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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

New Information on Another Pre-September 11 Warning; New Fighting Words From Taliban Leader

Aired May 17, 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, HOST: Now on a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: Word of yet another pre-September 11 warning, this time under a different president's watch.

President Bush slams the second-guessing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Had I known that the enemy was going to use airplanes to kill on that fateful morning, I would have done everything in my power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: New fighting words from Taliban leader, Mullah Omar.

And fighting off al Qaeda until the end, a startling account of the last moments of a Navy SEAL's life.

I'll take you on a short walk that might explain why there is so much tension in the Middle East.

And the fictional "ER" struggled with its smallpox outbreak. What about your real emergency room?

I'm Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem. Topping our news alert: A warning, two years before September 11.

There is word today that a September 1999 government report came very, very close to predicting the September 11 attacks. It predicted that followers of Osama bin Laden might fly an explosives-packed aircraft into the Pentagon, or other government buildings. The report came two years to the month before the Pentagon was attacked, along with the World Trade Center.

An Arab newspaper reports Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is still alive, and says he gave an interview in the Afghan mountains. It quotes Omar as saying, "the battle against America has just entered a new phase," and declaring that the United States faces, quote, "fire, hell and total defeat." That report does not say when the interview took place. The authenticity of its comments have not been independently confirmed. One thousand coalition troops led by U.S. air power are launching a new mission in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. It's called Operation Condor. Commanders say several enemy fighters already have been killed. No coalition casualties are reported. The operation is expected to last several days. We will have much more on this a little bit later.

Sources tell CNN that a body discovered in Pakistan appears to be that of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl. They say one more test should provide confirmation. Pearl disappeared while reporting on an Islamic militant in Pakistan. It's believed he was kidnapped and murdered by radical Muslims.

Now to the terror clues. We have two reports. Kelly Wallace will be at the White House, but first we begin with our justice correspondent Kelli Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Washington loves the blame game, and fingers are currently pointing straight at the FBI.

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R), ALABAMA: I believe that the FBI has failed the American people in that regard, that is the information they got out on, I believe, it was the July the 10th memo to headquarters, dealing with the flight schools, basically saying they should act on it. Nothing was done on it. The FBI was either asleep, or inept, or both.

ARENA: The memo in question was sent last July by a Phoenix FBI agent urging headquarters to investigate Middle Eastern men enrolled in flight schools. The FBI did not share the agent's concern with other intelligence agencies.

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: I think the recommendations of the agent are something we should have more aggressively pursued. I do not believe that it gave the signpost of that which would happen on September 11.

ARENA: Officials say there was not any credible threat information to go on, and as one agent put it: If the bureau started monitoring Middle Easterners at flight schools without specific information, quote, "civil rights hell would have broken loose."

Nonetheless, Congress wants the memo made public. FBI officials say it's loaded with classified information about a separate investigation. So, a heavily redacted version is likely to be released.

SKIP BRANDON, FORMER FBI COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT: I think that it might satisfy the American public, because I think the American public is showing that they are much more mature than some of the people on the Hill have been acting.

ARENA: While the FBI remains a target of criticism, its director, Robert Mueller, is not.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The director of the FBI -- who only assumed his post some week or two before the attacks -- the director of the FBI is working very hard to change and strengthen the FBI.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: The FBI is not publicly responding to the criticism. Officials say they will let the facts speak for themselves, and focus instead of preventing another attack -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena in Washington, thank you.

In the bipartisan spirit that took hold immediately after September 11 appears -- appears to be crumbling, at least in part. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer today tried to defend the administration by quoting something that a Senate Democrat said back in July of 2001, but the Democrat quickly replied.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLEISCHER: There have been several responsible, many responsible things said by Democrats. Senator Feinstein in July of 2001 on CNN on Wolf Blitzer's program said and I quote...

SEN. DIANE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: Intelligence staff have told me that there's a major probability of a terrorist incident within the next three months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Almost immediately after Fleischer quoted that statement, Diane Feinstein issued another news statement, saying the White House never responded to her questions about homeland security. Here's precisely what the senator says, quoting now: "Despite repeated efforts by myself and staff, the White House did not address my request. I followed this up in September 2001, and was told by 'Scooter' Libby that it might be another six months before he would be able to review this material. I told him I did not believe we had six months to wait." 'Scooter' Libby being the chief of staff to the Vice President Dick Cheney.

