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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Anthrax Scare Leads to Senate Office Shutdown; Powell Looks to Ease Tensions in Mideast; President Bush Prepares for Trip Abroad

Aired October 16, 2001 - 19:00   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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: "Target Terrorism."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Anytime someone sends anthrax through the mail, that's an act of terror, terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: It has also led to the partial shutdown of a Senate office building. I'll speak with the intended target Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: We were told that it was a very strong form of anthrax, a very potent form of anthrax that clearly was produced by somebody who knew what he or she was doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: As Secretary of State Powell tries to build support and ease tensions in Pakistan and India, President Bush prepares for a trip of his own, hoping to broaden an alliance against terror. The U.S. uses a powerful ground attack gunship in some of its heaviest strikes yet at Afghanistan. And we'll go aboard another powerful aircraft the giant B-52 bomber as America targets terrorism.

Good evening. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight from Washington. We'll get to the anthrax investigation on Capitol Hill in just a moment. But first, here's a look at the latest developments as the United States targets terrorism. The Pentagon says it was another day of heavy attacks on Taliban positions in Afghanistan. Aircraft carrier and ground freight-based planes were used in the attacks.

One of the U.S. planes in the mix is the special operations AC- 130 gunship. Its powerful cannon is being used to pound concentrations of troops on the ground. In the United States Attorney General John Ashcroft says anyone caught perpetrating anthrax hoaxes will face strong actions. A man accused of a false anthrax threat in Connecticut faces up to five years in jail and three million dollars in fines. And a seven-month-old boy diagnosed with anthrax is out of the hospital. The son of an ABC News producer tested positive for the skin version of the disease after a visit to ABC last month.

Now, first in Florida, then New York, and eventually here to Capitol Hill. Tests on an envelope mailed to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle show it contained anthrax, highly potent anthrax. Let's go live to CNN Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl for details, John.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, with all mail deliveries here halted for the second day in a row, Capitol Hill remains very much on a heightened state of alert.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Investigators immediately noticed striking similarities between the letter sent to NBC's Tom Brokaw and the one sent to Tom Daschle. In addition to sharing a Trenton, New Jersey postmark, the two letters have nearly identical handwriting, but there are differences, too. Daschle's letter includes a return address. Brokaw's does not. Daschle's letter is postmarked October 9, Brokaw's September 18. Lab tests show the anthrax in Daschle's letter is especially pure and dangerous.

DASCHLE: There is a greater degree of concentration in some samples than there is in others. And this particular sample had a fairly significant degree of concentration of spores.

KARL: The form of the anthrax according to sources familiar with the investigation suggests a sophisticated source highly skilled in the production of biological agents.

SEN. EVAN BAYH (D), INDIANA: There are ways to look at the DNA of these sorts of samples to try and narrow down the field even further and obviously if we were to identify a state that had been involved in the giving of this kind of capability to a terrorist organization, that would have very serious consequences.

KARL: But if the source of the anthrax was sophisticated, the delivery was not. Preliminary tests on the staffer who opened the letter proved negative for anthrax exposure. But on Capitol Hill, a dozen senators with offices near Tom Daschle's were locked out. Their work places closed off until they can be thoroughly tested. Senator Richard Shelby, who also faced possible anthrax exposure during an earlier visit to NBC Studios in New York, found himself tested a second time.

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R), ALABAMA: My first test I came back negative. I believe that it will come back negative again. Of course at least I hope so.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARL: And more than a thousand others were tested lining up in long lines today, tested for possible anthrax exposure here, Wolf. And as an extra precaution, all those were given the antibiotic Cipro to take while they await those test results.

BLITZER: John, several people are pointing a suspicious finger at Iraq, which does have anthrax. We heard from Jim Woolsey the former CIA Director last night. Evan Bayh earlier I spoke to him. No hard evidence. What are you hearing on Capitol Hill?

KARL: Well, there's absolutely no direct evidence yet that they've found to Iraq. But what they're doing is they're looking at this. They believe this was not an amateur source of anthrax. They think this was something of a professional nature. Many people using that word professional grade anthrax. One of the possibilities they're looking at is Iraq because they know that Iraq does have extensive biological weapons capabilities.

