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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Special Edition -- Showdown: Iraq

Aired March 17, 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.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: SHOWDOWN IRAQ.

On the brink of war.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The time for diplomacy has past.

ANNOUNCER: The U.S. and Britain pull the plug on a resolution.

As U.N. inspectors leave Iraq, President Bush tonight will tell Saddam Hussein to do the same or else. An address to the nation, just three hours from now.

The Iraqi president vows to fight, but will he strike first? Fresh concerns about chemical weapons.

The first wave. We're with, the troops at desert, at sea, in the air.

Evacuations, refugees, anxious neighbors, we have correspondents throughout the region.

WOLF BLITZER REPORTS live from the Persian Gulf, in Kuwait, starts right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Here are the top stories we're following this hour in the "Showdown With Iraq": exile or else.

President Bush, tonight, will deliver an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein. Just hours away, the nation-wide address will make it clear that war may be just days, way. The president briefs Congressional leaders on his plays this hour.

The Iraqi leader is vowing to fight saying invading Americans would find Iraqi ready to die, and I am quoting here, "behind every rock and tree." He also says he's given up his weapons of mass destruction, but there are new concerns that President Hussein might decide to strike first with chemical weapons.

U.N. weapons inspectors are getting ready to get out of Iraq along relief workers and many diplomats. The Associated Press reports Journalist from ABC and NBC are also leaving. Our Nic Robertson remains in Baghdad. We will hear from him shortly.

As President Bush addresses the nation on the brink of war, we will go to the Pentagon, to the State Department and to the United Nations.

But we begin with our senior White House correspondent John King with word on an ultimatum -- John.

JOHN KING, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we are told three hours from now, the president will speak from the cross halls in the White House residence behind me, and tell the American people and tell the world that window for diplomacy has closed. That U.S. troops are poised to attack Iraq, and remove Saddam within power within a matter of days. And also told Mr. Bush will say, one way to avoid a war and for Saddam Hussein to immediately, step down, yield power, and with his top lieutenants leave Iraq.

One senior official telling us the president's ultimatum will give only a few days for the Iraqi leader to leave. Another official say 72 hours will be, quote, "in the right ballpark" of the ultimatum we will here tonight . One Congressional official has been told 48 hours. But what we do know is this a very short window for Saddam Hussein to step down or face a U.S.-led military confrontation.

We are also told, the president will make clear tonight, fa that if this is a war, the United States will do everything in its power to limit civilian casualties, and after a war, everything in its power to restore Iraq to a democracy and leave Iraq's riches, meaning oil, for the Iraqi people. Wolf, a defining moment for the Bush presidency just three hours away. We are told we could hear from the president before this week is out, announcing a military action is indeed under way -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Dramatic development, indeed, John.

What about this meeting she having with Congressional leaders this hour?

KING: Mr. Bush will meet with the leaders of Congress, the bipartisan Democratic and Republicans leaders and then with key lawmakers from the committees that are in charge of military affairs and military spending. The administration has at times criticized of not keeping Congress closely informed. Mr. Bush will give them a preview of his remarks tonight.

We are also are told, on a critical question for the Congress, that the president will commit to perhaps as early as early next week setting up an emergency request to pay for the war and its immediate aftermath including some reconstruction and a massive humanitarian aid effort. $700 billion to $100 billion we are told, the Bush administration's estimated price tag -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John King at the White House. We'll be checking back with you periodically. Thanks, John, very much.

The president will address the nation tonight at 8:00 P.M. Eastern. Our coverage begins at 7:00 P.M. it's anchored by Aaron Brown and Judy Woodruff in Washington. Christiane Amanpour and I will join them from here in Kuwait.

In Baghdad, weapons inspectors, aid workers, and diplomats are pulling out, along with some journalists, but Saddam Hussein seems to be digging in.

Let's go to CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson in the Iraqi capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTL. CORRESPONDENT: There are 134 U.N. inspection staff here, 56 of them U.N. Inspectors. They are now expecting to leave in the early hours of Tuesday morning. They will be joined very likely by many other U.N. staff from Baghdad and around Iraq. They will, we are told, be leaving by plane from Baghdad's main international airport in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

From there, they will likely fly to Cyprus. The people of Iraq when they see these inspectors and the other U.N. staff go, it will very likely remind them of operation Desert Fox in 1998, when U.N. Staff were pulled out of Iraq before air strikes then. Very likely, another clear signal for the people here that war isn't far away. Certainly what we have seen, people stocking up food from the shops here. Many other store owners in fact closing down their stores, taking -- taking their stocks out in some cases. Electronics goods in some stores. But even, stores selling vegetables, closing down, for the preparation of this likely war that many people assess is coming.

Political reaction also to the fact the U.N. weapons inspectors are leaving very acerbic reaction coming from the foreign minister here Naji Sabri, saying regretful the U.N. weapons inspectors and U.N. staff were pull out. Also saying a violation of the U.N. charter, a violation of U.N. resolution 687. But when asked about whether or not President Saddam Hussein would step down or move out of Iraq, the foreign minister said it was President Bush who should go.

NAJI SABRI, FOREIGN MINISTER, IRAQ: The only option is the war monger number one in the world, the failing of President Bush, who made his country a joke in the world. Who has made the administration isolated in the world. Who made the United States public enemy number one. He should depart.

ROBERTSON: Iraqi officials are concerned, the end of the diplomatic war appears to have been reached, criticism not only of President Bush, we have heard that many times. But criticism of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. It very much seem now as if Iraq just preparing for itself of war. Had been keeping its options open, creating with the U.N. weapons inspectors. Those inspectors now on the verge of leaving very much Iraq now concentrating on preparing for war.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: And there are fresh concerns within the U.S. military that Saddam Hussein may choose to strike first, and may do so with chemical weapons.

Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre --Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, U.S. official, Wolf, tell CNN that there are indications, not proof, but indications that some Republican Guard units have been armed with chemical weapons. Weapons Iraq continues to insist it does not possess.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): As U.S. troops prepare to fight in the face of chemical or biological attack, the United States is siding fresh intelligence that even if Saddam Hussein is insisting he has no band weapons, he has issued chemical shells to at least one Republican Guard unit. While the intelligence falls short of hard proof, one U.S. official told CNN, they clearly have given some chemical capability to some Iraqi forces. Other U.S. officials downplayed the intelligence, calling it ambiguous and inconclusive. But nevertheless, said, there were increased reasons to be concerned. Saddam Hussein might use chemical weapons against U.S. troops or his own people.

Meanwhile, Pentagon sources say all is ready for an invasion. Two U.S. aircraft carriers are likely to remain in the Mediterranean Sea, because the U.S. expects to have permission to fly around Israel, and over Jordan to hit targets in the north. More than 1,000 tomahawk cruise missiles are poised on more than 30 ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. And the 101st Airborne Division in Kuwait now has all of its battle gear and is ready to go, sources say.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Well, the U.S. military it says can always make more preparations and do more training. Essentially officials here say that the gun is cocked, and all that remains is for President Bush to decide if and when to pull the trigger -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Jamie, thanks very much.

It fell to the nation's chief diplomat today to declare the diplomatic efforts dead.

We turn now to our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, remember members seven months ago, it was Secretary of State Powell who lobbied and eventually convinced President Bush to go to the United Nations and seek international support for possible war with Iraq. Well, today, although Powell didn't use the word, he seemed to indicate that diplomacy, at least the diplomatic phase had failed and suggested that war is now all but inevitable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POWELL: The time for diplomacy has passed.

