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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
CIA in Congressional Hot Seat; Hope Renewed Over Fate of Daniel Pearl
Aired February 06, 2002 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Now on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, the CIA in the Congressional hot seat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What went wrong?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The intelligence chief warns, it's not over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: We assessed that al Qaeda and other terrorist groups will continue to plan to attack this country and its interests abroad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: What's next? I'll ask the CIA's former point man for Afghanistan.
Renewed hopes that kidnapped journalist Daniel Pearl will be found and freed. Dashed hopes of pretrial freedom for Taliban- American John Walker Lindh.
A 91st birthday, and a 50th anniversary. I'll ask Michael Reagan about his father's presidential legacy, and we'll go to London for a salute to the queen.
And from the ruins of Ground Zero to the Olympics in Salt Lake City, a tattered flag finds a place of honor.
Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. For the first time since the September 11th attacks, we heard publicly today from the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and that tops our news alert.
George Tenet minced no words warning the Senate intelligence committee that the al Qaeda terrorist network is still a serious threat to the United States. The CIA chief also said the United States-led war on terror has resulted in the arrests of almost a thousand al Qaeda agents in more than 60 countries. We'll have more on the story in a moment. No bail for the Taliban-American fighter John Walker Lindh. A federal judge today agreed with prosecutors, who described Walker Lindh as a committed terrorist. Defense lawyers asked that Walker Lindh be released pending his trial, on charges of conspiring to kill Americans.
The United States has released 27 prisoners rounded up in a raid last month north of Kandahar. Officials concluded they were not Taliban or al Qaeda members. Fifteen people were killed in the operation. Local Afghans said the target did not contain enemy forces.
The Transportation Department is cutting ties with one of the nation's largest airport screening firms. Argenbright Security has admitted putting felons in security positions, and investigators say it's used untrained personnel.
In northern Afghanistan, some 20 vehicles have been buried in an avalanche near the Salaan Tunnel. It happened about a quarter mile from the southern entrance to the tunnel. Officials do not know where the vehicles are from. U.S. military officials say bad weather is hampering rescue efforts.
More now on the Capitol Hill fireworks that occurred today between the CIA director, George Tenet, and members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Tenet faced blunt questions on the September terror attacks, and he warned that the United States still faces a serious threat from Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. Our national security correspondent David Ensor now with details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the first time the nation's intelligence chief has had to answer questions in public since the attack September 11th, and some of the questioning was tough.
SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R), ALABAMA: All of us, I think, owe the American people an explanation as to why our intelligence community failed to provide adequate warning of such a terrorist attack on our soil.
TENET: When people use the word failure, failure means no focus, not attention, no discipline, and those were not present in what either we or the FBI did, here and around the world. And we'll continue to work at it.
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), KANSAS: What fellows at the Dodge City (UNINTELLIGIBLE) asked me is, if John Walker Lindh could get to talk to Osama bin Laden, why in the heck couldn't the CIA get an agent closer to him?
TENET: Well, I'm not going to do this in open session, but you better tell everybody at the cafe it's not true.
ENSOR: By which Tenet meant, his aides say, that to suggest the CIA has not penetrated al Qaeda is not correct. Officials would not elaborate.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), NORTH CAROLINA: Is bin Laden still alive?
TENET: Don't know, sir.
EDWARDS: When is the last time we had information indicating he was still alive?
TENET: I'd be happy to talk about all of this in closed session.
EDWARDS: Same question about Omar.
TENET: Oh, I believe he's alive, sir.
ENSOR: Tenet strongly defended the work of the CIA and U.S. intelligence before and since the attack September 11th, saying when it comes to stopping terrorist plots -- quote -- "you are not going to ever be 100 percent," warning Americans to expect more.
TENET: We know they'll continue to plan. We know that they will hurt us again. We have to minimize their ability to do so, because there's no perfection in this business.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: One of the more interesting parts of the discussion with the Senate may actually be going on -- may have gone on this afternoon behind closed doors in the off-the-record secret session. The senators, among other things, wanted to ask Mr. Tenet about the budget increase that the president has put in, which apparently is for covert and clandestine activities -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And there were some fascinating details he provided on the situation in Pakistan and India and Iraq. Pick through those briefly, and let us know what's going on on that front, David.
ENSOR: Well, first, in India and Pakistan, the CIA director said that we are now at a point that is the most dangerous between two nuclear states in 30 years, in his opinion. On Iran, he said that both China and Russia have been continuing to supply missile and weapons technologies to Iran and other unreliable states, despite U.S. efforts to convince them that it's not in their interest to do so.
And on Iraq, he said that he would not be surprised to see some cooperation between Iraq and al Qaeda, despite their obviously different ideologies -- Wolf.
