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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

U.S. Specialists Intercept North Korean Ship Carrying Weapons

Aired December 10, 2002 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


WOLF BLITZER, HOST: We'll get a live report from our Barbara Starr, this ship off the coast of Yemen here in the Persian Gulf. We'll have complete details. Also, the world waited, now the chief U.N. weapons inspector has spoken. We'll have that story as well.
In addition, new pictures today of U.S. troops preparing for battle but lacking support in one key area, who despises the soldiers. And, a cardinal's crisis, now those who report to him want him out. And, a look up, way up in the sky, what a dive, those stories coming up right now on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice over): Is the U.S. playing fair? Baghdad levels a charge of blackmail. American forces prepare for war as a peacemaker offers a word of caution.

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The principle of preventive war may well set an example that can have catastrophic consequences.

BLITZER: Across the country, protests in the streets and in Hollywood the stars come out.

MARTIN SHEEN: I've always believed that war is a reflection of despair and I refuse to accept despair.

BLITZER: A CNN exclusive, one-on-one with the FBI director. And how safe is your car, crash test, the results are in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, live from the Persian Gulf. Reporting from Doha, Qatar here's Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER (on camera): Thanks for joining us.

(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF BREAKING NEWS)

BLITZER: Let's move on now to the showdown with Iraq. The White House is getting hit from all sides today as it tries to move forward with its own potential war plans. Anti-war talk is at a fever pitch around the world.

In our headlines on the Persian Gulf standoff this hour, Jimmy Carter calls war evil. It's what Nobel Peace Prize organizers had in mind when they selected him. We'll explain. As you'd expect, plenty of anti-American sentiment in Baghdad, which is complaining about the way the United States got its hands on Iraq's weapons report.

And back home in the United States, nationwide protests. Even Hollywood is taking aim at the White House. Answers but no opinions from a key insider today, a short while ago Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector Hans Blix met with reporters but we begin in Iraq where U.N. inspection teams are continuing to pursue all of their leads. Our correspondent on the scene in Baghdad is Nic Robertson.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, sharp criticism coming from Iraq's foreign ministry director to the United States accusing them of historic blackmail at the U.N. for acquiring the unedited version of their declaration, also saying that they believe the United States wants to get this declaration so that they can manipulate it to ferment possible aggressive acts against Iraq.

However, we have seen an increase in the number of U.N. weapons inspectors here today. Twenty-five more flew in from Cyprus. Five U.N. inspection teams went out today fanning out across the country, one team driving five and a half hours across the western Iraqi desert close to the border with Syria, visiting Akashat (ph) a former uranium ore mine there, that U.N. team spending the night there.

We've also seen today President Saddam Hussein appearing on Iraqi television with the head of Iraq's military industrial commission, the head of that commission saying that he and his workers would be a thorn in the eye against the aggressors lining up against Iraq. President Saddam Hussein urging the committees and the corporation's employees to do everything they can to resist any aggression against Iraq -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Nic Robertson reporting from Baghdad, Nic thanks very much. As U.N. experts continue to plow through all those thousands and thousands of pages of documents, the Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector Hans Blix has given the Security Council a progress report of sorts. Let's go live to Michael Okwu

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix met with the Security Council now for the first time since the declaration arrived here at the United Nations on Sunday. Now, he met with the council during a regularly-scheduled luncheon hosted by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and essentially Blix said that he has made a great deal of progress on this 12,000-page dossier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: We have been through the main part of the document, which is about 3,000 pages by Friday. The bottleneck frankly is translation. We have about 500 pages Arabic which need to be translated. But nevertheless, by Friday we think we will have a view of that and we have asked the P-5 who have got the textiles and will have the experts on (unintelligible) and sensitive matters to advise us by Friday and we are ready to share with them our conclusions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OKWU: Now, Blix said he may have a working version of the text. In other words, a text with sensitive sections edited out by Monday, which means that the non-permanent members of the council can expect to get it on that day or around that day. Blix is expected to provide some sort of preliminary report to the council, something of substance to say by the 19th -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Michael Okwu at the United Nations, Michael thanks very much. The Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld meanwhile is traveling throughout this region expected here in Qatar later this week. CNN's Kris Osborn is over at the Pentagon and has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRIS OSBORN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld came to the horn of Africa offering help in the fight against terrorism as the region becomes increasingly important in the U.S. buildup for a possible attack on Iraq. Eritrea is the first stop on Rumsfeld's four nation trip, which also includes Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Qatar.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: There are forces in the world that are urging and recommending and teaching fanaticism and extremism and terrorism and those forces need to be overcome.

OSBORN: Rumsfeld insists that he didn't come to the region to ask for rights to use military bases for U.S. troops, ships, and planes for a strike on Iraq. He said he focus was the war on terror. U.S. troops, including marines and Special Forces, have been working with regional authorities to hunt for al Qaeda.

RUMSFELD: We know there are al Qaeda in the area in several countries in varying numbers. We also know that to the extent we put pressure on them in one place they tend to be disrupted and have to find other locations which is not always easy.

OSBORN: After the horn of Africa, the defense secretary will head to Qatar where he will meet with U.S. troops and observe the ongoing Internal Look exercise, seen as practice for a possible attack on Iraq, part of the exercise, a test of the Pentagon's new mobile command center.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSBORN (on camera): And about those computer simulation exercises, Pentagon officials tell CNN that the particular war games scenarios themselves are often far less important than simply testing the communications infrastructure. They describe it as a dress rehearsal for a potential war in the event that there's conflict. They describe it as such that they wouldn't want to go in blind -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kris Osborn at the Pentagon, Kris thanks very much. And this important note, tomorrow I'll be speaking with the defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld. That interview will air right here on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Meanwhile the war on terror, of course, continues to move along. The FBI playing a critical role in that war but it's also coming under extensive fire from a variety of sources. CNN's Kelli Arena had a chance to have an exclusive interview today with the FBI Director Robert Mueller. Kelli joins us now live from Washington -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, FBI Director Mueller strongly defends the FBI and says that the bureau has made great strides in its anti-terror efforts. Now, I asked the director about the terror threat in the United States and how that might change if there is indeed an invasion of Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: We have for a number of months been looking and preparing for the possibility that there may be some action overseas with regard to Iraq and taking that into account, we have developed plans to address that possibility, and to assure that anyone who may be supportive of the current regime of Iraq who is in this country and may have had ties to terrorism we know about and that we are comfortable that we have the capability of assuring that they do not undertake a terrorist act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: CNN has previously reported that some Iraqis currently in the United States, as well as Iraqi Americans have been and remain under surveillance -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli, as you well know some members of Congress, members of the 9/11 Commission, the investigation, they want specific members of the FBI to be held accountable for lapses that may have occurred. What is Director Mueller's response to that?

ARENA: Well, the director says that it would be easy for him to provide Congress a sacrificial lamb but he says that the answer is far more complicated than that. He says that there's no evidence that anyone at the FBI knowingly withheld any information and he says that there were legal restrictions that prevented information from being shared before the September 11th attacks. Now, Mueller also says that the FBI has already initiated many of the reforms that the commission is calling for -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena thanks very much, and this important note, Kelli's interview, the complete interview, her exclusive interview with Director Mueller will air this weekend on "CNN PRESENTS." That's "CNN PRESENTS" special report on the war on terror, that's Sunday 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. Pacific.

A former United States president sounds off on the war, potential war at least against Iraq. Jimmy Carter is speaking out even as he receives his Nobel Peace Prize. Also, is the American military winning the hearts and minds of Muslims here in the Gulf region? After fighting on behalf of Muslims in years past, you would think the answer would be yes, so why are U.S. troops so often despised?

Also, inside a secret government agency that comes up with the blueprints for war, a CNN exclusive report just ahead. And, Hollywood celebrities are coming together to protest against the possible war with Iraq. We'll go live to Hollywood, but first a look at news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice over): The power struggle continues in Venezuela. Supporters of embattled president Hugo Chavez surrounded several television stations and ransacked one of them. They accuse the stations of backing Chavez opponents.

