Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

A Break in the Elizabeth Smart Case?; Padilla Detention Raises Legal Questions; Colorado Fires Worst in State History

Aired June 11, 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, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: Now, on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, is there a break in the search for this missing Utah girl?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe that it is possible that we have already talked to or will soon have talked to the suspect responsible for this crime.

BLITZER: Colorado burning, thousands fear an unpredictable fire. With one dirty bomb suspect behind bars, a manhunt is on.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As we run down these, you know, killers or would-be killers, we'll let you know.

BLITZER: A fairytale? Perhaps not, but there's a castle and plenty of magic moments as a former Beatle ties the knot.

It's Tuesday, June 11, 2002. Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Let's go to Colorado. That's a state that quite literally is on fire right now. A shift in the winds has thousands of people poised to head out of Denver. We have two reports from both the air and on the ground. Let's begin with CNN's Lillian Kim. She's near the front lines in Littleton.

LILIAN KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The fire isn't moving as fast as it was yesterday, but it is slowly moving northeast, inching closer to Denver suburbs. Now the fire so far has burned more than 80,000 acres, making it the largest in Colorado history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIM (voice over): Homes in suburban Denver are still under threat, residents told to be prepared to leave at a moment's notice. Firefighters say the wind-driven flames are unpredictable, and severe drought conditions are adding to the problem.

STEVE HART, FIRE INCIDENT COMMANDER: We've never seen these conditions and our fathers have probably never seen these conditions in Colorado. So, I think that that's a crack statement is where it is bad in the future. We don't foresee anything in sight that's going to help us.

KIM: The fire, which has come within five miles of Denver suburbs, has left a haze over the city. Hundreds have left their homes. Many more may eventually be forced out. Authorities have drawn up plans to evacuate as many as 40,000 residents. Firefighters say the blaze was started by an illegal campfire about 55 miles away.

GOVERNOR BILL OWENS, COLORADO: For the remainder of the summer be very, very careful. These fire professionals don't need to be fighting fires that are manmade. We have enough of these natural fires, the coal seen fire, the lighting-induced fires to keep us busy for the rest of the summer.

KIM: This is one of at least seven major fires burning in Colorado. Crews from around the country are heading to the state to help with the firefight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KIM (on camera): The governor has banned outdoor burning in state parks and national forests in Colorado, and fireworks this Fourth of July will be prohibited, back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lilian. Just to show you how immense this fire in the Pike National Forest is, we turn to the KUSA crew of Jayson Luber and Brian Willy (ph), who were flying above it in a helicopter.

JAYSON LUBER, HAYMAN, COLORADO: Wolf, this is Jayson Luber in Sky 9 along with photojournalist Brian Willy, and the fire has erupted over the last few hours here outside of Denver.

LUBER (voice over): It is amazing to see the flames that shoot on the southwestern side of this fire, high above the treetops, engulfing tree after tree, much too dangerous for ground attack firefighters to get anywhere near this area.

This fire's been fueled by the winds that have continued to blow predominantly from the south and the west, pushing the huge plume of smoke well above 17,000 feet and across Metro Denver even to eastern Colorado and into Wyoming.

Air attack has flurry bomber and a water-dropping helicopter trying to flight the hot spots, paining retardant line and firebreak but it is very tough for these guys to make any dents in a fire of this size, this magnitude and with erratic wind and weather behavior, as this fire is experiencing right now.

We continue to see the people the Roxborough (ph) area, that's just southwest of the city of Denver, packing up their belongings in moving vans, pickup trucks, trailers, anything with four wheels and try to make their way and collect their belongings to keep them safe, out of the path of this fire.

Most of the pens for horses or other animals are also empty at this point, trying to forge them somewhere away from these tremendous flames that continue to shoot across the Colorado rugged mountainside. Wolf, this is Jayson Luber in Sky 9, along with photojournalist Brian Willy, let's go back into you. BLITZER: Thank you very much guys from our affiliate KUSA out in Colorado. Meanwhile, CNN Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has yet another view of the Colorado fire, plus a look at what else you might expect from a hot, dry summer. Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BLITZER: Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much and keep up to date on the state of the wildfires and the direction they're headed by going to my webpage, cnn.com/wolf. Look for a link on the right side of the page.

