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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Police Around D.C. Become Desperate for Reliable Witnesses About the Sniper; Secret Service to Undergo Sniper Prevention Training

Aired October 18, 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, ANCHOR (voice-over): Sniper on the loose, investigators make a plea to the public.
CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: We need witnesses. We want our witnesses to come forward.

BLITZER: Training to protect the president against snipers, can the Secret Service lend a hand? Has the killer already been caught on camera?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can actually zoom in on an individual or a vehicle.

BLITZER: With millions of surveillance systems around the country, most of us are photographed every day. Are al Qaeda and its allies ready to strike again? Did they today? Showdown Iraq, once a battle begins who would move in to seize Iraqi weapons? We have new details. And, football brawl, a youth league game ends in violence by grownups.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there was about five or six guys (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's Friday, October 18, 2002. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. There's a breaking development in the Washington area sniper case but it does not bring police any closer to the killer.

Let's go straight to CNN's Jeanne Meserve. She's following details in our newsroom -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the sniper is still on the loose but an arrest of a man who was alleged to have misled investigators. Fairfax County Police this afternoon arrested Matthew M. Dowdy, 37, of Falls Church, Virginia after decisions were made late this afternoon to bring charges. That decision made by Robert Haran, the Commonwealth Attorney for Fairfax County. Mr. Dowdy will be charged with making a false report to a police officer in the course of an investigation. This is a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail.

On Monday night, Dowdy is alleged to have told police that he was a witness to the shooting at the Home Depot in Falls Church, Virginia. He described seeing the shooter get out of a van, bring an AK-74 to his shoulder and fire on his victim from a distance of about 30 yards. He described very specifically a cream-colored van with a damaged left taillight. An alert went out for police to be on the lookout for that vehicle.

Now, police became suspicious about inconsistencies and gaps in his story. They pressed him and on Wednesday night he confessed to police that he had not seen the shooting at all, that he had been inside the Home Depot, and CNN is told that there are pictures of him in that store from surveillance cameras inside the Home Depot. It does not appear, however, that that picture on the surveillance camera was taken specifically at the time the shooting took place.

Now, Chief Moose who's heading up this investigation said today that he was a little bit reluctant to underline this case too heavily because he doesn't want potential witnesses to be afraid that police are in a game with them of trying to discredit their testimony. He very much wants witnesses to continue to call into police tip lines. However, there are other observers and people near this case who felt strongly that there should be a prosecution here because they want to discourage other individuals from making false testimony to police officers of this investigation -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeanne, a double-edged sword as you point out on this whole issue; any progress discernible to the public today at that briefing or elsewhere in terms of the overall investigation?

MESERVE: Well, investigators say they are still very optimistic about this case. They say they have several good leads that they are pursuing but they do not give us any specifics about what they're looking at. Clearly, they thought they had a lot of great information from this witness. That has not panned out. They are having to go back a bit but they do claim still to be optimistic that eventually they will be able to apprehend the sniper -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve with the latest for us thanks very much.

And while they seek good witness descriptions of the killer, investigators are also checking to see if the sniper has been seen by one of the many surveillance cameras which have become an ever present part of all of our lives.

CNN's Art Harris has that report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Look around the next time you walk into a store and chances are a hidden eye is looking back at you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throughout the day, we can probably go through the whole day being captured on camera without noticing, without knowing.

HARRIS: Today, security cameras seem to be everywhere, so why haven't they caught the sniper still on the loose? One reason, most stores put their cameras inside to catch a thief, a robber, a shoplifter. The sniper has lurked outside, out of view.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The theft inside is more of a priority than what occurs outside.

HARRIS: Once you're outside you're on your own?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty much. Once you've walked out of the building, pretty much you are no longer being monitored. You are no longer being recorded.

HARRIS: The latest victim was shot down in a Home Depot parking garage. The store had cameras inside, not outside. Many stores put the first camera right above the cash register. How many cameras do you have?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have 18 cameras right now.

HARRIS: Only after this bird, named Bubba, was stolen from his cage did this pet store put cameras up and down the aisles. This is one of the few places we found with cameras installed on the outside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have them out front overlooking the main road out there just so we could get a getaway car.

HARRIS: There are now two million video surveillance systems in the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are about 20 miles away from a location in Washington, D.C.

HARRIS: This camera on top of a building along a busy street can be moved with the click of a mouse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can actually zoom in on an individual or vehicle. There is a white van.

HARRIS: But technology alone is not enough. Last week, a motorist was gunned down at this Sunoco station in Manassas, Virginia. The manager told us he'd ordered security cameras before the shooting but they had not yet arrived. They're due to be installed this weekend. Two cameras will look out over the pumps. Had they been in place eight nights ago, investigators say, they might have helped pinpoint where the sniper was standing. Another station on the opposite corner did have cameras. The night they were turned off.

HARRIS (on camera): Even with security cameras in so many places and investigators checking every frame after each shooting to catch the killer on tape, police will need a bit of luck and so far that kind of luck has been elusive.

Art Harris, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: While the sniper attacks have left the Washington area on edge, the CIA director has warned that the nation may face a new wave of al Qaeda terror attacks. Our National Security Correspondent David Ensor is following that part of the story. He joins us now live -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, people really sat up and took notice when George Tenet said yesterday that the threat level is as high now as it was in the summer before the attacks of September 11th.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: It is serious. They have reconstituted. They are coming after us. They want to execute attacks.

ENSOR (voice-over): And there have been a lot of them, some like the bomb blast on a bus in Manila may only have been inspired by al Qaeda say U.S. officials. That may also be true of the shooting attacks on U.S. Marines in Kuwait. But others, like the attack using a bomb-laden small boat on a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen, or the bloody bombings at tourist sites in Bali, Indonesia, those may not only have been inspired but also directed by al Qaeda. And lest Americans think all these attacks overseas imply somehow that this country is less threatened, Tenet says think again.

TENET: Al Qaeda is in an execution phase and intends to strike us both here and overseas. That's unambiguous as far as I am concerned.

ENSOR: Part of the evidence is the statements on an audiotape deemed genuine of Ayman Al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's number two. Zawahiri refers to warning to Europeans not to back the U.S. on Iraq. He specifically mentions France, Germany, and Belgium on the tape. Officials there tell CNN they view this as the most dangerous period for them since 9/11.

U.S. officials say their heightened concern is also based in part on what senior al Qaeda prisoners, like Abu Zubaydah, are offering them in reaction to Zawahiri's threats. But officials say as in the past they lack specifics, intelligence on when, where, and how the attacks might be planned to occur.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: And that is why homeland security officials are saying they have not raised the threat level, the meter from yellow to orange, though they have sent out a memo, officials say, to state and local governments and to certain key officials asking them to take certain measures to improve the nation's security against terrorism -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor with the latest thanks very much.

And the sniper whodunit, there seems to be more theories than suspects, lone gunman, al Qaeda, crazed teens. We'll hear from all sides of this debate. When we return, the Secret Service on the trail of the sniper, what the nation's top bodyguards are doing to help nab a killer.

But first, today's "News Quiz." Which president was the first to receive Secret Service protection? Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Herbert Hoover? The answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: When Saddam Hussein feels threatened, how does he react? Coming up a chilling picture you'll see at 22 after the hour. Then, the game spoiler grownups acting like kids, what set the crowd off? That's at 50 after the hour. That's all coming up on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked which president was the first to receive Secret Service protection, the answer Grover Cleveland back in 1894.

Welcome back. Trained to protect presidents from assassinations, the Secret Service has learned from bitter experience how to defend against snipers. It's counter-sniper teams include sharpshooters trained to take out a sniper with one shot. Can the Secret Service help catch the killer whose been stalking the Washington area?

Joining me now from Boston, Philip Melanson and he's a University of Massachusetts professor. He's an expert on political violence and has written widely on assassinations. He's also the co-author of a new book on the Secret Service, the hidden history of an enigmatic agency. Mr. Melanson thanks very much for joining us. Were you surprised a couple weeks ago when they announced that among those federal law enforcement officials brought in to deal with the sniper investigation, the FBI, the ATF? The Secret Service was also asked to help.

PHILIP MELANSON, AUTHOR "SECRET SERVICE": I was surprised in one sense in that it might not be the most sensible involvement but we have a habit lately of involving the Secret Service in almost any one of our national or law enforcement crises, so that was predictable.

