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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
U.N. Report Indicates Iraq Has Hidden Weapons, Germs; White House Says Saddam's Time is Almost Out
Aired January 27, 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, CNN ANCHOR: For weeks we've been telling you today will be a critical day the show with Iraq. Now, find out what happened.
Also, the showdown in this country. Intense feelings over whether the U.S. should be headed towards war. You'll witness it live right here on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): The report the world was waiting for. But what happened to Iraq's nerve gas?
HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: There was indications that the agents was weaponized.
BLITZER: And it's anthrax.
BLIX: It might still exist.
BLITZER: Should the inspectors get more time?
MOHAMMED ELBARADEI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: these few months, in my view, would be a valuable investment in peace.'
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: At the pace that Iraq is cooperating with the inspectors, it will take the inspectors another almost 300 years.
BLITZER: A "CNN Exclusive." Insider rocks bio warfare program and the killer experiments.
For four decades he's been a witness to history. Will the next chapter be war with Iraq? I'll ask veteran journalist Bob Schieffer.
And she says a federal investigation has cost her $400 million. And she's puzzled by the public's delight in her troubles. Martha speaks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: It's Monday, January 27, 2003. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. U.N. inspectors have issued their long-awaited report on their weapons hunt. They say Iraq has not come clean about some of its most dangerous weapons, poison gas and deadly germs, among others. The key question now, will they get more time to keep on looking? We'll go to our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux in just a few moments.
But we begin with our Senior United Nations Correspondent Richard Roth -- Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. Hans Blix didn't take long. Right at the beginning of his briefing he says Iraq has genuinely not accepted this disarmament resolution that put his inspectors back into Iraq under the Security Council resolutions.
He said he hasn't been able to produce major evidence that Iraq has revived weapons of mass destruction program; however, he made it clear that Baghdad is not cooperating. Consternation at the Security Council after Blix's findings but that's not enough to spur council members to reach any agreement on future Iraq strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH (voice-over): It didn't take long for the U.N.'s chief weapons inspector to charge Iraq is not cooperating.
BLIX: Iraq appears not to have come to a genuine acceptance, not even today, of the disarmament which was demanded of it and which it needs to carry out to win the confidence of the world and to live in peace.
ROTH: Hans Blix says chemical and biological agents have not been accounted for.
BLIX: There are strong indications that Iraq produced more anthrax than it declared and that at least some of this was retained after the declared destruction date. It might still exist.
ROTH: Blix also found disturbing an Iraqi scientist with 3,000 pages of nuclear data in his home. The Swedish diplomat noted Iraq is granting access to weapons inspectors but still needs to provide hard evidence of disarmament.
BLIX: It is not enough to open doors. Inspection is not a game of catch as catch can.
ROTH: Iraq says it has no weapons of mass destruction or important documents.
MOHAMMAD ALDOURI, IRAQI AMB. TO U.N.: We have no hidden reports at all. We gave everything and we put it in our report with the 12,000 pages.
ROTH: The inspectors say Iraq failed to close gaps in that massive filing on weapons of mass destruction, but the top inspectors don't want to give up the search. ELBARADEI: We should be able within the next few months to provide credible assurance that Iraq has no nuclear weapon program. These few months, in my view, would be a valuable investment in peace because it could help us avoid a war.
ROTH: The Security Council remains divided over the Blix findings and how long his team should continue to work. The U.S. says time is running out.
JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: It benefits no one to let Saddam think he can wear us down into business as usual as he has practiced it over the past 12 years.
ZHANG YISHAN, CHINESE DEPUTY AMB. TO U.N.: Since we have started this process and there is no clear reason to stop it, we should continue with the process.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: And Hans Blix also was concerned about two missile types that could exceed their allowed range. He says they may provide the most direct evidence so far of prohibited systems being employed by the Iraqis.
Hans Blix back in the Security Council right now, Wolf. He's being asked several questions. The U.S. wants to know what was the purpose of the ten-point plan you worked out when you were in Baghdad? How much time do you really need for more inspections? And the French are interested in the documents found at that scientist's house. Does it give any information about what the Iraqis are doing in terms of uranium enrichment -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Richard, I couldn't help but notice, as I'm sure a lot of our viewers did, that Mohamed ElBaradei asked for more months to continue his inspections. We didn't hear any specific request for more time from Hans Blix. What's going on?
ROTH: Well, it may be too soon to tell. Blix did say his inspectors are fanning out, that they want to open a southern base in Basra, but he may be knowing the political winds and he didn't want to directly ask for more time.
It would seem that he would need more time than ElBaradei. He's got three files, missiles, chemical, and biological, to take care of. ElBaradei made it a point of saying we need more time. It's a good investment for peace. Maybe it's good-cop, bad-cop. We may know more in the next few days.
BLITZER: Richard Roth, if anyone is going to know more it will be him. Thanks very much, Richard, for that report.
There's also an air of we-told-you-so within the Bush administration here in Washington. They say the hour glass is just about empty. Let's go live to Suzanne Malveaux. She's over at the White House -- Suzanne. SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, there are still questions about mustard gas, mobile labs, as well as anthrax in documents, even missiles. U.N. weapons inspectors say that they are unaccounted for and the White House saying that this is just proof that inspections can not and will not work with a regime that has no intention of disarming.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): The U.S. is now in what the White House calls its final phase with Iraq. The report from U.N. weapons inspectors is just more evidence, officials say, that Saddam Hussein refuses to disarm.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Iraq continues to conceal quantities, vast quantities of highly lethal material and weapons to deliver it. It could kill thousands upon thousands of men, women, and children.
MALVEAUX: The White House dismissed calls to allow inspectors more time to prove whether Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.
POWELL: The issue is not how much more time the inspectors need to search in the dark. It is how much more time Iraq should be given to turn on the lights and to come clean and the answer is not much more time.
MALVEAUX: The White House insists it has not set a deadline for the Iraqi leader to comply but sources say Saddam has weeks, not months, to avert a possible war.
The Bush administration's strategy now is to push U.N. Security Council members to enforce their own resolution, while continuing to campaign for both international and American support.
FLEISCHER: It still remains an issue for the United Nations to prove that the resolution they passed was not just one more in a string of resolutions to be followed by additional resolution, none of which have value, none of which have meaning, none of which are enforced.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now the White House is renewing its claim that one of the reasons Saddam Hussein is so dangerous is that it has alleged links to al Qaeda. Tomorrow, Wolf, President Bush will lay out his complete case against the Iraqi leader when the president delivers his State of the Union address to the American people -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Suzanne thanks very much.
And groups opposed to a war with Iraq held several demonstrations today. Despite frigid temperatures in New York, there was a protest right outside U.N. headquarters. Thirteen women and four men were arrested for disorderly conduct. In Britain, Greenpeace showed up at a port being used to load supplies heading for the Persian Gulf. One activist was arrested trying to scale the side of a ship but the Royal Navy says loading was not disruptive.
Anti-war activists also are showing up in Atlanta, staging rush hour protests at major intersections.
So, is it time for the United States to move against Iraq? Republican Congressman David Dreier of California says time is quickly running out. He's joining us now live from Capitol Hill.
Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio says no, there's still time. Let the inspectors do their work. He's joining us from Washington. Congressman Kucinich, do you really believe it makes any difference how much time they have? Will the Iraqis ever give up their weapons of mass destruction?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), OHIO: We have to remember inspections worked in the past. I mean before we got to this stage with Iraq there was a four-year period where there were no inspections but prior to that, the inspections worked.
And we're seeing now the inspectors are doing their job and inspections are an effective substitute for war and we should not turn to war until we've exhausted every possibility with inspections and even then, we need to think.
BLITZER: What's the imminent threat, Congressman Dreier, to U.S. national security that in your mind warrants sending young men and women into harm's way?
REP. DAVID DREIER (R), CALIFORNIA: Well, it's very clear that if you look at the disclosure of information when it comes to VX, clearly the most deadly chemical weapon out there, we have seen a violation of the directive on VX with the ability to deploy that.
Now, we live in a world today where because of anthrax, which was part of this report, VX, sarin, other chemical weapons, the prospect of deployment, and God forbid could come in almost any way outside of the region.
So, the threat that exists in the region is a very serious one. We need to be vigilant on it and I will tell you that none of us, Wolf, is enthused about the prospect of war.
Dennis and I can totally agree on that, and the question is you look at a decade waiting period that we've had. I think to say time is running out is clearly the right thing.
BLITZER: All right, what about that argument?
KUCINICH: David, would you agree that Iraq doesn't have the ability to deliver those -- any kind of chemical weapons they may have to the United States?
DREIER: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. We don't know that. We don't know that.
KUCINICH: The CIA has said that.
DREIER: Let me just say how is anthrax deployed? Did we find out how anthrax is deployed?
KUCINICH: Well, we know one thing Iraq had nothing to do with the anthrax attacks on this nation. That anthrax came from Fort Dietrich, Maryland and last I checked that's not in Iraq.
DREIER: Dennis, Dennis, I'm not claiming that anthrax did come from Iraq but the question that you just posed to me is do I believe that it could be deployed to the United States? And, it's very clear that we saw anthrax deployed through the mail. And so, the fact is can chemical weapons be deployed? They are weapons of mass destruction. They pose a threat to the stability, not only of the region, but to the rest of the world.