And it's a mystery that's tapped into the deepest fears of parents all over the country and today, investigators say they're making dramatic progress. After a week combing desolate areas outside Salt Lake City, police in Utah are refocusing the search for 14-year- old Elizabeth Smart closer to home. CNN National Correspondent Frank Buckley is out there. He joins us now with the latest on the phone. Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Wolf, police tell us they are now looking for a suspect who would have spent some time in and around Elizabeth Smart's neighborhood. That is a significant change in this investigation. From the tone from the investigation, no longer are police saying they're frustrated with the lack of leads.

Now, Police Chief Rick Dinse saying there are, in fact, some promising leads and investigators are, in fact, narrowing the focus of the investigation. Investigators, in fact, believe that they may have already interviewed the suspect or he is someone who they would have been moving to interview at some point.

Last night, we can tell you that police were back in the neighborhood, in fact at the Federal Heights home of the Smarts. Investigators were at the home looking inside the home to see if there is any additional forensic evidence that they could collect. This is evidence that they would have - that would possibly connect any suspect to the home and to the abduction of Elizabeth Smart.

I'll also tell you that Police Chief Rick Dinse was very focused in his comments to the suspect when he looked into television cameras today and he said to the suspect that if he was watching television or if he was listening to the radio, he said to the suspect: "We will get you."

So a very different tone here in the investigation in Salt Lake City, one from frustration and a lack of leads to one that is now, according to Police Chief Rick Dinse, one with promising leads and a narrowing of a focus and, in fact, as he described it, an understanding of the suspect but so far no naming of a suspect in this case. Wolf.

BLITZER: Do they think they have a picture of the suspect, Frank?

BUCKLEY: They do not have a physical photograph of the suspect. Over the weekend, there was a - you might recall a composite sketch that was released, but that was of a material witness that police were hoping to talk to. They did, in fact, fairly immediately find that person. This was a lead that was provided by the family to the police department. Police fairly quickly found that person. They interviewed that person and realized that he was not related at all to the abduction and he was released.

What they do have now, in terms of a picture, is more of a psychological picture, a profile and helping in creating that are behavioral science experts.

We know them as profilers, but they are behavioral science experts from the FBI, who have come in from Quantico to help the local police department to create a psychological picture, a psychological profile of the type of person who might be involved in this kind of abduction. I think that's what we're hearing from police today. They have a better idea of the kind of person they are looking for.

BLITZER: Frank Buckley, thanks for that report, and I want our viewers to hear directly from the Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse. Here's an excerpt of what he said earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF RICK DINSE, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: Based on all of our investigations thus far, we believe that it is possible that we have already talked to or will soon have talked to the suspect responsible for this crime. We are pulling out all stops. We will continue this. The family continues to be cooperative in every way and we are encouraged that we will bring a conclusion to this investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Later this hour, we're hoping to speak live with the Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse. When we get him, we'll bring him to you during the course of this hour.

When we come back, just because the military has him, it does not mean it will try him. Find out what the Pentagon really wants from a man you know as the dirty bomb suspect.

Target, al Qaeda: CNN has exclusive pictures of a search in Afghanistan and what U.S. forces destroyed.

And, you're looking at a live picture over Earth, why astronauts are taking a walk in space at this very hour.

What was the Beatles first hit single? "She Loves You," "Please Please Me," "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "Love Me Do?" The answer, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse is promising an arrest in the Elizabeth Smart case. Let's go live to the police chief right now. He's in Salt Lake. Chief, how close are you to an arrest?

DINSE: Well, Wolf, you know I don't know that we're real close to an arrest. We certainly are moving in the direction in the investigation that we think and we hope will lead to an arrest ultimately.

BLITZER: Well, what makes you think that there's a specific suspect in mind?

DINSE: Well, we've done a lot of work, obviously, since - over the last six days. We have over 6,000 leads that we have received, of which we have narrowed down about 600 leads that are worthy of follow- up, of which we've completed about 300 of those.

During the course of that information, we have gained some of the leads that look very promising. We also have had a re-interview with the nine-year-old witness. She has provided some information that has been helpful that we didn't have before, and we also have been working with the FBI and the Behavioral Science Section of the FBI. They have provided us with some information regarding this suspect. That, coupled together with all of the investigative material that we have gathered, both at the scene and around the scene and from other witnesses, we believe that we have the opportunity to be successful in this case.

