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Israel Lifting Blockade of Lebanon; Top Terror Suspects Moved from Secret Prisons to Guantanamo Bay; President Bush Says Al Qaeda Suspects Will Face Military Tribunals; Senate Debates Democrats No Confidence Measure; Steve Irwin's Manager Shares New Details About His Death

Aired September 06, 2006 - 19:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Lou. 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 tonight's top stories.
Happening now, from secret CIA prisons around the world to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, it's 7:00 p.m. here in Washington, a bombshell change of policy from President Bush, announcing that key al Qaeda operatives will face military tribunals if Congress agrees. Would Osama bin Laden be let off the hook if he agreed to give up terror? Could there be amnesty for al Qaeda and the Taliban? I'll ask Pakistan's ambassador to the United States.

And family and friends of the "Crocodile Hunter" find the pain of his death almost too much to bear. Steve Irwin's father speaking out now for the first time.

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

Tonight, a dramatic bombshell from the president, the 9/11 mastermind is moved with other top al Qaeda suspects from secret prisons to face trial at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. At the same time the president is taking some serious heat over his policies in Iraq, a dramatic Senate debate as Democrats call for the removal of the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. CNN's Dana Bash is standing by on Capitol Hill. Let's go to the White House first, CNN's White House correspondent Ed Henry -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, when the president kicked off this latest series of speeches on the war on terror, he vowed that he didn't want this to get wrapped up in the upcoming midterm elections. But today he revealed some secret information that certainly cast him in a strong political light.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): President Bush decided to finally acknowledge the existence of secret CIA prisons around the world just days before the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and two months before the midterm elections, revealing that 14 senior members of al Qaeda previously in CIA custody have been transferred to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay for prosecution. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This program has helped us to take potential mass murderers off the streets before they were able to kill.

HENRY: Among the 14 terrorists in custody are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Abu Zubadi (ph), a field commander for Osama bin Laden, and Ramzi Binalshibi (ph), a would-be 9/11 hijacker. Amid international outrage about the so-called black prisons in Europe and elsewhere the president insisted the techniques used on the detainees were tough but legal.

BUSH: I want to be absolutely clear with our people and the world, the United States does not torture. It's against our laws and it's against our values. I have no not authorized it and I will not authorize it.

HENRY: And the president claimed the intelligence gleaned from the CIA program thwarted terror plots in the U.S., United Kingdom and Asia.

BUSH: Were not for this program our intelligence community believes that al Qaeda and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland.

HENRY: But Democrats immediately asked why the president was revealing this now in part three of his series of speeches, framing this (INAUDIBLE) issue in the midterms, the war on terror and Democrats demanded to know why it took so long for the administration to embrace the Geneva Conventions.

SEN CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: It's like their bull in a China shop approach ignore the Constitution, ignore the rule of law has made us worse off than we would have been had they gone to Congress originally. The detainees are suing. Their status is in limbo. We're worse off than we were.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Tomorrow in Georgia will be part four of the president's series of speeches. He will be focusing on gaps in security that helped lead to the 9/11 tragedy and the president will tout various tools in the war on the terror that he's helped create such as the Patriot Act that he says is helping do a better job, again trying to cast himself in a stronger political light -- Wolf.

BLITZER: A virtual nonstop focus on the war on terror by the president. Ed, thank you very much. Check this out though; our new CNN poll numbers on terror, only 47 percent of those we questioned are satisfied with how things are going for the United States with the war on terrorism. That's down from 75 percent back in 2002. Over in the Senate, Democrats are calling on the president to simply remove the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. It's part of the no confidence campaign aimed at the president's overall Iraq policies.

Let's go live to our congressional correspondent Dana Bash -- Dana. DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, the Senate tonight is still debating that resolution calling for Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation. And it's a debate over a resolution that is expected to die without even getting a vote. That's just fine with Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): In politics a simple message gets more mileage. This Democratic message is about as simple as it gets.

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: It is long pastime for Secretary Rumsfeld to go.

BASH: The resolution calling for the defense secretary to be replaced was doomed from the start, but Democrats are trying to make Donald Rumsfeld the symbol of Iraq mismanagement and misjudgment and this debate gave that more play.

SEN. HARRY REID (D), MINORITY LEADER: This amendment is bigger than Donald Rumsfeld. This is about changing course in Iraq and the president demonstrating to the American people he understands America cannot stay the course when the present course is taking our country in the wrong direction.

