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CNN Sunday Morning

Car Bomb Kills 2 in Iraq; Interview With Robert Greenwald

Aired August 22, 2004 - 09:32   ET

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

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


DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: We welcome you back. An Olympic update live from Athens is coming up later this morning.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: But first, here's what's happening now in the news.

The Iraqis are picking up the debris this morning after a deadly bombing north of Baghdad. A car bomb, apparently targeting an area official, killed two of his bodyguards. Several other people were hurt, including the official. He was also targeted by a car bomb just two weeks ago.

In other news overseas, a surprise visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin this morning. He made a trip to the war-ravaged Republic of Chechnya. Putin laid flowers at the grave of Chechnya's assassinated president. There was heavy fighting in the Chechen capital Saturday night when rebels attacked a police station and other targets.

As many as 12 people with suspected al Qaeda links are behind bars in Pakistan. Pakistan's information minister says they were part of a plot to bomb high profile targets in the capital. The targets included the U.S. embassy and the president's official homes. The government says the suspects plotted to stage seven days of ongoing attacks.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

GRIFFIN: The 9/11 Commission, which officially disbanded yesterday, has released two lengthy staff reports on its Web sites, and one of them deals with the financing, of how they did it, how they financed the 9/11 suicide hijackings. More on this from Ali Velshi, CNN Financial News, in Washington this morning -- Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Drew, 400 pages of compelling new detail released in those two reports you mentioned. They were released last night, because Saturday was the commission's final day of operation.

The commission had always wanted more time to do its work, but under pressure of a deadline that was imposed by Congress, it published its original 567-page report exactly a month ago.

Now, these two reports, as you said, one of them terrorist financing, the others one detail on travel. They have got photographs, they have got specifics that have not been previously released.

One report shows in detail how the hijackers were all in some way or another in violation of U.S. immigration laws.

There's also a new picture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Those are the 19 that you're looking at. Now, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was not part of that 19. He was the alleged architect of the plot. And he was arrested in March of 2003.

You'll recall a photograph of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed that was released upon his arrest. That's the one there. He was roused out of his bed in the early morning. He's now in custody. He had applied for a U.S. visa under an assumed name. One of the documents released yesterday by the commission was that visa application, that was denied.

Now, another picture that was seen for the first time -- there is the denied visa.

Another picture that was seen for the first time was the partially burned visa belonging to Ziad Jarrah. He was the hijacker of flight United -- United Airlines flight 93, which crashed over Pennsylvania, and that was found there.

Now, this is interesting. One of the new points that we found in the report is that Saudi passports are the preferred travel document of al Qaeda because of that country's weak passport security system. Now, at least two and maybe seven of the 9/11 terrorists used manipulated passports, and they are manipulated by using things like substituting photos, adding false visas, removing visas, bleaching stamps and counterfeiting passports entirely, substituting pages. As many as 10,000 Saudi passports may have been lost or stolen in recent years, and until late 2001, Drew, a stolen Saudi passport that later turned up in someone else's possession wasn't even a crime.

Now, this new report also gives some finer focus to how the attacks were financed, noting that none of the hijackers were employed or had any methods of paying for themselves. Of the $400,000 to $500,000 that was spent on the attack, the report says $300,000 was spent right here in the United States. It also says Osama bin Laden is not the tycoon behind al Qaeda. Most of his money has run out. He was cut off by his wealthy family in 1994. The terror organization, according to this report, is said to be funded by corrupt charities and donors.

So, Drew, not necessarily new information, but a whole lot more focus in the extra 400 pages added to the original 567 -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: It is certainly very interesting, Ali. Thanks for that report this morning.

VELSHI: OK.

NGUYEN: Let's fast forward now and take a look at some news you'll see in the week ahead. On Monday, peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebel groups are scheduled to begin in Sudan. Some estimates put the death toll at 30,000 since the violence broke out in February of 2003. More than a million people are homeless and hungry.

On Monday, preliminary hearings for detainees are set to get under way at Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. The U.S. is holding more than 600 detainees on that base. All of them are accused of ties to al Qaeda or the Taliban.

And Friday, Kobe Bryant's trial is scheduled to begin. He's charged with sexual assault. The trial is expected to last at least three weeks.