BLITZER: Well good luck, Chief. Thanks for joining us. All of us will be watching, obviously, very closely.

DINSE: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much and let's move on now to the latest chapter in the war against terrorism. President Bush calls him a bad guy. Federal authorities want him behind bars indefinitely, but his lawyer wants him freed; more now from CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The U.S. Government defends its decision to hold Jose Padilla as an enemy combatant arguing he's still a threat.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We believe his continued detention is the right course of action.

ARENA: Ashcroft says he has told his staff to think outside the box in terror cases, but some argue he's acting outside the Constitution, including the lawyer assigned to Padilla's case before he was transferred to military custody.

DONNA NEWMAN, PADILLA'S ATTORNEY: The last time I looked at the Constitution, he still had constitutional rights. He has rights to unreasonable seizure, to be free of unreasonable seizure, a right to counsel, a right if he's going to be charged by a grand jury. Now I understand that the government is alleging something different, but they are not charging him either. ARENA: Newman has filed a motion in New York Federal Court arguing Padilla, a U.S. citizen, is being unlawfully held, but it's unclear what authority a judge might have.

Newman says she hasn't been able to speak to Padilla since Friday. Since Sunday, he's been held in isolation at this U.S. Naval Brig in South Carolina. Defense Department officials have said if he is to be prosecuted, Padilla would go back into the criminal justice system. But Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says the goal is not punishment but rather information.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Here's a person who unambiguously was interested in radiation weapons and terrorist activity and he was in league with al Qaeda. Now, our job as responsible government officials is to do everything possible to find out what that person knows.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (on camera): Some details are emerging about other plots besides the dirty bomb plot. For example, officials say that Padilla discussed a range of attacks with al Qaeda leaders, including blowing up hotels and gas stations. But sources say that Padilla is not cooperating with authorities and has not, since he was arrested in Chicago on May 8th, as a material witness -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena, thank you very much. Is the dirty bomb suspect still a threat? Is the government going too far in holding this U.S. citizen as an enemy combatant? Joining me now a pair of legal legends here in Washington, the former U.S. Attorney Joe DiGenova, who prosecuted among many others, the Israeli spy Jonathan J. Pollard; and from New York, Roy Black, who successfully defended, among many others, William Kennedy Smith. Gentlemen thanks for joining us. Roy Black, you have a serious problem with the way the U.S. Government is dealing with Jose Padilla, don't you?

ROY BLACK, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Wolf, if you remember we discussed this several months back when the government first formulated these rules for military tribunals.

And I remember saying at that time, listen, this is not going to be kept just to non-Americans that this could well broaden. And the problem we have now is once you give government power like this, it wants more and more, and what the government wants is to do something that contravenes the Constitution.

I understand they're interested in safety, but the reason we have a Constitution is to protect American citizens from its own government, and that's the problem here.

BLITZER: Joe DiGenova, what do you say about that?

JOSEPH DIGENOVA, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Well, I disagree with Roy, obviously respectfully, though. We are at war. We are in a state of war and we are in actual combat right now. This gentleman, who by the way, his name is no longer Jose Padilla, it is Abdullah Al Muhajir. That is a name that he has chosen since 1999, when he joined a radical Islamic movement al Qaeda.

The Supreme Court has actually sanctioned this behavior by the government. In 1942, it ruled that American citizens can be handled in military commissions and even executed by military commissions.

So there's nothing unconstitutional going on here; however, the government will be required to decide what it's going to do with him and it may very well return him to the civil justice system for trial if it deems that it has enough evidence to try him.

BLITZER: What about that, Roy, nothing unconstitutional?

BLACK: I disagree. First of all, the Constitution says specifically only Congress can create lesser tribunals, not the Executive Branch of government. But putting that aside for a minute, look what we're doing here.

We're giving government the opportunity to hold people in secret, indefinitely, and deny them the right to a lawyer. This is exactly why our Constitution was created 200 years ago.

But these new rules are more Kafka than they are Madison and Jefferson. We've gone far beyond with this whole Constitutional form of government is about.