BLITZER: David Ensor, thank you very much for that report. And joining us now with some insight into the CIA's role in the war on terrorism is Milt Bearden. He's a former CIA official and he was the point man in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion there. He is also the author of the book, "The Black Tulip."
Milt, thanks for joining us. You heard the CIA director walk away from the suggestion that there was a failure that the intelligence community had in not anticipating what happened on September 11th. Was there a failure?
MILT BEARDEN, AUTHOR, "THE BLACK TULIP": Well, it depends on how you want to come at this. If you want to say, did September 11th happen? Of course it happened. And those that were charged with preventing it from happening failed. But I think the DCI was trying to make a statement that we're going to have to start to live with, and that's to the effect that if you can stop 85, 90 percent of these things, you're still going to have something slip through. And September 11th was.
On the larger scale, it was not a failure of the CIA, FBI INS, FAA. It was a failure of the entire world club of intelligence and security services. Nobody got it. Nobody picked up a phone and said, hey, we're getting something.
BLITZER: And just for our viewers to note, DCI is the Director of Central Intelligence. The whole -- but it's pretty embarrassing for a director of Central Intelligence to have to say in open session like this, he doesn't know whether Osama bin Laden is even alive or dead.
BEARDEN: You're only going to be able to say he's alive or dead when you hear somebody talking about his death that you believe, or he's alive when you start to see him up on the air. That's the problem with bin Laden. He's either some DNA smeared along a valley in eastern Afghanistan, or he's gone to ground. Either way, I think he's, as a person, as an individual, as a face, he's neutralized.
BLITZER: And I want the to show our viewers all the places he technically could be. We'll put a map up. And if you look at Kabul, of course, and Kandahar in Afghanistan. But look at all these countries that have very porous borders, with Iran, there's Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan -- so many places he could go. And he could also, obviously, still be in Afghanistan.
But you know Afghanistan. You've been in Afghanistan. You spent years working there behind the scene. Is there a place, realistically, where he could be hiding out and we wouldn't know about it?
BEARDEN: In Afghanistan, as long as he's willing to keep his head down and not go up on the air and not get on the radio, not to get on a cell phone, not to get on a satellite phone, and not to be seen, then he can hide there. It's impossible to seal Afghanistan.
The Soviet Union sent in 120,000 troops, and couldn't seal the border. We had 300, 400 different ways of getting supplies in to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, and the Soviets couldn't stop it. We've got, what, 4- or 5,000 pairs of boots on the ground. We're not going to stop that. In and along -- in Afghanistan, or around it.
BLITZER: But if he were dead, Osama bin Laden, presumably relatives would know about it, somebody would know about it, his former allies would know about it. So you have to work under the assumption he's still alive. BEARDEN: I think so. I think that's why George Tenet said, "I don't know." He hasn't any proof that he's dead, which is probably greater proof, in this unique instance, that the man is probably alive.
BLITZER: And the suggestion that President Musharraf suggested -- he believes he might be dead from kidney failure. How does that ring with you?
BEARDEN: Why not? That's another possibility, but maybe the president of Pakistan was saying perhaps we're ready to move into a new phase here.
BLITZER: And presumably, your former colleagues over at the CIA have learned some of those lessons, and they're on top of the situation right now.
BEARDEN: I think they are as much on top of a situation as you can get.
BLITZER: All right, Milt Bearden, thanks so much for joining us.
And now to homeland security, and the setback for one of the nation's largest airport screening firms. CNN's Jeanne Meserve joins us now with the latest on the government's action on security -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the big players in airport security has gotten a slap from Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta. But the impact on security and on the firm may be nominal.
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(voice-over): Argenbright employs 40 percent of the aviation screeners in the country, and has been smack in the middle of the debate over airport security. It has admitted putting felons in security positions. Investigators say it has used untrained personnel.
In November, Argenbright employees cleared a man through security in Chicago, even though he was carrying seven knives, a stun gun, and a bottle labeled tear gas. And just last week at San Francisco's airport, thousands had to be rescreened because an Argenbright employee let a man with what appeared to be explosive residue on his shoes slip away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, look, Argenbright is the Enron of airline security. They have failed us at every turn.
MESERVE: Now the Department of Transportation says it will no longer do business with the company. In the words of a department spokesman, let there be no ambiguity, they are finished with the federal government. Despite the dramatic statement, Argenbright will still do screening at 15 airports for several months. Congress mandated that the federal government take over airport security. But it doesn't have enough screeners hired and trained. So in the short-term, the government will rely on private security firms. But at 15 airports, including Washington-Dulles, Denver and Orlando, there is no security firm but Argenbright.
Because the DOT is now refusing to work with the company, Argenbright will contract with the airlines, not the government.
