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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Generals Reluctant on Iraq War; FAA Takes Move to Avert Disaster; Farber Found in Motor Home
Aired August 30, 2002 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Now on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, target Saddam; while President Bush sets his sights on Iraq, many who have commanded U.S. forces in battle are reluctant warriors.
Play ball.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think just by playing these games and finishing the season is going to help heal some wounds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: A deal in the nick of time for America's pastime. Mums the world for Martha, the duchess of the domestic arts plays it cool in a crisis.
And five years later, the death of a princess still stirs emotions and controversy.
It's Friday, August 30, 2002. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We begin with breaking news from the Federal Aviation Administration this hour. Our Kathleen Koch is standing by. She's joining us now live from here in Washington. Kathleen, what's the latest?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a very important emergency action taken today by the FAA to avert potential disaster. The Federal Aviation Administration today is ordering airlines to check more than 1,400 Boeing 737s, 747s, and 757s for a faulty fuel pump that could possibly cause sparking, and worst case scenario here, an explosion in the center fuel tank.
There have been three cases in the last few weeks of fuel pumps failing, and when they were opened up for repair they were found that wires inside were dangerously chafed and worn. The 1,250 pumps were made by a supplier called Hydro Air of Burbank, California, made for Boeing, and at least 116 of them were installed in new aircraft in January of this year, starting that month.
Now still the FAA is having airlines check thousands and thousands of planes because some of the suspect pumps - or just over a thousand planes. Some of the suspect pumps may have been installed as replacement parts in older aircraft. If that is the case then airlines are being told to pretty much make certain that they keep enough fuel in the center fuel tank to cover the pump. That is key. What happened is that the wiring that supplies the power to the pump is misrouted. It can get caught up in a rotating part of the pump and it can become chafed and worn, and if it is exposed to fuel vapors in an empty tank, that could cause arching, potentially a spark that might ignite the tank. There have been no incidents yet but the FAA clearly wants to avert one -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Well, what does this mean for the average passenger out there? These are three very popular Boeing aircraft. How long is a full inspection going to take, any indication of that Kathleen?
KOCH: Well, what this means for the average flyer is, well, obviously these are planes. They are workhorses of the airline industry widely flown. This won't take very long, about four days the FAA says, to check and see what planes have the potential defect and then make sure the tanks are kept full.
But the FAA says that passengers shouldn't be overly concerned, because generally when the center fuel tank becomes low on fuel, pilots switch off that fuel pump anyway, which would eliminate the chance of any sparking.
BLITZER: Kathleen Koch breaking this important story for us here. Thank you very much.
KOCH: You got it.
BLITZER: And we're following other important stories as well. As you probably know by now, Major League Baseball players and team owners did get it done today. They're done to the wire. They'll keep the season alive by preventing what would have been the ninth strike since 1972. We'll have complete coverage just ahead.
But first, there's also been a major break in the massive search for a nine-year-old California boy. In this past hour, there is word that Nicholas Farber has indeed been found. Our Charles Feldman is standing by. He's joining us now live from Los Angeles. Give us the good news Charles.
CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The good news, Wolf, is as you said Nicholas Farber is alive. He is apparently well. He is safe and he is now in the custody of authorities and will soon be reunited with his father who has temporary custody of the child and from whose home he was abducted several days ago.
Not so good news though for his mother, Debra Rose, and a companion who is believed to be one of two men who helped abduct the child from the father's home. Both Debra Rose and the as-yet unidentified male have been arrested. Not yet clear what charges they'll face. At least in the case of the man, kidnapping is almost certainly going to be one of those charges.
They were all found in a motor home parked in an RV park in San Diego, not too far from the Mexican border, fueling speculation on the part of authorities that they may have been headed to Mexico. They didn't get there. A tip came in to authorities because of an alert system that sent out the license plate and they moved in and within a few minutes of getting the tip, they surrounded the vehicle. And there was a news conference not too long ago, and the circumstances of that arrest were described.
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SHERIFF-ELECT BOB DOYLE, RIVERSIDE CO., CALIF.: The deputy sheriff waited for backup. They responded with 10 deputy sheriffs that surrounded the motor home and then continued to talk to them. CHP responded as backup to the deputy sheriffs and fortunately they did the right thing and they came out upon several requests and were taken into custody.
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FELDMAN: Now, there has been an ongoing custody dispute between Debra Rose, the boy's mother, and her it's believed to be third husband, she's been married apparently five times, and who had the temporary custody of the child. And as I said earlier, it was that man, the former husband, who had temporary custody and from whose home the child was abducted after he, the father, had been beaten.
