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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

The State of Union After September 11

Aired January 29, 2002 - 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: the State of the Union after September 11. Battling back against terrorism, making the homeland safe and pulling the economy out of recession.

Is the war on terrorism just beginning? Which nations will get a presidential warning tonight? How does this nation regain nearly a million lost jobs? And, can the president keep his popular support?

We'll go live to the White House and to Capitol Hill. And I'll speak live with Senators Carl Levin and John Warner, the chairman and the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee.

Good evening, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight from Washington. The last time President Bush addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress was shortly after the September 11 terror attack against the United States.

Much of course has happened since then. And President Bush spent much of today going over final preparations for the address. In two hours, he returns to Capitol Hill to offer the nation and the world a status report on the war. He'll praise some leaders, especially Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf for their help in the war, but he will single out three countries for condemnation, Iran, Iraq and North Korea, for continuing to support international terrorists. He will also warn that the war is just beginning.

And ominously, a senior administration official says that amid the Afghan rubble, U.S. troops discovered documents showing the terrorists may have had their sights set on U.S. nuclear facilities. When I was at the White House earlier today, I also heard that official say the terrorists are patient, they tend to repeat themselves, and they tend to go after locations they earlier targeted.

For a preview of the president's speech, let's go live to our senior White House correspondent, John King. He has just received some key excerpts -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, aides say the president has been in very good spirits, a light-hearted, joking mood throughout much of the day. But as you just noted in the intro there, much of what the president has to tell the American people tonight is quite sobering and quite serious. You mentioned the senior official saying there are diagrams of nuclear plants in the United States and other key facilities. We are told by senior officials the president will cite those tonight as he makes the case that he meant it when he said it just after the September 11 attacks, that this will be a very long war on terrorism.

Here is one key excerpt from the president's speech tonight: "What we have found in Afghanistan confirms that far from ending there, our war against terror is only beginning. Most of the 19 men who hijacked planes on September 11 were trained in Afghanistan's and so were tens of thousands of others." The president will make the case many of them still scattered around the world and that the war on terrorism must continue.

Also, looking ahead to potential future fronts in this war, the president singles out -- I'm sorry -- mentions three specific countries: Iran, Iraq and Korea. He says all have failed his warnings earlier, that they should join the international coalition against terrorism and the president says, quote, "the United States will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons."

The president also will focus on the homeland security, the domestic front, if you will, on the war on terrorism, promising to double federal spending, to protect ports, protect the borders, protect the American people from any future terrorist attacks. And he will try to transfer his wartime popularity to the biggest domestic political issue here in the United States: the state of the struggling U.S. economy. Mr. Bush saying it is critical that the Democrats and the administration work together on both a long-term and short-term economic plan. Mr. Bush saying you cannot make all those homeland defense improvements here at home and wage a war overseas unless you can pay for them. And to pay for them, you have got to get the economy going again -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John, tell our viewers that the honored guest the president has invited to join the first lady, Laura Bush, in the gallery to hear his speech tonight.

KING: First and foremost, we should tell our viewers that the vice president will be seated behind the president tonight. There was some debate over that because of ongoing security concerns. The vice president often kept away from the president so any terrorist strike could not hit the two of them. The White House confident security is safe at the Capitol. The vice president will be there.

In the gallery, the VIP box with the first lady, Hamid Karzai, the chairman of the new interim government in Afghanistan. Also some members of the U.S. special forces, the widows of two men, a CIA agent and the U.S. military personnel who have been killed in combat in Afghanistan also will be there. So will two American Airlines flight attendants. They are the ones the president will say and single them out to the American people tonight who helped subdue that alleged shoe bomber, Richard Reid. And also on the domestic front, the president of the Teamsters Union, Jimmy Hoffa, that part of the president's effort to say he is willing to reach across to those who traditionally support the Democrats on economics, trying to get the economy. A full house in the VIP box tonight, a very big moment for the president, now just hours away.

BLITZER: And a huge audience awaits the president. John King, thank you very much for that report. And this important note: CNN's coverage of President Bush's State of the Union Address will begin with a preview at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. His speech, of course, is scheduled an hour later at 9:00 p.m. Judy Woodruff, Aaron Brown and Jeff Greenfield will anchor our coverage.

And Congress may be united behind the president when it comes to the war effort, but the battle lines are certainly drawn on other sensitive issues. Our congressional correspondent, Jonathan Karl, joins us now from Capitol Hill. Jon, first of all, I understand you've received some excerpts from what will be the Democratic response from the House minority leader, Richard Gephardt?