Blames of protest, a man trying to set himself on fire to protest Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir Province but police manage to douse the flames. The man suffered only minor burns.

Trial tensions, South Koreans are protesting a decision by a U.S. military court. The court acquitted a pair of U.S. servicemen involved in a traffic accident that killed two Korean girls. Protesters want a retrial in a South Korean court.

Taking the plunge, it was the highest high dive ever. A 29-year- old man in India set a world record with this 116-foot jump. He got out of position halfway down and landed hard but still managed to avoid any serious injury.

Upward nobility, Britain's Lord Worley (ph) wants to make some woman a lady. He's advertising for a wife to share this 71-room home and not so incidentally to share with the cost of repairs and upkeep. Not many houses come with both a husband and a title but let's hope the lord and the lady he picks could get along with each other. This house also comes with a dungeon, and that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight live from the Persian Gulf. Much of the U.S. military's focus in the past several days has been on this small Persian Gulf state, Qatar. That's where I am right now but there a lot more activity going on the ground not far away in Kuwait.

In recent weeks, about 12,000 U.S. troops have been positioned in Kuwait along the border with Iraq. Hundreds of them have been taking part in exercises indeed only about ten miles from the Iraqi border. The operation involves hundreds of tanks and live ammunition. Soldiers and marines are practicing intricate maneuvers just in case there is a war with Iraq.

And, as the U.S. does indeed prepare for the possibility of a war with Iraq, it's also struggling to make its case to the Muslim world that the United States is a friend not a foe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice over): Over the past two decades, almost every time U.S. military forces have been called into action to risk their lives and limbs, it's been on behalf of Muslims. Whether to assist the Afghan mujahaddin or freedom fighters during the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, to liberate Kuwait following the Iraqi invasion of 1990, to help Somali Muslims suffering at the hands of a warlord in Mogadishu, to help Muslims first in Bosnia and then in Kosovo who faced a Serb onslaught, and more recently to liberate Afghanistan from its Taliban and al Qaeda rulers. So, what's the reason the U.S. military is despised by so many Muslims?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The interesting issue is the biggest. This is a 52-year-old question. It's five million or six million people who are concerned on a daily basis and (unintelligible) 200 or 300 million or to a billion Muslim population (unintelligible).

BLITZER: That is the short answer heard over and over especially in the Arab world. They blame the U.S. for Israel's policies toward the Palestinians. In the process, the U.S. gets virtually no credit for helping Muslims and even when President Bush goes out of his way to express support for Muslims, as he did the other day during a visit to a Washington mosque, his actions are dismissed as window dressing.

`BLITZER (on camera): This strange relationship between the United States and the Muslim world has a direct impact on U.S. military strategy as far as a possible war with Iraq is concerned and that's certainly being felt here in Qatar.

BLITZER (voice over): U.S. Central Command General Tommy Franks who's putting the finishing touches on an Iraqi war plan during current war games in Qatar is constantly being forced to remind Arabs that the U.S. is their friend not their foe but that is clearly an uphill struggle.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPHERD, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET): We've become the symbol of everything that they don't like about America. We're forward. We're in uniform. We're armed and we're in their country and we're easy to hate and we're easy to attack.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (on camera): I want to go back now to the Pentagon. We're following our top story, a breaking story. The U.S. and Spanish military forces have intercepted a ship that was tracked from North Korea off the coast of Yemen right now. Barbara Starr, what are you hearing in addition to what you reported earlier this hour?

STARR: Wolf, we have now been told by U.S. officials that cargo included possibly up to a dozen scud missiles. Those are, of course, the ballistic missiles, the type of missiles that Saddam Hussein used in the Persian Gulf War to attack both Saudi Arabia and Israel. They are very much a concern to the United States.

Officials also tell us, however, they have no reason to believe that this ship that came out of North Korea was actually headed to Iraq. Every suggestion indicates now it was headed to the horn of Africa and the prospect of a dozen scud missiles reaching the horn of Africa is, of course, extremely worrisome to the United States.

Again, that ship is now under U.S. military control. An explosives team is onboard. It is several hundred miles southeast of Yemen. They are trying to stabilize the cargo, and of course, they will not let that ship into a port anywhere in the region until they determine exactly what is onboard and how stable it is -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, good work. We're going to continue to check back with you throughout the hour as you develop more information. But joining me here in Doha, in Qatar right now, CNN Military Analyst General Don Sheppherd, what do you make of this interception off the coast of Yemen of a ship suspected now of carrying scud missiles from North Korea?

SHEPPHERD: Wolf, nothing surprises me in this region whatsoever. The thing I find encouraging is obviously we watched this from the time it was shipped from North Korea and tracked it to find it where it was over here. So, we have the capability not only to track it all the way but then to get onboard.

Lots to be decided about where this goes and who it was headed for; it could have been headed for Iraq. It could have been headed for al Qaeda, but anything in the way of scud missile technology in this area is of grave concern to the United States because of what's going on in the region but it's not surprising.

BLITZER: For a long time the U.S. has been deeply concerned about North Korea missile proliferation, making these kinds of missiles, if in fact this is the case, available to so-called other rogue nations.

SHEPPHERD: Indeed. We have got a lot going on. We've got Afghanistan. We've got a possible confrontation with Iraq. We've got the worldwide war on al Qaeda and now we've got things going on with North Korea that are not encouraging, the announcement about nuclear weapons just a month or so ago and now this. This is a dangerous world and this is just one more step in it -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Let's get back to this exercise that's underway right now here in Qatar, Internal Look. You mentioned and we heard from you in the piece that I prepared saying it's an uphill struggle to convince the Muslim world that the United States military is their friend as opposed to their enemy but so far a lot of them don't believe it.

SHEPPHERD: Yes, I think this is a long uphill struggle with many, many miles to go. We've got lots of work to do in this particular region and, of course, when we bring our troops in, we have to protect them against these people that clearly have dim views of the United States and particularly troops in their country.

When you bring troops into a country, you have to get intelligence from the local government, the local law enforcement, and the military. Then you put concentric zones around your bases, outer zone, middle zone, inner zone. You put night vision. You put alarms, this type of thing, and you put response crews and airborne watches.

Protecting our troops is of major, major concern and particularly keeping the living and working areas away from borders where they can be exposed to bombs such as Khobar Towers -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Because General Franks and his top officers remember, not only Khobar Towers, they remember 1983 the marine barracks outside of Beirut, 241 U.S. service members were killed in a suicide bombing.

SHEPPHERD: Indeed. Serious problems, security is uppermost on the mind of every commander for his troops everywhere and it's really, really tough in this region.

BLITZER: And we can testify, both of us, security here is excellent, very, very tight. General Sheppherd, thanks for joining us.

Just to remind our viewers, we're following a breaking story. That breaking story, Barbara Starr our Pentagon Correspondent reporting from the Pentagon, U.S. and Spanish forces have intercepted a ship that was tracked from North Korea now off the coast of Yemen. There's suspicion about a dozen or so scud missiles were inside. They're beginning to get more details over at the Pentagon. We'll bring you those details as we, of course, get them here at CNN.

Up next, a noble day over here, not far away from where I am in Europe though in Oslo. A former American president wins the Nobel Peace Prize. We'll have a look at why some are saying it's a blow to President Bush. And how would your car hold up in a crunch? We'll have the results of the 40 mile per hour crash test.

And, if you think Americans have a monopoly on dancing, break dancing in fact, you better get another grip because right here in Qatar a lot of young kids are break dancing and we're going to show you how they're doing it. Our special coverage from the Persian Gulf will continue right after this. What natural resource originally bolstered Qatar's economy, seafood, natural gas, oil, pearls? The answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. We're following a breaking story out of the Pentagon. Barbara Starr, our Pentagon Correspondent reporting exclusively that the United States and Spanish forces have intercepted a cargo ship that had left North Korea, now off the coast of Yemen, suspected of carrying about a dozen scud missiles inside, no clear indication yet where those scud missiles were heading. We're getting more information from Barbara. We'll go back to the Pentagon as soon as she's available.