Let's go on and continue our coverage of these terror clues. Our White House correspondent Kelly Wallace has been following up from her end.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An angry President Bush in the Rose Garden, denouncing second-guessing in Washington and vigorously defending himself and his administration.

BUSH: Had I known that the enemy was going to use airplanes to kill on that fateful morning, I would have done everything in my power to protect the American people. WALLACE: One question the Bush administration has trouble answering: Why didn't the president and his top advisers ever consider that a possible al Qaeda hijacking could turn into a suicide mission? Warning signs included a September 1999 report, ordered up by the CIA during the Clinton administration and prepared by the Library of Congress, suggesting al Qaeda operatives could crash-land an aircraft packed with explosives into the Pentagon, the CIA, or the White House.

The White House said it knew nothing of that report until this day.

FLEISCHER: And I think what it shows is this information that was out there did not raise enough alarms with anybody that it suggested because it was not intelligence information. It was their thinking of sociology/psychology.

WALLACE: But a member of the president's own party, Republican Senator Charles Grassley, is not satisfied, calling for an investigation into what the CIA did what that report.

Meantime, the president's advisers are firing back, accusing some Democrats of playing politics, taking issue with this headline in a New York newspaper, and how one New York senator used it on the Senate floor.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I am simply here today on the floor of this hallowed chamber to seek answers to the questions being asked by my constituents, questions raised by one of our newspapers in New York with the headline, "Bush Knew." The president knew what?

WALLACE: The White House press secretary said Senator Clinton crossed the line.

FLEISCHER: I have to say with disappointment that Mrs. Clinton, having seen that same headline, did not call the White House, did not ask if it was accurate or not. Instead, she immediately went to the floor of the Senate, and I am sorry to say that she followed that headline and divided.

WALLACE: But Senator Clinton says she and fellow Democrats are not seeking political advantage, simply asking legitimate questions.

CLINTON: I am seeking only answers and information. I am not looking to point fingers, or place blame on anybody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And, Wolf, one other development today, an effort by this administration to show what the president and his team were doing to deal with the threat posed by al Qaeda. Aides for the first time publicly acknowledging the existence of a report with options to dismantle al Qaeda, something the president ordered up early last year, we are told. Something that was sitting on Condoleezza Rice's desk, the president's national security adviser, awaiting or waiting to go to the president for his final approval on the day of the September 11 attacks -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelly Wallace at the White House, thank you very much.

Let's get some perspective from a man who served several presidents, Democrats and Republicans. David Gergen joins us once again. David, thanks for joining us.

What do you make, first of all, of the way the Bush Administration is the handling this current issue?

DAVID GERGEN, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Wolf, I think after a long period of sterling leadership by the president, it has not been his finest hour. It is very clear that in retrospect the Bush administration should have released far more information far more quickly after September 11 about what it knew, and the warning signs, so they wouldn't be caught in this situation where it appears they've been sitting on something, not a cover-up, but they have been hiding things, so it allows the Democrats this room.

Having said that I think the Democrats are playing with fire with this. I think they ought to listen to what Vice President Cheney said last night and that is, they really ought to avoid incendiary accusations. It is not in the national interests to start a witch hunt at this point.

BLITZER: So is there always a natural inclination in any White House just to hide this kind of stuff instead of coming clean, if you will, right away?

GERGEN: Yes, there is an absolute inclination. That's probably why they didn't do it. I'm sure that there were one or two voices, lonely voices saying why don't we get this together, and others said are you crazy? A lot of this is classified, it does not necessarily -- it will raise more questions than it answers and therefore we won't do it.

We've seen this again and again in administrations and every time you go down that path eventually it comes back to bite you.

One of the things that is happening here, Wolf, is that I think the press corps, as you well know, if the administration is too closed too often the press corps will accept it up to a point but it gradually gets hostile and then when something goes wrong or there's an apparent mistake as there is here in whatever reason or way -- clearly the government didn't handle it all that well, then the press corps pounces, they become very hostile.

