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CNN Live Sunday
America's New War
Aired September 16, 2001 - 17:00 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.
JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: A new view of ground zero and a new and gentle reminder about what lies ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDOLPH GIULIANI, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: The hope is still there that we might be able to save some lives. But the reality is in the last several days we haven't found anyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: What will it take to find Osama Bin Laden and others accused of terrorism today? The president prepares the public.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This war on terrorism is going to take a while, and the American people must be patient.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Good evening from Washington. I'm Wolf Blitzer along with Joie Chen in Atlanta.
CHEN: Good evening, Wolf. We want to bring our viewers up to date right away on the latest developments in America's new war on terrorism. President Bush is back at the White House this hour after intensive planning sessions which were held at Camp David. Mr. Bush said the country will launch a crusade to defeat what he called "a new kind of evil." He asked the country for patience, as his advisers put the country on notice that the war on terrorism is likely to last for years.
Vice President Cheney, meantime, confirms that after the Trade Center attacks and the attack on the Pentagon, President Bush approved the downing of the fourth hijacked passenger plane. Cheney said it was the hardest decision Mr. Bush had to make on that day. As we all know, the fourth plane crashed before it reached Washington.
President Bush repeated today that Osama Bin Laden is the government's prime suspect in connection with Tuesday's attacks. But in a statement released today, Bin Laden denied any connection to the suicide assaults, and said the perpetrators seem to have had, in his words, "personal reasons."
The FBI, meantime, is searching an apartment in Delray Beach, Florida. That is under way at this hour. Agents there are removing boxes full of materials. Two of the hijackers are believed to have lived in that apartment. A similar operation has taken place today in New Jersey.
In churches across this nation today, Americans lifted their voices in songs of faith and love of country. Polls are indicating strong support for the nation's leadership in the early stage of this war against terrorism.
A couple of other developments to note today: the Bush administration and Congress are now examining ways to relax restrictions against the CIA. One such restriction is the ban on political assassinations. And Attorney General John Ashcroft says he will ask Congress for expanded law enforcement powers, including broader authority in using wiretaps. The administration says intelligence and law enforcement will represent major components in the war against terrorism.
Now on something that we want to show you. We know it is very difficult for view others to see this again, but it is to help our understanding of what took place on Tuesday. These are very late images that we're just getting in. As you see, they were shot by an amateur video cameraman taking pictures.
As you can see, one of the towers on fire after the plane went through it but before, obviously, the final collapse of both of the towers. As you see, this latest video gives you probably the clearest image that we have seen yet of the hole gashed into the side of World Trade Center towers and of course the burning as well.
Another picture that we are just getting in as well from an amateur videographer. This shows an engine of one of the jets, obviously, lying on the street there in the wall street area. Very grim pictures, but to help, really, in our understanding of what took place on Tuesday. Wolf?
BLITZER: Joie, coming up this hour we will have reports on the support for war among the American public. Senior political analyst Bill Schneider will take us inside the latest poll numbers. We will also have exclusive reports from Afghanistan on Nic Robertson on the mood in the Afghan capitol. And Steve Harrigan in the five percent of Afghanistan not controlled by the Taliban. And we'll take you inside one of New York City's hospitals, where the worst of the burn victims are being treated.
President Bush pledged today the United States will "rid the world of evildoers," in his words, following Tuesday's terror attack. The president and Mrs. Bush returned to the White House several hours ago from Camp David. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Bush reiterated that the battle against terrorism will not be easy or quick. And earlier in the day, top Bush administration officials went on the air, appearing on the Sunday talk shows to underscore the president's message. CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: After huddling with his national security team at Camp David, President Bush returns to the White House and urges Americans to try to get on with their lives.
BUSH: Just like the farmers and ranchers and business owners and factory workers have a job to do, my administration has job to do. And we are going to do it.
WALLACE: Back to business, but not business as usual, as Mr. Bush and his aides mount a full-court offensive to reassure a jittery public.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are pursuing over 40,000 leads.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: They can't destroy America. Things have changed since last Tuesday. The world has shifted in some respects.
WALLACE: The administration is facing a delicate balancing act, encouraging an anxious country to go back to work while making the case its campaign against terrorists and those who harbor them will not be an overnight solution.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: It will take time. It's not a matter of days or weeks; it's years. It's going to take the support of the American people and I have every confidence it will be there.
WALLACE: The support is there now. In a CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll, 86 percent said they support a military action, even if it lasts several months. Support dropped, though, to 66 percent if a conflict lasts several years.
For a public angry about how these tragedies could have happened, Attorney General John Ashcroft says he will send proposals to capitol hill in days to strengthen laws to track terrorists.
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We will develop the tools...
WALLACE: While Secretary of State Colin Powell calls for a return to normalcy.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: If we stick in our bunker and walk around afraid, they will have won. We are not a fearful people. We know how to overcome tragedy, and we will restore a sense of normalcy to this society, to this country very quickly, in a way that will impress the world.
WALLACE: To underscore that point, tomorrow Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange and major league players return to the field, while the administration continues planing its response to the worst act of terrorism on U.S. soil. Kelly Wallace, CNN, near Camp David, Maryland. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: As Kelly just reported, an overwhelming number of Americans believe the U.S. military should retaliate for Tuesday's terror attacks. According to the CNN-"USA Today" Gallup poll, 88 percent of those surveyed support such retaliation. Only 8 percent were opposed.
