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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Mullah Muhammad Omar possibly still alive
Aired January 09, 2003 - 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, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: Thanks very much, Judy.
A crucial countdown in the showdown with Iraq, while the United States holds firm on a deadline, is the world backing away from war?
Also, a police mistake caught on tape, now the evidence is made public.
And, exclusive pictures of a man the U.S. authorities want to hunt down but they can't get him so how did a magazine get photos; first our CNN news alert.
(NEWSBREAK)
BLITZER: That's a quick look at our CNN news alert. WOLF BLITZER REPORTS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): A report card on Iraq, no failing grade yet.
HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: In the course of these inspections, we have not found any smoking gun.
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Because Iraq is very good at hiding things.
BLITZER: Is time running out?
He once helped free a U.S. pilot captured by North Korea. Can New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson help end the current nuclear crisis?
On its way to the Persian Gulf, a U.S. hospital ship makes a dramatic detour.
Alive and well, photos you haven't seen before and what may be a personal letter from the man U.S. troops can't find.
And, vampire bat saliva, yes we're not kidding. One day it may just save your life.
(END VIDEOTAPE) It's Thursday, January 09, 2003. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Is the cup half empty or half full? The U.N. Security Council today got a progress report from the men in charge of the hunt for Iraqi weapons. We get the story now from our Senior U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lead international inspectors reported that despite more access in Iraq, they haven't found weapons of mass destruction.
BLIX: In the course of these inspections we have not found any smoking gun.
ROTH: But, while Iraq is so far providing access to the roaming inspectors, U.N. arms experts say they are not receiving from Iraq proper details on weapons programs.
BLIX: The Iraqis could have looked at those questions and answered better. So, we are not satisfied.
ROTH: Neither is the United States.
(AUDIO GAP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Well, that's U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte who says it's clear from the evidence presented by the weapons inspectors in their briefing today that Iraq is in no way cooperating with the weapons inspectors. The United States said that it was another material breach. It was another omission, language, international legal language that would set the course for war.
However, following other briefings we've heard this kind of talk from the U.S. and nobody is sending the planes in just yet. European countries from Germany, France, and Britain all said the inspectors should be given more time. You're seeing the beginnings of some sort of split there but not wide enough or important enough right now to say that there's going to be any division.
What the United Nations Security Council may want to see is a clear interference, clear obstruction by the Baghdad government. Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA said that Iraq was illegally importing missile parts. He also said that an HMX explosive could be used for the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Baghdad says it will be used for cement mines.
The next briefing is January 27th by the inspectors. They say don't look for any fireworks. It's not a tripwire for war - Wolf.
BLITZER: Not necessarily the same message we're getting from officials here in Washington, though. Richard Roth thanks very much for that report from the United Nations. There's no sign indeed that the Bush administration is about to ease the pressure on Iraq. For its tough response let's go to our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux - Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the message from the White House it's not over until it's over. Just because the U.N. says that there's no smoking gun doesn't mean that Saddam Hussein doesn't have weapons of mass destruction.
Ari Fleischer earlier today making three points, first of all saying the administration has evidence that Iraq has not disarmed. Some of that evidence they've given to inspectors; also saying the president does not have a deadline when to decide whether or not to go to war, that yes January 27 is when those inspectors present their findings to the U.N. Security Council but the administration could allow more time for those inspections to play out.
And third, he made the point that the burden really is on Saddam Hussein to prove that he does not have those weapons not the burden on those inspectors to prove that he has not gotten rid of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FLEISCHER: The problem with guns that are hidden is you can't see their smoke and so we will still wait to see what the inspectors find in Iraq and what events in Iraq lead to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, why the huge military buildup? Well, Ari Fleischer saying that look this is all to push diplomacy along, that the president has not yet made that critical decision whether or not to use military action - Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, Suzanne thanks for that report.
He strongly backed President Bush's tough stand on Iraq but is he having some second thoughts? A London newspaper reports the British Prime Minister Tony Blair is urging the United States to delay a war against Iraq for months, perhaps until next fall.
Mr. Blair's office denies the report that says the prime minister told his cabinet today that U.N. weapons inspectors must be given, and I'm quoting here, "the time and space they need to do their job." The prime minister has received heat from critics, including some within his own party who say he's too quick to follow the U.S. lead.
In the meantime, the U.S. buildup is moving full speed ahead. The Air Force is sending dozens of aircraft to the region. B-1 bombers, which began departing from South Dakota this week, have been modified to carry satellite guided bombs, preparing to deploy, F-15 fighters and ground attack jets, JSTARS targeting aircraft and more of the unmanned Predators which have already been in action over Iraq.
So, do the U.N. weapons inspectors need more time? Is the United States headed for war? Joining me now with two different perspectives, from Albany, New York the former U.N. Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter; and from our Washington Bureau, Congressman Robert Wexler, a member of the House International Relations Committee, thanks to both of you for joining us.
I know that your attitude, Scott, is that the Iraqis basically have come clean, let the inspectors do their job, but the Bush administration is not going to let them, am I fair?
SCOTT RITTER, FMR. U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Well, I don't know. I don't want to prejudge the Bush administration. It seems that the Bush administration is stacking the deck in favor of war. At what point in time do we justify the expenditure required to deploy hundreds of thousands of troops and, you know, this much equipment over to the area around Iraq and just let it sit there?
It seems to me that they're stacking the deck towards military action when, in fact, the diplomatic solution is viable and achievable. We have inspectors on the ground. They're getting compliance. They're doing their job and they're not finding anything that warrants a threat worthy of war.
BLITZER: I know Congressman Wexler you're no fan of Saddam Hussein. You don't trust him at all. Do you think the Bush administration is going, is rushing into this or giving Saddam Hussein the benefit of the doubt?
REP. ROBERT WEXLER (D), FLORIDA: Well, I think at times the Bush administration has moved too quickly towards a confrontational position and that's why I was one of the Democrats who insisted that the president go to the U.N.
But we shouldn't prejudge the results of this inspection. Saddam Hussein has a long history of deceit, and I think once we have the opportunity to interview the Iraqi scientists outside of Iraq, we may find a very different picture.
And, while Mr. Blix said that there was no smoking gun, he did point out that there's a discrepancy between the information that he received and other items. The United States has not yet disclosed all of the information that we have and we're really just in the first or second inning of what will be a long inspection process.
And, I think Prime Minister Blair has a very important point. If the inspection process needs to take longer than say January 27, that's the most prudent course.
BLITZER: The U.N. ambassador, the U.S. ambassador, Scott Ritter, said after the meeting today, the briefing with Hans Blix and the rest of the U.N. weapons inspectors that it's up to the Iraqis to prove they have no weapons of mass destruction and that 12,000 page document they submitted is woefully lacking. I assume you agree with him on that.
RITTER: Well, I agree that the 12,200 page document submitted by the Iraqis does not answer all the questions but I think the question is, is it possible to answer all the questions?
The Iraqi document clearly sets forth, you know, an explanation for the accounting of all Iraq's prohibited material. The question is, you know, a lot of that can't be verified and I frankly am not one who's willing to take Iraq's word at anything.
I want absolute proof, absolute verification, and I want the inspectors to stay on the ground as long as it takes for them to get that verification. But I don't believe that the owness is on Iraq to prove it's innocent.
I do believe that the owness is on the international community to prove Iraq's guilt. After all, are we not a nation of laws? Do we not live in an international community of laws? And, don't we believe in the concept of innocent until proven guilty?
BLITZER: Congressman Wexler, the administration said that's not the concept right now. They say the Iraqis are guilty. They have to prove they're innocent. Is that a fair assessment from the administration?
WEXLER: The Iraqis have been guilty for ten years of violating one after another of U.N. requirements. This is not a civil case. Let's remember who Saddam Hussein is. This is a man who gassed his own people. This is a man who occupied and attacked Kuwait. This is a man who with design would use weapons of mass destruction.
There can be no doubt about that. The question is do we give the inspectors enough time so that we get an important report that is complete or do we rush the process? And, I don't think we should rush the process, either to go to war or to conclude that there's no danger, that either side that would be irresponsible.
BLITZER: What about that, Scott Ritter? As far as giving the Iraqis the benefit of the doubt you say the Iraqis are innocent. The administration should prove they're guilty. You just heard Congressman Wexler say the opposite.
RITTER: Well, again, I didn't say the Iraqis are innocent. I said that the owness is upon the United States to provide proof if they say Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, and the U.S. ambassador said today in the Security Council that he knows Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.
I'm tired of hearing that. I want to see the proof on the table before we start taking, talking about sending American troops to war. I'm not about giving Saddam Hussein a break. I know his history better than Congressman Wexler does.
I'm about ensuring that before we ask the hundreds of thousands of American service members who wear the uniform of the United States to sacrifice their life in defense of this country that it's a cause worthy of the sacrifice. Iraq needs to be demonstrated to prove a threat to the United States that warrants their engagement in conflict, their sacrifice. I'd ask Congressman Wexler to think about writing a letter to the family members of those who are going to die in combat justifying their deaths. Short of having Iraq posing a threat to the United States, I can't see any reason to send American troops into combat.
BLITZER: Go ahead, Congressman.
WEXLER: Well, Iraq has created an enormous amount of problems for its neighbors for over ten years. The history of Saddam Hussein is replete with deceit. It's replete with aggression. It's replete with mass killings. That is undeniable.