BASH: Noticeably absent was a robust Republican defense of Rumsfeld. Instead GOP senators talked up the president's successes in fighting terror and slammed Democrats for playing politics.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: Our friends on the other side of the aisle talk about a change in direction, fresh ideas, new direction. Those are campaign slogans. They're not about solving the problem.

BASH: But using Rumsfeld as a campaign tool is not limited to Democrats. Some Republican candidates looking to show voters they're willing to stand up to the president and question an unpopular war have also called for Rumsfeld to resign. Last week New Jersey's GOP Senate candidate Tom Kean announced Rumsfeld should go because scores of mistakes have been made during our attempts to create a more stable Iraq.

As for Democrats, the last time they debated Iraq the focus was U.S. troops and when they should come home, a debate that exposed differences in the party. Calling for Rumsfeld to go unite Democrats around a broader election-year message, voters should elect Democrats to hold the Bush Administration accountable because Republicans in Congress have not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And some Democratic candidates in more Republican areas say they're uncomfortable with this go after Rumsfeld strategy. But Democratic strategists say it achieves a key goal and that is firing up a largely antiwar base that they need to go vote on Election Day -- Wolf. BLITZER: All right Dana thank you. So is the situation in Iraq like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode? Today one of Iraq's top political leaders is suggesting Iraq could simply collapse if bickering political leaders don't reconcile their differences and if the unyielding violence does not end. Scenes of bloodshed did not end today at all. CNN's Michael Holmes is in Baghdad with more -- Michael.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's becoming tragically routine. More lives lost here in Iraq in just the last 48 hours. In fact, 81 bodies have been found around the capital, 34 of them overnight. All of them, their hands bound, showing signs of torture and shot in the head.

There were also bombings today. A car bomb followed by a roadside bomb in quick succession in northern Baghdad, it killed six people, wounded 46, all of them civilians. Bizarrely it appears to have had no apparent target. The car was parked. There was no army or police nearby.

And a suicide car bomber attacked an Iraqi border police patrol about 120 kilometers west of Mosul, the north of the country. That happened on Wednesday as well. Six border police were killed, six other police wounded, two of them critical. To the politics now and after calling on everyone to support the national reconciliation plan on Tuesday or Iraq would face what it called the worst possible scenario, the speaker of the Parliament here, Mahmoud Mashhadani (ph) today added that the country has just what he said three to four months to reconcile. He said we have three to four months and if the country does not survive the boat will sink -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Michael Holmes in Baghdad. Thank you. Let's return now to our top story on detainees and terror. The president announcing a major change in policy still facing serious congressional questions about his new policy. Congresswoman Jane Harman is the ranking Democrat of the House Intelligence Committee. Earlier I asked her about the president's new approach. She told me better late than never.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. JANE HARMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: He had to do this. The Supreme Court said is in June that his policy is unconstitutional. But I do think the timing is suspicious. For years, many of us have been saying, the international world has been saying and many litigants in court have been saying that his program violates the law and the Constitution. Now on the first day of the legislative season following Labor Day in a campaign year comes an 85-page bill and a rollout that includes talking points from the director of national intelligence, profiles of the 14 men, heinous murderers in most cases who are being moved to Guantanamo. And Congress is basically being told either take this program or your coddling terrorists.

BLITZER: So what are you suggesting? The president who has the authority to declassify whatever he wants. He can do it whenever he wants. You're saying that he's declassifying sensitive national security information for partisan political purposes.

HARMAN: Well I'm saying it's a bit suspicious. The timing is suspicious. He's been compelled to come to Congress because of the Supreme Court decision in Hamdan in June. He could have come to Congress right after that decision or he might have come to Congress in July or in August maybe, but we were out of session. So he comes now when, this month, 24/7 is going to all terror you know and nothing but terror and he's rolling out a program designed to force members of Congress in a box.

Either you support an 85-page bill that expands executive power or you're coddling terrorists. I resent that. I'm a serious legislator and I think that Congress has a lot of good information and we should fashion a program that carefully balances the need to interrogate people effectively, which I truly support, especially these kinds of bad guys, but also the need to protect our Constitution and the values on which our country was founded.

BLITZER: You're also -- in addition to being a serious legislator, you're also a good politician as well. How worried are you as a Democrat that this strategy that the Bush Administration, the Republican leadership unfolding now two months before these midterm elections is actually going to work as it did in 2004 and back in 2002 that the American public will say you know what? We may not like his policies on Iraq. We may not like some of his domestic economic policies, but for five years this president has kept us safe from another 9/11.