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Wolf. Actually, I have the full response here from Representative Gephardt. It will be him who will come out and give the response to the president's State of the Union Address as the out party always does, sitting in a room here in the Capitol.

And the watch word here for Gephardt and for all the Democrats up here is unity. Gephardt begins his speech by commending the president for what he calls a strong and patriotic message. And then take a look at this excerpt, Wolf. He will say, quote: "I refuse to accept that while we stand together -- we stand shoulder to shoulder on the war, we should stand toe to toe on the economy. We need to find a way to respect each other and trust each other and work together to solve the long-term challenges America faces."

And then he goes on to say that he is ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work. He repeats something he called for last week, which is an economic summit at the White House, where Democrats and Republicans can get together, try to put aside some of their differences on the economy and bang out an agreement on how to stimulate the American economy. And that's what you are going to be hearing Democrats talked about.

I also have talking points the Democrats have distributed up here. And over and over again, the talk is we stand strongly, complete bipartisan consensus, with the president. We do have some issues on the economy. We can work together. The Democrats want to get back to a balanced budget. And then their talking points also talk about increased spending on things like, education, Medicare prescription drug coverage, homeland defense, economic stimulus. More spending they want, but they also want to keep the budget in balance. And while we talk unity tonight, Wolf, as you know, that's a very difficult mix to work out. And once we get beyond tonight's unity, you will see certainly more partisan wrangling on those very issues when Congress tries to get to work on this.

BLITZER: And, Jon, what are you hearing the leaders -- what did they say today? KARL: Well, they are also saying that while the president will be talking about security, national security, the war on terrorism, that clearly an important component of that is a strong economy. Here what's they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MINORITY LEADER: This is a president that is not going to ignore domestic issues. I predict that a lot of his speech will be focused on jobs and volunteerism and what we have learned from this experience and how we do need to come together and do the right thing for economic growth.

REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MO), MINORITY LEADER: Real security means keeping the economy going strong. It means creating good jobs. Real security means keeping Medicare and Social Security strong and getting Medicare prescription drug programs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: Well, Wolf, while Democrats recently have been talking a lot about Enron, there's been a lot of strong criticism of the president's tax cut. That is not the kind of talk you will hear from the Democrats tonight. That is not something that Dick Gephardt is going to be harping on in his response. And it's not something that shows up in their talking points.

As a matter of fact, looking at four pages of Democratic talking points that have been distributed widely up here, not a single mention of the word Enron -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jonathan Karl, thank you very much for that report.

And what does President Bush need to say tonight about the war on terrorism? What do Congress and the nation need to hear? Joining me here live at CNN, the Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan. He is chairman of the Armed Services Committee; and the committee's ranking Republican member, Senator John Warner of Virginia. Senators, thanks so much for joining us.

Mr. Chairman, first of all, to you, the president's decision to single out Iran, Iraq and North Korea for condemnation tonight, could that backfire?

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI), ARMED SERVICES CHAIRMAN: I don't think so. I think those three countries fit the definition. They have all supported terrorism. They are on the state department list. They are not the only ones, but I think they clearly fit the definition of terrorist states. I don't see any problem in his identifying them.

BLITZER: The point about Iran though, being that there had been mixed signals coming from the Iranian government, so-called moderates there seeking to reach out to the United States in the West.

LEVIN: Well, they are a long way from reaching out successfully and they have a long way to go. I'm glad that a few of them there are trying. I wish them well. But it seems to me until that's the dominating force in that government, that the administration is properly keeping them on the list.

BLITZER: Senator Warner, the praise will be heaped specifically, directly at President Musharraf of Pakistan. Good idea to do that at this stage?

SEN. JOHN WARNER (R-VA), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Senator Levin and I visited that region in Thanksgiving just a few months ago, and indeed he has earned it. He has committed his nation and the people of that country to help in this war effort. And without that help, it would have been extraordinary more difficult.

I commend the commander in chief, our president, in the way he has led and set the goals for our troops and our troops are slowly fulfilling them. But the president is right, we have a long way to go in this war, Wolf.

BLITZER: He will say that a lot of nations are really helping the United States. He will praise several countries that earlier had not necessarily been helpful, had been on the State Department's list of terrorist nations. He won't mention them specifically by name, but I'm told by a senior administration official he has Yemen in mind. Are you encouraged by what you see happening in Yemen?