DIGENOVA: Well, Wolf, as Mr. Justice Goldberg (ph) said, the Constitution is not a suicide pact, and he said that in a case involving terrorism and the alleged rights of accused.

This case involves the United States at war. We have someone we have absolute proof of, who was involved in conducting a plot to use a radioactive dirty bomb perhaps in the United States.

BLITZER: But let me interrupt here. Joe. Joe, let me interrupt you and read an e-mail question from one of our viewers.

DIGENOVA: Sure.

BLITZER: Rich in Chicago, who asked this: "The man is innocent until proven guilty. He is not a terrorist until he is found guilty." What about that argument?

DIGENOVA: Well, that's actually not true. We are at war. If this were a civil matter involving a criminal trial, an accusation, the gentleman would be absolutely correct. However, he has been taken into custody under the laws of war as an unlawful or enemy combatant, and as such, the Supreme Court has ruled he can be held indefinitely in military custody.

BLITZER: Well what about -

BLACK: But, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, go ahead Roy.

BLACK: Well you know how Joe mentions how the defendant changed his name. All they're doing is changing the names here. We're doing away with our criminal justice system and calling it something else, but all it is, is eluding us of our rights. And when you look at this case, Joe says there's absolute proof of his guilt.

Well, where is that proof? Was there a trial? Is there an indictment? Is there evidence? Is it in public? No. All we have are government officials saying: "Trust us. We can hold you indefinitely in seclusion without a lawyer because it's for the good of the country and you can trust us on that."

But I'll tell you what, the reason we have a constitution is we learned for thousands of years, we can't trust government and this is the problem here.

BLITZER: Joe, this man is an American citizen. He's not a foreign national. He's a U.S. citizen. I assume that there are different rights for him as opposed to foreigners.

DIGENOVA: Actually, Wolf, the Supreme Court has ruled that U.S. citizens who become enemy combatants for a foreign government -- in one case in the Supreme Court they were Americans who became German combatants and were actually executed in the United States.

One of them was an American citizen who was executed by a military commission here in the United States. Another was an American of Italian descent who joined the Italian Army, was captured and brought back to the United States, was held in the military prisons as a prisoner of war. The law is very clear. American citizens, when they join the other side, lose many of their rights.

BLACK: Well, first of all, I don't agree that the law is clear on this, but remember this, Joe, that same Supreme Court who in 1942 issued that opinion, also issued the opinion saying that we could put any of our citizens who had any Japanese blood in them in concentration camps throughout the western United States. And I will tell you in the last 60 years, we know what a huge mistake that was and this one will be another one.

BLITZER: All right, gentlemen, we have to leave it right there. I know both of you are anxious to continue this debate and maybe we'll continue it on another occasion, presumably. Meanwhile, Joe DiGenova, Roy Black, thanks for joining us.

DIGENOVA: Thank you, Wolf.

BLACK: Thank you.

BLITZER: And here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our web question of the day is this: Should the dirty bomb suspect, Jose Padilla, also known as Abdullah Al Muhajir, be held by the military as an enemy combatant? Go to my webpage, cnn.com/wolf. That's where you can vote. And in a moment, a story you'll see only here on CNN, exclusive pictures of troops targeting al Qaeda. We'll take you alongside U.S. forces to the front lines in Afghanistan.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm John King at the White House. President Bush is on the road, pushing his plan for a new Department of Homeland Security. Why he visited a water treatment plant, coming up.

BLITZER: And later, the kid who got away from a shark.

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: He got my finger and was pulling me under.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BLITZER: There's been a development in the case of the alleged shoe bomber, Richard Reid. Let's go live to Susan Candiotti. She's outside the courtroom in Boston. Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf. This is a victory of sorts for the alleged shoe bomber, Richard Reid, because today the court went along with a defense motion to throw out Count 9, that was the final count, of those charges against Richard Reid.

This charge, in particular, dealt with the attempted wrecking of a mass transportation vehicle, and the court went along with the following argument; that in effect, an aircraft is not a vehicle. He struggled with many definitions, but ultimately went along with one used by Congress when it came up with this very same charge under the USA Patriot Act after September 11.

In that, a vehicle does not have wheels on it and so, ultimately the judge said that because of the new legislation and because things are still being worked out, he did not accuse the government of overreaching and he did say the government could appeal if it wants to. However, at this hour, we understand the Justice Department has not made any decision about that.