The father is doing OK. The mother, as I said, is OK but in serious trouble with the law, and the child, of course, this is what this is all about, is well and safe -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Any word, Charles, when Nicholas is going to be reunited with his dad?
FELDMAN: Not precisely, Wolf, but probably not too long. They want to make sure that health authorities have a chance to look him over to make sure that he has had no physical harm. They want to have a chance to debrief him. You know it's not even clear whether the child wants to be with the mother or the father.
He is nine years old and legally he can't make that decision on his own, but they still might want to be interested in finding out where the child's heart lies. But he will be reunited with his dad probably by this evening -- Wolf.
BLITZER: OK, that's good news. Charles Feldman, thanks for that report. Let's move on now to the situation involving the United States and Iraq. Today, that nation warned it will fight both tooth and nail against any U.S. attack. With President Bush and the Iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein in a stare-down, their subordinates have come out swinging.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): The war of words between the vice presidents has begun. Responding to Dick Cheney's two speeches this week defending a possible U.S. preemptive strike against Iraq, Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan insisted the U.S. will have a fight on its hands. "Iraq is not Afghanistan," he boasts. Still Ramadan says Iraq has not completely ruled out the possibility of a return of U.N. weapons inspectors, even while insisting that Iraq "is very sure that America will strike no matter what the results, whether the inspectors come or not."
Ramadan was in Beirut where he met with Lebanese officials, part of an intensive Iraqi diplomatic offensive to win international support. At the European Union meeting in Denmark, close U.S. allies continue to caution against any unilateral U.S. strike, holding out hope that a return of those weapons inspectors would avert it.
JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: If Saddam Hussein has nothing to hide then he has nothing to fear from the readmission of the weapons inspectors; if he does have something to hide, all the more reason why we need to get those inspectors into Iraq.
BLITZER: Despite Cheney's outspoken stance, a key Republican Senator continues to urge caution.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), FOREIGN RELATIONS CMTE: I can hardly believe that the vice president of the United States would go out and make two very declaratory, defining war speeches on why we must invade Iraq, unilaterally if we must, without the knowledge and the approval of the president of the United States. Maybe that is the case. If that is the case then we're probably all in a lot more trouble than we know.
BLITZER: Secretary of State Colin Powell is described by a close confidante as convinced the United States should not attack Iraq without the support of key allies, but his concerns are apparently not shared by Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and others. One U.S. ally very much in favor of an attack on Iraq is Israel.
BENJAMIN BEN-ELIEZER, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: I think destroying the present Iraqi regime would change the whole thing, will change the whole thing. Maybe it would give a good lesson to the Iranians, the Iraqis and to the Syrians.
BLITZER: So far President Bush continues to speak only in general terms about the need for regime change in Baghdad. He is expected to make a much more robust case for a possible preemptive strike when he addresses the U.N. General Assembly on September 12. Last year when he spoke at the U.N., he never mentioned Iraq by name but he did issue this indirect warning.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For every regime that sponsors terror, there is a price to be paid, and it will be paid.
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BLITZER: The drumbeat for war against Iraq is drawing a chorus of concern from some top former U.S. generals. Our Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports the current brass may share some of those worries. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No one has more questions about the looming war with Iraq than the men and women of the U.S. military who would fight it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been told when we go to Iraq we'll have all the countries supporting us. How important is this, and if they don't support us, what are we going to do about that?
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, now if he had been from the press I would have said, I don't answer questions on Iraq.
MCINTYRE: Rumsfeld also faces questions from his senior commanders who, like Colin Powell and other former generals, are traditionally reluctant warriors. As Joint Chiefs Chairman, Powell voiced concerns before the 1991 Persian Gulf War, counseled against military force in Bosnia in 1993, and is among the former military men urging a go-slow approach now.
Retired Persian Gulf Commander Tony Zinni told a Florida group last week: "Attacking Iraq now will cause a lot of problems. It's the wrong time." Desert Storm Commander Norm Schwarzkopf warned this month against being at war on two fronts and urged the U.S. not to go it alone militarily.
Former NATO Commander Wes Clark wrote this week: "We should not seek war. It should be the last resort." And retired Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft argued: "Any campaign against Iraq is certain to divert us from our war on terrorism."
Noting the growing chorus, General Zinni said in his speech: "It might be interesting to wonder why all the generals see it the same way and all those that have never fired a shot in anger are hell-bent to go to war."