GRIFFIN: Another day of competition in Athens. They have put the wraps on the swimming competition, but a lot of racing left in Athens.

MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Mark McKay at the Summer Games. Could it be mo gold for Mo Greene in the Olympics? A preview of the men's 100 meters coming up on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, good morning, Minneapolis. What a beautiful shot from KARE this morning. You guys are experiencing a bit of a cold spell. We'll have more on that forecast in a couple of minutes.

GRIFFIN: At the summer games, look for a Greene in the men's 100 meter dash. American Maurice Greene revved up after breezing through yesterday's prelims. Mark McKay is in Athens with that and other Olympic news this morning. Hello, Mark.

MCKAY: Hello, Drew. And Carl Lewis, he is the only man to have successfully defended his 100 meter dash crown in the Olympics. Maurice Greene is hoping to become the second before this night is out in Athens.

Despite racing in what is considered a wide-open field, Greene clocked an impressive time, 9.93 seconds in winning his heat. Greene said it is a very fast track at the futuristic Olympic stadium, and added, we are going to have a party. We will have to see whether he is able to party with the gold medal hanging around his neck. Again, that race comes under the lights at Olympic stadium this evening here in Athens.

Now, the United States women's softball team remains on track towards a gold medal here in Athens. Sunday, the U.S. tally -- there are seven straight shut-out in beating Australia. It's on to the gold medal game for this talented team, where either the Aussies or Japan will be waiting.

The U.S. men's basketball squad has clinched a berth in the quarterfinal round here in Athens, but no thanks to their results against Lithuania on Saturdays. The pack of pros led the first-half lead slip away, and they couldn't come back. They lost to Lithuania 94-90 Saturday night. The Greeks win over the Americans' next opponent, Angola, allowed the U.S. to go into the final eight, but a lot of nerves frayed, Drew, as to how this team is going to fare. They may eventually come out with a gold medal, but it has been a strange trip indeed. They've now lost twice in these Olympic Games. Drew, back to you.

GRIFFIN: Quite a shocker there. Thank you, sir. We'll see you later.

NGUYEN: Michael Moore isn't the only filmmaker voicing an opinion about President Bush. Director Robert Greenwald uncovers another critical look at the war in Iraq, and we'll talk with him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen. Top stories now. U.S. forces clashed again today with rebels outside a revered shrine in Najaf. Troops loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al- Sadr still control the Imam Ali Mosque after talks to hand it over ran into some trouble. Iraqi officials say 49 Iraqis were killed there in a 24-hour period this weekend.

An unpaid adviser to the Bush campaign has resigned. It comes after he appeared in one of those anti-Kerry swift boat ads. The Bush people said they did not know former Air Force Colonel Ken Cordier was in the spot. Kerry has accused the veterans group behind the ads of working with the Bush campaign illegally.

And INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY is coming up at 10:00 Eastern. Kelly Wallace is here to tell us what's in the lineup for today. Good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty. Well, those ads, as well as that ambush in Vietnam 35 years ago that have taken center stage in the race for the White House. And as we know, it is getting ugly. We'll have strategists from both the Bush and Kerry campaigns to debate the latest rounds of attack.

And on a much lighter note, a CNN correspondent underwent an extreme makeover just to get the story inside one of Washington's hottest salons. Tune into INSIDE POLITICS at the top of the hour to see the results. Betty, I know you will be watching.

NGUYEN: Oh, yeah, we all love extreme makeovers. Don't we? OK, Kelly Wallace, thank you.

WALLACE: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Here you see both truck and railcar mounted mobile factories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you take a look at mobile labs that Colin Powell discussed, he didn't put up photographs of these facilities, he put up artist renditions of these facilities. Why? Because we have no proof they exist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: It's a pseudo-new documentary taking aim at the Bush administration's rationale for attacking Saddam Hussein. It's called "Uncovered: The War on Iraq," and the comparisons to Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" are inevitable. Both films challenge the Bush administration's claims that Iraq was harboring weapons of mass destruction. We're going to talk to the director live, but first, here are a few scenes from "Uncovered."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This year we gather in this chamber deeply aware of decisive days that lie ahead.