Ultimately, the court rules that even if convicted of all the counts, if he had been convicted of this count as well, it would not have added another day in prison for Richard Reid. Wolf.

BLITZER: Susan, it sounds to me like it's merely a technicality, that there are still plenty of counts against Richard Reid out there that could land this guy in jail for a very long time.

CANDIOTTI: That's right, ultimately several life terms as a matter of fact, and that really isn't even what we - that was in addition to what else happened in court this day, Wolf, because what today's hearing was all about, which will continue tomorrow, is about another defense motion.

The defense is trying to have thrown out very potentially damaging statements that Richard Reid made to the FBI after his arrest, and the government's position on this argument is the following:

Number one, they have maintained all along that Richard Reid spoke freely and engaged in many topics with them and that there was no convincing, prodding, physical abuse, trickery, or deception, or intimidation on their part.

As far as the defense argument goes, in fact they see things very differently. They say that once Richard Reid was taken off the plane, that he told a Massachusetts State Trooper: "I have nothing else to say," and the defense maintains under the Miranda rules against self- incrimination, that at that point, the questioning should have stopped.

And, in fact, they also argue that Richard Reid was under the influence of drugs. You'll recall that he was sedated on the plane, given at least three shots, including Valium, and so they say he was in no shape to be talking to the FBI. Wolf.

BLITZER: Susan Candiotti on the scene in Boston, a minor victory, at least a technical victory of sorts for Richard Reid but he's still got plenty of problems ahead of him. Thanks again for that late breaking development.

And let's check some other top stories right now. A Palestinian suicide bomber today killed a young girl and wounded several other people in a town just north of Tel Aviv. The bomber set off his explosives after asking for a glass of water at a popular restaurant in the seaside town of Herzliya.

Moroccan authorities say they foiled plans for new terrorist strikes. They're holding three Saudi nationals suspected of plotting attacks on U.S. and British war ships in the Strait of Gibraltar. Two of the suspects' wives also have been arrested for allegedly acting as couriers for al Qaeda.

Afghanistan's tribal assembly will start voting to choose a president tomorrow, and the interim leader Hamid Karzai appears to have a clear shot. Karzai has received the endorsement of the former king and a former president. There was some confusion today when Karzai claimed he already had won the presidency. Aides later conceded that was a claim that was premature.

As Afghan leaders work on establishing a permanent government, U.S.-led troops are hunting for Taliban or al Qaeda fighters who could threaten the stability of that government. About 300 Americans went out to search caves today near the Pakistan border. A CNN crew got an exclusive look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: They went in at dawn on Monday. Two companies from the Army's Third Battalion 187th Infantry. Their commanders planned on sending the entire battalion, but because of helicopter problems and word that this mission might not be as dangerous as first thought, the job fell to these men. They went in ready for a fight, but it never came.

Their mission, find a complex of caves in this region near the Pakistan border. Caves possibly containing documents, munitions, maybe even some DNA evidence. What they found, a single cave, a few rifles and some ammunition rounds. If there was anything else of value inside, company commanders didn't reveal it. But they did order the cave destroyed. Commanders weren't sure if the Taliban, al Qaeda or friendly forces used the cave, but they needed to make sure no one used it again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And no one will be using that cave again. Let's go to the homefront NOW where President Bush is devoting his day to efforts aimed at keeping you safe from terror attacks. Let's go live to our senior White House correspondent, John King to fill us in -- John.

KING: Wolf, the president going on the road today to promote his new plan for a Department of Homeland Security in Kansas City, Missouri. The president touring a water treatment plant. That facility provides drinking water to 800,000 people. You see the president taking the tour here.

He later joked that he found this facility quite secure. He said he didn't think it was vulnerable at all and made a joke that he took a big gulp of water when he got there on a very warm day. But this tour designed to highlight what the president wants to talk about as he pushes this new department. He says there is a new enemy facing the United States, terrorists and that they are looking for unconventional targets like key items in the U.S. infrastructure, water drinking plants.

Obviously the dirty bomb plot the government said it foiled last month. Mr. Bush making the case to the American people that he needs them to push the Congress to give him this new department, 170,000 workers, dozens of government agencies merged into one agency.