MCINTYRE (on camera): Privately, Pentagon officials say many current military commanders share the concerns of their retired colleagues, namely that while Saddam Hussein may have to be dealt with, now may not be the best time. In particular, the Pentagon brass is worried about having the flexibility to deal with al Qaeda, especially if a large number of U.S. troops are tied down in Iraq. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And as we just saw, among those calling for caution is the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, the retired General Wesley Clark. He says the Bush administration should "slow down the rush to go after Saddam Hussein." General Clark is joining us now live from Paris. General Clark, tell us why you disagree apparently with the Vice President Dick Cheney?
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FMR NATO SUPREME COMMANDER: Well, I agree that Saddam Hussein is trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons. He already has biological and chemical weapons. I agree he's unpredictable. I agree that eventually he may get nuclear weapons.
But we may have six months or six years before he does acquire such weapons. We don't have any indication that the acquisition of these capabilities is imminent. We have another campaign on our hands; that is an imminent threat and that is the problem of al Qaeda, and to defeat the terrorists we need all the support we can get from our international allies in the Middle East, in Europe, and everywhere around the world.
We need to build the strongest possible coalition. It can not be won unilaterally. It can not be won by military force alone. It's going to take a lot of intelligence cooperation, police cooperation, and even harmonization of laws.
Going after Iraq right now is at best a diversion, and at worst it risks the possibility of strengthening al Qaeda and undercutting our coalition at a critical time. So at the strategic level, I think we have to keep our eye on the ball and focus on the number one strategic priority. There are a lot of other concerns as well, but that's the main one.
BLITZER: But don't you have to assume that the vice president has access to the best U.S. intelligence right now, which may be pointing a very dire, ominous warning about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction?
CLARK: I do assume that, but even the vice president in his speech, Wolf, as I read it, said that we don't know when he might acquire these capabilities, and recall he's been trying to acquire nuclear capabilities since the 1970s. In 1981, Israel struck the Osirac (ph) reactor in Iraq and delayed the acquisition of nuclear capabilities.
We learned after the Gulf War that he might have nuclear capabilities or might have been close and he's always going to be cited as being very close. But the simple fact is we don't have any smoking gun here of evidence that he's that much closer. And so I think it's a matter of balancing off risks. Three thousand dead in the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings underscore the risk from al Qaeda and I think we have to keep in mind our strategic objectives.
BLITZER: General Clark from Paris, thanks for joining us. Have a safe trip over there. And here's your chance to weigh in on this very important story. Our web question of the day is this: Should the United States launch a preemptive strike against Iraq? We'll have the results later in this program.
Go to my Web site, cnn.com/wolf. That's where you can vote. While you're there, send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.
Play ball, the Major League avoids a strike but will the fans come back so easily? When we return, the bumpy road to recovery for America's favorite pastime. Plus, back to square one in the anthrax investigation, what clues were missed the first time around? And Princess Diana remembered the legacy of an icon. Stay with us.
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JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just go ahead and spin it around here. You can see both souvenir shops. You can see restaurants and bars. There are, you know, smaller souvenir operations over here. All of this, even the McDonald's parking lot, and if you're able to continue off around to the right, they sell parking to regular folks as well as to the TV news media and busses that come in there.
So, a lot of people in this neighborhood make money on the ballgame and, if there is a strike, that's bad news for everybody. Talking to the fans, the question is do you hold a grudge after this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't hold a grudge. I think there's a lot of things that they have to get worked out between the two sides and I'm happy that they worked it out temporarily at least.
FLOCK: And lastly, you're a Twins fan from Minnesota. If there had been a strike, it could have been the end of your franchise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's true. I'm extremely happy that they worked something out because with the new agreement they guaranteed contraction for the next four years.
FLOCK: It's good to go for another four years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to go, yes.
FLOCK: Good deal. All right, I appreciate the time. We're going to let you go. Again, Wolf, a lot of good news, a lot of people happy at Wrigley Field in Chicago that they finally got this resolved. Again, 6-2 Cardinals, we'll see how it turns out, back to you.
BLITZER: Jeff Flock, a lot of happy people all over the country. Thanks for that report. Let's get some more insight now on this story. Let's turn to my old friend Charlie Steiner. He's the voice of the New York Yankees. He's in Toronto for the game tonight between the Yankees and the Blue Jays. Charley, were you ever concerned that there would be a strike?