BLITZER: Why was it not sensible to bring them in?

MELANSON: Well, on the one hand they can add something but the problem that I'm worried about is that they're already stretched very, very thin in terms of their drastically expanded protective mission in the wake of 9/11. According to media accounts, 50 Secret Service agents from the D.C. office had been put on the case and that doesn't sound like a lot but in the D.C. office, and given how thin they are spread, that's a big hole in their personnel.

BLITZER: But don't they know among all U.S. federal agencies a lot about this sniper threat, given the fact that they have to protect the president, the vice president, their families from these kinds of threats on a day-to-day basis?

MELANSON: They do bring some unique knowledge to the situation but perhaps not as much as we might think. For example, the counter- sniper teams that you mentioned at the top of the program, they're very effective in keeping snipers away from the White House or motorcade route but they're not search and destroy teams that fan out through a city going for snipers and preventing them from being there.

The profiles that the Secret Service had of assassins may overlap to some degree with the sniper killer but it's not an instant profile by which you could predict a serial killer or even a terrorist. So, while they seem to have this expertise, when it goes to apply to this case it's not as directly applicable as it might seem.

BLITZER: The Secret Service seems to be all over the place now. I remember in Salt Lake City at the Winter Olympics there was a big show of Secret Service involvement there, at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. You think this is going way beyond their original objective?

MELANSON: I think it's consistent with their objectives but we have to decide as a government, as a political system what we want to task them to do. The phenomenal extensive of protective details after 9/11 to political leaders and White House aides that never had it before which is sensible and we needed to do, left the Secret Service so understaffed that it had to raid its own field offices to put agents on protective duty that wouldn't normally be there.

We have to keep in mind that my last estimate given to me by the service last year was that they had 2,700 agents to do everything that we've talked about from the Super Bowl to the president to being involved in the sniper killing, the investigation thereof. So, they can't coin new agents by the hundreds very instantly and I'm afraid that their personnel is falling behind.

BLITZER: Philip Melanson thanks for joining us. As someone who covered the White House, covered the president for almost eight years, I know these guys and gals, the Secret Service agents and the officers are among the best in the world and we should all appreciate what they do for all of us. Thanks Philip Melanson for joining us.

MELANSON: I agree.

BLITZER: And as awful as it is, the D.C. area sniper case isn't unprecedented. In fact, it has some similarities to a case that haunted Ohio starting more than a decade ago.

CNN's Maria Hinojosa has more on that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, for four years in the late 1980s and early '90s, people in Ohio lived with similar fears that those in the Washington area are facing today. The Ohio shooter came to be known as the Outdoorsman Sniper, his target, primarily men who hunted and fished. A total of five men were killed by a man named Thomas Lee Dillon (ph) who was finally caught and is serving life in prison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HINOJOSA (voice-over): He doesn't look like a killer. That's what people said when Dillon was finally captured. On the outside, Thomas Lee Dillon was a family man. Only later was it revealed that he abused his wife and son, collected hundreds of guns, brutally killed thousands of animals before he became a hunter of humans.

JOLENE LIMBACHER, FORMER REPORTER, AKRON BEACON JOURNAL: He enjoyed reading the autopsy reports of the victims. He enjoyed knowing how much blood filled in their chest cavity. He seemed to get a great deal of pleasure out of knowing that he shot the head off of one of them, that there was nothing left.

HINOJOSA: Jolene Limbacher, a former reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal, received phone calls, lengthy letter and meticulous cartoons from a jailed Dillon for five months. She was able to get inside the mind of a serial sniper.

LIMBACHER: They love to control. They love the thrill of the hunt. They love the ecstasy they get from killing, and I'm sure that Tom is probably thrilled that he is being compared to the sniper. Tom never wanted to be a footnote.

HINOJOSA: But there was one person Thomas Lee Dillon couldn't control, the humble mother of his youngest victim, 21-year-old Jamie Paxton. Jean Paxton wrote letters to her local newspaper publicly scolding the then anonymous killer. He wrote the newspaper back saying that shooting her son meant as little to him as shooting a bottle.

JEAN PAXTON, VICTIM'S MOTHER: He did go to the site where Jamie, where he killed Jamie at one time and he kicked over some crosses and tore out a tree and he was angered by something he had read in the newspaper about the closeness of our family and the love that we still held, even though he had tried to destroy our family.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HINOJOSA: Wolf, on the Connie Chung show Monday night, more on the amazing story of how the mother of one victim turned the tables on the Outdoorsman Sniper and helped put him behind bars -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Maria Hinojosa thanks so much, fascinating information giving us some perspective on all of this, appreciate it. U.S. Special Ops gathering in Jordan, a look at the forces who would lead an attack on Iraq. Plus, Saddam Hussein like you've never seen him before, we'll get up close and personal. Also, the sniper theories, everyone seems to have one, but are any really credible? We'll look at them all, then put them to the test in a debate. And, parents out of control, a big time brawl at a football game, how a touchdown ended with two men in jail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Welcome back. In the event of war with Iraq, elite U.S. forces are already in the neighborhood preparing to get the jump on the Iraqis.

Let's go live to our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr. She has details -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Wolf. CNN has learned that U.S. Special Forces are already in the Middle East training for the opening hours of a war against Saddam Hussein.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): In the desert kingdom of Jordan, 1,500 Special Forces like these are training for future covert missions. If the U.S. invades Iraq, sources say these types of commandos will be inserted behind enemy lines moving to attempt to seize Iraq's suspected chemical, biological, and nuclear weapon sites. A senior official tells CNN the U.S. will put Special Operations forces inside Iraq to take every kind of potential action against Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

One of their most crucial missions, to locate and destroy the dozens of scud missiles and launchers that the U.S. still believes Iraq is hiding, missiles that could draw Israel into a wider war. CNN has learned that if the Special Forces can not quickly destroy the weapon sites and scud launchers, they will use covert action to disrupt activity, cutting off power, blocking roads, sabotaging equipment.

Attacking the scuds is vital. In Operation Desert Storm, Iraq launched 39 scuds at Israel. The U.S. flew hundreds of missions over mainly western Iraq for weeks looking for launchers. They never found them. Iraq still may have more than two dozen scud missiles. The U.S. has now renewed promises to Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and several other Persian Gulf allies, including Kuwait, that the U.S. will protect them from Iraqi missile attacks.

Under the direction of NORAD, satellites overhead will watch around the clock for the flash of a missile launch, the information instantly relayed to allies. Those satellites already are watching Iraqi military forces 24/7. U.S. Patriot missile defense batteries already are on tap to be sent to the region before President Bush gives an attack order.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Wolf, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is maintaining his position that it will take both Special Forces and conventional military power on the ground inside Iraq to get rid of Saddam Hussein and his weapons -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon thanks very much. The United States has made it clear that its number one objective in Iraq is so-called regime change. Over the years, President Saddam Hussein has used brute force and intimidation to remain in power. CNN's Garrick Utley takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When President Saddam Hussein dances, everyone else falls into step. Such is life in Iraq. Those who have been in his presence don't forget it.

YOUSSEF IBRAHIM: A real presence, cool as a cucumber, very cold eyes, frightening eyes. There is -- you can't read anything beyond them.

UTLEY: When Youssef Ibrahim met Saddam Hussein, he like other visitors first had to wash his hands in a chemical solution to avoid contaminating the leader with germs. Saddam Hussein is a paranoid and a puzzle. As a young ruler, he appeared to be a progressive reformer. Western leaders courted him. As a Muslim, Saddam dutifully made the pilgrimage to Mecca but back home he crushed Islamic fundamentalists who could challenge his power. He improved the status of women, and he used the massive wealth of Iraq's oil to modernize his country. So what went wrong?

IBRAHIM: There is Saddam the madman. His (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is unequalled and his ego is unequalled and he absolutely takes no advice.

UTLEY: Saddam Hussein's cold, brutal side was on display at this meeting of Iraq's top officials in 1979 as he seized total power and eliminated possible rivals. In a calm voice he claimed he had uncovered a plot. One by one, he read off names. Sixty-six men were taken out of the hall. Twenty-two were executed. The rest disappeared into prisons. Some were longtime friends and allies. With a wave of the cigar in his hand, Saddam Hussein sealed their fates and then the tyrant wept.

