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On the Story

U.S. Moves To Hold Together Jittery Alliance; Former NFL Player Killed in Afghanistan; John Kerry Releases Private Records; Officials Fear Terror Attack Near U.S. Election; Rym Brahimi To Become Princess

Aired April 24, 2004 - 10:00   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.


DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to CNN's ON THE STORY, where our journalists have the inside word on the stories we covered this week.
I'm Dana Bash, ON THE STORY of President Bush holding together a jittery alliance in Iraq, facing questions at home over how much the war will cost, in money and lives.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kelly Wallace in New York, ON THE STORY of how the war spills over into campaign 2004, and how John Kerry released records about his military service and his meetings with lobbyists.

JOSIE BURKE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Josie Burke in Colorado Springs, and I'll be back later, ON THE STORY of Pat Tillman, a one-time NFL player who gave it all up to become an Army Ranger, and this week was killed in Afghanistan.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kelli Arena, ON THE STORY of what's behind talk here in Washington about possible terror attacks in coming months?

We'll also be ON THE STORY of the pictures of the administration did not want to see -- flag-draped coffins coming home from Iraq.

And we'll talk about how images and attitudes may differ in the United States and the Arab world. CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr, will be on that story.

And Dana will talk about travels with Cheney, her trip to Asia with the vice president.

E-mail us at onthestory@cnn.com.

Now straight to Dana, President Bush, and Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Iraqi people are looking -- you know, they're look at America, saying, Are we going to cut and run again? That's what they're thinking as well. And we're not going to cut and run, if I'm in the Oval Office.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: President Bush, talking to newspaper editors this week, reaffirming his Iraq policy in a week that saw Spain and two Central American allies withdrawing troops, a complicated standoff with insurgents in Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq, and fresh questions about how long and how much.

WALLACE: Dana, I saw an interview with Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. He was asked, Is this coalition unraveling? He said, Look, I'll give you some straight talk. It's not unraveling, but it's not in very good shape.

Privately, how concerned are White House officials about the state of the coalition right now?

BASH: Well, certainly, if you looked at what happened this past week, Kelly there was a lot of concern. Starting with -- with what happened on Monday, with Spain pulling out. I mean, this was a -- an unbelievably important ally to President Bush. The former prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, of course, stood by the president from the beginning.

What they are saying publicly is that they understand that the new prime minister of Spain is essentially just making good on a campaign pledge, that he said he was going to get rid of -- or pull out the troops, the 1,300 troops in Iraq, and that they sort of expected this to happen. But privately, they did think that because they have given so much over essentially to the United Nations, which is what the new Spanish prime minister had wanted, that perhaps they would reassess, that they would change their mind. But they didn't.

So Colin Powell was working the phones all week, other White House officials working the phones all week to almost all if not more, than the 30 coalition members left, to make sure that nobody else pulled out.

ARENA: Well, I guess what I find most astonishing is the administration's complete 360, when it comes to the United Nations and Iraq.

BASH: It's really amazing.

You know, I was thinking about this week. You know, you sort of saw the beginning of this -- well, you saw it moving, I guess, progressively. But the president, the week before last, at the press conference, essentially coming out and saying, Well, it's Mr. Brahimi's plan -- Mr. Brahimi being, of course, the U.N. Representative who's dealing with this, and making this plan for sovereignty, turning over sovereignty in Iraq.

But just in watching, for example, on Capitol Hill this week, administration officials up there, describing, in detail, not the U.S. plan for the new Iraqi government, but the U.N. plan for the new Iraqi government. What a difference a year makes. This time last year, right before the president had his, you know, "mission accomplished" speech, they were very, very insistent that the U.N. did not back this war and they weren't giving over control. Now, with the situation on the ground, they are more than happy to do that and some Republicans in the president's party aren't that happy about it, but they don't really have a choice.

ARENA: Right.

WALLACE: Interesting thing, too, we're hearing, is coming from Democrats, but also from Republicans. Again, even, I believe, John McCain saying more troops are needed on the ground. Thousands and thousands more, according to McCain, and Joe Biden, the senator from Delaware on the Foreign Relations Committee.

What are officials saying when you ask them about the possibility of having to send more and more American troops to Iraq?

BASH: Well, you know, Kelly, the standard line is -- from the president on down, is that they'll do whatever the military commanders say that they need on the ground. And of course, we saw over the past couple of weeks, the decision to have an additional 20,000 troops there.

But the other question is how you are sustaining -- how they're sustaining the number of troops that are there now in terms of costs. That was another fascinating thing that happened this week, which is not only Democrats in these hearings on Capitol Hill, but Republicans saying, Look, you know, we gave you all this money, just six months ago...

ARENA: Eighty-seven billion dollars...

BASH: ...Eighty-seven billion dollars, about 51 was for the military -- and it's almost out. And they basically forced these -- these senior military officials to admit that they're going to be out of money, probably at the end of August, and then they're going to need to come back for more money.

The reason the administration asked for this much money at the beginning, is because they didn't want to ask for more until after the election. And they were really forced to say that they might have to because it's Republicans that don't want to leave these troops without money and this is costing a lot. You heard Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary say this week, that if you would have told him, you know, this time last year that the 1st Armored Division would still be in Iraq, he wouldn't have believed you essentially.

So they're having to deal with the dilemma of -- not only what's going on, on the ground, but how to sustain and how to pay for it right now.

WALLACE: Dana, one other thing, of course, which a lot of people -- I was just with friends and it's one of the first things people talk about, the whole controversy over a man and woman, a couple, who took some pictures of those flag-draped coffins coming back to the United States, of American men and women killed in action in Iraq, and then they were fired.

What, again, are you hearing behind the scenes, is the White House saying about this? Because a lot of people are outraged, saying these pictures should be seen and some of these pictures need to be seen so the American people have a sense of exactly what's happening.

BASH: Well, this has been, you know, a controversial question since the war in Iraq really began and since the casualties started happening and when the coffins started coming back. You know, the question of -- it also brings up the question of the president -- why he isn't going to funerals, and things like that.

But basically what they're saying at the White House, Kelly, is that the president has seen these pictures. They say that he is moved by the pictures. But they still think that the policy should stand, that these coffins should not be seen by the public. And they say the reason is because they want to protect the privacy of the families.

But it's a touchy situation for them. Because, you know, obviously, the other argument is that, by saying that, you're not essentially arguing those who died by showing them when they come back. But this certainly has been an issue that they tried to walk a fine line on, because, you know, s we know, these pictures were only out for a couple of reasons. One, because of a Freedom of Information Act ruling. And the other is because somebody who wasn't supposed to take a picture took a picture and gave it to a Seattle newspaper.

So they're trying to put the clamp on it at this point.

ARENA: All right.

Well, all the news reports and pictures coming out of Iraq are powerful. But the impact of those words and images can vary widely. We'll be back ON THE STORY with CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: A free Iraq will be a major change agent for world peace. I also believe a free Palestinian state will be a major change agent for world peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: President Bush this week, saying his strategy in Iraq and the Middle East are agents for world peace.

Welcome back. We're ON THE STORY.

Joining us now from Atlanta is CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr, who keeps tabs on how such statements play in the Arab world.

Octavia, you listen to that sound bite from the president, and it sounds positive, it sounds like it won't cause much controversy. What's your take on what he had to say?

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS: It does sound positive. It does sound good.

The problem is what the recipients of Arab news heard. They heard the latter part of the same statement. Let's take a listen and see what they heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Ariel Sharon came to America and he stood up with me and he said, We're pulling out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank. My judgment the whole world should have said, Thank you, Ariel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NASR: And that didn't go well, according to Arab media, and the Arab Street. Obviously, the Arab media focused, zeroed in on the statement. They said the president first is trying to put blame on someone else again, and they president is trying to get the Arabs to say, "Thank you, Ariel," which didn't go very well.

Now this is the same president who is trying to, in his own words, win the hearts and minds of the Arab world. This is certainly a misstep towards that goal.

BASH: Octavia, the interesting thing, and probably not a good thing for the administration this week, was the fact that King Abdullah of Jordan essentially canceled his trip to visit the president. Why? Because he said he needed to go home.

Now, administration officials admitted that he had -- quote -- "domestic issues" that he had to return to.

King Abdullah is somebody who has been very tight with the administration. What does this say to you about the way that the Arab world has been greeting the way the administration is not only handling the Middle East, but also Iraq?

NASR: You know, I read a lot of Arab newspapers and I watch Arab networks constantly to get reactions and to understand how these news elements are playing out in the Arab world.