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MESERVE: As for the impact on business, Argenbright claims it will be minor, because it's known for months that it was going to be phased out of airport security eventually. And as for the impact on security needs, the Argenbright, DOT, the airlines, nor the Air Travelers Association, thinks it will be significant.
The Department of Transportation, Wolf, does say that it is going to put a priority on replacing the Argenbright screeners with federal screeners at those 15 airports I mentioned. Back to you.
BLITZER: Well, Jeanne, if security was not an issue, why did the Department of Transportation basically do it?
MESERVE: well, some people are interpreting this as a slap at Argenbright management. As my report indicated, they've been a chronic problem in the security arena, and the Department of Transportation may have wanted to deliver a message to them, in the view of some. But interestingly, the employees won't be very much affected. They'll stay on the job for now in many airports. And they are eligible to apply to be federal airport screeners -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve, thank you very much.
The president, meanwhile, is focusing on those who are the first to respond in a disaster. He's in New York City to salute firefighters, police officers and other rescue teams, and to talk homeland security. Our White House correspondent Kelly Wallace is traveling with the president. She joins us now live from New York -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Wolf. Well, the president coming here to try to build support for his budget, but also finding that he has to try and put to rest a controversy that started earlier in the week, when his budget director, Mitch Daniels, in response to some concerns from New York lawmakers about whether the administration would provide $20 billion to help New York City rebuild -- Mr. Daniels saying -- quote -- "it seems strange to me to treat this as a money-grubbing game."
Daniels' apologized yesterday and tried to set the record straight. Clearly, though, Mr. Bush using his visit to New York to get this message out to the New York City people. Mr. Bush saying he's going to keep his word.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want you to know something. When I say I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it. I told the people in New York that we will work to provide at least $20 billion to help New York rebuild herself. And that includes money apart from the victims' compensation fund. And when I say 20, I mean 20.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: So Mr. Bush hoping to put any question to rest. The president, though, really, his main focus to salute the firefighters, the rescue workers, the police officers, the first responders, according to the administration. The first to respond to the terrorist attack on September 11th, and the first to respond if there is another terrorist attack. Mr. Bush saying his budget will include $3.5 billion for first responders, to pay for equipment and training. The president saying that is a 1,000 percent increase over the 2002 budget.
And then, Wolf, the president sort of putting on his fund-raiser in chief cap. Just a few minutes from now, he will headlining one of two fund raisers tonight, for New York Governor George Pataki, who is running for re-election this year. It's expected to bring in close to $2 millions. Aides say Mr. Bush will be participating in dozens of fund-raisers for Republican candidates between now and November -- Wolf.
BLITZER: OK, Kelly Wallace in New York, thanks for that report.
Meanwhile, back here in the Washington, D.C. area, the American captured while fighting with the Taliban remains behind bars. To fill us in on the latest on John Walker Lindh's failed attempt to be set free, we turn to CNN national correspondent, Susan Candiotti -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf. A committed terrorist, or a young man who had no intention of harming Americans? Two different pictures of John Walker Lindh. Today a magistrate ruled the fighter should remain behind bars while the government and defense prepare for trial.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): In refusing to set John Walker Lindh free, a federal magistrate came down hard, saying any suggestion the fighter is a loyal American is contradicted by the evidence. Part of that evidence includes newly-revealed e-mails, allegedly sent by the 20- year-old California from overseas, to his parents back home.
In one, dated February 2000, he encourages his mother to move to England, adding: "I really don't know what your big attachment to America is all about. What has America done for anybody?" In December of that year, he refers to the election of George W. Bush as, "your new president" and adds -- quote -- "I'm glad he's not mine."
In another e-mail dated last February, he considers settling in Yemen and says, "I really don't want to see America again." Months later, the U.S. government argues, Walker met with bin Laden, received al Qaeda terrorist training, and swore allegiance to Jihad after learning Bin Laden sent 50 people on suicide missions against the U.S. and Israel.
The defense tried to downplay the government's growing case, calling it overkill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In my view, they have brought out the cannon to shoot the mouse.
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: The American people can be confident that Walker Lindh will receive every protection under the Constitution in our courtrooms, and that justice will be served.
CANDIOTTI: In court, Walker Lindh's lawyers argued, he never fought with al Qaeda, never had anything to do with terrorist activity. That he was only fighting against the Northern Alliance, not the United States. In court documents, the government revealed part of what Walker Lindh allegedly told military interrogators.
He wanted to be a martyr. When questioned about the attack on the USS Cole, and September 11th, his alleged response: "Incidents like these happen in war." The defense will try to get all of Walker Lindh's statements to investigators thrown out, saving that battle for another day.