HARMAN: I think that the American people won't buy this. I do think it's important that we legislate in this area and I do think there are some very good ideas up here and I'm glad we're going to have a chance or I hope we're going to have a chance and not just have to rubber stamp this 85-page bill. But the issue of Iraq, the issue of the dangers in Iran, North Korea is very much on the mind of voters.

No one is missing the fact that we are spending $8 billion a week I think it is on Iraq now and that there are lives of Americans and Iraqis at risk as we speak. This is a very -- this is a failed policy and the administration isn't addressing that. And I think there's going to be an insistence in Congress not just in the Democrat Party to debate the equities of Iraq and the president is not going to be able to change the subject.

BLITZER: Congresswoman Jane Harman is the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. Congresswoman, always good to have you in THE SITUATION ROOM.

HARMAN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Jack Cafferty has the day off. He will be back on Monday.

Coming up, President Bush isn't running in the midterm election but that's not stopping him -- stopping a lot of people from actually sizing up his coat tails. Will the president's low poll numbers sink the chances of Republicans hoping to keep or get a job in Congress?

Also, would Osama bin Laden ever been excused for his heinous crimes if he vowed to live in peace? There have been reports Pakistan is willing to grant immunity to the world's most wanted terrorist. Are those reports true? I'll ask Pakistan's ambassador to the United States.

And it's a reality almost too painful for a father to bear. "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin's dad is now talking about his son's death for the first time.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: If President Bush's star has faded, what about his pal, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair. His party is also keeping him at arm's length and now speculation mounting about an early departure from office. Here's our European political editor Robin Oakley -- Robin.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Wolf, even the most littering of political careers are likely to end in tears. Is that now going to happen to Britain's prime minister?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OAKLEY (voice-over): He won his party a record three consecutive general elections, the last less than 18 months ago but how much longer will Tony Blair be able to hang on to his job? And if he doesn't, how much will President George W. Bush be blamed for the downfall of a man derided in his home mediare (ph) as Bush's poodle. Opinion pools are slumping and jumpy labor lawmakers have been urging Blair to name a date for his departure.

First he told them to stop being obsessed, then loyal ministers said he'd be gone within a year. That didn't work either. Now Britain's best-selling tabloid newspaper, "The Sun," insists he'll quit as labor leader on May 31 next year, handing over to his elected successor on July 26. But Blair could even be forced out before then. Home policies where he and his party don't see eye to eye are part of it, but following Bush into Iraq harmed him most.

PETER KELLER, CHAIRMAN YOUGOV POLLS: The biggest single thing that has undermined Tony Blair's credibility of the general public has been Iraq.

OAKLEY: The U.S. president openly praises his staunchest ally.

BUSH: Tony Blair is a leader of conviction, of passion, of moral clarity and eloquence. He is a true friend of the American people.

OAKLEY: But that just weakens Blair more.

KELLER: Tony Blair's close relationship with George Bush is undoubtedly costing him support in Britain because he's seen by the public to be in cahoots with -- on the whole frankly a despised U.S. president.

OAKLEY: While he was winning them elections, labor lawmakers were prepared to forget all that but now they're fearful for their own political skins. And it's all used as ammunition against him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OAKLEY: Mr. Blair is fighting perhaps the toughest political battle of his career -- Wolf.

BLITZER: ... in London. Thank you. And whether the prime minister will step down has sparked a feeding frenzy among British newspapers. Let's bring in our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton. She's standing by with the headlines online -- Abbi.

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, it was "The Sun" newspaper that reported that date for Tony Blair's departure. But when the prime minister might go is front and center all over the British press, fueled by criticisms and resignations from within Tony Blair's own Labour Party.

The independent newspaper here listing those members of Parliament including a junior defense minister who in his resignation letter told Blair his staying on as prime minister was not in the interest of the party or the country. "The Daily Mirror" also weighing in yesterday with what they say was a leaked memo detailing Blair's departure plans. Today "The Daily Mirror" is asking their readers should he say or should he go -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Abbi, lots of politics going on in England right now as well.

Still to come tonight right here in THE SITUATION ROOM, how many of you believe Saddam Hussein had a hand in 9/11 and how many of you do not? We have some surprising results in our new CNN poll.