KOPPEL (voice-over): The designated messenger as revealing as the message itself.

POWELL: I can think of nothing that Saddam Hussein can do diplomatically. I think that time is now over. He had his chance. He's had many chaps over the last 12 years, and he's blown ever one of those chances.

KOPPEL: Powell said exile for Saddam Hussein and his inner circle remains the only way left to avert war. An option Iraq immediately rejected. And Powell took critics, including the U.N. secretary general, head on, insisting a U.S. invasion of Iraq would be legal under 1441 and earlier U.N. resolutions supported by international law.

After Sunday's Azores summit, officials say, Powell's mission has become one of coalition management, making dozens of phone calls to U.S. allies, Security Council members, and Iraq's neighbors, including Turkey, which Powell pushed yet again to allow U.S. forces overflight and basing rights.

Powell in what was said to be a short conversation, also told the French foreign minister, the U.S. blames his government for the diplomatic breakdown.

POWELL: Everybody pretty much accepted that this resolution was not going to be a successful one, because there was one nation, France, that had indicated that it would veto it under any set of circumstances.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: Powell said he did everything he could to persuade council members that Iraq was not complying. Now, aides describe him as resolute, Wolf, determined to push ahead with war, now that diplomacy has failed -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Andrea Koppel at the State Department. Thanks, Andrea, very much.

Let's take a look at some other developments in the showdown with Iraq. A senior member of Britain's cabinet has resigned in protest over the Iraq crisis. The foreign secretary, Robin Cook, tendered his resignation after a private meeting today with Prime Minister Tony Blair. Cook's action is viewed as a sizable political hit for Prime Minister Blair, who later met in an emergency session with his remaining cabinet members to discuss military action in Iraq.

The last United Nations border monitors watching over the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait are now here in Kuwait City. The U.N. ordered the observers to evacuate the entire DMZ and await possible orders to leave Kuwait. The move followed an increase yesterday's in the U.N.'s alert level, requiring the monitors to suspend, all, all operations.

The State Department urged Americans to leave Kuwait immediately because of the threat of war. The advice followed a warning that all non-emergency staff and family members of U.S. embassy workers should pack up and get out. Britain also directed its citizens to depart Kuwait.

The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is ordering U.N. weapons inspectors to pull out of Iraq. Our senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth joins us now live with more -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, disappointment and gloom here in the house of peace at United Nations headquarters. Many of the United Nations' diplomatic core and the staff were hoping that the big powers on the Security Council could resolve differences, but today it became pretty apparent early in the day that the United States, United Kingdom and France were not really going to resolve differences, and after the United States withdrew from consideration this resolution, for now, and not putting it to a vote, the British ambassador targeted France, and France got upset.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY GREENSTOCK, BRITISH AMB. TO U.N.: That country rejected our proposed compromise before even the Iraqi government itself, and has put forward suggestions that would row back on the unanimous agreement of the council in Resolution 1441.

JEAN-MARC DE LA SABLIERE, FRENCH AMB. TO U.N.: They have realized that the majority of council is against and opposed a resolution authorizing the use of force. This is a position of the huge majority in the council.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Harsh feelings on both sides. France inside the closed- door consultations upset that France was singled out. U.S. officials saying if it wasn't for the French veto threat, perhaps many of those uncommitted countries would have come down on the U.S. side. This way they were able to hide and wait for any type of veto threat or any power arrangement to be worked out for unity in the council without showing their cards, as President Bush had asked for.

Is the United States military action, if it takes place, legal? Secretary General Kofi Annan believes it violates the United Nations' Charter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, SECRETARY GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: I have made it very clear that, in my judgment, if the council were to be able to manage this process successfully and muster the collective will to handle this operation, its own reputation and credibility would have been enhanced. And have also said if the action is to take place without the support of the council, its legitimacy will be questioned, and the support for it will be diminished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The U.S. believes it has legal authority under prior resolutions. Secretary General Annan has pulled out 330 inspectors and humanitarian staff. A lot to follow over the next 24 hours -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Richard Roth. Harsh words from the secretary general. Thanks very much, Richard, at the United Nations.

Up to now, much has been made of the United States' contention that it doesn't need a United Nations resolution to go to war, but this is not the first time a country has bypassed the U.N. on its way to the battlefield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The U.N. Security Council, a peacemaking body, sits on the sidelines as its permanent members wage war. 1954, France fights in Algeria. 1980, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan. 1982, Britain battles Argentina in the Falklands.

In the '60s, '70s, '80s, the United States sends troops into Vietnam, Grenada and Panama. None of them received U.N. approval, and in many cases, they began fighting despite U.N. protests.

Then the Cold War ends, turning veto caster Soviet Union into ally, Russia. The first President Bush seeks and secures a U.N. resolution that sets the stage for the 1991 Gulf War.

Today, the world community calls on the second President Bush to use the same benchmark, a benchmark ignored many times before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And this footnote on the U.N. Security Council, it did vote to support South Korea during the Korean War, but it was a fluke. The Soviet delegate wasn't in the room to cast a veto.

Here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of day is this -- what do you think is a bigger mistake, going to war or not going to war? We'll have the results later in this broadcast. Please vote at cnn.com/wolf.

Evacuations going on around the Middle East. Find out how the region is bracing for war.

Also, from the Persian Gulf to the Kuwaiti desert, we'll take you to the front lines, where troops are getting ready for action. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: I'm going to the White House this afternoon, and I have a pretty good understanding, a pretty good idea what I'm going to hear. And I'm saddened. Saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy, that we're now forced to war. Saddened that we have to give up one life because this president couldn't create the kind of diplomatic effort that was so critical for our country. But we will work and we will do all that we can to get through this crisis like we've gotten through so many.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: With the diplomatic door on the showdown on Iraq apparently slammed shut, people around the middle east are bracing for war. We have correspondents keeping track of the situation throughout the region.

And we begin in Israel.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kelly Wallace in Tel Aviv. On the eve of a possible U.S.-led war with Iraq, the State Department has ordered all nonessential diplomats and their families to leave Israel and is also urging all Americans who live here to leave.

Israelis, though, for their part, don't seem to be very anxious. Most don't believe Iraq will be able to launch a successful attack against the country. Still, with war appearing imminent, some of the approximately 10 percent of Israeli citizens who still have not updated their government-issued gas masks did so today. The Israeli government is also urging citizens to get all of equipment together to prepare a safe room to protect against any chemicals or biological attacks.

Israel's defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, taking part in an Internet chat today on Iraq, said the U.S. campaign is not connected to Israel. However, Mofaz and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, have also said that unlike 1991, when Israel did not retaliate for the 39 Iraqi Scud attacks, this time, if Iraq attacks, they say Israel has the right to defend itself.

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rula Amin in Ruwaishid, Jordan. On the brink of war, preparations to cope with the fallout of any military action with Baghdad is picking up. Bulldozers have been preparing the grounds to set up two refugee camps here near the border with Iraq as Jordanians are growing more and more apprehensive about the impact of such a war, on the Iraqi people, Iraq and the region as a whole. Many people here have deep mistrusts in U.S. forces and are just not buying the U.S. justification for any military strike against Iraq.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brent Sadler in Erbil, Northern Iraq. For the first time, we are seeing war jitters on the ground here in the Kurdish enclave. It's the first time that we've seen people packing up their belongings from home in some of the major towns and cities, loading up trucks and trailers and heading out of the city. Today, we saw streams of vehicles heading out of Erbil, one of the main population centers. Kurdish officials tell us that this is prudent planning. The people we speak to, who are going out of the towns tell us they are very, very concerned about the possibility of a chemical weapons attack by the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They say they remember what happened back in 1988, 15 years ago this week, when the Iraqi air force dropped chemical and mustard bombs on the Kurdish town of Halabja, killing 5,000 Kurds in one day. This is what's driving them to make a getaway now, they say.