JAMES BROSNAHAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Maybe this is the year of the under dog. Maybe this is the year where all the commentators and everybody have to wait and see what happens in the court.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (on camera): A prosecutor put it this way: John Walker Lindh walked the walk and talked the talk of the of a committed terrorist -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Susan Candiotti, thank you very much. And for some legal perspective now on this case, we're joined by the former Justice Department official, Victoria Toensing. Once again, thank you very much for joining us. The point that the defense attorney representing John Walker Lindh, he said this was like a cannon shooting at a mouse. When all is said and down, John Walker Lindh was small potatoes in the big al Qaeda picture.
VICTORIA TOENSING, FMR. JUSTICE DEPT. OFFICIAL: Well, he may have been, but I think it's a very important case for the United States.
BLITZER: Why?
TOENSING: Because United States -- everybody talks about it. This is the first time we've ever had a United States citizen really go off and join another army, and go against his own country. But I think Brosnahan is making a mistake by going out there.
BLITZER: He's the lawyer for John Walker. TOENSING: Who you just saw, saying, you know, bringing in a cannon for a mouse. Of course, yesterday, it was the case is weak. Today, it's the bringing in a cannon to shoot the mouse. I think he's making a mistake. He also had another press conference about a week ago, where he had Walker Lindh's father say, "Johnny loves America."
And then, here come these e-mails out today that Susan Candiotti recited. I mean, they're devastating. The e-mails to his mother, e- mails to his father. E-mails that show, clearly, he does not love America. And so judges watch these press conferences, and you begin to lose your creditability when you do that.
BLITZER: But if you're the defense attorney, it's not illegal to say, "I don't love America," as far as I can tell. You can not love America. That doesn't necessarily justify you going to jail.
TOENSING: You're absolutely right. And it's not bad to say, "I don't like John Smith." But when you have evidence that you might have murdered John Smith, and now there's extra evidence that you've said how you hate John Smith, and you don't -- and you'd like to see John Smith dead, then that becomes devastating evidence. It's like one and one are added, and they come out to five.
BLITZER: But his lawyers make the point that there's no evidence that he actually wanted to murder any Americans, kill any Americans, that he joined this group when they were fighting the Northern Alliance, the rebels in Afghanistan -- the U.S. was not even involved.
TOENSING: Well, two things. First of all, by his own statements, Walker Lindh said that he knew that the United States was going to come and fight, because they were going to look for bin Laden after September 11th. So he told about his knowledge, not only before September 11th, not the specific date, that something was going to happen, but his knowledge that it happened afterwards. So he gave knowledge.
But even within that, the charge is conspiracy. Not killing an American, but a conspiracy to kill an American.
BLITZER: Isn't that pretty hard to prove?
TOENSING: Well, it really isn't, when you have this kind of evidence. A conspiracy is a mere agreement. And so, I used it all the time in cases. It's an agreement to do something. And when you see this solid evidence, that he was marching with the enemy, carrying a grenade, carrying a gun --if it walks like a duck, it talks like a duck, if it's walking with the enemy, there it is, a conspiracy.
BLITZER: But you know his defense attorneys are going to try to throw out all of his comments to the FBI, to anyone else, and say he was coerced, he was in pain, he was taking morphine. He didn't know what he was saying.
TOENSING: You know what, Wolf? We've still got that CNN statement, and they're not going to get that out, because it has to be government interference. Plus, they have e-mails, plus, they have the tape of him saying nothing when he was being asked if he would cooperate.
BLITZER: All right. Stand by. We're going to bring you back. We have some more legal issues to talk about. We have another legal case, in fact, involving DNA evidence. Is DNA evidence 100 percent trustworthy? One prosecutor says he'll trust his gut rather than DNA, when it comes to the case of rape.
Also, just ahead, who kidnapped Danny Pearl? The notorious past of the alleged mastermind.
And at the half-hour...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL REAGAN, RONALD REAGAN'S SON: It's not a day where he goes out and plays golf. It's a day where every day gets a little shorter for him, and every day the world gets a little smaller for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Hear from Michael Reagan on his father's 91st birthday. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Attorneys working to free a Pennsylvania man imprisoned on a rape charge say new DNA tests prove he's innocent. But the prosecutor isn't so sure. Bruce Godschalk was jailed after he was convicted of raping two women more than 15 years ago. The new tests show his DNA does not match a sample from the crime scene. Despite the results, the district attorney says he will not release him. Among his reasons, a taped confession.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE CASTOR, DISTRICT ATTORNEY:: I asked them to give me some reason to believe that the confession was not valid. I suggested that he take a polygraph, and if he passed the polygraph, then I would agree to allow the testimony. And he refused to do that, and they sued us. We defended on grounds that there was no reason to believe that the conviction was improper.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Attorneys with the Innocence Project are working to try to free Godschalk. The group has helped at least 100 prisoners win their freedom using DNA evidence. But what about that DNA evidence? Is it fool-proof? Is the district attorney in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, wrong? Let's check back with Victoria Toensing, a former Justice Department official.