The issue now is what is the smartest way and most prudent way for the United States and the international community to disarm Iraq and get rid of Saddam Hussein? And, we are following thus far a very prudent process. We're working through the international organizations and we need to let these people do their job.
They can not do it, however, if they don't have an opportunity to speak to the Iraqi scientists outside of Iraq and it serves no purpose to prejudge and suggest that the Bush administration is going to do X, Y, or Z.
Let's get the facts and when we get them I'm confident we'll find that Saddam Hussein has acted consistently with the way he always has and that is a very deceitful way and then we'll just what the best way to do to react.
BLITZER: Scott, we only have a few seconds. You were shaking your head. Why were your shaking your head?
RITTER: Well, two things. One there is no international consensus on getting rid of Saddam Hussein. In fact, that has never been any of the United Nations' objectives. That's solely a unilateral American objective and to pollute international law by saying that that should be an objective is just plain wrong.
Two, you don't need to interview Iraqi scientists outside of Iraq. That is an American construct in artificiality. I spent seven years in Iraq interviewing Iraqi scientists. A lie is a lie is a lie. You tell it to be in Baghdad. You tell it to me in Vienna, Austria. Either way, I'm going to crack the lie. There's no need to get scientists out of Iraq (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
BLITZER: I'll give you the last word, Congressman Wexler.
WEXLER: Yes. The United States and the international community has gotten its most useful information from defectors and from scientists when they're outside of Iraq. Mr. Ritter knows, or should know better than anybody, that within Iraq the scientists can not speak freely.
That was an agreement made by the U.N. Iraq agreed to allow their scientists to be taken out to be spoken to. So, if they refuse it now, it's yet another breach, another deceit. That's part of the whole story. BLITZER: Congressman Robert Wexler, Scott Ritter former U.N. weapons inspector, we have to leave it right there. We'll have you back. Thanks very much.
WEXLER: Thank you.
BLITZER: Here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this: Should the United States go to war against Iraq even if inspectors say there's no smoking gun? We'll have the results later in this broadcast. Vote at cnn.com/wolf.
And while you're there, I'd like to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.
In the nuclear weapons standoff between the United States and North Korea, talks could be underway between North Korean diplomats and a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Our State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel is covering this developing story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No stranger to 11th hour diplomacy, New Mexico's Governor Bill Richardson says he's agreed to talk with North Korean diplomats about how to end the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: I want to be able to help my country but obviously that's all I want to say now.
KOPPEL: The Bush administration insists the meeting with Richardson, a Democrat, set for Thursday and Friday in Santa Fe was initiated by North Korean diplomats at the U.N. who also contacted the State Department this week to get special permission to travel to New Mexico. Richardson also called Secretary of State Powell, who U.S. officials say did not object.
FLEISCHER: We don't know what it is that North Korea wants to say to Governor Richardson. The only message that we expect is what America's position is, that we are ready to talk and that we will not negotiate.
KOPPEL: North Korea hasn't said why it tapped Richardson, who served as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and energy secretary under President Clinton, but in December, 1994, then Congressman Richardson spent a week in Pyongyang and negotiated the release of U.S. Army Airmen Bobby Hall and his copilot who died when their helicopter strayed into North Korean airspace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Governor Richardson's latest foray into diplomacy comes only days after the Bush administration reversed course and said it would talk, not negotiate, but talk with the North, and Bush, an administration source also tells me that Richardson will tell the North Koreans this week that the U.S. would be willing, if the North freezes its nuclear program, to put in writing a promise not to attack the North - Wolf.
BLITZER: Very interesting, Andrea Koppel interesting that the Bush administration has accepted Bill Richardson as a sort of unofficial envoy in this whole matter, a very important development in the standoff with North Korea. Andrea Koppel thanks very much.
Dramatic rescue on the high seas, the Navy picks up the lone survivor of an overturned boat. Find out how he stayed alive for 20 hours in rough waters.
Plus, a declared enemy of the United States, Mullah Muhammad Omar, pictures that suggest he escaped Afghanistan and may still be alive.
And get ready for this story, blood thirsty vampire bats, could their saliva - let me repeat that. Could their saliva actually save your life? I'm not making this up. We'll have a medical checkup, first today's news quiz.
Bats are the only mammals that fly. What part of their bodies do they use to do it, wings, hands, feet, bellies, the answer coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Flight recorder data from yesterday's commuter plane crash shows that Flight 5481 was a very short, very erratic, and no doubt terrifying trip. Our National Correspondent Gary Tuchman is standing by with the latest from Charlotte - Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, hello to you. We don't know exactly what caused this accident yet that happened right behind me yesterday morning, killing 21 people but we do know what investigators are primarily focusing on.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The National Transportation Safety Board has learned a lot in the days since the tragedy at the Charlotte International Airport and the knowledge comes from the so-called black boxes that are now in Washington.
JOHN GOGLIA, NTSB: The flight data recorder has given us 95 hours of data and that's 84 previous flights.
TUCHMAN: The data recorder shows the plane flew for 37 seconds, with a takeoff angle far more than enough to cause the Beech Craft 1900-D to stall.
GOGLIA: Seven degrees is the normal takeoff pitch angle. Something occurred to drive that pitch angle to 52 degrees. That is abnormal.
TUCHMAN: The NTSB is looking into whether the steep pitch was caused by a faulty elevator. The elevator, which can be seen on the tail of the same model of aircraft, controls whether the nose of the plane goes up or down.
And two days before the accident, the plane had maintenance on its elevator at a West Virginia facility run by the manufacturer of the plane, Raytheon.
GOGLIA: And that would require adjustments to the cable tension.
TUCHMAN: And that has peaked investigators' interest because the plane in the accident flew six flights after the maintenance and before the accident. All six flights show suspicious elevator movement. The other 78 flights on the recorder before the maintenance show normal elevator movement.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Now, you may be wondering what do the maintenance workers have to say about this, and what do the pilots of those six flights have to say? Well, they haven't been interviewed yet. This is raw information you're getting. This is all just happening. The NTSB will interview those people very soon.
Meanwhile, Raytheon the manufacturer of the plane, Mesa Air the owner of the plane that flew under the US Airways Express banner all say they will cooperate in the investigation.
We can tell you regarding the other so-called black box, the voice recorder, information isn't being released about that yet. There is good information on it. The only thing we know for sure is that the pilot of plane said we have an emergency shortly before the crash occurred.
A few hours ago the last of the 21 bodies was removed from the site behind me. We are told that family members want to go to the scene. They will be brought there tomorrow afternoon - Wolf.
BLITZER: Very sad story, Gary Tuchman thanks very much for that report.
And a U.S. Navy hospital ship is now on its way to the Persian Gulf but it stopped earlier on a mission of mercy off Bermuda. The USNS Comfort rescued a fisherman whose boat sank in a storm. Our Jeanne Meserve is with me now with the story - Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Wolf, it is pretty amazing. It's a good luck bad luck sort of story, a story about life and death. As you can see in dramatic pictures from the U.S. Navy, a raft on the high seas; onboard, a single fisherman Robert Lamb (ph) of Bermuda. He was out on a 40-foot boat with two other men when he says it rolled over in high seas.
The Coast Guard received an electronic distress signal shortly before midnight Tuesday. It dispatched one C-130 aircraft to search, then another, and at about 10:49 in the morning Wednesday, the aircraft spotted Lamb holding on to a small piece of plywood waving his shirt in 20-foot swells. It dropped him a raft with survival gear. Robert Lamb describes what happened. ROBERT LAMB, SURVIVOR: The raft and the rope landed maybe say ten to 12 feet away from me, so I just let go of my little bit of raft (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Pull, send back, and then pull your rope, pulled the other raft to me and then let go of mine and then jumped into the other one. Then I had a sigh of relief. Then everything, I said OK fine, I'm all right (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It will get me back home.
MESERVE: A Navy ship about 45 miles away was diverted and picked up Lamb at about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. And, as you mentioned Wolf, this is not just any Navy ship. It was a hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, equipped for any medical emergency including this one. Commander Terrence Dwyer (ph) headed up his treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CMDR. TERRENCE DWYER, USNS COMFORT: So, he had been in the water approximately 20 hours or so before we had taken him in. Currently he's in good condition, conversant. Everything is stable medically. His skin, including his hands and feet were waterlogged. He had minor cuts and abrasions but he's healing up nicely, conversant and in very stable condition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: The Comfort left Baltimore just Monday morning heading for Diego Garcia in preparation for possible hostilities with Iraq. With big red crosses on its bow, Lamb said he first thought it was a Norwegian freighter when he saw it bearing down on him, but of course it wasn't. As for Lamb's two crewmates, the search for them has been called off but Lamb says he's going back to sea just as soon as he can get another boat - Wolf.
BLITZER: He's one lucky, very lucky man thanks to the U.S. Navy.
MESERVE: He is. He is but he says he could have lasted another day out there, hard to believe given the seas and the weather.
BLITZER: All right, Jeanne Meserve thanks for that heroic story. Thanks very much.
MESERVE: You bet.
BLITZER: Now to the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. Mullah Muhammad Omar, you of course remember him. He's the spiritual leader of the Taliban who seemed to have vanished in the dust after the American led out of the Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan.
Now two photojournalists have turned up photographs and documents suggesting that Mullah Muhammad Omar may still be alive. Just how Ed Grazda and former Taliban photographer Khalid Hadi got their hands on this material is the subject of Grazda's article in the February issues of "Vanity Fair Magazine." Ed Grazda and Khalid Hadi join us now live from our New York Studio. Thanks very much. Tell us how you got these pictures. What was it all about, Ed?
