Council decided to delay a potential vote on sanctions today at the Security Council, electing to give China a chance to reel in the unpredictable regime of Kim Jong-il back to the negotiating table.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH (voice over): China's vice premier and his delegation are carrying more than gifts on their visit to North Korea, scheduled to celebrate 45 years of a friendship treaty. They're now carrying the expectations of the 15 member nations that are watching and waiting on the United Nations Security Council.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We do think that the Chinese mission to North Korea has some promise, and we would like to let that play out. ROTH: That meant Japan, the main proponent of a sanctions resolution against North Korea, delayed a potential vote by a divided Security Council.

KENZO OSHIMA, JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We have a resolution which is tabled, ready to be voted upon, and it's only a matter of timing.

ROTH: The vote would have been interesting since another round at talks at the U.N. failed to break the deadlock over sanctions among Asian powers. But China hinted it may be ready to accept some form of resolution.

WANG GUANGYA, CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We asked them to modify their position. If they wish to have a resolution, they should have a modified one, not this one.

ROTH: Japan upped the stakes by raising the possibility of a preemptory strike against North Korean missile sites. Some at the Security Council don't want to wait forever for China to come through.

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: I'm a patient person, but delay won't be infinite. We're going to look at it on a day-to-day basis and go from there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: And late today, Wolf, the deputy North Korean ambassador here in New York told us, "It is unfair that the U.S. is taking up our case to the U.N. Security Council. We haven't done anything wrong."

BLITZER: Richard Roth at the U.N.

Thank you.

And in just a moment we're going to speak with the -- with CNN world affairs analyst William Cohen of The Cohen Group. He's going to join us to talk a little bit more about the standoff with North Korea.

Coming up, he's the man behind a deadly school siege, and Russia's most wanted terrorist. We have new details of how he was taken out today by Russian agents.

Plus, shuttle astronauts making repairs on the International Space Station with a tricky spacewalk. Our Internet reporters are standing by to show us where you can see what's going on online.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's check in with Zain once again. She's got a quick look at some other important stories making news -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, investigators suspect a propane leak may have caused a deadly explosion at a lakeside resort community in northeast Wisconsin. An early morning blast killed two people when it ripped through a grocery store cottage and maintenance building in Ellison Bay on Lake Michigan.

The bodies of two people were found late this morning. Investigators say only that they were vacationers. Four people are hospitalized, three were treated and released.

The Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts says the state may place a constitutional amendment to ban future gay marriages on the ballot if it's OK'd by the legislature. Today's ruling came in a lawsuit by gay rights supporters who challenged the ballot measure's approval by the state's attorney general. The Supreme Judicial Court is the same court that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriage.

If current trends prevail, tobacco will kill a billion people in the course of this century. That prediction comes from health officials reporting in the newly revised and released "Tobacco Atlas and Cancer Atlas." The CEO of the American Cancer Society says in all of world history, this is the largest train wreck not waiting to happen.

Could Southwest Airlines signature cattle calls be coming to an end? The popular Dallas-based carrier today began testing assigned seating on some of its flights out of San Diego in California. It's basically trying to find out if assigning seats would create costly delays in the process of unloading and reloading flights. Right now passengers board in three groups on a first come, first served basis, and then they sit wherever they want -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Zain, thank you for that.

Zain Verjee reporting.

Coming up, the Bush administration supports, at least right now, a delay in a vote over how a U.N. Security Council resolution should deal with North Korea. But does that send a mixed message? I'll talk about that with Republican Senator John Warner. He's the chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

And how's this for a political plot twist? Take a look at this. Two men who look just alike now have some very, very powerful posts in Poland. This is a strange turn of events.

You're going to want to see this. We'll have details.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's get some more now on the tensions with North Korea as a result of its missile test. We're joined by 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. It seems like the various members of the six parties -- obviously North Korea one of them -- they can't get their act together as far as a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing some strict sanctions against North Korea. Right now they're giving more time for China to try to work out a deal with North Korea.

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think a little bit of time is certainly desirable if they can reach an agreement, but I think too much of a delay simply ends up rewarding North Korea for what it's done.