KUCINICH: And the fact is the CIA gave us a report before we voted on the Iraq question that said Iraq has no intentions of attacking the United States. That's what we pay the CIA billions of dollars a year to find out.
DREIER: Well, let me just tell you I don't want to at this juncture sit very comfortable with anything that Saddam Hussein is doing. And, I think that if we look at his pattern of violation of those 11 U.N. resolutions, if we look at Resolution 1441, this is a clear violation that we've seen so far.
It's up to the Iraqis to disclose. It's not up to the inspectors to uncover. And, I think we need to continue to focus on that and apply the pressure. The pressure that we've applied clearly has gotten us to the point where we are today, and I'm hoping very much again that we won't have to go to war, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to resolve this quickly.
BLITZER: Congressman Kucinich, that's a fair point. A lot of people have made it. The Bush administration officials, their supporters like Congressman Dreier that without the threat of war there's no way the Iraqis would even be complying with the U.N. inspectors right now.
KUCINICH: Well, I think that it's important that the United Nations community is involved in this and I also think it's important that we not be so quick to turn towards war as a remedy.
No one has yet been able to demonstrate how a war would do any good but kill a lot of innocent people and put our troops in jeopardy. I think we need to go very slow right now. Let the inspections work. Be patient. We need to be patient for peace and we shouldn't be impatient for war.
DREIER: We have been patient for a decade. We've been patient for a decade. We've been patient through this process and it's clear to me that there is something that can be accomplished. In a post Saddam Hussein, post Hussein government in Iraq, we can work towards political pluralism, self determination, the kinds of things that we as a nation have pursued for years.
I've just come back from Davos (ph) where we have seen -- I had many people coming from Western Europe up to me, Germany and France, indicating that they provide strong support for us contrary to the kinds of criticism that we've heard over the past several weeks.
KUCINICH: I think the German and the French government is reflecting the view of their own constituents and I also think that the administration has not made a case to go to war in Iraq.
They have no business sending 300,000 American troops, talking about launching 800 missiles into Baghdad, and even using nuclear weapons. We have to stop and ask why are we taking our country down this path when Iraq was not responsible for 9/11, not linked to al Qaeda, not responsible for the anthrax?
DREIER: Blix and ElBaradei would not have had the kind of success that they have without the kind of effort that we've had in building things up, and no one has claimed, Dennis you know this, we've discussed this before, that Saddam Hussein was directly involved in September 11th.
But if you look at sarin and VX, again two weapons which according to "The Washington Post" have been provided to al Qaeda, along with the housing of people like Hamid Shakir (ph) who is in Baghdad. These people who are tied to al Qaeda have, in fact, been able to seek refuge there.
BLITZER: I'll give you the last word Congressman Kucinich, go ahead.
KUCINICH: I don't think anyone is going to put in a good word for Saddam Hussein, but I do think we ought to put in a good word for peace here.
DREIER: Absolutely.
KUCINICH: And the U.N. inspection process which can work if we continue to be patient and hold our fire.
DREIER: We have been.
BLITZER: All right, we're going to have to leave it unfortunately right there.
DREIER: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: David Dreier and Dennis Kucinich. Congressman Kucinich, before I let you go, though, all the speculation out there, you're thinking of throwing your hat in the presidential ring, is that true?
KUCINICH: I'm getting a lot of encouragement from people around the country who are very concerned that this country is taking on a unilateral position, talking about preemptive strikes, nuclear war. People in the United States want to see America defend itself but they don't want to see a country which is bent on some kind of global policemen.
DREIER: Wolf.
BLITZER: Wait a second. Wait a second. When are you going to decide whether you're going to be a presidential candidate, Congressman?
KUCINICH: Stay tuned.
DREIER: Go ahead and run, Dennis. But let me just say the Brits, the Italians, the Spaniards, and the Australians certainly would not consider this action to be unilateral.
BLITZER: All right, we're going to leave it right there. Congressman Kucinich we'll wait to see what you decide. David Dreier, I don't think he's running for president.
DREIER: No.
BLITZER: At least not right now.
DREIER: Just for your job, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks to both of you for joining us. We'll continue this debate on another occasion.
Here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our "Web Question of the Day" is this: when it comes to Iraq, whom do you trust more, the Bush administration or the U.N.? We'll have the results later in this broadcast.
Vote at cnn.com/wolf. 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.
We'll have much more coverage of the showdown with Iraq coming up.
Also, he's faced the nation and major world leaders. Bob Schieffer of CBS News faces me and discusses what he thinks of the news media's coverage and a lot more.
Plus, young men accused of decapitating their mother. Was it inspired by a popular TV show? Details of a grisly crime that had even the police wondering how it could happen.
And, weighing airline passengers. Find out why you may have to step on a scale before you board a plane.
And, Martha Stewart on why everyone loves to hate her. Details of her first exclusive interview with our own Jeffrey Toobin.
But first, in case you were out enjoying the Super Bowl, among other things, here's our "Weekend Snapshot."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Cyber attack. Only limited disruptions have been reported today in the wake of an attack on the Internet. A virus-like worm crippled tens of thousands of computers around the world over the weekend. With many businesses closed Saturday and Sunday, there was concern the impact might not be over yet.
Marching for peace. Despite cold and snow an estimated 3,000 people turned out in Pittsburgh yesterday to protest a possible war with Iraq. No arrests were reported.
More at the pump. Gas prices are on the rise again. The latest Lundberg Survey finds the national average is $1.52 a gallon, an increase of almost one and a half cents a gallon from two weeks ago.
An elderly man and woman were pulled from their wrecked car Saturday night in Maryland just before a train slammed into the wreckage. The car had landed on the tracks after it slid out of control down an embankment. Neither the man nor the woman was seriously hurt.
Piano man injured. Singer Billy Joel is recovering from injuries he received in a car crash. Joel lost control of his vehicle and hit a tree Saturday night near Stag Harbor, New York. He spent several hours in a hospital.
Super Bowl blowout. Tampa Bay is celebrating a big win over Oakland in the Super Bowl. The Buccaneers beat the Raiders 48-21. The Bucs scored a Super Bowl record of three touchdowns on defense.
Frigid fundraiser. In Maryland the annual Polar Bear Plunge at the Chesapeake Bay raised almost half a million dollars for the Special Olympics. The water temperature was 34 degrees. Governor Robert Ehrlich was one of the hundreds who took the plunge, and that's our "Weekend Snapshot."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We'll have much more news ahead on this critical day in the showdown with Iraq, including an exclusive look at notes from Iraqi experiments with biological weapons.
But first, let's go to Southern California. That's where there was a grisly crime allegedly inspired by an episode of "The Sopranos." Two brothers are accused of murdering their mother, then decapitating her to keep her body from being identified.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): January 15, a grisly discovery. Down a deep ravine in Orange County, California, the mutilated body of a woman is found, her hands severed and her head cut off in an apparent attempt to hide her identity.
SHERFF MICHAEL CARONA, ORANGE CO., CALIFORNIA: We had a case where a body was dumped in a remote area. There were no witnesses that we had at the site of the dumping. She's headless. She's without her hands.
GUTIERREZ: Veteran investigators feared the crime would go unsolved, but just eight days later the gruesome details begin to unfold. The victim, 41-year-old Jane Marie Bautista a single mother of two. The suspects, her own sons, 20-year-old Jason Victor Bautista, and his 15-year-old brother, both charged with murder.
(on camera): Where did the break in this case come?
CARONA: This one came from a security guard.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): A security guard who saw two suspicious men near a dumpster in San Diego County.
CARONA: When he got close enough to them he saw they were putting a sleeping bag into a trash bin and saw a foot sticking out and he yelled at them to drop what they were carrying. They put it back in their trunk and sped off and he took the time to write down the license plate number.
GUTIERREZ: Authorities say the car was registered to Jason Bautista, a third-year college student studying biochemistry. Orange County Sheriff's officials confronted the student on campus.
CARONA: As they were walking off of campus, Mr. Bautista shared with them that he, in fact, had killed his mother and dismembered her body.
GUTIERREZ: During the search of the apartment Jane Bautista shared with her sons, investigators found the victim's severed head and hands. Jason Bautista allegedly told detectives the idea of dismembering his mother's body to hide her identity came from an episode of HBO's hit series "The Sopranos."
CARONA: The irony is that Mr. Bautista when he was giving his declaration, spontaneous declaration to the investigative teams, said that in fact the reason they dismembered the body was because of watching "The Sopranos" and so there was a direct correlation there.
GUTIERREZ: As for the motive, one neighbor says the 15-year-old boy had troubles with his mother.
CORRINE LARIMAR, NEIGHBOR: He told me once that, in fact it was the first time that I met him, that he hated his mother.
CARONA: I don't know what motive you could possibly give for a son or two sons killing their mother, chopping off her head and chopping off her arms. I don't know.
(END VIDEOTAPE) GUTIERREZ: Results from an initial autopsy suggest that perhaps Jane Bautista may have been strangled before she was dismembered. Now, we should also mention that in reference to "The Sopranos" show, CNN tried to contact HBO. They called us back. They say that they will not comment on this case.