In the meantime, there is other important news we're following right now, including this. The former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway with a speech that included some veiled criticism of President Bush and the Bush administration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice over): Against a backdrop of a possible American war with Iraq, perhaps the best known American peace activist finally got his prize.

CARTER: It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I accept his prize.

BLITZER: The Nobel Peace Prize is by name and nature a political award but this year's prize has an especially strong and biting undertone. The chairman of the Nobel Committee, Grunar Berga (ph) acknowledged the award to Carter allows the group to criticize the Bush administration for its hard line position on Iraq. Today, Carter reinforced that without mentioning President Bush by name.

CARTER: For powerful countries to adopt a principle of preventive war may well set an example that can have catastrophic consequences.

BLITZER: Carter implied the United States should respect whatever action the U.N. Security Council recommends on Iraq but he applied equal pressure to Baghdad.

CARTER: Perhaps of more immediate concern is the necessity for Iraq to comply fully with the unanimous decision of the Security Council that it eliminate all weapons of mass destruction.

BLITZER: In most respects, this award is an appreciation for a body of work that extends back to the 1978 Camp David Accords brokered by Carter between Israel and Egypt. The Nobel Prize that year went to the two men who signed the accords, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Bagin. Carter was left out because his nomination arrived too late. Twenty-four years later, it is Jimmy Carter alone in the spotlight again at the center of a political storm and seemingly comfortable with that.

CARTER: War may sometimes be a necessary evil, but no matter how necessary, it is always evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And the White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, this afternoon, responded to what the former president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He also suggested that the United States needs to be ready to take "yes" for an answer and not only as far as Saddam is concerned but also lifting sanctions. Does the president have a response to former president's remarks? And (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There is nothing the president would rather do than know that "yes" could be an accurate answer that the world could take. That's what he's waiting for. The president wants to make certain that Saddam Hussein has disarmed. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our "Web Question of The Day" is this -- which person matches -- most matches your view on the Iraqi showdown? Former President Carter or President Bush. We'll have the results later in this program. Go to my Web page, CNN.com/Wolf. That's where you can vote.

Dozens of protests are taking place around the United States today; protests against a possible U.S. led war against Iraq, including some protests involving some of Hollywood's hottest names. We're live in Los Angeles to hear what they have to say and preparing for the possibility of war, though a secret spy agency. We'll have a look at how that agency figures into the critical planning phase of any campaign. We'll continue our live coverage from the Persian Gulf right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: We return to a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: LIVE FROM THE PERSIAN GULF. Reporting from Doha, Qatar, here is Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: If you're just joining us, we're following an important story here in the Persian Gulf region. For details, once again, let's go back to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara, update our viewers who may just be tuning in on what's developing on the high seas right now.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: U.S. officials, Wolf, have now confirmed that a ship they have boarded several hundred miles Southeast of Yemen contains perhaps as many as a dozen scud missiles. These are the ballistic missiles of course that Iraq used during the Persian Gulf War to attack Saudi Arabia and Israel.

This ship, however, came out of North Korea several days ago. U.S. intelligence watched it all the way. Yesterday, it was boarded. Again, several hundred miles Southeast of Yemen by two Spanish naval warships that were in the region, part of a maritime intercept operation. The Spanish boarded the ship. It was supposed to be carrying cement. They found containers buried in the cement. They opened a container and found missiles.

They called for assistance and at this hour, there is a team of U.S. military weapons specialists on board that ship where it is being held. They are trying to look through the cargo, neutralize it, stabilize it. We are told that ship will not move until they find out exactly what's on board and make sure it is not going to explode.

So, Wolf, very unsettling at this hour. The scud missiles apparently were not headed for Iraq, according to officials here. Instead, they were probably headed for the Horn of Africa. Scud missiles in the Horn of Africa would be of great concern to the Bush administration --Wolf. BLITZER: All of us, of course, remember the damage those scud missiles that were launched by the Iraqis during the Gulf War, all the damage that was caused at that time. So of course, scud missiles, a very, very dangerous prospect here in the Persian or indeed anywhere. Barbara Starr, thanks for all your good reporting.

Peace activists, meanwhile, are on the march across the United States today in connection with International Human Rights Day. Much of their focus, or course, focusing in on the anti-war stance as far a possible U.S. led war against Iraq is concerned.

In Washington, protestors gathered outside a military recruiting center and at a local park for a march to the White House. In downtown Chicago, about 20 anti-war demonstrators were arrested when they sat down in the lobby of a federal office building. The White House says President Bush welcomes the protests as a time-honored tradition of democracy.

Meanwhile, in Hollywood dozens of celebrities, including some big named actors and actresses, are also marching. They're also protesting. Let's get some details. Let's go live now to Los Angeles. CNN's Charles Feldman is standing by -- Charles.

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf. Gillian Anderson, Tim Robbins, David Duchovny and Carl Reiner, just a few of the artists, who are coming out to say, "War talk and Washington is alarming and unnecessary."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FELDMAN (voice-over): Although the number of Hollywood artists who gathered for the announcement was small, they were open about their intent to use mass media to get their message out far and wide. The declaration with more than 100 artists backing it, argues that while Saddam Hussein cannot be allowed to have weapons of mass destruction, U.N. weapons inspections and not a preemptive U.S. military invasion of Iraq should be used to achieve this goal.

MIMI KENNEDY, ACTRESS: The question that we ask our government and we're asking our fellow citizens to consider -- is preemptive war wise? Will it make us more secure? Will it remove the threat of terrorism, which is the one that we face? I sincerely believe it does not.

FELDMAN: The declaration is to be published in at least one national newspaper. Not everyone present for the announcement was a Hollywood star.

REAR ADM. EUGENE CARROLL, U.S. NAVY (RET): There is no crisis threatening the United States of America today. There are no axis of evil forces armed with weapons of mass destruction, which threaten us in our daily lives and our well being.

FELDMAN: The assembled artists all agreed that a preemptive U.S. strike against Iraq would be wrong but...

(on camera): Suppose you're wrong. Suppose that is what's needed.

SHEEN: I don't understand how I would be wrong. Would there not be countless, innocent civilians killed in Iraq with a preemptive strike? Do you discount that? Is that not right enough to speak at now?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FELDMAN: Noticeably absent from this declaration of other members of the Hollywood community, writers, producers, directors. Does this mean disunity in Hollywood on the issue? No, say the organizers. They wanted big name stars first. The rest, they say, will follow soon --Wolf.

BLITZER: Charles Feldman in Los Angeles, thanks very much.

Let's get some transition now. Protests from priests involved in the whole scandal rocking the Catholic Church. The cardinal, Bernard Law, of Boston had additional meetings with Vatican officials today. He's under enormous pressure to resign as CNN's Bill Delaney reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL DELANEY, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Of thousands of pages of documents alleging sexual abuse, undermining for nearly a year now the 18-year authority of Archbishop Bernard Law of Boston. No piece of paper so far perhaps any more potent than this, a letter signed by 58 Boston priests, including Father Robert Bowers calling for Cardinal Law to resign.

FATHER ROBERT BOWERS, BOSTON: It's not longer possible for me to accept the credibility of this archbishop. I sense the alienation people are feel being and I hear comments and I understand from people, the family members are now no longer coming to mass. People who are already alienated are even more so.

DELANEY: Days of anguish and division for Boston's 900 Catholic priests who don't all agree.

(on camera): Resignation, Father Burke?

FATHER JAMES BURKE, BOSTON: No, I don't think resignation is going to do anything. It's only go to prolong the pain and the hurt of the victims. I think that Cardinal Law has to reach out to bring healing and to bring unity to the church of Boston. And when that happens, then he can move on.

DELANEY: Whatever eventually happens here in Boston, whether bankruptcy is declared, whether the cardinal resigns, what will in many cases anger but universally simply baffle priests and parishioners alike, why the archbishop seemingly so reluctantly and certainly slowly reached out to alleged victims of sexual abuse and to the many alienated, average Catholics in his flock.

(voice-over): Had he simply reached out sooner, many believe Cardinal Law would not now be in Rome talking to the Congregation of Bishops, the clerical body charged with rejecting or accepting the resignations of priests.