And it's interesting to note that Kim Jong-il really has had it both ways over the years. He has demanded that the world and South Korea and others feed his population, open up economic avenues to help build his economy, while he ends up putting a finger in the eye of the international community. And I think that he has to pay a penalty for this most recent flagrant display of his discontent about the United States and others, and that should come in the form of less supply of economic assistance and other types of penalties that should be, at least in the short term, applied.

Then we can talk about sitting down with the six parties and then discuss the original agreement or proposal by President Bush; namely, you give up the nuclear weapons, there will be an economic -- a robust economic package available to help you build your country.

BLITZER: The key in all of this is China and how much leverage, how much pressure it will put on North Korea, because that's basically its only outlet right now. Yesterday, Senator McCain, Senator Lindsey Graham, they both said China's got to step up to the plate.

They're hanging by a thread as far as relations between Congress and China are concerned. That kind of tough talk, is it going to affect China?

COHEN: I think China will pursue its ultimate interests in this. And I would hope that they would exert more pressure on North Korea.

China has to be concerned about what is taking place as far as Kim Jong-il is concerned about his continuing to build nuclear weapons. He should also be very concerned about what is taking place in Japan.

Japan is concerned about North Korea to date. They're going to get closer, much closer to the United States. In fact, I would recommend that we intensify that relationship, consider sending more Aegis types of cruisers and destroyers to Japan, intensify or accelerate the deployment of a national missile defense system for Japan to let the North Koreans know and the Chinese indirectly that this is something that should be very much of concern to them. That this might, in fact, produce a reaction in Japan which they won't want to see.

BLITZER: You were the defense secretary in the '90s, the second term of the Clinton administration, basically. In the first term there was a deal worked out between the Clinton administration and North Korea in which the North Koreans would forego its nuclear weapons program in exchange for extensive assistance. That was provided, there were inspections, all of that. But at some point the North Koreans decided to cheat and retreat.

COHEN: Right.

BLITZER: When did that point begin based on everything you know?

COHEN: I can't pinpoint when it began, but basically we should adopt the position that, no, they should not be trusted in the future. We should have very, very intrusive inspection verification regimes. Based on their past performance, they could not be expected to live up without these kind of inspection regimes.

BLITZER: But when you were defense secretary, did you get reports coming into the Pentagon that North Korea was violating the agreement?

COHEN: I did not see reports that that was taking place specifically. Did we suspect they might be doing this? Obviously, they're a very covert nation. They do many things underground. I think there may have been some reports, I can't recall specifically, that they were then violating that agreement, but again we shouldn't expect that they're going to measure up to future agreements, based on what past performance.

BLITZER: Kim Jong-Il sees these nuclear weapons as his insurance policy, and as long as there's no regime change there, why on earth would he want to give those nuclear weapons up, despite whatever is offered to him from the west?

COHEN: Well, you know, there's an old expression. You can build a throne of swords, but you can't sit on it. All he has in his country at this point are missiles. We should be concerned about his missiles and his plutonium, desires to build nuclear weapons, but he has no country, certainly worthy of international respect, given what he's done to his people in order to build these missiles.

So what he has is a country that is basically a failed state, but for the support of the Chinese, the South Koreans, the Japanese, the United States and others. That support should not be forthcoming in the event that he continues to either test his missiles, engage in temper tantrums or try to herd attention to his problem.

He should be willing to come back and say, "I've got a problem here. I'm willing to give up my nuclear ambitions. I want international help to bring the international community." Absent that we should take a very tough posture toward him in response to his firing of seven missiles.

BLITZER: Secretary Cohen, I want to have you stand by, because I want you to listen to this. President Bush, as many of our viewers remember, has made a missile defense system one of his highest military priorities since taking office. And it may be an even higher priority since Korea's defiant test-firing of long-range missile that may be capable, at least at some point down the road, of reaching the United States.