But they're also looking at the possibility of the former Soviet Union. The former Soviet Union had huge stockpiles of anthrax. The concern is that after the breakup of the Soviet Union some of that anthrax may have found its way onto the black market. So absolutely no conclusions yet, but these are some of the leads they are looking for. They believe this was not the kind of anthrax that could have been concocted by somebody on an amateur basis in somebody's basement laboratory somewhere. This looked like it was something that's part of a rather sophisticated biological weapons program.

BLITZER: Jonathan Karl on Capitol Hill, thank you very much. And just a short while ago I spoke with Senator Daschle about the wave of anthrax attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Senator Daschle, thank you so much for joining us. I know these are, these have been horrendous hours for you and your staff. And of course all of us hope for the best. But let me get right to the questions -- do you sense, have you come to grips with the fact that someone apparently tried to assassinate you?

DASCHLE: Well, I try not to put it in those terms, Wolf. But I guess that's probably the case. I don't know if they had any real expectation that the mail would reach me. But clearly they were trying to kill somebody and the fact that they were directing their attack on my staff makes in some ways makes this even more frustrating and a source of anger for me.

BLITZER: How are members of your staff holding up? First of all has anyone come down with any symptoms?

DASCHLE: No that's been the real good news in all of this. Because we were able to treat the exposure immediately with antibiotics, because it was all handled so professionally, we feel 100 percent certain that we've been able to deal with this in a way that will minimize, if not completely eliminate any cause for concern.

BLITZER: What about you? Are you taking antibiotics?

DASCHLE: I am not. I wasn't in the office at the time. I was in my Capitol office, so I wasn't directly exposed. I was tested, but not exposed.

BLITZER: We're told that this was a very professional grade of anthrax. Clearly someone who knew what they were doing mailed this anthrax to your office. What does that say to you?

DASCHLE: Well, I think this is more than just some, some small matter. I think clearly, what this says to me is that there is an orchestrated effort underway and that it may hit again and we need to be ready for it. We need to have the procedures in place and we need to do all we can to track down those responsible.

BLITZER: Some have suggested already that given the nature of the anthrax that was mailed, it's got the fingerprints of state sponsorship.

DASCHLE: Well, I think it's premature to draw any conclusions at this point, Wolf. All we know is that whoever did it knew what they were doing, but that could be state. It could be well-financed local organizations. It could be any one of a number of things and we just have to find out.

BLITZER: Jim Woolsey the former CIA Director last night on CNN pointed to Iraq as a potential culprit. Do you see the Iraqis perhaps behind this?

DASCHLE: Well, I think we need to be very careful about raising the level of accusation here as suggestions like that might provide. I'm a little concerned that we don't need any more reasons to be angry and direct our angst at Iraq. I think it's important for us to be very careful. Clearly Iraq is responsible for a lot of hideous things and we understand what an evil person Saddam Hussein is, but I'm not going to pile on until I know for sure that that is exactly the source of our problems in this case. And there are a lot of other scenarios that are equally as likely.

BLITZER: And as you know a lot of people are speculating that the coincidence of these anthrax mailings coming shortly after the September 11 terrorist attack, which the U.S. has blamed Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda organization. Do you see Osama Bin Laden and his organization as behind these anthrax mailings as well?

DASCHLE: I think it's premature to come to that conclusion as well. I think it's important for us to get more of the facts. Whether or not Osama Bin Laden is behind this, we know there is substantial evidence that suggests without a doubt, I think that he was behind the attacks of September 11. Whether or not these are additional attacks for which he is responsible, I'm sure we'll find out at some point. I think right now we just got to find out who is responsible and make sure that we can take all the preventative as well as the reactive actions required to ensure people's safety.

BLITZER: The New Republic, you may have seen an editorial that was written in the New Republic in the October 8 issue that said this, " There is something disquieting about the new bipartisan harmony. Politics has stopped not only at the water's edge, but well before it. And that is dangerous. Sometimes patriotism demands unity; sometimes it demands sharp, if earnest disagreement. Democrats need to realize that, at this moment in history, it demands both." The suggestion being that you as leader of the Democratic party in the Senate you're being perhaps too quiescent in going along with President Bush.