Wolf back to you.
BLITZER: Thelma Gutierrez thanks very much Thelma for that grisly report.
Let's check some other news happening here in the United States. Just weeks after a deadly plane crash in North Carolina, the FAA is now ordering emergency inspections of all planes similar to the one that crashed, and some passengers may have to hop on the scales and be weighed before they board those planes.
Our Patty Davis is joining us now live from Reagan National Airport here in Washington -- Patty.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf, and next time you go to an airport you may find yourself on a scale. The FAA is trying to figure out what passengers weigh, though passengers who fly on these smaller commuter planes, ten to 19 seats. Is it the 185 pounds and do they have a 25 pound bag that the FAA estimates currently?
That's an important question because weight could have played a factor in the crash of Air Midwest Flight 5481 about three weeks ago in Charlotte, North Carolina. Investigator also focusing on whether there were elevator problems, whether the elevator was rigged properly, the cables there. The elevator controls the up and down pitch of the aircraft.
So today, the FAA issued an emergency air worthiness directive. All Beech 1900, 1900Cs, 1990Ds, that's the kind of aircraft that crashed in Charlotte, whether they have to be inspected. Are those cables rigged properly so that the pilot has full control when he or she wants to move the nose up or down on that aircraft?
Now, are these aircraft safe? The FAA says it believes that they are but it wants to make absolutely sure -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Patty Davis at Reagan National Airport, thanks, Patty, very much.
Much more news coming up. Iraq's Doctor Germ, a "CNN Exclusive." Hear for the first time details of her killer experiments.
Also, "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer faces me. The veteran journalist joins us live.
And, Martha madness. The household goddess fires back at critics and prosecutors.
But first a look at news making "Headlines Around the World." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Korean conversation. Officials from North and South Korea met in an effort to diffuse tension over North Korea's nuclear program. Observers say the discussions could be a prelude to talks between North Korea and the United States.
Shaping up for Sharon. With Israeli parliamentary elections scheduled for tomorrow, polls show supporters of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the lead. Fearful of pre-election violence, security forces barred Palestinians from entering Israel.
Turkey tremor. A 6.5 earthquake in Eastern Turkey damaged homes and took at least one life. Several people were injured jumping out of windows.
Anger in Africa. There were protests outside the U.S. and French embassies in Ivory Coast. Some Westerners were pulled from their cars. Demonstrators say a French-brokered peace settlement between the Ivory Coast government and rebels gives too much to the rebels.
Remember Paris. Vietnam is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords. The agreement signed January 27, 1973 brought an end to direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. South Vietnamese leaders surrendered to North Vietnam two years later.
Third chance at romance. A giant panda named Ling Ling is getting a third shot at three female pandas in a Mexico City zoo. After failing to impregnate them on two previous occasions, Ling Ling left his home at the Tokyo Zoo today for yet another attempt. Ling Ling may be a recycled Romeo, but giant pandas are an endangered species, so ladies don't be too picky.
And that's our look "Around the World."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Coming up a "CNN Exclusive." Meet Iraq's Doctor Germ, the woman behind some deadly experiments.
But first let's look at some other stories making news right now in our "CNN News Alert."
(NEWSBREAK)
BLITZER: One of the top Iraqi scientists who has worked on weapons of mass destruction is a woman, nicknamed Doctor Germ.
CNN National Correspondent Mike Boettcher recently got an exclusive look at her personal notes from some frightening experiments with biological weapons. Mike is joining us now live -- Mike.
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, if U.N. weapon inspects had a chance to speak privately to Iraqi scientists, experts say Dr. Rihab Taha would be at or near the top of the list. But there is another way to understand the depth of Iraq's biological weapons program. The details are in Dr. Taha's personal papers, documents never publicly seen until now. CNN has exclusively obtained the United Nations English translation of her Arabic work papers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOETTCHER (voice-over): Her notes begin with the test's objective.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A field experiment was conducted to disperse biological agents, botulinum toxin and spores of bacillus subtilus (an anthrax simulant) by exploding 122 mm Al-Buraq rockets. The rockets were filled with the biological agent. A cloud was formed that moved downwind near the ground surface.
BOETTCHER: The tests were a success.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have proved the effect of the botulinum toxin and its field use. Eight percent of the experimental animals perished.
BOETTCHER: Guinea pigs were used in this particular test. And Dr. Taha diligently recorded their death rate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of the animals that were at a distance of 25 meters from the explosion point, 33.3 percent perished after 24 hours. The deaths continued up to a rate of 86.4 percent after six days. After the elapse of three weeks, the death rate of the total test animals was 80 percent. But the death rate was 100 percent for animals that were placed downwind.
BOETTCHER: Taha then described the success of their tests using anthrax simulant in artillery rockets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When exploding the rockets, it was found out that the highest spores rate was in the locations that were near to the explosion, specifically within the first circle of 20 meters diameter. Neither the metal of the rocket container nor the blast temperature had any effect of the spores vitality.
BOETTCHER: And she revealed success in a 1989 test using Ariel bombs to disperse biological agents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a previous study prepared by us, military dispersal means, 250-kilogram Aerial bombs were used to disperse bacterial toxins and biological agents. It was a successful method.
BOETTCHER: Her conclusion, Iraq now had the capability to deliver biological weapons on the battlefield.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The effect of the botulinal toxin and its field use was successful -- successful dispersal of bacillus subtilus spores, which are similar to anthrax. The above agents can be used as military field agents. The 122 mm rocket is considered a successful means to disperse biological agents.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOETTCHER: The question still unanswered, how has Dr. Germ spent her time since those experiments in last 13 years -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Mike Boettcher, thanks for that report and that is a good question. We hope to find out some more about it in the coming weeks and months. Mike Boettcher with that exclusive report.
For the first time now in half a century, an espionage trial in the United States could lead to a death sentence. The trial of Brian Patrick Regan is under way in Virginia. Regan is a retired U.S. Air Force officer. He's accused of offering to sell secrets to Iraq, Libya and China. More now from CNN justice correspondent, Kelli Arena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former Air Force sergeant and intelligence analyst, Brian Regan could become the first accused spy to face the death penalty since the 1953 execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.
Regan, who worked at the National Reconnaissance Office, is facing three counts of attempted espionage, and one count of mishandling classified documents. What makes Regan's case controversial is that unlike the FBI's Robert Hanssen and other spies, he's facing possible death without being accused of actually revealing any secrets.
JONATHAN SHAPIRO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There's no harm as a result of this. And in comparison to what's happened in this country before with the likes of Robert Hanssen, whose espionage went on for 18 years and resulted in deaths and who ended up with a life sentence, there is something wrong.
ARENA: In its indictment, the government says Regan, a father of four who lived in this Maryland townhouse and was carrying about $50,000 in debt, wrote letters to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi offering to sell top secret satellite information. It is not clear whether they were ever sent.
In one, Regan allegedly wrote Saddam -- "The information I am offering will compromise U.S. intelligence systems worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Thirteen million is a small price to pay for what you will receive."
LARRY THOMPSON, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Regan's own words describe his determined efforts to compromise our national security.
ARENA: Despite the government's public hard line, legal experts say a plea deal is still possible.
ERIC HOLDER, FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: You certainly don't want to put on trial somebody who is in a position to talk about the defense capabilities of the United States, the reconnaissance capabilities of the United States.
ARENA: Defense attorneys are not talking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: They're not talking about any possible plea, but in opening statements today; Regan's lawyers said this is not a case of espionage, but bad judgment bordering on stupidity. They admit to Regan's mishandling of information but say that there was no intent to cause any harm -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Kelli, what about this story about the FBI looking to round up Iraqi nationals here in the United States for questioning? What's that all about?
ARENA: Wolf, it's an effort going on for about a month and a half now. FBI officials are seeking to interview about 50,000 Iraqi nationals that have come to the United States within the last 10 years, both here legally and illegally. Easier said than done, obviously.
But the motive here is A, to find out if there are any possible terrorist cells that were sent here over the last decade that might be called up for operation to, you know, carry out an attack against the United States if we were to strike against Iraq. The second reason for doing this is to open lines of communication with certain Iraqi nationals that may have a relationship with someone back in Iraq, either military or government that could provide information to the U.S. military.
BLITZER: Kelli Arena, thank very much for that report. Thank you very much.
When we come back, veteran journalist, Bob Schieffer. Hear what he has to say about a possible war, media coverage and a hot new book. He's out with it. He joins me live when we return.
And an unprecedented cameo on Super Bowl Sunday. What you may have missed just before the game. We'll keep it a mystery until later this hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. The showdown with Iraq is making headlines around the world and nowhere more so than here in the United States. Joining me now to talk about Iraq, the news media, much more, the legendary journalist, Bob Schieffer of CBS News. He's also out with an important new book called "This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV." Bob Schieffer, one of my favorites. Thanks very much...
BOB SCHIEFFER, JOURNALIST: So now I'm going to tell you.
BLITZER: And you're going to tell us in the book, which is a great book. We'll get to that shortly. But in this buildup to a possible war, what is going through your mind as a journalist who covered Vietnam and has lived through a lot of these experiences reporting about it?