You've been studying this case. What do you make of it?
TOENSING: Well, DNA is very solid evidence. Can something go wrong? Sometimes in the collection. But absolutely it is powerful evidence. And I can tell you this, Wolf, it trumps a polygraph any day of the week. Because polygraphs can really get screwed up, depending on who is giving it.
BLITZER: The district attorney says his detectives have a taped confession from this man 15 years ago.
TOENSING: DNA trumps the taped confession, too. I mean, this prosecutor sounds goofy. If he's elected, he ought to be recalled. If he's appointed, he ought to be removed. The prosecutor's duty is to find the truth. And once you find that, then you must take action for justice.
BLITZER: Tell our viewers, who may be confused, why DNA evidence would trump a taped confession, the actual words uttered by the suspect.
TOENSING: I came out for DNA evidence in the O.J. Simpson case. I always thought it showed that he was guilty. DNA is -- the way the test is conducted, and I'm not an expert, but in layperson's term, they can take it down just like the fingerprint and say, maybe there might be one other person in this whole world ever since the world started, that has the same DNA, but no more than that. And that's exactly how powerful it is.
So if it's collected properly, and it's not contaminated in any way -- and these are good labs they tested in for the prosecution and defense -- if there's no problem of that, then this evidence is absolutely something that a prosecutor ought to release the man.
BLITZER: So a detective could coerce a taped confession? Is that the implication here?
TOENSING: Yes, it happens. And it's too bad, the taping of the confession didn't start until the exact confession began. So we don't know what happened in the two or three hours prior to that. I think all police forces should tape all the discussions with the person, to show that everything was kosher.
BLITZER: Not just audio, but video as well.
TOENSING: Absolutely. Yes, both. Some of them can't afford it, but I mean, they should have on record. If they're going to have this confession on record, then they ought to have the whole kit and caboodle on the same record.
BLITZER: So, bottom line, what's going to happen to this man who spent the last 15 years in jail, for a crime he may not have...
TOENSING: Well, I predict you can come back and tell your audience that he will have been released at some point.
BLITZER: And he won't be the first person in jail released. One hundred other convictions have been overturned because of DNA.
TOENSING: Good project.
BLITZER: All right. Vicki Toensing, thank you very much for your advice. Appreciate it.
The Bush administration, meanwhile, is pressing Congress to overhaul the nation's pension loss in the wake of the Enron collapse. The energy giant's troubles are the focus of three hearings on Capitol Hill today. The Labor Secretary, Elaine Chao, appeared this morning before the House Education and Workforce Committee. Chao told the panel the administration's plans would give workers more flexibility to diversify their retirement funds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELAINE CHAO, LABOR SECRETARY: We believe that one important way to reduce these risks is to give workers even more freedom, not less, more choice, not less. That is why the president's plan will give workers a right that the employees of Enron did not have, and that is the right to sell company stock contributed by an employer to their 401(K) after a three-year period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Thousands of Enron workers lost their retirement savings because they had invested heavily in the Enron stock before it plummeted in value.
Now checking these stories on today's "Newswire." Irish authorities are looking into what may be one of the biggest bank fraud cases in years. A foreign exchange trader at the Baltimore-based U.S. subsidiary of Allied Irish Bank is suspected of stealing $750 million. The traitor, identified as John Rusnak, disappeared over the weekend. The FBI is taking part in the investigation.
Reports of a gunman in the area led authorities in Hartford, Connecticut, to evacuate a legislative office building and lock down the Capitol several hours ago. Extra police were brought to the area to search for the suspect.
Parents of a missing California girl are asking people to keep a lookout for their daughter. Seven-year-old Danielle Van Dam disappeared from her home in San Diego last weekend. Police are treating the case as a kidnaping. They say they're certain the child isn't in the area anymore, and they've stopped searching the neighborhood.
You can hear more of what the girl's parents have to say on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight, 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.
More than half of all Americans are plugged into the Internet; 54 percent of us logged on when surveyed in September, up from 33 percent just three years ago. And 90 percent of children are now using computers.
And I have a suggestion on how to use the Internet. You can go to my Web page, CNN.com/Wolf. On the left side, under "Contact Us," hit the "Click Here" to send me your comments. I want to hear from you. We'll get as many of those comments answered as possible each day. Also, you can read my daily online column at CNN.com/Wolf. Today's topic: bioterrorism.
It is Ronald Reagan's 91st birthday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL REAGAN, SON OF RONALD REAGAN: Today he's not even aware he's the oldest living president of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The president's son Michael tells us candidly about his son's (sic) condition and his legacy. That's next here.
Also, 50 years of reign for Britain's Queen Elizabeth -- we're live from London with the royal watch.