The reaction was negative. The reaction right now in the Arab world, based on Arab media, is that people are depressed. People feel that they don't count. People feel that their leaders are not heard and their opinions don't matter. They watch these scenes and they watch how their leaders are being treated by the U.S. administration, and by reading newspapers, especially where you have a lot of opinions, you are starting to notice these days that extremists and moderates are starting to sound alike. It's something that draws a lot of worry for observers like myself and people who -- who watch Arab media for clues. It's starting to sound a bit -- a bit scary, when moderates and pro-U.S. and pro-West journalists are starting to sound a bit extreme.

WALLACE: Octavia, tell us a little bit about the media coverage that you watch. You know, we here in the United States, often only see the American networks, American newspapers, in terms of what's happening in Iraq.

How different a portrayal are Arab viewers and readers seeing now of what's going on right now in Iraq?

NASR: Oh, it's like a different conflict, altogether. It's very interesting, because you're seeing totally different images, totally different reporting.

Now, you have to understand that -- take the example of Fallujah, for example, in Iraq. Inside Fallujah, on the side of the insurgents, you only have Arab media. You have virtually no Western journalists on the inside of Fallujah. The Western journalists are with the U.S.- led coalition on the outside. So they're see things sort of sanitized, cleansed up.

On the inside, you're seeing a lot of destruction, a lot of civilian casualties, a lot of anger in the streets, a lot of people demanding a solution, and a quick solution at that.

ARENA: Octavia, I want to get back to something that you just said before Kelli's question. You said that the extremist voices are now sounding -- or the moderate voices are sounding much like the extremist voices right now.

Is there anything that you're seeing -- and what -- be more precise for me. Are we hearing any calls to raise arms? Are we hearing any calls to action of any sort? Of course, you know, me, covering the terrorism beat, I want to know if we're going to see more action following the words.

NASR: I'll give you an example.

In the Al-Nahar newspaper, a very well respected Lebanese newspaper, the founder of An-Nahar, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is a former U.N. ambassador, Lebanese ambassador, to the U.N., someone who is considered to be very moderate. As a matter of fact, the voice of moderation, someone who defends the West all the time.

In his editorial this week, he wrote something that I thought was a bit shocking for him to write. He said he is calling on all Arabs -- he said let's all go, a million of us, 2 million of us, and -- across the border over to Israel. Let's go unarmed, but wrapped around in our death clothes.

That's pretty grim when you have someone like this write something that grim and that dramatic. You can only wonder what effect it has on his readers. This is someone that people look to for moderation. And now he's saying, Let's all go and get killed by Israel. Let's be unarmed. He's not saying, Let's -- he's not calling for people to be armed and go commit acts of suicide bombings or anything like that.

But still, his idea is grim. It's starting to tend towards extreme more than moderation.

BASH: Octavia, I'm interested in knowing whether or not the administration is trying to penetrate. Because during the war, the White House opened this Office of Global Communications. At the State Department, there's an Office of Public Diplomacy, headed by Margaret Tuttweiler, who has been around this town for a long time -- trying to get involved and penetrate al-Jazeera and other such media outlets to get the administration's point of view out.

Are they doing that, and is it working?

NASR: Well, look, the idea is a very good one. The idea to win the Arab side over is a very good one. I mean, the U.S. administration spent $64 million on a TV station just to propagate its message to the Arab world.

But I have to tell you -- if you ask, is it a good idea? Yes, it is. Is it working? It doesn't look like it, because a statement like the one we heard in the beginning of the segment ruins everything. You can spend $64 million to get your message across, and then one sound byte like this one ruins everything for you.

BASH: Octavia, thank you. Before we let you go, tell us what's ON THE STORY for you in the coming days.

NASR: Definitely Fallujah. The siege of Fallujah is going to be a major, major story. Observers are telling us that this is the chance for the U.S.-led coalition to either win or lose in all of Iraq. Fallujah is going to be the key, whether the insurgents will lay down their arms, whether they will stop their attacks of the U.S. Marines, or not. That's definitely the story that we're going to be watching next week.

BASH: Well, we'll be watching, too, Octavia. Thank you so much for your insight on this issue.

NASR: You bet.

BASH: And from the Arab world to the sports world. How Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ended up on the sports pages about football.

We're back on that story right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURKE: On the football field, Pat Tillman earned the respect of his teammates by making up for a relative lack of size with an abundance of determination. And this week, the entire country learned about the strength of Pat Tillman's convictions, when the former NFL- player-turned-Army-Ranger was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan.

I'm Josie Burke in Colorado Springs. Welcome back. I'm on that very sad story.

BASH: And Josie, tell us a little bit about him. Obviously, you covered him, and you covered his decision to go -- to leave the NFL and to make this decision. Tell us a little bit about him and the kind of person that he was.

BURKE: Well, he was a real original, a real one-of-a-kind guy. Everyone who played with him will tell you that.

A couple of examples of the fact that he really walked to the beat of his own drummer. When all of his teammates with the Arizona cardinals would be driving their fancy cars to the complex for practice, he'd be on an old, beat-up bicycle. And that's how he got to practice.

When he was at Arizona State, he used to like to climb up this light tower and sit there. And he said it was good for meditation. He graduated in three and a half years. He was a real scholar who liked to engage his teammates in conversations about things that had nothing to do with sports.

So he was a real individual, and somebody who was respected for that.

WALLACE: And Josie, what many people are finding very exceptional as well was the fact that once he decided to serve in the Army and go overseas, he declined every single interview. He did not want to become some media sensation about his decision. Is that right?

BURKE: This is really stunning, Kelly, because all of us see during the course of our daily lives people who say, No, I don't want to talk about this. I'm not going to speak about it. And then they find somebody they really like or really feel like they're going to tell the story in the way that they want, and they spill the beans.

He never did that. And we could only get glimpses of why he would choose to give up this lucrative NFL career from some of the people close to him who would give out bits and pieces. And one of the things that came out from his agent when he first decided to go into the Army was that he didn't want the publicity because there were so many other people making similar decision across the country that he didn't think he was doing anything special and he didn't want extra attention.

ARENA: He probably wouldn't want the extra attention we're giving him right now, Jos, would he?

I want to move to another story, if I may, on football. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice, puts her foot down, says no, dashes the hope of a young player. Fill us in.

BURKE: Yes, who would have thought that we would have been talking about the NFL draft and Ruth Bader Ginsburg's influence on it? But that's what it came down to this week. Because Maurice Clarett, the 20-year-old who last played at Ohio State, had sued to try to become eligible for the NFL draft. The NFL has a rule that says you have to be out of high school three years before you're eligible.

He won a lower court ruling. The NFL appealed. It went all the way to Ruth Bader Ginsburg and she said No, she was going to agree with the stay. And there's still a chance that Maurice Clarett could be drafted by an NFL team after the appeals court in New York makes its ruling. But for today, the draft lasts today, tomorrow. You won't hear Maurice Clarett's name called by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

BASH: Josie, it's so interesting that we've talked about 14- year-old soccer phenoms going to play pro -- the difference in rules and regulations across the sports that you cover, in terms of how old you have to be, what you need to do to get to play pro ball, whatever the sport is.

BURKE: The NFL is really unique, and this was part of their argument. They have this age limit or time limit after your high- school class graduates. And they say it was arrived at as a result of collective bargaining, and that's why they think that their rule is going to hold up. Because the Clarett case is challenging the rule, saying it goes against antitrust laws, it goes against competition, and that because of free trade, he should be allowed to ply his trade to work wherever he wants. And it's interesting that it came down to this technicality.

But the NFL, in defending the age limit, says that they're doing it because they're worried about younger players not being mature enough physically and emotionally to handle the rigors of the professional game. Obviously, you don't see that in basketball, when 19-year-old LeBron James wins the Rookie of the Year Award.

WALLACE: And Josie, often when we've been talk with you, especially when you're in Colorado, we are talking about the case of Kobe Bryant. It appeared a decision this past week a bit of a blow to the defense?

BRUKE: Yes, the judge ruled this week that the defense team can't have access to the medical records of Bryant's accuser. And this is a blow. Certainly, they wanted to have access to those records. It doesn't mean, however, that some of her medical history won't be introduced at trial because they can still bring eyewitnesses to the stand, examine them, and that's one way they could get that information in to a trial.

But certainly, not the outcome that they wanted. Kobe Bryant, just to give you a little bit of an update, will be back in Colorado tomorrow. He's got three days of hearings scheduled. And on the last day, Wednesday it will be very interesting, because last night, the Lakers lost. And that means there will be a game five in their series with the Houston rockets. That's scheduled to tip off, at the latest, 7:30 Pacific Time Wednesday night. Kobe Bryant's supposed to be in Colorado all day long.

ARENA: Josie, I'm going to -- I keep changing the subject on you, but -- it is finally baseball season -- whoo-hoo, go Mets! But I have to talk to you about Barry Bonds. What the heck's going on?

