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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Caskets of Three U.S. Servicemen Arrive in Germany

Aired December 06, 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: We want to go right out to Ramstein Air Base, the U.S. air base in Germany, where a plane is returning, bringing the bodies of three U.S. military personnel, killed while on duty in Afghanistan.

Two of those are green berets. Green berets, killed the other day in so-called friendly fire in southern Afghanistan, around Kandahar. Those two green berets are Sergeant First Class Daniel Henry Petithory, he's 32 years old, from Massachusetts. And Staff Sergeant Brian Cody Prosser, 28, from California. Both of them were killed together with a third green berets, whose body is not being brought back at this time. The third body is that of Master Sergeant Jefferson Donald Davis, 39, from Tennessee.

They are being brought back with full military honors, as you can see here, at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The -- also aboard this military transfer plane is the body of a third member of the U.S. military, member of the U.S. Navy, electricians-made-fireman apprentice, Michael J. Jakes Jr., 20 years old, of Brooklyn, New York. He died December 4th, after falling from his bunk bed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk. He sustained at that time a fatal injury to his head.

The bodies of three U.S. military personnel, brought back from -- being brought back right now, from Afghanistan. I want to bring in our Bettina Luescher. She's on the scene right now. And she has some more -- Bettina.

BETTINA LUESCHER, CNN RAMSTEIN AIR BASE: Yes, Wolf. The honor court is lined up here, and we are seeing now on the right here, the joint service color guard -- all of this an expression of the U.S. military for their fallen comrades. People here, from the special forces, are here in Ramstein. And we're being told many of them are quite shocked about the loss of their colleagues here.

We're waiting now for the casket of Daniel Petithory to be brought down. The real sense of loss here in Ramstein. Of course, everyone is watching from afar the developments in Afghanistan. Ramstein, of course, one of the major hubs here of the logistical support going out to Afghanistan.

BLITZER: Bettina, Ramstein, unfortunately, over the years, has seen these kinds of honor guards, these kinds of military services on many occasions. Is it normal that -- have the forces over at Ramstein been told that those U.S. military personnel who were killed in Afghanistan will be brought, first back to Ramstein? Is that going to be standard operating procedure?

LUESCHER: Yes, it is. Often the procedure is often that they have to do an autopsy. That is what will happen tomorrow, on Friday morning, where they'll be brought here to the hospital, where there is a mortuary. That is apparently standard procedure.

And we are expecting also the third victim of this friendly fire incident will be brought to Ramstein later on. Already, earlier on Thursday, one of the wounded of that incident has been brought here to the Landstuhl hospital. That is the largest military hospital in Europe.

He is he in guarded condition. And the doctors are telling us it will take another 48 to 72 hours or so before they will know more about his long-term prognosis. On Friday morning, we are also expecting the arrival of the remaining 16 wounded of that incident. So people here in Ramstein are closely involved with the situation, obviously, in Afghanistan. And they're expecting more of the casualties to arrive here over the next 24 hours -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Bettina, all three of the green berets who were killed in that incident near Kandahar were members of the third battalion 5th special forces group. The green berets, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The third body will be brought back shortly, Jefferson Donald Davis. He was master sergeant, from Tennessee. He will be arriving at Ramstein separately from his two comrades, the other two green berets. That incident involved a U.S. precision-guided missile.

I think we're about to see the first casket now, being removed from this huge transport plane that flew over from the scene near Afghanistan, with the bodies of these three U.S. military men.

This moment will be repeated twice. That was the body, the casket carrying the body of Daniel Henry Petithory, 32 years old, of Massachusetts, sergeant first class.

I want to bring in our Pentagon correspondent, our military affairs correspondent, Jamie McIntyre. Jamie, give our viewers who may not be aware some of the details of how this so-called friendly fire incident occurred.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, these troops who are green berets, some of the most experienced and trained forces, were operating right with some of the opposition forces that are putting the squeeze on Kandahar, and, it looks like, will bring about the fall of Kandahar.

There were two teams of these special forces operating in the area. And there they were in a combat zone, in which they were exchanging fire with Taliban forces that are still in the city. At some point, they called in for what's called close air support. Some member of the team radioed the coordinates, determined by portable GPS system, of where they wanted the close air support to come.