Most Americans also believe the U.S. should mount a long term war to eliminate terrorism worldwide. 86 percent of those polled said they would support a U.S. military action if it lasts for several months, and 66 percent said they would support such an action if it lasted even several years. CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider joins us now with more and some perspective. It doesn't appear, Bill, that there's much indication -- at least now -- of a division in the American public.
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: We are seeing a little indication of division. I can tell you I just saw evidence of it, driving across the mall behind us in front of the capitol, where people were at a rally behind a sign -- a large sign -- that said "Justice, not revenge," as if this should be treated as a crime, not as an act of war. There is a division over a basic issue, which is what should objective be in this war? We found a majority this weekend, but only a bare majority, 52 percent endorsing the view that the U.S. should mount a long term war to eliminate terrorist groups worldwide.
A substantial minority, 36 percent, believe our warring should be more limited, to find and punish the specific terrorist group responsible for this attack. Another 6 percent don't want the U.S. to take any military action at all. That's over 40 percent who do not endorse the larger war aim that this administration is pressing for.
We see a big division here between men and women. Women do not support the larger war and men do. And this is the only place where there's a division between parties. Republicans favor the all-out war against terrorism. Democrats are divided. So this is a potential source of division over a basic issue. What should war objective be?
BLITZER: You've been studying poll numbers for many years. How do these numbers -- the mood right now -- compare to previous U.S. military engagements?
SCHNEIDER: There's a basic difference. In this we were attacked. That's not true of Korea, Vietnam, the Cold war, the Gulf War. We were attacked. So the president and the administration don't really have to rally the public the way, say, his father did in the Gulf War. Republicans already rallied.
Now, in the past we found that support for wars varies with several things: one, the losses. As the losses mount, support goes down. Second, the time it takes. As the war goes on and on inconclusively, support goes down. I think there's going to be a lot more patience and a lot more tolerance of losses because we were attacked. There is a third condition that applies, and that's politics. Americans believe that wars should not be fought for limited purposes. They should be fought to win.
They have very little patience -- and have shown very little in the past -- for getting involved in other countries' politics. How do we avoid politics in this case, when the U.S. objective is not to defeat another country, like Japan, but to persuade their governments to cooperate with us? If they don't, we will get them out of power. And then we become responsible for whatever government takes over in their country, which means politics may be unavoidable, and that could be a problem down the road.
BLITZER: When you saw these latest CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll numbers come in, was there any huge surprise as far as you were concerned? Or were these numbers predictable?
SCHNEIDER: They were predictable because of what happened. Even Democrats are rallying to support the president. The president right now has an 86 percent job rating. That's no surprise. It's almost as high as his father's was in the Gulf War. I wouldn't say surprised by the unity, but I also -- I was a bit surprised to see that on the issue of that basic objective -- what are we trying to accomplish here? To punish the perpetrators or to win an all out war against terrorism, there really is a division. It's what the sign said on the mall. Are we looking for justice or are we looking for revenge?
BLITZER: Bill Schneider, our senior political analyst. Thank you very much. Joie?
CHEN: Wolf, for his part with all the talk about Osama Bin Laden, Bin Laden himself is denying any involvement in the U.S. terror attacks. Now take a look at this. These are statements from Osama Bin Laden, released today from the Gulf state of Qatar.
A quote here: "After the recent attacks which the U.S. has witnessed, the U.S. government ventured to point fingers at me, accuse me of involvement. The U.S. government has consistently blamed me for being behind every occasion its enemies attack it. I would like to assure the world that I did not plan the recent attacks, which seem to have been planned by people for personal reasons. As for me, I have been living in the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan, and following its leaders rules. The current leader does not allow me to exercise such operations."
Osama Bin Laden, Afghanistan. Just two of the world players in whatever move the United States will make next. To help us understand what is important to what lies ahead, we are joined this hour by former Secretary of the Navy James Webb, who has inside perspective of decisions facing the nation's military. As well with us, Robin Wright of the "Los Angeles Times." International correspondent with a very in depth knowledge of this region.
First, Mr. Secretary, I would like to begin with you to talk to you a little bit about the relationship between diplomacy and military decisions here. Can you tell us why these things have to go hand-in- hand?
JAMES WEBB, FORMER SECRETARY OF THE NAVY: Well, listening to the poll numbers and discussion about that that just preceded your question, you can see that people are talking about two different things when really they are interrelated. We need to develop policies that will address accountability for the actions that have occurred, but also to carry them forward into a situation where you can preempt and prevent these kinds of actions in the future. And in order to do that you're going to have take it to the places where these people have trained and where they have logistical support.
The Islamic fundamentalist terrorist movement over the past 20 years or so has done a very good job of writing what you would call a seam in international law and policy. They have been afforded certain protections by different countries. At the same time, they have never been specifically sponsored by different countries. That's a distinction that's going to have to go away. But in order to solve this problem, we are going to have on a long-term basis from accountability for these acts to precluding them in the future to developing a diplomatic format where we can address the problems that have fed many of the anxieties. So they all interrelate.
CHEN: They do all interrelate. And we want to talk more about that. But I want you to help our viewers understand. This is a map of Afghanistan. Help us understand the topography, the geographical considerations in making a strike against Osama Bin Laden, if that is ultimately what is decided by the administration. It is tremendously rough country.
WEBB: I think the best thing to say about those sort of military options is that Secretary Rumsfeld is an extremely capable individual. He has got a great team with him. We have a president leading us here. It would be wrong to second-guess them at this point. It may be Afghanistan, it may not be Afghanistan. The first thing that we really need to do is to develop domestic policies that will allow to us penetrate the cells which I guess are already in this country and to eliminate them. And then the military options that are being addressed right now are something that I think we should sit back and allow to occur. It is a tough place.