No doubt he knows the fate of those who live and rule by the sword who were surrounded by yes men in fear of their lives. The tyrant becomes dangerously isolated, a loner. So it's not surprising that among Saddam Hussein's favorite films, or said to be, "The Old Man and the Sea," the story of an aging fisherman battling to catch a giant marlin to show his friends back on land that he has not lost his strength, and, "The Godfather."

At age 65, there is still more of "The Godfather" in Saddam Hussein than the old man. According to his biographers he dyes his hair black to hide the gray. He swims regularly to alleviate a bad back. Although he's known to have had mistresses, he and his wife have been married for nearly 40 years. They have two daughters and two sons. Saddam Hussein's life has been about power and violence and death. What will he do if the United States comes gunning for him?

IBRAHIM: I think he will die with a bullet, whether the bullet is one he puts in his own head or somebody puts in his head. I think he will die with a bullet.

UTLEY: As he has caused so many others to die. Garrick Utley CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thank you, Garrick, excellent piece. The sniper theories, a disgruntled loner, kids on a violent rampage, or a terrorist plot, we'll have an in-depth look at a cold trail of a killer. And sexual assault charges against a baseball Hall of Famer, details still to come; but first, a look at other news making headlines "Around the World."

There's been an assassination in Russia. A regional governor was shot in the head on a busy Moscow street. The gunman fled. Police call it a contract killing.

Caracas clashes. Activists linked with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have been battling in the streets with Caracas police. The mayor of Caracas says Chavez is looking for a pretext to take over control of the Caracas Police Department.

Urban combat in Colombia's second biggest city. Federal troops encircled a neighborhood in Medellin in a bid to oust leftist rebels. It's believed as many as 25 people have died in several days of fighting.

Australia's raging wildfires have claimed a life. One woman died after being trapped in her home. There are predictions this may turn out to be Australia's worst fire season in years.

Did he do it or die? In London, prosecutors at the theft trial of Princess Diana's former butler discussed a possible motive. The butler allegedly told police that after Diana died, he took some of her possessions for safekeeping because he feared they might be used in a plot to discredit her.

And solution at hand. Wedding guests are supposed to silence their cell phones, but they made an exception at a British wedding when the organist failed to show. One of the guests came to the rescue, reprogramming his cell phone to play "Here Comes the Bride."

And that's our look "Around the World."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Coming up, sniper on the loose. A lone gunman, two kids or an al Qaeda plot? An in-depth look at all the theories being circulated. But first, let's take a look at some other news making headlines right now.

A new commission comprised of both Vatican officials and U.S. bishops will go back to the drawing board on a policy to deal with priests accused of sexual abuse. The Vatican is rejecting the resolution American bishops adopted in June, saying it does not conform to universal church law. The Vatican wants an appeals process and the statute of limitations, and it objects to a requirement that accusations be turned over immediately to the police. There's more reason for concern that the sometimes deadly West Nile virus has entered the national blood supply. Authorities suspect three people in Ohio may have contracted the virus through blood transfusions. One of them died. Another possible case is reported in Florida.

More now on the search for the Washington area sniper. Almost three weeks into the case, there may not be many facts for investigators to go on, but there is still plenty of conjecture.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The expression "everyone has a theory" may never have been more appropriate. The D.C. sniper case has seemingly made every observer a profiler, as people try to make some sense out of senseless death. Experts have focused on a few credible possibilities. The lone gunman, possibly a former serviceman or ex- cop, although many believe the sophistication of the likely weapon used could enable people who don't have those backgrounds to shoot with deadly accuracy.

But could a lone gunman get away so efficiently without help? That segues into a second theory.

CMD. SGT. MAJ. ERIC HANEY, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Yes, they're two men, they're working together. They built themselves up to executing these kinds of horrific attacks, and they're feeding off of one other.

BLITZER: Among those who believe in a two-person theory, former New York City Detective Bo Dietl, but he goes a step further.

BO DIETL, FORMER NY POLICE DET.: These young kids get involved with these video games, and they become -- they think that they become this great sniper, and then they go out to try it in reality.

BLITZER: But could two people have pulled off all of these shootings without anyone getting a good look at either of them? Involvement by two people also doubles the chance of someone making a critical mistake, which so far has not happened.

Does that mean organized terrorists are carrying out these attacks? European investigators say the FBI has visited one al Qaeda suspect held in Belgium, who had bragged terrorists were training for these types of attacks. But the European investigators point out the suspect has access to newspapers, and disinformation is a key al Qaeda tactic.

And there was this from FBI Director Robert Mueller.

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: We've had thousands of leads, whether it be on our tip line or others, that we are investigating, and they are hopeful leads, amongst those that we have received over the last week.

BLITZER: Given all these profiles and theories, what will it actually take to find this killer? WELDON KENNEDY, FORMER FBI DEP. DIRECTOR: It's going to take the individual who is doing it to make a serious mistake, or it's going to take someone close to that person who is -- has some information.

BLITZER: And to all these theories, add one more, that we may never find out who's been terrorizing the Washington area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Joining me now to talk about these theories, Lou Palumbo, he's in New York. He's director of the security firm the Elite Group, and in Houston, former FBI investigator, Don Clark. Thanks to both of you for joining us.

Lou, let me begin with you. Is it possible that terrorists really possibly could be behind this?

LOU PALUMBO, THE ELITE GROUP: Certainly it's possible. It's something that cannot be ruled out as a possibility. I mean, one of the things that kind of generated my interest was the most recent shooting in Falls Church, Virginia. The witness that has now been discredited initially indicated that the weapon that was used was an AK-47 weapon. He said that definitively. In addition to that, I believe he identified this person as someone being of dark complexion. Those two elements would start to point the vector toward a terrorist.

BLITZER: But his testimony has now been totally discredited. He just made all of that up.

PALUMBO: That's correct. He did. And as I understand it this afternoon, that he's been charged with filing a false police report, which is minimally a misdemeanor, I'm certain, in that state.

BLITZER: And he's got police going way off on a tangent maybe as well. Don Clark, what do you think of the terrorist theory?

DON CLARK, FORMER FBI INVESTIGATOR: Well, Wolf, I weigh heavily on the other side. I really don't think it's a terrorist, and I'm going to say -- I'm going to be specific and say an international terrorist plot here.

The reason is is that terrorist activities are almost always politically motivated, and the action or the lack of action that we have seen by the law enforcement community doesn't at all point to me, having been an investigator in some of these things, that there is a terrorist implication there.

Let's remind ourselves that 1993 we had the World Trade Center bombing up in New York, of which I was the manager of that case, but then a couple of years later, we had Oklahoma City bombing, and most everybody said to a tee, that I spoke to, that that's the same group of people that was involved in the terrorist attack up in New York. Similar crimes can be conducted with different people, and they will have some similarities. So I don't lean heavily on the terrorist activity, but it's still an option that has to be considered by the law enforcement people who have more facts than I do. BLITZER: And Lou Palumbo, you heard the homeland security director say that it's an option that no one can rule out right now since they have no other options, no other hard evidence, apparently.

PALUMBO: Well, my feeling is that the individuals who are closest to this case, and those are the investigators, more likely of the FBI, ATF and even Secret Service, they probably have the most credible information in either affirming or denying this supposition that it could be a terrorist. I think the fact of the matter is that we have to be intelligent and weigh all possible profiles before eliminating them.

And I want to say one other thing. We need to be very careful and responsible in creating profiles, because the backlash of saying definitively that this is a terrorist act could have some very serious ramifications socially in this country.

BLITZER: Don Clark, what do you make of Bo Dietl's suggestion: A couple of teenage boys who are obsessed with video games just went and got out of control?

CLARK: Well, I won't agree or disagree with that, but I will say that this certainly seems to be a bit more sophisticated than a couple of teenage boys. We've all -- many of us have had teenage kids, and they're not necessarily that particular. Clearly, this individual is being very particular about his activities. We thought there was some sloppiness the other night in Falls Church, but then we find out that's a false report.

So again, this person is still being very meticulous, doing a lot of planning, but yet the targets are clearly at random. And that's the other reason that I weigh heavily against being an international terrorist activity, because rarely if ever do they do random target selection.