ED RAZDA, PHOTOJOURNALIST: Well, I've known Khalid for about a year and a half and he had taken this original first picture of Mullah Omar in '92, and we thought we could, through contacts in Kandihar, come up with some new material and that's what we proceeded on.
BLITZER: Now, how do we know these pictures are authentic, Khalid? How do you know that these pictures are indeed the very mysterious Mullah Muhammad Omar?
Yes, because I see him before lots of times so when he showed me the pictures and I know him, you know, as real pictures of him and I bring and give it to Ed those pictures.
BLITZER: Ed, these pictures neither you nor Khalid took these pictures but somebody else you believe authentically took these pictures after 9/11, is that right?
GRAZDA: Right.
KHALID HADI, FORMER TALIBAN PHOTOGRAPHER: Right.
GRAZDA: It's our understanding they were taken probably in December of 2001.
BLITZER: Any idea Khalid where Mullah Muhammad Omar might be right now?
HADI: I think he is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) because I went into that area and I saw a lot of Taliban people that were in power because there's not new government, Karzai government does not have any control in that area. So this way maybe a lot of people say he is there.
BLITZER: There's a quote in the article, Ed that I want to read to our viewers supposedly from Mullah Muhammad Omar saying this. "I've been feeling better. Don't worry about me. My friends and I are all alive and in good shape and we are all busy with our struggle and God willing we will reach our aim soon." Is there any reason to believe this is the real thing?
GRAZDA: Well, it's definitely his signature. It's possible that the letter was not actually written by him but dictated to a scribe because he doesn't have very high education, but the signature matches a number of other documents that we have from the past from Omar.
BLITZER: Do you believe Khalid that the U.S. or our friendly forces will indeed find Mullah Muhammad Omar alive?
HADI: Yes, I think maybe if they are searching for him maybe they can take him alive.
BLITZER: You used to work, you were once a photographer for the Taliban regime. How elusive is this man?
HADI: I think he is not an educated guy so maybe, you know, I work with him a lot. I see him a lot of time because he doesn't looks like a really serious guy about the security or other things. Maybe so right now he is in a position he want to find a lot of people to make, bring against the new government and against U.S. army in Afghanistan.
BLITZER: One final question. One final question for you, Ed, before I let both of you go. I assume the U.S. government is very interested in how you guys got these pictures. They're looking for this Mullah Muhammad Omar very, very seriously. Have they asked you for any of this information?
HADI: No, nothing.
GRAZDA: No, they haven't asked us at all.
BLITZER: So you're going to leave it at that.
GRAZDA: OK, thank you.
BLITZER: Oh, you're not - I was going to say you're not going to volunteer to offer them some assistance in their search?
GRAZDA: I'm sure they know how to get in touch with me. I don't actually know where Omar is myself but, you know, if they call I'll talk to them.
BLITZER: All right, Ed Grazda and Khalid Hadi, thanks to both of you for joining us and we'll look forward to seeing the pictures actually in "Vanity Fair" in the February issue.
GRAZDA: Thank you very much.
HADI: Thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you. A Maryland teen accused of killing her friend with cyanide he bought off the Internet. Coming up lethal poison, just a few keystrokes away, why is it so easy to get this kind of stuff?
Also, a dog shot dead after a run-in with police. Did an officer cross the line when he gunned own this family friend?
Plus, a surprise medical benefit from one of the world's most feared creatures, but first a look at some other headlines making news around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Saber rattling? India has conducted another test of a missile that could be used for a nuclear attack against Pakistan. The test was routine but it comes during a resurgence of India-Pakistan tensions.
Being prepared, U.S. and South Korean commandos limbered up before joint exercises. Concern about North Korea's nuclear weapons program has revived fears of a possible attack from the North.
Pulling the plug, a major embarrassment for Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, he went on TV to address corruption charges but then he began attacking the rival Labour Party. Election officials decided Sharon was breaking the rules by getting too political and cut him off in mid speech.
The hunt goes on, British police are continuing their investigation into a possible terror plot. Seven suspects have been arrested following the discovery of deadly Ricin toxin in a London apartment, but officials say it's possible more suspects are at large and not all the Ricin has been recovered.
Hoping for a miracle, thousands of Filipinos on the Black Mazrarine. It's pulled through the streets of Manila once a year. Many believe if they touch it, their prayers will be answered and illnesses will be cured.
Thailand tradition. Contestants for more than a dozen villages marked the new year by racing hand made wooden carts. Forty of the 52 carts were wrecked during the competition, but the thrills and spills are a big part of the attraction. It certainly isn't the money. First prize was about $233.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: For any parent who's ever worried about children and computers, there's an unsettling story from suburban Washington, D.C. where a Maryland teenager is charged with first degree murder. The victim was a 17-year-old, Benjamin Vassiliev. The suspect was a friend of his, Ryan Furlough. Police say the crime occurred at Furlough's home. Furlough allegedly poisoned Vassiliev with cyanide he ordered over the Internet from a Kentucky chemical supply company.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSE ANN SOLOWAY, CYANIDE TOXICOLOGIST: We seized a card board box, it was a shipping box and labeled on the box was labeled hazardous material and potassium cyanide. This is a shocking case. It's uncommon to hear of something so tragic and certainly the use of cyanide, a poison, is quite unusual.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Police say Furlough may have wanted Vassiliev girlfriend. If convicted of murder Furlough faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Joining us now to discuss this story is CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks. He's joining us from the CNN center in Atlanta. Is it all that easy to get cyanide over the Internet -- Mike.
MICHAEL BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Wolf, it's extremely easy. One of the producers here in Atlanta went online and within five minutes was able to pull up sites, legitimate sites at that, where it sells laboratory supply, pharmaceutical supplies that he could order -- he went online. He could have put it right in his shopping cart, go on and send away for it just as Furlough did. Furlough went online and bought it with his mother's credit card. It's extremely easy to get.
Now, there are legitimate purposes for cyanide and other chemicals that you can order online. They're used in high school laboratories. There are a number of hazardous materials used every day in high school laboratories. Also used in metal finishing business, in medicine and number of other jobs. But it's alarming, very alarming that it's that easy for someone to go on and just order it right from the Internet.
And potassium cyanide, speaking with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Dr. Gupta was saying it's undistinguishable. Maybe with a little smell of burned almonds, if you will, in the cyanide. But he had apparently put it in a Vanilla Coke and that's how he poisoned his friend. It would almost be undetectable within a drink.
BLITZER: That's a shocking story. Stand by, Mike, because I want you to talk about another story that we're going to report, right now. Be patient with me just for a moment.
The Tennessee police department is apologizing and a family is considering a lawsuit after a mistake that resulted in the shooting of a beloved pet. It happened when police pulled over the family's vehicle and the incident was recorded by the cruiser's dashboard camera. You're about to see it. Although you won't see the dog being shot, some viewers may still find the video disturbing.
John Dunn of WZTV in Nashville has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN DUNN (ph), WZTV (voice-over): A state trooper's dashboard camera shows James Smoak being ordered to the ground. His wife and son follow. The family traveling home from a holiday vacation is handcuffed along I-40 in Cookeville. Officers with their guns drawn. Smoak tells the troopers he has a dog in the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a dog in the car.
DUNN: Which becomes clear when Patton (ph), family bull dog, its tail wagging comes out the passenger door.
BETH TUCKER WOMACK, TENNESSEE DEPT. OF SAFETY: The Tennessee highway patrol would like to express our deepest sympathy to the Smoak family.
DUNN: An apology from the highway patrol and Cookeville police. The Smoaks never did anything wrong. It was a call from a passer by who saw money coming from the family's car out of the wallet Mr. Smoak had accidentally left on top. From there THP says there was a communication problem. Dispatchers in Nashville began checking if a robbery had occurred, while a dispatcher in Cookeville stated the Smoaks had possibly been involved in a robbery. When troopers found the car a felony stop was made on an innocent family.
JERRY SCOTT, SAFETY COMMISSIONER: That's where the mistake came in. That's where our procedural problem came in -- procedural problems we are addressing.
DUNN: Cookeville police say Officer Eric Hall7 followed procedure when he shot the dog.
NATHAN HONEYCUTT, COOKEVILLE POLICE: His actions appear to be consistent with officer training when it comes to handling a perceived threat at a felony scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you shoot my dog?
DUNN: It's a conclusion the Smoaks can't understand.
JAMES SMOAK, DOGS OWNER: I feel like somebody like that does even need a gun much less a badge.
DUNN: Patton has been buried the Smoaks are back home and say after watching the tape, they'll consider legal action.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: That's a report from John Dunn of WZTV in Nashville. I want to bring back Mike Brooks our CNN law enforcement analyst.
When you see that story, you're a former law enforcement official, Mike, what goes through your mind?
BROOKS: I found it abominable that it did happen to that family. First of all, just because the guy left his wallet on top of his car and money was coming off the car. Number one how much money can come out of a man's wallet traveling on the road? And then for them to just on those bases pull a felony stop on that family? I don see why they did that to begin with. And then they tried to tell the troopers and the Cookeville police that there was a dog in the car.
And the woman, Mrs. Smoak plead with them close the door, they didn't want the dog to get out. Then you see the dog getting out and coming around. Now, I have watched this tape a number of times all the way up to where they shot the dog. And to me, having been a cop in D.C. for 26 years, and having dealt with pit bulls and rottweilers and dangerous dogs, to see this dog come out to me, again, hindsight is 20/20 and Monday morning quarterbacking, but from what I saw, Wolf, that was not a threat. And if I was the Smoaks I would be extremely upset.