CHEN: You know, we heard from the administration earlier in the day. A number of the administration members talking through the importance of what is ahead, and emphasizing that this would be a war, a different sort of war than what Americans have seen in the past. That the emphasis would be both on intelligence and policing. Can you explain that to us?
WEBB: Yes. Also, the president not too long ago mentioned that we need to bring other sorts of power that we as a nation have to the floor. We have diplomatic power. I think we are seeing some interesting developments, for instance, in the cooperation right now of Pakistan.
We have be to very careful how we play those cards. This is a region where you have had tensions between Pakistan and India, India and China, China assisting Pakistan and China has its own designs. So they're having to walk a very delicate balance there to pull together the international cooperation.
We also have economic power, the president mentioned. And we need to use those levers when we can.
But at bottom, what we have to do, as I said, in a three-step process, is eliminate the terrorist cells in this country, to get to where they are in the other countries -- wherever that may be -- and to serve notice to nations that may be protecting them that we will cross international borders. We have that right under the U.N. Charter to protect American lives. We will cross their borders if necessary to take out people who are planning attacks against the United States. And then, thirdly, to address the diplomatic environment so that we can hopefully eliminate this as a threat. Cut this cancer away from the populations that have been supporting it, tacitly or otherwise. And then hopefully move into a different kind of a world. That is the objective of all this.
CHEN: James Webb, former secretary of the Navy giving us particular insight and understanding into the issues that face the government today. Also with us at this hour, Robin Wright from ""Los Angeles Times"." As I mentioned earlier, she is an international correspondent that has tremendous insight and knowledge about this particular region in the course of her coverage.
Robin, we want to sort of pull out from what James Webb was just talking about, this notion of the development of other nations and how they play into this. We have talked quite a bit on our air about Pakistan particular and its relationship to Afghanistan. Explain to our viewers, that even if there is cooperation offered, it's not all that easy to come by -- particularly for the state that we believe to have some nuclear capability.
ROBIN WRIGHT, "LOS ANGELES TIMES" INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pakistan is indeed a very unstable place. We have to remember that the military government came to power a couple of years ago by aborting a Democratic process, overthrowing a Democratic government. It's a rather fragile government today, even though it is led by military leaders. It has its own Islamic problems, Islamic extremists who are operating in Kashmir and whom they don't completely control. It has a large Islamic sector who vote for Islamic parties, and that should United States be perceived as too heavy handed or going too far in to part of world, there could be the kind of backlash that in fact created Osama Bin Laden in the first place.
CHEN: And we advise that Pakistan and Afghanistan share this very long border. Quite porous, I understand.
WRIGHT: It's a very porous border. And an interesting thing is that there are many in the military who actually look with favor at the Taliban, and they believe that Afghanistan under the Taliban is an important buffer for Pakistan and an important ally when India next door is a predominately Hindu country with which there are serious territorial disputes.
CHEN: We talk about the other long border for Afghanistan, and that is Iran. Of course, our viewers thoroughly understand that, to put very mildly, the United States has had its differences with Iran over the years. Tell us how that plays into the rubric here. WRIGHT: That's really an interesting question. Because today secretary of state Powell made a public overture to Iran and indicated that the United States was exploring the possibility of some kind of role for Iran. Of course, there has been two decades of tension, dating back to the 1979 takeover of the American embassy. But Iran has the second longest border. And it has its own problems with the Taliban. In fact, the government in Tehran feels greater hostility toward the Taliban than it does to the United States or even toward Israel.
It looks down on the Taliban as a primitive force because of their treatment of women, because they allow the largest poppy crop in the world for production of opium and heroin, it's elimination of all culture from movies to cinema to music. It feels very threatened by a country next door that is predominantly Sunni. And Iran is predominantly Shiite. So there are a lot of reasons for hostility. And I think the United States would be very interested in exploring just what possibilities there are between the two. It's going to be a long haul. Nothing is going to happen overnight. But Iran plays a critical part in this coalition, and because of its long border.
CHEN: All right. Let's go wider into the region, as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think along with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, only nations that recognize Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. the United Arab Emirates, are the only nations that recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.
WRIGHT: That's right. And they are going to play very important roles too. Part of problem with Osama Bin Laden is not just the networks he has created, but the enormous amount of money he has at his expense to pay for things like flight schools and positioning cells in probably three dozen different countries around the world. Rich Saudi individuals have played key roles over the last 20 years in helping fund Osama Bin Laden's activities. And so that role Saudi Arabia plays, both in cutting off the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden financially, and what role the United Arab Emirates plays -- because many of these extremists have ended up with emirate passports. So these are two countries that are really critically important in this coalition, and getting their cooperation both to squeeze the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden.
CHEN: And then even though Saudi Arabia, has for example, hosted the U.S. as it participated in the no-fly zones. Saudi Arabia has been an ally to the United States in this sense. But it isn't necessarily an easy tightrope for the Saudi government to talk either.
WRIGHT: That's absolutely right. One of the big problems is going to be calculating how far we can go in asking for participation by the some of these countries without jeopardizing their standing at home. And there's also a moral question for us. We are asking for help from countries -- a military regime in Pakistan, one of the world's last autocratic monarchies in Saudi Arabia, another monarchy in the United Arab Emirates -- which have among the of worst human rights records in the world. It's going to be a real challenge for us to be able to justify creating a coalition in which they are central players and helping to prop them up in order to get at Osama Bin Laden.