SCHIEFFER: Well, I'm watching very carefully. I am not one of those who believes that war is now inevitable. I think that this buildup -- I think that Saddam Hussein is not going to do anything unless he has absolutely no alternative. I thought someone on your broadcast a little earlier, Congressman Dreier, I think, made an excellent point when he said look, these inspectors would not even be in Iraq if our troops were not building up on his borders. And I think that's right.
I think you'll continue to see this buildup until the very end. I think that's part of what this is all about. Probably the odds are against it. But I think there's still a chance that Saddam Hussein will see he has no alternative and will leave voluntarily.
BLITZER: How are we doing, not CNN, but all of us in the national news media, doing in this ratcheting up towards the possibility of war? Are we doing -- look back, step back, 40 years in the business are we doing an adequate job or are we weak in this area?
SCHIEFFER: Well, what's happening here is we kind of reflect what's going on. We've never had kind of a buildup like this toward a war where you had this long debate before we went in. I mean we were blind sided by Pearl Harbor and that's how we got into World War II. Even Vietnam, the debate was going on, but all of a sudden troops were there.
So news media organizations are just like the Army. They've got to deploy their troops. I think we have to be -- what we have to be very careful about, Wolf, is not, you know, keep pushing this, are we going war, are we going to war, when's it going to start, when's it going to start. We don't want to fan the flames of war just by asking the question are we going to war. I think we have to be careful about that.
BLITZER: And you're one of the journalists who knows war. Let me read an excerpt, one line from this book, "This Just In." And we'll put it up on the screen.
"What I came to understand in Vietnam is that sending young men and women into a war zone means more than their lives at risk. It also means that every value they have been taught, every belief they hold will be tested." I presume that means right now as well.
SCHIEFFER: I think that's absolutely right. And I think the Army is probably doing a better job than now than they were even back in those days. But we have to remember these are very young people that are going into these war zones. They're suddenly -- their family is not there. The people that they know are not there. They're in a completely different world. Every value that they have will be questioned.
And I think that's why it is so important to make sure that they have good training in that, in what they might expect in the temptations they're going see. I think it's just as important as training them to use their weapons.
BLITZER: All right, Bob. Stand by for a moment. We have a lot more to talk about. We'll talk about that, Bob Schieffer, right after the break including more on his book as well as Martha Stewart. She's speaking out now for first time substantively in her own defense. Why she's boiling with rage. We'll tell you. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're about to return to our interview with Bob Schieffer. But first, there's some news about one of Bob's colleagues at CBS. Thirty-five years after he created "60 Minutes", the executive producer, Don Hewitt, is making plans to leave the show.
Hewitt who is now 80 years old is credited with inventing the TV news magazine format. Under a newly reached agreement with CBS, he'll remain with "60 Minutes" for another year and a half. Then he'll step aside to take on what's called new editorial responsibilities at CBS News.
Bob Schieffer, Don Hewitt is a legend. What do you make of this development?
SCHIEFFER: Well, I think -- look, they may get somebody else to do Don Hewitt's job but they will never replace him. And you said he invented the magazine format for television news. Don Hewitt invented about 60 percent of television news, as we know it today, everything from doing a stand-up and the way we tell television news stories.
Most of the innovations in television that we know about, you can trace it back far enough and you'll find out Don Hewitt invented it. A couple of things I thought I had come upon that I had done for first time when I was way back during local television, I finally found out Don Hewitt had done it first. He's an icon.
BLITZER: And no matter what he does.
SCHIEFFER: He's a towering figure.
BLITZER: And his new editorial responsibilities, whatever that is, I'm sure it'll be great. Let's talk about the book, "This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV." I learned a great deal not only about you but our own business and about history over these past 40 years.
I also learned and if you could tell us briefly about your unique role in the whole Lee Harvey Oswald assassination of President Kennedy.
SCHIEFFER: Well, it had -- to make a long story short; I was working at the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Kennedy had spent the night in Fort Worth before he went to Dallas that fateful day.
I had literally walked into the sitting room and the phone was ringing. I answered the phone. A woman said is there anyone there who can take me to Dallas. And I said, "Lady, you know, this is not the taxi service and the president has been shot." She said, "Well I know. I heard it on the radio, but I think my son is the one who did it."
And it was Lee Harvey Oswald's mother. I repaired out to her house immediately with another reporter and we took her to Dallas that day and interviewed her on the way.
BLITZER: And you stayed with her almost until they kicked you out. At some point they finally found out who you really were.
SCHIEFFER: You know in those days we never told people who we were, so I always dressed so I'd look like a detective. And when I got to the police station they just assumed I was a Fort Worth detective.
BLITZER: And you were a young kid at the time.
SCHIEFFER: Yes, 26 or so. You do a lot of things when you're 26.
BLITZER: You've covered a lot of presidents.
SCHIEFFER: Yes.
BLITZER: Which one stands out, these past 40 years, as most impressive president that you ever interviewed because I think you've interviewed them all?
SCHIEFFER: I have. Richard Nixon, far and away the most peculiar person not just president that I have ever been around or tried to cover. Gerald Ford, when you come right down to it, was one of the nicest people that I think I ever met and from a personal standpoint the one that I liked the most.
At the time that he pardoned Richard Nixon, I felt personally betrayed. I just couldn't understand how he did that. As the years have gone by, I came to understand. I totally changed my mind and I now think he did the right thing. And I think what he did with that pardon, by letting the country get back to normal would probably have as much impact on this country as anything that any president did over the last 40 years.
BLITZER: But is that why he lost to Jimmy Carter?
SCHIEFFER: I don't think there's any question about that and I think he thinks that. I had a long interview with him in the book and we talked about that. He said he thought it was the major factor.
BLITZER: One of great things you do in this book and I hope one day to write a book like this one, if I can -- one of great things you do, you go back and re-interview or you interview people who were with you at various moments and get fresh perspective and you learn things that you forgot over the years or you never knew. So you've done a lot of reporting to write your own book.
SCHIEFFER: I wound up interviewing 85 people for this book and I really hadn't planned to interview anybody. And I just started doing it because I was trying to check my own memory. And it's a good thing I did. It was also one of most fun parts of it because as I went back and talked to these people they reminded me of things I had forgotten and then I began to dream about it.
BLITZER: It's called "This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV." I know all of our viewers, our news junkie, will want to read this book. Bob Schieffer, thank you very much for coming out.
SCHIEFFER: Thanks for having me.
BLITZER: Appreciate it.
We have much news coming up, including this, Martha Stewart. She's fighting back. She's answering allegations of insider trading. Plus, hear why she thinks people love to hate her. And one highlight from Super Bowl Sunday, the Raiders, the Bucs and, get this, a Wolf? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Martha Stewart is puzzled. The homemaking diva says she doesn't understand why people are delighting in her troubles. In an exclusive interview with CNN legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, Stewart said she's lost $400 million because of the government investigation into a stock sale. Toobin talked about that interview this morning with CNN's Paula Zahn.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, she says she's surprised and she's very careful in her words. But I sense this was a woman boiling with rage about this whole situation. She uses the word -- she uses the word, you know, surprised, puzzled.
But you know I got a real clue at one point when, you know, we sat down to lunch in her kitchen, at Turkey Hill, and you know, there were very thin chopsticks, beautiful chopsticks. I said, "Wow, these are great." And she said, "You know in China, the higher your social status, the thinner your chopsticks." And then she said, "Well, of course, I had to have the thinnest." And then sort of as a joke, but not really, she said, "That's why people hate me."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: This note -- Jeffrey Toobin's interview is in this week's edition of "The New Yorker" magazine.
In a moment, my debut on Super Bowl Sunday. If you missed it, don't miss this encore. And be sure to vote on our "Web Question of The Day." When it comes to Iraq, whom do you trust more: The Bush Administration or the U.N.? Log onto cnn.com/wolf. That's where you can vote and we'll have the results immediately when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Jimmy Kimmel, formerly of Comedy Central's, "The Man Show," debuted his new network show last night after the Super Bowl. In a promotion before the game, Kimmel said good-bye to his cable colleagues, including me and that's our "Picture of The Day."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: I'm ready to make the move to network, but before I go, I've got to say good-bye to cable.
JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: Today, Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix said Iraq has failed to provide the weapons information...
KIMMEL: Good-bye, Jon Stewart.
STEWART: Good-bye, Jimmy Kimmel. We'll miss you. Good luck to you, my friend. I'll tell "Battle Bots" you said bye.
BLITZER: ... resolution were ever brought before it.
KIMMEL: Good-bye, Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Bye, Jimmy. Take care.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: That was funny.
Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day." Remember, we've been asking you this very serious question -- when it comes to Iraq, whom do you trust more: the Bush Administration or the U.N.? Look at this -- 32 percent of you voting so far say the Bush Administration. Sixty-eight percent of you said you trust the U.N. more. You can find the exact vote tally and continue to vote, by the way, on our Web site, cnn.com/wolf. Remember this is not, of course, a scientific poll.
That's all the time we have today. Please join me again tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern as we look ahead to the State of The Union Address. Among my guests, senator and presidential candidate John Edwards and former senator, now on "Law and Order," Fred Thompson. Don't forget "SHOWDOWN: IRAQ" weekdays 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
White House Says Saddam's Time is Almost Out>
Aired January 27, 2003 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: For weeks we've been telling you today will be a critical day the show with Iraq. Now, find out what happened.