BLITZER: They are probably going to have a good lawsuit on their hands. But all of us are a lot smarter with hindsight and police are human beings. They obviously can make mistakes as well. I think that's a fair assessment right?
BROOKS: That is a very fair assessment. Apparently from what I was reading the Cookeville, Tennessee, police sent their condolences. Tried to -- tried to talk to the family and get them and try to give them closure with the death of their animal. It's interested in seeing what happens, what kind of action the Smoak family takes against the Cookeville police and the Tennessee highway patrol. It was clear the Tennessee highway patrol spokesperson said there was procedural -- some procedural problems. I would definitely agree on this particular stop.
BLITZER: They better do some investigating, some review to make sure these kind of things don't happen again, if possible.
Mike Brooks our CNN law enforcement analyst, thank you very much for your analysis.
Turning to our justice files. There's been an arrest in Newark, New Jersey. Child abuse investigation. That investigation, of course, that grabbed national attention. Police say 41-year-old Sherry Murphy was supposed to be caring for a boy who was found dead and two others found starving and beaten. Murphy was arrested in a Newark apartment. She complained of illness when police questioned her and was taken to hospital.
A Pakistani man who allegedly gave a fall tip to the FBI plead not guilty today to unrelated fraud charges. A lawyer for Michael John Hamdani entered the plea in New York in connection with a 6-year- old charge Hamdani possessed false identification documents. After he said last month that five men entered United States illegally, the FBI launched a nationwide manhunt. The FBI halted the hunt on Tuesday, saying the claim was a hoax.
And former Congressman Ed Mezvinsky has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison. The 65-year-old Democratic representative of Iowa from 1973 to 1977. Prosecutors say he defrauded business associates, friends and relatives, out of millions of dollars. Mezvinsky blamed his misconduct on manic depression and the side effects from an anti- malaria drug but the judge rejected his plea for leniency.
Their icky and creepy and the stuff of he legends but vampire bats could one day save your life. Find out how their saliva -- their saliva, of all things, may help stop a stroke.
Plus, a controversial TV series. Is it breeding anti-semitic hatred? Or are critics overreacting? A closer look still to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Earlier we asked what part of their bodies do bats use to fly? The answer? Well, it's kind of tricky. Bats' wings are their hands and that's what they use to fly.
One type of bat, the vampire bat usually gets no respect because of its name. And while it's true that vampire bats feed on the blood of some animals, their scary reputation may soon change. That's because scientists studying this process have discovered an ingredient that could prove to be a potent new treatment for strokes.
Our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the CNN center in Atlanta ready to tell us all about it.
This is real science isn't it -- Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is real science, no question about it. Wolf, what we're talking about is the saliva in a vampire bat. I'm going tell you why that is something researchers even looked at. But fully understand why this is important. You need to understand what happens actually during a stroke.
Let's take a quick look at this picture. What happens, Wolf, typically, those are blood vessels that lead to the brain. During a stroke, what will happen is a clot will form as you see there. That clot with time can break off as you see and then travel to part of the brain blocking off the blood supply and leading to a stroke. So one of the main stay treatments for stroke is to try and break up that clot, get some clot-busting agents.
In fact, in vampire saliva, researchers started to look there. Because when vampires, these bats, that are actually blood suckers, they release a bit of a clot busting agent in order to keep the blood free flowing when they're trying to suck blood from whatever animal their attack. So the saliva was presumed then to have some clot busting agent within it, and that's why they decided to look there. They are now trying this in animal trials to see if that same ingredient which is in vampire bat saliva might be applicable to the treatment of stroke -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Why is this potentially -- this vampire blood -- this saliva from the vampire bat better than existing treatments that may be out there?
GUPTA: Right. Well, there's a lot of reason. There are some good treatments out there. What this vampire bats has several advantages over some of the existing treatments. If you actually look at the list here, it may not lead to as much bleeding which would be a good thing. It appears to be safer in the elderly.
Of course, there haven't been human trials here. This is speculative larger time window. You know, with the existing medications, you have to use them within three hours. This you could use within three to nine hours after a stroke. Possibly fewer side effects, Wolf, as well. These are all possible advantages of this vampire bats saliva ingredient. Of course, as I mentioned, this is still very early. Most of it still in animal trails. It will be some time. Sort of an interesting place for researchers to look for a treatment there -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Amazing story, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Thanks very much.
GUPTA: Thanks.
Dangerous anti-semitism or simply good drama on television? A controversial mini-series that suggests international Jewish conspiracy is out there and that series is drawing fire. We'll have a closer look when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: An Egyptian television serial is creating some real- life drama at the highest levels. The governments of Israel and the United States have condemned it as anti-semitic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): For more than two months this 41-part series entitled "Horsemen Without a Horse" has intensified religious and national tension between the Arab world, Israel and the West.
Produced independently in Egypt it began airing in several Arab states in November at the beginning of Ramadan and concluded late last month. It's a tangled plot but essentially it follows the story line of a century-old book forged in Russia called "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "The Protocols" allege that there is a Jewish conspiracy. That the Jews are trying to take over the world.
BLITZER: The show's producer, who also plays the lead role, admits using artistic license, but says the reality in the Middle East is much more violent than his series.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): "The Protocols of Zion" book doesn't contain the violence that the Zion enemy does in Palestine. One minute of news seen by the kids in the Arab world is much worse than what is mentioned in "The Protocols of Zion."
BLITZER: Early on critics called his series hate TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This kind of a document is being propagandized, propagated through a series, many part series that will be seen not only in Egypt, but throughout the Arab and Islamic worlds. It's a very dangerous thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Now critics in the United States and else where have just finished the translation of this series and they're speaking out. Joining us now from the Middle East Media Research Institute is Yigal Carmon. He's responsible for this new translation.
Yigal, thanks very much for joining us. What's the point now? Why are you doing this? It's already been condemned by the Israeli government, by the Bush administration, many members of Congress. Why are you doing what you're doing now?
YIGAL CARMON, MIDDLE EAST MEDIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Well we are just following up on our regular monitoring and we finished translating it. People did not see it, in fact. It was seen in the Middle East. It wasn't seen here. So it's different when people really can see it and see the details of the hate that has spread in it.
BLITZER: So who are you accusing of -- why are you doing this? What's the point of giving it even more attention by what you're doing? In other words, you don't like it but you're giving it more attention.
CARMON: The media in Egypt, as in other Arab countries, is controlled media. It has to be known that this is what the government is allowing, the government of Egypt. At a time when the show was aired, the government intervened in censoring other things, but not this one.
BLITZER: So you're accusing the government of President Mubarak being behind this TV series?
CARMON: Well, at least not doing anything, even despite the protest and everything. The point is...
BLITZER: Let me just stop you for a minute because we did ask a representative from the Egyptian Embassy here in Washington to come on this program. We invited the ambassador or another spokesman but they declined.
They did send us a statement, among other things, saying the Egyptian government does not censor these kinds of dramatic presentations on television.
But they also went on to say, The Egyptian minister of information issued a state affirming that the government policy opposes any disrespectful depictions of any faith before the program even aired."
And the statement went on to say that "the chief policy adviser to the president published a three-piece article in one of Egypt's major newspapers refuting that "The Protocols" had any historical basis and cautioning against the Arab world falling into anti- Semitism" which Osama el-Baz, who's the adviser to President Mubarak, said is of European origin.
CARMON: Yes. Well, these articles which are to be commended were the result of pressures by the United States administration and others to -- because of that series. And it reached a point where they had to do something, so they didn't stop the airing, but later on we had these articles. Still, they are to be commended.
The point is, Wolf, that what the series shows -- what contrary to what anti-semites say that they are not against Jews, that they are against the Zionist. What the series shows is that so-called Zionists are in fact Jews. You can see them on the show with their beards and the yarmulkes and the side locks and all the symbols of Judaism.
And it begins in the, according to their story, in the time of the Romans and the Greeks and so on when Zionism...
BLITZER: So what you're saying is it's classical anti- Semitism...
CARMON: More than that, they're not only targeting the Jews along history, but they're targeting the villains in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of Jews of the time, the Jewish community in Egypt. The (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and the helpless community. They are pointing them to the viewers. Those people who can be identified on the street, your neighbors, these are the ones.
BLITZER: Unfortunately we have to leave it there. Tiny little Jewish community left in Egypt, as you know. But Egypt being one of two Arab countries that still has formal diplomatic relations with Israel. Jordan or course...
(CROSSTALK)
CARMON: ... the pressure helped. So that is another reason to pressure.
BLITZER: Yigal Carmon, thanks for joining us.
And time's running out for your turn to weigh in on this "Web Question of the Day." Should the United States go to war against Iraq even if inspectors say there's no smoking gun? Log on to cnn.com/wolf. That's where you can vote. And we'll have the results immediately when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Our "Web Question of the Day," unfortunately we didn't post on my web Page. We're going to do that right now. You're going to be allowed to vote on it overnight, we'll continue this question: should the U.S. go to war against Iraq even if inspectors say there's no smoking gun?
We'll keep it up there overnight and all day tomorrow you'll be able to vote. We'll give you the results tomorrow. Sorry for that glitch. It happens with all the best of intentions.
That's all the time we unfortunately have right now. Please join me again tomorrow 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Don't forget "SHOWDOWN: IRAQ" weekdays at noon eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "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
Aired January 9, 2003 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: Thanks very much, Judy.