Also today, another sign that war may be very close, has been long lines at the gas stations, where fuel prices have been sometimes raising by as much as 30 percent over the past couple of days.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Vause in Kuwait, where this tiny country is now quietly preparing for war. At the airport tonight, hundreds of foreign nationals were leaving, ordered out by their government of the companies they work for. In fact, many people were putting children on planes with one parent, the other staying behind.

But for those Kuwaitis who are still here, some have built panic rooms, sealing off windows and vents with duct tape and plastic, stocking up on food and water, enough to last for several days.

But mostly, there's a feeling of security that the tens of thousands of U.S. and British troops who are now massed in the deserts to the north will protect this country from any attack by Saddam Hussein.

Now back to you.

BLITZER: As the threat of a U.S.-led attack on Iraq grows stronger, many Americans are speaking out against war. A weeklong civil disobedience campaign is under way.

Several dozen antiwar protesters were arrested today in New York City. They were charged with blocking the entrance to the U.S. mission to the United Nations.

In San Francisco, at least 40 people were arrested during a so- called die-in in the city's financial district. Protesters also snarled traffic in the area.

Protesters also gathered for a rally in Washington. Arrests were made there as well. Police say 54 protesters were arrested outside the U.S. Capitol when they broke police lines.

The FBI goes into war mode. Find out what is being done to protect the homefront.

And the cavalry gets ready to charge. See how the troops spent their time as the world moves closer to the brink of war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED ALDOURI, IRAQI AMB. TO U.N.: We will perhaps see war. We will see clearings. We will see destruction. And this might satisfy Mr. Bush and his group. But this will not satisfy the international community because the whole international community would like to have peace instead of war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The Iraqi ambassador of the United Nations.

Here are the top stories we're tracking right now in the "Showdown with Iraq." President Bush this evening will address the American public, and Saddam Hussein. He'll demand that the Iraqi leader step down and do so quickly. The alternative? War within the next few days.

From Baghdad, more defiance. Iraq's foreign minister is calling on President Bush to step down. And Saddam Hussein is vowing to fight, warning that if Iraq is attacked, he will take the war anywhere in the world -- quote -- "wherever there is sky, land, or water."

Canada will evidently not fight. Prime minister Jean Chretien says if military action is launched without a new U.N. resolution, Canada will not participate. Chretien did say that Canada would want to play a role in rebuilding Iraq after a war.

Turkey may be having a change of heart, saying it has decided to take urgent steps to preserve its interests and that it must fulfill its obligations to its allies. That may give the U.S. a second chance to open up a second front.

The likelihood of war has led to a stock market rally, as investors hope for a short and decisive conflict. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up more than 282 points, or three- and-a-half percent. The Nasdaq was up almost 52 points, also three- and-a-half percent.

With the threat of war much closer now, tension is on the rise here in Kuwait. Political analyst Shafeeq Chabra is here to talk with me about the possibility of war and the mood among the Kuwaitis. Shafeeq Chabra, thanks very much for joining us.

What is the sense here? How concerned are you, as a Kuwaiti, that the Iraqis might launch some sort of a preemptive strike?

SHAFEEQ CHABRA, POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the concern is there. And that has been there now for some time.

BLITZER: But there doesn't seem to be panic in the streets or anything like that. People are adjusting. You lived through the Iraqi occupation a dozen years ago. You know what that was?

CHABRA: Yes, that's absolutely true. However, the concern exists, and people have at some level, you get this silence. You get this kind of mood before it all begins, and many people have prepared their own rooms and their own basements.

BLITZER: What, for example, have you done personally with your family?

CHABRA: I prepared the room in the basement that is quite sealed, quite sealed, just in case. I mean, we have children, there's family, you want to just make sure as much as possible that you have done at least what you think is right.

BLITZER: But I didn't get the impression that people are fleeing the country or anything like that?

CHABRA: No. They are not fleeing the country. There is a feeling there is a protection, there is a feeling that the U.S. is by in large in Kuwait, and that this preparation, at that level of intensity, will provide quite an important umbrella of protection. So that feeling is there, but yet, there is anxiety.

BLITZER: As a Kuwaiti, do you have any concerns about what the U.S. is about to do?

CHABRA: Well, I have always believed that a change of regime is necessary in Iraq. And I have always believed, since particularly the experience of 1990, that Saddam has to go for the Iraqis to have a new beginning. And that -- this has come by destiny. This has come by the effects of September 11. It has come in the context of Saddam's mentality. It just has come. And in a way, we have accepted it. The question now, what's next? How to handle it, and how to handle what is going to come after it.

BLITZER: The Kuwaitis seem to be resigned. Shafeeq Chabra, congratulations to you. The new president of the New American University here in Kuwait. We will be speaking a lot in the coming days. Thank you very much.

CHABRA: Yes, thank you very much.

BLITZER: Shafeeq Chabra. And troops preparing to go into battle. We will take you to the Persian Gulf and the Kuwaiti desert, where U.S. forces are facing the possibility of war. So what will the American strategy be? And what can the troops expect to face? Retired Brigadier General David Grange will join us live with a look at what may be on the road to Baghdad.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's go right to the White House, where CNN's senior White House correspondent John King is standing by. He has got some news -- John.

KING: Wolf, in advance of the president's speech tonight on Iraq raising the prospect of war within days, we are told that there is a recommendation to senior administration officials to raise the terrorist threat level here in the United States. Now at yellow, which means an elevated risk of terrorist attack. We are told there is a recommendation to raise it back up to orange, which is a high risk of terrorist attack, that because of the fear that the president saying that we are on the verge of war in Iraq could incite terrorist attacks here in the United States.

Senior administration officials are stressing to us, this is a staff recommendation, that there is a meeting later today involving the principals, the new Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, the attorney general, the head of the FBI and the CIA are consulted at well in this decision. The president ultimately is informed and can be involved in that decision if he so chooses. So no final decision yet. That will be later today. Not before the president's speech, we are told, would any change be announced, but there is a recommendation to raise the terrorist threat level from yellow, the current level, elevated, back up to orange, which means this country, according to the experts, faces a high risk of terrorist attack -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John King at the White House, with perhaps a recommendation, a prudent measure, just in case. John King, thanks very much.

We've checked in with the troops of the USS Constellation and in the Kuwaiti desert to see how they are getting ready. Let's begin with CNN national reporter Frank Buckley. He is aboard the Constellation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The flight deck of this warship is as quiet as it gets. Below decks, crew members enjoyed a picnic and activities in the hangar bay, as part of two no-fly days before what may be the busiest flying days of their lives.

(on camera): During this down time, perhaps the last down time they'll have for a long time to come, they have a moment not only to rest, but to reflect.

(voice-over): Sailors are getting a haircut or hitting the laundry. Or grabbing a precious phone call to friends and family back home. Soon the period of reflection may be over. The engines on the flight deck could fire off. Sailors and airmen will set aside their personal opinions. They are prepared, they all say, to go to war if the call comes.

Frank Buckley, CNN, aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an earlier age, the U.S. 7th Cavalry had to feed and water its horses. They still had to exercise their mounts, only now the mounts are armored vehicles and helicopters. Some of these soldiers have been camped out just south of Iraq since last autumn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very difficult, especially when you are out here and you think of home, what your family is doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being away from the States has to be probably the worst thing.