A B-52 bomber, using one of the U.S.' most accurate satellite- guided 2,000-pound bombs, dropped that bomb to hit at those coordinates. But somehow it hit within about a hundred meters of where these two groups of special forces and Afghan opposition fighters were all gathered. The blast, the powerful blast, the shrapnel, caused burn wounds, caused some shrapnel wounds, and also some burst eardrums, and killed three Americans and five Afghans, injured more than two dozen others.

And again, the Pentagon is investigating how this happened. It could have been that the bomb malfunctioned. It could have been that the coordinates were determined incorrectly on the ground. Or they could have been entered incorrectly in the cockpit of the B-52. That's something that the Pentagon will have to determine.

Or it could be something as simple, as Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said yesterday, a bent fin on the plane could have caused the missile to go slightly astray. Although this is one of the most accurate bombs that U.S. has, it's not 100 percent accurate. The pictures here of the three soldiers show that these are not, you know, these are not young, raw recruits who are just out of boot camp.

These were very experienced, some of the most highly trained, specialized troops, that were involved in this dangerous mission on the front line. And When it comes to dangerous missions, there are few missions that are as dangerous as calling in a fire on your -- essentially, your own position, right near where you are on the ground.

If the slightest thing goes wrong, it can be deadly. In this case, something did go wrong, and it was deadly -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And, Jamie, we're now seeing the second casket that will shortly be removed from this military transport plane. The casket, we believe, of staff sergeant Brian Cody Prosser. And you point out, they were not necessarily teenagers. Prosser was 28 years old. Daniel Henry Petithory was 32 years old. The third green beret, whose body is not being brought back at this particular time, Jefferson Donald Davis, master sergeant, 39 years old, from Tennessee.

The young sailor who was killed tragically falling out of his bunk bed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, Michael J. Jakes, only 20 years old, of Brooklyn, New York. His casket will be coming off that military transport plane shortly.

The investigation could take some time, couldn't it, Jamie, before the definitive explanation for this friendly fire incident is determined?

MCINTYRE: It may take a matter of days, or even perhaps a matter of weeks. And it may never be known, depending on what the records show. If it turns out that the coordinates were entered incorrectly, they may be able to determine that from the equipment that's on the B- 52. But if it turns out that it was some malfunction in the weapon itself, which of course was destroyed in the accident, they may never be able to determine that.

They do -- what they do know is that the accuracy rate, or the operating rate of these bombs, is about 85 percent to 90 percent of the time they hit precisely where they are supposed to hit. Well, that still leaves a 10- to 15-percent margin of error, when they either don't hit exactly where they are supposed to, or they can sometimes go wildly astray.

It's simply not a perfect science, at this point. Although the United States, at this point in its -- in the military, has the most accurate weapons systems in the world. And this bombing campaign in Afghanistan has been the most accurate ever, even exceeding that of Kosovo, when the U.S. had to operate with its NATO allies without the benefit of forward air controllers on the ground.

And that's what these troops on the ground were providing, those eyes on the ground that increase the accuracy, minimize the civilian casualties, and have produced probably one of the most effective air campaigns the world has ever seen.

BLITZER: Let's watch the casket of Staff Sergeant Brian Cody Prosser be brought to the waiting Hearst.

The casket of Brian Cody Prosser, 28 years old, from California. That will be driven away as his comrade, Daniel Petithory, 32 from Massachusetts. both green berets. Men who fought outside of Kandahar and were killed in a so-called friendly fire incident.

Jamie McIntyre, you mentioned earlier that what these green berets and their colleagues, their comrades in arms were doing, could have set the stage for what's unfolding right now in Kandahar, the apparent collapse of the Taliban in their last remaining stronghold. Do we have any more precise information of what their ambition, these green berets, were doing?

MCINTYRE: Well, they were working directly with the opposition forces, in this case, those that were commanded by Hamid Karzai, who has been picked as the leader of the new interim government in Afghanistan. In fact, Karzai was injured, although not seriously, in the same blast. So they were operating right in the same area as he was, pushing in from the north of Kandahar -- putting the pressure on Mullah Omar and the Taliban hold-out, that have been holding up there in Kandahar.

So the bombing that was taking place there -- and again, the Pentagon showed more pictures of it today, where they're able to hit buildings where Taliban troops had gathered, trenches where they had dug in. The reason they're able to do that kind of pinpoint bombing is that these brave soldiers were risking their lives on the front lines, providing the eyes, calling in the coordinates, sometimes using laser-target designators, to point out the targets to pilots.