CHEN: Thank you very much, Robin Wright of the "Los Angeles Times", for your particular insight into this troubled region, and why it is not quite as easy some people might think. We want to understand more about Afghanistan itself. There are many in that rugged and austere country at this hour preparing for another war at the hands of very powerful enemy. CNN is only the western news organization with reporters still in areas under Taliban control. One of them, CNN's Nic Robertson, filed a report on a people well accustomed to bloodshed and deprivation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bustling trade in Afghanistan's street markets belies an impending sense of isolation beginning to grip many Afghans. Concerns about the likelihood of an American attack and the possibility borders with Pakistan and Iran may close have driven food prices up ten to 15 percent. Concern also Afghan people could become innocent victims.
"They should wait until it's clear Osama was involved," this vendor says. "America shouldn't make any attack on Afghanistan," this trader says, "because the Afghan people are not involved and not responsible."
Many here, however, are too poor to flee the cities. 22 years of conflict has ruined infrastructure and economy alike. The years of war have also built up a resilience among many Afghans, to the point where a new attack would be a continuation of their ongoing battles. "The result of Russian aggression was the breaking of Russia into 16 countries," this old man says, remembering the 1980 Soviet occupation. "If America attacks us, Allah will divide America into 52 pieces." From influential tribal elders, not necessary aligned with the Taliban, however, a call for diplomacy.
"We advise the Taliban that they must discuss everything with every one and not close the doors to negotiations." However, the tribal elders also said, if Afghanistan is attacked, they will back the Taliban to the end -- a sentiment echoed on the streets here as the last of the international aid workers began leaving because the Taliban said they could no longer guarantee their safety. Afghanistan's total isolation appears now closer than ever. Nic Robertson, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: In New York, Mayor Rudy Giuliani says New Yorkers are more united than ever, as the massive rescue and recovery efforts at ground zero continue. Crews digging through the rubble have yet to find any survivors today. CNN's Bill Hemmer is standing by in Lower Manhattan and CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at Cornell Burn Center, where those burned in the attacks are being treated.
Let's go first to Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay, I want to advise our viewers that some of video that you have is very graphic. They may not want to watch it. But describe what you are seeing right now. DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf, it's exactly as you say. While there are close to 5,000 missing or dead, there are many survivors who barely escaped with their lives. I've been sitting and talking with some of these patients in the burn unit, Wolf, there at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Burn Center, one of the largest burn centers in the country, by the way. Some of their stories that I've heard today were frankly horrifying. Let's listen to one right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just getting into work about 8:45. Getting out of the elevator, walking down the hallway. I was on the 83rd floor the first tower. All of sudden, as I was walking down the hallway, I hear a door explode and just this big ball of fire engulfed me. I just froze. I didn't do anything. I just stood there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: He just stood there, Wolf. Large ball of fire -- he was looking down the hallway and this ball of fire came at him and it obviously burned him. You can see there on his face and really his entire trunk, his legs and his arms. I talked to the doctors afterward. What they told me was rather interesting. A 155-degree temperature for even one second will give you a third degree burn. They think these balls of fire from jet fuel and whatnot up to 1,000 degrees, so five to ten times what it takes to give you a third degree burn. And these were just literally engulfing people, literally incinerating people as they walked through that building.
I talked to another woman, Wolf, who thinks she may in fact have been the last person out building. Let's hear from her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not going to be able to make it. Finally (UNINTELLIGIBLE) come, let's go. After we turned around the corner, the whole building collapsed. So I'm very, very, very, lucky. But any of my friends up on the 78th floor they either got crushed or on the way down to the stairs, they...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: I sat down and I spoke with her for some time, Wolf. What she was describing there, she was actually trying to save her boss. She was one of those people who was told no need to evacuate the building. Her boss had her broken leg. She was literally dragging her boss through these offices over many other dead bodies. Took an elevator down. When the elevator opened up, a big ball of fire actually killed several of the people in front of the elevator in front of her. She was able to finally run out of the building, and as she turned around the corner the entire building collapsed. Just unbelievable, really, stories Wolf, that I heard today over at Weill (ph)-Cornell.
BLITZER: Sanjay, have they identified all of the burn victims in the -- at the Cornell Burn Center and other hospitals in the New York area?
GUPTA: That's what they told me, Wolf. They have been able to identify all the burn victims at this time. We did talk about a few burn victims that had 90 to 100 percent burns over the past few days, and they also told us that the patient that we specifically spoke with with 100 percent burn did indeed pass on.
BLITZER: Our viewers obviously know you are a medical doctor. What kind of prognosis -- what is the recovery going to be like for these burn victims?
GUPTA: Well, there are some ways to look at this, and you keep in mind technology is changing, so survivability is changing literally by the day. A simple rule of thumb that a lot of the doctors told me and that I learned from medical school was that the percent burn over your body plus your age equals your likelihood of death. So people who have 50 percent burns and they may be in their 40s or 50s, you can image their likelihood of survival is quite small.
They also said your recovery period for every percent of burn on your body is about the number of days that you will be spending in the hospital. For those that have 50 to 60 percent burns on their body, they will probably be in the hospital for two months getting skin grafts, getting (UNINTELLIGIBLE), getting physical therapy, all those sorts of things. It's an incredibly long and unfortunately incredibly painful road for a lot of these burn victims. But as I said, some of these folks may actually survive this.
BLITZER: Dr. Sanjay Gupta,thank you very much for that information.