A crucial countdown in the showdown with Iraq, while the United States holds firm on a deadline, is the world backing away from war?
Also, a police mistake caught on tape, now the evidence is made public.
And, exclusive pictures of a man the U.S. authorities want to hunt down but they can't get him so how did a magazine get photos; first our CNN news alert.
(NEWSBREAK)
BLITZER: That's a quick look at our CNN news alert. WOLF BLITZER REPORTS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): A report card on Iraq, no failing grade yet.
HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: In the course of these inspections, we have not found any smoking gun.
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Because Iraq is very good at hiding things.
BLITZER: Is time running out?
He once helped free a U.S. pilot captured by North Korea. Can New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson help end the current nuclear crisis?
On its way to the Persian Gulf, a U.S. hospital ship makes a dramatic detour.
Alive and well, photos you haven't seen before and what may be a personal letter from the man U.S. troops can't find.
And, vampire bat saliva, yes we're not kidding. One day it may just save your life.
(END VIDEOTAPE) It's Thursday, January 09, 2003. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Is the cup half empty or half full? The U.N. Security Council today got a progress report from the men in charge of the hunt for Iraqi weapons. We get the story now from our Senior U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lead international inspectors reported that despite more access in Iraq, they haven't found weapons of mass destruction.
BLIX: In the course of these inspections we have not found any smoking gun.
ROTH: But, while Iraq is so far providing access to the roaming inspectors, U.N. arms experts say they are not receiving from Iraq proper details on weapons programs.
BLIX: The Iraqis could have looked at those questions and answered better. So, we are not satisfied.
ROTH: Neither is the United States.
(AUDIO GAP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Well, that's U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte who says it's clear from the evidence presented by the weapons inspectors in their briefing today that Iraq is in no way cooperating with the weapons inspectors. The United States said that it was another material breach. It was another omission, language, international legal language that would set the course for war.
However, following other briefings we've heard this kind of talk from the U.S. and nobody is sending the planes in just yet. European countries from Germany, France, and Britain all said the inspectors should be given more time. You're seeing the beginnings of some sort of split there but not wide enough or important enough right now to say that there's going to be any division.
What the United Nations Security Council may want to see is a clear interference, clear obstruction by the Baghdad government. Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA said that Iraq was illegally importing missile parts. He also said that an HMX explosive could be used for the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Baghdad says it will be used for cement mines.
The next briefing is January 27th by the inspectors. They say don't look for any fireworks. It's not a tripwire for war - Wolf.
BLITZER: Not necessarily the same message we're getting from officials here in Washington, though. Richard Roth thanks very much for that report from the United Nations. There's no sign indeed that the Bush administration is about to ease the pressure on Iraq. For its tough response let's go to our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux - Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the message from the White House it's not over until it's over. Just because the U.N. says that there's no smoking gun doesn't mean that Saddam Hussein doesn't have weapons of mass destruction.
Ari Fleischer earlier today making three points, first of all saying the administration has evidence that Iraq has not disarmed. Some of that evidence they've given to inspectors; also saying the president does not have a deadline when to decide whether or not to go to war, that yes January 27 is when those inspectors present their findings to the U.N. Security Council but the administration could allow more time for those inspections to play out.
And third, he made the point that the burden really is on Saddam Hussein to prove that he does not have those weapons not the burden on those inspectors to prove that he has not gotten rid of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FLEISCHER: The problem with guns that are hidden is you can't see their smoke and so we will still wait to see what the inspectors find in Iraq and what events in Iraq lead to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, why the huge military buildup? Well, Ari Fleischer saying that look this is all to push diplomacy along, that the president has not yet made that critical decision whether or not to use military action - Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, Suzanne thanks for that report.
He strongly backed President Bush's tough stand on Iraq but is he having some second thoughts? A London newspaper reports the British Prime Minister Tony Blair is urging the United States to delay a war against Iraq for months, perhaps until next fall.
Mr. Blair's office denies the report that says the prime minister told his cabinet today that U.N. weapons inspectors must be given, and I'm quoting here, "the time and space they need to do their job." The prime minister has received heat from critics, including some within his own party who say he's too quick to follow the U.S. lead.
In the meantime, the U.S. buildup is moving full speed ahead. The Air Force is sending dozens of aircraft to the region. B-1 bombers, which began departing from South Dakota this week, have been modified to carry satellite guided bombs, preparing to deploy, F-15 fighters and ground attack jets, JSTARS targeting aircraft and more of the unmanned Predators which have already been in action over Iraq.
So, do the U.N. weapons inspectors need more time? Is the United States headed for war? Joining me now with two different perspectives, from Albany, New York the former U.N. Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter; and from our Washington Bureau, Congressman Robert Wexler, a member of the House International Relations Committee, thanks to both of you for joining us.
I know that your attitude, Scott, is that the Iraqis basically have come clean, let the inspectors do their job, but the Bush administration is not going to let them, am I fair?
SCOTT RITTER, FMR. U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Well, I don't know. I don't want to prejudge the Bush administration. It seems that the Bush administration is stacking the deck in favor of war. At what point in time do we justify the expenditure required to deploy hundreds of thousands of troops and, you know, this much equipment over to the area around Iraq and just let it sit there?
It seems to me that they're stacking the deck towards military action when, in fact, the diplomatic solution is viable and achievable. We have inspectors on the ground. They're getting compliance. They're doing their job and they're not finding anything that warrants a threat worthy of war.
BLITZER: I know Congressman Wexler you're no fan of Saddam Hussein. You don't trust him at all. Do you think the Bush administration is going, is rushing into this or giving Saddam Hussein the benefit of the doubt?
REP. ROBERT WEXLER (D), FLORIDA: Well, I think at times the Bush administration has moved too quickly towards a confrontational position and that's why I was one of the Democrats who insisted that the president go to the U.N.
But we shouldn't prejudge the results of this inspection. Saddam Hussein has a long history of deceit, and I think once we have the opportunity to interview the Iraqi scientists outside of Iraq, we may find a very different picture.
And, while Mr. Blix said that there was no smoking gun, he did point out that there's a discrepancy between the information that he received and other items. The United States has not yet disclosed all of the information that we have and we're really just in the first or second inning of what will be a long inspection process.
And, I think Prime Minister Blair has a very important point. If the inspection process needs to take longer than say January 27, that's the most prudent course.
BLITZER: The U.N. ambassador, the U.S. ambassador, Scott Ritter, said after the meeting today, the briefing with Hans Blix and the rest of the U.N. weapons inspectors that it's up to the Iraqis to prove they have no weapons of mass destruction and that 12,000 page document they submitted is woefully lacking. I assume you agree with him on that.
RITTER: Well, I agree that the 12,200 page document submitted by the Iraqis does not answer all the questions but I think the question is, is it possible to answer all the questions?
The Iraqi document clearly sets forth, you know, an explanation for the accounting of all Iraq's prohibited material. The question is, you know, a lot of that can't be verified and I frankly am not one who's willing to take Iraq's word at anything.
I want absolute proof, absolute verification, and I want the inspectors to stay on the ground as long as it takes for them to get that verification. But I don't believe that the owness is on Iraq to prove it's innocent.
I do believe that the owness is on the international community to prove Iraq's guilt. After all, are we not a nation of laws? Do we not live in an international community of laws? And, don't we believe in the concept of innocent until proven guilty?
BLITZER: Congressman Wexler, the administration said that's not the concept right now. They say the Iraqis are guilty. They have to prove they're innocent. Is that a fair assessment from the administration?
WEXLER: The Iraqis have been guilty for ten years of violating one after another of U.N. requirements. This is not a civil case. Let's remember who Saddam Hussein is. This is a man who gassed his own people. This is a man who occupied and attacked Kuwait. This is a man who with design would use weapons of mass destruction.
There can be no doubt about that. The question is do we give the inspectors enough time so that we get an important report that is complete or do we rush the process? And, I don't think we should rush the process, either to go to war or to conclude that there's no danger, that either side that would be irresponsible.
BLITZER: What about that, Scott Ritter? As far as giving the Iraqis the benefit of the doubt you say the Iraqis are innocent. The administration should prove they're guilty. You just heard Congressman Wexler say the opposite.
RITTER: Well, again, I didn't say the Iraqis are innocent. I said that the owness is upon the United States to provide proof if they say Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, and the U.S. ambassador said today in the Security Council that he knows Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.
I'm tired of hearing that. I want to see the proof on the table before we start taking, talking about sending American troops to war. I'm not about giving Saddam Hussein a break. I know his history better than Congressman Wexler does.
I'm about ensuring that before we ask the hundreds of thousands of American service members who wear the uniform of the United States to sacrifice their life in defense of this country that it's a cause worthy of the sacrifice. Iraq needs to be demonstrated to prove a threat to the United States that warrants their engagement in conflict, their sacrifice. I'd ask Congressman Wexler to think about writing a letter to the family members of those who are going to die in combat justifying their deaths. Short of having Iraq posing a threat to the United States, I can't see any reason to send American troops into combat.
BLITZER: Go ahead, Congressman.
WEXLER: Well, Iraq has created an enormous amount of problems for its neighbors for over ten years. The history of Saddam Hussein is replete with deceit. It's replete with aggression. It's replete with mass killings. That is undeniable.
The issue now is what is the smartest way and most prudent way for the United States and the international community to disarm Iraq and get rid of Saddam Hussein? And, we are following thus far a very prudent process. We're working through the international organizations and we need to let these people do their job.