Also, the showdown in this country. Intense feelings over whether the U.S. should be headed towards war. You'll witness it live right here on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): The report the world was waiting for. But what happened to Iraq's nerve gas?
HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: There was indications that the agents was weaponized.
BLITZER: And it's anthrax.
BLIX: It might still exist.
BLITZER: Should the inspectors get more time?
MOHAMMED ELBARADEI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: these few months, in my view, would be a valuable investment in peace.'
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: At the pace that Iraq is cooperating with the inspectors, it will take the inspectors another almost 300 years.
BLITZER: A "CNN Exclusive." Insider rocks bio warfare program and the killer experiments.
For four decades he's been a witness to history. Will the next chapter be war with Iraq? I'll ask veteran journalist Bob Schieffer.
And she says a federal investigation has cost her $400 million. And she's puzzled by the public's delight in her troubles. Martha speaks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: It's Monday, January 27, 2003. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. U.N. inspectors have issued their long-awaited report on their weapons hunt. They say Iraq has not come clean about some of its most dangerous weapons, poison gas and deadly germs, among others. The key question now, will they get more time to keep on looking? We'll go to our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux in just a few moments.
But we begin with our Senior United Nations Correspondent Richard Roth -- Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. Hans Blix didn't take long. Right at the beginning of his briefing he says Iraq has genuinely not accepted this disarmament resolution that put his inspectors back into Iraq under the Security Council resolutions.
He said he hasn't been able to produce major evidence that Iraq has revived weapons of mass destruction program; however, he made it clear that Baghdad is not cooperating. Consternation at the Security Council after Blix's findings but that's not enough to spur council members to reach any agreement on future Iraq strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH (voice-over): It didn't take long for the U.N.'s chief weapons inspector to charge Iraq is not cooperating.
BLIX: Iraq appears not to have come to a genuine acceptance, not even today, of the disarmament which was demanded of it and which it needs to carry out to win the confidence of the world and to live in peace.
ROTH: Hans Blix says chemical and biological agents have not been accounted for.
BLIX: There are strong indications that Iraq produced more anthrax than it declared and that at least some of this was retained after the declared destruction date. It might still exist.
ROTH: Blix also found disturbing an Iraqi scientist with 3,000 pages of nuclear data in his home. The Swedish diplomat noted Iraq is granting access to weapons inspectors but still needs to provide hard evidence of disarmament.
BLIX: It is not enough to open doors. Inspection is not a game of catch as catch can.
ROTH: Iraq says it has no weapons of mass destruction or important documents.
MOHAMMAD ALDOURI, IRAQI AMB. TO U.N.: We have no hidden reports at all. We gave everything and we put it in our report with the 12,000 pages.
ROTH: The inspectors say Iraq failed to close gaps in that massive filing on weapons of mass destruction, but the top inspectors don't want to give up the search. ELBARADEI: We should be able within the next few months to provide credible assurance that Iraq has no nuclear weapon program. These few months, in my view, would be a valuable investment in peace because it could help us avoid a war.
ROTH: The Security Council remains divided over the Blix findings and how long his team should continue to work. The U.S. says time is running out.
JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: It benefits no one to let Saddam think he can wear us down into business as usual as he has practiced it over the past 12 years.
ZHANG YISHAN, CHINESE DEPUTY AMB. TO U.N.: Since we have started this process and there is no clear reason to stop it, we should continue with the process.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: And Hans Blix also was concerned about two missile types that could exceed their allowed range. He says they may provide the most direct evidence so far of prohibited systems being employed by the Iraqis.
Hans Blix back in the Security Council right now, Wolf. He's being asked several questions. The U.S. wants to know what was the purpose of the ten-point plan you worked out when you were in Baghdad? How much time do you really need for more inspections? And the French are interested in the documents found at that scientist's house. Does it give any information about what the Iraqis are doing in terms of uranium enrichment -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Richard, I couldn't help but notice, as I'm sure a lot of our viewers did, that Mohamed ElBaradei asked for more months to continue his inspections. We didn't hear any specific request for more time from Hans Blix. What's going on?
ROTH: Well, it may be too soon to tell. Blix did say his inspectors are fanning out, that they want to open a southern base in Basra, but he may be knowing the political winds and he didn't want to directly ask for more time.
It would seem that he would need more time than ElBaradei. He's got three files, missiles, chemical, and biological, to take care of. ElBaradei made it a point of saying we need more time. It's a good investment for peace. Maybe it's good-cop, bad-cop. We may know more in the next few days.
BLITZER: Richard Roth, if anyone is going to know more it will be him. Thanks very much, Richard, for that report.
There's also an air of we-told-you-so within the Bush administration here in Washington. They say the hour glass is just about empty. Let's go live to Suzanne Malveaux. She's over at the White House -- Suzanne. SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, there are still questions about mustard gas, mobile labs, as well as anthrax in documents, even missiles. U.N. weapons inspectors say that they are unaccounted for and the White House saying that this is just proof that inspections can not and will not work with a regime that has no intention of disarming.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): The U.S. is now in what the White House calls its final phase with Iraq. The report from U.N. weapons inspectors is just more evidence, officials say, that Saddam Hussein refuses to disarm.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Iraq continues to conceal quantities, vast quantities of highly lethal material and weapons to deliver it. It could kill thousands upon thousands of men, women, and children.
MALVEAUX: The White House dismissed calls to allow inspectors more time to prove whether Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.
POWELL: The issue is not how much more time the inspectors need to search in the dark. It is how much more time Iraq should be given to turn on the lights and to come clean and the answer is not much more time.
MALVEAUX: The White House insists it has not set a deadline for the Iraqi leader to comply but sources say Saddam has weeks, not months, to avert a possible war.
The Bush administration's strategy now is to push U.N. Security Council members to enforce their own resolution, while continuing to campaign for both international and American support.
FLEISCHER: It still remains an issue for the United Nations to prove that the resolution they passed was not just one more in a string of resolutions to be followed by additional resolution, none of which have value, none of which have meaning, none of which are enforced.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now the White House is renewing its claim that one of the reasons Saddam Hussein is so dangerous is that it has alleged links to al Qaeda. Tomorrow, Wolf, President Bush will lay out his complete case against the Iraqi leader when the president delivers his State of the Union address to the American people -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Suzanne thanks very much.
And groups opposed to a war with Iraq held several demonstrations today. Despite frigid temperatures in New York, there was a protest right outside U.N. headquarters. Thirteen women and four men were arrested for disorderly conduct. In Britain, Greenpeace showed up at a port being used to load supplies heading for the Persian Gulf. One activist was arrested trying to scale the side of a ship but the Royal Navy says loading was not disruptive.
Anti-war activists also are showing up in Atlanta, staging rush hour protests at major intersections.
So, is it time for the United States to move against Iraq? Republican Congressman David Dreier of California says time is quickly running out. He's joining us now live from Capitol Hill.
Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio says no, there's still time. Let the inspectors do their work. He's joining us from Washington. Congressman Kucinich, do you really believe it makes any difference how much time they have? Will the Iraqis ever give up their weapons of mass destruction?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), OHIO: We have to remember inspections worked in the past. I mean before we got to this stage with Iraq there was a four-year period where there were no inspections but prior to that, the inspections worked.
And we're seeing now the inspectors are doing their job and inspections are an effective substitute for war and we should not turn to war until we've exhausted every possibility with inspections and even then, we need to think.
BLITZER: What's the imminent threat, Congressman Dreier, to U.S. national security that in your mind warrants sending young men and women into harm's way?
REP. DAVID DREIER (R), CALIFORNIA: Well, it's very clear that if you look at the disclosure of information when it comes to VX, clearly the most deadly chemical weapon out there, we have seen a violation of the directive on VX with the ability to deploy that.
Now, we live in a world today where because of anthrax, which was part of this report, VX, sarin, other chemical weapons, the prospect of deployment, and God forbid could come in almost any way outside of the region.
So, the threat that exists in the region is a very serious one. We need to be vigilant on it and I will tell you that none of us, Wolf, is enthused about the prospect of war.
Dennis and I can totally agree on that, and the question is you look at a decade waiting period that we've had. I think to say time is running out is clearly the right thing.
BLITZER: All right, what about that argument?
KUCINICH: David, would you agree that Iraq doesn't have the ability to deliver those -- any kind of chemical weapons they may have to the United States?
DREIER: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. We don't know that. We don't know that.
KUCINICH: The CIA has said that.
DREIER: Let me just say how is anthrax deployed? Did we find out how anthrax is deployed?
KUCINICH: Well, we know one thing Iraq had nothing to do with the anthrax attacks on this nation. That anthrax came from Fort Dietrich, Maryland and last I checked that's not in Iraq.
DREIER: Dennis, Dennis, I'm not claiming that anthrax did come from Iraq but the question that you just posed to me is do I believe that it could be deployed to the United States? And, it's very clear that we saw anthrax deployed through the mail. And so, the fact is can chemical weapons be deployed? They are weapons of mass destruction. They pose a threat to the stability, not only of the region, but to the rest of the world.