Also, the "Crocodile Hunter's" father and his grief, Steve Irwin's dad is now talking for the first time about his son's death.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're now hearing for the first time from the family of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin who was killed by a stingray Monday. And those who were there are also speaking out about the first emotional moments right after the attack. CNN's Fredricka Whitfield has details -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, John Stainton was Irwin's long-time manager and producer. He was also a close friend and was with Irwin the day he died. On CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," he gave his first detailed account of what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN STAINTON, STEVE IRWIN'S MANAGER: I know that we spent the next 50 minutes or more on CPR trying to keep him alive. (INAUDIBLE) from researchers on board saying keep pumping boys, keep pumping it. We know if you can do it, you can keep going, we'll keep him alive, we will get him help.

In the meantime, we had rung our emergency number here to get the MEDEVAC helicopter in. Unfortunately, the only spot that they could land was an island, which was probably 20, 30 minutes steaming away from where we were on the reef. So, we had to make a high tail dash in our boat to get to this island to meet the helicopter, so it was a pretty desperate time and a horrible event to do and live through.

LARRY KING, HOST OF "LARRY KING LIVE": No sign of consciousness at all, John?

STAINTON: Larry, in my heart, I think he was -- I think he was dead -- when he was in the rubber ducky. I'm sorry. I don't think he was alive. I'm sorry.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Many Australians share the grief over Steve Irwin's death. The makeshift memorial outside the Australia Zoo where Irwin was director is growing daily. Irwin's father saw it up close today as he made the family's first public remarks on Irwin's death.

BOB IRWIN, STEVE IRWIN'S FATHER: Steve knew the risks involved with the type of work he was doing. And he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

WHITFIELD: Bob Irwin says the family is declining Queensland officials' offer of a state funeral.

B. IRWIN: The state funeral will be refused because he's an ordinary guy. He's just an ordinary bloke. He -- and he wants to be remembered as an ordinary bloke.

WHITFIELD: Bob Irwin says he's never known anyone else with a personality like his son's. And while that's' what the "Crocodile Hunter's" fans will remember, this grieving father says he will remember something else.

B. IRWIN: Steve and I weren't like father and son. We never were. We were good mates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How would you like him to be remembered?

B. IRWIN: I'll remember Steve as my best mate ever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Irwin's father says his son's wife and children are holding up well given the circumstances, still no word on funeral arrangements -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Fredricka Whitfield, thank you very much. What a sad, sad story that is. And the video, by the way, of the attack that killed Irwin is now in the hands of Australian authorities. The Discovery Channel, which produced and aired Irwin's programs here in the United States and around the world says it won't show the footage and Irwin's manager says that that footage should be destroyed.

Just ahead, he praised the deaths of Americans and longs to see more innocent men, women and children die, but what if Osama bin Laden were given immunity for his crimes? It's an unthinkable question at least until now. And Saddam Hussein as accomplice, some suggest he played a role in 9/11, but what do you think? We have the results of a new CNN poll.

Stay with us. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Happening now, hunting bin Laden, a disturbing report that Pakistan may be offering amnesty to Osama bin laden. The country's U.S. ambassador will join us to tell us what Pakistan's policy is. Saddam Hussein and 9/11, there are some surprising results from a new CNN poll. We're going to show you who still believes the former Iraqi dictator had a hand in the terror attacks and why.

And Space Shuttle Atlantis misses another scheduled launch, this time because of electrical problems. Friday is the next launch window, but NASA won't make a final decision until tomorrow.

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

Five years ago he celebrated the deaths of thousands of Americans and even today he maintains a death wish for American blood, yet deep inside Pakistan's mountains, might the unthinkable for Osama bin Laden occur? Let's bring in CNN Zain Verjee. She's got more on this story -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, the most wanted and hunted man in the word, the man behind 9/11 getting amnesty?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE (voice-over): Osama bin Laden is thought to be holed up in the rugged mountainous tribal terrain between Pakistan and Afghanistan. A spokesperson of President Pervez Musharraf has been quoted by ABC News saying Osama bin Laden will not face capture if he agrees to lead a peaceful life. The prime minister of Pakistan rejected the report, saying the official was misquoted, insisting bin Laden gets no free pass.

SHAUKAT AZIZ, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: Anybody who is wanted or is a terrorist or has committed acts of terror anywhere in the world is wanted. There is no immunity for such people. VERJEE: But the government is making deals with tribal leads that back the Taliban. With the deal foreign residents in the north Waziristan region of Pakistan would be asked to leave Pakistan. Those who can't leave can stay, if they respect laws.