Let's move across Manhattan now, down to ground zero in Lower Manhattan. That's where CNN's Bill Hemmer is standing by. Set the scene for us over there, bill. What is going on?
BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At this time, the sun is starting to set somewhere to the west. Normally at this time of the night, we should start to see rescuers who are working inside come out and trickle away at this point. We were here early this morning, just about 5:30 a.m. About that time and the hours after that, Wolf, we saw hundreds and hundreds of rescuers going in on flatbed trucks, heading inside.
What you are watching right now, though, is some new videotape. These are aerial shots of what is known now as "the site." Ground zero, Wolf, as you mentioned there. You can see the utter devastation spread out over so many city blocks here in Lower Manhattan. The other thing that is quite obvious on the outside of that site there. You can see a number of skyscrapers still standing at this time. We are told that they still could be quite precarious. Structural engineers going at this time throughout the day trying to determine if indeed those buildings are safe.
In the meantime, Wolf, we talked throughout the weekend about donations, and we tried to get the word out yesterday. Everybody was telling us please, if you want to help, send money. No more food, no more water, no more clothing. They have plenty of that. Again, this afternoon the governor of New York, George Pataki reiterated that message. He came out and talked to us about two hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE PATAKI, GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: People that want to help: don't come here. We don't need you here now. But you can help. You can join your fire company. Join your ambulance corps at home. Support the Salvation Army and the Red Cross. And of course, covers you can donate funds. Because there are not just thousands of victims, but thousands and thousands of their children and families who are going to need our help as we go through this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Governor Pataki a short time ago. Also in that brief he got very emotional. Tears at one time -- choking back tears as he tried to describe his feelings right now as the search and rescue operation -- they're still calling it that -- continues here in Manhattan.
We did meet one very lucky person today: Dave Lynne work for the port authority police department. He's along with the canine unit. He was in the north tower inside trying to help and rescue people when the tower crashed to the ground. He says he is alive today only because people came to his rescue. And today he had a message as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LYNNE, PORT AUTHORITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: I'm here today and I'm here to tell, everybody especially the rescuers, that I know that they haven't found anybody in a while, and that you can survive something like that and I'm living proof of that. If that helps you to keep going, then I have done my job today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Dave Lynne. Very courageous man. Came out and talked with us earlier today. He says his partner, a yellow lab, has not been heard from since and clearly he is quite disappointed at this time. He had some tears as well. There's been a lot of tears this week in New York City.
Wolf, the search and rescue operation continues. The mayor today saying 5,097 still missing at this point. Back to you in Washington.
BLITZER: As you know, Bill, there have been a lot of tears not only in New York City but around the country, indeed, around the world. Thank you very much.
This footnote: We have heard countless stories about Americans coming together to help in any way they can in the aftermath the attacks. That effort extends to the rescue dogs in New York, who will now get canvas and leather shoes to wear while working in the rubble, thanks to a Wisconsin pet supply company. A spokesman says the special shoes strap onto the dog's paws and help protect them from glass and other debris.
CHEN: We begin this half hour with update a today's developments. The FBI has conducted a raid on an apartment in Delray Beach, Florida, the home of at least one of the suspected hijackers aboard the plane that crashed into the Pentagon. Agents have been seen leaving with bags, presumably containing evidence.
On another front in the investigation, a second man has been arrested as a material witness in the attacks.
President Bush says Osama Bin Laden remains the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks despite a statement today in which Osama Bin Laden denied involvement. The president is back at the White House after intensive meetings this weekend at Camp David with his national security team.
Pakistani senior officials will traffic to Afghanistan on Monday to warn the Taliban they face a massive assault unless they hand Bin Laden over to the United States. And President Bush acknowledges that he gave the go-ahead for the U.S. military to shoot down any unauthorized aircraft headed toward the White House or the Capitol as the terror attacks unfolded. The four hijacked jets all crashed before the military could intercept them.
BLITZER: Joie, as we reported, the administration and Congress are examining ways to boost the nation's intelligence gathering capacity. They say intelligence will be a prominent pillar in the war against terrorism. Cheney Cheney addressed the matter in an interview today, and he also defended the intelligence community from charges that someone must have dropped the ball in not averting the attacks last Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: With respect to the intelligence area, there will be I'm sure a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking, second-guessing, if you will, about whether or not there was an intelligence failure. Clearly we did not learn of this operation, or we would have stopped it if we had.
But I think it's important to remember that our men and women in the intelligence business out there all over the world, 365 days a year, defending and protecting us, oftentimes very successful, oftentimes in ways we can never talk about. But we clearly need to do everything we can to forestall those kinds of activities by improving our intelligence capabilities. This offers a lot of lessons learned.
But we have to recognize, no matter how good we are, no matter how aggressively we pursue this, we are likely to be subject to that partly by the very nature of our society. We are an open society. We love it that way. That's very important to preserve that and not to let the terrorists win by turning ourselves into some kind of police state.
We also have to work the dark side, if you will. We have to spend time in the shadows in the intelligence world. A lot of what needs to be done here will have to be quietly, without any discussion, using sources and methods that are available to our intelligence agencies if we are going to be successful. That's the world those folks operate in. It will be vital for us to use any means at our disposal, basically, to achieve our objective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Vice President Cheney speaking today on NBC's "MEET THE PRESS". In that interview, the vice president also expressed support for CIA director George Tenet, who's been the target of some criticism since Tuesday. Cheney said Tenet is doing a suburb job.