BLITZER: What do you make, Lou, of the whole Tarot card being found at scene of one of the shootings? What does that suggest, if anything, to you?

PALUMBO: Well, my immediate interpretation of that is that this is an individual that is taunting the police. In other words, the police at times are perceived in our culture as being godlike, or some of them even take on that complex, so to speak. And this individual addressed the police saying, "Dear policeman, I am God." So depending on the intonation in your voice, it could take on a meaning of a different sort. I personally think he was just informing the police that he's in control here, and he's calling the shots, literally.

Lou Palumbo and Don Clark, a lot of theories -- unfortunately, so far, no answers. Let's home they resolve this case very, very soon. Thanks to both of you for joining us.

PALUMBO: Thank you, Wolf.

CLARK: Thank you, Wolf. BLITZER: And here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of the day is this: Do you think a terror group is behind the D.C. area sniper killings? We'll have the results later in this program. Go to my Web page: cnn.com/wolf. That's where you can vote.

Falloff from one of New York's most sensational trials. America's legal eagle gets sued. Johnnie Cochran and his famous partners accused of squeezing a little guy out of $1 million. The bitter battle over money when we return.

Also, kicking, punching, out-of-control parents. How a football game turned to into a nasty fistfight, all of which caught on tape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: High-profile lawyer Johnnie Cochran is due in court soon, but this time he'll be the one testifying. Cochran and the so- called dream team partners are caught up in a battle over fees stemming from one of their most notorious trials.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Celebrity lawyer Johnnie Cochran has been busy promoting his new book.

BEGALA: Johnnie Cochran, "A Lawyer's Life," thank you very much for coming to "CROSSFIRE."

COCHRAN: My pleasure to be with you.

FEYERICK: So busy, in fact, he's putting off testifying in federal court. The case in question, one of the most sensational in New York City history: the 1997 police torture of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's all of the lawyers that worked on this case.

FEYERICK: This particular fight is over the $3 million owed the lawyers. On one side, Cochran and his famous partners, Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld from O.J. Simpson fame, saying the Louima's first legal team shouldn't get a penny. But the widow of one of those lawyers on the other side says it's her husband who brought the torture of Abner Louima into the national spotlight. She calls the so-called dream team the greed team.

ELIZABETH THOMAS, ATTORNEY'S WIDOW: To put a widow through this is unforgivable, and I feel that I have been thrown into a lion's den with vicious lions and I'm like Daniel.

FEYERICK: Carl Thomas, a lawyer and civil rights activist, was fighting to get his share of the $3 million. He died of a brain aneurysm at age 41. THOMAS: He was like this.

FEYERICK: Elizabeth Thomas says her husband and his law partner were deliberately squeezed out of the Louima case by the celebrity lawyers, and that ultimately they had no choice but to quit.

BRAD SIMON, ATTORNEY FOR THOMAS ESTATE: It's not a question of their resigning. It was a question of there being forced out.

FEYERICK: In court, the Cochran team argued the local lawyers were incompetent. Taking the stand, Barry Scheck accused Thomas and his partner of leaking confidential information. At the time, Scheck says, it threatened to jeopardize Abner Louima's criminal and civil suits against the city and police department.

MICHAEL ROSS, ATTORNEY FOR COCHRAN TEAM: These lawyers quit for no legitimate reason, and after having quit, they invented a series of excuses and justifications for quitting.

FEYERICK (on camera): The Louima case dragged on for years. In the end, one officer pleaded guilty to torturing Louima, and the city and police shelled out $9 million to settle the civil suit. A third of that was supposed to go to all Louima's lawyers.

(voice-over): Sources say Cochran offered the widow and her four children their $200,000, an offer Elizabeth Thomas calls ridiculous.

THOMAS: This is not going to make me rich. This is just going to help me pay my bills and somehow, you know, enable me to be the head of my household.

FEYERICK: Johnnie Cochran is scheduled to testify when he winds up his book tour.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And this update now on our top story. The man who turned out to be a false witness in the sniper case has been arrested and charged with lying to an officer. That's a misdemeanor. The man is identified as 37-year-old Matthew Dowdy of Falls Church, Virginia. He initially told police he witnessed Monday's sniper attack in a Home Depot parking lot garage, and gave police details of the shooter, the weapon and the vehicle. He later admitted he was inside the store when the shooting happened and didn't see anything. Dowdy is now in police custody and faces up to six months in prison if he's convicted.

When we come back, he helped Minnesota win two World Series. Now he Kirby Puckett faces felony charges. Find out why he's in a big heap of trouble.

And what in the world was this guy thinking? This silly stunt that went from bad to worse still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Former Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer, Kirby Puckett is facing charges of false imprisonment and sexual assault. Police say he dragged a woman into the men's room of a Minneapolis-area restaurant last month and fondled her. If convicted, Puckett could serve up to three years in prison.

You can't tell some people it's just a game. Amateur video is leading to arrests after an ugly fight involving about two dozen people at a youth football game in Southern California. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a typical Saturday afternoon football game. The Pico Rivera Dons vs. the Downey Razorbacks. Typical, until a small skirmish between players breaks out on the sidelines.

DARRYL LAURELL, AMMATURE PHOTOGRAPHER: He's the one that started the whole thing.

GUTIERREZ: Darryl Laurell was videotaping the game. He says an angry father from Pico Rivera decided to confront a father from the Downey team.

Look at what happens next.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, man, no!

GUTIERREZ: Desi Tubbs, a father whose son wasn't even on the field during the skirmish, is punched and kicked to the ground. Sixty-eight-year-old Dick Engel, in the red tries, to stop the fight. He's knocked out.

When this woman tries to shield Tubbs with her body, she's kicked in the face.

JEFF WHEELER, DOWNEY COACH: They ganged-up on them. Beat on them. Anybody that tried to help, to pull those parents off, got hit. Kids got hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like a free for all.

DICK ENGLE, VICTIM: One of their adults hit one of our 9-year- olds and gave her a concussion.

LAURELL: I've never seen anything like this.

GUTIERREZ: Laurell's tape ended up in the hands of authorities.

LAURELL: It's very bad. For parents to act like this...

GUTIERREZ: Now two brothers, one whose son was in the game, face possible felony assault charges.

LT. MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: They're seen kicking and punching a man who's on the ground, kicking him in the face, kicking him in the chest, kicking him in the head. Basically that's assault with a deadly weapon.

GUTIERREZ: More arrests are yet to come. As for Desi Tubbs, he's still recovering from the beating.

DESI TUBBS, VICTIM: You know, I was just trying to defend myself. Trying to survive. I have constant headaches. My jaw's sore. I have abrasions all over my body, my wrists and my ribs.

GUTIERREZ: Dick Engel says he'll be OK, even though this is the saddest thing he's seen in the league's history.

ENGLE: I've had this program 43 years and I've never, in the 43 years have ever had any problems like these.

GUTIERREZ: None of the 13 or 14-year-old players were involved in the may lay. Maybe, some of the parents can learn from their kids.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And we're following a developing story off the coast of Fort Lauderdale in Florida. A joint law enforcement task force has boarded a cargo ship and says that it's a routine boarding operation, one of many they have done. Our CNN affiliate, WSVN is reporting that law enforcement suspected explosives, may, repeat may, be on the ship. No definitive word yet. We'll get an update as soon as it becomes available.

Time is running out for you to weigh in on our "Web Question of the Day." Long on to cnn.com/wolf. Right now. Do you think a terror group is behind the D.C. area sniper killings? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: It's not uncommon for streakers to disrupt sporting events, but here's why streaking in a hockey game may be a particularly bad idea.

A man wearing only a pair of red socks tried to streak last night's match between the Boston Bruins and the Calgary Flames. He made it over the glass partition, but slipped when his feet hit the ice. He apparently knocked himself unconscious, which at least would have kept him from feeling the cold on his backside. He recovered safely to pump his hands in the air as they carried him away. And that's our picture of day.

That's all of the time we have today. I'll see you on Sunday on "LATE EDITION." Among my guests, the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice. Also, weekdays, Monday through Friday, "SHOWDOWN: IRAQ" at noon Eastern.