BURKE: Going into the season, a lot of so-called experts, myself included, wondered how Barry Bonds would handle all this pressure, the scandal involving Balco, weighing on him, the fact that he is somewhat involved in this, people questioning whether or not he's used steroids to achieve all the records that he's achieved. How would he be able to retain this focus?

Well, all he's doing is hitting about .500. He took over and became the third place on the all-time home-run list. And during one stretch this week, he hit home runs in seven consecutive games. And at one game, he swung at one pitch and that was a home run. Clearly, his focus has not been affected.

So much for the so-called experts.

WALLACE: Well, Josie, you are an expert. You've just covered almost every single sporting game in this past segment.

Tell us a little bit about what's ON THE STORY for you in the coming days.

BURKE: Well, something a little different, Kelly. The Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown, and all of the fun that goes along with that is next weekend, and I'm going to be in Louisville, covering all of it, from the -- on the racetrack and off the racetrack as well.

WALLACE: All right. Josie, thanks so much. Always great seeing you. Have a great Saturday.

And we are pushing on to another spectator sport, and that is presidential politics. I'm back on that story in a moment.

First, a check of what's making news at this hour.

SAN MIGUEL: I'm Renay San Miguel. Here are the headlines.

Violence in Iraq today. Five American soldiers were killed and six wounded in a rocket attack on their base north of Baghdad. Coalition officials will hold a briefing in about a half an hour from now, and CNN will carry that live.

President Bush promised again today to expand America's wetlands, and in his weekly radio address, the president touted his record on the environment.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BUSH: In the past four years, America's air, land and water have all gotten cleaner. Our new proposals build on that progress, and help us advance toward our national goal of a cleaner, safer, healthier environment.

SAN MIGUEL: In the Democrats' radio address, Congressman Mark Udall said President Bush has sold out our environment for the profit of the special interests.

Yasser Arafat says Israel will never get rid of him. Arafat was responding to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who told President Bush he is no longer committed to his pledge not to harm the Palestinian leader. The White House has warned Israel not to target Arafat.

In Washington, security is tight outside the headquarters of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The groups are holding their spring meeting today. Protesters are planning a march from the Washington monument, down Pennsylvania Avenue. They say the financial institutions aren't doing enough to help poor nations.

Those are the top stories at this hour. I'm Renay San Miguel. ON THE STORY continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Those of us who were there know what happened. It hasn't been questioned in 35 years. Obviously, in presidential races, politics are politics, and I understand that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry saying politics are politics when it comes to questions about his military record in Vietnam. But still, he and his advisers spent some time this week answering questions about his military service.

Welcome back. We are ON THE STORY.

ARENA: Kelly, you know, Kerry has been pretty open. I mean, we've seen the military records being released. We've seen the lobbying records being released. We've seen those -- but we've seen the tax records of his wife not being released.

Has this helped? Has this hurt? I mean, give us a sense of where all this is headed.

WALLACE: Well, I mean it really depends on which issue you're looking at. It has -- I kept using it in my reporting -- it was a real records dump this week.

I mean, you had military records which, you know, some sense he was not releasing right away. But once you looked at those military records, what you really see are incredible praise for John Kerry's service. Commanding officers saying his experience in combat unsurpassed, giving him very high marks. And not really anything there, any real controversy.

The administration -- or the Kerry campaign, trying to put a little pressure on the administration by having Kerry put out his meetings with lobbyists to say, Look, Kerry is putting this out. What about President Bush and Vice President Cheney? Shouldn't they release all of the people that Dick Cheney met with before crafting an energy policy?

But again, that final issue you mentioned, Teresa Heinz Kerry's tax returns. Now she has filed an extension, which means she doesn't have to file until August. But there is some question about whether she will release those. Right now it appears she won't. The question is, Does that become a political problem?

BASH: And Kelli, you know, and the Bush campaign aides that I talked to say that the fact John Kerry released these records this week is just one more example of how he simply can't stay on offense, that he's back on defense.

What did he want to talk about this week? The environment, the fact that the president has, in his view, a terrible environmental record. And instead what are we talking about? His military records.

What is your sense of how they think they're doing inside the Kerry campaign in terms of staying on the offense?

WALLACE: Well, Dana, of course when you talk to Kerry's advisers, they think they're doing just fine and they think they are using these weeks to define John Kerry. And they even say, Go ahead, talk all you want about John Kerry's military records. And if the Republicans want to draw a contrast between John Kerry who served in Vietnam, and they say President Bush, who did not serve in Vietnam, and who was in the Texas Air National Guard -- well, go ahead.

But privately, Dana, you know, we've talked to Democrats who are very concerned because they believe Kerry is still not breaking through. And in part, just as you say, they are reacting and reacting, as opposed to really putting forward their agenda, and really trying to stick to it. Some Democrats say if John Kerry's in the position now on May 15 -- well, they could be very worried. So they're hoping he uses these next few week to really define to voters why they should vote for John Kerry.

ARENA: Kel, I want to get back to his wife, Teresa. Is it really going to be a liability for him? Will she be a liability for him? Is she now? Will she eventually be? How much of a complication is this?

WALLACE: Well, she's out campaigning. And she often campaigns separately from John Kerry. And when you watch her, and you watch her talk to an audience, she speaks kind of softly. She's not -- I hate to use the word typical -- she's just not your typical politician's wife.

But people who see her up close, in person...

ARENA: Which she's not.

WALLACE: She's not. Right, I'm not covering that. People seem to like her.

Obviously, again, you hear this sort of behind the scenes, Oh, she's unpredictable. We don't know what she's going to say. The tax returns, it gets to be a little sticky. Obviously, she's a multimillionaire. She is the heiress to the Heinz fortune. She is someone who -- you know, who knows what her tax returns will show? And as we were reporting our stories this week, we were remembering back to 1984. You'll remember Democratic vice presidential candidate, Geraldine Ferraro, a lot of controversy because she was not releasing her husband's tax returns, her businessman husband. And she was kind of pummeled in the press for a couple weeks. Eventually she released them and there was nothing there. So the only thing that she faced was a little damage. Not clear what the Kerry campaign will do.

BASH: And Kelly, this week, we saw some stunning poll number, at the beginning of the week. The president, by most accounts, did not have a good couple weeks with what's going on in Iraq, and many other issues that seem to really have the president and the White House on the defense.

But his poll numbers have gone up. He is now beating John Kerry more than ever before. His numbers are up on the key issues, like the war on terrorism and Iraq. Are they exasperated, the Kerry campaign? What do they attribute this to? Because, you know, the Bush campaign says that they have simply done a very good job at defining John Kerry the way they want to, not the way Senator Kerry wants to be defined.

WALLACE: Dana, you know, these are always those moments where everyone will spin it the way they want to spin it.

BASH: Of course -- in Washington?

WALLACE: In Washington -- oh, my, spinning.

But when you talk to Kerry's advisers, they say, Wait a second here. George Bush is now in a dead heat, or has been in a dead heat with John Kerry. He is the incumbent president. Whenever you're in a dead heat and you're the incumbent, that can't be good.

Obviously, that is sort of their perspective. But no doubt it is a situation where they expected, these past few weeks, to be very difficult for the president, in Iraq, and the September 11 commission. And you're not seeing that right now when it comes to the polls.

ARENA: Kel, really, really quick -- the news from the Vatican about if you're a pro -- pro-choice candidate, maybe you can't receive communion. We know that Kerry is a catholic. How will this play out?

WALLACE: Well, a high-ranking cardinal in the Vatican speaking out. He was asked a question, saying a Catholic politician who supports abortion rights, should he be denied -- he or she be communion? And this cardinal yes, that person is not fit. But got very, sort of a little more vague when asked specifically about John Kerry.

This is an issue now before U.S. bishops who are not expected to sort of issue any decision until after the presidential election. John Kerry, though, just yesterday, and before the big march tomorrow, saying he supports a woman's right to choose. Catholics, Kelli, as you know, make up about one quarter of the U.S. population. So it will be interesting to watch how this issue plays out in the presidential campaign.

ARENA: All right. Well, we're going to switch gears. One question that we've heard a lot of this week: is there an increased risk of a terrorism attack during this election campaign?

I'm back ON THE STORY right after this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Kelli Arena is CNN's Justice correspondent. Earlier, she worked for CNN's Financial News. The New York Festivals awarded her a 2002 best correspondent award.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: If you do come to the United States, and do believe that you can undertake a terrorist attack we will be on you. We will be there seeing you. We will be following you. We will be trailing you. Because our security will be on high alert during this period of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: FBI Director Robert Mueller this week, talking about how the United States will be on high alert through the fall, amidst new concerns about terrorist attacks.

Welcome back. We are ON THE STORY.

BASH: And Kelli, we have been hearing from administration officials all week, what we've probably both been hearing privately after the train bombing in Madrid, that they were completely freaked that this would happen here, before the election.