HUSAIN HAQQANI, BOSTON UNIVERSITY: Once you say to them, OK, all foreigners can stay once they guarantee that they will not engage in military or militant actions. Then technically the tribes can come around tomorrow and say that applies to everyone, including Osama bin Laden.

VERJEE: Pakistani troops will stop their attacks in the region. In return militants won't strike back in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

HAQQANI: The deal is unlikely to be effective because it applies only to a very small part of the Pakistan/Afghan border. So even if the tribes hold up there end of the bargain, there will be other parts of border which Taliban and al Qaeda could continue to use.

VERJEE: It's a porous border, easy for anyone to slip through. A mountainous region easy to stash weapons in. It's been a source of tension between Kabul and Islamabad. President Musharraf is in Kabul meeting with President Hamid Karzai. In spite of the hand shake, both leaders have traded bitter barbs, each accusing the other of not doing enough.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: Wolf, the White House says that it's simply not true that this deal could give bin Laden or any al Qaeda member a free pass and that the Pakistani official's comments were inaccurately reported by ABC News. White House officials also added that they're confident Pakistan will keep hunting for bin Laden, Wolf.

BLITZER: Zain thanks very much. At least those two allies, Pervez Musharraf, is talking with Hamid Karzai, the leader of Afghanistan. Need to keep that going. Let's get some more now on all of this as well as the actual hunt for Osama bin Laden. Just a short while ago, I spoke with Mahmud Durani. He's Pakistan's ambassador to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Welcome back Mr. Ambassador.

MAHMUD ALI DURRANI, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Let me read precisely the quote that ABC News attributed to Major General Shaukat Sultan, the Pakistani Army spokesman, who you say was misquoted. He is quoted as saying this: "No, as long as one is staying like a peaceful citizen, one would not be taken into custody. One has to stay like a peaceful citizen and not allowed to participate in any kind of terrorist activity." Was he referring to Osama bin Laden? DURRANI: Absolutely not. He's not only being misquoted, he's been grossly misquoted. I have spoken to this person who was supposed to have given this statement.

BLITZER: The major general.

DURRANI: The major general last night and he told me there is no such thing. How could he have said we say and we continue to work towards that, that is the hunt for bin Laden.

BLITZER: All right, if you capture bin Laden, what would you do with him?

DURRANI: If we capture him alive, we will put him to justice. We will not leave him. There's no question.

BLITZER: Will you let -- will you send him to the United States?

DURRANI: Why not?

BLITZER: As you have other al Qaeda operatives who have been captured in Pakistan?

DURRANI: Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely.

BLITZER: How intense -- because a lot of people, as you know ...

DURRANI: I know.

BLITZER: ...suspect Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan right now hiding along those border regions. How intense is your search for him?

DURRANI: I think it's pretty intense. We are right up to the border. We have the whole place saturated with military people, paramilitary people, with intelligence operators. We also get support from you in terms of intelligence, electronic intelligence.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: But you don't allow U.S. forces into Pakistan to help you in that search?

DURRANI: You see, we are not Afghanistan, we are not Iraq. We have a very strong army. We don't need that help. If we needed it we would have asked you, but we really don't need it.

BLITZER: What about this deal with pro-Taliban tribes in this area that if they live peacefully, you know what? No one is going to bother them.

DURRANI: No, no. I think this deal has been misread. It is a new strategy launched by President Musharraf, and I think he's showing a great deal of flexibility in this, which I think is good. Sometimes operating just on one single channel is not good enough. You need to expand your strategy. So this is a three-pronged strategy he has. BLITZER: Because I'll read to you what Richard Clark, a former U.S. counterterrorism adviser, told ABC News on Tuesday referring to this agreement in Waziristan. He said, "What this means is that the Taliban and al Qaeda leadership have effectively carved out a sanctuary inside Pakistan."

DURRANI: This is totally incorrect. It is preposterous that they would be allowed this. I think part of the deal, there are two, three elements which you should know. One is that there will be no cross-border movement. There will be no terrorist organizations. It will be peaceful coexisting. This is a deal we have with the tribe. And these tribal deals have been happening for decades and centuries.

BLITZER: Even though these tribes support the Taliban and al Qaeda?

DURRANI: Well, some people have supported al Qaeda other than the tribes too but, you know, now they will not support. But active terrorists will not be let off.