The president talking today while in Kansas City about one key aspect of that plan, this new department would have an analysis bureau that would take in intelligence from the FBI, from the CIA, from other law enforcement agencies, federal, state and local. Mr. Bush says that is critical, but as he says the government needs one shop to take in all the intelligence and if there is a terrorist threat, to respond immediately.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BUSH: We must have the capacity to analyze all sources of intelligence so that we can imagine the worst and plan for it so we can figure out how best to deal with the new threats that face America.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

KING: The day began with a White House meeting. The president sitting down with the Democratic and the Republican leadership of the Congress, as well as some key committee chairman and ranking members getting from this meeting a very important proposal, a very important promise. Congressional leaders in both parties promising the president will get what he wants, this new department up and running by January 1st.

Congress says it may make some changes to the president's proposal, but already the new plan under consideration. What might the changes be the House Majority Leader Dick Armey saying today he might want to take a look, if there's a way to make the CIA and the FBI more accountable. Some conservatives, still some questions about whether the new department will cost more, the benefits the government will get, but the White House now quite optimistic.

Democrats and Republicans saying some changes perhaps, but that this new department will be created and created soon. Dick Gephardt, the House Democratic leader, even putting down this challenge saying that Congress should try to pass this legislation creating the new Department of Homeland Security by September 11th, the one year anniversary of the attacks - Wolf.

BLITZER: John, what are you hearing about the prospects of the president eventually will nominate Tom Ridge to head this new department?

KING: We get some mixed signals, although those closest to the president say the president has full faith in Tom Ridge. The president wants him to be the secretary. That is why the president decided to make Tom Ridge the point man lobbying on Capitol Hill. This is Washington. There's a lot of back and forth about where Ridge is the right man for the job. All indications from senior aides here at the White House says that it is Ridge's job if Ridge wants it.

BLITZER: John King at the White House, thanks for that update. Thank you very much. And a simple bronze box to remember a national tragedy. Find out what's being permanently sealed into the walls of the pentagon to remember September 11th straight ahead.

And what may be next from the terrorists? We'll find out from a man who spent 25 years studying terrorism and international crime. Brian Jenkins joins me live when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. The Bush administration says al Qaeda is behind a plot to set off a radiological or so-called dirty bomb in the United States. One suspect is behind bars, but are others still out there? What else is al Qaeda up to? Joining me now from Los Angeles one of the nation's leading experts on terrorism, Brian Jenkins of the Rand Corporation. Brian thanks as usual for joining us. You know a lot about al Qaeda, perhaps more than almost any other terrorism expert out there. What else are they up to?

BRIAN JENKINS, RAND CORPORATION: Well we can't be sure at any moment. What we can do is look at the recent attacks that they have attempted to carry out and derive some analysis from that. There had been a number of attempted plots since September 11th. Some of these involve embassies.

Some of these involve attacks on U.S. Service personnel in Singapore. Some of these involve most recently the plot to carry out attacks on ships in the Strait of Gibraltar. They did this before in Yemen and so that certainly is in their playbook. We've also seen attempts through Richard Reid with the bombs in his shoe to bring down a commercial airliner. So commercial aviation is certainly within their realm of targets.

BLITZER: But is there still a capability out there? Their leadership certainly has been undermined during the U.S. military campaign.

JENKINS: Their leadership has been dented to be sure, and the removal of the Taliban and the destruction of the training camps disrupts their process, but nonetheless we have seen in these recent attempts, which include attempts in Singapore, in the countries of Europe, in Morocco, in the United States as well, we still see evidence of a fairly widespread network.

We still see a center that is - that is able to give instructions to these people, move these people around and so while we have had some success in thwarting some of these plots, we certainly can not be satisfied that we have - that we have rounded up this network. That is something that may take years Wolf. This thing was 10 to 20 years in construction, building these relationships. It may take us - it may take us that long to pull it apart.

BLITZER: Brian, we have an e-mail question for you from Peter in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida who asked this good question. Why is the U.S. government leaking over and over the fact that our source for very sensitive information about al Qaeda is Abu Zubaydah, the suspect under arrest now. Well why would the government want the world to know that Abu Zubaydah is spilling his guts?