Bill Delaney, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: They're the first scouts in any U.S. military campaign but what exactly do they do? America's secret mapmakers. We'll have an exclusive report from behind closed doors to see what's going on at one of the government's most mysterious agencies.

And it's a test you hope your car never has to take. We'll tell you which models held up best in 40 mile-per-hour crashes and which ones could be the kiss of death. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's update you on that breaking news story we've been covering all hour, scud missiles on the move. Pentagon sources telling our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, U.S. and Spanish forces have intercepted a cargo ship that left North Korea, off the coast of Yemen, not far from the Persian Gulf. Suspected onboard, about a dozen SCUD missiles. No word precisely where they were going. They're not believed to have been on their way to Iraq. We're following that story.

We'll bring you more information as it becomes available. Once again, scud missiles found aboard a cargo ship by U.S. and Spanish authorities off the coast of Yemen.

Well, whether it's a possible war with Iraq or the current war under way in Afghanistan, U.S. forces depend on a very little known spy agency, a spy agency that helps them pinpoint specific targets. Our national security correspondent, David Ensor, has another closer and exclusive look at the nation's secret mapmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the orders came to go into Afghanistan, few in the military knew much about the place. The first thing Air Force and Navy pilots needed were maps, coordinates, targets. So did Special Operations troops on the ground.

BRIG. GEN. MICHAEL LEE, NIMA MILITARY EXECUTIVE: Whether you're riding horseback as a Special Ops person or whether you're flying a stealth bomber, you use many of our same products. So everybody wants to know where they are, where their friendlies are, where the enemy is, where the noncombatants might be.

ENSOR: Maps are basic to warfare. NIMA quickly presented thousands more on special, durable material.

JOANNE ISHAM, NIMA DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Not only does it tell you where you are, but it also provides some helpful hints in terms of the environment for what you might be able to eat, that can be used to carry water. It's that strong. It can also be used as a blanket. ENSOR: Shaw Air Force base in South Carolina is one of the nation's main bases for F-16s. As pilots prepared for Afghan duty, NIMA scrambled together computer software for them to practice, software that allows them to punch in coordinates on a map of Afghanistan, then convert that to a picture of the terrain.

CAPT. SEAN CARPENTER, F-16 PILOT: We could actually do, basically, a practice run, you know, with the joystick and, you know, just try to find...

ENSOR (on camera): Where you best be.

CARPENTER: Yes. And then what your target and stuff would look like.

ENSOR (voice-over): Getting out the maps and software for Afghanistan took a lot of all-nighters at NIMA.

LT. GEN. JAMES CLAPPER (RET), NIMA DIRECTOR: It was not exactly on the -- our top ten hit parade of places that we had placed a lot of emphasis or focus.

ENSOR: To make things happen fast, the normally secretive spy agency did something surprising -- it hired private companies to take up the slack. Surrounded by prairie dog holes in the foothills outside Denver is the headquarters of Space Imaging, a private satellite photo company.

Space Imaging went into overdrive after 9/11, shooting thousands of satellite pictures of Afghanistan for the exclusive use of the U.S. government. The deal had the effect of stopping the media and others from obtaining pictures of U.S. troop movements. It also saved the U.S. time and money.

JOHN COPPLE, CEO, SPACE IMAGING: NIMA buys commercial imagery not only from a cost perspective in that they don't have to go build their own satellite. They can leverage our satellite, but also its unclassified data; it can be shared with our allies.

ENSOR: Now, NIMA is turning its sights to another target, the territory of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. NIMA satellite photo analysts know Iraq well, its weapons of mass destruction sites and the key military installations. But the Iraqis are masters at hiding what they have.

CLAPPER: Denial and deception and concealment is a challenge for us.

ENSOR: As U.S. intelligence expands its use of unmanned surveillance drones and as smarter computers and analysts increase the speed at which target data can be generated, warfare is changing even as another potential conflict looms.

JOHN PIKE, GLOBAL SECURITY ORG.: Today, the imagery can get in digital form military planners fast enough that they could actually shoot at targets before they move. ENSOR: In time the war, the existence of the new private satellite firms, like Space Imaging, is a mixed blessing for the U.S. For Iraq, the government may exercise its legal right, predicts Pike, to shudder control on American-owned firms.

PIKE: There's no way the military is going to let these satellites monitor American troop movements on the way to Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: If U.S. forces should go into Iraq, there will be NIMA teams going in with them working to tailor the maps, software and target data to the war fighter -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor, our national security correspondent, doing some excellent reporting. David, thanks very much. We have more news coming up. When we come back, survival of the fittest. This car plunged 150-feet down a ravine. He came out alive. We'll tell you how.

And how safe is your car? The latest crash test results are out. We'll have a look at the good, the bad and the ugly when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. The results of the auto crash tests are in and there's some good news. CNN's Julie Vallese is in Ruckersville, West Virginia where -- in Ruckersville, Virginia where the crash site test is taking place.

Tell us what's going on, Julie.

JULIE VALLESE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf. The Insurance Institute has tested five of the most popular vehicles on the road. They also happen to be five of the safest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALLESE (voice-over): Three mid-sized cars and two small cars went up against the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's wall at 40 miles per hour. All five won. It's an Institute first.

BRIAN O'NEILL, INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY: This is the first time we've ever had a release where all cars we tested were good performers and best picks.

VALLESSE: The nation's top-selling car, the Honda Accord has been newly redesigned for 2003. In the past, it was rated acceptable. It's now rated a best pick.

O'NEILL: There's no question, Honda has worked to improve the offset crash performance of this vehicle and they succeeded.

VALLESE: It was the first time Audi's A4 was tested and the first time was the charm. It also won top honors. In the small car category, BMW's mini was mighty. O'NEILL: Its front end was very stiff but the compartment is even stiffer. So it bounces off the barrier pretty good.

VALLESE: Researchers measure intrusion to the passenger compartment, injury to the dummy as well as the performance of air bags and seat belts. In a statement, BMW said, "These results prove that small cars can be engineered to be safe and to provide excellent occupant protection."

The Toyota Corolla and the newly introduced Suzuki Airot (ph) were also names best pick. While these mid-sized and small vehicles did very well, safety expert are not abandoning the advice that bigger is still safer because they say even manufacturers can't change the laws of physics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALLESE: Now, when vehicles don't test well, manufactures often say they feel the tests don't reflect situations of the real world. None of the manufacturers we spoke with even mentioned the real world. Instead, they were happy to have the Institute's praise.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Julies, thanks very much for that report, useful information for all of our viewers.

Let's check another important story we're following. A West Virginia man is recovering from a life-threatening ordeal. Robert Ward was trapped in his car for six-and-a-half days after the vehicle ran off a road and plunged 150-feet down a ravine. He was found Sunday by a friend and co-worker at a volunteer fire department. Ward said he survived by eating melted snow and what he found in an old peanut butter jar and some fast food sauce packs. Amazing, amazing story.

We'll be right back with our "Picture of The Day," break dancing here in Doha. You'll want to see this. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked -- what natural resource originally bolstered Qatar's economy? The answer, pearls. There were almost 13,000 pearl divers in Qatar at the start of 20th century. Pearls were harvested in large, wood fishing boats like these called dohs (ph).

And our "Picture of The Day" comes right here where I am in Doha in Qatar. It's called break dancing Doha style. Long after the fad clearly faded back home in the United States, look at this -- break dancing is all the rage here in Doha. Teens gather at the mall to show their stuff.

We asked and they told us their favorites were Eminem, Tupac Shakur and Shaggy. Shaggy had performed here, by the way, only last night before a sold out crowd not far away from where we're reporting from. Most of the popular guests -- they love these rap artists, hip- hop style clothes. They also love the western brands that, of course, are the rage back in the United States as well. Break dancing in Qatar, who would have thought.