KUCINICH: And the fact is the CIA gave us a report before we voted on the Iraq question that said Iraq has no intentions of attacking the United States. That's what we pay the CIA billions of dollars a year to find out.
DREIER: Well, let me just tell you I don't want to at this juncture sit very comfortable with anything that Saddam Hussein is doing. And, I think that if we look at his pattern of violation of those 11 U.N. resolutions, if we look at Resolution 1441, this is a clear violation that we've seen so far.
It's up to the Iraqis to disclose. It's not up to the inspectors to uncover. And, I think we need to continue to focus on that and apply the pressure. The pressure that we've applied clearly has gotten us to the point where we are today, and I'm hoping very much again that we won't have to go to war, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to resolve this quickly.
BLITZER: Congressman Kucinich, that's a fair point. A lot of people have made it. The Bush administration officials, their supporters like Congressman Dreier that without the threat of war there's no way the Iraqis would even be complying with the U.N. inspectors right now.
KUCINICH: Well, I think that it's important that the United Nations community is involved in this and I also think it's important that we not be so quick to turn towards war as a remedy.
No one has yet been able to demonstrate how a war would do any good but kill a lot of innocent people and put our troops in jeopardy. I think we need to go very slow right now. Let the inspections work. Be patient. We need to be patient for peace and we shouldn't be impatient for war.
DREIER: We have been patient for a decade. We've been patient for a decade. We've been patient through this process and it's clear to me that there is something that can be accomplished. In a post Saddam Hussein, post Hussein government in Iraq, we can work towards political pluralism, self determination, the kinds of things that we as a nation have pursued for years.
I've just come back from Davos (ph) where we have seen -- I had many people coming from Western Europe up to me, Germany and France, indicating that they provide strong support for us contrary to the kinds of criticism that we've heard over the past several weeks.
KUCINICH: I think the German and the French government is reflecting the view of their own constituents and I also think that the administration has not made a case to go to war in Iraq.
They have no business sending 300,000 American troops, talking about launching 800 missiles into Baghdad, and even using nuclear weapons. We have to stop and ask why are we taking our country down this path when Iraq was not responsible for 9/11, not linked to al Qaeda, not responsible for the anthrax?
DREIER: Blix and ElBaradei would not have had the kind of success that they have without the kind of effort that we've had in building things up, and no one has claimed, Dennis you know this, we've discussed this before, that Saddam Hussein was directly involved in September 11th.
But if you look at sarin and VX, again two weapons which according to "The Washington Post" have been provided to al Qaeda, along with the housing of people like Hamid Shakir (ph) who is in Baghdad. These people who are tied to al Qaeda have, in fact, been able to seek refuge there.
BLITZER: I'll give you the last word Congressman Kucinich, go ahead.
KUCINICH: I don't think anyone is going to put in a good word for Saddam Hussein, but I do think we ought to put in a good word for peace here.
DREIER: Absolutely.
KUCINICH: And the U.N. inspection process which can work if we continue to be patient and hold our fire.
DREIER: We have been.
BLITZER: All right, we're going to have to leave it unfortunately right there.
DREIER: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: David Dreier and Dennis Kucinich. Congressman Kucinich, before I let you go, though, all the speculation out there, you're thinking of throwing your hat in the presidential ring, is that true?
KUCINICH: I'm getting a lot of encouragement from people around the country who are very concerned that this country is taking on a unilateral position, talking about preemptive strikes, nuclear war. People in the United States want to see America defend itself but they don't want to see a country which is bent on some kind of global policemen.
DREIER: Wolf.
BLITZER: Wait a second. Wait a second. When are you going to decide whether you're going to be a presidential candidate, Congressman?
KUCINICH: Stay tuned.
DREIER: Go ahead and run, Dennis. But let me just say the Brits, the Italians, the Spaniards, and the Australians certainly would not consider this action to be unilateral.
BLITZER: All right, we're going to leave it right there. Congressman Kucinich we'll wait to see what you decide. David Dreier, I don't think he's running for president.
DREIER: No.
BLITZER: At least not right now.
DREIER: Just for your job, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks to both of you for joining us. We'll continue this debate on another occasion.
Here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our "Web Question of the Day" is this: when it comes to Iraq, whom do you trust more, the Bush administration or the U.N.? We'll have the results later in this broadcast.
Vote at cnn.com/wolf. 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.
We'll have much more coverage of the showdown with Iraq coming up.
Also, he's faced the nation and major world leaders. Bob Schieffer of CBS News faces me and discusses what he thinks of the news media's coverage and a lot more.
Plus, young men accused of decapitating their mother. Was it inspired by a popular TV show? Details of a grisly crime that had even the police wondering how it could happen.
And, weighing airline passengers. Find out why you may have to step on a scale before you board a plane.
And, Martha Stewart on why everyone loves to hate her. Details of her first exclusive interview with our own Jeffrey Toobin.
But first, in case you were out enjoying the Super Bowl, among other things, here's our "Weekend Snapshot."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Cyber attack. Only limited disruptions have been reported today in the wake of an attack on the Internet. A virus-like worm crippled tens of thousands of computers around the world over the weekend. With many businesses closed Saturday and Sunday, there was concern the impact might not be over yet.
Marching for peace. Despite cold and snow an estimated 3,000 people turned out in Pittsburgh yesterday to protest a possible war with Iraq. No arrests were reported.
More at the pump. Gas prices are on the rise again. The latest Lundberg Survey finds the national average is $1.52 a gallon, an increase of almost one and a half cents a gallon from two weeks ago.
An elderly man and woman were pulled from their wrecked car Saturday night in Maryland just before a train slammed into the wreckage. The car had landed on the tracks after it slid out of control down an embankment. Neither the man nor the woman was seriously hurt.
Piano man injured. Singer Billy Joel is recovering from injuries he received in a car crash. Joel lost control of his vehicle and hit a tree Saturday night near Stag Harbor, New York. He spent several hours in a hospital.
Super Bowl blowout. Tampa Bay is celebrating a big win over Oakland in the Super Bowl. The Buccaneers beat the Raiders 48-21. The Bucs scored a Super Bowl record of three touchdowns on defense.
Frigid fundraiser. In Maryland the annual Polar Bear Plunge at the Chesapeake Bay raised almost half a million dollars for the Special Olympics. The water temperature was 34 degrees. Governor Robert Ehrlich was one of the hundreds who took the plunge, and that's our "Weekend Snapshot."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We'll have much more news ahead on this critical day in the showdown with Iraq, including an exclusive look at notes from Iraqi experiments with biological weapons.
But first, let's go to Southern California. That's where there was a grisly crime allegedly inspired by an episode of "The Sopranos." Two brothers are accused of murdering their mother, then decapitating her to keep her body from being identified.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): January 15, a grisly discovery. Down a deep ravine in Orange County, California, the mutilated body of a woman is found, her hands severed and her head cut off in an apparent attempt to hide her identity.
SHERFF MICHAEL CARONA, ORANGE CO., CALIFORNIA: We had a case where a body was dumped in a remote area. There were no witnesses that we had at the site of the dumping. She's headless. She's without her hands.
GUTIERREZ: Veteran investigators feared the crime would go unsolved, but just eight days later the gruesome details begin to unfold. The victim, 41-year-old Jane Marie Bautista a single mother of two. The suspects, her own sons, 20-year-old Jason Victor Bautista, and his 15-year-old brother, both charged with murder.
(on camera): Where did the break in this case come?
CARONA: This one came from a security guard.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): A security guard who saw two suspicious men near a dumpster in San Diego County.
CARONA: When he got close enough to them he saw they were putting a sleeping bag into a trash bin and saw a foot sticking out and he yelled at them to drop what they were carrying. They put it back in their trunk and sped off and he took the time to write down the license plate number.
GUTIERREZ: Authorities say the car was registered to Jason Bautista, a third-year college student studying biochemistry. Orange County Sheriff's officials confronted the student on campus.
CARONA: As they were walking off of campus, Mr. Bautista shared with them that he, in fact, had killed his mother and dismembered her body.
GUTIERREZ: During the search of the apartment Jane Bautista shared with her sons, investigators found the victim's severed head and hands. Jason Bautista allegedly told detectives the idea of dismembering his mother's body to hide her identity came from an episode of HBO's hit series "The Sopranos."
CARONA: The irony is that Mr. Bautista when he was giving his declaration, spontaneous declaration to the investigative teams, said that in fact the reason they dismembered the body was because of watching "The Sopranos" and so there was a direct correlation there.
GUTIERREZ: As for the motive, one neighbor says the 15-year-old boy had troubles with his mother.
CORRINE LARIMAR, NEIGHBOR: He told me once that, in fact it was the first time that I met him, that he hated his mother.
CARONA: I don't know what motive you could possibly give for a son or two sons killing their mother, chopping off her head and chopping off her arms. I don't know.
(END VIDEOTAPE) GUTIERREZ: Results from an initial autopsy suggest that perhaps Jane Bautista may have been strangled before she was dismembered. Now, we should also mention that in reference to "The Sopranos" show, CNN tried to contact HBO. They called us back. They say that they will not comment on this case.
Wolf back to you.