DASCHLE: I don't know who wrote that editorial, but they clearly haven't been watching Congress in the last couple of weeks, Wolf. I would ask them to look at the debate on the, on the issue last week of airport security to a person Democrats supported the effort that we were making to ensure that airline workers were given unemployment and health benefits. That didn't work and our party-line vote, we failed. We have made every effort to come up with an economic stimulus package that we think reflects the balance between spending and taxes and again on a party-line vote, it failed. And we're right now in the third day of a filibuster on a foreign operations bill because Republican don't think we've moved quickly enough on judiciary issues and again our ability to pass foreign ops has failed. So I think if anything, we could be accused of too much partisan ship in the last two weeks. I think they need to watch Congress a little more closely before they editorialize so erroneously.

BLITZER: But on the fundamental question of any problems that you may have with the way the president is prosecuting this war on terrorism, do you have any specific problems right now you want to share with us?

DASCHLE: Well, obviously there are a number of things that we have talked about all the way through this process. We've voiced those concerns. There hasn't been an end to bipartisan, to partisanship. I think what has happened is that in the name of unity, which the American people so strongly support we have attempted to try to work out our differences. That doesn't mean those differences didn't exist. It just means that we've been successful in large measures working them out one step at a time. I'm not going to go out of my way to pick a fight with the White House right now. I don't think that's what our country wants to see. I don't think that's really what ought to be done. There will be times when we differ and when those times occur as we have on the economic stimulus package for example, we are not going to be reticent about expressing our differences.

BLITZER: Senator Daschle once again, thank you for joining us. Please give our best to your entire staff and of course all of us are hoping for the very best. We appreciate it very much.

DASCHLE: Thank you, Wolf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And if you want more information on anthrax and the war on terrorism go to our Web site CNN.com/Wolf. Returning now to the counter-terror campaign. The U.S. is stepping up the air war against Afghanistan. And the Pentagon says that's beginning to alter the military balance between the Taliban and their Afghan opposition. Let's go live to CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, Jamie. JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, more punishing attacks are underway at this hour according to Pentagon officials and as you said, now the Pentagon is now beginning to make the claim that its bombing on the ground is making a difference. And that the Taliban is now at a significant disadvantage as opposed to its opposition forces.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): The Pentagon sent its fearsome AC-130 gunships back into action in greater numbers on Day Ten. The special operations airplane can trade a devastating fuselage of artillery fire on a precise ground target for hours at a time. Which made it the weapon of choice to kill and demoralize Taliban forces. More than 100 airplanes, mostly flying from two aircraft carriers took place in a second straight day of anti-attacks against Taliban troops and military positions. Such as this collection of armored vehicles at a Taliban training facility in the South. At Mazar-i-Sharif, a key city in the North, a tank guarding an airfield was taken out with two laser-guided bombs. The Pentagon claims it's shifting the balance of power in favor of the Taliban's foes.

LT. GENERAL GREGORY NEWBOLD, JOINT STAFF OPERATIONS DIRECTOR: I think the campaign has aided immaterially, I really do. I think as they say, the combat power of the Taliban has been eviscerated and that it will progressively over time.

MCINTYRE: In ten days of air attacks, the United States has dropped well over 2,000 bombs. And the Pentagon now believes it has put the opposition Northern Alliance in a position to make significant military gains on the ground.

NEWBOLD: We are striking Afghan Taliban military positions around Kabul including those that protect the capital. We're striking, we struck in this day of the campaign targets near Mazar-i- Sharif as you saw in the video clips, protecting that very important crossroads.

MCINTYRE: The Pentagon says it doesn't know if a U.S. bomb struck an international committee of the Red Cross warehouse in Kabul. But repeated its assertion that it's working hard to prevent civilian casualties. No one was killed at the warehouse. In an interview Tuesday with the Arabic satellite television station Al Jazeera, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reached out to the Arab audience.