RODGERS: There are endless rehearsals for war and endless grumbling about everything from the isolation to the food.

(on camera): These soldiers do discuss the politics of this war, but only among themselves. Quietly and privately, beside their Bradleys and their tanks. Saddam is the worst, they say, the French are a close second. And the soldiers say the Turks are not far behind.

(voice-over): This American army headed for Iraq is a strange one. Tahur Kareem (ph) is an American Muslim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm an American, I'm an American citizen. I have an American job. That's my focus.

RODGERS: Staying focused is not easy amid the rumors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's guys are telling me we might not go. Some guys telling me we're still going. I really don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have heard all kinds of rumors, that we'll be out of here in a couple of months, or we're going to go to Korea.

RODGERS: But for now, the U.S. 7th Cavalry is parked along the Kuwaiti border, waiting for the order to charge.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, in the Kuwaiti desert.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thanks to all of our reporters covering this potential war. And if war were to come today, U.S. ground forces would likely hit some roadblocks on the way to Baghdad. The Army's 101st Airborne Division, which flies Blackhawk and Apache helicopters, is mostly good to go.

But not all of the division is equipped and is in place. In fact, most of ships carrying equipment are led to be unloaded. And turkey's refusal to allow the U.S. military access to bases there has left the Army's 4th Infantry at sea. The 4th Infantry operates Abrams and Bradley tanks presumably to attack from the north, all of this of course is no secret. It's public knowledge for some time.

Retired U.S. Army Brigadier General David Grange, CNN military analyst joins us now live.

General, will these setback jeopardized significantly the mission? BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Well, the 4th Infantry Division could come in, Wolf, from the north at a later date if Turkey so decides to let those forces go in. Or it could go around and join the fight from the south in Kuwait. There's plenty of tanks with the 3rd Infantry Division, with the Marines, with the British. If they have permission to go with the war effort. But it would be advantageous to have the 4th. Regarding the 101st, they are all assembled now. That gives them great reach though out the country of Iraq on any front.

BLITZER: General Grange, if President Bush waited a few extra days, would that make a significant difference?

GRANGE: Well, commanders are always going to want more time to do just a few more things that they're concerned about, since they are responsibility for the lives of their troopers. You never have everything you need when you start a fight. In fact, usually, it's the other way around. It's hurry up and wait, and all then of a sudden let's go, let's go, let's go. And so, yes, I think they would like more time but they may not like it. And it may be advantageous to go very quick to keep any enemy forces off balance. If any enemy thinks you have to wait to build up more, and you go right away, you may achieve some surprise. So some balance of risk and benefit.

BLITZER: What about the element of surprise, General Grange? President Bush's ultimatum coming tonight, a couple of hours from now. Do U.S. forces lose any element of surprise?

GRANGE: Well, I believe -- I think Baghdad knows it's going to happen now, or it's a very good chance it will. And so there may not be strategic surprise, but they'll be tactical surprise and different places throughout battlefield in the north and the south and the west and that. And how the package is put together to attack, if that order is given.

When and where exactly, and what sequence?

So you can get surprised still in that manner.

BLITZER: General David Grange our military analyst. General, thanks very much and told by the way that the Turkish Parliament could come back on Wednesday vote, reconsidering its earlier refusal to allow U.S. troops to be deployed there. We'll be checking in with Turkey to see what is going on that front.

Experts say a U.S.-led war in Iraq could spark new terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. When we return, we will tell you what FBI is doing to counter that threat.

And health officials around the world are scrambling to contain a mysterious strain of pneumonia. We will have the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Safeguarding the U.S. from terror, s changes to homeland security, once an attack on Iraq occurs. That's coming up on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS we're live from Kuwait and back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POWELL: President's determination, we have made clear tonight, that this matter cannot continue indefinitely. That Saddam Hussein is guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And as our CNN senior White House correspondent John King reported just a little while ago on this program, a recommendation to perhaps raise the threat level from the current yellow to orange, as a prudent measure, as a precaution if the U.S. does indeed go to war. And if the United States leads way in a war with Iraq, there is concern that terrorists will strike back at targets inside the United States.

CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena explains how the FBI is preparing for that possibility.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the FBI field office in Washington, D.C., agents are gearing up to cover 24/7 shifts. Intelligence shows the nation's capitol is top on the list of possible terror targets and as war with Iraq looms, agents here on the lookout are here for anything suspicious.

VAN HARP, FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: All of our special assets would be available and ready to respond. We'll have an increased number of agents on the street.

ARENA: FBI offices across the country here in the same mode. Officials say many of the bureaus' non-terror operations will be curtailed and the FBI is expected to increase its surveillance activities. Already, a number of Iraqi nationals and former intelligence officials in the U.S. remain under 24/7 surveillance. That number is a small percentage of the hundred or so people in the U.S. who are constantly being watched, suspected of some involvement with al Qaeda or other terror groups.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We'll be alert and ready, and we'll have high levels of -- of readiness to confront any terrorist attack here at home.

ARENA: Agents have already interviewed Iraq's nationals who they believe, could pose a threat. The FBI has also identified 11,000 Iraqi nationals to interview in the event of a war. Including individuals can contacts back home, whom may be able to help provide information.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ARENA: Officials say there is no specific or credible information about any planned attack in the United States. In fact, sources say, that most intelligence points to an attack overseas. Still, officials say that they simply cannot rule anything out.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Kelli, what are you hearing about the prospect of perhaps raising that threat level from yellow or elevated to orange, which is high?

ARENA: Well, Wolf, all sources fully expect that to happen some time after the president's speech tonight. As you know, we have been reporting that law enforcement and intelligence sources do believe that that was a necessary step. They have put the percentage, chance of a terrorist attack either domestically or on U.S. interests, troops or facilities overseas at 75 percent, if there is a confrontation with Iraq. There's also always the chance of someone acting completely on their own, in sympathy with one of the related causes, Wolf. A big concern here domestically within U.S. borders.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena, our Justice correspondent in Washington. Thanks, Kelli, very much.

A peace activist pays the ultimate price. When we come back, the search for answers to a young American's death in Gaza.

Also, a potentially deadly illness emerges. World health experts gear up to find out where it came from and how to stop it. You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: War is always a catastrophe. It leads to major human tragedy. Lots of people are going to be uprooted, displaced from their homes and nobody wanted that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Recapping the hour's top stories, diplomatic efforts to end the showdown with Iraq peacefully appear to be over. And the threat of war is much closer.

The United States, Britain and Spain announced today that they're pushed to win approval of a new U.N. Security Council Resolution on Iraq is over. President Bush addresses the nation just a couple of hours from now. He's expected to demand that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein step down, and leave his country, or face war.

And while the United States and his allies threaten to attack Iraq, the government in Baghdad remains defiant. Iraq's foreign minister is ruling out the possibility that president Saddam Hussein will go into exile. He says, President Bush should step down himself. Here's how you're weighing in on "Our Web Question of the Day". Remember, we've been asking you this, who do you think -- what do you think is a bigger mistake: going to war or not going to war? Fifty- two percent of you said going to war, 48 percent of you said not going to war. Remember this is not a scientific poll.

That's all the time we have today. I'll be back in one hour to help with our special coverage of President Bush's address to the nation. Aaron Brown and Judy Woodruff will be in Washington. And Christiane Amanpour and I will be here in Kuwait. Thanks for or watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Kuwait City. LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE is up next.