Our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield, has more on the debate over missile defense -- Jeff.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that North Korean missile test may have only lasted 42 seconds or so, but it has thrown a spotlight on a question that's been part of the U.S. debate on defense for more than two decades. Can we, should we build a system that could protect the United States and its allies from a missile attack?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD (voice-over): Back in the Cold War days, the U.S. and Soviet Union premised their policies on mutually assured destruction. The certainty of tens of millions dead on both sides meant that neither would use the intercontinental missiles they had, but in 1983, President Reagan suggested a very different idea: space-based technology to knock down incoming missiles.

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security did not rest upon the threat of instant U.S. retaliation to deter a Soviet attack, that we were intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies?

GREENFIELD: Reagan touted the idea while critics called it a fantasy. Star Wars it was dubbed, something literally out of a movie Reagan had starred in that featured such a device.

Soviet leaders warned that such a system would destabilize the arms race, tempting each side to risk a first strike.

But with the end of the Cold War, the threat of a missile attack seemed like something out of the past, until after September 11 the idea of a rogue state launching such an attack did not seem so far- fetched.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is a different framework.

GREENFIELD: President Bush abrogated the treaty forbidding such development in 2001 and moved ahead with a limited missile defense system. To date, more than $90 billion has been spent on ground-based missile defense.

But can it work? Five of 10 intercepts have been declared successful, but according to one skeptical analysis, the tests were highly unrealistic. The Pentagon's chief weapons tester said in January that the system, quote, "has not yet demonstrated engagement control."

While a former Defense Department official said last week, "The system still has no demonstrated capability to defend the United States under realistic operational conditions."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD: But missile defense for 20 years has been at the core of conservative defense policy, and with an isolated hostile nation testing missiles in the face of international objections, the push for a missile defense policy is very much alive -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeff Greenfield, thank you very much.

So what do you think, Ronald Reagan was ahead of his time? What do you think of this whole notion of having this kind of either ground-based or space-based missile defense?

COHEN: When I was in the Senate, I helped to negotiate the arrangement whereby there would be three years of testing and research, and then three years to deploy it. I believe we should have a limited system to defend against a limited type of ability produced by a North Korea or indeed even an Iran.

It's a fail-safe type of measure. It certainly has its imponderables and its questions, but I think we need to have it as a backup if everything else fails. And so I supported it while I was in the Senate, and I supported it at -- when I was secretary of defense at the Pentagon.

BLITZER: And I hear you support it right now, too. William Cohen, thanks very much.

Still to come, the contribution of immigrants to the United States armed services. That was discussed as a hearing in Florida today. I'll ask the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican John Warner of Virginia, about the proceeding. He's standing by live.

And Congress appears to have 20 questions for the president. But our Jack Cafferty has just one for you: how do you feel about congressional committees learning about secret government programs by accident? Jack has your e-mail. All that is coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We're just getting word on the death of a Hollywood legend. Let's bring in Zain with details -- Zain.

VERJEE: Wolf, the Associated Press is reporting that actress June Allyson has died. Her daughter Pamela is saying that he mother died of pulmonary respiratory failure and acute bronchitis. She had been sick apparently for a very long time. She was 88 years old. Her daughter says that she died at home on Saturday and her husband of 30 years was at her side -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Zain, thank you very much. Our condolences to the family.

Other news we're following today: senators from both sides of the aisle went to Florida to talk about illegal immigration in this country. One item that was discussed involved immigrants in the U.S. armed forces. And one of those at the event was the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican John Warner of Virginia. He is just back from Florida, he is here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thanks very much for coming in.

SEN. JOHN WARNER (R-VA) CHAIRMAN, SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: I'm delighted. Just got off the plane.

BLITZER: Is the president -- are moderate Republicans like yourself, who want a comprehensive deal, beginning to back away from that comprehensive approach, to go with what your House Republican colleagues really want, which is a strict border security enforcement package and leave the guest worker program, the path towards citizenship for illegal immigrants for another day?

WARNER: I think the president is standing very strong, as he should, in saying you've got to have both. You can't simply have a more secure border, which we all want and which is desperately needed, and which he is now taking steps, like the National Guard, which was the subject of our hearing today, beginning to make that border stronger.