They can not do it, however, if they don't have an opportunity to speak to the Iraqi scientists outside of Iraq and it serves no purpose to prejudge and suggest that the Bush administration is going to do X, Y, or Z.
Let's get the facts and when we get them I'm confident we'll find that Saddam Hussein has acted consistently with the way he always has and that is a very deceitful way and then we'll just what the best way to do to react.
BLITZER: Scott, we only have a few seconds. You were shaking your head. Why were your shaking your head?
RITTER: Well, two things. One there is no international consensus on getting rid of Saddam Hussein. In fact, that has never been any of the United Nations' objectives. That's solely a unilateral American objective and to pollute international law by saying that that should be an objective is just plain wrong.
Two, you don't need to interview Iraqi scientists outside of Iraq. That is an American construct in artificiality. I spent seven years in Iraq interviewing Iraqi scientists. A lie is a lie is a lie. You tell it to be in Baghdad. You tell it to me in Vienna, Austria. Either way, I'm going to crack the lie. There's no need to get scientists out of Iraq (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
BLITZER: I'll give you the last word, Congressman Wexler.
WEXLER: Yes. The United States and the international community has gotten its most useful information from defectors and from scientists when they're outside of Iraq. Mr. Ritter knows, or should know better than anybody, that within Iraq the scientists can not speak freely.
That was an agreement made by the U.N. Iraq agreed to allow their scientists to be taken out to be spoken to. So, if they refuse it now, it's yet another breach, another deceit. That's part of the whole story. BLITZER: Congressman Robert Wexler, Scott Ritter former U.N. weapons inspector, we have to leave it right there. We'll have you back. Thanks very much.
WEXLER: Thank you.
BLITZER: Here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this: Should the United States go to war against Iraq even if inspectors say there's no smoking gun? We'll have the results later in this broadcast. Vote at cnn.com/wolf.
And while you're there, I'd like to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.
In the nuclear weapons standoff between the United States and North Korea, talks could be underway between North Korean diplomats and a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Our State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel is covering this developing story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No stranger to 11th hour diplomacy, New Mexico's Governor Bill Richardson says he's agreed to talk with North Korean diplomats about how to end the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: I want to be able to help my country but obviously that's all I want to say now.
KOPPEL: The Bush administration insists the meeting with Richardson, a Democrat, set for Thursday and Friday in Santa Fe was initiated by North Korean diplomats at the U.N. who also contacted the State Department this week to get special permission to travel to New Mexico. Richardson also called Secretary of State Powell, who U.S. officials say did not object.
FLEISCHER: We don't know what it is that North Korea wants to say to Governor Richardson. The only message that we expect is what America's position is, that we are ready to talk and that we will not negotiate.
KOPPEL: North Korea hasn't said why it tapped Richardson, who served as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and energy secretary under President Clinton, but in December, 1994, then Congressman Richardson spent a week in Pyongyang and negotiated the release of U.S. Army Airmen Bobby Hall and his copilot who died when their helicopter strayed into North Korean airspace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Governor Richardson's latest foray into diplomacy comes only days after the Bush administration reversed course and said it would talk, not negotiate, but talk with the North, and Bush, an administration source also tells me that Richardson will tell the North Koreans this week that the U.S. would be willing, if the North freezes its nuclear program, to put in writing a promise not to attack the North - Wolf.
BLITZER: Very interesting, Andrea Koppel interesting that the Bush administration has accepted Bill Richardson as a sort of unofficial envoy in this whole matter, a very important development in the standoff with North Korea. Andrea Koppel thanks very much.
Dramatic rescue on the high seas, the Navy picks up the lone survivor of an overturned boat. Find out how he stayed alive for 20 hours in rough waters.
Plus, a declared enemy of the United States, Mullah Muhammad Omar, pictures that suggest he escaped Afghanistan and may still be alive.
And get ready for this story, blood thirsty vampire bats, could their saliva - let me repeat that. Could their saliva actually save your life? I'm not making this up. We'll have a medical checkup, first today's news quiz.
Bats are the only mammals that fly. What part of their bodies do they use to do it, wings, hands, feet, bellies, the answer coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Flight recorder data from yesterday's commuter plane crash shows that Flight 5481 was a very short, very erratic, and no doubt terrifying trip. Our National Correspondent Gary Tuchman is standing by with the latest from Charlotte - Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, hello to you. We don't know exactly what caused this accident yet that happened right behind me yesterday morning, killing 21 people but we do know what investigators are primarily focusing on.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The National Transportation Safety Board has learned a lot in the days since the tragedy at the Charlotte International Airport and the knowledge comes from the so-called black boxes that are now in Washington.
JOHN GOGLIA, NTSB: The flight data recorder has given us 95 hours of data and that's 84 previous flights.
TUCHMAN: The data recorder shows the plane flew for 37 seconds, with a takeoff angle far more than enough to cause the Beech Craft 1900-D to stall.
GOGLIA: Seven degrees is the normal takeoff pitch angle. Something occurred to drive that pitch angle to 52 degrees. That is abnormal.
TUCHMAN: The NTSB is looking into whether the steep pitch was caused by a faulty elevator. The elevator, which can be seen on the tail of the same model of aircraft, controls whether the nose of the plane goes up or down.
And two days before the accident, the plane had maintenance on its elevator at a West Virginia facility run by the manufacturer of the plane, Raytheon.
GOGLIA: And that would require adjustments to the cable tension.
TUCHMAN: And that has peaked investigators' interest because the plane in the accident flew six flights after the maintenance and before the accident. All six flights show suspicious elevator movement. The other 78 flights on the recorder before the maintenance show normal elevator movement.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Now, you may be wondering what do the maintenance workers have to say about this, and what do the pilots of those six flights have to say? Well, they haven't been interviewed yet. This is raw information you're getting. This is all just happening. The NTSB will interview those people very soon.
Meanwhile, Raytheon the manufacturer of the plane, Mesa Air the owner of the plane that flew under the US Airways Express banner all say they will cooperate in the investigation.
We can tell you regarding the other so-called black box, the voice recorder, information isn't being released about that yet. There is good information on it. The only thing we know for sure is that the pilot of plane said we have an emergency shortly before the crash occurred.
A few hours ago the last of the 21 bodies was removed from the site behind me. We are told that family members want to go to the scene. They will be brought there tomorrow afternoon - Wolf.
BLITZER: Very sad story, Gary Tuchman thanks very much for that report.
And a U.S. Navy hospital ship is now on its way to the Persian Gulf but it stopped earlier on a mission of mercy off Bermuda. The USNS Comfort rescued a fisherman whose boat sank in a storm. Our Jeanne Meserve is with me now with the story - Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Wolf, it is pretty amazing. It's a good luck bad luck sort of story, a story about life and death. As you can see in dramatic pictures from the U.S. Navy, a raft on the high seas; onboard, a single fisherman Robert Lamb (ph) of Bermuda. He was out on a 40-foot boat with two other men when he says it rolled over in high seas.
The Coast Guard received an electronic distress signal shortly before midnight Tuesday. It dispatched one C-130 aircraft to search, then another, and at about 10:49 in the morning Wednesday, the aircraft spotted Lamb holding on to a small piece of plywood waving his shirt in 20-foot swells. It dropped him a raft with survival gear. Robert Lamb describes what happened. ROBERT LAMB, SURVIVOR: The raft and the rope landed maybe say ten to 12 feet away from me, so I just let go of my little bit of raft (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Pull, send back, and then pull your rope, pulled the other raft to me and then let go of mine and then jumped into the other one. Then I had a sigh of relief. Then everything, I said OK fine, I'm all right (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It will get me back home.
MESERVE: A Navy ship about 45 miles away was diverted and picked up Lamb at about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. And, as you mentioned Wolf, this is not just any Navy ship. It was a hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, equipped for any medical emergency including this one. Commander Terrence Dwyer (ph) headed up his treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CMDR. TERRENCE DWYER, USNS COMFORT: So, he had been in the water approximately 20 hours or so before we had taken him in. Currently he's in good condition, conversant. Everything is stable medically. His skin, including his hands and feet were waterlogged. He had minor cuts and abrasions but he's healing up nicely, conversant and in very stable condition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: The Comfort left Baltimore just Monday morning heading for Diego Garcia in preparation for possible hostilities with Iraq. With big red crosses on its bow, Lamb said he first thought it was a Norwegian freighter when he saw it bearing down on him, but of course it wasn't. As for Lamb's two crewmates, the search for them has been called off but Lamb says he's going back to sea just as soon as he can get another boat - Wolf.
BLITZER: He's one lucky, very lucky man thanks to the U.S. Navy.
MESERVE: He is. He is but he says he could have lasted another day out there, hard to believe given the seas and the weather.
BLITZER: All right, Jeanne Meserve thanks for that heroic story. Thanks very much.
MESERVE: You bet.
BLITZER: Now to the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. Mullah Muhammad Omar, you of course remember him. He's the spiritual leader of the Taliban who seemed to have vanished in the dust after the American led out of the Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan.
Now two photojournalists have turned up photographs and documents suggesting that Mullah Muhammad Omar may still be alive. Just how Ed Grazda and former Taliban photographer Khalid Hadi got their hands on this material is the subject of Grazda's article in the February issues of "Vanity Fair Magazine." Ed Grazda and Khalid Hadi join us now live from our New York Studio. Thanks very much. Tell us how you got these pictures. What was it all about, Ed?