CHARLEY STEINER, VOICE OF NEW YORK YANKEES: Oh, I think everybody was concerned, Wolf, right down to the last minute. I mean you have two old warriors, Don Fehr on one side, Bud Selig on the other. It's Sharon and Arafat.
They have their own distinct camps and so yes, I think there was concern right up until the last minute, I mean even to the point where the Red Sox this morning arrived at Fenway Park at 7:30 and didn't leave really until almost the last minute to get to their game tonight in Cleveland.
BLITZER: Well if it's Sharon and Arafat, what happened? How come these two guys made a deal?
STEINER: I think at the end of the day they realized they both had their finger on the button. Baseball could not afford to lose yet another post season as they did in 1994. And so, at the end of the day they realized the game was far bigger than both sides.
I think the problem with this agreement though, Wolf, is that it's only a four-year deal. My suspicion is we're going to go right down the same road again three years from now. The saber rattling will continue and then in the fourth year we'll probably go right through all of this all over again.
BLITZER: To draw on another analogy from the world of international affairs, mutually assured destruction that's what it was all about, wasn't it?
STEINER: And it's also trust and verify. I don't believe that either side particularly likes one another, either side particularly believes in one another, but they realize at the end of the day the game is bigger than both of them and the game and the show had to go on.
BLITZER: You speak to fans every day. How are they going to deal with this near strike?
STEINER: I think there's a sense of relief. I don't think there's any outrage or anger. I think everybody was kind of sitting on the sideline and waiting for instructions from the players and the owners, and at the end of the day we're going to play here tonight and they're going to play around the country for the balance of the season and for the next four years.
BLITZER: Charley Steiner, he's got a dream job. He watches baseball games, makes a living doing it. Thanks for joining us.
STEINER: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Back to the home of the National Enquirer, for anthrax investigators why did the FBI wait so long to go back to the site of the first attack? We'll go live to Boca Raton, Florida when we return. Plus, a word of thanks from Martha Stewart; the celebrity perfectionist lies low during troubled times. And executive on the corner, a sign of the times in the new economy, but first a look at the news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice over): Swedish authorities say a man who tried to board this airliner may have been planning to hijack it. Security officers say they found a handgun in a 29-year-old man's luggage before a flight from Sweden to Britain.
A typhoon is battering Japan damaging homes, downing power lines and forcing evacuations. Forecasters fear Korea could be the storm's next target.
Two Turkish parachute jumpers got tangled in midair tearing one of the parachutes and causing the man using it to plunge dangerously to the ground. He suffered face injuries in his hard landing but is listed in good condition at a hospital.
Britain's prime minister has a new title, Ambassador of Tennis. Tony Blair has agreed to serve as ambassador of Britain's Lawn Tennis Association showing off his form to encourage others to play.
University students from 20 countries gathered in Japan to show off their hand-built robots and put them into competition. Each robot has three minutes to put beach balls into tubes. The contest is designed to advance the talents of young engineers, not as some might assume, the science of putting beach balls into tubes.
A humpback whale got untangled from a fish net thanks to the help of divers off Eastern Australia. Warned the whale could die if they didn't act quickly, the divers managed to cut the netting away in 90 minutes, and that's today's look around the world.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A new development in the war against terrorism. Two hundred people in the United States are under 24-hour government surveillance, thanks in part to key information from a captured al Qaeda member. Our Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena is covering the story. She has details. Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, U.S. officials confirmed to CNN reports that high-ranking al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah continues to provide good information. Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan in March along with computer disks and documents, which investigators say have been especially helpful in determining the focus of the terrorist investigation right here in the United States.
Included in the intelligence gathered were some names, which is not surprising as Zubaydah was the head of operations for al Qaeda. Now that information and other intelligence gathered has led officials to about 200 individuals here in the United States who, sources say, are under constant 24/7 surveillance. Investigators are trying to identify members of hidden terrorist cells or terrorist support personnel.
Now as part of that effort, investigators are closely observing mosques in at least nine cities across the United States, including Laurel, Maryland and San Diego, California, where some of the September 11th hijackers lived.
Under policy changes, investigators did get permission to surveil (ph) religious institutions even if there is no evidence of a crime; Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: Kelli Arena, Laurel, Maryland just outside Washington, D.C., thanks for that report. This footnote, I've been told that information that Abu Zubaydah provided to U.S. interrogators did help them find Jose Padilla, the man accused of being someone planning to build a so-called dirty bomb. We'll continue to follow this story as well. Meanwhile, investigators are spending Labor Day weekend inside the American Media Building in Florida, the site of last fall's first anthrax attack. They're looking for clues they may have missed in earlier sweeps. CNN's Mark Potter is keeping track of the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Late this morning, FBI agents and government scientists entered the AMI Building. They will be searching once again for anthrax spores. They will be here through the evening, all holiday weekend long, and through next week.