JOHN DEAN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Distorted beliefs, estimates and guesstimates. It appears that he was misleading the public and the Congress.

BUSH: Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent.

PETER ZIMMERMAN, FORMER CHIEF SCIENTIST: Sarin that they were making in 1990, 1991 had a known shelf life of about two months. I have confirmed this with the inspectors and analysts who were deeply involved in the 1990s analysis.

Well, if you made it 12 years ago and it had a shelf life of two months, it may not be safe to drink, but it isn't sarin nerve gas any longer.

DAVID ALBRIGHT, FORMER U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: And then they tried to use the fact that inspectors found 16 of these as evidence that thousands more existed. And again, I mean, as a methodology, it's a very weak way to predict anything. And I think it borders on propaganda.

POWELL: Here you see both truck and railcar-mounted mobile factories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you take a look at the mobile labs that Colin Powell discussed, he did not put up photographs of these facilities, he put up artist's rendition of these facilities. Why? Because we have no proof they exist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a masterful performance. But none of it was true. Where are all these weapons? Where is all this VX? Where is all the anthrax?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: It is going to be controversial. The documentary opened in limited release on Friday in New York, Boston and Washington. Joining us now from Los Angeles, the director, Robert Greenwald. Good morning to you, sir. I called it a pseudo-new documentary because this has been out on video since last year. Why is it being released now in theaters just a couple of months before the election?

ROBERT GREENWALD, DIRECTOR: Because there's a whole lot of new material in this film that was not on the original DVD. There's a long and extensive interview with David Kay, there is a section about the media's role in the lead-up to war, there is a section about the informers, and there is a section about the most-asked question, since it was not weapons of mass destruction, why did we go to war? So there's a section explaining the neocon philosophy and how we got to where we are today.

GRIFFIN: This is obviously coming out damning the Bush administration's decision to go to war, but I wondering if it also includes a lot of the others who thought there were weapons of mass destruction there, going back to the Clinton era, with both Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and even John Kerry, who voted for the war?

GREENWALD: Well, the movie is about the decision to go to war. And, yes, many other people thought or didn't think there were weapons, but what is critical as I understand it in a democracy, is when you go to war the reasons you are given. And what the movie does is we have 23 experts, people with over 400 years, by the way, of service to the government who -- and some of them were in favor to the war, some of them are Republicans, some are Democrats, independents. But what they are all extremely upset about is that the reasons we were told are not accurate, valid or truthful reasons.

GRIFFIN: Are you in this to change the outcome of the election, like Michael Moore stated in his "Fahrenheit 9/11?"

GREENWALD: No, I'm not. As I understand it, in a democracy, democracy, you participate. And what I wanted to do is to give voice to these 23 experts, many of whom could not get on the major media. Many of whom -- by the way, they have nothing to gain. They're not going to have a talk show, they're not going to have a book contract. But they felt as citizens and people who worked for our government it was their responsibility to speak up. They couldn't be heard. And what the film does is focus specifically, not on who you should vote for. That's up to you. But here is our government, here are the reasons we were told. And here is proof, not opinion, why those reasons are not accurate.

GRIFFIN: With the Swift Boat ad controversy, we are always looking for who is behind the ads or in this case the documentary. Who financed this? Your other documentary about the Fox network was financed by MoveOn.org, which is a George Soros-funded group. Who funded this particular program?

GREENWALD: Yes, MoveOn.org is not George Soros' funded group. MoveOn.org is funded by two million people around the country.

GRIFFIN: But mostly by Mr. Soros.

GREENWALD: No, that's not accurate. That's inaccurate. Soros gave the money specifically for the MoveOn PAC, not MoveOn.org, which is one of the great examples of democracy in this country, by the way, and the use of the Internet.

MoveOn.org gave me money. Center for American Progress gave me money. And they never looked at a frame of the film, never told me what to do until it was completely finished.

GRIFFIN: You are open in three cities. You are going to have a more wide opening across the country?

GREENWALD: Yes, thanks to this innovative distributor, Cinema Libre, we are opening in another 25 cities this coming Friday, and then after that, throughout the rest of the country.

GRIFFIN: Mr. Greenwald, thanks for getting up with us this morning in Los Angeles. Good luck to you, sir.

GREENWALD: Thanks.