WARNER: At this point in time it is a little early to make that judgment. But it's clear that these nations have seen a president determined, a military, ours and allies, that can deliver, and the success we have obtained to date I think has distinctly contributed to some of these nations rethinking their positions and saying, we better sign on in this war against terrorism.

BLITZER: The vice president was commenting yesterday about the U.S. ion, the Bush Administration's decision to reject in effect, Hamid Karzai's request that the U.S. directly participate in the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan. Listen to what vice president said.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are not advocating putting U.S. troops in as peace keepers as part of that international peacekeeping force. We can be available to come to their assistance should they get in trouble. We think one of keys here is to stand up an Afghan national army so, to reconstitute an army in Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You think that's the right course of action?

LEVIN: Not necessarily. I think reconstituting a national army is correct...

BLITZER: Training the army. LEVIN: Training the army, helping them to reconstitute their own army is the correct way to go, but it may be necessary, according to Mr. Karzai. that we do participate, along with a lot of other nations in this interim force. And if it's necessary for to us have some role in that force, I think we should consider it.

The vice president said we are not advocating it. Of course we are not advocating, the question is whether or not it may be essential for that international force to be successful to maintain the peace while the Afghans themselves are creating this national army. If it is essential for us to participate along with Britain and a lot of other countries, including a lot of Muslim countries, it seems to me we ought to do that.

BLITZER: What about that?

WARNER: Wolf, I think clearly we laid down, our president said, we are coming to help the anti-Taliban fighters. We did. They bore a great deal of the fighting and then we said, when are finished with that, it's time for us to leave and give you your nation back, and that we have done.

Carl Levin and I and some others met with the new premier. He was very impressive, I felt.

BLITZER: Hamid Karzai.

WARNER: Hamid Karzai, this morning. I think he understands fully that we have done what we committed to do and now we are going to follow through with some economic along with other areas of world to help.

BLITZER: Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the foreign minister of the interim Afghan government is making it clear that this is not a short term commitment the U.S. and other nations may be making. Listen to what he said earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, INTERIM AFGHAN FOREIGN MINISTER: With the right strategy it might take at least ten years, another ten years, the job of the reconstructing of Afghanistan where we would reach a stage where Afghanistan will be -- Afghanistan economy -- will be based on trade, rather than foreign aid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Are you ready for Congress to make a ten-year commitment to rebuild Afghanistan?

LEVIN: I think we have to recognize it is going to be a long- term commitment. They were abandoned once before and the price was paid by the world. We have been in Korea almost 50 years, we have been in Europe for a long time when the Soviet Union was a threat. And I think the world community is has a real stake here in stability in that area, and we ought to accept that role. BLITZER: Do you think your constituents in Virginia understand that?

WARNER: Very clearly. Yes, because they recognize that that was a breeding ground for many of the terrorists that attacked the United States on the 11th. It was a breeding ground for tens of thousands who have scattered throughout the world. We have no alternative, not only the United States, but the rest of the world to make sure that Afghanistan, with its long history, does not return to warring factions between themselves, thereby inviting other terrorists to come in.

BLITZER: We heard our correspondent John King report from the White House that amid the rubble of Afghanistan they did find diagrams showing the terrorists were looking at U.S. nuclear facilities. There might be some in Michigan, for all I know. The president will mention those diagrams tonight. Are you concerned about that?

LEVIN: Very much so. It seems to me this is the real threat. It is the terrorist threat. It is here domestically, and that is what we should focus on. This is a new world. We ought to change our own focus to address those new threats that are here domestically, the real threats and not the least likely threats.

That is going to be one of the issues that we will be debating, as to whether we will put our resources against the most likely threats, which are the terrorist threats, and the means of delivering those threats, which are the truck bombs and the planes and the ships and the suitcases, rather than what some of the focus has been in recent years.

BLITZER: He is referring specifically to missile defense. But Senator Warner, we are going to take a quick break. We are going to continue this. We have a lot more to you talk about. We are going to turn to some other issues. One word we will not here tonight from President Bush: Enron. We will talk about that as well. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We have some breaking news we want to report to our viewers. Iron Mike Tyson, the boxer, won't be boxing in Nevada after all. Only minutes ago the Nevada Athletic Commission voted to reject Tyson's application for a boxing license in the state. It's still possible, his fight against Lennox Lewis in April could be licensed in another state or another country. Once again, Nevada decides Mike Tyson will not get a license to box in Las Vegas in April. We will have more on this story as it continues to unfold.