My question for you is, after the high-profile 9/11 hearings, and the questions about whether the administration did enough to prepare for a terrorist attack, how much is this is hard intelligence, and how much is this perhaps an attempt to publicly be out there, on the record that they're worried about terror attacks so they can't get questioned in the future?

ARENA: Right, so it's covering their rear end.

BASH: Covering their rear end. You said it, not me.

ARENA: There's a lot of that going around, on the Hill and in Washington. But what I can tell you is that I'm talking to a lot of people on street -- I mean, field agents who are getting information.

There is a very high level of anxiety. Lots of concern about a lone extremist doing something. Lots of concern about a hit on a soft target like a shopping mall or -- you know, any other thing that's not really secured as well as it could be, or even can't be. I mean, because we're vulnerable because we're such an open society.

But there's nothing specific or credible. I mean, when I -- I mean, I have been pounding for the last two weeks saying, Is there anything? Do we have anything? Why are we hearing this? This is very unusual, from the president on down, public proclamations that we're going to hit, that there's an expectation that we're going to get hit.

All I keep hearing (UNINTELLIGIBLE) chatter. You know, intercepted messages that allude to something happening, but no time, no place, no -- you know, no -- not even a time frame. But there's a lot of very high-profile events that are coming out: the conventions, the dedication of the World War II memorial. Of course, the inauguration, the Olympics, which is not here. You have the G-8 meeting, which is.

So lots of concern, because you have a lot of people, important people, in one place, at the same time.

WALLACE: But -- and Kelli, how recent, though, is this? Is this something that people have just been hearing over the past few weeks? Is just the past few months and they're deciding to come forward now because we have the conventions coming up this summer? The timing -- it just seemed like all of a sudden, U.S. officials are saying we could have a politically motivated attack before the U.S. election.

ARENA: Well, Spain was a big part of that. And don't forget, Kel, what they have now, what they didn't have before is a lot of analysis going on. So analysts that are looking at it, what's happening internationally, what's happening domestically, trying to piece it all together, to point out what could make the United States vulnerable.

That analysis is being pushed out into the field. And so it's just more of an awareness. People are aware of the possibilities that exist in a way that they just were not before. I spoke to several special agents in charge, from various field offices. And they all pretty much said the same thing. They said that the amount of information being pushed out is more than they've ever seen before. The number of possibilities that are being laid out by this analytical team are things that could make the hair on your neck stand up, they said, on a daily basis. It's just really geared toward these significant events that are coming up, what has happened overseas, and the continued commitment by al Qaeda and related groups to do harm to the United States.

BASH: And Kelli, big news this week in what seems to be the ongoing saga in the case against Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker. Tell us about that.

ARENA: Well, if you talk to the legal experts, they say it was a good week for the government on that case. You had the -- basically, the court coming down and saying, Look, those sanctions that the lower court judge put on the government, where they could not impose the death penalty against Moussaoui, where they could not introduce information regarding the September 11 attacks -- well, those no longer stand.

This whole issue was bout whether or not Moussaoui can get access to al Qaeda detainees who he says can help clear him of any involvement in the September 11 attacks. So, of course, the defense has been saying, We want these guys. We want these al Qaeda detainees. We want to question them.

Judge Brinkema, who was at the lower District Court said, Well, there's nothing that can replace live interaction, live deposition. The appeals court said No, Brinkema, you were wrong, OK? There is some sort of substitute that you can be worked out. Written statements can be -- can be admitted. Work out a compromise. It's back in your lap. Do what you can.

Now we have to see. But this is an issue that has held up this case for over a year.

BASH: But it's still in -- it's not a military court yet, and that's a big question.

ARENA: No, it's not. No, it's not. That's always an option, but the government has fought mightily not to do that.

BASH: OK, Kelli. Well, from terrorism to diplomacy, particularly, traveling across Asia last week with Vice President Dick Cheney. I'm back on that story after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is said that you are the most powerful vice president in U.S. history. Can you tell us how you play a role in the Bush administration? Thank you.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's not a question I had anticipated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Even in China, Vice President Cheney couldn't avoid those questions about just how much power he has in the White House.

Welcome back. We're ON THE STORY.

WALLACE: Dana, tell us how it's different. We know how it is traveling with President Bush overseas. How is it different when you travel with the vice president? Do you get a little bit more access to him than the president?

BASH: Well, Kelly, look, you remember. You covered the White House for a number of years, and you remember what it was like to travel with the president overseas. You have this huge 747 that goes along with Air Force One, 250 people or so, right? -- in terms of the press corps, traveling along with him. You really barely get to see the president.

This was quite a different trip. There were 11 journalists. We were all on Air Force Two with the Vice President. And just in terms of the pace of the trip -- we did get, you know, more access to him and more access to the events. We -- just quickly, we went to -- we were gone in Asia for seven days, three countries, Japan, China, and then South Korea.

Now, he was there on a trip that was supposed to take place last year. He didn't go, primarily because of the war in Iraq. But it was very interesting to be there with him while everything was going on in Iraq and back here in Washington. The president was talking about the need to hold the coalition together. Well, he was doing it. We started with Japan, we got there on the ground in Japan, when there were Japanese hostages being held in Iraq. There were protests in the streets. Not exactly the greeting that the vice president had imagined. He was going really to thank a staunch ally on Iraq.

(AUDIO GAP) probably the most fascinating, because he went there with a pretty hard line, saying to the Chinese, you've got to get with it on North Korea and you've got to get with it on democracy. Very public comment on that in China. It was quite a -- quite a scene to see.

ARENA: OK. I've got attention deficit disorder today, I'm sorry. I'm totally -- totally turning the topic again.

BASH: You're a journalist, Kelli.

ARENA: It's just ridiculous.

Woodward's book. Recommended reading from the Bush campaign?

BASH: You know, we heard so much, you know, controversy over this, on, you know, basically three or four points in the Woodward book this week about the Saudi ambassador and how much access he had to the information about the war planning, about whether or not there was some kind of secret deal on oil.

But the bottom line is the White House and the campaign loved this book. If you -- I checked this morning. If you look on the campaign, the Bush campaign Web site, hit suggested reading, it's No. 1. It's above Mary Matalin's book, it's above Karen Hughes' book...

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Because they spent millions primarily trying to show the president as a steady leader in times of change. That's their tag line. That's what they're trying to show him as -- resolute and determined.

Well, they think that this book, by an outside source, essentially does that. We heard about the controversy, but taken as a whole, they think that this really portrays the president that way. That's why they're actually playing it up.

WALLACE: Dana, very, very quickly, your observations in Washington of a trailblazer for women, Mary McGrory, the longtime columnist reporter for The Washington Post. A great among greats, really. How are people remembering her? BASH: Well, you know, you just looked at all the newspapers with the wonderful tributes. And I will say, I, just in covering Capitol Hill for a couple years, watching her up there, still, pounding the pavement, coming up there every Tuesday for the policy lunches, and watching the way she was treated by, not just the journalist, but the senators. And there were gaggles of reporters trying to get senators' attention. They would stop, they would sort of, you know, silence everybody and point to Mary, no matter where she was and say, Mary go. There was a lot of respect for her as a journalist, as a writer, and as somebody who was an institution in Washington.

ARENA: And she will be missed.

Well, we're back ON THE STORY after this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: A member of the Bush family made headlines this week, Lauren Bush. What's her story? More when we come back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Lauren Bush. What's her story? The 19-year-old college student and professional model was in New York this week, as the United Nations World Food Program spokeswoman for their new hunger campaign. The president's niece says this is not a political role, but an opportunity to get other young people involved.

LAUREN BUSH, U.N. WORLD FOOD PROGRAM SPOKESWOMAN: No human being can remain indifferent when confronted by the sight of a starving child.

ANNOUNCER: She urges students to join in, saying for only 19 cents a day, $34 a year -- that's the cost of a couple of CDs -- the World Food Program can provide a nutritious meal at school for a hungry child.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And we now have some news about one of our fellow correspondents who you have seen on this show so many times. International correspondent Rym Brahimi, is now engaged to Jordanian King Abdullah's half-brother, Prince Ali. An engagement ceremony was held on Friday. The couple will marry in September. After that point, Rym Brahimi will become a princess.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

WALLACE: We always knew it. Well, really, Jordan's gain is our loss, because Rym also announced she's resigning from CNN. So we'll look forward to watching her travels in Jordan.

ARENA: Well, she can come on the air in a little crown.

BASH: That's right.

ARENA: I could deal with that, right?

BASH: We'll all have to have crowns too.

WALLACE: We're all princesses, right?

ARENA: That's right.

All right, Kel. Well, I want to thank you. Thanks to my colleagues. Thank you for watching ON THE STORY. We'll be back next week.