NGUYEN: And speaking of controversy, throughout the morning we have been asking you your thoughts on our e-mail question of the day, and that centers around those swift boat ads. Are they dirty politics, or just politics as usual? Well, George from Austin, Texas writes: "The swift boat ads are both dirty politics and business as usual. Please get back to the real debate and stop inundating us with this nonsense."

GRIFFIN: Gail, she's calling -- writing from Burke, Virginia: "Unfortunately, dirty politics have become politics as usual. I believe people are finally cluing into this behavior. Hopefully it will backfire."

NGUYEN: And of course, we thank everyone for sending their thoughts in on these controversial topics. We'll have more of the e- mail questions of the day starting next weekend. But in the meantime, the road trip has come to an end for our traveling family.

GRIFFIN: Really?

NGUYEN: Yeah. Final installment of the Spry family odyssey, that is next -- I know you can't wait -- right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Plenty more ahead on CNN today. Up next, it's INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. At 11:00 a.m. Eastern, CNN LIVE SUNDAY, and at 11:30, RELIABLE SOURCES.

But for those of you just waking up or getting ready to step out on this Sunday morning and want to know what the weather has in store, and for that we go to Rob Marciano. Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: The family we followed across the country this summer as they searched for the American dream, may have finally found a home, well, at least temporarily.

We tracked the Spry family from Silicon Valley on the West Coast, through Nevada, Arizona and Texas, then from New Orleans, to Florida and up the East Coast.

The Sprys wanted to escape the rat race and find a more serene place to live and raise their 4-year-old son Ryan, you see there running. They left California in May and set out aboard an RV.

Four months later, the Sprys are settling down -- and get this, Northern Virginia. Yes, that's where they chose for an extended stay. Just an extended stay. The couple is job hunting right now. Dad, Steve Spry, is looking for a job in the IT field. He has an interview on Monday. Good luck with that. Mom, Colleen, is also job hunting in Northern Virginia. And when it's time for Ryan to go to school full time, the Sprys say they may set out yet again, searching for that American dream.

GRIFFIN: No doubt we'll be there, every step of the way. Good luck to you, guys, and thanks for joining us.

NGUYEN: INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY is next.

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


Aired August 22, 2004 - 09:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: We welcome you back. An Olympic update live from Athens is coming up later this morning.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: But first, here's what's happening now in the news.

The Iraqis are picking up the debris this morning after a deadly bombing north of Baghdad. A car bomb, apparently targeting an area official, killed two of his bodyguards. Several other people were hurt, including the official. He was also targeted by a car bomb just two weeks ago.

In other news overseas, a surprise visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin this morning. He made a trip to the war-ravaged Republic of Chechnya. Putin laid flowers at the grave of Chechnya's assassinated president. There was heavy fighting in the Chechen capital Saturday night when rebels attacked a police station and other targets.

As many as 12 people with suspected al Qaeda links are behind bars in Pakistan. Pakistan's information minister says they were part of a plot to bomb high profile targets in the capital. The targets included the U.S. embassy and the president's official homes. The government says the suspects plotted to stage seven days of ongoing attacks.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

GRIFFIN: The 9/11 Commission, which officially disbanded yesterday, has released two lengthy staff reports on its Web sites, and one of them deals with the financing, of how they did it, how they financed the 9/11 suicide hijackings. More on this from Ali Velshi, CNN Financial News, in Washington this morning -- Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Drew, 400 pages of compelling new detail released in those two reports you mentioned. They were released last night, because Saturday was the commission's final day of operation.

The commission had always wanted more time to do its work, but under pressure of a deadline that was imposed by Congress, it published its original 567-page report exactly a month ago.

Now, these two reports, as you said, one of them terrorist financing, the others one detail on travel. They have got photographs, they have got specifics that have not been previously released.

One report shows in detail how the hijackers were all in some way or another in violation of U.S. immigration laws.

There's also a new picture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Those are the 19 that you're looking at. Now, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was not part of that 19. He was the alleged architect of the plot. And he was arrested in March of 2003.

You'll recall a photograph of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed that was released upon his arrest. That's the one there. He was roused out of his bed in the early morning. He's now in custody. He had applied for a U.S. visa under an assumed name. One of the documents released yesterday by the commission was that visa application, that was denied.