ED RAZDA, PHOTOJOURNALIST: Well, I've known Khalid for about a year and a half and he had taken this original first picture of Mullah Omar in '92, and we thought we could, through contacts in Kandihar, come up with some new material and that's what we proceeded on.
BLITZER: Now, how do we know these pictures are authentic, Khalid? How do you know that these pictures are indeed the very mysterious Mullah Muhammad Omar?
Yes, because I see him before lots of times so when he showed me the pictures and I know him, you know, as real pictures of him and I bring and give it to Ed those pictures.
BLITZER: Ed, these pictures neither you nor Khalid took these pictures but somebody else you believe authentically took these pictures after 9/11, is that right?
GRAZDA: Right.
KHALID HADI, FORMER TALIBAN PHOTOGRAPHER: Right.
GRAZDA: It's our understanding they were taken probably in December of 2001.
BLITZER: Any idea Khalid where Mullah Muhammad Omar might be right now?
HADI: I think he is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) because I went into that area and I saw a lot of Taliban people that were in power because there's not new government, Karzai government does not have any control in that area. So this way maybe a lot of people say he is there.
BLITZER: There's a quote in the article, Ed that I want to read to our viewers supposedly from Mullah Muhammad Omar saying this. "I've been feeling better. Don't worry about me. My friends and I are all alive and in good shape and we are all busy with our struggle and God willing we will reach our aim soon." Is there any reason to believe this is the real thing?
GRAZDA: Well, it's definitely his signature. It's possible that the letter was not actually written by him but dictated to a scribe because he doesn't have very high education, but the signature matches a number of other documents that we have from the past from Omar.
BLITZER: Do you believe Khalid that the U.S. or our friendly forces will indeed find Mullah Muhammad Omar alive?
HADI: Yes, I think maybe if they are searching for him maybe they can take him alive.
BLITZER: You used to work, you were once a photographer for the Taliban regime. How elusive is this man?
HADI: I think he is not an educated guy so maybe, you know, I work with him a lot. I see him a lot of time because he doesn't looks like a really serious guy about the security or other things. Maybe so right now he is in a position he want to find a lot of people to make, bring against the new government and against U.S. army in Afghanistan.
BLITZER: One final question. One final question for you, Ed, before I let both of you go. I assume the U.S. government is very interested in how you guys got these pictures. They're looking for this Mullah Muhammad Omar very, very seriously. Have they asked you for any of this information?
HADI: No, nothing.
GRAZDA: No, they haven't asked us at all.
BLITZER: So you're going to leave it at that.
GRAZDA: OK, thank you.
BLITZER: Oh, you're not - I was going to say you're not going to volunteer to offer them some assistance in their search?
GRAZDA: I'm sure they know how to get in touch with me. I don't actually know where Omar is myself but, you know, if they call I'll talk to them.
BLITZER: All right, Ed Grazda and Khalid Hadi, thanks to both of you for joining us and we'll look forward to seeing the pictures actually in "Vanity Fair" in the February issue.
GRAZDA: Thank you very much.
HADI: Thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you. A Maryland teen accused of killing her friend with cyanide he bought off the Internet. Coming up lethal poison, just a few keystrokes away, why is it so easy to get this kind of stuff?
Also, a dog shot dead after a run-in with police. Did an officer cross the line when he gunned own this family friend?
Plus, a surprise medical benefit from one of the world's most feared creatures, but first a look at some other headlines making news around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Saber rattling? India has conducted another test of a missile that could be used for a nuclear attack against Pakistan. The test was routine but it comes during a resurgence of India-Pakistan tensions.
Being prepared, U.S. and South Korean commandos limbered up before joint exercises. Concern about North Korea's nuclear weapons program has revived fears of a possible attack from the North.
Pulling the plug, a major embarrassment for Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, he went on TV to address corruption charges but then he began attacking the rival Labour Party. Election officials decided Sharon was breaking the rules by getting too political and cut him off in mid speech.
The hunt goes on, British police are continuing their investigation into a possible terror plot. Seven suspects have been arrested following the discovery of deadly Ricin toxin in a London apartment, but officials say it's possible more suspects are at large and not all the Ricin has been recovered.
Hoping for a miracle, thousands of Filipinos on the Black Mazrarine. It's pulled through the streets of Manila once a year. Many believe if they touch it, their prayers will be answered and illnesses will be cured.
Thailand tradition. Contestants for more than a dozen villages marked the new year by racing hand made wooden carts. Forty of the 52 carts were wrecked during the competition, but the thrills and spills are a big part of the attraction. It certainly isn't the money. First prize was about $233.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: For any parent who's ever worried about children and computers, there's an unsettling story from suburban Washington, D.C. where a Maryland teenager is charged with first degree murder. The victim was a 17-year-old, Benjamin Vassiliev. The suspect was a friend of his, Ryan Furlough. Police say the crime occurred at Furlough's home. Furlough allegedly poisoned Vassiliev with cyanide he ordered over the Internet from a Kentucky chemical supply company.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSE ANN SOLOWAY, CYANIDE TOXICOLOGIST: We seized a card board box, it was a shipping box and labeled on the box was labeled hazardous material and potassium cyanide. This is a shocking case. It's uncommon to hear of something so tragic and certainly the use of cyanide, a poison, is quite unusual.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Police say Furlough may have wanted Vassiliev girlfriend. If convicted of murder Furlough faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Joining us now to discuss this story is CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks. He's joining us from the CNN center in Atlanta. Is it all that easy to get cyanide over the Internet -- Mike.
MICHAEL BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Wolf, it's extremely easy. One of the producers here in Atlanta went online and within five minutes was able to pull up sites, legitimate sites at that, where it sells laboratory supply, pharmaceutical supplies that he could order -- he went online. He could have put it right in his shopping cart, go on and send away for it just as Furlough did. Furlough went online and bought it with his mother's credit card. It's extremely easy to get.
Now, there are legitimate purposes for cyanide and other chemicals that you can order online. They're used in high school laboratories. There are a number of hazardous materials used every day in high school laboratories. Also used in metal finishing business, in medicine and number of other jobs. But it's alarming, very alarming that it's that easy for someone to go on and just order it right from the Internet.
And potassium cyanide, speaking with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Dr. Gupta was saying it's undistinguishable. Maybe with a little smell of burned almonds, if you will, in the cyanide. But he had apparently put it in a Vanilla Coke and that's how he poisoned his friend. It would almost be undetectable within a drink.
BLITZER: That's a shocking story. Stand by, Mike, because I want you to talk about another story that we're going to report, right now. Be patient with me just for a moment.
The Tennessee police department is apologizing and a family is considering a lawsuit after a mistake that resulted in the shooting of a beloved pet. It happened when police pulled over the family's vehicle and the incident was recorded by the cruiser's dashboard camera. You're about to see it. Although you won't see the dog being shot, some viewers may still find the video disturbing.
John Dunn of WZTV in Nashville has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN DUNN (ph), WZTV (voice-over): A state trooper's dashboard camera shows James Smoak being ordered to the ground. His wife and son follow. The family traveling home from a holiday vacation is handcuffed along I-40 in Cookeville. Officers with their guns drawn. Smoak tells the troopers he has a dog in the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a dog in the car.
DUNN: Which becomes clear when Patton (ph), family bull dog, its tail wagging comes out the passenger door.
BETH TUCKER WOMACK, TENNESSEE DEPT. OF SAFETY: The Tennessee highway patrol would like to express our deepest sympathy to the Smoak family.
DUNN: An apology from the highway patrol and Cookeville police. The Smoaks never did anything wrong. It was a call from a passer by who saw money coming from the family's car out of the wallet Mr. Smoak had accidentally left on top. From there THP says there was a communication problem. Dispatchers in Nashville began checking if a robbery had occurred, while a dispatcher in Cookeville stated the Smoaks had possibly been involved in a robbery. When troopers found the car a felony stop was made on an innocent family.
JERRY SCOTT, SAFETY COMMISSIONER: That's where the mistake came in. That's where our procedural problem came in -- procedural problems we are addressing.
DUNN: Cookeville police say Officer Eric Hall7 followed procedure when he shot the dog.
NATHAN HONEYCUTT, COOKEVILLE POLICE: His actions appear to be consistent with officer training when it comes to handling a perceived threat at a felony scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you shoot my dog?
DUNN: It's a conclusion the Smoaks can't understand.
JAMES SMOAK, DOGS OWNER: I feel like somebody like that does even need a gun much less a badge.
DUNN: Patton has been buried the Smoaks are back home and say after watching the tape, they'll consider legal action.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: That's a report from John Dunn of WZTV in Nashville. I want to bring back Mike Brooks our CNN law enforcement analyst.
When you see that story, you're a former law enforcement official, Mike, what goes through your mind?
BROOKS: I found it abominable that it did happen to that family. First of all, just because the guy left his wallet on top of his car and money was coming off the car. Number one how much money can come out of a man's wallet traveling on the road? And then for them to just on those bases pull a felony stop on that family? I don see why they did that to begin with. And then they tried to tell the troopers and the Cookeville police that there was a dog in the car.
And the woman, Mrs. Smoak plead with them close the door, they didn't want the dog to get out. Then you see the dog getting out and coming around. Now, I have watched this tape a number of times all the way up to where they shot the dog. And to me, having been a cop in D.C. for 26 years, and having dealt with pit bulls and rottweilers and dangerous dogs, to see this dog come out to me, again, hindsight is 20/20 and Monday morning quarterbacking, but from what I saw, Wolf, that was not a threat. And if I was the Smoaks I would be extremely upset.