That's all the time we have today. I'll be back tomorrow twice, noon Eastern for a special SHOWDOWN IRAQ and of course WOLF BLITZER REORTS at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. I'll be speaking tomorrow with the U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. We'll have that interview for you tomorrow 5:00 p.m. Eastern. He's traveling around the region. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting live from the Persian Gulf. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" is up next.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Weapons>


Aired December 10, 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: We'll get a live report from our Barbara Starr, this ship off the coast of Yemen here in the Persian Gulf. We'll have complete details. Also, the world waited, now the chief U.N. weapons inspector has spoken. We'll have that story as well.
In addition, new pictures today of U.S. troops preparing for battle but lacking support in one key area, who despises the soldiers. And, a cardinal's crisis, now those who report to him want him out. And, a look up, way up in the sky, what a dive, those stories coming up right now on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice over): Is the U.S. playing fair? Baghdad levels a charge of blackmail. American forces prepare for war as a peacemaker offers a word of caution.

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The principle of preventive war may well set an example that can have catastrophic consequences.

BLITZER: Across the country, protests in the streets and in Hollywood the stars come out.

MARTIN SHEEN: I've always believed that war is a reflection of despair and I refuse to accept despair.

BLITZER: A CNN exclusive, one-on-one with the FBI director. And how safe is your car, crash test, the results are in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, live from the Persian Gulf. Reporting from Doha, Qatar here's Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER (on camera): Thanks for joining us.

(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF BREAKING NEWS)

BLITZER: Let's move on now to the showdown with Iraq. The White House is getting hit from all sides today as it tries to move forward with its own potential war plans. Anti-war talk is at a fever pitch around the world.

In our headlines on the Persian Gulf standoff this hour, Jimmy Carter calls war evil. It's what Nobel Peace Prize organizers had in mind when they selected him. We'll explain. As you'd expect, plenty of anti-American sentiment in Baghdad, which is complaining about the way the United States got its hands on Iraq's weapons report.

And back home in the United States, nationwide protests. Even Hollywood is taking aim at the White House. Answers but no opinions from a key insider today, a short while ago Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector Hans Blix met with reporters but we begin in Iraq where U.N. inspection teams are continuing to pursue all of their leads. Our correspondent on the scene in Baghdad is Nic Robertson.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, sharp criticism coming from Iraq's foreign ministry director to the United States accusing them of historic blackmail at the U.N. for acquiring the unedited version of their declaration, also saying that they believe the United States wants to get this declaration so that they can manipulate it to ferment possible aggressive acts against Iraq.

However, we have seen an increase in the number of U.N. weapons inspectors here today. Twenty-five more flew in from Cyprus. Five U.N. inspection teams went out today fanning out across the country, one team driving five and a half hours across the western Iraqi desert close to the border with Syria, visiting Akashat (ph) a former uranium ore mine there, that U.N. team spending the night there.

We've also seen today President Saddam Hussein appearing on Iraqi television with the head of Iraq's military industrial commission, the head of that commission saying that he and his workers would be a thorn in the eye against the aggressors lining up against Iraq. President Saddam Hussein urging the committees and the corporation's employees to do everything they can to resist any aggression against Iraq -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Nic Robertson reporting from Baghdad, Nic thanks very much. As U.N. experts continue to plow through all those thousands and thousands of pages of documents, the Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector Hans Blix has given the Security Council a progress report of sorts. Let's go live to Michael Okwu

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix met with the Security Council now for the first time since the declaration arrived here at the United Nations on Sunday. Now, he met with the council during a regularly-scheduled luncheon hosted by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and essentially Blix said that he has made a great deal of progress on this 12,000-page dossier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: We have been through the main part of the document, which is about 3,000 pages by Friday. The bottleneck frankly is translation. We have about 500 pages Arabic which need to be translated. But nevertheless, by Friday we think we will have a view of that and we have asked the P-5 who have got the textiles and will have the experts on (unintelligible) and sensitive matters to advise us by Friday and we are ready to share with them our conclusions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OKWU: Now, Blix said he may have a working version of the text. In other words, a text with sensitive sections edited out by Monday, which means that the non-permanent members of the council can expect to get it on that day or around that day. Blix is expected to provide some sort of preliminary report to the council, something of substance to say by the 19th -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Michael Okwu at the United Nations, Michael thanks very much. The Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld meanwhile is traveling throughout this region expected here in Qatar later this week. CNN's Kris Osborn is over at the Pentagon and has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRIS OSBORN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld came to the horn of Africa offering help in the fight against terrorism as the region becomes increasingly important in the U.S. buildup for a possible attack on Iraq. Eritrea is the first stop on Rumsfeld's four nation trip, which also includes Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Qatar.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: There are forces in the world that are urging and recommending and teaching fanaticism and extremism and terrorism and those forces need to be overcome.

OSBORN: Rumsfeld insists that he didn't come to the region to ask for rights to use military bases for U.S. troops, ships, and planes for a strike on Iraq. He said he focus was the war on terror. U.S. troops, including marines and Special Forces, have been working with regional authorities to hunt for al Qaeda.

RUMSFELD: We know there are al Qaeda in the area in several countries in varying numbers. We also know that to the extent we put pressure on them in one place they tend to be disrupted and have to find other locations which is not always easy.

OSBORN: After the horn of Africa, the defense secretary will head to Qatar where he will meet with U.S. troops and observe the ongoing Internal Look exercise, seen as practice for a possible attack on Iraq, part of the exercise, a test of the Pentagon's new mobile command center.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSBORN (on camera): And about those computer simulation exercises, Pentagon officials tell CNN that the particular war games scenarios themselves are often far less important than simply testing the communications infrastructure. They describe it as a dress rehearsal for a potential war in the event that there's conflict. They describe it as such that they wouldn't want to go in blind -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kris Osborn at the Pentagon, Kris thanks very much. And this important note, tomorrow I'll be speaking with the defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld. That interview will air right here on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Meanwhile the war on terror, of course, continues to move along. The FBI playing a critical role in that war but it's also coming under extensive fire from a variety of sources. CNN's Kelli Arena had a chance to have an exclusive interview today with the FBI Director Robert Mueller. Kelli joins us now live from Washington -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, FBI Director Mueller strongly defends the FBI and says that the bureau has made great strides in its anti-terror efforts. Now, I asked the director about the terror threat in the United States and how that might change if there is indeed an invasion of Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: We have for a number of months been looking and preparing for the possibility that there may be some action overseas with regard to Iraq and taking that into account, we have developed plans to address that possibility, and to assure that anyone who may be supportive of the current regime of Iraq who is in this country and may have had ties to terrorism we know about and that we are comfortable that we have the capability of assuring that they do not undertake a terrorist act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: CNN has previously reported that some Iraqis currently in the United States, as well as Iraqi Americans have been and remain under surveillance -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli, as you well know some members of Congress, members of the 9/11 Commission, the investigation, they want specific members of the FBI to be held accountable for lapses that may have occurred. What is Director Mueller's response to that?

ARENA: Well, the director says that it would be easy for him to provide Congress a sacrificial lamb but he says that the answer is far more complicated than that. He says that there's no evidence that anyone at the FBI knowingly withheld any information and he says that there were legal restrictions that prevented information from being shared before the September 11th attacks. Now, Mueller also says that the FBI has already initiated many of the reforms that the commission is calling for -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena thanks very much, and this important note, Kelli's interview, the complete interview, her exclusive interview with Director Mueller will air this weekend on "CNN PRESENTS." That's "CNN PRESENTS" special report on the war on terror, that's Sunday 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. Pacific.

A former United States president sounds off on the war, potential war at least against Iraq. Jimmy Carter is speaking out even as he receives his Nobel Peace Prize. Also, is the American military winning the hearts and minds of Muslims here in the Gulf region? After fighting on behalf of Muslims in years past, you would think the answer would be yes, so why are U.S. troops so often despised?

Also, inside a secret government agency that comes up with the blueprints for war, a CNN exclusive report just ahead. And, Hollywood celebrities are coming together to protest against the possible war with Iraq. We'll go live to Hollywood, but first a look at news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice over): The power struggle continues in Venezuela. Supporters of embattled president Hugo Chavez surrounded several television stations and ransacked one of them. They accuse the stations of backing Chavez opponents.

Blames of protest, a man trying to set himself on fire to protest Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir Province but police manage to douse the flames. The man suffered only minor burns.