And yet another fight for a flag that has already endured one battle.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
In a moment, we will talk with Michael Reagan on his way to visit his father on the former president's 91st birthday. And we will be live from London on the 50th anniversary of the queen's ascension.
First this "News Alert": President Bush is in New York seeking support for his plan to boost homeland security. In a salute to firefighters and police, he said they need and deserve more money.
A federal judge has refused to set any amount for the release of John Walker Lindh. He has ordered the American captured among the Taliban to remain in jail pending trial. The 20-year-old faces arraignment Monday on charges he was a terrorist trained by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
In Afghanistan, the U.S. military has concluded 27 detainees do not -- repeat do not -- belong to the al Qaeda or the Taliban. All have been released a month after being captured in a special forces raid near Kandahar. Villagers have said all along the U.S. made a mistake.
Ronald Reagan, the longest living U.S. president, is 91 years old today. But it's a birthday more poignant than happy. He suffers from Alzheimer's disease and makes no longer any public appearances. But the honors continue to come in.
In Washington, President Bush signed legislation making Reagan's childhood home in Dixon, Illinois a federal historic site. And at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, there were cards, cakes and a tree-planting ceremony.
There were others. His son Michael talked about one of them in my conversation with him just a short while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Michael Reagan, thanks so very much for joining us. Happy birthday to your father. I know you're getting ready to go see him. Pass along our best birthday wishes to him.
First of all, how is he doing?
REAGAN: As well as could be expected, Wolf.
It would be nice have a birthday that was happier, but it's a disease where today he is not even aware he is the oldest living president of the United States of America. Here in Los Angeles, they have named it Ronald Reagan Day, and just things that he is not able to really partake of. We as a family, of course, feel proud. It's just sad that he is not able to be able to really understand how people feel about him and how much they love him.
BLITZER: Describe for us, Michael, a typical day in your dad's life nowadays.
REAGAN: A typical day is, he sleeps very late. And sometimes I'm lucky enough to be able to catch the moments when he is awake so I can visit. Other times, I just am not able to see him. So Nancy and I will speak. It's just not a good day. Some days are better. He sleeps a long time. He has nurses and people up there able to help Nancy get through the day.
But it's not a day where he goes out and plays golf. It's a day where every day gets a little shorter for him. And every day the world gets a little smaller for him. And he is 91 years old. So he is also having to handle that at the same time.
BLITZER: What about the recovery from the hip surgery? How is he doing on that front?
REAGAN: Well, the recovery from hip surgery is all right. But, again, he is not able to really -- he is not able to get up and really walk and get around like you would think he would be able to get around.
So, even though the hip is fine and the pain is gone, there is the other problems that you deal with that your body just slowly shuts itself down and forgets to wake itself up so the rest of your body can get moving. So one side, it's good. On the other side, is it really usable?
BLITZER: And what about Nancy, how is she coping with all of this?
REAGAN: Well, what is sad is the fact that they have so many memories, but they are not able to really discuss the memories and able to talk about the things they really were able to do. It's just really a one-way conversation anymore with my dad. And Nancy spends the days up there. And she is able to talk to her friends on the phone. She spends a lot of time on the phone with her friends.
Patty has taken over where Maureen left off. So Patty is up there quite a bit. And the relationship between her and her mom, that's what I'm probably most proud of, is the fact they are now able to talk, get along. And Patty is able to fill a void that Maureen left.
BLITZER: And that void is obviously very -- a big void.
How are they doing without Maureen, your sister, who of course died not that long ago?
REAGAN: All of us -- it's a big void in all of our lives.
Every once in a while, I will see a tape of her in it, or I'll be going through a family album and see pictures of Maureen and say, Gosh, you know, just where is she?
And I, now being the oldest member of the family, there's times where I look you up to the sky, I look up to God and say: "Maureen, if you're there, what decisions do I make? Where do I go? What do I do?" Because she was the eldest member of the family, so she really was the spokesman for so many years.
And so now, all of the sudden, I am the eldest member of the family. So I really still look to her for some guidance and pray about it on occasions. And, hopefully, I make the right decisions, and when I get to join her, she doesn't yell at me.
BLITZER: Your father's legacy, obviously, is still being felt. He spoke of an evil empire, referring to the former Soviet Union. Today, we are hearing President Bush speaking about an axis of evil. How does that make you feel when all these comparisons are made?
REAGAN: Well, interestingly enough, during the campaign of G.W. Bush, I said to my listeners on the radio show -- they asked me, what do you think of G.W.? I said, well, I know G.W. And I will tell you, you will find out that he is more like Ronald Reagan in the way that he is going to be president than he will be like his father, George Bush the Sr.