And again, I don't think that's what the country wants. The country's interests is in remaining together. We may be in the lull in this war, but we're going to be back into a fighting situation here one day soon, whether it is Iraq or someplace else, and I think the country really does not want to see partisan bickering.

I do not think the country wants to make a brawl of this on television, and, you know, there ought to be right now -- there is room here, Wolf, for something the president could do and could support and that is to drop his opposition to a whole notion of an independent commission that Senator Lieberman and Senator McCain have been pushing now for a while.

The president has been resistant. But what we need is a quiet, thorough investigation without television hearings, and then I would recommend that after the elections this November, then hold your public hearings but put it beyond the election so it doesn't become political posturing and partisan posturing.

BLITZER: Well, it already looks like it is going to be a brawl as you probably noticed, as comments from various quarters with special interests in this are already speaking out. Listen to this representative of the Allied Pilots Association just a little while ago. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA PAUWELS, ALLIED PILOTS ASSOCIATION: I don't know how much information should be made available to the public, but definitely it should be made available to the people who operate the aircraft and who also, many of them, are military and have high level security clearances to begin with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GERGEN: We're going to be facing more of this.

BLITZER: The point being that not only was the information not distributed between the FBI and the CIA and the various U.S. government agencies but those with a particular need like pilots didn't get the information.

GERGEN: That's a very good point, Wolf, and I think one of the questions -- for example a lot of people here in Boston are asking is the Massport which runs Logan airport and of course two of the planes that went into the World Trade Center came out of Logan airport that morning.

Logan airport never got a warning, the CIA warning that was given to the president, about potential hijacking of airplanes, they might have increased their security had they gotten that warning but it never came.

So I think there are legitimate questions that need to be asked, but we have to do it in a way that doesn't lead to one of these TV brawls, and I think we don't need a circus over this.

We have much more important things to do in this country, like getting our homeland defenses together which are not together yet and getting the FBI and the CIA and the intelligence agencies to get much better coordinated, to have a similar database, all of these issues you're so familiar with are much more important than who was at fault.

And I have to tell you the Republicans opened it up on this when they went after Clinton back in the Fall. They tried to smear Clinton with this. Their argument was Clinton was to blame. You know, that was -- there's a reason that the Democrats are vengeful right now, but both sides need to calm down and take a deep breath.

BLITZER: Doesn't look like that's going to happen. David Gergen, always giving us some special insight. Thank you for coming on our program.

GERGEN: Thank you.

BLITZER: So far, most Americans are sticking by President Bush's handling of events leading up to September 11. Only 38 percent of those questioned in a CNN-"USA Today" Gallup Poll said the United States should have been able to predict the September 11 attacks.

Thirty-eight percent said they have a great deal of faith in the Bush administration's ability to protect the United States from terrorism, and another 37 percent say they have a fair amount of faith.

Our Web question of the day is related to all of this as well. The question is this. Is the criticism of President Bush over the September 11 warnings just political? Vote at cnn.com/wolf. While you are there, let me know what you are thinking. Send me your comments and I'll read some of them on the air each day. Also, read my daily on-line column at cnn.com/wolf.

Coming up, a mystery illness, another mystery illness in Afghanistan.

Plus a fictional illness hits the fictional hospital on "ER." Smallpox. Is it just a far-fetched fantasy, or the next target of terror?

New details about a daring but deadly rescue mission. And Jews, Muslims and Christians all call it holy. Why is such sacred ground so fiercely fought over? A look behind the walls of the old city of Jerusalem, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to Afghanistan now and the continuing war on terrorism. A new offensive is launched after Australian forces come under fire. U.S. and British troops and U.S. air power have joined a new operation that is dubbed Operation Condor. Our Mike Boettcher is near the front lines.

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Operation Condor is being conducted in eastern Afghanistan in the Paktia province in a very mountainous region. It includes a force of 1,000 coalition troops, most of them British royal marine commandos, with some American and Australian elements in that force.