Another prominent official speaking out today as well: Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell spoke at length with me on the nature of the conflict ahead, and what the United States now expects of countries who may harbor terrorists. Here is Secretary Powell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I want to make it clear to them that they must comply with previous directions they received from the United Nations and other organizations to stop this, to expel this organization, to destroy this organization or to help us to destroy this organization. And they will be held accountable for the support they have given to this organization, if that's who we finally determine is responsible and we are going after them.
They will have to make their choice whether they want to be on the receiving end of the full wrath of the United States and others, or whether they want to get rid of this curse that they have within their country.
I'm not any carrying expectations. The only thing I am looking for is results. They either do or they don't. It's binary. Yes or no. You either respond to this crisis, this tragedy, this horrible thing that was perpetrated by perhaps Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden -- and all, all the indications point in that direction -- you either respond and rip them up, help us rip them up, get rid of them. Or you will suffer consequences.
We are probably going to be in the counterterrorism business at a very high level of intensity for as long as anyone can imagine, as long as there are people out there who are willing to do the kinds of things those terrorists did this week. Then we are going to have to be on guard and constantly looking for them, trying to penetrate them and trying to stop them. And not just respond to them but to stop them. Get ahead of them.
This is going to change the way we do business. It's going to change the way we go about our daily life here in the United States. It's going to require a greater emphasis on homeland defense, so we can defend ourselves against those, who notwithstanding our best efforts overseas, are still trying to get into the country to hurt us. We should see this as a long-term campaign and do apply decisive force to it. And that force is not just military force. There is all the elements of national power that are at our disposal. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Again, that was Secretary of State Colin Powell speaking with me earlier today. In that interview, Powell also echoed President Bush in saying that Osama Bin Laden remains the prime suspect for what occurred last Tuesday.
As we told you, Bin Laden today again denied any connection to the attacks. CNN's David Ensor listened to the remarks today by general Powell and Vice President Cheney. He joins us more on what the nation's leaders are preparing the American people for.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're preparing the American people, Wolf, for a very long war, as they have both said. And Secretary Powell, you heard, calling it for the moment at least, very much an intelligence war and a law enforcement war, more than a military one.
The administration promising a thoroughgoing reassessment of the nation's intelligence capabilities, with talk on Capitol Hill by some of a major intelligence failure here. And obviously CIA is not happy they weren't able to warn about what happened in New York and Washington. The administration looking at some of the policies that are in place.
For example, currently there rules at the CIA that if anyone wants to hire an informant, in for example a terrorist organization, who has blood on his hands, that has to be checked out. Informants have to be checked out for their human rights record and for their criminal record before they can be put on. As Vice President Cheney made clear earlier today, that is going to change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: We need to have on the payroll some very unsavory characters if in fact you are going to be able to learn all that needs to be learned in order to forestall these kinds of activities. It is mean, nasty, dangerous, dirty business out there, and we have operate in that arena.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENSOR: Going even further than that, Secretary of State Powell said that the policies since 1976 that the United States has had under -- was put in place by President Ford -- banning any kind political assassinations -- even that policy is being looked at.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: It is still on the books, and as part of our campaign plan we are examining everything. How the CIA does it work, how the FBI and Justice Department does its work. Are there laws that need to be changed or new laws brought into effect to give us more ability to deal with this kind of threat? So everything is under review.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ENSOR: That's all well and good to say people over at the U.S. intelligence agencies, but it's still the hardest job there is to penetrate a terrorist cell, and that is what they now have to do, Wolf.
BLITZER: They have their mission out ahead of them. Thank you very much. David Ensor, our national security correspondent on capitol hill. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee plans to introduce a bill this week creating a office of counterterrorism at the White House. For more on what is ahead on the Hill, here is CNN Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl. Tell us what's going on, Jon.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Congress is on what one top aide to the speaker of the house called a "war footing." Working together, the Congressional leadership -- House and Senate, Democratic and Republican -- on absolute fast-track. Several separate tracks, working all efforts to aid what's being called the war effort here.
First and foremost -- I'll get to the point you just mentioned -- but first and foremost is the question of aiding law enforcement by easing restrictions on law enforcement as they try to track down whoever was involved in these attacks. The Attorney General John Ashcroft spoke earlier today about this. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: There are areas of our laws and procedures which give us better tools against organized crime -- against illegal gambling for example -- than we have against terrorists. We need to make sure that we provide the maximum capacity against terrorists in the United States!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: Now the attorney general is talking to Congressional leaders today. In fact, right now one of the things we are being told he is saying is that some of those who were involved in this attack may still be in the country and may still pose a terrorist threat. Therefore he is asking for broad new powers for law enforcement, such as broadened powers to tap phone lines and as what the Democratic Leader in the House, Dick Gephardt, is calling a "rebalancing" of freedom and also of the right of law enforcement to go out and track these people down.
Now, also you have what you mentioned, this notion of establishing a White House office of counterterrorism that's being compared to the office of the drug czar, which was under President Clinton a cabinet-level position. It would be a person who would be in charge of all the counterterrorism efforts being done by other agencies like the FBI, like the CIA.
Finally, they are calling the economy part of the national security equation. And Democratic and Republican lawmakers have been meeting and talking today about efforts to stimulate the economy, including that bailout of the airlines we have been talking about, including, actually, both Democrats and Republicans talking about a new round of tax cuts; tax cuts designed to stimulate the economy.
Wolf, all this going on at a pace you have just never seen up here on Capitol Hill before, where the House and the Senate working together so they can pass these things and get them right to the president to sign. Back to you.