And I think that has proven out to be absolutely right. He is more like my father. He calls a spade a spade. Ronald Reagan, when he made the evil empire speech, everybody went nuts. They said, how can you say that? Everybody knew it was true, but nobody had ever said it.
And everybody knows that North Korea and Iraq and Iran are really evil. This president said it. I was having breakfast with a friend of mine this morning. And I asked her -- I said: "I will give you 30 minutes. Tell me something good about North Korea, Iran and Iraq." Thirty minutes later, she is still looking for something to say that is really good about those countries and the people that control those countries. And they are evil.
And if the people within those countries can hear our president speak like that, maybe somebody within those countries -- like what is happening in Iran today -- the fact that somebody in those countries will say: We need to oust the leadership and have a democratically controlled or at least elected congress and president the United States of America has, and maybe we will be better off for it.
BLITZER: Michael Reagan, thanks for joining us. Please give our best birthday wishes to your dad and Nancy Reagan and wish them only the best.
REAGAN: Wolf, thank you very much. You take care.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And please join me for more on Ronald Reagan's legacy. I will speak to his former secretary of state, George Shultz, on a special edition of "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS." That's at 7:00 Eastern, 4:00 Pacific. Ed Rollins, his former political director, will also join me live.
And it's a golden day in Britain. And we are not talking about the weather. Queen Elizabeth II is marking her 50th year on the throne.
To London now, where CNN's Richard Quest is keeping up with all of the day's events.
What is going on over there, Richard?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening to you, Wolf.
Yes, you're quite right, not a golden day when it comes to weather. It's downright cold here outside Buckingham Palace -- the Victoria Memorial just behind me here in the center of London.
Fifty years ago today, King George VI passed away peacefully in the middle of the night from complications from his treatment for cancer. The young Princess Elizabeth, who was just 25, wasn't even in the country at the time. She was in Kenya, actually on safari, at Treetops, one of the famous safari places.
And it was there that her husband, Prince Philip, heard on the radio that the king was dead. It is a case, you know, the king is dead; long live the queen. And so it was that the young princess flew back the next day to become queen of England. And, for the next 50 years, it's been Queen Elizabeth who has been head of the royal household, the House of Windsor here in Britain.
The day has been spent quietly for the queen, but there has been a break in tradition. Normally, Her Majesty would spend it at her country home in Sandringham. There's a memorial service in the room where the king passed away. This year, though, perhaps remembering of what her father passed away, she visited a cancer treatment center locally in Norfolk, where Sandringham is. She went to see cancer sufferers and to receive their congratulations on 50 years on the throne. The House of Windsor, Wolf, is very different from what she inherited 50 years ago. Then it was a time of great deference. Shops closed when the king died. Men walked around with black armbands, in mourning. Now, of course, most of the palace and most of the royal family has to put up with their family scandals across the nation's newspapers -- Wolf.
BLITZER: ... love been reading about scandals in those newspapers.
Richard Quest, thanks so much for that report.
And this programming note: Join Richard tonight "LIVE FROM BUCKINGHAM PALACE," 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific. I'm already excited. I can't wait to see it.
Still to come, the continuing search for a kidnapped reporter: We will go to Pakistan for the latest in the hunt for Danny Pearl and his kidnappers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
It's been two weeks since "Wall Street Journal" reporter Danny Pearl disappeared in Pakistan.
CNN's Ben Wedeman has the latest now from Karachi on the search for Pearl and his kidnappers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pakistani police have identified but not apprehended a man described as the ringleader behind the kidnappers holding "Wall Street Journal" reporter Danny Pearl. The ringleader, sources say, is Sheik Omar Saeed, a Pakistani militant who, until 31 December, 1999, was held by Indian authorities, accused of terrorism in the disputed territory of Kashmir.
India released Saeed as part of a deal to end the hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight which was diverted to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Saeed is closely linked to two hard-line Islamic groups in Pakistan: Harkat ul-Mujahedeen and Jaish-e-Mohammed, both of whom have close ties with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
The key to identifying Saeed was the arrest Tuesday of three men near Karachi. One of them had a computer on which were found two of the e-mails sent by the kidnappers with photographs of Pearl. Those e-mails were specifically from Sheik Omar Saeed. Sources close to the investigation say one of the three men is being very cooperative and it was he who pointed the finger at Sheik Omar Saeed, a step in the direction of identifying the group holding Daniel Pearl, but still not that crucial breakthrough needed to free him.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Karachi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Friday night, America welcomes the world to the Winter Olympics. The torch is nearing Salt Lake City -- a compromise on a flap over a very special American flag that is headed there, too. And we will talk live with the head of next Olympics, the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The Olympic torch is on its final leg to the site of the Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Entertainer Donny Osmond ran the torch during a stretch through his hometown of American Fork this morning. It looked like he was walking, too.