BLITZER: They are probably going to have a good lawsuit on their hands. But all of us are a lot smarter with hindsight and police are human beings. They obviously can make mistakes as well. I think that's a fair assessment right?
BROOKS: That is a very fair assessment. Apparently from what I was reading the Cookeville, Tennessee, police sent their condolences. Tried to -- tried to talk to the family and get them and try to give them closure with the death of their animal. It's interested in seeing what happens, what kind of action the Smoak family takes against the Cookeville police and the Tennessee highway patrol. It was clear the Tennessee highway patrol spokesperson said there was procedural -- some procedural problems. I would definitely agree on this particular stop.
BLITZER: They better do some investigating, some review to make sure these kind of things don't happen again, if possible.
Mike Brooks our CNN law enforcement analyst, thank you very much for your analysis.
Turning to our justice files. There's been an arrest in Newark, New Jersey. Child abuse investigation. That investigation, of course, that grabbed national attention. Police say 41-year-old Sherry Murphy was supposed to be caring for a boy who was found dead and two others found starving and beaten. Murphy was arrested in a Newark apartment. She complained of illness when police questioned her and was taken to hospital.
A Pakistani man who allegedly gave a fall tip to the FBI plead not guilty today to unrelated fraud charges. A lawyer for Michael John Hamdani entered the plea in New York in connection with a 6-year- old charge Hamdani possessed false identification documents. After he said last month that five men entered United States illegally, the FBI launched a nationwide manhunt. The FBI halted the hunt on Tuesday, saying the claim was a hoax.
And former Congressman Ed Mezvinsky has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison. The 65-year-old Democratic representative of Iowa from 1973 to 1977. Prosecutors say he defrauded business associates, friends and relatives, out of millions of dollars. Mezvinsky blamed his misconduct on manic depression and the side effects from an anti- malaria drug but the judge rejected his plea for leniency.
Their icky and creepy and the stuff of he legends but vampire bats could one day save your life. Find out how their saliva -- their saliva, of all things, may help stop a stroke.
Plus, a controversial TV series. Is it breeding anti-semitic hatred? Or are critics overreacting? A closer look still to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Earlier we asked what part of their bodies do bats use to fly? The answer? Well, it's kind of tricky. Bats' wings are their hands and that's what they use to fly.
One type of bat, the vampire bat usually gets no respect because of its name. And while it's true that vampire bats feed on the blood of some animals, their scary reputation may soon change. That's because scientists studying this process have discovered an ingredient that could prove to be a potent new treatment for strokes.
Our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the CNN center in Atlanta ready to tell us all about it.
This is real science isn't it -- Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is real science, no question about it. Wolf, what we're talking about is the saliva in a vampire bat. I'm going tell you why that is something researchers even looked at. But fully understand why this is important. You need to understand what happens actually during a stroke.
Let's take a quick look at this picture. What happens, Wolf, typically, those are blood vessels that lead to the brain. During a stroke, what will happen is a clot will form as you see there. That clot with time can break off as you see and then travel to part of the brain blocking off the blood supply and leading to a stroke. So one of the main stay treatments for stroke is to try and break up that clot, get some clot-busting agents.
In fact, in vampire saliva, researchers started to look there. Because when vampires, these bats, that are actually blood suckers, they release a bit of a clot busting agent in order to keep the blood free flowing when they're trying to suck blood from whatever animal their attack. So the saliva was presumed then to have some clot busting agent within it, and that's why they decided to look there. They are now trying this in animal trials to see if that same ingredient which is in vampire bat saliva might be applicable to the treatment of stroke -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Why is this potentially -- this vampire blood -- this saliva from the vampire bat better than existing treatments that may be out there?
GUPTA: Right. Well, there's a lot of reason. There are some good treatments out there. What this vampire bats has several advantages over some of the existing treatments. If you actually look at the list here, it may not lead to as much bleeding which would be a good thing. It appears to be safer in the elderly.
Of course, there haven't been human trials here. This is speculative larger time window. You know, with the existing medications, you have to use them within three hours. This you could use within three to nine hours after a stroke. Possibly fewer side effects, Wolf, as well. These are all possible advantages of this vampire bats saliva ingredient. Of course, as I mentioned, this is still very early. Most of it still in animal trails. It will be some time. Sort of an interesting place for researchers to look for a treatment there -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Amazing story, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Thanks very much.
GUPTA: Thanks.
Dangerous anti-semitism or simply good drama on television? A controversial mini-series that suggests international Jewish conspiracy is out there and that series is drawing fire. We'll have a closer look when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: An Egyptian television serial is creating some real- life drama at the highest levels. The governments of Israel and the United States have condemned it as anti-semitic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): For more than two months this 41-part series entitled "Horsemen Without a Horse" has intensified religious and national tension between the Arab world, Israel and the West.
Produced independently in Egypt it began airing in several Arab states in November at the beginning of Ramadan and concluded late last month. It's a tangled plot but essentially it follows the story line of a century-old book forged in Russia called "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "The Protocols" allege that there is a Jewish conspiracy. That the Jews are trying to take over the world.
BLITZER: The show's producer, who also plays the lead role, admits using artistic license, but says the reality in the Middle East is much more violent than his series.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): "The Protocols of Zion" book doesn't contain the violence that the Zion enemy does in Palestine. One minute of news seen by the kids in the Arab world is much worse than what is mentioned in "The Protocols of Zion."
BLITZER: Early on critics called his series hate TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This kind of a document is being propagandized, propagated through a series, many part series that will be seen not only in Egypt, but throughout the Arab and Islamic worlds. It's a very dangerous thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Now critics in the United States and else where have just finished the translation of this series and they're speaking out. Joining us now from the Middle East Media Research Institute is Yigal Carmon. He's responsible for this new translation.
Yigal, thanks very much for joining us. What's the point now? Why are you doing this? It's already been condemned by the Israeli government, by the Bush administration, many members of Congress. Why are you doing what you're doing now?
YIGAL CARMON, MIDDLE EAST MEDIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Well we are just following up on our regular monitoring and we finished translating it. People did not see it, in fact. It was seen in the Middle East. It wasn't seen here. So it's different when people really can see it and see the details of the hate that has spread in it.
BLITZER: So who are you accusing of -- why are you doing this? What's the point of giving it even more attention by what you're doing? In other words, you don't like it but you're giving it more attention.
CARMON: The media in Egypt, as in other Arab countries, is controlled media. It has to be known that this is what the government is allowing, the government of Egypt. At a time when the show was aired, the government intervened in censoring other things, but not this one.
BLITZER: So you're accusing the government of President Mubarak being behind this TV series?
CARMON: Well, at least not doing anything, even despite the protest and everything. The point is...
BLITZER: Let me just stop you for a minute because we did ask a representative from the Egyptian Embassy here in Washington to come on this program. We invited the ambassador or another spokesman but they declined.
They did send us a statement, among other things, saying the Egyptian government does not censor these kinds of dramatic presentations on television.
But they also went on to say, The Egyptian minister of information issued a state affirming that the government policy opposes any disrespectful depictions of any faith before the program even aired."
And the statement went on to say that "the chief policy adviser to the president published a three-piece article in one of Egypt's major newspapers refuting that "The Protocols" had any historical basis and cautioning against the Arab world falling into anti- Semitism" which Osama el-Baz, who's the adviser to President Mubarak, said is of European origin.
CARMON: Yes. Well, these articles which are to be commended were the result of pressures by the United States administration and others to -- because of that series. And it reached a point where they had to do something, so they didn't stop the airing, but later on we had these articles. Still, they are to be commended.
The point is, Wolf, that what the series shows -- what contrary to what anti-semites say that they are not against Jews, that they are against the Zionist. What the series shows is that so-called Zionists are in fact Jews. You can see them on the show with their beards and the yarmulkes and the side locks and all the symbols of Judaism.
And it begins in the, according to their story, in the time of the Romans and the Greeks and so on when Zionism...
BLITZER: So what you're saying is it's classical anti- Semitism...
CARMON: More than that, they're not only targeting the Jews along history, but they're targeting the villains in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of Jews of the time, the Jewish community in Egypt. The (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and the helpless community. They are pointing them to the viewers. Those people who can be identified on the street, your neighbors, these are the ones.
BLITZER: Unfortunately we have to leave it there. Tiny little Jewish community left in Egypt, as you know. But Egypt being one of two Arab countries that still has formal diplomatic relations with Israel. Jordan or course...
(CROSSTALK)
CARMON: ... the pressure helped. So that is another reason to pressure.
BLITZER: Yigal Carmon, thanks for joining us.
And time's running out for your turn to weigh in on this "Web Question of the Day." Should the United States go to war against Iraq even if inspectors say there's no smoking gun? Log on to cnn.com/wolf. That's where you can vote. And we'll have the results immediately when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Our "Web Question of the Day," unfortunately we didn't post on my web Page. We're going to do that right now. You're going to be allowed to vote on it overnight, we'll continue this question: should the U.S. go to war against Iraq even if inspectors say there's no smoking gun?
We'll keep it up there overnight and all day tomorrow you'll be able to vote. We'll give you the results tomorrow. Sorry for that glitch. It happens with all the best of intentions.
That's all the time we unfortunately have right now. Please join me again tomorrow 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Don't forget "SHOWDOWN: IRAQ" weekdays at noon eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" is up next.
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