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







Aired March 17, 2003 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: SHOWDOWN IRAQ.

On the brink of war.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The time for diplomacy has past.

ANNOUNCER: The U.S. and Britain pull the plug on a resolution.

As U.N. inspectors leave Iraq, President Bush tonight will tell Saddam Hussein to do the same or else. An address to the nation, just three hours from now.

The Iraqi president vows to fight, but will he strike first? Fresh concerns about chemical weapons.

The first wave. We're with, the troops at desert, at sea, in the air.

Evacuations, refugees, anxious neighbors, we have correspondents throughout the region.

WOLF BLITZER REPORTS live from the Persian Gulf, in Kuwait, starts right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Here are the top stories we're following this hour in the "Showdown With Iraq": exile or else.

President Bush, tonight, will deliver an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein. Just hours away, the nation-wide address will make it clear that war may be just days, way. The president briefs Congressional leaders on his plays this hour.

The Iraqi leader is vowing to fight saying invading Americans would find Iraqi ready to die, and I am quoting here, "behind every rock and tree." He also says he's given up his weapons of mass destruction, but there are new concerns that President Hussein might decide to strike first with chemical weapons.

U.N. weapons inspectors are getting ready to get out of Iraq along relief workers and many diplomats. The Associated Press reports Journalist from ABC and NBC are also leaving. Our Nic Robertson remains in Baghdad. We will hear from him shortly.

As President Bush addresses the nation on the brink of war, we will go to the Pentagon, to the State Department and to the United Nations.

But we begin with our senior White House correspondent John King with word on an ultimatum -- John.

JOHN KING, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we are told three hours from now, the president will speak from the cross halls in the White House residence behind me, and tell the American people and tell the world that window for diplomacy has closed. That U.S. troops are poised to attack Iraq, and remove Saddam within power within a matter of days. And also told Mr. Bush will say, one way to avoid a war and for Saddam Hussein to immediately, step down, yield power, and with his top lieutenants leave Iraq.

One senior official telling us the president's ultimatum will give only a few days for the Iraqi leader to leave. Another official say 72 hours will be, quote, "in the right ballpark" of the ultimatum we will here tonight . One Congressional official has been told 48 hours. But what we do know is this a very short window for Saddam Hussein to step down or face a U.S.-led military confrontation.

We are also told, the president will make clear tonight, fa that if this is a war, the United States will do everything in its power to limit civilian casualties, and after a war, everything in its power to restore Iraq to a democracy and leave Iraq's riches, meaning oil, for the Iraqi people. Wolf, a defining moment for the Bush presidency just three hours away. We are told we could hear from the president before this week is out, announcing a military action is indeed under way -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Dramatic development, indeed, John.

What about this meeting she having with Congressional leaders this hour?

KING: Mr. Bush will meet with the leaders of Congress, the bipartisan Democratic and Republicans leaders and then with key lawmakers from the committees that are in charge of military affairs and military spending. The administration has at times criticized of not keeping Congress closely informed. Mr. Bush will give them a preview of his remarks tonight.

We are also are told, on a critical question for the Congress, that the president will commit to perhaps as early as early next week setting up an emergency request to pay for the war and its immediate aftermath including some reconstruction and a massive humanitarian aid effort. $700 billion to $100 billion we are told, the Bush administration's estimated price tag -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John King at the White House. We'll be checking back with you periodically. Thanks, John, very much.

The president will address the nation tonight at 8:00 P.M. Eastern. Our coverage begins at 7:00 P.M. it's anchored by Aaron Brown and Judy Woodruff in Washington. Christiane Amanpour and I will join them from here in Kuwait.

In Baghdad, weapons inspectors, aid workers, and diplomats are pulling out, along with some journalists, but Saddam Hussein seems to be digging in.

Let's go to CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson in the Iraqi capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTL. CORRESPONDENT: There are 134 U.N. inspection staff here, 56 of them U.N. Inspectors. They are now expecting to leave in the early hours of Tuesday morning. They will be joined very likely by many other U.N. staff from Baghdad and around Iraq. They will, we are told, be leaving by plane from Baghdad's main international airport in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

From there, they will likely fly to Cyprus. The people of Iraq when they see these inspectors and the other U.N. staff go, it will very likely remind them of operation Desert Fox in 1998, when U.N. Staff were pulled out of Iraq before air strikes then. Very likely, another clear signal for the people here that war isn't far away. Certainly what we have seen, people stocking up food from the shops here. Many other store owners in fact closing down their stores, taking -- taking their stocks out in some cases. Electronics goods in some stores. But even, stores selling vegetables, closing down, for the preparation of this likely war that many people assess is coming.

Political reaction also to the fact the U.N. weapons inspectors are leaving very acerbic reaction coming from the foreign minister here Naji Sabri, saying regretful the U.N. weapons inspectors and U.N. staff were pull out. Also saying a violation of the U.N. charter, a violation of U.N. resolution 687. But when asked about whether or not President Saddam Hussein would step down or move out of Iraq, the foreign minister said it was President Bush who should go.

NAJI SABRI, FOREIGN MINISTER, IRAQ: The only option is the war monger number one in the world, the failing of President Bush, who made his country a joke in the world. Who has made the administration isolated in the world. Who made the United States public enemy number one. He should depart.

ROBERTSON: Iraqi officials are concerned, the end of the diplomatic war appears to have been reached, criticism not only of President Bush, we have heard that many times. But criticism of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. It very much seem now as if Iraq just preparing for itself of war. Had been keeping its options open, creating with the U.N. weapons inspectors. Those inspectors now on the verge of leaving very much Iraq now concentrating on preparing for war.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: And there are fresh concerns within the U.S. military that Saddam Hussein may choose to strike first, and may do so with chemical weapons.

Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre --Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, U.S. official, Wolf, tell CNN that there are indications, not proof, but indications that some Republican Guard units have been armed with chemical weapons. Weapons Iraq continues to insist it does not possess.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): As U.S. troops prepare to fight in the face of chemical or biological attack, the United States is siding fresh intelligence that even if Saddam Hussein is insisting he has no band weapons, he has issued chemical shells to at least one Republican Guard unit. While the intelligence falls short of hard proof, one U.S. official told CNN, they clearly have given some chemical capability to some Iraqi forces. Other U.S. officials downplayed the intelligence, calling it ambiguous and inconclusive. But nevertheless, said, there were increased reasons to be concerned. Saddam Hussein might use chemical weapons against U.S. troops or his own people.

Meanwhile, Pentagon sources say all is ready for an invasion. Two U.S. aircraft carriers are likely to remain in the Mediterranean Sea, because the U.S. expects to have permission to fly around Israel, and over Jordan to hit targets in the north. More than 1,000 tomahawk cruise missiles are poised on more than 30 ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. And the 101st Airborne Division in Kuwait now has all of its battle gear and is ready to go, sources say.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Well, the U.S. military it says can always make more preparations and do more training. Essentially officials here say that the gun is cocked, and all that remains is for President Bush to decide if and when to pull the trigger -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Jamie, thanks very much.

It fell to the nation's chief diplomat today to declare the diplomatic efforts dead.

We turn now to our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, remember members seven months ago, it was Secretary of State Powell who lobbied and eventually convinced President Bush to go to the United Nations and seek international support for possible war with Iraq. Well, today, although Powell didn't use the word, he seemed to indicate that diplomacy, at least the diplomatic phase had failed and suggested that war is now all but inevitable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POWELL: The time for diplomacy has passed.