(CROSSTALK)

DURRANI: This is not meant for active terrorists, no.

BLITZER: I noticed the last time you were here with me in THE SITUATION ROOM, August 24th, you said this about the support for terrorists, for extremists in Pakistan. I want to play back what you said then. Listen to this.

DURRANI: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DURRANI: I think there is zero chance of the nuclear weapons falling into the hands of the extremists. The extremists in Pakistan are a very small minority. I won't even put them in the region of two percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That was a very strong statement. You said less than two percent of the people in Pakistan would support the extremists, but there was this Pew global attitude survey done in July 2006 this year, and it asked people in Pakistan if they had confidence in Osama bin Laden as a world leader. Forty-five percent in 2003 said they did have confidence in Osama bin Laden, 2005 it went up to 51 percent. Almost half of the people of Pakistan seem to, according to this Pew survey, think Osama bin Laden is a world leader.

DURRANI: Yes, with due respect, I beg to disagree with this. I said two percent is even on the upper edge, as far as I'm concerned. It's lower than this, people who are extremists and would support Osama bin Laden. There may be disillusionment, disagreements with foreign powers, maybe with the U.S., but that does not translate into supporting Osama bin Laden.

BLITZER: Bottom line is you're searching for Osama bin Laden. If you capture him, you'll give him to the United States?

DURRANI: You bet. No doubt on that.

BLITZER: Mr. Ambassador, thanks very much for coming in.

DURRANI: You're welcome.

BLITZER: Mahmud Durrani, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States.

DURRANI: You're welcome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And still to come tonight, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM, critics crying foul over an upcoming network mini series about 9/11. They say it unfairly portrays some people, especially in the Clinton administration. We are going to show you why.

Plus CNN's Chris Lawrence goes with Israeli troops on the hunt for Hezbollah hideouts in south Lebanon. This is a report you will see only here on CNN. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As the midterm election campaigns heat up, Democrats are running against President Bush, and many Republicans are running away from President Bush. Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley has the story from New York -- Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf. They are worried about the economy in the Midwest, gas prices and big government in the interior west, home heating oil prices in the Northeast and everywhere voters are worried about Iraq. Superimposed over all of this is one name.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): Though a lot of voters are angry with George Bash, he's not on the ballot this year, but it's bad news for Republicans who are. And it is the core of Democratic strategy.

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: George Bush and his act- alike Mike DeWine, just care about the people at the very, very top.

CROWLEY: Republican Mike DeWine is the senior senator from Ohio. He struggles against a rip current which threatens to pull under Republicans nationwide. CNN and Opinion Research Corporation asked voters whether they were more or less likely to vote for pro-Bush candidates. The message? There is a price for an R behind your name.

JENNIFER DUFFY, COOK REPORTER: You mostly see incumbents telling voters I will be with the president when I agree with him, but I won't be with him when I don't.

CROWLEY: Sherrod Brown is a Democratic House member gunning for DeWine's Senate seat.

REP. SHERROD BROWN (D), OHIO: Mike DeWine voted for the Iraq war, and I voted against the Iraq war.

CROWLEY: Ohio ranks fifth in states with the highest number of Iraq war-dead, and like the rest of the nation, has seen the downward spiral of the support for the president and the Iraq war. The president and Iraq, Republicans and the president, they are inextricably linked.

JOHN GREEN, UNIVERSITY OF AKRON: Most Ohioans realize that Senator DeWine is not in charge of the war effort. But he's a strong supporter of the Bush administration and many people do hold President Bush accountable for the problems in Iraq.

CROWLEY: Republicans counter the Iraq attacks with what they hope is their campaign ace card, the war against terror.

SEN. MIKE DEWINE (R), OHIO: I voted for the Patriot Act to find and stop the terrorists. It makes a difference. Sherrod Brown voted to deny these tools to our terrorist fighters.

CROWLEY: And as the president stumps the country, insisting that Iraq is part of the war on terror, he is echoed on the Republican campaign trail in word and in picture. 9/11 Mayor Rudy Giuliani has left the streets of New York for Republican hustings everywhere.

RUDY GIULIANI (R), FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: We're interesting in Senator DeWine being reelected all over the country because he's someone who's a leader in the effort against terrorism.

CROWLEY: Bottom line, we are better at protecting you. It worked for Republicans in '02 and '04. They hope it will drive their discouraged voters to the polls in '06, except that something is different now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He failed us on the Intelligence Committee before 9/11, and on weapons of mass destruction.