It is, as I said, one of the most dangerous missions, when you have to call in friendly fire to hit enemy positions close to your position, because there is just very little margin for error.

BLITZER: All right, Jamie McIntyre, thank you. I also want to thank Bettina Luescher, who has been on the scene at Ramstein, at the air base, the body of Michael J. Jakes. He was an electricians-made- fireman apprentice who fell off a bunk bed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk while on duty December 4th, and he sustained a massive head injury -- fatal head injury, as it turned out to be.

His casket will be removed from this military transport plane momentarily as well, and will be taken away, as the other two caskets were. And Jefferson Donald Davis, the third green beret who was killed in that so-called friendly fire incident, 39 years old from Tennessee. He will be brought back shortly.

I want to go back to Joie Chen now in Atlanta, for more on this -- Joie.

(INTERRUPTED FOR CNN COVERAGE OF BREAKING NEWS)

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Joie. And we're following the other story that we've been watching over these past several minutes. The return of caskets, bodies, of U.S. military personnel who died while on duty serving the U.S. in and around Afghanistan.

This is the casket, the body of a sailor, the sailor electricians made fireman apprentice, Michael J. Jakes Jr. Only 20 years old, of Brooklyn, New York. He fell from his bunk bed aboard the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, and sustained a fatal injury to his head while on duty.

I've been aboard the USS Kitty Hawk and I know that sometimes in rough waters in those bunk beds when you're high up, two, three, even four up, it can be pretty high. And if you fall down, obviously, if you hit your head in an unfortunate situation, and tragic situation, it can get you killed. And tragically, in the case of Michael J. Jakes, that is what has happened, in this particular case.

He is being received, obviously, with full military honors, as were the two green berets whose bodies were brought back. Let's listen in.

(MILITARY COLOR GUARD SERVICE)

And that will apparently conclude the full military color guard service in honor of these U.S. military personnel.

Bettina Luscher, if you're still there, is there anything else expected at Ramstein, at the air base?

All right, Bettina is not there, unfortunately.

And we will move from the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the scene of so many of these transfers of bodies over the many years. This was a scene during the Gulf War as well. When U.S. military personnel were killed in action, their bodies were brought back to Ramstein first during that war, as is the case this time.

We are going to take a quick break. When we come back, we will go over to Afghanistan. We will get the very latest on what's happening on the ground, including the apparent fall of Kandahar.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Today on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: America strikes back.

The Taliban agree to surrender their last stronghold, but will they give up Mullah Omar?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: It would be premature to suggest that once Kandahar surrenders that, therefore, we kind of relax and say, well, that takes care of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And what of Osama bin Laden? We'll take you to the front lines in the battle for the caves and tunnels of Tora Bora.

A home front battle on Capitol Hill: Is the administration trampling on civil liberties?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: We with be both tough on terrorists and true to the constitution. It's not an either/or choice.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We will have our own update, as America strikes back.

Hello from Washington.

The stage is now set for what could be the turning point in the war in Afghanistan. Taliban forces holed up in their southern stronghold of Kandahar today agreed to surrender the city. The announcement comes as opposition forces backed by the U.S. military appear to be on the verge of attacking the city. Now the surrender is scheduled to start tomorrow. But the agreement leaves many key questions unanswered.

CNN's Nic Robertson is on the Afghan-Pakistani border. And he has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The terms of that surrender, that the Taliban should be allowed to walk -- should be allowed to put down their weapons and walk free from the, city including the Taliban leadership, and their weapons should be surrendered to a former Mujahedeen commander, Mullah Nakib Olar (ph), who was a commander, a very senior figure inside Kandahar in the early 1990s. He has now been entrusted by the Taliban to take control of Kandahar city. Interestingly, the negotiations taking place with the new head of Afghanistan's interim government, Hamid Karzai. Interestingly, that the Taliban now say that Hamid Karzai is not allowed to enter the city, that Mullah Nakib should be allowed to control the city.

We spoke a little earlier with Hamid Karzai and he gave us these terms for the surrender.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMID KARZAI, CHAIRMAN, INTERIM AFGHANISTAN GOVERNMENT: The Taliban leadership have decided to surrender Kandahar, Helmand and Kabul to me and that, in return, we have offered him amnesty and that they can go to their homes safe without any trouble. There has not been any specific conditions. And we only raised to discuss the modalities of transfer of power in order to prevent chaos, in order unnecessary confusion, the transfer of power will be done in a slow and orderly manner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, the terms of the surrender also call for Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, to renounce terrorism, to renounce his association with terrorist organizations, with al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, and although they were not mentioned by name, that he should make verbal and public statements to this point.