BLITZER: Thelma Gutierrez thanks very much Thelma for that grisly report.
Let's check some other news happening here in the United States. Just weeks after a deadly plane crash in North Carolina, the FAA is now ordering emergency inspections of all planes similar to the one that crashed, and some passengers may have to hop on the scales and be weighed before they board those planes.
Our Patty Davis is joining us now live from Reagan National Airport here in Washington -- Patty.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf, and next time you go to an airport you may find yourself on a scale. The FAA is trying to figure out what passengers weigh, though passengers who fly on these smaller commuter planes, ten to 19 seats. Is it the 185 pounds and do they have a 25 pound bag that the FAA estimates currently?
That's an important question because weight could have played a factor in the crash of Air Midwest Flight 5481 about three weeks ago in Charlotte, North Carolina. Investigator also focusing on whether there were elevator problems, whether the elevator was rigged properly, the cables there. The elevator controls the up and down pitch of the aircraft.
So today, the FAA issued an emergency air worthiness directive. All Beech 1900, 1900Cs, 1990Ds, that's the kind of aircraft that crashed in Charlotte, whether they have to be inspected. Are those cables rigged properly so that the pilot has full control when he or she wants to move the nose up or down on that aircraft?
Now, are these aircraft safe? The FAA says it believes that they are but it wants to make absolutely sure -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Patty Davis at Reagan National Airport, thanks, Patty, very much.
Much more news coming up. Iraq's Doctor Germ, a "CNN Exclusive." Hear for the first time details of her killer experiments.
Also, "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer faces me. The veteran journalist joins us live.
And, Martha madness. The household goddess fires back at critics and prosecutors.
But first a look at news making "Headlines Around the World." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Korean conversation. Officials from North and South Korea met in an effort to diffuse tension over North Korea's nuclear program. Observers say the discussions could be a prelude to talks between North Korea and the United States.
Shaping up for Sharon. With Israeli parliamentary elections scheduled for tomorrow, polls show supporters of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the lead. Fearful of pre-election violence, security forces barred Palestinians from entering Israel.
Turkey tremor. A 6.5 earthquake in Eastern Turkey damaged homes and took at least one life. Several people were injured jumping out of windows.
Anger in Africa. There were protests outside the U.S. and French embassies in Ivory Coast. Some Westerners were pulled from their cars. Demonstrators say a French-brokered peace settlement between the Ivory Coast government and rebels gives too much to the rebels.
Remember Paris. Vietnam is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords. The agreement signed January 27, 1973 brought an end to direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. South Vietnamese leaders surrendered to North Vietnam two years later.
Third chance at romance. A giant panda named Ling Ling is getting a third shot at three female pandas in a Mexico City zoo. After failing to impregnate them on two previous occasions, Ling Ling left his home at the Tokyo Zoo today for yet another attempt. Ling Ling may be a recycled Romeo, but giant pandas are an endangered species, so ladies don't be too picky.
And that's our look "Around the World."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Coming up a "CNN Exclusive." Meet Iraq's Doctor Germ, the woman behind some deadly experiments.
But first let's look at some other stories making news right now in our "CNN News Alert."
(NEWSBREAK)
BLITZER: One of the top Iraqi scientists who has worked on weapons of mass destruction is a woman, nicknamed Doctor Germ.
CNN National Correspondent Mike Boettcher recently got an exclusive look at her personal notes from some frightening experiments with biological weapons. Mike is joining us now live -- Mike.
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, if U.N. weapon inspects had a chance to speak privately to Iraqi scientists, experts say Dr. Rihab Taha would be at or near the top of the list. But there is another way to understand the depth of Iraq's biological weapons program. The details are in Dr. Taha's personal papers, documents never publicly seen until now. CNN has exclusively obtained the United Nations English translation of her Arabic work papers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOETTCHER (voice-over): Her notes begin with the test's objective.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A field experiment was conducted to disperse biological agents, botulinum toxin and spores of bacillus subtilus (an anthrax simulant) by exploding 122 mm Al-Buraq rockets. The rockets were filled with the biological agent. A cloud was formed that moved downwind near the ground surface.
BOETTCHER: The tests were a success.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have proved the effect of the botulinum toxin and its field use. Eight percent of the experimental animals perished.
BOETTCHER: Guinea pigs were used in this particular test. And Dr. Taha diligently recorded their death rate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of the animals that were at a distance of 25 meters from the explosion point, 33.3 percent perished after 24 hours. The deaths continued up to a rate of 86.4 percent after six days. After the elapse of three weeks, the death rate of the total test animals was 80 percent. But the death rate was 100 percent for animals that were placed downwind.
BOETTCHER: Taha then described the success of their tests using anthrax simulant in artillery rockets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When exploding the rockets, it was found out that the highest spores rate was in the locations that were near to the explosion, specifically within the first circle of 20 meters diameter. Neither the metal of the rocket container nor the blast temperature had any effect of the spores vitality.
BOETTCHER: And she revealed success in a 1989 test using Ariel bombs to disperse biological agents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a previous study prepared by us, military dispersal means, 250-kilogram Aerial bombs were used to disperse bacterial toxins and biological agents. It was a successful method.
BOETTCHER: Her conclusion, Iraq now had the capability to deliver biological weapons on the battlefield.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The effect of the botulinal toxin and its field use was successful -- successful dispersal of bacillus subtilus spores, which are similar to anthrax. The above agents can be used as military field agents. The 122 mm rocket is considered a successful means to disperse biological agents.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOETTCHER: The question still unanswered, how has Dr. Germ spent her time since those experiments in last 13 years -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Mike Boettcher, thanks for that report and that is a good question. We hope to find out some more about it in the coming weeks and months. Mike Boettcher with that exclusive report.
For the first time now in half a century, an espionage trial in the United States could lead to a death sentence. The trial of Brian Patrick Regan is under way in Virginia. Regan is a retired U.S. Air Force officer. He's accused of offering to sell secrets to Iraq, Libya and China. More now from CNN justice correspondent, Kelli Arena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former Air Force sergeant and intelligence analyst, Brian Regan could become the first accused spy to face the death penalty since the 1953 execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.
Regan, who worked at the National Reconnaissance Office, is facing three counts of attempted espionage, and one count of mishandling classified documents. What makes Regan's case controversial is that unlike the FBI's Robert Hanssen and other spies, he's facing possible death without being accused of actually revealing any secrets.
JONATHAN SHAPIRO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There's no harm as a result of this. And in comparison to what's happened in this country before with the likes of Robert Hanssen, whose espionage went on for 18 years and resulted in deaths and who ended up with a life sentence, there is something wrong.
ARENA: In its indictment, the government says Regan, a father of four who lived in this Maryland townhouse and was carrying about $50,000 in debt, wrote letters to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi offering to sell top secret satellite information. It is not clear whether they were ever sent.
In one, Regan allegedly wrote Saddam -- "The information I am offering will compromise U.S. intelligence systems worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Thirteen million is a small price to pay for what you will receive."
LARRY THOMPSON, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Regan's own words describe his determined efforts to compromise our national security.
ARENA: Despite the government's public hard line, legal experts say a plea deal is still possible.
ERIC HOLDER, FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: You certainly don't want to put on trial somebody who is in a position to talk about the defense capabilities of the United States, the reconnaissance capabilities of the United States.
ARENA: Defense attorneys are not talking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: They're not talking about any possible plea, but in opening statements today; Regan's lawyers said this is not a case of espionage, but bad judgment bordering on stupidity. They admit to Regan's mishandling of information but say that there was no intent to cause any harm -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Kelli, what about this story about the FBI looking to round up Iraqi nationals here in the United States for questioning? What's that all about?
ARENA: Wolf, it's an effort going on for about a month and a half now. FBI officials are seeking to interview about 50,000 Iraqi nationals that have come to the United States within the last 10 years, both here legally and illegally. Easier said than done, obviously.
But the motive here is A, to find out if there are any possible terrorist cells that were sent here over the last decade that might be called up for operation to, you know, carry out an attack against the United States if we were to strike against Iraq. The second reason for doing this is to open lines of communication with certain Iraqi nationals that may have a relationship with someone back in Iraq, either military or government that could provide information to the U.S. military.
BLITZER: Kelli Arena, thank very much for that report. Thank you very much.
When we come back, veteran journalist, Bob Schieffer. Hear what he has to say about a possible war, media coverage and a hot new book. He's out with it. He joins me live when we return.
And an unprecedented cameo on Super Bowl Sunday. What you may have missed just before the game. We'll keep it a mystery until later this hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. The showdown with Iraq is making headlines around the world and nowhere more so than here in the United States. Joining me now to talk about Iraq, the news media, much more, the legendary journalist, Bob Schieffer of CBS News. He's also out with an important new book called "This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV." Bob Schieffer, one of my favorites. Thanks very much...
BOB SCHIEFFER, JOURNALIST: So now I'm going to tell you.
BLITZER: And you're going to tell us in the book, which is a great book. We'll get to that shortly. But in this buildup to a possible war, what is going through your mind as a journalist who covered Vietnam and has lived through a lot of these experiences reporting about it?