Now, another picture that was seen for the first time -- there is the denied visa.

Another picture that was seen for the first time was the partially burned visa belonging to Ziad Jarrah. He was the hijacker of flight United -- United Airlines flight 93, which crashed over Pennsylvania, and that was found there.

Now, this is interesting. One of the new points that we found in the report is that Saudi passports are the preferred travel document of al Qaeda because of that country's weak passport security system. Now, at least two and maybe seven of the 9/11 terrorists used manipulated passports, and they are manipulated by using things like substituting photos, adding false visas, removing visas, bleaching stamps and counterfeiting passports entirely, substituting pages. As many as 10,000 Saudi passports may have been lost or stolen in recent years, and until late 2001, Drew, a stolen Saudi passport that later turned up in someone else's possession wasn't even a crime.

Now, this new report also gives some finer focus to how the attacks were financed, noting that none of the hijackers were employed or had any methods of paying for themselves. Of the $400,000 to $500,000 that was spent on the attack, the report says $300,000 was spent right here in the United States. It also says Osama bin Laden is not the tycoon behind al Qaeda. Most of his money has run out. He was cut off by his wealthy family in 1994. The terror organization, according to this report, is said to be funded by corrupt charities and donors.

So, Drew, not necessarily new information, but a whole lot more focus in the extra 400 pages added to the original 567 -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: It is certainly very interesting, Ali. Thanks for that report this morning.

VELSHI: OK.

NGUYEN: Let's fast forward now and take a look at some news you'll see in the week ahead. On Monday, peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebel groups are scheduled to begin in Sudan. Some estimates put the death toll at 30,000 since the violence broke out in February of 2003. More than a million people are homeless and hungry.

On Monday, preliminary hearings for detainees are set to get under way at Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. The U.S. is holding more than 600 detainees on that base. All of them are accused of ties to al Qaeda or the Taliban.

And Friday, Kobe Bryant's trial is scheduled to begin. He's charged with sexual assault. The trial is expected to last at least three weeks.

GRIFFIN: Another day of competition in Athens. They have put the wraps on the swimming competition, but a lot of racing left in Athens.

MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Mark McKay at the Summer Games. Could it be mo gold for Mo Greene in the Olympics? A preview of the men's 100 meters coming up on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, good morning, Minneapolis. What a beautiful shot from KARE this morning. You guys are experiencing a bit of a cold spell. We'll have more on that forecast in a couple of minutes.

GRIFFIN: At the summer games, look for a Greene in the men's 100 meter dash. American Maurice Greene revved up after breezing through yesterday's prelims. Mark McKay is in Athens with that and other Olympic news this morning. Hello, Mark.

MCKAY: Hello, Drew. And Carl Lewis, he is the only man to have successfully defended his 100 meter dash crown in the Olympics. Maurice Greene is hoping to become the second before this night is out in Athens.

Despite racing in what is considered a wide-open field, Greene clocked an impressive time, 9.93 seconds in winning his heat. Greene said it is a very fast track at the futuristic Olympic stadium, and added, we are going to have a party. We will have to see whether he is able to party with the gold medal hanging around his neck. Again, that race comes under the lights at Olympic stadium this evening here in Athens.

Now, the United States women's softball team remains on track towards a gold medal here in Athens. Sunday, the U.S. tally -- there are seven straight shut-out in beating Australia. It's on to the gold medal game for this talented team, where either the Aussies or Japan will be waiting.

The U.S. men's basketball squad has clinched a berth in the quarterfinal round here in Athens, but no thanks to their results against Lithuania on Saturdays. The pack of pros led the first-half lead slip away, and they couldn't come back. They lost to Lithuania 94-90 Saturday night. The Greeks win over the Americans' next opponent, Angola, allowed the U.S. to go into the final eight, but a lot of nerves frayed, Drew, as to how this team is going to fare. They may eventually come out with a gold medal, but it has been a strange trip indeed. They've now lost twice in these Olympic Games. Drew, back to you.

GRIFFIN: Quite a shocker there. Thank you, sir. We'll see you later.