BLITZER: And with virtually no opposition. Jonathan Karl, thank you so much for joining us. Back to you, Joie.
CHEN: Wolf, one of the big questions, of course, after the attacks on America: how do we prevent the kind of suicide hijackings that made Tuesday's devastation even possible?
Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta said today that he has appointed two new task forces. One will include pilots and airline officials, who will focus on ways to stop terrorists from getting into the cockpits. The other will come up with ways to prevent terrorists from getting aboard planes in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NORMAN Y. MINETA, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Our national transportation system has become a target. Passenger vehicles have been transformed into lethal weapons in a profane and cowardly campaign of violence. This past week requires us to develop a new system that will move people and commerce safely and efficiently. That is the mission before us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: While Secretary Mineta awaits recommendations from those task forces, due October 1st, many people involved with airline regulation and the industry itself already are racking their brains for some way to make sure that Tuesday's terror never happens again. CNN's Jeanne Meserve has some the proposals that are now on the table.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For pilots the rule of thumb in hijackings has always been be passive, be cooperative. Get on the ground and into negotiations. Tuesday the rules changed. Instantaneously. Commercial pilot Paul Emens was in the air.
PAUL EMENS: My copilot and I basically looked at each other and said, "you want to fly or fight." He had this big steel flashlight. And if anybody came through the door, he was going to go after him and I was going to get the airplane on the ground.
MESERVE: According to the Airline Pilot's Association, pilots and flight attendants, the airlines, the FAA and law enforcement are engaged in an unprecedented cooperative effort to improve aircraft security quickly.
CAPT. DUANE WOERTH, AIRLINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION: We are at war. We are treating it that way. And everybody is cutting through the red tape, makings decisions.
MESERVE: Among the changes being considered on expedited basis: whether to provide law enforcement escort. Whether to arm pilots with weapons. And how to modify equipment like the cockpit door, so it is a more effective barrier.
WOERTH: This new door that we want -- I hope by Friday, really -- I want a certification process approved by the FAA and the manufacturer. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I believe we can that, and are on our way to getting that door.
MESERVE: Some airlines have told their pilots to do what they must to save themselves, their aircraft and their passengers. Pilot Paul Emens says, if his plane is under threat, passengers better hold on.
EMENS: You should be wearing your seat belt.
MESERVE: What does that mean?
EMENS: We can start to maneuver that aircraft so that he cannot function.
MESERVE: Depressurize?
EMENS: We can depressurize the aircraft, we can throw it around the sky, we can do all sorts of things. And he won't be walking when it's over.
MESERVE: Despite the financial distress of the airplane industry, the Airline Pilots Association says no security measure is off the table, no matter what the expense. But some aviation watchdogs are critical. They say the problems and the solutions were known long ago and they asked why are we seeing corrections so late -- too late. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
CHEN: Update now on the aircraft in air today. The three major airports in the New York area remain open today, but they are running far fewer flights than normal. Three days after commercial airlines were cleared to take off again, LaGuardia and Kennedy are running about half the usual number of flights, but Newark International has been handling about three fourths of its usual volume today.
BLITZER: Joie, there were strategies in place Tuesday that worked. Top defense officials tell CNN the FAA warned the Pentagon a hijacked commercial jet was headed that way at least 12 minutes before it hit. But the warning went unheeded there. CNN's Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre is at the Pentagon. Jamie, give us the perspective. What happened?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Just to be clear, Wolf. The FAA alerted NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, that a hijacked plane was heading toward Washington. And in response, the U.S. military scrambled just two minutes after that warning three F-16 jets from Langley Air Force base in Virginia, about 130 miles from here. And they screamed toward Washington at supersonic speed.
Still, they arrived about 11 minutes after the American airlines plane slammed into the Pentagon. There wasn't enough warning time to act, to intercept those planes. But it might have been enough to time to evacuate the Pentagon or other buildings in Washington, had that decision been made. But Pentagon officials here say they were not informed of what was going on at the time.
Meanwhile, President Bush said today -- and Pentagon sources indicate that it was right after that incident -- that President Bush made his decision to allow U.S. Air National Guard planes to shoot down a hijacked United Airlines plane over Pennsylvania if it got close enough to threaten Washington. And Vice President Dick Cheney said today that that was President Bush's toughest decision of the day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I gave our military the orders necessary to protect Americans. Do whatever it would take to protect Americans. And of course that's difficult. Never did in anybody's thought process about how to protect America did we ever think that the evildoers would fly not one, but four commercial aircraft into precious U.S. targets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: Just to be clear, U.S. military planes that are now patrolling over the northeast corridor do not have carte blanche to shoot down hijacked planes. There is a number of procedures they would have to go through, but the government working very hard to make sure that no pilot and no commander and the president doesn't have to make that kind of agonizing decision any time in the future. Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you very much.
And as you may have seen within the past hour here on CNN, authorities are searching a house in Delray Beach, Florida, that may have some connection with the events of last Tuesday. CNN's Susan Candiotti is there to explain what is going on -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf. As if it wasn't surprising the first time that the FBI searched this particular apartment complex earlier this week -- at least surprising to the people that live around here -- the FBI is back again, and they have been here for more than three hours, still searching one of the apartments -- at least one them -- up on the third floor of this apartment in Delray Beach, Florida. That is in Palm Beach County.