Federal authorities, with new technology in hand, say they will be looking for anthrax concentrations in the building. They will try to trace that anthrax throughout to see if they can find the source of the anthrax. Agents have said they believe that the anthrax came in through a letter but so far no letter has been found.
FBI agents in an affidavit for a search warrant say they have probable cause to believe a letter, an anthrax-laden letter, may still be inside the building. Meanwhile, some residents here, including the police chief, have expressed concern over the way they say that interest in the situation here in Boca Raton faded quickly after anthrax was discovered in Washington and New York.
CHIEF ANDREW SCOTT, BOCA RATON POLICE: As far as any other jurisdictions, law enforcement jurisdictions and/or legislative or political interest, there was none and all of that was focused and continues to be focused up in Washington, and much to the chagrin for the mayor and myself because frankly we were the first bioterrorist attack.
Does that mean anything? Well there is significance, but the fact is that we're still languishing with this building. So is the owner of the building. And you know what? The public still has some concern.
POTTER: There is hope here the federal government will eventually take over the AMI Building. Some political leaders, including Senator Bill Nelson, have agreed to sponsor legislation to that effect, but so far nothing has materialized concrete. Meanwhile the search continues here. This is part of the national anthrax criminal investigation.
Agents are still trying to learn who is responsible for the one anthrax death here and four others in the northeast.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: That's Mark Potter reporting from Boca Raton in Florida.
Samples gathered, by the way, in the AMI building, are being taken to a public health laboratory in Miami for further analysis.
She's been mum for a while, but Martha Stewart does have a message for her fans. Her published letter coming up.
And later, Diana is long dead but her influence remains five years later. A look at her lasting imprint on the royal family.
First our news quiz.
Princess Diana was president or patron of more than 100 charities while she was married to Prince Charles. After her divorce, Princess Diana remained president of which charity? English National Ballet, Hospital for Sick Children, Leprosy Mission, National AIDS Trust?
The answer coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Coming up, Martha Stewart lies low. A closer look at the queen of clean after a long, rough summer. But first, a look at some other stories making news right now.
Canadian health officials in Toronto say they have three probable cases of West Nile Virus. All three are men in their 50s and 60s. One is hospitalized in serious condition. Officials say two of them appear to have been infected in Ontario. The third may have picked up the virus while traveling in the United States. West Nile Virus has been detected in dead birds in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec.
Tropical Storm Dolly is churning toward the Caribbean. The storm has weakened a bit, currently packing sustained winds of 60 miles an hour. Forecasters don't expect much change in strength through tomorrow, but they say Dolly eventually could reach hurricane status. If it does, it would be the first hurricane of the Atlantic season.
Doctors say the top possible suspect in the abduction of a Salt Lake City teenager will probably never regain consciousness. Richard Ricci has been on life support since Tuesday when he suffered a blood clot in his brain. He has been the focus of the investigation into the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart. The 14-year-old was kidnapped from her bedroom in June. Ricci had worked as a handyman for the Smart family.
As we've been telling you, the search for 9-year-old Nicholas Michael Farber is over. The California boy who became the subject of a massive hunt after his abduction Wednesday was found safe and sound just a couple of hours ago. Our Charles Feldman has been covering this story from Los Angeles, joining us once again live with an update -- Charles.
CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the search for the boy may be over, but I just got some brand new information and this story is far from over. Authorities are still looking now, I'm told, for at least three other individuals, three other adults in addition to the mother, Debra Rose, who has been arrested, and a companion who is with her, who is believed to be one of two men who abducted the child from his father's home. Authorities tell me that they're looking for at least three other individuals now. One is the other man who broke into the home, the other is the woman who was the roommate of the mother Debra Rose, the third person as yet unidentified, and there may even be more suspects in this very bizarre case, but Nicholas Farber is safe, found in that motor home along with his mother.
They are all now at the sheriff's station in Lemon Grove. That's in San Diego County. Within the hour they're expected to be helicoptered back to Palm Desert, California. That's where the boy was residing with his father, who had temporary custody -- Wolf.