Two days before the Winter Games open, a compromise resolved a dispute over protocol and patriotism. Organizers now say the tattered American flag found in the ruins of the World Trade Center will be carried at Friday's opening ceremony, but not as part of the main procession. It will also fly in the Olympic Stadium for the duration of the Games. Initially, the International Olympic Committee said American athletes could not carry the flag because it would seem to be too political.
When it comes to security, Salt Lake City is taking absolutely no chances. More than 15,000 law enforcement and military personnel will be on hand during the competition. But, as Mitt Romney, the head of the city's Organizing Committee, told me earlier in the week -- quote -- "There are no guarantees in the world of counterterrorism."
Joining us now to talk about protecting the Olympics from terrorists is Gianna Angelopoulos. She is head of the Organizing Committee for Athens, Greece. That, of course, is the site of the 2004 Summer Games.
Gianna, thanks for joining us.
And those Games don't seem like they are all that far away. How worried are you about security in Athens?
GIANNA ANGELOPOULOS, PRESIDENT, ATHENS 2004: You know, Wolf, security is a top priority for every country around the world right now, especially after September. So, for us, it's normal to be our top priority as well.
BLITZER: But, as you know, there's been a lot of reports over the past few years of terrorist operations in Greece itself. And some U.S. officials are concerned. How concerned should they be?
ANGELOPOULOS: We are all concerned, because what we want is to offer the world a secure, a safe Games, where people, they can enjoy sports and unity and peace and friendship in Athens. And this will happen in 2004.
BLITZER: Are you looking in Salt Lake City now for some specific recommendations, some experiences that they may have that you can use in Athens? ANGELOPOULOS: Of course we are here to listen, to learn. We see a great deal of improvement here. And of course we have with us two teams, around 60 people, the observers and the people that they work with, with the Organizing Committee of Salt Lake City, of course, plus around 30 security officials, that they are here, again, to listen, to observe and to learn.
BLITZER: Are people already starting to make plans, tourists, to come to Athens? Or is too early 2 1/2 years or so from the Games?
ANGELOPOULOS: You know, there is great excitement about the Athens Games, because it's a homecoming. The Games, they come back to their birthplace -- they were born in ancient Olympia -- and where they were revived, in Athens in 1896. So it's a great deal of enthusiasm within the country, but also around the world.
BLITZER: As people look to Greece for these Games -- and, as you say, that's the birthplace of these Olympic Games -- when they go there, will all the events be in Athens or will they be spread out on several different islands?
ANGELOPOULOS: No, as you know, the IOC has put it standard. And the specifications are that the Games, they have to organized from a city. So the city is Athens. But we have also another four cities around the country where we will have the preliminary, the futbol games. So it will be a takeover of the country.
And everybody is excited to participate in this unique experience, to show the world that Greece is not just history and culture, not only the birthplace of the Olympics, but it can be a new, a modern country that can organize Games with a technical excellence.
BLITZER: OK, Gianna Angelopoulos, thank you so much for that -- looking forward to going to Athens myself, hopefully, two years from now.
ANGELOPOULOS: Thank you. We will wait for you. Thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you. I will look forward to it. Thank you very much.
Let's go to New York now. It's not Athens, but it's New York. And we will get a preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE," which begins at the top of the hour -- Lou.
LOU DOBBS, "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE": We are a little provincial up here. We think even better. Thanks very much, Wolf.
Coming up at the top of the hour, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas will be here to talk about the death of the economic stimulus legislation and what it could mean for American workers -- and James Copeland, the chairman of accounting firm Deloitte & Touche on his company's decision to get out of the consulting business. Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers will be here to talk about his company's improving prospects -- and a special report on the nuclear power industry, plant safety. Insiders say those plants are anything but safe from a terrorist attack. We will have special report for you -- all of that, a lot more at the top of the hour.
Please join us -- Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much. And let me be clear. I love New York as much as you do.
The mint juleps are on ice as the South gets a blast of winter. We will tell you how Dixie is coping -- look at these pictures -- just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Now checking these stories on today's "Newswire": Police in Tampa, Florida have released the suicide note left behind by a 15-year-old boy who flew a small plane into a skyscraper early last month. In the note, Charles Bishop says he resisted recruiting attempts by al Qaeda terrorists, but he acted in sympathy with them. Police call the comments bizarre, but they say they believe the boy was fantasizing.
Parts of the Sunbelt are getting a big dose of winter weather. Snow and ice have fallen on sections of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. The snow is a rare treat for folks in Memphis, but the bad weather is blamed for dozens of traffic accidents.
I will be back in one hour with a special edition of "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS": Ronald Reagan's legacy on his 91st birthday. That's at 7:00 Eastern, 4:00 Pacific.
Until then, thanks very much for watching. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now.
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