RUMSFELD: We're no where that we're not wanted. We seek no one else's land. We occupy no other country's territory. We try to conquer no other people. Where we are is where people who live there have decided they would like to have us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Now, the United States is in its second week of bombing in Afghanistan and the past two days have been the heaviest of this bombing campaign. The Pentagon said there will necessarily be a leveling off but they warn that this does not mean that the fight is winding down. In fact the Pentagon repeated its assertion that once some of the visible part of the military campaign is not going on, other less visible operations may be underway. Which seemed to indicate again the possibility of clandestine commando raids, but could also refer again to the wide range of things the U.S. is doing including freezing assets and trying to isolate the Taliban diplomatically.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you very much. And Secretary of State Colin Powell is on the second leg of his diplomatic trip to the region as the airstrikes continue over Afghanistan. CNN's John Vause joins us live from Islamabad with the latest. John, what are you hearing? What's the latest in terms of the fighting?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In terms of the fighting, Wolf, we understand there is a third air strike underway in the Afghan capital city of Kabul. The first air wave began around five hours ago, the second about two hours after that. Interesting to note that tonight it is Kabul which is being hit with quite intensity as opposed to Kandahar. Also as we heard in Jamie McIntyre's report, there was reports that possibly a U.S. bomb fell on the office of the warehouse rather of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Red Cross has launched a strong protest with the U.S. embassy here in Pakistan in Islamabad.

They say the building was well marked. There was a Red Cross emblem on the roof. They say that the complex housed five warehouses. One warehouse was destroyed. It was storing blankets, sheeting, food. One Afghan worker was injured. Others raced in to try and save their supplies, but this is in fact the second aid agency to be hit during this air campaign against Afghanistan. The other one of course was the U.N. headquarters for their demining program. In that airstrike, four local Afghan workers were killed, Wolf.

BLITZER: Now, John what's the headline out of the meeting that Secretary Powell had with the Pakistani President Musharraf.

VAUSE: Well, the headline is that all's well. That President Musharraf is willing to stay the course. He said that there will be no deadline on Pakistan's support for the United States and the allied air action against Afghanistan. He of course, he wants this short. He wants this targeted. He said that no less than five times during the press conference after their meeting. Also out of that meeting, a message from Colin Powell to Pakistan to sit it out to stand out over the issue of Kashmir. A message which he will obviously taking to India where he is right now.

BLITZER: John Vause reporting live from Islamabad. Thank you very much. And meanwhile President Bush is scheduled to leave the United States this week headed for the economic summit in China. CNN's Senior White House Correspondent John King is live. John, as far as the trip the president is going forward with the trip. How much concern was there on the security for the president and was there any thought of simply canceling it because of the security concerns?

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There was thought of canceling it Wolf because it was, some thought it would be awkward for the Commander in Chief to be out of the country at this moment. But no thought of canceling it because of the security. Actually, it's quite remarkable if you talk to senior Administration officials.

Remember, it was just a few months back the EP-3 surveillance plane episode. All this tension between China. How close to the China coastline could U.S. military planes on surveillance missions come? Well, the president is going to Shanghai. He leaves here on the trip tomorrow. U.S. officials say the cooperation with the Chinese government has been extraordinary to the point of which we are told U.S. military fighter jets will escort Air Force One into Chinese airspace. Quite a turnaround from just a few months ago.

BLITZER: John what about the objective the president has. He's going to be meeting with leaders of Russia, China and other countries. He's got some specific objectives as far as this war on terrorism is concerned, doesn't he?

KING: He certainly does. This is an economic club, but the focus here will be on terrorism. The president wants and will get we are told a statement from the 21-member organization, a strong condemnation of terrorism. A promise to work more aggressively to crack down on money laundering, other financial support for terrorist groups around the country. And in the one-on-one meetings with key leaders, the Russians and the Chinese the biggest powers, a very key meeting with say the leader of Malaysia, a Muslim leader of a country. The president again a political message if you will.

This is a war on terrorism, not on Islam. The president we also are told will voice displeasure in any conversations he has with the Indonesian president, President Megawati. She over the weekend criticized the U.S. airstrikes said, military attacks were not the right response to terrorism. Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim nation -- the president sensitive to the anti-American protests there, but we're told he wants to compare the crackdown on terrorism under way in the Philippines with what the U.S. believes to be a more lax effort in Indonesia as he makes this trip to Asia. Four days, the trip cut short because of the war on terrorism. But the president told top aides he thought it was critical that he go.