One of the big questions that remain, of course, is what happens to the reported 600 Arab fighters who are reportedly in and around the Kandahar area? So far, it appears from what Mr. Karzai tells us, that he doesn't want them in the country, that they must leave, that they should face international justice, but that he is not placing them under arrest and will not be charging them inside Afghanistan. This, of course, doesn't give any indication of what is going to happen to Osama bin Laden. In fact, Mr. Karzai said he does not know where Osama bin Laden is and he does not know where the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, is at this time.

Nic Robertson, CNN, on the Afghan/Pakistan border.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Meanwhile, here in Washington, the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, strongly implied that the United States will reject any deal that allows supreme Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar to remain free.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUMSFELD: The opposition forces in and around Kandahar, where it is believed Omar is, are fully aware of very strong view on this. And our cooperation and assistance with those people would clearly take a turn to south if something were to be done with respect to the senior people in that situation that was inconsistent with what I have said.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: Joining me now to give us some perspective on all of this is David Isby of "Jane's Intelligence Review."

David, thanks for joining us once again.

So what is your take of the conditions that Hamid Karzai apparently has won from the supreme Mullah, Mullah Mohammad Omar, to surrender?

DAVID ISBY, "JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW": Well, Mullah Omar apparently has found martyrdom overrated and, after doing great damage to his country and people, looked to save his skin, making his own amnesty a condition of the surrender.

Certainly, this has been worked out in the past. It was worked out during even the war against the Soviet Union, when pro-Moscow and anti-Soviet Afghans, one would agree to switch sides to the other, with tribal elders acting as intermediaries.

I think Hamid Karzai may look for a more broad-based Appomattox- type deal, because he's got to keep a political deal together.

BLITZER: And Mr. Karzai did spell out some of the conditions that he thinks, at least, he won from Mullah Omar. I want you to listen to precisely what he told CNN earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARZAI: Mullah Omar must distance himself completely from terrorism, from the presence of foreign terrorists in Afghanistan. He must condemn terrorism in Afghanistan. He must acknowledge that these terrorists have gone into Afghanistan and killed the Afghan people and have hurt the international community. If he doesn't do that, he will not be safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What is your reading on that?

ISBY: Well, this certainly is very generous to Mullah Omar. There is nothing about standing trial or paying for what he has done. So certainly it's very much an opening whether this is going to leave Mullah Omar and his sponsors, both in and outside Afghanistan, around to create trouble again, especially if the political situation doesn't go as well as we hope now. That remains an open question.

Mullah Omar may become part of the problem again in the future, if he is around.

BLITZER: And the situation in Kandahar itself still remains very, very complicated. We have a map that I want to just show our viewers, precisely the nature of this city, which is a relatively big- sized city with an airport right outside over here.

Hamid Karzai, he is the Pashtun leader, the anti-Taliban Pashtun leader, designated as the interim government leader over the next six months by the delegates who attended that conference outside of Bonn, Germany, the post-Taliban government. But is he a reliable ally for the United States?

ISBY: Well, as reliable as anyone is going to be.

The Afghans are going -- even in the final analysis -- to act according to Afghan interests, not what the United States is doing. The U.S., despite all their help, they can't control the Afghans. The Soviets couldn't control their Afghan allies, and they could threaten to shoot them and send them to Siberia. So there may be friction some there.

But he is looking to the fact that he is going to have to run the country against people who may consider him a traitor for standing with the United States against Mullah Omar. And he is going to want them on his side. So he has probably checked with the leadership. And he making his political call.

Another issue is the U.N. The U.N. has guidelines for amnesty, who can be cut in on the deal. So while he doesn't want to alienate the United States as a battlefield ally and an aid donor, he wants good relations with the U.N., but he has got to make himself an Afghan leader. So...

BLITZER: So you're saying he could technically, theoretically, even practically, defy the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, when it comes to the future of Mullah Omar?

ISBY: I think an Afghan leader who will not defy a foreign patron is going to have a poor future as a leader of Afghanistan. It may actually help him. If you appear to be put in power by foreign bombs, it is not going to give you that vital legitimacy. So I think, actually, Donald Rumsfeld doesn't vote in Afghanistan.