JENKINS: Well there may be some utility in that. It may have some value in demoralizing some of these individuals to realize that operations that they were involved in, that Zubaydah had knowledge of are now compromised. It furthermore may have some further disruptive value. I suspect a lot of this stuff is coming from Zubaydah, but it also may be coming from other sources as well that we may not want to talk about.

BLITZER: There's another e-mail, technical question from Tory of Bloomington, Illinois. Should the new Office of Homeland Security be responsible for nuclear materials that are lost or missing, or should it remain under the jurisdiction of the Nuclear Regulator Committee?

JENKINS: It's a terrific question to bring up. In fact right now security for our nuclear facilities in the United States is divided between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has jurisdiction over the nuclear power plants and fuel production facilities while those facilities that are engaged in the military aspects of nuclear material are under the control of the Department of Energy. So we already have some divisions there. Should those be pulled out and put into the new homeland defense? I'm not sure that's necessary. Both the other organizations, the NRC and the DOE have set up an organization, procedures to deal with this, but it's a good question.

BLITZER: Brian Jenkins, we get a lot of good questions from our viewers out there. Thanks for joining us.

JENKINS: Thank you.

BLITZER: And nine months to the day after the September 11th attacks, there was a ceremony over at the Pentagon today. A capsule containing mementos was placed in a hole in the Pentagon wall. The capsule also contained the names of attacked victims. Workers then covered the hole with a piece of limestone completing post September 11th repairs to the Pentagon's facade.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: You our builders adopted that battle cry that Todd Beamer led the passengers on that flight over Pennsylvania. "Let's roll" is what he said and let's roll is what you said, and that's exactly what you've done. You've healed this wall and in doing so, you are helping to heal our nation.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLITZER: While the wall is finished, the Pentagon repair project continues. The entire project is estimated to cost half a billion dollars.

It's been called the wedding of the century, at least so far.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Joyful and moving, the official description of the wedding of Sir Paul McCartney to Heather Mills, and we've still got the fireworks to come.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLITZER: Richard Quest will be joining us, plus per one family a day at the beach turns into a day of sun, sand and unfortunately sharks. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked what was the Beatles first hit single. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was released in the United Kingdom in 1962. Two years later the song was released in the United States and became the number one song on the charts.

We didn't actually see them exchange "I dos", but we do know that they did. The church bells rang for Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. CNN's Richard Quest has been watching the comings and goings all day. He joins us just outside where the wedding took place. Did you get any refreshments over there, Richard?

QUEST: No. The only refreshments we've actually managed to have came from the fish and chips store just up the road. We do know that the wedding feast, which has been going on in the castle, which is about half a mile in that direction, the wedding feast was an Indian vegetarian feast. In fact, they've had a lot of vegetarian and Indian food. They had a breakfast, a vegetarian breakfast this morning.

All day we saw the comings and goings. We saw some members of the family arriving in buses from Liverpool and from London and we saw celebrities in cars with blacked out windows. We know that Ringo Starr is here. We know various other celebrities like Chrissie Hynde is here. But we really don't know much more about what's happened after the ceremony. Now Wolf, very briefly I can tell you that the bride was eight minutes late. She was wearing an ecru lace dress.

She fumbled and wept when she gave her vows to Sir Paul McCartney and she carried a bouquet of 11 so-called McCartney roses. And that really is about all what we do know. At the moment, the bands are playing. The party's going on, and anytime now, in the next 15, 20 minutes, we expect to get a glimpse somewhere over yonder of the fireworks that'll bring it to an end.

BLITZER: It's what, approaching almost midnight? What is it, 11:00 at night almost out there. How big - how big -- long is the celebration likely to last?

QUEST: Well, that's an interesting question. We know that there are five bands that are scheduled to play, one of which is Paul McCartney's touring Bell (ph). We're not sure (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and that of course (UNINTELLIGIBLE) from the impromptu people who will just decide to get up and give a song. Paul McCartney himself will probably perform.

What they did was they've got rented instruments in there, so anybody who does want (UNINTELLIGIBLE) karaoke can join in - join in the party. The thing we're not sure about, Wolf, is what happens after the fireworks. The rumor and the gossip is that Paul McCartney and his new bride now Lady Heather McCartney will then get on a boat, go across the lake, the Green Lake (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that's where the name of the area comes from and then they will take off in a helicopter on to their honeymoon. That's what we're told. But until we see the helicopter and the fireworks, it's by no means clear.