NGUYEN: Michael Moore isn't the only filmmaker voicing an opinion about President Bush. Director Robert Greenwald uncovers another critical look at the war in Iraq, and we'll talk with him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen. Top stories now. U.S. forces clashed again today with rebels outside a revered shrine in Najaf. Troops loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al- Sadr still control the Imam Ali Mosque after talks to hand it over ran into some trouble. Iraqi officials say 49 Iraqis were killed there in a 24-hour period this weekend.

An unpaid adviser to the Bush campaign has resigned. It comes after he appeared in one of those anti-Kerry swift boat ads. The Bush people said they did not know former Air Force Colonel Ken Cordier was in the spot. Kerry has accused the veterans group behind the ads of working with the Bush campaign illegally.

And INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY is coming up at 10:00 Eastern. Kelly Wallace is here to tell us what's in the lineup for today. Good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty. Well, those ads, as well as that ambush in Vietnam 35 years ago that have taken center stage in the race for the White House. And as we know, it is getting ugly. We'll have strategists from both the Bush and Kerry campaigns to debate the latest rounds of attack.

And on a much lighter note, a CNN correspondent underwent an extreme makeover just to get the story inside one of Washington's hottest salons. Tune into INSIDE POLITICS at the top of the hour to see the results. Betty, I know you will be watching.

NGUYEN: Oh, yeah, we all love extreme makeovers. Don't we? OK, Kelly Wallace, thank you.

WALLACE: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Here you see both truck and railcar mounted mobile factories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you take a look at mobile labs that Colin Powell discussed, he didn't put up photographs of these facilities, he put up artist renditions of these facilities. Why? Because we have no proof they exist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: It's a pseudo-new documentary taking aim at the Bush administration's rationale for attacking Saddam Hussein. It's called "Uncovered: The War on Iraq," and the comparisons to Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" are inevitable. Both films challenge the Bush administration's claims that Iraq was harboring weapons of mass destruction. We're going to talk to the director live, but first, here are a few scenes from "Uncovered."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This year we gather in this chamber deeply aware of decisive days that lie ahead.

JOHN DEAN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Distorted beliefs, estimates and guesstimates. It appears that he was misleading the public and the Congress.

BUSH: Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent.

PETER ZIMMERMAN, FORMER CHIEF SCIENTIST: Sarin that they were making in 1990, 1991 had a known shelf life of about two months. I have confirmed this with the inspectors and analysts who were deeply involved in the 1990s analysis.

Well, if you made it 12 years ago and it had a shelf life of two months, it may not be safe to drink, but it isn't sarin nerve gas any longer.

DAVID ALBRIGHT, FORMER U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: And then they tried to use the fact that inspectors found 16 of these as evidence that thousands more existed. And again, I mean, as a methodology, it's a very weak way to predict anything. And I think it borders on propaganda.

POWELL: Here you see both truck and railcar-mounted mobile factories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you take a look at the mobile labs that Colin Powell discussed, he did not put up photographs of these facilities, he put up artist's rendition of these facilities. Why? Because we have no proof they exist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a masterful performance. But none of it was true. Where are all these weapons? Where is all this VX? Where is all the anthrax?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: It is going to be controversial. The documentary opened in limited release on Friday in New York, Boston and Washington. Joining us now from Los Angeles, the director, Robert Greenwald. Good morning to you, sir. I called it a pseudo-new documentary because this has been out on video since last year. Why is it being released now in theaters just a couple of months before the election?

ROBERT GREENWALD, DIRECTOR: Because there's a whole lot of new material in this film that was not on the original DVD. There's a long and extensive interview with David Kay, there is a section about the media's role in the lead-up to war, there is a section about the informers, and there is a section about the most-asked question, since it was not weapons of mass destruction, why did we go to war? So there's a section explaining the neocon philosophy and how we got to where we are today.

GRIFFIN: This is obviously coming out damning the Bush administration's decision to go to war, but I wondering if it also includes a lot of the others who thought there were weapons of mass destruction there, going back to the Clinton era, with both Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and even John Kerry, who voted for the war?

GREENWALD: Well, the movie is about the decision to go to war. And, yes, many other people thought or didn't think there were weapons, but what is critical as I understand it in a democracy, is when you go to war the reasons you are given. And what the movie does is we have 23 experts, people with over 400 years, by the way, of service to the government who -- and some of them were in favor to the war, some of them are Republicans, some are Democrats, independents. But what they are all extremely upset about is that the reasons we were told are not accurate, valid or truthful reasons.