Now, they are searching the apartment -- at least one of them, sources say -- of some of the suspected hijackers involved in United Airlines Flight 93. An apartment said to have been lived in by Sayeed Alghambi (ph), Ahmed Alnami (ph), and possibly a third hijacking suspect. If that is the case, that would mean that at least three of the four suspected hijackers involved in commandeering United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco that crashed in Pennsylvania would have spent some time in this apartment complex at one time or the other before the attacks.
This search that is going on here is demonstrative of those that are going on nationwide as FBI agents conduct searches of various flight schools where some of the suspected hijackers received training; looking at homes, looking at apartments, even checking out restaurants as these suspects apparently blended into the community, along with some -- their wives and children. Now, all of these people are believed linked to -- according to the Justice Department -- they are some of the 19 suspected hijackers -- as well as those suspected of helping those suspected hijackers.
We are going to talk to a couple of the people that live in this complex, here. First of all, Angela Browning. Angela, what do you think of learning that some of your neighbors might have been involved in hijacking those aircraft.
ANGELA BROWNING, NEIGHBOR OF ALLEGED HIJACKERS: It's unbelievable. I mean, it's a quiet community. I just can't believe somebody like that would be here.
CANDIOTTI: Turning to your friend here, Donna Durden. The president and vice president have asked that Americans try to get lives back to normal. I'm wondering if you feel as though your life has changed in any way, and if you are able to do that.
DONNA DURDEN, NEIGHBOR OF ALLEGED HIJACKERS: It's going to be a long time before my life is normal. My two sisters, my cousin, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that was attacked, New York is my home. My life will never be the same again.
CANDIOTTI: Thank you both for joining us. As we understand it, the FBI figures to be here probably until around 7:00 or 8:00 this evening. And it is possible, they say, that they might make a brief statement when they are through here. Back to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Susan Candiotti in Delray Beach, which is just south of Palm Beach. Thanks so much for joining us. There have been several new developments in the FBI's efforts to locate and arrest those responsible for attacks. Eileen O'Connor is joining us now to update us on what's going on.
EILEEN O'CONNOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, law enforcement sources say they are hitting pay dirt on finding possible accomplices or people who supported the dead hijackers. Here is just one example of some of the interconnections they are finding.
On Wednesday, authorities stopped an Amtrak train from St. Louis to San Antonio and took in custody two men, Mohammed Jawaeed Asmad (ph) and Ayub Al Kahn (ph) on INS violations. Sources say the two had been booked on a flight from Newark to San Antonio on Tuesday. It had been diverted to St. Louis. Law enforcement sources say the men also possessed a chilling item: box cutters. Barbara Olson, wife of the solicitor general, told her husband on a cell phone call from American Airlines Flight 77, that crashed into the Pentagon, that the men who hijacked her plane used box cutters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED OLSON, SOLICITOR GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: She told me that she had been herded to the back of plane. She mentioned that they had used knives and box cutters to hijack the plane. She mentioned that the pilot had announced that the plane had been hijacked. I believe she said that. She -- I had tell her about the two airplanes that had hit the World Trade Center.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'CONNOR: Law enforcement sources are looking into the possibility that Asmad (ph) and Al Khan (ph) were headed for this house in San Antonio, owned by a man with a similar last name to two of the hijackers. He is now in custody on potential INS violations. They are also looking into this residence in Jersey City, New Jersey. Both Al Khan (ph) and Asmad (ph) lived here. The FBI searched the home, and sources say are finding the information helpful. They are also looking into the possibility that other people connected to the hijackers used this address at one time or another.
The home in Jersey City is close to the mosque where Shiekh Omar Abdul Rahman used to preach before he want to prison for his role in inspiring the first attack against the World Trade Center in 1993.
What is also bothering authorities, is that they did, according to law enforcement sources, have on a watch list two of the hijackers. And they say they distributed that watch list, yet they were still able to get on one of those airplanes that crashed. And so authorities say they are very disturbed by that, and also disturbed by the fact that they believe in this case they may have thwarted other another hijacking and they want to find those accomplices.
BLITZER: Eileen O'Connor, our national press (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Thank you very much -- Joie.
CHEN: For many this is Sunday, which is a day to give rise to faith in this country among the many Christians in this nation. At Saint Patrick's Cathedral today was a special service. Of course, New York in its grief reaching out to all of all faiths. At this particular service, the meaning of faith was quite apparent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSE VENTURA, GOVERNOR OF MINNESOTA: My state...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: A very familiar face to many in midwestern politics. Governor Jesse Ventura of the state of Minnesota leading a rally in Saint Paul, Minnesota, earlier in the day. Bit of a chill there in the air, as you can see. The governor wearing a little bit of a wintry look. The governor speaking out to citizens of his state. Let's listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VENTURA: I stand here today humbled, but comforted by your presence. That's what family is for. To share with each other the hurt, the sorrow, and the sadness that have fallen upon our country. While this gathering of Minnesota families is to comfort to what has happened, let it also be a sign of hope; hope and determination that together, united in family, strengthened by love, driven by opportunity, and tempered by the respect for all humanity, we will overcome this tragic moment. We must..
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: Minnesota rallying under Governor Jesse Ventura. You will note that the governor is a former Navy SEAL himself, and is wearing the insignia today representing his role there. Wolf?
BLITZER: Joie, many people involved with the airline regulation and industry already are racking their brains for ways to make sure Tuesday's terror never happens again. And Americans of course are filling churches across the nation this Sunday, many of them clutching Bibles and patriotic flags.
CHEN: Indeed, border to border, nation to nation, this tragedy is felt by so many people throughout the world.
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