BLITZER: Very quickly, Richard, what's your favorite Beatle tune?

QUEST: My favorite Beatle tune is probably "Yesterday". Very quickly, let me just tell you, though, besides the McCartney wedding, the other big story here has been what happened in the World Cup. And Wolf, basically Ireland goes through to the next round. I've got several hundred people ...

(CHEERING)

QUEST: Because Ireland ... (CHEERING)

QUEST: Wolf, because Ireland beat Saudi Arabia 3-0, and that really perhaps is more important to the people in Glaslough than what's happening behind that wall.

BLITZER: All right Richard Quest, following both World Cup soccer as well as a Beatle wedding. Thanks as usual for joining us. Tell those friends of yourself out there that we're interested in how the United States is doing not necessarily how Ireland is doing.

It's almost officially summer here in the United States and tourists are heading to the beaches everywhere. But for one family, it was anything but a vacation.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

COREY BROOKS: I thought my friend was pulling me under and I got bit by a shark.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLITZER: When we return, the story of a small boy versus a very large shark.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now checking these stories on today's news wire. The Vatican is accepting the resignation of Bishop J. Kendrick Williams of Lexington, Kentucky. The bishop accused of committing sexual abuse while a priest in Louisville, says his resignation is not an admission of guilt. He's the third U.S. bishop to resign this year in connection with sexual abuse allegations.

He was just playing in the ocean not far from the beach on Hutchinson Island, then, he was pulled under. This afternoon, 10-year old Corey Brooks of Central Florida, talked about his close encounter with a shark.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

COREY BROOKS: We were like jumping over waves and getting hit by waves. And I - there was this small wave and I jumped over and I got -- and I got - I thought my friend was pulling me under and I got bit by a shark.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLITZER: Fortunately Corey, as you can see, is well on the road to recovery from his shark bite, which left him with an eight-inch gash in his left leg that he'll tell you needs -- at least needed 125 stitches. Good for him.

Let's go to New York now, get a preview of Lou Dobbs "MONEYLINE". That of course begins right at the top of the hour - Lou. LOU DOBBS, HOST: Wolf, thank you. We'll be telling you about a losing session on Wall Street. Technology stocks particularly hard hit, and tens of thousands of Colorado residents tonight are preparing to flee a wildfire that's burned more than 80,000 acres. We'll have a live report for you from Denver. I'll be talking with Diana Boto (ph), who is legal representative for the Palestinian Authority, as there has been another suicide bombing north of Tel Aviv.

I'll also be talking with General William Owen (ph), who is the former head of the Nationality Security Agency. We'll have all of that for you as well as the "SPECIAL REPORT", protecting our borders. All of that and lot more tonight at 6:00 Eastern. Please join us, and now back to Wolf Blitzer - Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much Lou. We'll see you in a few minutes. And traveling at a speed of more than 17,000 miles an hour, it's the most expensive ride in the galaxy. It's our "Picture of the Day", and it's coming up next.

Plus, you have two minutes left to weigh in on our Web question of the day. Should dirty bomb suspect Jose Padilla be held as a military combatant? The results, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Turning now to our "Picture of the Day", a home improvement project, 240 miles above earth. A pair of space-walking astronauts installed a work platform and made a series of hookups on a robot arm at the international space station, their future home away from home. It's the second of three space walks planned during the visit of the space shuttle Endeavor, which is due to return to earth on Monday.

Now here's how you're weighing in our -- on our Web question of the day. Earlier we asked should dirty bomb suspect Jose Padilla be held by the military as an enemy combatant. Look at his, most of you, 81 percent say yes, 19 percent say no. This is not -- repeat not -- a scientific poll.

Time also to hear from you. Dottie writes us this. Recently I had felt that this country's security was lacking. After the attorney general's announcement yesterday I felt better. I hope this dirty bomb scare will scare us all out of our complacent attitudes.

And Jeff writes, this dirty bomber certainly has taken the spotlight off the incompetence of the FBI, CIA, et cetera. I'm more afraid of losing my constitutional rights than I am of contracting radiation poisoning.

That's all the time that we have today. I'll see you tomorrow, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

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