Until then, thanks very much for watching. I am Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" is up next -- Lou. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





About the Sniper; Secret Service to Undergo Sniper Prevention Training>


Aired October 18, 2002 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR (voice-over): Sniper on the loose, investigators make a plea to the public.
CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: We need witnesses. We want our witnesses to come forward.

BLITZER: Training to protect the president against snipers, can the Secret Service lend a hand? Has the killer already been caught on camera?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can actually zoom in on an individual or a vehicle.

BLITZER: With millions of surveillance systems around the country, most of us are photographed every day. Are al Qaeda and its allies ready to strike again? Did they today? Showdown Iraq, once a battle begins who would move in to seize Iraqi weapons? We have new details. And, football brawl, a youth league game ends in violence by grownups.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there was about five or six guys (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's Friday, October 18, 2002. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. There's a breaking development in the Washington area sniper case but it does not bring police any closer to the killer.

Let's go straight to CNN's Jeanne Meserve. She's following details in our newsroom -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the sniper is still on the loose but an arrest of a man who was alleged to have misled investigators. Fairfax County Police this afternoon arrested Matthew M. Dowdy, 37, of Falls Church, Virginia after decisions were made late this afternoon to bring charges. That decision made by Robert Haran, the Commonwealth Attorney for Fairfax County. Mr. Dowdy will be charged with making a false report to a police officer in the course of an investigation. This is a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail.

On Monday night, Dowdy is alleged to have told police that he was a witness to the shooting at the Home Depot in Falls Church, Virginia. He described seeing the shooter get out of a van, bring an AK-74 to his shoulder and fire on his victim from a distance of about 30 yards. He described very specifically a cream-colored van with a damaged left taillight. An alert went out for police to be on the lookout for that vehicle.

Now, police became suspicious about inconsistencies and gaps in his story. They pressed him and on Wednesday night he confessed to police that he had not seen the shooting at all, that he had been inside the Home Depot, and CNN is told that there are pictures of him in that store from surveillance cameras inside the Home Depot. It does not appear, however, that that picture on the surveillance camera was taken specifically at the time the shooting took place.

Now, Chief Moose who's heading up this investigation said today that he was a little bit reluctant to underline this case too heavily because he doesn't want potential witnesses to be afraid that police are in a game with them of trying to discredit their testimony. He very much wants witnesses to continue to call into police tip lines. However, there are other observers and people near this case who felt strongly that there should be a prosecution here because they want to discourage other individuals from making false testimony to police officers of this investigation -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeanne, a double-edged sword as you point out on this whole issue; any progress discernible to the public today at that briefing or elsewhere in terms of the overall investigation?

MESERVE: Well, investigators say they are still very optimistic about this case. They say they have several good leads that they are pursuing but they do not give us any specifics about what they're looking at. Clearly, they thought they had a lot of great information from this witness. That has not panned out. They are having to go back a bit but they do claim still to be optimistic that eventually they will be able to apprehend the sniper -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve with the latest for us thanks very much.

And while they seek good witness descriptions of the killer, investigators are also checking to see if the sniper has been seen by one of the many surveillance cameras which have become an ever present part of all of our lives.

CNN's Art Harris has that report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Look around the next time you walk into a store and chances are a hidden eye is looking back at you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throughout the day, we can probably go through the whole day being captured on camera without noticing, without knowing.

HARRIS: Today, security cameras seem to be everywhere, so why haven't they caught the sniper still on the loose? One reason, most stores put their cameras inside to catch a thief, a robber, a shoplifter. The sniper has lurked outside, out of view.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The theft inside is more of a priority than what occurs outside.

HARRIS: Once you're outside you're on your own?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty much. Once you've walked out of the building, pretty much you are no longer being monitored. You are no longer being recorded.

HARRIS: The latest victim was shot down in a Home Depot parking garage. The store had cameras inside, not outside. Many stores put the first camera right above the cash register. How many cameras do you have?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have 18 cameras right now.

HARRIS: Only after this bird, named Bubba, was stolen from his cage did this pet store put cameras up and down the aisles. This is one of the few places we found with cameras installed on the outside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have them out front overlooking the main road out there just so we could get a getaway car.

HARRIS: There are now two million video surveillance systems in the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are about 20 miles away from a location in Washington, D.C.

HARRIS: This camera on top of a building along a busy street can be moved with the click of a mouse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can actually zoom in on an individual or vehicle. There is a white van.

HARRIS: But technology alone is not enough. Last week, a motorist was gunned down at this Sunoco station in Manassas, Virginia. The manager told us he'd ordered security cameras before the shooting but they had not yet arrived. They're due to be installed this weekend. Two cameras will look out over the pumps. Had they been in place eight nights ago, investigators say, they might have helped pinpoint where the sniper was standing. Another station on the opposite corner did have cameras. The night they were turned off.

HARRIS (on camera): Even with security cameras in so many places and investigators checking every frame after each shooting to catch the killer on tape, police will need a bit of luck and so far that kind of luck has been elusive.

Art Harris, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: While the sniper attacks have left the Washington area on edge, the CIA director has warned that the nation may face a new wave of al Qaeda terror attacks. Our National Security Correspondent David Ensor is following that part of the story. He joins us now live -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, people really sat up and took notice when George Tenet said yesterday that the threat level is as high now as it was in the summer before the attacks of September 11th.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: It is serious. They have reconstituted. They are coming after us. They want to execute attacks.

ENSOR (voice-over): And there have been a lot of them, some like the bomb blast on a bus in Manila may only have been inspired by al Qaeda say U.S. officials. That may also be true of the shooting attacks on U.S. Marines in Kuwait. But others, like the attack using a bomb-laden small boat on a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen, or the bloody bombings at tourist sites in Bali, Indonesia, those may not only have been inspired but also directed by al Qaeda. And lest Americans think all these attacks overseas imply somehow that this country is less threatened, Tenet says think again.

TENET: Al Qaeda is in an execution phase and intends to strike us both here and overseas. That's unambiguous as far as I am concerned.

ENSOR: Part of the evidence is the statements on an audiotape deemed genuine of Ayman Al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's number two. Zawahiri refers to warning to Europeans not to back the U.S. on Iraq. He specifically mentions France, Germany, and Belgium on the tape. Officials there tell CNN they view this as the most dangerous period for them since 9/11.

U.S. officials say their heightened concern is also based in part on what senior al Qaeda prisoners, like Abu Zubaydah, are offering them in reaction to Zawahiri's threats. But officials say as in the past they lack specifics, intelligence on when, where, and how the attacks might be planned to occur.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: And that is why homeland security officials are saying they have not raised the threat level, the meter from yellow to orange, though they have sent out a memo, officials say, to state and local governments and to certain key officials asking them to take certain measures to improve the nation's security against terrorism -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor with the latest thanks very much.

And the sniper whodunit, there seems to be more theories than suspects, lone gunman, al Qaeda, crazed teens. We'll hear from all sides of this debate. When we return, the Secret Service on the trail of the sniper, what the nation's top bodyguards are doing to help nab a killer.

But first, today's "News Quiz." Which president was the first to receive Secret Service protection? Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Herbert Hoover? The answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: When Saddam Hussein feels threatened, how does he react? Coming up a chilling picture you'll see at 22 after the hour. Then, the game spoiler grownups acting like kids, what set the crowd off? That's at 50 after the hour. That's all coming up on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked which president was the first to receive Secret Service protection, the answer Grover Cleveland back in 1894.

Welcome back. Trained to protect presidents from assassinations, the Secret Service has learned from bitter experience how to defend against snipers. It's counter-sniper teams include sharpshooters trained to take out a sniper with one shot. Can the Secret Service help catch the killer whose been stalking the Washington area?

Joining me now from Boston, Philip Melanson and he's a University of Massachusetts professor. He's an expert on political violence and has written widely on assassinations. He's also the co-author of a new book on the Secret Service, the hidden history of an enigmatic agency. Mr. Melanson thanks very much for joining us. Were you surprised a couple weeks ago when they announced that among those federal law enforcement officials brought in to deal with the sniper investigation, the FBI, the ATF? The Secret Service was also asked to help.

PHILIP MELANSON, AUTHOR "SECRET SERVICE": I was surprised in one sense in that it might not be the most sensible involvement but we have a habit lately of involving the Secret Service in almost any one of our national or law enforcement crises, so that was predictable.