Now, the operation began Thursday night after Australian SAS special forces troops came under fire from a significant force, they say, of al Qaeda and Taliban holdouts in those mountains. Brigadier Roger Lane revealed the existence of the operation earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIG. GEN. ROGER LANE, BRITISH ARMY: There's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) elements of task force (UNINTELLIGIBLE) supported by coalition air and aviation assets deployed into the mountains of southeast Afghanistan to assist the Australian SAS task force, who are engaged in combat on what we have called Operation Condor.

I have deployed elements of four or five commando groups equipped with the full range of combat power by air and by road to close with the enemy and destroy them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOETTCHER: Now earlier today Afghan Ministry of Defense officials say they committed 4,000 troops to this operation. British military officials in Bagram air base, the coalition headquarters here in Afghanistan, say the Afghans are not part of this operation. They say the operation will carry on for several more days -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mike Boettcher, thank you for much.

From the Pentagon now, new information about a heroic mission during an earlier operation in Afghanistan. It was dubbed Operation Anaconda, the largest and deadliest battle of the war so far.

Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, standing by at the Pentagon. He joins us now live -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: According the to a classified report, CNN has learned that in the opening hours of that conflict, a Navy Seal was killed after he was thrown from a helicopter and his automatic weapon jammed and he could no longer fight off Taliban or al Qaeda forces that were surrounding him.

According to one source familiar with the report's contents, Petty Officer Neil Roberts was thrown from the helicopter as it lurched violently after being hit by rocket-propelled grenades. Roberts, the official said, had unhooked his safety harness because he was preparing to be the first off with the helicopter with the maximum firepower.

The tail gunner, who was tethered from the helicopter, was also thrown from the aircraft but he was able to be pulled back in. Now according to the classified report Roberts held off enemy forces for more than 30 minutes with his high powered belt-fed automatic gun until it jammed.

Sources say evidence found at the scene indicates that Roberts continued to fire even after he had been seriously injured in the upper leg. After the gun jammed he was overrun by enemy forces and shot at close range. A six man rescue team arrived a short time later, but Roberts was already dead.

That rescue effort and another one subsequently would result in five additional deaths. The main purpose of this classified review is to give the families of those who died an accurate accounting, as best the U.S. can, as to what happened to their loved ones -- Wolf. BLITZER: OK. Jamie McIntyre with some important information. Thank you very much. Let's stay in Afghanistan now, where there is a mysterious illness underway.

Doctors are trying to figure out what is making some of the coalition troops sick. Another 20 British soldiers have come down with the same symptoms that struck 18 of their comrades yesterday. Some are so sick they have been flown to Europe for treatment. Doctors say the illness, affecting the digestive tract, appears to be contagious.

In a moment, a brief scare over a water source -- why police detained three men. And later, why a man accused of gunning down a priest walked out of jail. Our Fredricka Whitfield will have the updates coming up.

And what you can learn about Jerusalem on a brief walk. The tour I'm about to take you on will enhance your understanding of the Middle East crisis. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. Back to Wolf in Jerusalem in a moment.

In our "News Alert" at the half hour, federal investigators say they are fairly certain three men arrested at a Connecticut reservoir are not terrorists. Officials say the trio spotted on top of a water tank last night were just trying out a new video camera. Those men have been charged with trespassing.

Lawyers for the Taliban American want the conspiracy charges against him dropped. The attorneys argue John walker Lindh cannot get a fair trial in the Washington, D.C. area. They say if a trial is held, it should be moved to his home of California. Walker Lindh, accused of supporting the Taliban, is set to go on trail in late August.

A tearful plea this morning in a Connecticut court. Before testimony began in the murder case against Kennedy relative Michael Skakel, the victim's mother praised those who have already taken the stand. Dorthy Moxley, the mother of Martha, killed in 1975, also pleaded for others to come forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DORTHY MOXLEY, MARTHA MOXLEY'S MOTHER: I know that there are many other people out there in their early 40s, late 30s who know what happened. Who probably have heard Michael Skakel say or admit that he murdered Martha.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: When Moxley was killed she was 15 years old, the same age as her neighbor, Michael Skakel, at the time. An autopsy is being performed on the body of a Connecticut priest who apparently committed suicide by hanging. Alfred Bietighofer was found in his room at a Maryland psychiatric hospital yesterday. He had resigned from the priesthood last month after two men accused him of abuse 20 years ago.