BLITZER: A lot of loose ends still in this very, very bizarre case. The most important thing, though, of course, being the little boy is safe and sound, and we are all happy about that. Charles Feldman, thanks for that update.
It's not much, but for the first time, homemaking maven Martha Stewart has made a vague reference to the insider trading investigation that's plagued her all summer. It came in a letter to her magazine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): As her summer of discontent winds down, Martha Stewart is still hunkered down, still not talking to the media despite having hired a dream team of attorneys and public relations specialists. Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are still considering issuing her a subpoena to answer some of their questions. That committee has received documents from Stewart and her lawyers regarding her questionable sale of stock in ImClone the day before that company's cancer drug was rejected by the FDA and the stock plummeted. The only glimmer we get from Stewart on this story comes in the September edition of her magazine "Martha Stewart Living."
In a letter, she says, "Thank you, loyal readers, for the numerous letters of support and well wishes you have sent this summer."
That's it.
From a powerful media magnate in the middle of, perhaps, her biggest professional and personal crisis, a person known for her marketing savvy who's got heavyweight P.R. firms at her beck and call, including one that specializes in crisis management.
We called both of her P.R. firms and got a "no comment" from each.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And when we come back, it's been five years since the passing of a princess, and one place has almost forgotten her. What memorials to Diana are fading away?
Later, in the weekend, a Labor Day Weekend spirit, how far will people walk to find work? We will tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Earlier we asked, after her divorce, Princess Diana remained president of which charity? The answer: Princess Diana remained president of the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormon Street (ph), and Royal Marsden Hostpital.
She continued to serve as a patron of the other charities listed.
And tomorrow will be the fifth anniversary of the day Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a violent car crash in Paris. Once the most photographed woman in the world, Diana dazzled -- seemed to dazzle everyone, but over these past five years some of that dazzle, of course, has faded -- in Paris, for instance. Here's CNN's Jim Bittermann.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BITTERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Without pause, the Paris traffic still rushes through the tunnel where Diana died, while on the surface occasional adoring fans still gawk at a monument which has nothing to do with the princess. And five years after her death, the accidental tourist still stumbles into remembrance.
(on camera): You know what happened here five years ago?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this where Diana -- we've been looking for that. We don't know which one it is. We know it's one of these tunnels. Is this the one? Is it? All right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right!
BITTERMAN (voice-over): But if Diana is still somewhat remembered here, there are those for whom the memory can't fade soon enough. Like that monument. Diana devotees have repeatedly laid claim to it with greetings and graffiti, even though it is in truth a monument that went up a decade before her death to celebrate French- American friendship.
City fathers have once again cleaned it up, adding crowd barriers to keep the Diana devoted at a distance. Then there are the fans who from the day after Diana's death have risked their own lives trying to get a snapshot of where it all took place. Authorities have erected a fence hoping to prevent any further mayhem in the tunnel. And on a lonely street three miles from the crash site, additional evidence of the desire to move on.
Behind a metal security gate at a nursery school open to the public only on weekends is a flower and vegetable garden which is the city's official memorial to Princess Diana. Senior citizens visiting on a flower tour had no idea, and no wonder! Among the cucumbers and marigolds, there's not a single plaque to the princess.
(on camera): In fact, in the entire garden about the only thing that really has anything to do with Princess Diana is right here. The Princess of Wales roses, which were planted shortly after her death.
(voice-over): One who has long studied the behavior of her countrymen believes the memory of the princess faded here because gossip about her died when she did.
CLAUDE SARRAUTE, TV AND RADIO COMMENTATOR: It's the gossip, it's the interest, and of course when she was alive there was every day something you could put under your tooth, as we said it in French.
BITTERMAN: Still, there will always be exceptions like ex-French police woman Susan Arnout (ph), so intent on honoring Diana she crashed the crowd barriers to lay flowers at the monument that has nothing to do with the princess.
I know it doesn't, she explained, but this is where she died. I adored her and she must not be forgotten.
Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Interest in remembering Princess Diana appears to have diminished in Britain as well. Tourists still visit her family home where Diana is buried, but attendance is down.
Joining us now from London to talk about Diana's life and legacy is the royal historian Robert Lacey. Mr. Lacey, thanks as usual for joining us. First of all, do people take seriously the talk of a conspiracy to kill Princess Diana? How serious is that speculation being taken?
ROBERT LACEY, ROYAL HISTORIAN: It's not taken seriously, no. It's a lot to do with Mr. Al Fayed, Dodi's father, who has been perhaps understandably most intemperate in his grief and accusations. He's actually used the privilege of court over here to accuse Prince Philip himself of masterminding the death of Diana.