BLITZER: Why was it not sensible to bring them in?

MELANSON: Well, on the one hand they can add something but the problem that I'm worried about is that they're already stretched very, very thin in terms of their drastically expanded protective mission in the wake of 9/11. According to media accounts, 50 Secret Service agents from the D.C. office had been put on the case and that doesn't sound like a lot but in the D.C. office, and given how thin they are spread, that's a big hole in their personnel.

BLITZER: But don't they know among all U.S. federal agencies a lot about this sniper threat, given the fact that they have to protect the president, the vice president, their families from these kinds of threats on a day-to-day basis?

MELANSON: They do bring some unique knowledge to the situation but perhaps not as much as we might think. For example, the counter- sniper teams that you mentioned at the top of the program, they're very effective in keeping snipers away from the White House or motorcade route but they're not search and destroy teams that fan out through a city going for snipers and preventing them from being there.

The profiles that the Secret Service had of assassins may overlap to some degree with the sniper killer but it's not an instant profile by which you could predict a serial killer or even a terrorist. So, while they seem to have this expertise, when it goes to apply to this case it's not as directly applicable as it might seem.

BLITZER: The Secret Service seems to be all over the place now. I remember in Salt Lake City at the Winter Olympics there was a big show of Secret Service involvement there, at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. You think this is going way beyond their original objective?

MELANSON: I think it's consistent with their objectives but we have to decide as a government, as a political system what we want to task them to do. The phenomenal extensive of protective details after 9/11 to political leaders and White House aides that never had it before which is sensible and we needed to do, left the Secret Service so understaffed that it had to raid its own field offices to put agents on protective duty that wouldn't normally be there.

We have to keep in mind that my last estimate given to me by the service last year was that they had 2,700 agents to do everything that we've talked about from the Super Bowl to the president to being involved in the sniper killing, the investigation thereof. So, they can't coin new agents by the hundreds very instantly and I'm afraid that their personnel is falling behind.

BLITZER: Philip Melanson thanks for joining us. As someone who covered the White House, covered the president for almost eight years, I know these guys and gals, the Secret Service agents and the officers are among the best in the world and we should all appreciate what they do for all of us. Thanks Philip Melanson for joining us.

MELANSON: I agree.

BLITZER: And as awful as it is, the D.C. area sniper case isn't unprecedented. In fact, it has some similarities to a case that haunted Ohio starting more than a decade ago.

CNN's Maria Hinojosa has more on that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, for four years in the late 1980s and early '90s, people in Ohio lived with similar fears that those in the Washington area are facing today. The Ohio shooter came to be known as the Outdoorsman Sniper, his target, primarily men who hunted and fished. A total of five men were killed by a man named Thomas Lee Dillon (ph) who was finally caught and is serving life in prison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HINOJOSA (voice-over): He doesn't look like a killer. That's what people said when Dillon was finally captured. On the outside, Thomas Lee Dillon was a family man. Only later was it revealed that he abused his wife and son, collected hundreds of guns, brutally killed thousands of animals before he became a hunter of humans.

JOLENE LIMBACHER, FORMER REPORTER, AKRON BEACON JOURNAL: He enjoyed reading the autopsy reports of the victims. He enjoyed knowing how much blood filled in their chest cavity. He seemed to get a great deal of pleasure out of knowing that he shot the head off of one of them, that there was nothing left.

HINOJOSA: Jolene Limbacher, a former reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal, received phone calls, lengthy letter and meticulous cartoons from a jailed Dillon for five months. She was able to get inside the mind of a serial sniper.

LIMBACHER: They love to control. They love the thrill of the hunt. They love the ecstasy they get from killing, and I'm sure that Tom is probably thrilled that he is being compared to the sniper. Tom never wanted to be a footnote.

HINOJOSA: But there was one person Thomas Lee Dillon couldn't control, the humble mother of his youngest victim, 21-year-old Jamie Paxton. Jean Paxton wrote letters to her local newspaper publicly scolding the then anonymous killer. He wrote the newspaper back saying that shooting her son meant as little to him as shooting a bottle.

JEAN PAXTON, VICTIM'S MOTHER: He did go to the site where Jamie, where he killed Jamie at one time and he kicked over some crosses and tore out a tree and he was angered by something he had read in the newspaper about the closeness of our family and the love that we still held, even though he had tried to destroy our family.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HINOJOSA: Wolf, on the Connie Chung show Monday night, more on the amazing story of how the mother of one victim turned the tables on the Outdoorsman Sniper and helped put him behind bars -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Maria Hinojosa thanks so much, fascinating information giving us some perspective on all of this, appreciate it. U.S. Special Ops gathering in Jordan, a look at the forces who would lead an attack on Iraq. Plus, Saddam Hussein like you've never seen him before, we'll get up close and personal. Also, the sniper theories, everyone seems to have one, but are any really credible? We'll look at them all, then put them to the test in a debate. And, parents out of control, a big time brawl at a football game, how a touchdown ended with two men in jail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Welcome back. In the event of war with Iraq, elite U.S. forces are already in the neighborhood preparing to get the jump on the Iraqis.

Let's go live to our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr. She has details -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Wolf. CNN has learned that U.S. Special Forces are already in the Middle East training for the opening hours of a war against Saddam Hussein.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): In the desert kingdom of Jordan, 1,500 Special Forces like these are training for future covert missions. If the U.S. invades Iraq, sources say these types of commandos will be inserted behind enemy lines moving to attempt to seize Iraq's suspected chemical, biological, and nuclear weapon sites. A senior official tells CNN the U.S. will put Special Operations forces inside Iraq to take every kind of potential action against Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

One of their most crucial missions, to locate and destroy the dozens of scud missiles and launchers that the U.S. still believes Iraq is hiding, missiles that could draw Israel into a wider war. CNN has learned that if the Special Forces can not quickly destroy the weapon sites and scud launchers, they will use covert action to disrupt activity, cutting off power, blocking roads, sabotaging equipment.

Attacking the scuds is vital. In Operation Desert Storm, Iraq launched 39 scuds at Israel. The U.S. flew hundreds of missions over mainly western Iraq for weeks looking for launchers. They never found them. Iraq still may have more than two dozen scud missiles. The U.S. has now renewed promises to Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and several other Persian Gulf allies, including Kuwait, that the U.S. will protect them from Iraqi missile attacks.

Under the direction of NORAD, satellites overhead will watch around the clock for the flash of a missile launch, the information instantly relayed to allies. Those satellites already are watching Iraqi military forces 24/7. U.S. Patriot missile defense batteries already are on tap to be sent to the region before President Bush gives an attack order.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Wolf, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is maintaining his position that it will take both Special Forces and conventional military power on the ground inside Iraq to get rid of Saddam Hussein and his weapons -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon thanks very much. The United States has made it clear that its number one objective in Iraq is so-called regime change. Over the years, President Saddam Hussein has used brute force and intimidation to remain in power. CNN's Garrick Utley takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When President Saddam Hussein dances, everyone else falls into step. Such is life in Iraq. Those who have been in his presence don't forget it.

YOUSSEF IBRAHIM: A real presence, cool as a cucumber, very cold eyes, frightening eyes. There is -- you can't read anything beyond them.

UTLEY: When Youssef Ibrahim met Saddam Hussein, he like other visitors first had to wash his hands in a chemical solution to avoid contaminating the leader with germs. Saddam Hussein is a paranoid and a puzzle. As a young ruler, he appeared to be a progressive reformer. Western leaders courted him. As a Muslim, Saddam dutifully made the pilgrimage to Mecca but back home he crushed Islamic fundamentalists who could challenge his power. He improved the status of women, and he used the massive wealth of Iraq's oil to modernize his country. So what went wrong?

IBRAHIM: There is Saddam the madman. His (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is unequalled and his ego is unequalled and he absolutely takes no advice.

UTLEY: Saddam Hussein's cold, brutal side was on display at this meeting of Iraq's top officials in 1979 as he seized total power and eliminated possible rivals. In a calm voice he claimed he had uncovered a plot. One by one, he read off names. Sixty-six men were taken out of the hall. Twenty-two were executed. The rest disappeared into prisons. Some were longtime friends and allies. With a wave of the cigar in his hand, Saddam Hussein sealed their fates and then the tyrant wept.