Trial tensions, South Koreans are protesting a decision by a U.S. military court. The court acquitted a pair of U.S. servicemen involved in a traffic accident that killed two Korean girls. Protesters want a retrial in a South Korean court.

Taking the plunge, it was the highest high dive ever. A 29-year- old man in India set a world record with this 116-foot jump. He got out of position halfway down and landed hard but still managed to avoid any serious injury.

Upward nobility, Britain's Lord Worley (ph) wants to make some woman a lady. He's advertising for a wife to share this 71-room home and not so incidentally to share with the cost of repairs and upkeep. Not many houses come with both a husband and a title but let's hope the lord and the lady he picks could get along with each other. This house also comes with a dungeon, and that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight live from the Persian Gulf. Much of the U.S. military's focus in the past several days has been on this small Persian Gulf state, Qatar. That's where I am right now but there a lot more activity going on the ground not far away in Kuwait.

In recent weeks, about 12,000 U.S. troops have been positioned in Kuwait along the border with Iraq. Hundreds of them have been taking part in exercises indeed only about ten miles from the Iraqi border. The operation involves hundreds of tanks and live ammunition. Soldiers and marines are practicing intricate maneuvers just in case there is a war with Iraq.

And, as the U.S. does indeed prepare for the possibility of a war with Iraq, it's also struggling to make its case to the Muslim world that the United States is a friend not a foe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice over): Over the past two decades, almost every time U.S. military forces have been called into action to risk their lives and limbs, it's been on behalf of Muslims. Whether to assist the Afghan mujahaddin or freedom fighters during the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, to liberate Kuwait following the Iraqi invasion of 1990, to help Somali Muslims suffering at the hands of a warlord in Mogadishu, to help Muslims first in Bosnia and then in Kosovo who faced a Serb onslaught, and more recently to liberate Afghanistan from its Taliban and al Qaeda rulers. So, what's the reason the U.S. military is despised by so many Muslims?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The interesting issue is the biggest. This is a 52-year-old question. It's five million or six million people who are concerned on a daily basis and (unintelligible) 200 or 300 million or to a billion Muslim population (unintelligible).

BLITZER: That is the short answer heard over and over especially in the Arab world. They blame the U.S. for Israel's policies toward the Palestinians. In the process, the U.S. gets virtually no credit for helping Muslims and even when President Bush goes out of his way to express support for Muslims, as he did the other day during a visit to a Washington mosque, his actions are dismissed as window dressing.

`BLITZER (on camera): This strange relationship between the United States and the Muslim world has a direct impact on U.S. military strategy as far as a possible war with Iraq is concerned and that's certainly being felt here in Qatar.

BLITZER (voice over): U.S. Central Command General Tommy Franks who's putting the finishing touches on an Iraqi war plan during current war games in Qatar is constantly being forced to remind Arabs that the U.S. is their friend not their foe but that is clearly an uphill struggle.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPHERD, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET): We've become the symbol of everything that they don't like about America. We're forward. We're in uniform. We're armed and we're in their country and we're easy to hate and we're easy to attack.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (on camera): I want to go back now to the Pentagon. We're following our top story, a breaking story. The U.S. and Spanish military forces have intercepted a ship that was tracked from North Korea off the coast of Yemen right now. Barbara Starr, what are you hearing in addition to what you reported earlier this hour?

STARR: Wolf, we have now been told by U.S. officials that cargo included possibly up to a dozen scud missiles. Those are, of course, the ballistic missiles, the type of missiles that Saddam Hussein used in the Persian Gulf War to attack both Saudi Arabia and Israel. They are very much a concern to the United States.

Officials also tell us, however, they have no reason to believe that this ship that came out of North Korea was actually headed to Iraq. Every suggestion indicates now it was headed to the horn of Africa and the prospect of a dozen scud missiles reaching the horn of Africa is, of course, extremely worrisome to the United States.

Again, that ship is now under U.S. military control. An explosives team is onboard. It is several hundred miles southeast of Yemen. They are trying to stabilize the cargo, and of course, they will not let that ship into a port anywhere in the region until they determine exactly what is onboard and how stable it is -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, good work. We're going to continue to check back with you throughout the hour as you develop more information. But joining me here in Doha, in Qatar right now, CNN Military Analyst General Don Sheppherd, what do you make of this interception off the coast of Yemen of a ship suspected now of carrying scud missiles from North Korea?

SHEPPHERD: Wolf, nothing surprises me in this region whatsoever. The thing I find encouraging is obviously we watched this from the time it was shipped from North Korea and tracked it to find it where it was over here. So, we have the capability not only to track it all the way but then to get onboard.

Lots to be decided about where this goes and who it was headed for; it could have been headed for Iraq. It could have been headed for al Qaeda, but anything in the way of scud missile technology in this area is of grave concern to the United States because of what's going on in the region but it's not surprising.

BLITZER: For a long time the U.S. has been deeply concerned about North Korea missile proliferation, making these kinds of missiles, if in fact this is the case, available to so-called other rogue nations.

SHEPPHERD: Indeed. We have got a lot going on. We've got Afghanistan. We've got a possible confrontation with Iraq. We've got the worldwide war on al Qaeda and now we've got things going on with North Korea that are not encouraging, the announcement about nuclear weapons just a month or so ago and now this. This is a dangerous world and this is just one more step in it -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Let's get back to this exercise that's underway right now here in Qatar, Internal Look. You mentioned and we heard from you in the piece that I prepared saying it's an uphill struggle to convince the Muslim world that the United States military is their friend as opposed to their enemy but so far a lot of them don't believe it.

SHEPPHERD: Yes, I think this is a long uphill struggle with many, many miles to go. We've got lots of work to do in this particular region and, of course, when we bring our troops in, we have to protect them against these people that clearly have dim views of the United States and particularly troops in their country.

When you bring troops into a country, you have to get intelligence from the local government, the local law enforcement, and the military. Then you put concentric zones around your bases, outer zone, middle zone, inner zone. You put night vision. You put alarms, this type of thing, and you put response crews and airborne watches.

Protecting our troops is of major, major concern and particularly keeping the living and working areas away from borders where they can be exposed to bombs such as Khobar Towers -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Because General Franks and his top officers remember, not only Khobar Towers, they remember 1983 the marine barracks outside of Beirut, 241 U.S. service members were killed in a suicide bombing.

SHEPPHERD: Indeed. Serious problems, security is uppermost on the mind of every commander for his troops everywhere and it's really, really tough in this region.

BLITZER: And we can testify, both of us, security here is excellent, very, very tight. General Sheppherd, thanks for joining us.

Just to remind our viewers, we're following a breaking story. That breaking story, Barbara Starr our Pentagon Correspondent reporting from the Pentagon, U.S. and Spanish forces have intercepted a ship that was tracked from North Korea now off the coast of Yemen. There's suspicion about a dozen or so scud missiles were inside. They're beginning to get more details over at the Pentagon. We'll bring you those details as we, of course, get them here at CNN.

Up next, a noble day over here, not far away from where I am in Europe though in Oslo. A former American president wins the Nobel Peace Prize. We'll have a look at why some are saying it's a blow to President Bush. And how would your car hold up in a crunch? We'll have the results of the 40 mile per hour crash test.

And, if you think Americans have a monopoly on dancing, break dancing in fact, you better get another grip because right here in Qatar a lot of young kids are break dancing and we're going to show you how they're doing it. Our special coverage from the Persian Gulf will continue right after this. What natural resource originally bolstered Qatar's economy, seafood, natural gas, oil, pearls? The answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. We're following a breaking story out of the Pentagon. Barbara Starr, our Pentagon Correspondent reporting exclusively that the United States and Spanish forces have intercepted a cargo ship that had left North Korea, now off the coast of Yemen, suspected of carrying about a dozen scud missiles inside, no clear indication yet where those scud missiles were heading. We're getting more information from Barbara. We'll go back to the Pentagon as soon as she's available.

In the meantime, there is other important news we're following right now, including this. The former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway with a speech that included some veiled criticism of President Bush and the Bush administration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice over): Against a backdrop of a possible American war with Iraq, perhaps the best known American peace activist finally got his prize.