BLITZER: All right, let's see what happens. David Isby, thank you very much for joining us. Appreciate it.

And Afghan opposition forces are pressing ahead with attacks on al Qaeda fighters in the Eastern Tora Bora mountains -- their objective: Osama bin Laden.

CNN's Brent Sadler is near the front lines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anti-Taliban Afghan forces pour machine gunfire into the nooks and crannies of a mountain fortress, attempting to turn up the heat in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, tank barrels blazing.

But it's proving a formidable challenge. Since the assault began, they have inched forward, claiming to have cleared low-level caves of al Qaeda terrorist fighters. They have had sustained American help. Big U.S. bombers pound hostile terrain. Smaller strike planes nip in for a quick kill. They seem to be effective: an upturned tank and more freedom of movement for tribal foot soldiers stalking bin Laden.

(on camera): For this moment, at least, this is as far as we can get to Tora Bora's al Qaeda defenders. They are along the tree line there, according to the anti-Taliban forces, in well-entrenched positions. Fighting has reportedly fierce, with close-quarter combat.

(voice-over): Overrunning this ridge is but the first objective. And their enemy is using heavy weapons.

A translator explains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anti-aircraft mounting have fired on that place. And they fired from there 14.5-millimeter cannon.

SADLER: Beyond the trees lies Tora Bora itself, an even greater challenge. But this tank crew, refueling their T-55, say they are confident of snaring bin Laden if he is Tora Bora, and destroying his band of terrorist cohorts, said to be mostly Arab.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Al Qaeda is finished.

SADLER: They have clearly made some progress, capturing mud- camouflaged pickup trucks. This one contains a book with reference to a group called "Free Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman," convicted of involvement in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

At the end of this day, a sign of fatigue: Fighters fall back from exposed positions with talk of a possible al Qaeda counterattack. Their missions is to conquer Tora Bora. They could be in a for a long wait.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Agam (ph), in the White Mountains of Eastern Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And this note, tonight in the "War Room": What happens next after the surrender of Kandahar? A discussion about the hunt for Osama bin Laden -- that's at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific. Please join me then.

And also, you can participate. Just go to my Web site: CNN.com/wolf. Click on the "Send Questions" icon. I will try to answer as many of those questions with our panel as possible. You can also, by the way, read my online column about the friendly fire danger. That's at CNN.com/wolf.

Let's go back to Joie Chen in Atlanta for a quick update on that shooting incident in Goshen, Indiana -- Joie.

JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, we do want to update our viewers because this has been so much of the coverage this afternoon.

But the late report we are now getting, and that has been confirmed by authorities in Goshen, Indiana, is that the suspected gunman in that factory shooting is now dead. As well, a second employee at the Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork factory has been killed -- that body found inside the facility there. You see now some videotape that we had gotten from our affiliate, WNDU, showing some of the injuries.

At least seven other people in the factory had been injured. One of them had been airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital, upgraded from critical to serious condition within the last hour or so. Authorities said that, when they finally did storm that building -- and it took more than an hour and a half for them to actually do that -- they did not feel it was secure at first -- it took some time for them to secure the facility and move into the building. But once they got inside, they found 20 to 30 employees of the factory who were inside.

Three to five of them have been described as the walking wounded and have also been treated as well. As to what happened, what triggered this, the shooter apparently got into a fight with another employee earlier in the day, had been sent home, we are told by local news media. He had warned that he would come back armed and begin shooting people.

Apparently, Wolf, he did make good on that threat. Apparently, though, now the situation is under control. Goshen authorities, though, are continuing to investigate. And we will watch and fill you in if there are other developments that warrant from here -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Joie.

And up next, the attorney general, John Ashcroft -- he was on Capitol Hill in the hot seat -- the debate over civil liberties and military tribunals.

Also, war is very much on the mind of so many tonight as they celebrate Washington's Pageant of Peace. You are looking at live pictures, the scene from the Ellipse beyond the White House back fence -- the president, President Bush expected to speak in the next few minutes. We'll bring that to you live, as well as the White House Christmas tree lighting ceremony, all dedicated this year to those who died in the September 11 attacks.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... second time around.

But now, the Manhattan Transfer.

BLITZER: Welcome back.