BLITZER: So you're -- so you're with the president, with Senator McCain, Senator Kennedy when it comes to this issue.

WARNER: Today I took senators McCain, Kennedy, Graham and Martinez down, and we had a memorable hearing about the remarkable contributions, not just recently, but over the history of the United States of immigrants wearing the uniform of our country.

Do you realize, Wolf, that they rank, as a group, receiving the -- some of the largest numbers of combat awards for valor of any other group in the history of our military?

BLITZER: The critics, though, will say were they legal immigrants or illegal immigrants?

WARNER: Well, there again, they were legal in the sense that most of the ones going into the military today have green cards, and the military provides them the opportunity to serve years and begin to study, and if their behavior and their performance meets the standards, they can then become citizens.

We saw it here on the Fourth of July this year. Some 40 individuals raised their hands and proudly took the oath as a citizen in Iraq.

BLITZER: But these are legal immigrants in the United States. The question is, is there a path for illegal immigrants, 11 million of whom live in the United States, to join the military and get a legal status?

WARNER: Not a clear path. There are some paths for them to do this, but not as clear, and I'm hopeful the legislation will make that possible, because these people provide superb service in our military. And that was borne out today by the chairman of the joint chiefs, who was with us. BLITZER: He had an emotional moment when he was talking about this.

WARNER: He did. He became very emotional. He was talking about his own family, his father and mother and brothers...

BLITZER: Who came from Italy.

WARNER: ... who came from Italy. It was a moving moment. He held his emotions magnificently. In other words, he -- the display was genuine, and you can see the same type of emotion in the millions of immigrants all across this country that harbor the same feelings about their parents and their status.

BLITZER: While I have you, I want to put your hat on as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, talk about North Korea a little bit. The former defense secretary, William Perry, who served in the Clinton administration, and Ashton Carter, another former Pentagon official, they write in the current issue of "Time" magazine this, "We advise the U.S. government to strike any further Taepodong test missiles before they can be launched." In other words, they're calling -- they see these missiles coming up, ready for launch. A preemptive strike.

What do you think about that?

WARNER: Well, first, I was surprised. I have a high regard, still do, for Bill Perry. I know Ash Carter, but I think that was not an advisable position.

And I commend our president for so stating that the need for a preemptive type of attack is not justified. The president is absolutely right in the manner in which he's handling this situation. Go to the negotiating table, have the various nations, six of them -- China, Russia, Japan, South Korea -- join with the United States in sitting down and trying to reason that it's in the interest of that country not to isolate itself further -- I repeat further -- from the world and to continue to starve its citizens.

It's tragic, the conditions of health of those people, and let them -- let them become responsible citizens and not threaten the world with these missiles.

BLITZER: In the aftermath of the tests of last week -- seven missiles were launched -- should the U.S. be willing to sit down face- to-face with North Korea in these one-on-one talks if it takes that to ease this crisis?

WARNER: Wolf, I think again, the president made the right decision. He sent Ambassador Hill, who's the top man in the State Department for that region of the world, and he sat down with his counterparts in the six nations.

At this time, it is not in our interest to reward the bad behavior -- to put it in simple words that the American people understand -- of the head of North Korea to have fired those missiles, so many of them. That's not the behavior for a nation that wants to join the fraternity of free nations in this world. So I agree with the president, now is not the time for any unilateral talks.

BLITZER: One final question. Peter Hoekstra, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, wrote that letter I'm sure you're familiar with, complaining that his committee was not told sensitive, classified intelligence information that they should tell the Congress.

You're a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Do you have a similar complaint?

WARNER: Wolf, I've been in the Senate 28 years, and I've watched this struggle with all the presidents in that period of time.

Presidents, quite understandably, have enormous constitutional powers. Our president, I think, has acted within the basic framework for the Constitution. And it is well-known that he has shared, this president, as have others, with the leaders of both branches of the Senate and the House, to inform them about these programs.

And it is not necessary in often cases, and it's understood by the members, such as myself, on the committee that everybody on the committee need not be informed. At one point in time, the president decides it is timely to do so.