Let's get back to our conversation on the president's State of the Union Address. That is coming up in less than two hours. Senator Warner, we were talking about homeland security, the threat to U.S. nuclear facilities. Do you believe homeland security director Governor Ridge has the authority to get the job done?

WARNER: Certain aspects of it. I don't suggest we pass a law to structure formally at this time. The president spoke with us on that and said give him a chance. But for example, I worked today on bringing a uniformed standard to all nuclear plants as to how they set up their deterrence first, and then intervention if necessary, against a nuclear attack.

Some states have laws, criminal laws that permit them to have stronger weapons. I think they should have any weapons available that are necessary to turn back a nuclear attack.

BLITZER: One word, Senator Levin, we won't hear from the president tonight is Enron. Your subcommittee is looking into this as are so many other subcommittees. What is the lesson that you learned right now, and are you implicating the White House in any of this?

LEVIN: All right. The focus of my permanent subcommittee on investigation is the members of the board, management of Enron, the auditors. We are looking at off-shore tax havens and entities that were used to hide the deficits and the debts of Enron. And those entities and the books, which were used to show revenues, which were not really there, so that is our focus. We are going to see whether it's wider spread than Enron, and whether or not we have simply got to tighten up our laws to prevent this kind of pillaging of a corporation for the advantage of a few people, and at the expense of retirees and at the expense of employees and stockholders.

BLITZER: When I was at the White House today, Senator Warner, it was made clear to me that the president and vice president are determined to go to court, if necessary, to prevent the Congress' General Accounting Office from getting documents that led up to the president's energy task force recommendations. Is this a show down that you -- that you are looking forward to?

WARNER: It's a show down to preserve the integrity of the executive branch and its ability to conduct business, both internally, among the appointees the president has, cabinet and others, as well as people coming to the White House to give the president their best advice. They have made that judgment call and they are going to fight it through.

BLITZER: What do think of that?

LEVIN: Yes. I would like to comment on that, it seems to me the principle here is an important one. We have got three branches of government, the legislative branch has a responsibility to oversee the executive branch. And here, where there is specific people who are impacting energy policy, our General Accounting Office, a non-partisan office, headed by a person appointed by then-Republican majority leader of the Senate, Trent Lott is saying Congress must have access to this very limited number of documents to carry out its oversight function. And it seems to me the president and the vice president are making a mistake in denying that access. It has nothing to do with conversations in the Oval Office --

BLITZER: But don't they have right to have unvarnished advice from their advisers?

LEVIN: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Isn't that a principle that every White House will stand up for, and if this president is standing up for future presidents, down the road?

LEVIN: And actually the Clinton White House turned over the documents, which were involved in the recommendations relative to health care, because the public wanted to know who is having an impact on health care policy. Who?

BLITZER: Right.

LEVIN: These are not conversations in the Oval Office.

BLITZER: We only have --

WARNER: But there was federal statute, Carl. If you make an exception here, where do you stop the next time, and the next time? Actually, why shouldn't the Congress be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. When does it stop?

LEVIN: We have a federal statute.

BLITZER: We are going to leave it right there, senators. We can't resolve this issue, and I'm sure it will be going to court. Thanks so much for joining us, both Senator Levin, Senator Warner.

And coming up, What is causing new concerns for the attorney general? We'll be back in just a moment with a quick check of the top stories. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's a quick look at this hour's news alert: President Bush has been putting the final touches on his State of the Union speech, which he'll deliver in about an hour and a half. It's expected to focus on the war on terrorism, homeland security and the economy. CNN's live preview begins 30 minutes from now.

The attorney general, John Ashcroft is asking for 50-75 more law enforcement officers to be added to the Winter Olympics sports, to plug gaps in the security system. The winter games open in less than two weeks.

On another matter, the Justice Department said today that doctors removed two lesions from Ashcroft's ear and chest last Friday. That's when reporters initially noticed a bandage on his ear, both skin lesions were determined to be benign.

And Mike Tyson won't be boxing in Nevada. Just moments ago, the Nevada athletic commission voted to reject Tyson's application for a boxing license in the state. It is possible his fight with Lennox Lewis, scheduled for April, could be licensed in another state or another country.

And that's all the time we have tonight. Please join me again tomorrow, twice at both 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

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