Still ahead, we're awaiting the start of a coalition news briefing from Baghdad, so stay with CNN for live coverage.

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 April 24, 2004 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to CNN's ON THE STORY, where our journalists have the inside word on the stories we covered this week.
I'm Dana Bash, ON THE STORY of President Bush holding together a jittery alliance in Iraq, facing questions at home over how much the war will cost, in money and lives.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kelly Wallace in New York, ON THE STORY of how the war spills over into campaign 2004, and how John Kerry released records about his military service and his meetings with lobbyists.

JOSIE BURKE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Josie Burke in Colorado Springs, and I'll be back later, ON THE STORY of Pat Tillman, a one-time NFL player who gave it all up to become an Army Ranger, and this week was killed in Afghanistan.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kelli Arena, ON THE STORY of what's behind talk here in Washington about possible terror attacks in coming months?

We'll also be ON THE STORY of the pictures of the administration did not want to see -- flag-draped coffins coming home from Iraq.

And we'll talk about how images and attitudes may differ in the United States and the Arab world. CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr, will be on that story.

And Dana will talk about travels with Cheney, her trip to Asia with the vice president.

E-mail us at onthestory@cnn.com.

Now straight to Dana, President Bush, and Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Iraqi people are looking -- you know, they're look at America, saying, Are we going to cut and run again? That's what they're thinking as well. And we're not going to cut and run, if I'm in the Oval Office.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: President Bush, talking to newspaper editors this week, reaffirming his Iraq policy in a week that saw Spain and two Central American allies withdrawing troops, a complicated standoff with insurgents in Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq, and fresh questions about how long and how much.

WALLACE: Dana, I saw an interview with Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. He was asked, Is this coalition unraveling? He said, Look, I'll give you some straight talk. It's not unraveling, but it's not in very good shape.

Privately, how concerned are White House officials about the state of the coalition right now?

BASH: Well, certainly, if you looked at what happened this past week, Kelly there was a lot of concern. Starting with -- with what happened on Monday, with Spain pulling out. I mean, this was a -- an unbelievably important ally to President Bush. The former prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, of course, stood by the president from the beginning.

What they are saying publicly is that they understand that the new prime minister of Spain is essentially just making good on a campaign pledge, that he said he was going to get rid of -- or pull out the troops, the 1,300 troops in Iraq, and that they sort of expected this to happen. But privately, they did think that because they have given so much over essentially to the United Nations, which is what the new Spanish prime minister had wanted, that perhaps they would reassess, that they would change their mind. But they didn't.

So Colin Powell was working the phones all week, other White House officials working the phones all week to almost all if not more, than the 30 coalition members left, to make sure that nobody else pulled out.

ARENA: Well, I guess what I find most astonishing is the administration's complete 360, when it comes to the United Nations and Iraq.

BASH: It's really amazing.

You know, I was thinking about this week. You know, you sort of saw the beginning of this -- well, you saw it moving, I guess, progressively. But the president, the week before last, at the press conference, essentially coming out and saying, Well, it's Mr. Brahimi's plan -- Mr. Brahimi being, of course, the U.N. Representative who's dealing with this, and making this plan for sovereignty, turning over sovereignty in Iraq.

But just in watching, for example, on Capitol Hill this week, administration officials up there, describing, in detail, not the U.S. plan for the new Iraqi government, but the U.N. plan for the new Iraqi government. What a difference a year makes. This time last year, right before the president had his, you know, "mission accomplished" speech, they were very, very insistent that the U.N. did not back this war and they weren't giving over control. Now, with the situation on the ground, they are more than happy to do that and some Republicans in the president's party aren't that happy about it, but they don't really have a choice.

ARENA: Right.

WALLACE: Interesting thing, too, we're hearing, is coming from Democrats, but also from Republicans. Again, even, I believe, John McCain saying more troops are needed on the ground. Thousands and thousands more, according to McCain, and Joe Biden, the senator from Delaware on the Foreign Relations Committee.

What are officials saying when you ask them about the possibility of having to send more and more American troops to Iraq?

BASH: Well, you know, Kelly, the standard line is -- from the president on down, is that they'll do whatever the military commanders say that they need on the ground. And of course, we saw over the past couple of weeks, the decision to have an additional 20,000 troops there.

But the other question is how you are sustaining -- how they're sustaining the number of troops that are there now in terms of costs. That was another fascinating thing that happened this week, which is not only Democrats in these hearings on Capitol Hill, but Republicans saying, Look, you know, we gave you all this money, just six months ago...

ARENA: Eighty-seven billion dollars...

BASH: ...Eighty-seven billion dollars, about 51 was for the military -- and it's almost out. And they basically forced these -- these senior military officials to admit that they're going to be out of money, probably at the end of August, and then they're going to need to come back for more money.

The reason the administration asked for this much money at the beginning, is because they didn't want to ask for more until after the election. And they were really forced to say that they might have to because it's Republicans that don't want to leave these troops without money and this is costing a lot. You heard Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary say this week, that if you would have told him, you know, this time last year that the 1st Armored Division would still be in Iraq, he wouldn't have believed you essentially.

So they're having to deal with the dilemma of -- not only what's going on, on the ground, but how to sustain and how to pay for it right now.

WALLACE: Dana, one other thing, of course, which a lot of people -- I was just with friends and it's one of the first things people talk about, the whole controversy over a man and woman, a couple, who took some pictures of those flag-draped coffins coming back to the United States, of American men and women killed in action in Iraq, and then they were fired.

What, again, are you hearing behind the scenes, is the White House saying about this? Because a lot of people are outraged, saying these pictures should be seen and some of these pictures need to be seen so the American people have a sense of exactly what's happening.

BASH: Well, this has been, you know, a controversial question since the war in Iraq really began and since the casualties started happening and when the coffins started coming back. You know, the question of -- it also brings up the question of the president -- why he isn't going to funerals, and things like that.

But basically what they're saying at the White House, Kelly, is that the president has seen these pictures. They say that he is moved by the pictures. But they still think that the policy should stand, that these coffins should not be seen by the public. And they say the reason is because they want to protect the privacy of the families.

But it's a touchy situation for them. Because, you know, obviously, the other argument is that, by saying that, you're not essentially arguing those who died by showing them when they come back. But this certainly has been an issue that they tried to walk a fine line on, because, you know, s we know, these pictures were only out for a couple of reasons. One, because of a Freedom of Information Act ruling. And the other is because somebody who wasn't supposed to take a picture took a picture and gave it to a Seattle newspaper.

So they're trying to put the clamp on it at this point.

ARENA: All right.

Well, all the news reports and pictures coming out of Iraq are powerful. But the impact of those words and images can vary widely. We'll be back ON THE STORY with CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: A free Iraq will be a major change agent for world peace. I also believe a free Palestinian state will be a major change agent for world peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: President Bush this week, saying his strategy in Iraq and the Middle East are agents for world peace.

Welcome back. We're ON THE STORY.

Joining us now from Atlanta is CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr, who keeps tabs on how such statements play in the Arab world.

Octavia, you listen to that sound bite from the president, and it sounds positive, it sounds like it won't cause much controversy. What's your take on what he had to say?

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS: It does sound positive. It does sound good.

The problem is what the recipients of Arab news heard. They heard the latter part of the same statement. Let's take a listen and see what they heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Ariel Sharon came to America and he stood up with me and he said, We're pulling out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank. My judgment the whole world should have said, Thank you, Ariel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NASR: And that didn't go well, according to Arab media, and the Arab Street. Obviously, the Arab media focused, zeroed in on the statement. They said the president first is trying to put blame on someone else again, and they president is trying to get the Arabs to say, "Thank you, Ariel," which didn't go very well.

Now this is the same president who is trying to, in his own words, win the hearts and minds of the Arab world. This is certainly a misstep towards that goal.

BASH: Octavia, the interesting thing, and probably not a good thing for the administration this week, was the fact that King Abdullah of Jordan essentially canceled his trip to visit the president. Why? Because he said he needed to go home.

Now, administration officials admitted that he had -- quote -- "domestic issues" that he had to return to.

King Abdullah is somebody who has been very tight with the administration. What does this say to you about the way that the Arab world has been greeting the way the administration is not only handling the Middle East, but also Iraq?

NASR: You know, I read a lot of Arab newspapers and I watch Arab networks constantly to get reactions and to understand how these news elements are playing out in the Arab world.

The reaction was negative. The reaction right now in the Arab world, based on Arab media, is that people are depressed. People feel that they don't count. People feel that their leaders are not heard and their opinions don't matter. They watch these scenes and they watch how their leaders are being treated by the U.S. administration, and by reading newspapers, especially where you have a lot of opinions, you are starting to notice these days that extremists and moderates are starting to sound alike. It's something that draws a lot of worry for observers like myself and people who -- who watch Arab media for clues. It's starting to sound a bit -- a bit scary, when moderates and pro-U.S. and pro-West journalists are starting to sound a bit extreme.