KOPPEL (voice-over): The designated messenger as revealing as the message itself.

POWELL: I can think of nothing that Saddam Hussein can do diplomatically. I think that time is now over. He had his chance. He's had many chaps over the last 12 years, and he's blown ever one of those chances.

KOPPEL: Powell said exile for Saddam Hussein and his inner circle remains the only way left to avert war. An option Iraq immediately rejected. And Powell took critics, including the U.N. secretary general, head on, insisting a U.S. invasion of Iraq would be legal under 1441 and earlier U.N. resolutions supported by international law.

After Sunday's Azores summit, officials say, Powell's mission has become one of coalition management, making dozens of phone calls to U.S. allies, Security Council members, and Iraq's neighbors, including Turkey, which Powell pushed yet again to allow U.S. forces overflight and basing rights.

Powell in what was said to be a short conversation, also told the French foreign minister, the U.S. blames his government for the diplomatic breakdown.

POWELL: Everybody pretty much accepted that this resolution was not going to be a successful one, because there was one nation, France, that had indicated that it would veto it under any set of circumstances.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: Powell said he did everything he could to persuade council members that Iraq was not complying. Now, aides describe him as resolute, Wolf, determined to push ahead with war, now that diplomacy has failed -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Andrea Koppel at the State Department. Thanks, Andrea, very much.

Let's take a look at some other developments in the showdown with Iraq. A senior member of Britain's cabinet has resigned in protest over the Iraq crisis. The foreign secretary, Robin Cook, tendered his resignation after a private meeting today with Prime Minister Tony Blair. Cook's action is viewed as a sizable political hit for Prime Minister Blair, who later met in an emergency session with his remaining cabinet members to discuss military action in Iraq.

The last United Nations border monitors watching over the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait are now here in Kuwait City. The U.N. ordered the observers to evacuate the entire DMZ and await possible orders to leave Kuwait. The move followed an increase yesterday's in the U.N.'s alert level, requiring the monitors to suspend, all, all operations.

The State Department urged Americans to leave Kuwait immediately because of the threat of war. The advice followed a warning that all non-emergency staff and family members of U.S. embassy workers should pack up and get out. Britain also directed its citizens to depart Kuwait.

The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is ordering U.N. weapons inspectors to pull out of Iraq. Our senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth joins us now live with more -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, disappointment and gloom here in the house of peace at United Nations headquarters. Many of the United Nations' diplomatic core and the staff were hoping that the big powers on the Security Council could resolve differences, but today it became pretty apparent early in the day that the United States, United Kingdom and France were not really going to resolve differences, and after the United States withdrew from consideration this resolution, for now, and not putting it to a vote, the British ambassador targeted France, and France got upset.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY GREENSTOCK, BRITISH AMB. TO U.N.: That country rejected our proposed compromise before even the Iraqi government itself, and has put forward suggestions that would row back on the unanimous agreement of the council in Resolution 1441.

JEAN-MARC DE LA SABLIERE, FRENCH AMB. TO U.N.: They have realized that the majority of council is against and opposed a resolution authorizing the use of force. This is a position of the huge majority in the council.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Harsh feelings on both sides. France inside the closed- door consultations upset that France was singled out. U.S. officials saying if it wasn't for the French veto threat, perhaps many of those uncommitted countries would have come down on the U.S. side. This way they were able to hide and wait for any type of veto threat or any power arrangement to be worked out for unity in the council without showing their cards, as President Bush had asked for.

Is the United States military action, if it takes place, legal? Secretary General Kofi Annan believes it violates the United Nations' Charter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, SECRETARY GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: I have made it very clear that, in my judgment, if the council were to be able to manage this process successfully and muster the collective will to handle this operation, its own reputation and credibility would have been enhanced. And have also said if the action is to take place without the support of the council, its legitimacy will be questioned, and the support for it will be diminished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The U.S. believes it has legal authority under prior resolutions. Secretary General Annan has pulled out 330 inspectors and humanitarian staff. A lot to follow over the next 24 hours -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Richard Roth. Harsh words from the secretary general. Thanks very much, Richard, at the United Nations.

Up to now, much has been made of the United States' contention that it doesn't need a United Nations resolution to go to war, but this is not the first time a country has bypassed the U.N. on its way to the battlefield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The U.N. Security Council, a peacemaking body, sits on the sidelines as its permanent members wage war. 1954, France fights in Algeria. 1980, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan. 1982, Britain battles Argentina in the Falklands.

In the '60s, '70s, '80s, the United States sends troops into Vietnam, Grenada and Panama. None of them received U.N. approval, and in many cases, they began fighting despite U.N. protests.

Then the Cold War ends, turning veto caster Soviet Union into ally, Russia. The first President Bush seeks and secures a U.N. resolution that sets the stage for the 1991 Gulf War.

Today, the world community calls on the second President Bush to use the same benchmark, a benchmark ignored many times before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And this footnote on the U.N. Security Council, it did vote to support South Korea during the Korean War, but it was a fluke. The Soviet delegate wasn't in the room to cast a veto.

Here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of day is this -- what do you think is a bigger mistake, going to war or not going to war? We'll have the results later in this broadcast. Please vote at cnn.com/wolf.

Evacuations going on around the Middle East. Find out how the region is bracing for war.

Also, from the Persian Gulf to the Kuwaiti desert, we'll take you to the front lines, where troops are getting ready for action. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: I'm going to the White House this afternoon, and I have a pretty good understanding, a pretty good idea what I'm going to hear. And I'm saddened. Saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy, that we're now forced to war. Saddened that we have to give up one life because this president couldn't create the kind of diplomatic effort that was so critical for our country. But we will work and we will do all that we can to get through this crisis like we've gotten through so many.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: With the diplomatic door on the showdown on Iraq apparently slammed shut, people around the middle east are bracing for war. We have correspondents keeping track of the situation throughout the region.

And we begin in Israel.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kelly Wallace in Tel Aviv. On the eve of a possible U.S.-led war with Iraq, the State Department has ordered all nonessential diplomats and their families to leave Israel and is also urging all Americans who live here to leave.

Israelis, though, for their part, don't seem to be very anxious. Most don't believe Iraq will be able to launch a successful attack against the country. Still, with war appearing imminent, some of the approximately 10 percent of Israeli citizens who still have not updated their government-issued gas masks did so today. The Israeli government is also urging citizens to get all of equipment together to prepare a safe room to protect against any chemicals or biological attacks.

Israel's defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, taking part in an Internet chat today on Iraq, said the U.S. campaign is not connected to Israel. However, Mofaz and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, have also said that unlike 1991, when Israel did not retaliate for the 39 Iraqi Scud attacks, this time, if Iraq attacks, they say Israel has the right to defend itself.

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rula Amin in Ruwaishid, Jordan. On the brink of war, preparations to cope with the fallout of any military action with Baghdad is picking up. Bulldozers have been preparing the grounds to set up two refugee camps here near the border with Iraq as Jordanians are growing more and more apprehensive about the impact of such a war, on the Iraqi people, Iraq and the region as a whole. Many people here have deep mistrusts in U.S. forces and are just not buying the U.S. justification for any military strike against Iraq.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brent Sadler in Erbil, Northern Iraq. For the first time, we are seeing war jitters on the ground here in the Kurdish enclave. It's the first time that we've seen people packing up their belongings from home in some of the major towns and cities, loading up trucks and trailers and heading out of the city. Today, we saw streams of vehicles heading out of Erbil, one of the main population centers. Kurdish officials tell us that this is prudent planning. The people we speak to, who are going out of the towns tell us they are very, very concerned about the possibility of a chemical weapons attack by the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They say they remember what happened back in 1988, 15 years ago this week, when the Iraqi air force dropped chemical and mustard bombs on the Kurdish town of Halabja, killing 5,000 Kurds in one day. This is what's driving them to make a getaway now, they say.