CROWLEY: Instead of avoiding the issue of the war on terror, Democrats are taking it on, convinced that this time, Republican arguments won't work on a hardened electoral.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: In the end, though, Republicans are not aiming for hardened voters. They know those are Democratic votes. What Republican contenders need to do is get their own voters out of the doldrums and into the voting booth -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Candy, thank you. Candy Crowley reporting.

There are surprising results in a new CNN poll about Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 terror attacks. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is joining us with this story. Bill, how many Americans actually believe that Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader, was directly connected to 9/11 almost five years ago?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Forty-three percent, Wolf. And that belief is surprisingly resilient. The numbers fell pretty steady for the past two years, but it's not really partisan. Republicans don't differ very much from Democrats. The belief is powerfully related to education.

A majority of high school educated Americans believe that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11. That number drops to 39 percent of those who attended college, 26 percent of college graduates, and only 19 percent of those who went to graduate school. The better educated you and presumably the better informed you are, the less likely you are to think that Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11.

BLITZER: Any other interesting results we're getting in this poll?

SCHNEIDER: Well, President Bush is making an effort to link the unpopular war in Iraq with the widely-supported war on terror. But most Americans consider the war in Iraq a separate military action. Interestingly, Wolf, women are more likely to see Iraq as part of the war on terror, but it's not helping President Bush. Women are more critical of the war in Iraq and therefore, more dissatisfied with the war on terror -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Bill Schneider reporting for us. Bill, thank you very much, interesting numbers. And this note: Despite numerous, very thorough investigations, including one by the 9/11 Commission, no evidence has been found directly linking Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 attacks, even indirectly linking the former Iraqi dictator to 9/11.

This weekend, by the way, ABC is planning to begin airing a two- part miniseries on 9/11. The five-hour program is entitled "The Path to 9/11" and it's receiving harsh criticism over its accuracy from Democrats, liberal bloggers and former White House officials in the Clinton administration. Our Internet reporter Jacki Schechner has some details -- Jacki.

JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, ABC is calling "The Path to 9/11" a dramatization based on the 9/11 Commission report and other sources. But liberal bloggers, liberal watchdog groups, and even some former Clinton administrators officials are calling the film inaccurate. House Democrats, some of them, have actually sent a letter to the Walt Disney Company, ABC's parent company, asking them to please review and revise the program before it's set to start airing on Sunday.

Now, many of the critics of this film have not actually seen it and we should note neither have we, although we have asked for a copy. But many are talking about one particular scene that allegedly shows Sandy Berger, President Clinton's national security adviser, appearing to refuse an opportunity to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. Mr. Berger has also sent a letter to the Walt Disney Company and calls the scene a, quote, "complete fabrication."

Now, as for ABC, they have an entire Web site dedicated to the show, and on the blog the writer and the director of the film are deny allegations they are pushing a "right wing agenda." Conservative bloggers are accusing liberals of being too harsh, and unfairly criticizing ABC.

Now, we sent many questions to ABC today and they got back to us with a very limited response. In a statement they tell us that the events leading up to 9/11 attacks are controversial, spark debate, and that it's not surprising that this film would revive that debate. They also say the miniseries will air with a disclaimer calling it a dramatization, Wolf, and not a documentary.

BLITZER: Jacki, thank you.

Up ahead, blowing up Hezbollah hideouts. CNN's Chris Lawrence goes underground and joins the Israeli military on an explosive mission. You're going to want to see this. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There are new developments tonight in the Middle East conflict. Israel now saying it will end its sea and air blockade of Lebanon tomorrow. Israel initially set them up when fighting broke out to try to stop the flow of weapons to Hezbollah. German forces set to take over that duty take up positions Israel is about to vacate. Israeli forces though are still on the ground inside southern Lebanon trying to root out Hezbollah bunkers and trying to destroy as many of them as possible. CNN's Chris Lawrence was able to go along one of those explosive missions.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the Israeli troops I spent the day with are concerned about what happens in Lebanon after they leave.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Israeli troops are on the clock. Intent on destroying what Hezbollah left behind. These are some of the last soldiers in south Lebanon. The Israeli government says it could pull them all out by the end of next week. Leaving demolition teams little time to blow up these bunkers.

LT. GABI GRABIN, GOLANI DEMOLITION UNIT: That's why we're working around the clock to find everything.