No doubt he knows the fate of those who live and rule by the sword who were surrounded by yes men in fear of their lives. The tyrant becomes dangerously isolated, a loner. So it's not surprising that among Saddam Hussein's favorite films, or said to be, "The Old Man and the Sea," the story of an aging fisherman battling to catch a giant marlin to show his friends back on land that he has not lost his strength, and, "The Godfather."

At age 65, there is still more of "The Godfather" in Saddam Hussein than the old man. According to his biographers he dyes his hair black to hide the gray. He swims regularly to alleviate a bad back. Although he's known to have had mistresses, he and his wife have been married for nearly 40 years. They have two daughters and two sons. Saddam Hussein's life has been about power and violence and death. What will he do if the United States comes gunning for him?

IBRAHIM: I think he will die with a bullet, whether the bullet is one he puts in his own head or somebody puts in his head. I think he will die with a bullet.

UTLEY: As he has caused so many others to die. Garrick Utley CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thank you, Garrick, excellent piece. The sniper theories, a disgruntled loner, kids on a violent rampage, or a terrorist plot, we'll have an in-depth look at a cold trail of a killer. And sexual assault charges against a baseball Hall of Famer, details still to come; but first, a look at other news making headlines "Around the World."

There's been an assassination in Russia. A regional governor was shot in the head on a busy Moscow street. The gunman fled. Police call it a contract killing.

Caracas clashes. Activists linked with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have been battling in the streets with Caracas police. The mayor of Caracas says Chavez is looking for a pretext to take over control of the Caracas Police Department.

Urban combat in Colombia's second biggest city. Federal troops encircled a neighborhood in Medellin in a bid to oust leftist rebels. It's believed as many as 25 people have died in several days of fighting.

Australia's raging wildfires have claimed a life. One woman died after being trapped in her home. There are predictions this may turn out to be Australia's worst fire season in years.

Did he do it or die? In London, prosecutors at the theft trial of Princess Diana's former butler discussed a possible motive. The butler allegedly told police that after Diana died, he took some of her possessions for safekeeping because he feared they might be used in a plot to discredit her.

And solution at hand. Wedding guests are supposed to silence their cell phones, but they made an exception at a British wedding when the organist failed to show. One of the guests came to the rescue, reprogramming his cell phone to play "Here Comes the Bride."

And that's our look "Around the World."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Coming up, sniper on the loose. A lone gunman, two kids or an al Qaeda plot? An in-depth look at all the theories being circulated. But first, let's take a look at some other news making headlines right now.

A new commission comprised of both Vatican officials and U.S. bishops will go back to the drawing board on a policy to deal with priests accused of sexual abuse. The Vatican is rejecting the resolution American bishops adopted in June, saying it does not conform to universal church law. The Vatican wants an appeals process and the statute of limitations, and it objects to a requirement that accusations be turned over immediately to the police. There's more reason for concern that the sometimes deadly West Nile virus has entered the national blood supply. Authorities suspect three people in Ohio may have contracted the virus through blood transfusions. One of them died. Another possible case is reported in Florida.

More now on the search for the Washington area sniper. Almost three weeks into the case, there may not be many facts for investigators to go on, but there is still plenty of conjecture.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The expression "everyone has a theory" may never have been more appropriate. The D.C. sniper case has seemingly made every observer a profiler, as people try to make some sense out of senseless death. Experts have focused on a few credible possibilities. The lone gunman, possibly a former serviceman or ex- cop, although many believe the sophistication of the likely weapon used could enable people who don't have those backgrounds to shoot with deadly accuracy.

But could a lone gunman get away so efficiently without help? That segues into a second theory.

CMD. SGT. MAJ. ERIC HANEY, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Yes, they're two men, they're working together. They built themselves up to executing these kinds of horrific attacks, and they're feeding off of one other.

BLITZER: Among those who believe in a two-person theory, former New York City Detective Bo Dietl, but he goes a step further.

BO DIETL, FORMER NY POLICE DET.: These young kids get involved with these video games, and they become -- they think that they become this great sniper, and then they go out to try it in reality.

BLITZER: But could two people have pulled off all of these shootings without anyone getting a good look at either of them? Involvement by two people also doubles the chance of someone making a critical mistake, which so far has not happened.

Does that mean organized terrorists are carrying out these attacks? European investigators say the FBI has visited one al Qaeda suspect held in Belgium, who had bragged terrorists were training for these types of attacks. But the European investigators point out the suspect has access to newspapers, and disinformation is a key al Qaeda tactic.

And there was this from FBI Director Robert Mueller.

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: We've had thousands of leads, whether it be on our tip line or others, that we are investigating, and they are hopeful leads, amongst those that we have received over the last week.

BLITZER: Given all these profiles and theories, what will it actually take to find this killer? WELDON KENNEDY, FORMER FBI DEP. DIRECTOR: It's going to take the individual who is doing it to make a serious mistake, or it's going to take someone close to that person who is -- has some information.

BLITZER: And to all these theories, add one more, that we may never find out who's been terrorizing the Washington area.

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BLITZER: Joining me now to talk about these theories, Lou Palumbo, he's in New York. He's director of the security firm the Elite Group, and in Houston, former FBI investigator, Don Clark. Thanks to both of you for joining us.

Lou, let me begin with you. Is it possible that terrorists really possibly could be behind this?

LOU PALUMBO, THE ELITE GROUP: Certainly it's possible. It's something that cannot be ruled out as a possibility. I mean, one of the things that kind of generated my interest was the most recent shooting in Falls Church, Virginia. The witness that has now been discredited initially indicated that the weapon that was used was an AK-47 weapon. He said that definitively. In addition to that, I believe he identified this person as someone being of dark complexion. Those two elements would start to point the vector toward a terrorist.

BLITZER: But his testimony has now been totally discredited. He just made all of that up.

PALUMBO: That's correct. He did. And as I understand it this afternoon, that he's been charged with filing a false police report, which is minimally a misdemeanor, I'm certain, in that state.

BLITZER: And he's got police going way off on a tangent maybe as well. Don Clark, what do you think of the terrorist theory?

DON CLARK, FORMER FBI INVESTIGATOR: Well, Wolf, I weigh heavily on the other side. I really don't think it's a terrorist, and I'm going to say -- I'm going to be specific and say an international terrorist plot here.

The reason is is that terrorist activities are almost always politically motivated, and the action or the lack of action that we have seen by the law enforcement community doesn't at all point to me, having been an investigator in some of these things, that there is a terrorist implication there.

Let's remind ourselves that 1993 we had the World Trade Center bombing up in New York, of which I was the manager of that case, but then a couple of years later, we had Oklahoma City bombing, and most everybody said to a tee, that I spoke to, that that's the same group of people that was involved in the terrorist attack up in New York. Similar crimes can be conducted with different people, and they will have some similarities. So I don't lean heavily on the terrorist activity, but it's still an option that has to be considered by the law enforcement people who have more facts than I do. BLITZER: And Lou Palumbo, you heard the homeland security director say that it's an option that no one can rule out right now since they have no other options, no other hard evidence, apparently.

PALUMBO: Well, my feeling is that the individuals who are closest to this case, and those are the investigators, more likely of the FBI, ATF and even Secret Service, they probably have the most credible information in either affirming or denying this supposition that it could be a terrorist. I think the fact of the matter is that we have to be intelligent and weigh all possible profiles before eliminating them.

And I want to say one other thing. We need to be very careful and responsible in creating profiles, because the backlash of saying definitively that this is a terrorist act could have some very serious ramifications socially in this country.

BLITZER: Don Clark, what do you make of Bo Dietl's suggestion: A couple of teenage boys who are obsessed with video games just went and got out of control?

CLARK: Well, I won't agree or disagree with that, but I will say that this certainly seems to be a bit more sophisticated than a couple of teenage boys. We've all -- many of us have had teenage kids, and they're not necessarily that particular. Clearly, this individual is being very particular about his activities. We thought there was some sloppiness the other night in Falls Church, but then we find out that's a false report.

So again, this person is still being very meticulous, doing a lot of planning, but yet the targets are clearly at random. And that's the other reason that I weigh heavily against being an international terrorist activity, because rarely if ever do they do random target selection.

BLITZER: What do you make, Lou, of the whole Tarot card being found at scene of one of the shootings? What does that suggest, if anything, to you?