GRIFFIN: Are you in this to change the outcome of the election, like Michael Moore stated in his "Fahrenheit 9/11?"

GREENWALD: No, I'm not. As I understand it, in a democracy, democracy, you participate. And what I wanted to do is to give voice to these 23 experts, many of whom could not get on the major media. Many of whom -- by the way, they have nothing to gain. They're not going to have a talk show, they're not going to have a book contract. But they felt as citizens and people who worked for our government it was their responsibility to speak up. They couldn't be heard. And what the film does is focus specifically, not on who you should vote for. That's up to you. But here is our government, here are the reasons we were told. And here is proof, not opinion, why those reasons are not accurate.

GRIFFIN: With the Swift Boat ad controversy, we are always looking for who is behind the ads or in this case the documentary. Who financed this? Your other documentary about the Fox network was financed by MoveOn.org, which is a George Soros-funded group. Who funded this particular program?

GREENWALD: Yes, MoveOn.org is not George Soros' funded group. MoveOn.org is funded by two million people around the country.

GRIFFIN: But mostly by Mr. Soros.

GREENWALD: No, that's not accurate. That's inaccurate. Soros gave the money specifically for the MoveOn PAC, not MoveOn.org, which is one of the great examples of democracy in this country, by the way, and the use of the Internet.

MoveOn.org gave me money. Center for American Progress gave me money. And they never looked at a frame of the film, never told me what to do until it was completely finished.

GRIFFIN: You are open in three cities. You are going to have a more wide opening across the country?

GREENWALD: Yes, thanks to this innovative distributor, Cinema Libre, we are opening in another 25 cities this coming Friday, and then after that, throughout the rest of the country.

GRIFFIN: Mr. Greenwald, thanks for getting up with us this morning in Los Angeles. Good luck to you, sir.

GREENWALD: Thanks.

NGUYEN: And speaking of controversy, throughout the morning we have been asking you your thoughts on our e-mail question of the day, and that centers around those swift boat ads. Are they dirty politics, or just politics as usual? Well, George from Austin, Texas writes: "The swift boat ads are both dirty politics and business as usual. Please get back to the real debate and stop inundating us with this nonsense."

GRIFFIN: Gail, she's calling -- writing from Burke, Virginia: "Unfortunately, dirty politics have become politics as usual. I believe people are finally cluing into this behavior. Hopefully it will backfire."

NGUYEN: And of course, we thank everyone for sending their thoughts in on these controversial topics. We'll have more of the e- mail questions of the day starting next weekend. But in the meantime, the road trip has come to an end for our traveling family.

GRIFFIN: Really?

NGUYEN: Yeah. Final installment of the Spry family odyssey, that is next -- I know you can't wait -- right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Plenty more ahead on CNN today. Up next, it's INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. At 11:00 a.m. Eastern, CNN LIVE SUNDAY, and at 11:30, RELIABLE SOURCES.

But for those of you just waking up or getting ready to step out on this Sunday morning and want to know what the weather has in store, and for that we go to Rob Marciano. Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: The family we followed across the country this summer as they searched for the American dream, may have finally found a home, well, at least temporarily.

We tracked the Spry family from Silicon Valley on the West Coast, through Nevada, Arizona and Texas, then from New Orleans, to Florida and up the East Coast.

The Sprys wanted to escape the rat race and find a more serene place to live and raise their 4-year-old son Ryan, you see there running. They left California in May and set out aboard an RV.

Four months later, the Sprys are settling down -- and get this, Northern Virginia. Yes, that's where they chose for an extended stay. Just an extended stay. The couple is job hunting right now. Dad, Steve Spry, is looking for a job in the IT field. He has an interview on Monday. Good luck with that. Mom, Colleen, is also job hunting in Northern Virginia. And when it's time for Ryan to go to school full time, the Sprys say they may set out yet again, searching for that American dream.

GRIFFIN: No doubt we'll be there, every step of the way. Good luck to you, guys, and thanks for joining us.

NGUYEN: INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY is next.

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