I mean, let's cut to the chase here. There's no doubt at all that the royal family sleeps easier in its bed without Diana. Life is much quieter. They're not going to be shouting it from Balmoral this weekend, which is where they are now, as they were five years ago.
But, for example, this year one couldn't really imagine our Golden Jubilee having been such a great success with Diana. There was always something about her. She always had to poke her nose in. We'd have heard stories about how she was or was not invited to particular events.
On the other hand -- and here I would disagree with your previous report, at least from the point of view of people in Britain -- there's a pretty solid appreciation that Diana did great things for the monarchy, and that the monarch has learned a lot of lessons from her.
BLITZER: And there's a new book that's just coming out now by a former bodyguard of Princess Diana that's causing, I take it, quite a stir over there in Britain.
LACEY: Yes. On the whole opinion here is very solidly against it. The detective says he feels it's his duty to tell the truth, while most people here feel that it's a bodyguard's duty to protect their charge in every way and that actually revealing the truth in this sort of way will obviously break down the trust between bodyguard and charge.
The particular anxiety over here is of course for Diana's sons. We've already had trouble. We've already had trouble with Prince Harry getting involved in drinking and drugs, and there was some question then as to whether his bodyguards should have turned him in. Well, they didn't. They didn't rat on him. They stayed with him and as a result he trusted them and they were able to protect him.
Now the worry is that with this bodyguard revealing all these rather shameful details about their mother's love life, they may become more cynical, less trusting and will actually, as young adults do when they want to do something away from grownup adults, will try and slip away from their bodyguards and thus lose their protection.
BLITZER: Robert Lacey, always giving us some good insight into the royal family and the aftermath of Princess Diana. As usual, thank you very much for joining us tonight from London.
And in the spirit of this Labor Day Weekend here in the United States, we bring you the story of a man hard at work trying to find work. Why his personal pursuit is capturing the cameras.
And later, a guy who has found another use for his mustache -- coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Labor Day Weekend finds many members of the U.S. labor force facing an uncertain economy. Even highly-trained professionals can find themselves out of work, which brings us to a story from Dallas. Janet St. James of CNN affiliate WFAA has this story of a job seeker going that extra mile.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I really enjoy doing, project management, being with people, being in front of people.
JANET ST. JAMES, WFAA REPORTER (voice-over): The routine is the same, but the job today is different.
JOHN HUBBS, UNEMPLOYED: You face a big career decision -- you know, what am I going to do. What am I going to make of my life? I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Not far from the guy with the "Homeless, Hungry," sign, John Hubbs pulls out his own "Please help," pitch.
HUBBS: I'm looking for a job, for real. I've been doing it all day.
ST. JAMES: He spent his last $35 getting this message printed.
HUBBS: I was actually going to go do this yesterday morning, but when I got the sign made, I misspelled management on the sign. I was afraid somebody was going to yell at me, and say no wonder you're unemployed. You can't even spell management right.
ST. JAMES: Hubbs was laid off from a sales engineer position at Siemens nearly three months ago.
HUBBS: Now here I am. My reward from corporate America is to be jobless.
ST. JAMES: Fed up with a fruitless job search, he put on a nice suit, grabbed his leather briefcase, and hit the streets, literally at the intersection of Mockingbird and North Central Expressway.
HUBBS: Thanks for the encouragement.
People have been calling me on my cell phone. I have my phone with me so people can call this number right here and I can do an interview on the corner if I have to.
ST. JAMES: Street corner networking so far has yielded a far better response than beating down doors.
HUBBS: There's the proof.
I like to think somebody thinks I'm taking the initiative and showing a new idea, being unique.
Oh, great!
The whole point of view in this is to differentiate myself from the masses that are searching for a job right now.
It's for real, I'm looking for a job.
ST. JAMES: It's the same creative enterprise John Hubbs promises to show on the job, when he gets one.
HUBBS: Have you got a business card?
I'm not taking donations. I'm not here for charity. I'm ready to work. Tell your friends, man. That will be the best tip you can give me.
ST. JAMES: He's just not sure yet how to add this experience to his resume.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: That report from Janet St. James of our affiliate WFAA and from the street corner to a television studio -- the man featured in that report, John Hubbs, joining us now from our Dallas bureau. John, thanks for joining us. Any luck yet?