BLITZER; John, John King at the White House. Have a safe trip yourself. John, thanks very much for joining us. It's been a service for more than 4 decades, but this Cold War strategic bomber has a new mission over Afghanistan. We'll take a close look at the B-52.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. The Pentagon says the U.S.-led strikes have severely damaged the Taliban's defense. Thanks to superior fire power. Among the mighty arsenal the B-52 bomber. CNN's Brian Nelson joins us now live from the B-52 bomb wing in Minot, North Dakota, Brian.

BRIAN NELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf.

We've been out here all day at the B-52 base taking a look at it, getting a very close up look at it. This is the workhorse of the U.S. Air Force bombers fleet. And it has seen action currently over Afghanistan and all the way back to the Cold War. It's a pretty old. In fact, it's about 40 years old this one behind me. Let's check in with the Commander of the 5th Bomb Ring, Colonel Richard Newton. Colonel, how do you keep or can you keep a 40-year-old plane going for another 10-20 years?

COLONEL RICHARD NEWTON, COMMANDER OF THE 5TH BOMB RING: Well, Brian, this airplane has been a workhorse for decades and a lot of men and women work very hard on this aircraft to keep it maintained and in the tip-top condition that it's in. We expect it to be able to fly and fight for generations to come.

NELSON: How far?

NEWTON: Well, some experts are thinking in the year 2037-2040 out there. It's an awesome weapons system.

NELSON: Is this because of the improvements made over the years?

NEWTON: We've made a number of improvements, the avionics, software, as well as the weapons systems that actually, the weapons that actually go on the aircraft.

NELSON: Alright, let's go over here and talk to Rayban (ph). Rayban is a weapons officer. And I can't give you his full name, but he is a weapons officer. Tell us what we have here that is part of the conventional weapons system.

RAYBAN (ph), WEAPONS OFFICER: Well, we have right here is the JDAM weapon that we have right now. We can carry 12 of these weapons on the B-52 and this gives us a near-precision capability. Over here in addition to the smart weapons we can also carry dumb weapons. These are the Mark-82 versions of the 500-pounders and we can carry 45 of these on our weapons system.

NELSON: OK, as we move along here?

RAYBAN: In addition to dumb weapons and the smart JDAM, we have our long-range weapon.

NELSON: The Cal-Cruise missile?

RAY BAN: This is the conventional air launch cruise missile. It has a range of approximately 600 nautical miles and is a blast-frag type

(CROSSTALK)

NELSON: And what is this last thing over here?

RAY BAN: This is our common strategic rotary launcher loaded with Cal-Con. We can carry eight internal and all this, this whole assembly fits inside the bomb bay of the B-52.

NELSON: OK, thank you very much. The B-52 remaining a potent force perhaps for decades. I'm Brian Nelson, CNN at the Minot Air Force base in North Dakota.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Brian. And for our viewers in North America Crossfire comes your way at the bottom of the hour. Bob Novak joins us now with a preview, Bob.

ROBERT NOVAK, "CROSSFIRE": Wolf, more than a month after the terrorist attacks of September 11, Congress still hasn't decided what to do about airline safety. Should the government or a private firm screen the luggage? Should Air Marshals or armed aviators protect the passengers? Two members of Congress debate next in the crossfire, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks, Bob. We'll be watching. And the latest on what the Pentagon calls an intense day of attacks on Afghanistan. That and a look at some of the day's other top stories when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Here's a quick look at the latest developments. The Pentagon says today was another intense day of attacks on targets in Afghanistan, similar to yesterday's use of more than 100 aircraft. The Pentagon does not know whether the attacks hit a Red Cross warehouse in Afghanistan.

A spokesman for the relief agency says the building, which exploded and was burned was hit during a U.S. attack. Secretary of State Colin Powell is now in India trying to build support for the military campaign. He met earlier today with Pakistan's president. Powell is also trying to soothe relations between India and Pakistan.

That's all the time we have tonight. Please join me again tomorrow twice at both five and seven PM eastern as America targets terrorism. Until then, thanks very much for watching.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

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