PALUMBO: Well, my immediate interpretation of that is that this is an individual that is taunting the police. In other words, the police at times are perceived in our culture as being godlike, or some of them even take on that complex, so to speak. And this individual addressed the police saying, "Dear policeman, I am God." So depending on the intonation in your voice, it could take on a meaning of a different sort. I personally think he was just informing the police that he's in control here, and he's calling the shots, literally.

Lou Palumbo and Don Clark, a lot of theories -- unfortunately, so far, no answers. Let's home they resolve this case very, very soon. Thanks to both of you for joining us.

PALUMBO: Thank you, Wolf.

CLARK: Thank you, Wolf. BLITZER: And here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of the day is this: Do you think a terror group is behind the D.C. area sniper killings? We'll have the results later in this program. Go to my Web page: cnn.com/wolf. That's where you can vote.

Falloff from one of New York's most sensational trials. America's legal eagle gets sued. Johnnie Cochran and his famous partners accused of squeezing a little guy out of $1 million. The bitter battle over money when we return.

Also, kicking, punching, out-of-control parents. How a football game turned to into a nasty fistfight, all of which caught on tape.

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BLITZER: High-profile lawyer Johnnie Cochran is due in court soon, but this time he'll be the one testifying. Cochran and the so- called dream team partners are caught up in a battle over fees stemming from one of their most notorious trials.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick explains.

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DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Celebrity lawyer Johnnie Cochran has been busy promoting his new book.

BEGALA: Johnnie Cochran, "A Lawyer's Life," thank you very much for coming to "CROSSFIRE."

COCHRAN: My pleasure to be with you.

FEYERICK: So busy, in fact, he's putting off testifying in federal court. The case in question, one of the most sensational in New York City history: the 1997 police torture of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's all of the lawyers that worked on this case.

FEYERICK: This particular fight is over the $3 million owed the lawyers. On one side, Cochran and his famous partners, Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld from O.J. Simpson fame, saying the Louima's first legal team shouldn't get a penny. But the widow of one of those lawyers on the other side says it's her husband who brought the torture of Abner Louima into the national spotlight. She calls the so-called dream team the greed team.

ELIZABETH THOMAS, ATTORNEY'S WIDOW: To put a widow through this is unforgivable, and I feel that I have been thrown into a lion's den with vicious lions and I'm like Daniel.

FEYERICK: Carl Thomas, a lawyer and civil rights activist, was fighting to get his share of the $3 million. He died of a brain aneurysm at age 41. THOMAS: He was like this.

FEYERICK: Elizabeth Thomas says her husband and his law partner were deliberately squeezed out of the Louima case by the celebrity lawyers, and that ultimately they had no choice but to quit.

BRAD SIMON, ATTORNEY FOR THOMAS ESTATE: It's not a question of their resigning. It was a question of there being forced out.

FEYERICK: In court, the Cochran team argued the local lawyers were incompetent. Taking the stand, Barry Scheck accused Thomas and his partner of leaking confidential information. At the time, Scheck says, it threatened to jeopardize Abner Louima's criminal and civil suits against the city and police department.

MICHAEL ROSS, ATTORNEY FOR COCHRAN TEAM: These lawyers quit for no legitimate reason, and after having quit, they invented a series of excuses and justifications for quitting.

FEYERICK (on camera): The Louima case dragged on for years. In the end, one officer pleaded guilty to torturing Louima, and the city and police shelled out $9 million to settle the civil suit. A third of that was supposed to go to all Louima's lawyers.

(voice-over): Sources say Cochran offered the widow and her four children their $200,000, an offer Elizabeth Thomas calls ridiculous.

THOMAS: This is not going to make me rich. This is just going to help me pay my bills and somehow, you know, enable me to be the head of my household.

FEYERICK: Johnnie Cochran is scheduled to testify when he winds up his book tour.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And this update now on our top story. The man who turned out to be a false witness in the sniper case has been arrested and charged with lying to an officer. That's a misdemeanor. The man is identified as 37-year-old Matthew Dowdy of Falls Church, Virginia. He initially told police he witnessed Monday's sniper attack in a Home Depot parking lot garage, and gave police details of the shooter, the weapon and the vehicle. He later admitted he was inside the store when the shooting happened and didn't see anything. Dowdy is now in police custody and faces up to six months in prison if he's convicted.

When we come back, he helped Minnesota win two World Series. Now he Kirby Puckett faces felony charges. Find out why he's in a big heap of trouble.

And what in the world was this guy thinking? This silly stunt that went from bad to worse still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Former Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer, Kirby Puckett is facing charges of false imprisonment and sexual assault. Police say he dragged a woman into the men's room of a Minneapolis-area restaurant last month and fondled her. If convicted, Puckett could serve up to three years in prison.

You can't tell some people it's just a game. Amateur video is leading to arrests after an ugly fight involving about two dozen people at a youth football game in Southern California. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez reports.

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THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a typical Saturday afternoon football game. The Pico Rivera Dons vs. the Downey Razorbacks. Typical, until a small skirmish between players breaks out on the sidelines.

DARRYL LAURELL, AMMATURE PHOTOGRAPHER: He's the one that started the whole thing.

GUTIERREZ: Darryl Laurell was videotaping the game. He says an angry father from Pico Rivera decided to confront a father from the Downey team.

Look at what happens next.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, man, no!

GUTIERREZ: Desi Tubbs, a father whose son wasn't even on the field during the skirmish, is punched and kicked to the ground. Sixty-eight-year-old Dick Engel, in the red tries, to stop the fight. He's knocked out.

When this woman tries to shield Tubbs with her body, she's kicked in the face.

JEFF WHEELER, DOWNEY COACH: They ganged-up on them. Beat on them. Anybody that tried to help, to pull those parents off, got hit. Kids got hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like a free for all.

DICK ENGLE, VICTIM: One of their adults hit one of our 9-year- olds and gave her a concussion.

LAURELL: I've never seen anything like this.

GUTIERREZ: Laurell's tape ended up in the hands of authorities.

LAURELL: It's very bad. For parents to act like this...

GUTIERREZ: Now two brothers, one whose son was in the game, face possible felony assault charges.

LT. MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: They're seen kicking and punching a man who's on the ground, kicking him in the face, kicking him in the chest, kicking him in the head. Basically that's assault with a deadly weapon.

GUTIERREZ: More arrests are yet to come. As for Desi Tubbs, he's still recovering from the beating.

DESI TUBBS, VICTIM: You know, I was just trying to defend myself. Trying to survive. I have constant headaches. My jaw's sore. I have abrasions all over my body, my wrists and my ribs.

GUTIERREZ: Dick Engel says he'll be OK, even though this is the saddest thing he's seen in the league's history.

ENGLE: I've had this program 43 years and I've never, in the 43 years have ever had any problems like these.

GUTIERREZ: None of the 13 or 14-year-old players were involved in the may lay. Maybe, some of the parents can learn from their kids.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And we're following a developing story off the coast of Fort Lauderdale in Florida. A joint law enforcement task force has boarded a cargo ship and says that it's a routine boarding operation, one of many they have done. Our CNN affiliate, WSVN is reporting that law enforcement suspected explosives, may, repeat may, be on the ship. No definitive word yet. We'll get an update as soon as it becomes available.

Time is running out for you to weigh in on our "Web Question of the Day." Long on to cnn.com/wolf. Right now. Do you think a terror group is behind the D.C. area sniper killings? Stay with us.

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BLITZER: It's not uncommon for streakers to disrupt sporting events, but here's why streaking in a hockey game may be a particularly bad idea.

A man wearing only a pair of red socks tried to streak last night's match between the Boston Bruins and the Calgary Flames. He made it over the glass partition, but slipped when his feet hit the ice. He apparently knocked himself unconscious, which at least would have kept him from feeling the cold on his backside. He recovered safely to pump his hands in the air as they carried him away. And that's our picture of day.

That's all of the time we have today. I'll see you on Sunday on "LATE EDITION." Among my guests, the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice. Also, weekdays, Monday through Friday, "SHOWDOWN: IRAQ" at noon Eastern.

Until then, thanks very much for watching. I am Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" is up next -- Lou. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





About the Sniper; Secret Service to Undergo Sniper Prevention Training>