Also today, another sign that war may be very close, has been long lines at the gas stations, where fuel prices have been sometimes raising by as much as 30 percent over the past couple of days.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Vause in Kuwait, where this tiny country is now quietly preparing for war. At the airport tonight, hundreds of foreign nationals were leaving, ordered out by their government of the companies they work for. In fact, many people were putting children on planes with one parent, the other staying behind.

But for those Kuwaitis who are still here, some have built panic rooms, sealing off windows and vents with duct tape and plastic, stocking up on food and water, enough to last for several days.

But mostly, there's a feeling of security that the tens of thousands of U.S. and British troops who are now massed in the deserts to the north will protect this country from any attack by Saddam Hussein.

Now back to you.

BLITZER: As the threat of a U.S.-led attack on Iraq grows stronger, many Americans are speaking out against war. A weeklong civil disobedience campaign is under way.

Several dozen antiwar protesters were arrested today in New York City. They were charged with blocking the entrance to the U.S. mission to the United Nations.

In San Francisco, at least 40 people were arrested during a so- called die-in in the city's financial district. Protesters also snarled traffic in the area.

Protesters also gathered for a rally in Washington. Arrests were made there as well. Police say 54 protesters were arrested outside the U.S. Capitol when they broke police lines.

The FBI goes into war mode. Find out what is being done to protect the homefront.

And the cavalry gets ready to charge. See how the troops spent their time as the world moves closer to the brink of war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED ALDOURI, IRAQI AMB. TO U.N.: We will perhaps see war. We will see clearings. We will see destruction. And this might satisfy Mr. Bush and his group. But this will not satisfy the international community because the whole international community would like to have peace instead of war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The Iraqi ambassador of the United Nations.

Here are the top stories we're tracking right now in the "Showdown with Iraq." President Bush this evening will address the American public, and Saddam Hussein. He'll demand that the Iraqi leader step down and do so quickly. The alternative? War within the next few days.

From Baghdad, more defiance. Iraq's foreign minister is calling on President Bush to step down. And Saddam Hussein is vowing to fight, warning that if Iraq is attacked, he will take the war anywhere in the world -- quote -- "wherever there is sky, land, or water."

Canada will evidently not fight. Prime minister Jean Chretien says if military action is launched without a new U.N. resolution, Canada will not participate. Chretien did say that Canada would want to play a role in rebuilding Iraq after a war.

Turkey may be having a change of heart, saying it has decided to take urgent steps to preserve its interests and that it must fulfill its obligations to its allies. That may give the U.S. a second chance to open up a second front.

The likelihood of war has led to a stock market rally, as investors hope for a short and decisive conflict. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up more than 282 points, or three- and-a-half percent. The Nasdaq was up almost 52 points, also three- and-a-half percent.

With the threat of war much closer now, tension is on the rise here in Kuwait. Political analyst Shafeeq Chabra is here to talk with me about the possibility of war and the mood among the Kuwaitis. Shafeeq Chabra, thanks very much for joining us.

What is the sense here? How concerned are you, as a Kuwaiti, that the Iraqis might launch some sort of a preemptive strike?

SHAFEEQ CHABRA, POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the concern is there. And that has been there now for some time.

BLITZER: But there doesn't seem to be panic in the streets or anything like that. People are adjusting. You lived through the Iraqi occupation a dozen years ago. You know what that was?

CHABRA: Yes, that's absolutely true. However, the concern exists, and people have at some level, you get this silence. You get this kind of mood before it all begins, and many people have prepared their own rooms and their own basements.

BLITZER: What, for example, have you done personally with your family?

CHABRA: I prepared the room in the basement that is quite sealed, quite sealed, just in case. I mean, we have children, there's family, you want to just make sure as much as possible that you have done at least what you think is right.

BLITZER: But I didn't get the impression that people are fleeing the country or anything like that?

CHABRA: No. They are not fleeing the country. There is a feeling there is a protection, there is a feeling that the U.S. is by in large in Kuwait, and that this preparation, at that level of intensity, will provide quite an important umbrella of protection. So that feeling is there, but yet, there is anxiety.

BLITZER: As a Kuwaiti, do you have any concerns about what the U.S. is about to do?

CHABRA: Well, I have always believed that a change of regime is necessary in Iraq. And I have always believed, since particularly the experience of 1990, that Saddam has to go for the Iraqis to have a new beginning. And that -- this has come by destiny. This has come by the effects of September 11. It has come in the context of Saddam's mentality. It just has come. And in a way, we have accepted it. The question now, what's next? How to handle it, and how to handle what is going to come after it.

BLITZER: The Kuwaitis seem to be resigned. Shafeeq Chabra, congratulations to you. The new president of the New American University here in Kuwait. We will be speaking a lot in the coming days. Thank you very much.

CHABRA: Yes, thank you very much.

BLITZER: Shafeeq Chabra. And troops preparing to go into battle. We will take you to the Persian Gulf and the Kuwaiti desert, where U.S. forces are facing the possibility of war. So what will the American strategy be? And what can the troops expect to face? Retired Brigadier General David Grange will join us live with a look at what may be on the road to Baghdad.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's go right to the White House, where CNN's senior White House correspondent John King is standing by. He has got some news -- John.

KING: Wolf, in advance of the president's speech tonight on Iraq raising the prospect of war within days, we are told that there is a recommendation to senior administration officials to raise the terrorist threat level here in the United States. Now at yellow, which means an elevated risk of terrorist attack. We are told there is a recommendation to raise it back up to orange, which is a high risk of terrorist attack, that because of the fear that the president saying that we are on the verge of war in Iraq could incite terrorist attacks here in the United States.

Senior administration officials are stressing to us, this is a staff recommendation, that there is a meeting later today involving the principals, the new Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, the attorney general, the head of the FBI and the CIA are consulted at well in this decision. The president ultimately is informed and can be involved in that decision if he so chooses. So no final decision yet. That will be later today. Not before the president's speech, we are told, would any change be announced, but there is a recommendation to raise the terrorist threat level from yellow, the current level, elevated, back up to orange, which means this country, according to the experts, faces a high risk of terrorist attack -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John King at the White House, with perhaps a recommendation, a prudent measure, just in case. John King, thanks very much.

We've checked in with the troops of the USS Constellation and in the Kuwaiti desert to see how they are getting ready. Let's begin with CNN national reporter Frank Buckley. He is aboard the Constellation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The flight deck of this warship is as quiet as it gets. Below decks, crew members enjoyed a picnic and activities in the hangar bay, as part of two no-fly days before what may be the busiest flying days of their lives.

(on camera): During this down time, perhaps the last down time they'll have for a long time to come, they have a moment not only to rest, but to reflect.

(voice-over): Sailors are getting a haircut or hitting the laundry. Or grabbing a precious phone call to friends and family back home. Soon the period of reflection may be over. The engines on the flight deck could fire off. Sailors and airmen will set aside their personal opinions. They are prepared, they all say, to go to war if the call comes.

Frank Buckley, CNN, aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an earlier age, the U.S. 7th Cavalry had to feed and water its horses. They still had to exercise their mounts, only now the mounts are armored vehicles and helicopters. Some of these soldiers have been camped out just south of Iraq since last autumn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very difficult, especially when you are out here and you think of home, what your family is doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being away from the States has to be probably the worst thing.