SCHIEFFER: Well, I'm watching very carefully. I am not one of those who believes that war is now inevitable. I think that this buildup -- I think that Saddam Hussein is not going to do anything unless he has absolutely no alternative. I thought someone on your broadcast a little earlier, Congressman Dreier, I think, made an excellent point when he said look, these inspectors would not even be in Iraq if our troops were not building up on his borders. And I think that's right.
I think you'll continue to see this buildup until the very end. I think that's part of what this is all about. Probably the odds are against it. But I think there's still a chance that Saddam Hussein will see he has no alternative and will leave voluntarily.
BLITZER: How are we doing, not CNN, but all of us in the national news media, doing in this ratcheting up towards the possibility of war? Are we doing -- look back, step back, 40 years in the business are we doing an adequate job or are we weak in this area?
SCHIEFFER: Well, what's happening here is we kind of reflect what's going on. We've never had kind of a buildup like this toward a war where you had this long debate before we went in. I mean we were blind sided by Pearl Harbor and that's how we got into World War II. Even Vietnam, the debate was going on, but all of a sudden troops were there.
So news media organizations are just like the Army. They've got to deploy their troops. I think we have to be -- what we have to be very careful about, Wolf, is not, you know, keep pushing this, are we going war, are we going to war, when's it going to start, when's it going to start. We don't want to fan the flames of war just by asking the question are we going to war. I think we have to be careful about that.
BLITZER: And you're one of the journalists who knows war. Let me read an excerpt, one line from this book, "This Just In." And we'll put it up on the screen.
"What I came to understand in Vietnam is that sending young men and women into a war zone means more than their lives at risk. It also means that every value they have been taught, every belief they hold will be tested." I presume that means right now as well.
SCHIEFFER: I think that's absolutely right. And I think the Army is probably doing a better job than now than they were even back in those days. But we have to remember these are very young people that are going into these war zones. They're suddenly -- their family is not there. The people that they know are not there. They're in a completely different world. Every value that they have will be questioned.
And I think that's why it is so important to make sure that they have good training in that, in what they might expect in the temptations they're going see. I think it's just as important as training them to use their weapons.
BLITZER: All right, Bob. Stand by for a moment. We have a lot more to talk about. We'll talk about that, Bob Schieffer, right after the break including more on his book as well as Martha Stewart. She's speaking out now for first time substantively in her own defense. Why she's boiling with rage. We'll tell you. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're about to return to our interview with Bob Schieffer. But first, there's some news about one of Bob's colleagues at CBS. Thirty-five years after he created "60 Minutes", the executive producer, Don Hewitt, is making plans to leave the show.
Hewitt who is now 80 years old is credited with inventing the TV news magazine format. Under a newly reached agreement with CBS, he'll remain with "60 Minutes" for another year and a half. Then he'll step aside to take on what's called new editorial responsibilities at CBS News.
Bob Schieffer, Don Hewitt is a legend. What do you make of this development?
SCHIEFFER: Well, I think -- look, they may get somebody else to do Don Hewitt's job but they will never replace him. And you said he invented the magazine format for television news. Don Hewitt invented about 60 percent of television news, as we know it today, everything from doing a stand-up and the way we tell television news stories.
Most of the innovations in television that we know about, you can trace it back far enough and you'll find out Don Hewitt invented it. A couple of things I thought I had come upon that I had done for first time when I was way back during local television, I finally found out Don Hewitt had done it first. He's an icon.
BLITZER: And no matter what he does.
SCHIEFFER: He's a towering figure.
BLITZER: And his new editorial responsibilities, whatever that is, I'm sure it'll be great. Let's talk about the book, "This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV." I learned a great deal not only about you but our own business and about history over these past 40 years.
I also learned and if you could tell us briefly about your unique role in the whole Lee Harvey Oswald assassination of President Kennedy.
SCHIEFFER: Well, it had -- to make a long story short; I was working at the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Kennedy had spent the night in Fort Worth before he went to Dallas that fateful day.
I had literally walked into the sitting room and the phone was ringing. I answered the phone. A woman said is there anyone there who can take me to Dallas. And I said, "Lady, you know, this is not the taxi service and the president has been shot." She said, "Well I know. I heard it on the radio, but I think my son is the one who did it."
And it was Lee Harvey Oswald's mother. I repaired out to her house immediately with another reporter and we took her to Dallas that day and interviewed her on the way.
BLITZER: And you stayed with her almost until they kicked you out. At some point they finally found out who you really were.
SCHIEFFER: You know in those days we never told people who we were, so I always dressed so I'd look like a detective. And when I got to the police station they just assumed I was a Fort Worth detective.
BLITZER: And you were a young kid at the time.
SCHIEFFER: Yes, 26 or so. You do a lot of things when you're 26.
BLITZER: You've covered a lot of presidents.
SCHIEFFER: Yes.
BLITZER: Which one stands out, these past 40 years, as most impressive president that you ever interviewed because I think you've interviewed them all?
SCHIEFFER: I have. Richard Nixon, far and away the most peculiar person not just president that I have ever been around or tried to cover. Gerald Ford, when you come right down to it, was one of the nicest people that I think I ever met and from a personal standpoint the one that I liked the most.
At the time that he pardoned Richard Nixon, I felt personally betrayed. I just couldn't understand how he did that. As the years have gone by, I came to understand. I totally changed my mind and I now think he did the right thing. And I think what he did with that pardon, by letting the country get back to normal would probably have as much impact on this country as anything that any president did over the last 40 years.
BLITZER: But is that why he lost to Jimmy Carter?
SCHIEFFER: I don't think there's any question about that and I think he thinks that. I had a long interview with him in the book and we talked about that. He said he thought it was the major factor.
BLITZER: One of great things you do in this book and I hope one day to write a book like this one, if I can -- one of great things you do, you go back and re-interview or you interview people who were with you at various moments and get fresh perspective and you learn things that you forgot over the years or you never knew. So you've done a lot of reporting to write your own book.
SCHIEFFER: I wound up interviewing 85 people for this book and I really hadn't planned to interview anybody. And I just started doing it because I was trying to check my own memory. And it's a good thing I did. It was also one of most fun parts of it because as I went back and talked to these people they reminded me of things I had forgotten and then I began to dream about it.
BLITZER: It's called "This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV." I know all of our viewers, our news junkie, will want to read this book. Bob Schieffer, thank you very much for coming out.
SCHIEFFER: Thanks for having me.
BLITZER: Appreciate it.
We have much news coming up, including this, Martha Stewart. She's fighting back. She's answering allegations of insider trading. Plus, hear why she thinks people love to hate her. And one highlight from Super Bowl Sunday, the Raiders, the Bucs and, get this, a Wolf? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Martha Stewart is puzzled. The homemaking diva says she doesn't understand why people are delighting in her troubles. In an exclusive interview with CNN legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, Stewart said she's lost $400 million because of the government investigation into a stock sale. Toobin talked about that interview this morning with CNN's Paula Zahn.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, she says she's surprised and she's very careful in her words. But I sense this was a woman boiling with rage about this whole situation. She uses the word -- she uses the word, you know, surprised, puzzled.
But you know I got a real clue at one point when, you know, we sat down to lunch in her kitchen, at Turkey Hill, and you know, there were very thin chopsticks, beautiful chopsticks. I said, "Wow, these are great." And she said, "You know in China, the higher your social status, the thinner your chopsticks." And then she said, "Well, of course, I had to have the thinnest." And then sort of as a joke, but not really, she said, "That's why people hate me."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: This note -- Jeffrey Toobin's interview is in this week's edition of "The New Yorker" magazine.
In a moment, my debut on Super Bowl Sunday. If you missed it, don't miss this encore. And be sure to vote on our "Web Question of The Day." When it comes to Iraq, whom do you trust more: The Bush Administration or the U.N.? Log onto cnn.com/wolf. That's where you can vote and we'll have the results immediately when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Jimmy Kimmel, formerly of Comedy Central's, "The Man Show," debuted his new network show last night after the Super Bowl. In a promotion before the game, Kimmel said good-bye to his cable colleagues, including me and that's our "Picture of The Day."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: I'm ready to make the move to network, but before I go, I've got to say good-bye to cable.
JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: Today, Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix said Iraq has failed to provide the weapons information...
KIMMEL: Good-bye, Jon Stewart.
STEWART: Good-bye, Jimmy Kimmel. We'll miss you. Good luck to you, my friend. I'll tell "Battle Bots" you said bye.
BLITZER: ... resolution were ever brought before it.
KIMMEL: Good-bye, Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Bye, Jimmy. Take care.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: That was funny.
Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day." Remember, we've been asking you this very serious question -- when it comes to Iraq, whom do you trust more: the Bush Administration or the U.N.? Look at this -- 32 percent of you voting so far say the Bush Administration. Sixty-eight percent of you said you trust the U.N. more. You can find the exact vote tally and continue to vote, by the way, on our Web site, cnn.com/wolf. Remember this is not, of course, a scientific poll.
That's all the time we have today. Please join me again tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern as we look ahead to the State of The Union Address. Among my guests, senator and presidential candidate John Edwards and former senator, now on "Law and Order," Fred Thompson. Don't forget "SHOWDOWN: IRAQ" weekdays 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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White House Says Saddam's Time is Almost Out>