CARTER: It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I accept his prize.

BLITZER: The Nobel Peace Prize is by name and nature a political award but this year's prize has an especially strong and biting undertone. The chairman of the Nobel Committee, Grunar Berga (ph) acknowledged the award to Carter allows the group to criticize the Bush administration for its hard line position on Iraq. Today, Carter reinforced that without mentioning President Bush by name.

CARTER: For powerful countries to adopt a principle of preventive war may well set an example that can have catastrophic consequences.

BLITZER: Carter implied the United States should respect whatever action the U.N. Security Council recommends on Iraq but he applied equal pressure to Baghdad.

CARTER: Perhaps of more immediate concern is the necessity for Iraq to comply fully with the unanimous decision of the Security Council that it eliminate all weapons of mass destruction.

BLITZER: In most respects, this award is an appreciation for a body of work that extends back to the 1978 Camp David Accords brokered by Carter between Israel and Egypt. The Nobel Prize that year went to the two men who signed the accords, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Bagin. Carter was left out because his nomination arrived too late. Twenty-four years later, it is Jimmy Carter alone in the spotlight again at the center of a political storm and seemingly comfortable with that.

CARTER: War may sometimes be a necessary evil, but no matter how necessary, it is always evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And the White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, this afternoon, responded to what the former president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He also suggested that the United States needs to be ready to take "yes" for an answer and not only as far as Saddam is concerned but also lifting sanctions. Does the president have a response to former president's remarks? And (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There is nothing the president would rather do than know that "yes" could be an accurate answer that the world could take. That's what he's waiting for. The president wants to make certain that Saddam Hussein has disarmed. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our "Web Question of The Day" is this -- which person matches -- most matches your view on the Iraqi showdown? Former President Carter or President Bush. We'll have the results later in this program. Go to my Web page, CNN.com/Wolf. That's where you can vote.

Dozens of protests are taking place around the United States today; protests against a possible U.S. led war against Iraq, including some protests involving some of Hollywood's hottest names. We're live in Los Angeles to hear what they have to say and preparing for the possibility of war, though a secret spy agency. We'll have a look at how that agency figures into the critical planning phase of any campaign. We'll continue our live coverage from the Persian Gulf right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: We return to a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: LIVE FROM THE PERSIAN GULF. Reporting from Doha, Qatar, here is Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: If you're just joining us, we're following an important story here in the Persian Gulf region. For details, once again, let's go back to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara, update our viewers who may just be tuning in on what's developing on the high seas right now.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: U.S. officials, Wolf, have now confirmed that a ship they have boarded several hundred miles Southeast of Yemen contains perhaps as many as a dozen scud missiles. These are the ballistic missiles of course that Iraq used during the Persian Gulf War to attack Saudi Arabia and Israel.

This ship, however, came out of North Korea several days ago. U.S. intelligence watched it all the way. Yesterday, it was boarded. Again, several hundred miles Southeast of Yemen by two Spanish naval warships that were in the region, part of a maritime intercept operation. The Spanish boarded the ship. It was supposed to be carrying cement. They found containers buried in the cement. They opened a container and found missiles.

They called for assistance and at this hour, there is a team of U.S. military weapons specialists on board that ship where it is being held. They are trying to look through the cargo, neutralize it, stabilize it. We are told that ship will not move until they find out exactly what's on board and make sure it is not going to explode.

So, Wolf, very unsettling at this hour. The scud missiles apparently were not headed for Iraq, according to officials here. Instead, they were probably headed for the Horn of Africa. Scud missiles in the Horn of Africa would be of great concern to the Bush administration --Wolf. BLITZER: All of us, of course, remember the damage those scud missiles that were launched by the Iraqis during the Gulf War, all the damage that was caused at that time. So of course, scud missiles, a very, very dangerous prospect here in the Persian or indeed anywhere. Barbara Starr, thanks for all your good reporting.

Peace activists, meanwhile, are on the march across the United States today in connection with International Human Rights Day. Much of their focus, or course, focusing in on the anti-war stance as far a possible U.S. led war against Iraq is concerned.

In Washington, protestors gathered outside a military recruiting center and at a local park for a march to the White House. In downtown Chicago, about 20 anti-war demonstrators were arrested when they sat down in the lobby of a federal office building. The White House says President Bush welcomes the protests as a time-honored tradition of democracy.

Meanwhile, in Hollywood dozens of celebrities, including some big named actors and actresses, are also marching. They're also protesting. Let's get some details. Let's go live now to Los Angeles. CNN's Charles Feldman is standing by -- Charles.

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf. Gillian Anderson, Tim Robbins, David Duchovny and Carl Reiner, just a few of the artists, who are coming out to say, "War talk and Washington is alarming and unnecessary."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FELDMAN (voice-over): Although the number of Hollywood artists who gathered for the announcement was small, they were open about their intent to use mass media to get their message out far and wide. The declaration with more than 100 artists backing it, argues that while Saddam Hussein cannot be allowed to have weapons of mass destruction, U.N. weapons inspections and not a preemptive U.S. military invasion of Iraq should be used to achieve this goal.

MIMI KENNEDY, ACTRESS: The question that we ask our government and we're asking our fellow citizens to consider -- is preemptive war wise? Will it make us more secure? Will it remove the threat of terrorism, which is the one that we face? I sincerely believe it does not.

FELDMAN: The declaration is to be published in at least one national newspaper. Not everyone present for the announcement was a Hollywood star.

REAR ADM. EUGENE CARROLL, U.S. NAVY (RET): There is no crisis threatening the United States of America today. There are no axis of evil forces armed with weapons of mass destruction, which threaten us in our daily lives and our well being.

FELDMAN: The assembled artists all agreed that a preemptive U.S. strike against Iraq would be wrong but...

(on camera): Suppose you're wrong. Suppose that is what's needed.

SHEEN: I don't understand how I would be wrong. Would there not be countless, innocent civilians killed in Iraq with a preemptive strike? Do you discount that? Is that not right enough to speak at now?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FELDMAN: Noticeably absent from this declaration of other members of the Hollywood community, writers, producers, directors. Does this mean disunity in Hollywood on the issue? No, say the organizers. They wanted big name stars first. The rest, they say, will follow soon --Wolf.

BLITZER: Charles Feldman in Los Angeles, thanks very much.

Let's get some transition now. Protests from priests involved in the whole scandal rocking the Catholic Church. The cardinal, Bernard Law, of Boston had additional meetings with Vatican officials today. He's under enormous pressure to resign as CNN's Bill Delaney reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL DELANEY, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Of thousands of pages of documents alleging sexual abuse, undermining for nearly a year now the 18-year authority of Archbishop Bernard Law of Boston. No piece of paper so far perhaps any more potent than this, a letter signed by 58 Boston priests, including Father Robert Bowers calling for Cardinal Law to resign.

FATHER ROBERT BOWERS, BOSTON: It's not longer possible for me to accept the credibility of this archbishop. I sense the alienation people are feel being and I hear comments and I understand from people, the family members are now no longer coming to mass. People who are already alienated are even more so.

DELANEY: Days of anguish and division for Boston's 900 Catholic priests who don't all agree.

(on camera): Resignation, Father Burke?

FATHER JAMES BURKE, BOSTON: No, I don't think resignation is going to do anything. It's only go to prolong the pain and the hurt of the victims. I think that Cardinal Law has to reach out to bring healing and to bring unity to the church of Boston. And when that happens, then he can move on.

DELANEY: Whatever eventually happens here in Boston, whether bankruptcy is declared, whether the cardinal resigns, what will in many cases anger but universally simply baffle priests and parishioners alike, why the archbishop seemingly so reluctantly and certainly slowly reached out to alleged victims of sexual abuse and to the many alienated, average Catholics in his flock.

(voice-over): Had he simply reached out sooner, many believe Cardinal Law would not now be in Rome talking to the Congregation of Bishops, the clerical body charged with rejecting or accepting the resignations of priests.