A man suspected of shooting a Baltimore priest was back before a judge a short time ago. Twenty-six-year-old Dontee Stokes again asking to be released on bail. CNN's Jeanne Meserve is outside the courthouse in Baltimore to fill us in.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, Father Maurice Blackwell remains in fair condition in a Baltimore hospital with what are called grievous injuries. Four days after his shooting, Dontee Stokes, the man who confessed to police to the crime, will walk out of jail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

In a Maryland courtroom Judge H. Gary Bass OK'd Dontee Stokes' release to home detention after setting an unsecured bail of $150,000. While Stokes listened via a video hook-up, psychologists, friends and relatives testified that Stokes was not a risk to himself or anyone else including Father Maurice Blackwell, the priest that he has confessed to shooting.

Judge Bass observed that the shooting happened out of the blue. Who's to say it wouldn't happen again, he said. I don't want him out of the house. The Stokes family was elated.

TAMARA STOKES, MOTHER OF ALLEGED SHOOTER: ...that if you wait on the Lord, He shall prevail.

MESERVE (voice-over): Investigators and Church officials found Stokes' allegations of abuse by Blackwell credible back in 1993 when he first made them, but there was no evidence to support charges, and Blackwell was returned to the parish from which he had been temporarily suspended. Friday the first apology to Dontee Stokes from the man who made that decision, Cardinal William Keeler.

CARDINAL WILLIAM KEELER, ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE: I take this occasion to express publicly my apologies to all who have been victims and in a very special way to Mr. Stokes, who is suffering, has suffered intensely because of the difficulties in which he now finds himself and which we find ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Among the witnesses the defense called today, a nun who was Dontee Stokes' school counselor at the time the alleged abuse took place, also a psychiatrist who interviewed stokes. Stokes told him he suffered from anxiety, insomnia, and conflicts about his religion and sexual identity since 1993. That's when he says Father Maurice Blackwell molested him - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you Jeanne in Baltimore. Now let's go back to Jerusalem with Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Fredricka. And Fredricka will be back later this hour with more news when we come back.

Jerusalem, the holy land, is very disputed turf. It takes only a 10-minute walk to try to find out why. I'll take you on that tour, coming up.

Plus, with Israeli troops on the move, Palestinians brace for the worst, and was last night's episode of "ER" realistic? An expert on smallpox joins us with the answer, coming up. First, our news quiz.

The last case of small pox in the United States was reported in what year: 1929, 1939, 1949, 1959? The answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Here in the Middle East we've been hearing talk of change. Reforms that possibly could help advance the peace process, yet the violence continues. The Israeli military is still on the move.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat in Friday prayers in his Ramallah compound, but prayers alone won't eliminate his many headaches. He's under enormous pressure from the U.S. and Israel and his own Palestinian Authority to reform his organization and to hold new elections. But Arafat says there won't be elections until Israel ends its military occupation.

YASSER ARAFAT, PALESTINIAN LEADER: As soon as we finish this occupation for our land, according to the agreement, it was supposed to be in the beginning of '99.

BLITZER: The way things are going now, that could be a long time down the road. The Palestinian leader spoke with reporters just as there was more gunfire elsewhere on the West Bank. Israeli tanks and armored vehicles rolled into the Jenin refugee camp, scene of the fiercest Israeli-Palestinian fighting during Israeli's incursion last month.

Israeli military sources say they arrested about 20 Palestinians in the refugee camp as well as in the adjoining town. The Israelis say they had precise information and as a result launched a limited preemptive strike.

GIDEON MEIR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY: We went into the refugee camp. We are going out. There is no reason for Israel whatsoever to reoccupy the camp or to reoccupy Jenin.

BLITZER: Near Nablus, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society says a seven-year-old Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli gunfire and that nine other Palestinians were injured. The Israeli military says it's checking the report. And in a separate incident, Israeli military sources say an Israeli Arab woman was shot in the back and killed as she drove near the West Bank town of Tulkarem. It's unclear who fired the shot, though the woman's car had Israeli license plates.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): Let's get some perspective now on what's happening here in the Middle East. I'm joined by the former director of Saudi Arabia's Intelligence Service, Prince Turki Al-Faisal. Prince Turki, thanks so much for joining us. Your whole effort, the Saudis have become very active lately in trying to get some reforms in the Palestinian Authority of Yasser Arafat. Do you see any progress as part of your initiative?

PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL, FMR DIR SAUDI INTELLIGENCE SERVICE: Mr. Blitzer, thank you for having me again. Of course the peace process, as it stands now, is suffering from all these military incursions that the Israelis are undertaking in the West Bank and Gaza. And the Arab world in Beirut initiated a peace plan that hopefully will be acceptable to all sides in the area, and things are beginning to be encouraging. I saw some references to polls in Israel where the Israeli public now is more than 60 percent ready to accept a Palestinian state, continue us to Israel. And more than 50 percent according to these polls are talking about Israelis supporting the Abdullah peace plan as it is now becoming known. So there are some encouraging signs ...

BLITZER: The Crown Prince Abdullah's peace plan.

AL-FAISAL: Yes.

BLITZER: What about this notion of having a regional conference? There's been talk of having it in Turkey in the coming weeks within a couple of months. Will Saudi Arabia push for that?

AL-FAISAL: Well, there is talk about that. It depends how it is set and what are the parameters for such a conference. If it's going to be Ariel Sharon, of course that is not acceptable to the Arabs. He cannot dictate who attends and how and what topics have to be discussed. But if it is a genuine effort to bring peace to the area and to end the bloodshed, there would be acceptance so that I think in the Arab world.

BLITZER: Prince Turki, as you know, there's a huge uproar in Washington underway now about the warnings that existed prior to September 11th, warnings that may have come to the president, but nobody was paying much attention. Did Saudi Arabia, and you were the director of Saudi Intelligence up until a few weeks before September 11th. Did the Saudis have specific credible information that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were planning these terrorist strikes.

AL-FAISAL: No, we didn't, and if we had, we would have passed them on to you, nor do we think anybody else did. Because in the intelligence community worldwide at that time there was a general alert for terrorist acts that may occur anywhere in the world, and if there had been any inclination or inkling or any iota of information of that scale or that magnitude, or that specificity, it would have been shared with you and with other intelligence agencies. BLITZER: Prince Turki, did you go back and take a closer look at all the various intelligence reports that came your way in the weeks and months before September 11th, just as a post mortem to review if maybe you didn't connect the dots or you missed something that you probably, that you should have taken advantage of?

AL-FAISAL: Well I believe the service that I headed may have done that. I personally, of course, on my mind, as always the thought that maybe something had been missed or anything like that. But for the love of God, I look back on it and cannot find an iota of information that would have been helpful to prevent those horrible acts that occurred on September 11th.

BLITZER: What is your assumption now, and I know you don't know for sure, but what is your assumption where Osama bin Laden might be hiding out?

AL-FAISAL: I believe he's still hiding in Afghanistan. As you know there was an interview, I think published either today or yesterday in a newspaper, London, an Arabic newspaper with Mullah Omar, .and if Mullah Omar is alive, I believe also bin Laden is alive, and the fight against him and bringing him to justice must continue.

BLITZER: Do you believe - do you believe Prince Turki, that they are together, Mullah Mohammed Omar and Osama bin Laden?

AL-FAISAL: No I think they would be separate, and for security reasons and not to draw attention to themselves. Each one would have as few people with them as possible, and as remote an area as possible. And as you know, Afghanistan is full of remote areas and very inaccessible areas where they can hide.

BLITZER: Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the former head of Saudi Intelligence, always good to have you on our program. Thanks for spending time with us today...

(CROSSTALK)

AL-FAISAL: It's always good to be back with you ...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: ... very much.

AL-FAISAL: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Thank you very much and I hope to see you one of these days in Saudi Arabia, appreciate it very much, and let's move on now and talk about the Israelis and the Palestinians. The issue, the most important issue, of course, they're arguing about is land, but religion also comes into play. That's certainly evident here in Jerusalem as I discovered, together with my producer Linda Roth (ph), my photographer Scott McWhinnie (ph) and our driver, Amir Buzz Buzz (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): Among Israelis and Palestinians, there is an agreement that resolving the future of Jerusalem will be the most difficult and painful issue on the negotiating table.