LAWRENCE: Lieutenant Gabi Grabin takes us into south Lebanon with his Golani demolition unit. They discover one Hezbollah bunker after another.

Grabin shows us how the bunkers are covered by what looks like rock and dirt, making them impossible to see from the air.

GRABIN: And the only way to find them is sending the infantry inside, going from room to room.

LAWRENCE: We follow him down to a bunker at least 50 meters long. It's so cramped you can't stand until you get to the bedroom where a bottle of Pepsi and canned food have been left behind. Grabin says fighters could have lived here for months.

GRABIN: This is very deep into the ground, and this is where you could just stay inside. Even if there was bombing right above, they could stand in here.

LAWRENCE: On the other end there's a ladder, a second route back and fourth to the surface, and no more than 100 meters away, yet another bunker.

(on camera): This one contained nothing but ammunition. You can see, there are more tubes than actual mortars, meaning some of these were already able to be fired off into Israel, but more than at least 100 were just left behind, and the Israeli army has wired this entire room and it's ready to be destroyed.

(voice-over): These are just some of the weapons the IDF says it removed before we got there.

GRABIN: The fear is anything we leave here is going to be use them the minute we leave, and them be here so close using these things against us, for sure, it could be devastating consequences.

LAWRENCE: We hike another half kilometer deep into the bushes where the IDF discovers its most important and disturbing find, a rocket launcher half buried with two Katyushas still in the chamber. Hezbollah launched 4,000 of these rockets into northern Israel, destroying hundreds of homes and killing dozens of people. Now the IDF sees Hezbollah vantage points with Israeli towns just a few hundred meters away.

GRABIN: Any Hezbollah who walks around here and looks down at the homes of Israeli people, just gives you the idea of what can happen here if they're here and we're not.

LAWRENCE: The unit leaves Lebanon with that thought hoping their work and UN peacekeepers will eliminate Hezbollah's access to these weapons, but not entirely sure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): The Israeli Defense Forces have pulled out of five more villages in the past two days with more withdrawals to follow. Wolf?

BLITZER: Chris Lawrence reporting for us, doing excellent work. Chris, thank you very much, be safe over there. Lets find out what's coming up right at the top of the hour. Paula Zahn standing by. Hi, Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi Wolf, thanks so much. Well tonight, we're going to be going in-depth on President Bush's revelation that the CIA does in fact have secret prisons for suspected terrorists and that he has approved special interrogation techniques to get information from them. Also, a very scary demonstration to go with tonight's top consumer story. You're going to be astonished at how many first graders can actually fit into the blind spot that SUV drivers simply can't see. We've got a bunch of prominent lawmakers out there, Wolf, that want to do something about that, including Hillary Clinton. And you'll understand why tonight. Can you believe, and I'm not going to tell you which SUV it is, it's a 69-foot blind spot?

BLITZER: That's very scary stuff. Thanks Paula, we'll be watching. Paula Zahn coming up in a few moments.

Still ahead, a celebration involving rocket launchers. It's all in today's "Hot Shots." Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's a look at some of the "Hot Shots" coming in from our friends at the "Associated Press."

Gaza City: A Palestinian woman takes part in a pro-Hamas rally.

In Karachi, Pakistan: A boy celebrating Pakistan Defense Day, playing with a rocket launcher under the supervision of the Pakistani army.

In Malaysia: a python lies bloated on the road after swallowing an entire pregnant ewe.

And on the first day of the Sandwich Fair in Sandwich, Illinois, a six-year-old lies on top of her family's cow named Salsa.

Some of today's "Hot Shots," pictures often worth a thousand words. Let's check in with Zain once again, for some other news making headlines -- Zain?

VERJEE: Wolf, encouraging news for consumers. Oil prices are now at a five-month low. They fell below $68 a barrel today.

The only survivor of Comair flight 5191 is now off a ventilator. But James Polehinke could remain in the hospital for several more weeks. Polehinke was at the controls when the plane crashed, taking off on the wrong runway in Lexington, Kentucky a week and a half ago. Forty-nine people on board died. His mother's boyfriend said after Polehinke regained consciousness yesterday, he asked family members, quote, "Why did God do this to me?"

The famous statue of Rocky Balboa will return to a spot outside the Philadelphia Art Museum. It was installed at the top of the top of the museum steps in the 1980s, but it was removed after museum officials argued that it wasn't real art. Wolf?

BLITZER: Zain, thank you very much. That's it for us, let's go to New York; Paula is standing by -- Paula?

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