WALLACE: Octavia, tell us a little bit about the media coverage that you watch. You know, we here in the United States, often only see the American networks, American newspapers, in terms of what's happening in Iraq.

How different a portrayal are Arab viewers and readers seeing now of what's going on right now in Iraq?

NASR: Oh, it's like a different conflict, altogether. It's very interesting, because you're seeing totally different images, totally different reporting.

Now, you have to understand that -- take the example of Fallujah, for example, in Iraq. Inside Fallujah, on the side of the insurgents, you only have Arab media. You have virtually no Western journalists on the inside of Fallujah. The Western journalists are with the U.S.- led coalition on the outside. So they're see things sort of sanitized, cleansed up.

On the inside, you're seeing a lot of destruction, a lot of civilian casualties, a lot of anger in the streets, a lot of people demanding a solution, and a quick solution at that.

ARENA: Octavia, I want to get back to something that you just said before Kelli's question. You said that the extremist voices are now sounding -- or the moderate voices are sounding much like the extremist voices right now.

Is there anything that you're seeing -- and what -- be more precise for me. Are we hearing any calls to raise arms? Are we hearing any calls to action of any sort? Of course, you know, me, covering the terrorism beat, I want to know if we're going to see more action following the words.

NASR: I'll give you an example.

In the Al-Nahar newspaper, a very well respected Lebanese newspaper, the founder of An-Nahar, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is a former U.N. ambassador, Lebanese ambassador, to the U.N., someone who is considered to be very moderate. As a matter of fact, the voice of moderation, someone who defends the West all the time.

In his editorial this week, he wrote something that I thought was a bit shocking for him to write. He said he is calling on all Arabs -- he said let's all go, a million of us, 2 million of us, and -- across the border over to Israel. Let's go unarmed, but wrapped around in our death clothes.

That's pretty grim when you have someone like this write something that grim and that dramatic. You can only wonder what effect it has on his readers. This is someone that people look to for moderation. And now he's saying, Let's all go and get killed by Israel. Let's be unarmed. He's not saying, Let's -- he's not calling for people to be armed and go commit acts of suicide bombings or anything like that.

But still, his idea is grim. It's starting to tend towards extreme more than moderation.

BASH: Octavia, I'm interested in knowing whether or not the administration is trying to penetrate. Because during the war, the White House opened this Office of Global Communications. At the State Department, there's an Office of Public Diplomacy, headed by Margaret Tuttweiler, who has been around this town for a long time -- trying to get involved and penetrate al-Jazeera and other such media outlets to get the administration's point of view out.

Are they doing that, and is it working?

NASR: Well, look, the idea is a very good one. The idea to win the Arab side over is a very good one. I mean, the U.S. administration spent $64 million on a TV station just to propagate its message to the Arab world.

But I have to tell you -- if you ask, is it a good idea? Yes, it is. Is it working? It doesn't look like it, because a statement like the one we heard in the beginning of the segment ruins everything. You can spend $64 million to get your message across, and then one sound byte like this one ruins everything for you.

BASH: Octavia, thank you. Before we let you go, tell us what's ON THE STORY for you in the coming days.

NASR: Definitely Fallujah. The siege of Fallujah is going to be a major, major story. Observers are telling us that this is the chance for the U.S.-led coalition to either win or lose in all of Iraq. Fallujah is going to be the key, whether the insurgents will lay down their arms, whether they will stop their attacks of the U.S. Marines, or not. That's definitely the story that we're going to be watching next week.

BASH: Well, we'll be watching, too, Octavia. Thank you so much for your insight on this issue.

NASR: You bet.

BASH: And from the Arab world to the sports world. How Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ended up on the sports pages about football.

We're back on that story right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURKE: On the football field, Pat Tillman earned the respect of his teammates by making up for a relative lack of size with an abundance of determination. And this week, the entire country learned about the strength of Pat Tillman's convictions, when the former NFL- player-turned-Army-Ranger was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan.

I'm Josie Burke in Colorado Springs. Welcome back. I'm on that very sad story.

BASH: And Josie, tell us a little bit about him. Obviously, you covered him, and you covered his decision to go -- to leave the NFL and to make this decision. Tell us a little bit about him and the kind of person that he was.

BURKE: Well, he was a real original, a real one-of-a-kind guy. Everyone who played with him will tell you that.

A couple of examples of the fact that he really walked to the beat of his own drummer. When all of his teammates with the Arizona cardinals would be driving their fancy cars to the complex for practice, he'd be on an old, beat-up bicycle. And that's how he got to practice.

When he was at Arizona State, he used to like to climb up this light tower and sit there. And he said it was good for meditation. He graduated in three and a half years. He was a real scholar who liked to engage his teammates in conversations about things that had nothing to do with sports.

So he was a real individual, and somebody who was respected for that.

WALLACE: And Josie, what many people are finding very exceptional as well was the fact that once he decided to serve in the Army and go overseas, he declined every single interview. He did not want to become some media sensation about his decision. Is that right?

BURKE: This is really stunning, Kelly, because all of us see during the course of our daily lives people who say, No, I don't want to talk about this. I'm not going to speak about it. And then they find somebody they really like or really feel like they're going to tell the story in the way that they want, and they spill the beans.

He never did that. And we could only get glimpses of why he would choose to give up this lucrative NFL career from some of the people close to him who would give out bits and pieces. And one of the things that came out from his agent when he first decided to go into the Army was that he didn't want the publicity because there were so many other people making similar decision across the country that he didn't think he was doing anything special and he didn't want extra attention.

ARENA: He probably wouldn't want the extra attention we're giving him right now, Jos, would he?

I want to move to another story, if I may, on football. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice, puts her foot down, says no, dashes the hope of a young player. Fill us in.

BURKE: Yes, who would have thought that we would have been talking about the NFL draft and Ruth Bader Ginsburg's influence on it? But that's what it came down to this week. Because Maurice Clarett, the 20-year-old who last played at Ohio State, had sued to try to become eligible for the NFL draft. The NFL has a rule that says you have to be out of high school three years before you're eligible.

He won a lower court ruling. The NFL appealed. It went all the way to Ruth Bader Ginsburg and she said No, she was going to agree with the stay. And there's still a chance that Maurice Clarett could be drafted by an NFL team after the appeals court in New York makes its ruling. But for today, the draft lasts today, tomorrow. You won't hear Maurice Clarett's name called by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

BASH: Josie, it's so interesting that we've talked about 14- year-old soccer phenoms going to play pro -- the difference in rules and regulations across the sports that you cover, in terms of how old you have to be, what you need to do to get to play pro ball, whatever the sport is.

BURKE: The NFL is really unique, and this was part of their argument. They have this age limit or time limit after your high- school class graduates. And they say it was arrived at as a result of collective bargaining, and that's why they think that their rule is going to hold up. Because the Clarett case is challenging the rule, saying it goes against antitrust laws, it goes against competition, and that because of free trade, he should be allowed to ply his trade to work wherever he wants. And it's interesting that it came down to this technicality.

But the NFL, in defending the age limit, says that they're doing it because they're worried about younger players not being mature enough physically and emotionally to handle the rigors of the professional game. Obviously, you don't see that in basketball, when 19-year-old LeBron James wins the Rookie of the Year Award.

WALLACE: And Josie, often when we've been talk with you, especially when you're in Colorado, we are talking about the case of Kobe Bryant. It appeared a decision this past week a bit of a blow to the defense?

BRUKE: Yes, the judge ruled this week that the defense team can't have access to the medical records of Bryant's accuser. And this is a blow. Certainly, they wanted to have access to those records. It doesn't mean, however, that some of her medical history won't be introduced at trial because they can still bring eyewitnesses to the stand, examine them, and that's one way they could get that information in to a trial.

But certainly, not the outcome that they wanted. Kobe Bryant, just to give you a little bit of an update, will be back in Colorado tomorrow. He's got three days of hearings scheduled. And on the last day, Wednesday it will be very interesting, because last night, the Lakers lost. And that means there will be a game five in their series with the Houston rockets. That's scheduled to tip off, at the latest, 7:30 Pacific Time Wednesday night. Kobe Bryant's supposed to be in Colorado all day long.

ARENA: Josie, I'm going to -- I keep changing the subject on you, but -- it is finally baseball season -- whoo-hoo, go Mets! But I have to talk to you about Barry Bonds. What the heck's going on?

BURKE: Going into the season, a lot of so-called experts, myself included, wondered how Barry Bonds would handle all this pressure, the scandal involving Balco, weighing on him, the fact that he is somewhat involved in this, people questioning whether or not he's used steroids to achieve all the records that he's achieved. How would he be able to retain this focus?