HUBBS: I've had an overwhelming response here in Dallas. Everybody's been very supportive, and as soon as the news story aired last night, my cell phone literally lit up with phone calls. Within a couple minutes I had 37 voice messages on my cell phone and was scrambling to write down phone numbers and take in information. Since the story aired also this morning I've had calls starting this morning at 7:00 a.m., and they've been phone calls of job offers, interviews, and people just offering their encouragement and offering their prayers.
It's been a great, great response.
BLITZER: So I take it you're not going to go walk the streets anymore, you're going to follow up and go for those job interviews?
HUBBS: Absolutely. Just managing all this information and fielding the phone calls has become a full-time job in itself.
BLITZER: What about a traditional search for a job, let's say a head hunter. That would be a normal executive route.
HUBBS: Right. I went down a lot of different paths and tried the traditional channels and ended up finding myself at home waiting for return e-mail, waiting for return phone call, trying to decide should I call again, should I be persistent, and really just woke up and decided that I wanted to make something happen rather than sit around and wait.
Now people are calling me.
BLITZER: All right. John Hubbs, good luck to you. If you get that job, let us know. We'll update our viewers. Maybe you're going to start a trend. A lot of unemployed executives out there. John Hubbs from Dallas, thank you very much.
Let's go to New York now and get a preview of LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE. He has a job. That of course begins right at the top of the hour. Jan Hopkins, though, is filling in for Lou tonight -- Jan.
JAN HOPKINS, GUEST HOST, "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE": That's right. Thanks, Wolf. Coming up on "MONEYLINE," a last minute deal prevents a strike for Major League Baseball players. We'll tell you the terms. Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States should gain international support before taking any action against Iraq.
General David Grange will be our guest. And some of America's favorite products are increasingly unamerican. Does that matter? We will have a special report on profits, patriotism and jobs. All that and a lot more ahead on MONEYLINE. Please join us. Now back to Wolf in Washington.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Jan. Time is running out to weigh in on our Web question of the day. Should the United States launch a preemptive strike against Iraq?
Log on to cnn.com/WOLF to vote. We'll have the results when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. We have now some of the first pictures that are being made available of the story we have been reporting throughout the course of this hour, the rescue of that 9-year-old little boy, Nicholas Farber, who was kidnapped, violently kidnapped from his father's home in Palm Desert, California. He's been picked up by police just a little while ago in San Diego, not far from the Mexican border.
He's fine. He's going to be reunited with his dad, we're told, fairly soon. We'll continue to watch that story for you, as well. All is well, though, with little Nicholas Farber fortunately.
Let's take a look at another picture that shows something a little bit, let's say, less than beautiful. He hasn't shaved in some 20 years and now uses his mustache -- get this -- to lift bricks. Sure, it hurts, but India's so-called mustache man says every labor has its pain. After lifting ten bricks with that hairy upper lip, the mustache man wants his place in the record books. His next goal, pulling a car or a truck. This is pretty gross.
Here is how you are weighing in on our Web question of the day. Earlier we asked: "Should the United States launch a preemptive strike against Iraq?"
Look at this. Thirty-four percent of you say yes, 66 percent of you say no. Remember, this is not a scientific poll. You can find the exact vote tally and continue to vote, by the way, on my Web site, cnn.com/WOLF.
We want to hear from you. Here's some e-mail that I've recently received. "Wolf, I enjoy your show" -- this is from William -- "it's very informative. Thank you for putting Ramsey Clark in the hot seat yesterday, where he belongs. Sounds like he wants to be the next attorney general of Iraq."
From Lenz, "Why is Bush taking so long to make a decision about invading Iraq? He has everyone on the edge of their seats, and I just can't take it anymore."
Tom has this suggestion. "Wolf, why don't you run for office? I have a feeling you could straighten it all out."
Not going to happen, Tom. Sorry.
And this from Bob in Saskatchewan. "What's with the bad haircut? You have to stop letting your wife cut your hair. A good barber can't be more than $10. I'd send it to you, but that comes out to about $2,000 Canadian dollars. Really enjoy your programs, especially on Sunday."
Thank you very much. The haircut stays.
Speaking of Sundays, by the way, among my guests this Sunday on "LATE EDITION," Minnesota's always outspoken Governor Jesse Ventura. Also, Senator Richard Lugar. Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brezinski, and on this Labor Day Weekend, the House Majority Leader Dick Armey and the AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. That's Sunday, "LATE EDITION," noon eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching. Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. I'll see you Monday. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
"LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now.
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