When I was a ranking member -- this is the second time I've been on the intel committee -- I was brought in, as was the majority and minority leader of the Senate at that time, and told about these various programs. And that sufficed for the members of both Houses.

BLITZER: Bottom line, you're satisfied here?

WARNER: I'm satisfied. I support the president in how he's handled this.

BLITZER: John Warner.

WARNER: Thank you.

BLITZER: Thanks very much for coming in, coming right in from Florida. I appreciate it.

Lou Dobbs is getting ready for his program that begins right at the top of the hour. He's standing by to tell us what he's working on -- Lou.

LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Wolf, thank you very much.

Coming up at the top of the hour here on CNN, we'll have more on the federal judge's ruling in the legal and constitutional battle over an FBI raid on a congressman's Capitol Hill office.

We'll also be reporting on what appears to be a significant shift in U.S. policy toward North Korea. The United States now allowing communist China to lead efforts to stop North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs. Also tonight, the Senate and the House remain deadlocked on our illegal immigration and border security crisis. Congressman Mike Pence has offered a plan that he says could be a compromise. I'll be going through that compromise proposal, so-called, with Congressman Pence tonight.

And our public schools are in crisis. Nearly a third of our high school students are dropping out. Three of the country's leading authorities on education join me tonight as we come up with ideas on just how to fix our failing public schools in this country. We hope you'll be with us.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Lou, for that.

Up ahead, repairs in space. They make it look oh so easy, but it's a huge job. We're going to show you how you can follow the Discovery astronauts' work at the International Space Station online.

And later, the head butt heard around the world. Jeanne Moos gives us her take on the world cup soccer final in our final hour. That would be at 7 p.m. Eastern. You're going to want to see this. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More now, the tensions with North Korea. Even before the current missile crisis, the United States has been working quietly to try to strangle North Korea's thriving black market trade.

Let's bring in Brian Todd, joining us from the newsroom with more -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that's been a three-year effort that experts say might have been partly responsible for the current tensions with North Korea, tensions which escalated again today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): A warning to Pyongyang from Tokyo, a preemptive strike from Japan is not off the table.

SHINZO ABE, JAPANESE CABINET SECRETARY (through translator): The government has said in the past if there are no other means to prevent a guided missile attack, then it is legally possible to say that to attack the missile-launching base is within our right to self defense.

TODD: Japan's leaders have said this in the past, and they also make clear they're weighing diplomatic options. Experts say Japan doesn't have much capability to strike North Korea right now but could develop it quickly, and Japan is involved in a broader effort to squeeze Kim Jong-Il's regime.

For three years now, the United States has led a program of intercepting ships carrying illicit North Korean exports, spying on the North's weapons programs, sharing intelligence, cracking down on the regime's banks and money-laundering operations.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We have a variety of levels of partnerships with countries throughout the regions.

TODD: Most nations involved, like Britain, Japan, Australia, are open participants. Michael Green, a former National Security Council official in the Bush administration, says the program also targets regimes like Iran and Syria, but has hit North Korea especially hard.

MICHAEL GREEN, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL OFFICIAL: It makes it much harder for Kim Jong-Il to get cash, which is what he's been doing with the export of drugs, methamphetamines, heroin to Australia, $100 counterfeit bills, fake Viagra, fake cigarettes. This is a mafia-style operation run by a state.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: For example, Green cites the North Korean ocean freighter Pong-Su (ph) intercepted off the coast of Australia three years ago, carrying 150 kilograms of heroin.

Green and other experts say the crackdown on operations like that, and other efforts to isolate North Korea could have provoked the North's recent missile test. They also say it could lead Kim Jong-Il to step up its ongoing cooperation with another U.S. nemesis, Iran -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting. Thank you, Brian.

Let's check back with Zain now for another look at some important stories -- Zain.