(on camera): Behind me is the Old City of Jerusalem, the walled city, and within a very small area, as you're about to see are holy sites to the three great religions, Islam, Judaism and Christianity, dividing up sovereignty over what is basically a tiny area will be incredibly complex, perhaps even impossible. That's been said many times but to really understand why, one has it take a close personal look.

I'm here in the Old City now of Jerusalem, the beautiful Old City of Jerusalem, right inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. One of the holiest sites in Christianity is here where Christians believe Jesus Christ was buried and inside is the actual church. People come to pray here and to contemplate, to think about religion, think about the important things in life. You'll be amazed to see how close everything is to this church, we're going to take a little walk and walk over to the western wall, the wailing wall, the holiest site in Judaism. From there, we'll go over to the dome of the rock, the Al- Aqsa mosque. It's all very, very close.

(voice-over): The 10-minute walk through the Old City's cobbled alleyways is always exciting. The young kids playing, the older men in cafes, but it's also depressing.

Hi, we're walking from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher down to the western wall, the wailing wall. Shops are pretty empty right now. Not many tourists coming to the Old City of Jerusalem, which is a pity, because this is one of the great tourist attractions of the world, people coming here to celebrate all three great religions. I'm here with is Amir (ph) and with Linda (ph) as usual, and we're just having a good time in the Old City of Jerusalem as we head on to the next stop. Within 10 minutes, we approach the western wall where ultra-Orthodox Jews are deep in prayer. This is the only remnant of the second Jewish temple destroyed in the year '70. Above the wall what, Jews call the Temple Mount. Muslims call it the noble sanctuary. I'm standing here in the Jewish quarter of the Old City. We were in the Muslim quarter. We were in the Christian quarter. We're in the Jewish quarter. Behind me you can see the Western Wall, what's called the wailing wall where the men are praying on the left side, just to the side of that, Israeli flag. Now if you go up, you see the dome of the rock, the Temple Mount, noble sanctuary as it's also called.

And that's one of the holiest sites in Islam, and if you go just a little bit further over, you see that green door. That's the door, that's the entrance to the Temple Mount, the noble sanctuary. It's been shut now for a long time for security reasons obviously, but if you pan further over to the right, you'll see the Al-Aqsa mosque. It's that gray silver dome overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem. You see how tight everything is over here at this - at this plaza where all the great religions seem to combine and you understand the explosive nature of the politics, why this holy city can be so divisive. And you can see why dividing up this tiny, tiny area may prove to be not only very, very complex, it may even prove to be impossible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Often art imitates life. Coming up, we'll look at what could happen if life imitates "ER". Is a smallpox out break possible and would your hospital be able to handle it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked, the last case of smallpox in the United States was reported in what year? The answer, 1949. The United States stopped vaccinating against smallpox by 1972 and smallpox was eradicated worldwide in 1977. I'll be back here in Jerusalem shortly, but let's go back to the CNN center and Fredricka Whitfield for some other news -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you, Wolf. Well, as Wolf mentioned, the last documented smallpox case in the United States was back in 1949, but last night, American television watchers were alarmed by this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "ER")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for sure?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not on her chest or her stomach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three days ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: NBC's popular medical drama "ER" tackled a teal life concern, the possibility of a smallpox outbreak. Even though the deadly disease has been eradicated, samples of the virus still exist and some observers fear they could be used in a terrorist attack. When "ER" producers were preparing last night's episode, they spoke with CDC Epidemiologist, Lisa Rotz. Dr. Rotz is on the phone with us now to talk about smallpox and how facts compare with fiction.

Thanks for joining us Dr. Rotz.

DR. LISA ROTZ, CDC EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well last night on the episode it was utter chaos. The hospitals, the doctors were not prepared. What would be the realistic scenario if there were to be a smallpox outbreak?