RODGERS: There are endless rehearsals for war and endless grumbling about everything from the isolation to the food.

(on camera): These soldiers do discuss the politics of this war, but only among themselves. Quietly and privately, beside their Bradleys and their tanks. Saddam is the worst, they say, the French are a close second. And the soldiers say the Turks are not far behind.

(voice-over): This American army headed for Iraq is a strange one. Tahur Kareem (ph) is an American Muslim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm an American, I'm an American citizen. I have an American job. That's my focus.

RODGERS: Staying focused is not easy amid the rumors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's guys are telling me we might not go. Some guys telling me we're still going. I really don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have heard all kinds of rumors, that we'll be out of here in a couple of months, or we're going to go to Korea.

RODGERS: But for now, the U.S. 7th Cavalry is parked along the Kuwaiti border, waiting for the order to charge.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, in the Kuwaiti desert.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thanks to all of our reporters covering this potential war. And if war were to come today, U.S. ground forces would likely hit some roadblocks on the way to Baghdad. The Army's 101st Airborne Division, which flies Blackhawk and Apache helicopters, is mostly good to go.

But not all of the division is equipped and is in place. In fact, most of ships carrying equipment are led to be unloaded. And turkey's refusal to allow the U.S. military access to bases there has left the Army's 4th Infantry at sea. The 4th Infantry operates Abrams and Bradley tanks presumably to attack from the north, all of this of course is no secret. It's public knowledge for some time.

Retired U.S. Army Brigadier General David Grange, CNN military analyst joins us now live.

General, will these setback jeopardized significantly the mission? BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Well, the 4th Infantry Division could come in, Wolf, from the north at a later date if Turkey so decides to let those forces go in. Or it could go around and join the fight from the south in Kuwait. There's plenty of tanks with the 3rd Infantry Division, with the Marines, with the British. If they have permission to go with the war effort. But it would be advantageous to have the 4th. Regarding the 101st, they are all assembled now. That gives them great reach though out the country of Iraq on any front.

BLITZER: General Grange, if President Bush waited a few extra days, would that make a significant difference?

GRANGE: Well, commanders are always going to want more time to do just a few more things that they're concerned about, since they are responsibility for the lives of their troopers. You never have everything you need when you start a fight. In fact, usually, it's the other way around. It's hurry up and wait, and all then of a sudden let's go, let's go, let's go. And so, yes, I think they would like more time but they may not like it. And it may be advantageous to go very quick to keep any enemy forces off balance. If any enemy thinks you have to wait to build up more, and you go right away, you may achieve some surprise. So some balance of risk and benefit.

BLITZER: What about the element of surprise, General Grange? President Bush's ultimatum coming tonight, a couple of hours from now. Do U.S. forces lose any element of surprise?

GRANGE: Well, I believe -- I think Baghdad knows it's going to happen now, or it's a very good chance it will. And so there may not be strategic surprise, but they'll be tactical surprise and different places throughout battlefield in the north and the south and the west and that. And how the package is put together to attack, if that order is given.

When and where exactly, and what sequence?

So you can get surprised still in that manner.

BLITZER: General David Grange our military analyst. General, thanks very much and told by the way that the Turkish Parliament could come back on Wednesday vote, reconsidering its earlier refusal to allow U.S. troops to be deployed there. We'll be checking in with Turkey to see what is going on that front.

Experts say a U.S.-led war in Iraq could spark new terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. When we return, we will tell you what FBI is doing to counter that threat.

And health officials around the world are scrambling to contain a mysterious strain of pneumonia. We will have the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Safeguarding the U.S. from terror, s changes to homeland security, once an attack on Iraq occurs. That's coming up on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS we're live from Kuwait and back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POWELL: President's determination, we have made clear tonight, that this matter cannot continue indefinitely. That Saddam Hussein is guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And as our CNN senior White House correspondent John King reported just a little while ago on this program, a recommendation to perhaps raise the threat level from the current yellow to orange, as a prudent measure, as a precaution if the U.S. does indeed go to war. And if the United States leads way in a war with Iraq, there is concern that terrorists will strike back at targets inside the United States.

CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena explains how the FBI is preparing for that possibility.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the FBI field office in Washington, D.C., agents are gearing up to cover 24/7 shifts. Intelligence shows the nation's capitol is top on the list of possible terror targets and as war with Iraq looms, agents here on the lookout are here for anything suspicious.

VAN HARP, FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: All of our special assets would be available and ready to respond. We'll have an increased number of agents on the street.

ARENA: FBI offices across the country here in the same mode. Officials say many of the bureaus' non-terror operations will be curtailed and the FBI is expected to increase its surveillance activities. Already, a number of Iraqi nationals and former intelligence officials in the U.S. remain under 24/7 surveillance. That number is a small percentage of the hundred or so people in the U.S. who are constantly being watched, suspected of some involvement with al Qaeda or other terror groups.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We'll be alert and ready, and we'll have high levels of -- of readiness to confront any terrorist attack here at home.

ARENA: Agents have already interviewed Iraq's nationals who they believe, could pose a threat. The FBI has also identified 11,000 Iraqi nationals to interview in the event of a war. Including individuals can contacts back home, whom may be able to help provide information.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ARENA: Officials say there is no specific or credible information about any planned attack in the United States. In fact, sources say, that most intelligence points to an attack overseas. Still, officials say that they simply cannot rule anything out.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Kelli, what are you hearing about the prospect of perhaps raising that threat level from yellow or elevated to orange, which is high?

ARENA: Well, Wolf, all sources fully expect that to happen some time after the president's speech tonight. As you know, we have been reporting that law enforcement and intelligence sources do believe that that was a necessary step. They have put the percentage, chance of a terrorist attack either domestically or on U.S. interests, troops or facilities overseas at 75 percent, if there is a confrontation with Iraq. There's also always the chance of someone acting completely on their own, in sympathy with one of the related causes, Wolf. A big concern here domestically within U.S. borders.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena, our Justice correspondent in Washington. Thanks, Kelli, very much.

A peace activist pays the ultimate price. When we come back, the search for answers to a young American's death in Gaza.

Also, a potentially deadly illness emerges. World health experts gear up to find out where it came from and how to stop it. You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: War is always a catastrophe. It leads to major human tragedy. Lots of people are going to be uprooted, displaced from their homes and nobody wanted that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Recapping the hour's top stories, diplomatic efforts to end the showdown with Iraq peacefully appear to be over. And the threat of war is much closer.

The United States, Britain and Spain announced today that they're pushed to win approval of a new U.N. Security Council Resolution on Iraq is over. President Bush addresses the nation just a couple of hours from now. He's expected to demand that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein step down, and leave his country, or face war.

And while the United States and his allies threaten to attack Iraq, the government in Baghdad remains defiant. Iraq's foreign minister is ruling out the possibility that president Saddam Hussein will go into exile. He says, President Bush should step down himself. Here's how you're weighing in on "Our Web Question of the Day". Remember, we've been asking you this, who do you think -- what do you think is a bigger mistake: going to war or not going to war? Fifty- two percent of you said going to war, 48 percent of you said not going to war. Remember this is not a scientific poll.

That's all the time we have today. I'll be back in one hour to help with our special coverage of President Bush's address to the nation. Aaron Brown and Judy Woodruff will be in Washington. And Christiane Amanpour and I will be here in Kuwait. Thanks for or watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Kuwait City. LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE is up next.

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