Bill Delaney, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: They're the first scouts in any U.S. military campaign but what exactly do they do? America's secret mapmakers. We'll have an exclusive report from behind closed doors to see what's going on at one of the government's most mysterious agencies.

And it's a test you hope your car never has to take. We'll tell you which models held up best in 40 mile-per-hour crashes and which ones could be the kiss of death. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's update you on that breaking news story we've been covering all hour, scud missiles on the move. Pentagon sources telling our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, U.S. and Spanish forces have intercepted a cargo ship that left North Korea, off the coast of Yemen, not far from the Persian Gulf. Suspected onboard, about a dozen SCUD missiles. No word precisely where they were going. They're not believed to have been on their way to Iraq. We're following that story.

We'll bring you more information as it becomes available. Once again, scud missiles found aboard a cargo ship by U.S. and Spanish authorities off the coast of Yemen.

Well, whether it's a possible war with Iraq or the current war under way in Afghanistan, U.S. forces depend on a very little known spy agency, a spy agency that helps them pinpoint specific targets. Our national security correspondent, David Ensor, has another closer and exclusive look at the nation's secret mapmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the orders came to go into Afghanistan, few in the military knew much about the place. The first thing Air Force and Navy pilots needed were maps, coordinates, targets. So did Special Operations troops on the ground.

BRIG. GEN. MICHAEL LEE, NIMA MILITARY EXECUTIVE: Whether you're riding horseback as a Special Ops person or whether you're flying a stealth bomber, you use many of our same products. So everybody wants to know where they are, where their friendlies are, where the enemy is, where the noncombatants might be.

ENSOR: Maps are basic to warfare. NIMA quickly presented thousands more on special, durable material.

JOANNE ISHAM, NIMA DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Not only does it tell you where you are, but it also provides some helpful hints in terms of the environment for what you might be able to eat, that can be used to carry water. It's that strong. It can also be used as a blanket. ENSOR: Shaw Air Force base in South Carolina is one of the nation's main bases for F-16s. As pilots prepared for Afghan duty, NIMA scrambled together computer software for them to practice, software that allows them to punch in coordinates on a map of Afghanistan, then convert that to a picture of the terrain.

CAPT. SEAN CARPENTER, F-16 PILOT: We could actually do, basically, a practice run, you know, with the joystick and, you know, just try to find...

ENSOR (on camera): Where you best be.

CARPENTER: Yes. And then what your target and stuff would look like.

ENSOR (voice-over): Getting out the maps and software for Afghanistan took a lot of all-nighters at NIMA.

LT. GEN. JAMES CLAPPER (RET), NIMA DIRECTOR: It was not exactly on the -- our top ten hit parade of places that we had placed a lot of emphasis or focus.

ENSOR: To make things happen fast, the normally secretive spy agency did something surprising -- it hired private companies to take up the slack. Surrounded by prairie dog holes in the foothills outside Denver is the headquarters of Space Imaging, a private satellite photo company.

Space Imaging went into overdrive after 9/11, shooting thousands of satellite pictures of Afghanistan for the exclusive use of the U.S. government. The deal had the effect of stopping the media and others from obtaining pictures of U.S. troop movements. It also saved the U.S. time and money.

JOHN COPPLE, CEO, SPACE IMAGING: NIMA buys commercial imagery not only from a cost perspective in that they don't have to go build their own satellite. They can leverage our satellite, but also its unclassified data; it can be shared with our allies.

ENSOR: Now, NIMA is turning its sights to another target, the territory of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. NIMA satellite photo analysts know Iraq well, its weapons of mass destruction sites and the key military installations. But the Iraqis are masters at hiding what they have.

CLAPPER: Denial and deception and concealment is a challenge for us.

ENSOR: As U.S. intelligence expands its use of unmanned surveillance drones and as smarter computers and analysts increase the speed at which target data can be generated, warfare is changing even as another potential conflict looms.

JOHN PIKE, GLOBAL SECURITY ORG.: Today, the imagery can get in digital form military planners fast enough that they could actually shoot at targets before they move. ENSOR: In time the war, the existence of the new private satellite firms, like Space Imaging, is a mixed blessing for the U.S. For Iraq, the government may exercise its legal right, predicts Pike, to shudder control on American-owned firms.

PIKE: There's no way the military is going to let these satellites monitor American troop movements on the way to Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: If U.S. forces should go into Iraq, there will be NIMA teams going in with them working to tailor the maps, software and target data to the war fighter -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor, our national security correspondent, doing some excellent reporting. David, thanks very much. We have more news coming up. When we come back, survival of the fittest. This car plunged 150-feet down a ravine. He came out alive. We'll tell you how.

And how safe is your car? The latest crash test results are out. We'll have a look at the good, the bad and the ugly when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. The results of the auto crash tests are in and there's some good news. CNN's Julie Vallese is in Ruckersville, West Virginia where -- in Ruckersville, Virginia where the crash site test is taking place.

Tell us what's going on, Julie.

JULIE VALLESE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf. The Insurance Institute has tested five of the most popular vehicles on the road. They also happen to be five of the safest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALLESE (voice-over): Three mid-sized cars and two small cars went up against the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's wall at 40 miles per hour. All five won. It's an Institute first.

BRIAN O'NEILL, INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY: This is the first time we've ever had a release where all cars we tested were good performers and best picks.

VALLESSE: The nation's top-selling car, the Honda Accord has been newly redesigned for 2003. In the past, it was rated acceptable. It's now rated a best pick.

O'NEILL: There's no question, Honda has worked to improve the offset crash performance of this vehicle and they succeeded.

VALLESE: It was the first time Audi's A4 was tested and the first time was the charm. It also won top honors. In the small car category, BMW's mini was mighty. O'NEILL: Its front end was very stiff but the compartment is even stiffer. So it bounces off the barrier pretty good.

VALLESE: Researchers measure intrusion to the passenger compartment, injury to the dummy as well as the performance of air bags and seat belts. In a statement, BMW said, "These results prove that small cars can be engineered to be safe and to provide excellent occupant protection."

The Toyota Corolla and the newly introduced Suzuki Airot (ph) were also names best pick. While these mid-sized and small vehicles did very well, safety expert are not abandoning the advice that bigger is still safer because they say even manufacturers can't change the laws of physics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALLESE: Now, when vehicles don't test well, manufactures often say they feel the tests don't reflect situations of the real world. None of the manufacturers we spoke with even mentioned the real world. Instead, they were happy to have the Institute's praise.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Julies, thanks very much for that report, useful information for all of our viewers.

Let's check another important story we're following. A West Virginia man is recovering from a life-threatening ordeal. Robert Ward was trapped in his car for six-and-a-half days after the vehicle ran off a road and plunged 150-feet down a ravine. He was found Sunday by a friend and co-worker at a volunteer fire department. Ward said he survived by eating melted snow and what he found in an old peanut butter jar and some fast food sauce packs. Amazing, amazing story.

We'll be right back with our "Picture of The Day," break dancing here in Doha. You'll want to see this. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked -- what natural resource originally bolstered Qatar's economy? The answer, pearls. There were almost 13,000 pearl divers in Qatar at the start of 20th century. Pearls were harvested in large, wood fishing boats like these called dohs (ph).

And our "Picture of The Day" comes right here where I am in Doha in Qatar. It's called break dancing Doha style. Long after the fad clearly faded back home in the United States, look at this -- break dancing is all the rage here in Doha. Teens gather at the mall to show their stuff.

We asked and they told us their favorites were Eminem, Tupac Shakur and Shaggy. Shaggy had performed here, by the way, only last night before a sold out crowd not far away from where we're reporting from. Most of the popular guests -- they love these rap artists, hip- hop style clothes. They also love the western brands that, of course, are the rage back in the United States as well. Break dancing in Qatar, who would have thought.

That's all the time we have today. I'll be back tomorrow twice, noon Eastern for a special SHOWDOWN IRAQ and of course WOLF BLITZER REORTS at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. I'll be speaking tomorrow with the U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. We'll have that interview for you tomorrow 5:00 p.m. Eastern. He's traveling around the region. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting live from the Persian Gulf. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" is up next.

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