BLITZER: Wolf, Russian security officials say their most wanted man is dead. Moscow's federal security service director says Russian security agents killed Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev early today. They say Basayev was killed when a truck loaded with explosives detonated in the former republic. Basayev has claimed responsibility for Russia's most deadly terror attack, the 2004 Beslan school takeover, in which hundreds of children were killed.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the reemergence of the Taliban is to blame for drug trafficking in Afghanistan. During the visit to Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan. Rumsfeld dismissed arguments that the U.S. military's focus on Iraq allowed the drug trade to slip through and even rise. He called on European countries to do more to stop it.

And today in Poland, Wolf, President Lech Kaczynski has appointed his identical twin brother to the prime minister's post. There they are. The move tightens Mr. Kaczynski's conservative grip on power, and it really raises a lot of international concerns about Poland's nationalist leanings. The move, though, requires a vote of confidence from parliament, and if approved, the Kaczynski brothers would become the world's only twins to hold both of the country's top executive posts -- Wolf.

BLITZER: The Kaczynski brothers, the president and the prime minister, twins in Poland. You can't make this kind of stuff up, Zain. Thank you very much for that.

Discovery shuttle astronauts are getting some welcome news. NASA has cleared them as safe to return to earth next week. But they have plenty of work ahead of them before they head home. Let's bring in our Internet reporter, Jacki Schechner -- Jacki.

JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, NASA is really good about putting its video online really quickly. And what you're watching behind me is video from today's spacewalk, the second of three. This just ended a couple of hours ago. And the third one is scheduled for Wednesday. The first one was on Saturday.

Now, what they did today, a couple of mission specialists went out and fixed a cable on the rail system. This is the means the astronauts use to get around the exterior of the International Space Station. Everything went OK. And it's all looking good.

Now, as we speak, they are getting ready to hit the hay. They're turning in at 6 p.m., but don't think that they're taking it easy. They've been up since 2 a.m. this morning, waking by the way, to a song by Coldplay called "Clocks", just in case you're curious.

No space walk tomorrow, the third one on Wednesday. The shuttle will be back on Monday -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Thank you, Jacki.

Up next, a Capitol Hill intelligence committee out of loop, its chairman not very happy. Jack Cafferty with the story. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's check back with Jack Cafferty in New York -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Wolf, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is accusing the administration in a letter of failing to inform Congress about a significant intelligence program.

Peter Hoekstra of Michigan says he only found out about the program after a government whistle blower tipped him off, and only then was his committee briefed. So the question is, what does it mean when congressional oversight committees find out about secret White House programs by accident?

We got this from John in Ashtabula, Ohio: "This letter is just one more piece of evidence that should begin impeachment proceedings. An imperial presidency is feasting on the Constitution without congressional oversight. And I don't want to be that safe."

Chuck in New Haven, Connecticut: "It means all the anger and vitriol aimed at 'The New York Times' and the press in general for publishing news about the international money tracking program was just a smokescreen and a calculated attempt to discourage legitimate discussion of what is becoming more and more obvious: that the Bush administration's engaged in widespread misuse of power to trample privacy in the name of their war on terrorism."

Ray writes, "Jack, get a life. All governments need to have secrets and ours is no exception, especially more so in a time of war. You know, a war when people die to kill the bad guys. Remember loose lips sink ships? Well, today loose journalists make for a happy al Qaeda. That simple concept might be too much for you. But keep trying, you'll get it. You can always get a job at the U.N. It might be more your speed."

John in Holland, Michigan: "It means that no one in Congress will be able to leak security sensitive information to media pukes."

I think that's us, Wolf.

Brian in Columbia, Missouri: "It means that anyone who believes that we still live in a democratic republic is living in denial. This is a police state run by religious zealots."

Rick in Norwalk, Connecticut: "Could it be the Bush administration's monitoring all the e-mail sent to CaffertyFile@CNN.com and doing background checks on the authors of all those anti-administration e-mails? Chilling thought but likely, since for them it's a given that radical terrorists spend much of their time watching your program. After all, you're so radical these days, Jack, you don't always agree in lock step with the Bush administration, like your pals over at faux news."

And you can see more of these at CNN.com/CaffertyFile on the Internet -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll be back in an hour. Jack, thanks very much.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now. Lou's in New York -- Lou.

DOBBS: Thank you, Wolf.

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