Well, all he's doing is hitting about .500. He took over and became the third place on the all-time home-run list. And during one stretch this week, he hit home runs in seven consecutive games. And at one game, he swung at one pitch and that was a home run. Clearly, his focus has not been affected.

So much for the so-called experts.

WALLACE: Well, Josie, you are an expert. You've just covered almost every single sporting game in this past segment.

Tell us a little bit about what's ON THE STORY for you in the coming days.

BURKE: Well, something a little different, Kelly. The Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown, and all of the fun that goes along with that is next weekend, and I'm going to be in Louisville, covering all of it, from the -- on the racetrack and off the racetrack as well.

WALLACE: All right. Josie, thanks so much. Always great seeing you. Have a great Saturday.

And we are pushing on to another spectator sport, and that is presidential politics. I'm back on that story in a moment.

First, a check of what's making news at this hour.

SAN MIGUEL: I'm Renay San Miguel. Here are the headlines.

Violence in Iraq today. Five American soldiers were killed and six wounded in a rocket attack on their base north of Baghdad. Coalition officials will hold a briefing in about a half an hour from now, and CNN will carry that live.

President Bush promised again today to expand America's wetlands, and in his weekly radio address, the president touted his record on the environment.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BUSH: In the past four years, America's air, land and water have all gotten cleaner. Our new proposals build on that progress, and help us advance toward our national goal of a cleaner, safer, healthier environment.

SAN MIGUEL: In the Democrats' radio address, Congressman Mark Udall said President Bush has sold out our environment for the profit of the special interests.

Yasser Arafat says Israel will never get rid of him. Arafat was responding to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who told President Bush he is no longer committed to his pledge not to harm the Palestinian leader. The White House has warned Israel not to target Arafat.

In Washington, security is tight outside the headquarters of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The groups are holding their spring meeting today. Protesters are planning a march from the Washington monument, down Pennsylvania Avenue. They say the financial institutions aren't doing enough to help poor nations.

Those are the top stories at this hour. I'm Renay San Miguel. ON THE STORY continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Those of us who were there know what happened. It hasn't been questioned in 35 years. Obviously, in presidential races, politics are politics, and I understand that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry saying politics are politics when it comes to questions about his military record in Vietnam. But still, he and his advisers spent some time this week answering questions about his military service.

Welcome back. We are ON THE STORY.

ARENA: Kelly, you know, Kerry has been pretty open. I mean, we've seen the military records being released. We've seen the lobbying records being released. We've seen those -- but we've seen the tax records of his wife not being released.

Has this helped? Has this hurt? I mean, give us a sense of where all this is headed.

WALLACE: Well, I mean it really depends on which issue you're looking at. It has -- I kept using it in my reporting -- it was a real records dump this week.

I mean, you had military records which, you know, some sense he was not releasing right away. But once you looked at those military records, what you really see are incredible praise for John Kerry's service. Commanding officers saying his experience in combat unsurpassed, giving him very high marks. And not really anything there, any real controversy.

The administration -- or the Kerry campaign, trying to put a little pressure on the administration by having Kerry put out his meetings with lobbyists to say, Look, Kerry is putting this out. What about President Bush and Vice President Cheney? Shouldn't they release all of the people that Dick Cheney met with before crafting an energy policy?

But again, that final issue you mentioned, Teresa Heinz Kerry's tax returns. Now she has filed an extension, which means she doesn't have to file until August. But there is some question about whether she will release those. Right now it appears she won't. The question is, Does that become a political problem?

BASH: And Kelli, you know, and the Bush campaign aides that I talked to say that the fact John Kerry released these records this week is just one more example of how he simply can't stay on offense, that he's back on defense.

What did he want to talk about this week? The environment, the fact that the president has, in his view, a terrible environmental record. And instead what are we talking about? His military records.

What is your sense of how they think they're doing inside the Kerry campaign in terms of staying on the offense?

WALLACE: Well, Dana, of course when you talk to Kerry's advisers, they think they're doing just fine and they think they are using these weeks to define John Kerry. And they even say, Go ahead, talk all you want about John Kerry's military records. And if the Republicans want to draw a contrast between John Kerry who served in Vietnam, and they say President Bush, who did not serve in Vietnam, and who was in the Texas Air National Guard -- well, go ahead.

But privately, Dana, you know, we've talked to Democrats who are very concerned because they believe Kerry is still not breaking through. And in part, just as you say, they are reacting and reacting, as opposed to really putting forward their agenda, and really trying to stick to it. Some Democrats say if John Kerry's in the position now on May 15 -- well, they could be very worried. So they're hoping he uses these next few week to really define to voters why they should vote for John Kerry.

ARENA: Kel, I want to get back to his wife, Teresa. Is it really going to be a liability for him? Will she be a liability for him? Is she now? Will she eventually be? How much of a complication is this?

WALLACE: Well, she's out campaigning. And she often campaigns separately from John Kerry. And when you watch her, and you watch her talk to an audience, she speaks kind of softly. She's not -- I hate to use the word typical -- she's just not your typical politician's wife.

But people who see her up close, in person...

ARENA: Which she's not.

WALLACE: She's not. Right, I'm not covering that. People seem to like her.

Obviously, again, you hear this sort of behind the scenes, Oh, she's unpredictable. We don't know what she's going to say. The tax returns, it gets to be a little sticky. Obviously, she's a multimillionaire. She is the heiress to the Heinz fortune. She is someone who -- you know, who knows what her tax returns will show? And as we were reporting our stories this week, we were remembering back to 1984. You'll remember Democratic vice presidential candidate, Geraldine Ferraro, a lot of controversy because she was not releasing her husband's tax returns, her businessman husband. And she was kind of pummeled in the press for a couple weeks. Eventually she released them and there was nothing there. So the only thing that she faced was a little damage. Not clear what the Kerry campaign will do.

BASH: And Kelly, this week, we saw some stunning poll number, at the beginning of the week. The president, by most accounts, did not have a good couple weeks with what's going on in Iraq, and many other issues that seem to really have the president and the White House on the defense.

But his poll numbers have gone up. He is now beating John Kerry more than ever before. His numbers are up on the key issues, like the war on terrorism and Iraq. Are they exasperated, the Kerry campaign? What do they attribute this to? Because, you know, the Bush campaign says that they have simply done a very good job at defining John Kerry the way they want to, not the way Senator Kerry wants to be defined.

WALLACE: Dana, you know, these are always those moments where everyone will spin it the way they want to spin it.

BASH: Of course -- in Washington?

WALLACE: In Washington -- oh, my, spinning.

But when you talk to Kerry's advisers, they say, Wait a second here. George Bush is now in a dead heat, or has been in a dead heat with John Kerry. He is the incumbent president. Whenever you're in a dead heat and you're the incumbent, that can't be good.

Obviously, that is sort of their perspective. But no doubt it is a situation where they expected, these past few weeks, to be very difficult for the president, in Iraq, and the September 11 commission. And you're not seeing that right now when it comes to the polls.

ARENA: Kel, really, really quick -- the news from the Vatican about if you're a pro -- pro-choice candidate, maybe you can't receive communion. We know that Kerry is a catholic. How will this play out?

WALLACE: Well, a high-ranking cardinal in the Vatican speaking out. He was asked a question, saying a Catholic politician who supports abortion rights, should he be denied -- he or she be communion? And this cardinal yes, that person is not fit. But got very, sort of a little more vague when asked specifically about John Kerry.

This is an issue now before U.S. bishops who are not expected to sort of issue any decision until after the presidential election. John Kerry, though, just yesterday, and before the big march tomorrow, saying he supports a woman's right to choose. Catholics, Kelli, as you know, make up about one quarter of the U.S. population. So it will be interesting to watch how this issue plays out in the presidential campaign.

ARENA: All right. Well, we're going to switch gears. One question that we've heard a lot of this week: is there an increased risk of a terrorism attack during this election campaign?

I'm back ON THE STORY right after this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Kelli Arena is CNN's Justice correspondent. Earlier, she worked for CNN's Financial News. The New York Festivals awarded her a 2002 best correspondent award.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: If you do come to the United States, and do believe that you can undertake a terrorist attack we will be on you. We will be there seeing you. We will be following you. We will be trailing you. Because our security will be on high alert during this period of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: FBI Director Robert Mueller this week, talking about how the United States will be on high alert through the fall, amidst new concerns about terrorist attacks.

Welcome back. We are ON THE STORY.

BASH: And Kelli, we have been hearing from administration officials all week, what we've probably both been hearing privately after the train bombing in Madrid, that they were completely freaked that this would happen here, before the election.