ROTZ: Well it's difficult to say what exactly is going to be a realistic scenario. I like to look at what happened last night and look at the things that actually did happen that might be positive things that could come out of the show, and one of those is that the fact that the doctor even recognized the possibility that the patients might have had smallpox. And as being a physician that probably didn't learn about it during medical school because it didn't exist then and it still doesn't exist now. But we have the possibility so the fact that he even recognized that and then knew to isolate the patients and contact public health authorities was a sort of a positive message that came out of that, and this is something that's probably occurred because of the planning and preparedness that people have been doing over the last several years.

WHITFIELD: Except many viewers thought it was discouraging that only one doctor out of the scenario of personnel in that hospital didn't really know how to recognize or did really know what to do about smallpox. So how has this CDC helped address that issue with hospitals in our area so that people feel comfortable that the doctors would be prepared.

ROTZ: Well what we're trying to do is to improve awareness for the possibility and improve awareness for how to diagnose and recognize some of these diseases, potential diseases for bioterrorism, and that includes improving education of physician on what to look for, working through professional societies, working through our public health partners and you know putting material out there to help educate physicians on the possibility.

WHITFIELD: So was your objective met? The show "ER" producers did consult you about what to or how to best handle the smallpox epidemic. So what message were you hoping viewers would walk away from?

ROTZ: Well I didn't really have any objectives when we - when I was talking to the producers. We were mainly answering technical questions that they had about the disease and about some of the public health preparedness efforts for responding to that disease, and you know like I said, one of the positive messages that came out is that the physicians did recognize that and did contact public health authorities, knew who to call basically and to a certain extent what to do for the short period of time for isolating the patients.

WHITFIELD: All right Dr. Lisa Rotz, thank you very much, from the CDC for joining us on the telephone.

Well he has finished his visit to Cuba. Now former President Carter issued his challenge to the White House. Jimmy Carter speaks out to CNN's Kate Snow coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: On the international front, former President Jimmy Carter has left Cuba, and said his visit was a success. The Cuban President Fidel Castro extended the invitation, said farewell to Carter and Carter's wife Rosalynn. On Monday President Bush is expected to tighten restrictions on American travel to Cuba. In an interview with CNN's Kate Snow, Carter said that's a step in the wrong direction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is a -- an open door in our country, our system of government for change, regardless of the attitude of the White House. I would like to see administration change its policy and openness, but there's a Congress that has equal constitutional authority in the United States and even before my visit, a majority of the members of the House and Senate both had expressed their views in their vote that travel restraints should be eased.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Carter also said he will convey his impressions about Cuba to the White House once he gets back to the United States.

Let's go to New York now, get a preview of Lou Dobbs "MONEYLINE". That begins right at the top of the hour. Jan Hopkins is sitting in for Lou - Jan.

JAN HOPKINS, HOST: Thanks Wolf. Coming up on "MONEYLINE", President Bush fires back against criticism alleging he could have done more to try to prevent the terrorist attacks on September 11th. We'll have a live report from the White House and security expert George Friedman will be our guest.

Markets cap off a winning week on Wall Street, the Nasdaq up five straight sessions. We'll have our weekly panel.

And the wait s over, "Star Wars, Attack of the Clones" is in the theaters across the country. We'll talk to Peter Bart, editor-in- chief of "Variety". All that and a lot more at the top of the hour.

Back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Jan, and our viewers will have the last word on this program. When we come back, you have two minutes, go to my Web site and you can vote. Go and answer our question of the day. Is the criticism of President Bush just political? That and your feedback on my reports in the Middle East when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now the results of our Web question today, earlier we asked is the criticism of President Bush over the September 11 warnings just political? Sixty-nine percent of you said yes, 31 percent said no. Remember this is not a scientific poll. Let's get some reaction from our viewers, e-mail that I've received, lots of it on my tour of terror here in Jerusalem yesterday.

Rebecca writes, thanks for your piece featuring the sites of suicide bombings in Jerusalem, but may I suggest that you even things out by showing the sites of occupation and massacres committed against the Palestinian people. Rebecca, I believe CNN covered that extensively. Ruth enjoyed our report. She wrote, your tour of terror piece brought tears to my eyes. How humane and sincere. Thank you. That's all the time we have tonight from Jerusalem.

Sunday on "LATE EDITION", I'll be back in Washington. Among our guests, the president's National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Thanks so much for watching. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com