We are watching live coverage of the Pageant of Peace on the Ellipse near the White House. President Bush will be lighting the Christmas tree shortly. It's a 40-foot Colorado blue spruce -- the annual event going on this year, this year dedicated to those who died in the September 11 attacks.

Let's listen in for a little bit. (MANHATTAN TRANSFER SINGS "HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS")

BLITZER: Washington's Pageant of Peace, celebrations on the Ellipse near the White House. President Bush shortly will be speaking. And he will be lighting the Christmas tree. When he does, we will bring that to you.

We will take a quick break. By the time we come back, the president hopefully will be getting ready to the light that Christmas tree.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President and Mrs. Bush watching the entertainment as they prepare to light the Christmas tree, a 78-year tradition here in the nation's capital. President Bush will be lighting that Christmas tree momentarily. He is now going to be introduced by the chairman of the Pageant of Peace in Washington, Peter Nostrand.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

PETER F. NOSTRAND, CHAIRMAN, PAGEANT OF PEACE: Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Now, as we near that very special moment when we light this magnificent tree, I want to take a moment to, on behalf of all of you, to thank the president and Mrs. Bush for their involvement in this year's pageant.

(APPLAUSE)

NOSTRAND: Now, this pageant is very important to them. And I can tell you that every single president, every president since Calvin Coolidge has participated in this family gathering and in the lighting of your national Christmas tree here in the best city in the world.

(APPLAUSE)

NOSTRAND: And I don't need to tell you, but this is a very special time. That irrepressible spirit of love, of hope, of piece, the spirit which is at the very heart of this pageant and that powerful message of peace has never meant more than here and now.

So, with affection and gratitude like you have never shown before, ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all very much. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

BUSH: Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

BUSH: Be seated, please.

I want to thank you very much and welcome you all to this year's Christmas Pageant of Peace. During this time of conflict and challenge, we once again celebrate the season of hope and the season of joy. We give thanks to our nation and to our families and to our friends.

The first lady and I are so honored to be here. I want to thank Peter Nordstrom (ph) and the committee for putting this together. And I particularly want to thank the entertainment committee, the person in charge of getting these fantastic entertainers to come by. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

(APPLAUSE)

I want to thank all the employees and sponsors who put on this magnificent event. I want to thank Fran Mainella, the director of the National Park Service, and all the Park Service employees who've worked hard to put this event on.

(APPLAUSE)

And I want to thank Santa Claus for being here tonight.

(APPLAUSE)

I've been looking for you, Santa.

(LAUGHTER)

In a moment we will light the national Christmas tree, a tradition Americans have been celebrating since 1923. The history of this event has included some memorable moments, including 60 years ago, less than three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when Prime Minister Winston Churchill made an appearance with President Franklin Roosevelt to light the tree.

Now, once again, we celebrate Christmas in a time of testing with American troops far from home. This season finds our country with losses to mourn and great tasks to complete. In all those tasks, it is worth recalling the words from a beautiful Christmas hymn. In the third verse of "Oh, Holy Night," we sing: "His law is love and his gospel is peace. Chains he shall break for the slave is our brother. And in his name all oppression shall cease."

America seeks peace and believes in justice. We fight only when necessary. We fight so that oppression may cease. And even in the midst of war, we pray for peace on Earth and goodwill to men.

(APPLAUSE)

This is a time of the year for families and friends to gather together, not simply to celebrate the season, but to renew the bonds of love and affection that give fulfillment to our lives.

And this is the year we will not forget those who lost loved ones in the attacks on September the 11th and on the battlefield. They will remain in our prayers.

It is now my honor to invite Leon Patterson and Faith Elseth and Laura to join me up here as we light the national Christmas tree.

(APPLAUSE)

Leon and Faith's fathers, Major Clifford Patterson and Lieutenant Commander Robert Elseth, served in the United States military. Both of these good men were lost in the attack on the Pentagon.

Leon and Faith, we thank you for helping us celebrate Christmas. You remind us of the comfort at Christmas that hope never fails and love never ends. And now, would you please help Laura light up our beautiful tree?

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: And there it was, a 40 foot Colorado Blue Spruce. The president and his family, the president, first lady, and two guests lit the Christmas tree this annual Pageant of Peace in Washington.

And I will be back in one hour with more coveragem, but for now, I am Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "MONEYLINE" with Lou Dobbs begins right now.

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