My question for you is, after the high-profile 9/11 hearings, and the questions about whether the administration did enough to prepare for a terrorist attack, how much is this is hard intelligence, and how much is this perhaps an attempt to publicly be out there, on the record that they're worried about terror attacks so they can't get questioned in the future?

ARENA: Right, so it's covering their rear end.

BASH: Covering their rear end. You said it, not me.

ARENA: There's a lot of that going around, on the Hill and in Washington. But what I can tell you is that I'm talking to a lot of people on street -- I mean, field agents who are getting information.

There is a very high level of anxiety. Lots of concern about a lone extremist doing something. Lots of concern about a hit on a soft target like a shopping mall or -- you know, any other thing that's not really secured as well as it could be, or even can't be. I mean, because we're vulnerable because we're such an open society.

But there's nothing specific or credible. I mean, when I -- I mean, I have been pounding for the last two weeks saying, Is there anything? Do we have anything? Why are we hearing this? This is very unusual, from the president on down, public proclamations that we're going to hit, that there's an expectation that we're going to get hit.

All I keep hearing (UNINTELLIGIBLE) chatter. You know, intercepted messages that allude to something happening, but no time, no place, no -- you know, no -- not even a time frame. But there's a lot of very high-profile events that are coming out: the conventions, the dedication of the World War II memorial. Of course, the inauguration, the Olympics, which is not here. You have the G-8 meeting, which is.

So lots of concern, because you have a lot of people, important people, in one place, at the same time.

WALLACE: But -- and Kelli, how recent, though, is this? Is this something that people have just been hearing over the past few weeks? Is just the past few months and they're deciding to come forward now because we have the conventions coming up this summer? The timing -- it just seemed like all of a sudden, U.S. officials are saying we could have a politically motivated attack before the U.S. election.

ARENA: Well, Spain was a big part of that. And don't forget, Kel, what they have now, what they didn't have before is a lot of analysis going on. So analysts that are looking at it, what's happening internationally, what's happening domestically, trying to piece it all together, to point out what could make the United States vulnerable.

That analysis is being pushed out into the field. And so it's just more of an awareness. People are aware of the possibilities that exist in a way that they just were not before. I spoke to several special agents in charge, from various field offices. And they all pretty much said the same thing. They said that the amount of information being pushed out is more than they've ever seen before. The number of possibilities that are being laid out by this analytical team are things that could make the hair on your neck stand up, they said, on a daily basis. It's just really geared toward these significant events that are coming up, what has happened overseas, and the continued commitment by al Qaeda and related groups to do harm to the United States.

BASH: And Kelli, big news this week in what seems to be the ongoing saga in the case against Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker. Tell us about that.

ARENA: Well, if you talk to the legal experts, they say it was a good week for the government on that case. You had the -- basically, the court coming down and saying, Look, those sanctions that the lower court judge put on the government, where they could not impose the death penalty against Moussaoui, where they could not introduce information regarding the September 11 attacks -- well, those no longer stand.

This whole issue was bout whether or not Moussaoui can get access to al Qaeda detainees who he says can help clear him of any involvement in the September 11 attacks. So, of course, the defense has been saying, We want these guys. We want these al Qaeda detainees. We want to question them.

Judge Brinkema, who was at the lower District Court said, Well, there's nothing that can replace live interaction, live deposition. The appeals court said No, Brinkema, you were wrong, OK? There is some sort of substitute that you can be worked out. Written statements can be -- can be admitted. Work out a compromise. It's back in your lap. Do what you can.

Now we have to see. But this is an issue that has held up this case for over a year.

BASH: But it's still in -- it's not a military court yet, and that's a big question.

ARENA: No, it's not. No, it's not. That's always an option, but the government has fought mightily not to do that.

BASH: OK, Kelli. Well, from terrorism to diplomacy, particularly, traveling across Asia last week with Vice President Dick Cheney. I'm back on that story after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is said that you are the most powerful vice president in U.S. history. Can you tell us how you play a role in the Bush administration? Thank you.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's not a question I had anticipated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Even in China, Vice President Cheney couldn't avoid those questions about just how much power he has in the White House.

Welcome back. We're ON THE STORY.

WALLACE: Dana, tell us how it's different. We know how it is traveling with President Bush overseas. How is it different when you travel with the vice president? Do you get a little bit more access to him than the president?

BASH: Well, Kelly, look, you remember. You covered the White House for a number of years, and you remember what it was like to travel with the president overseas. You have this huge 747 that goes along with Air Force One, 250 people or so, right? -- in terms of the press corps, traveling along with him. You really barely get to see the president.

This was quite a different trip. There were 11 journalists. We were all on Air Force Two with the Vice President. And just in terms of the pace of the trip -- we did get, you know, more access to him and more access to the events. We -- just quickly, we went to -- we were gone in Asia for seven days, three countries, Japan, China, and then South Korea.

Now, he was there on a trip that was supposed to take place last year. He didn't go, primarily because of the war in Iraq. But it was very interesting to be there with him while everything was going on in Iraq and back here in Washington. The president was talking about the need to hold the coalition together. Well, he was doing it. We started with Japan, we got there on the ground in Japan, when there were Japanese hostages being held in Iraq. There were protests in the streets. Not exactly the greeting that the vice president had imagined. He was going really to thank a staunch ally on Iraq.

(AUDIO GAP) probably the most fascinating, because he went there with a pretty hard line, saying to the Chinese, you've got to get with it on North Korea and you've got to get with it on democracy. Very public comment on that in China. It was quite a -- quite a scene to see.

ARENA: OK. I've got attention deficit disorder today, I'm sorry. I'm totally -- totally turning the topic again.

BASH: You're a journalist, Kelli.

ARENA: It's just ridiculous.

Woodward's book. Recommended reading from the Bush campaign?

BASH: You know, we heard so much, you know, controversy over this, on, you know, basically three or four points in the Woodward book this week about the Saudi ambassador and how much access he had to the information about the war planning, about whether or not there was some kind of secret deal on oil.

But the bottom line is the White House and the campaign loved this book. If you -- I checked this morning. If you look on the campaign, the Bush campaign Web site, hit suggested reading, it's No. 1. It's above Mary Matalin's book, it's above Karen Hughes' book...

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Because they spent millions primarily trying to show the president as a steady leader in times of change. That's their tag line. That's what they're trying to show him as -- resolute and determined.

Well, they think that this book, by an outside source, essentially does that. We heard about the controversy, but taken as a whole, they think that this really portrays the president that way. That's why they're actually playing it up.

WALLACE: Dana, very, very quickly, your observations in Washington of a trailblazer for women, Mary McGrory, the longtime columnist reporter for The Washington Post. A great among greats, really. How are people remembering her? BASH: Well, you know, you just looked at all the newspapers with the wonderful tributes. And I will say, I, just in covering Capitol Hill for a couple years, watching her up there, still, pounding the pavement, coming up there every Tuesday for the policy lunches, and watching the way she was treated by, not just the journalist, but the senators. And there were gaggles of reporters trying to get senators' attention. They would stop, they would sort of, you know, silence everybody and point to Mary, no matter where she was and say, Mary go. There was a lot of respect for her as a journalist, as a writer, and as somebody who was an institution in Washington.

ARENA: And she will be missed.

Well, we're back ON THE STORY after this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: A member of the Bush family made headlines this week, Lauren Bush. What's her story? More when we come back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Lauren Bush. What's her story? The 19-year-old college student and professional model was in New York this week, as the United Nations World Food Program spokeswoman for their new hunger campaign. The president's niece says this is not a political role, but an opportunity to get other young people involved.

LAUREN BUSH, U.N. WORLD FOOD PROGRAM SPOKESWOMAN: No human being can remain indifferent when confronted by the sight of a starving child.

ANNOUNCER: She urges students to join in, saying for only 19 cents a day, $34 a year -- that's the cost of a couple of CDs -- the World Food Program can provide a nutritious meal at school for a hungry child.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And we now have some news about one of our fellow correspondents who you have seen on this show so many times. International correspondent Rym Brahimi, is now engaged to Jordanian King Abdullah's half-brother, Prince Ali. An engagement ceremony was held on Friday. The couple will marry in September. After that point, Rym Brahimi will become a princess.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

WALLACE: We always knew it. Well, really, Jordan's gain is our loss, because Rym also announced she's resigning from CNN. So we'll look forward to watching her travels in Jordan.

ARENA: Well, she can come on the air in a little crown.

BASH: That's right.

ARENA: I could deal with that, right?

BASH: We'll all have to have crowns too.

WALLACE: We're all princesses, right?

ARENA: That's right.

All right, Kel. Well, I want to thank you. Thanks to my colleagues. Thank you for watching ON THE STORY. We'll be back next week.

Still ahead, we're awaiting the start of a coalition news briefing from Baghdad, so stay with CNN for live coverage.

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