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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

McCain Asks for New Strategy in Iraq; Green River Killer Admits Murdering 48 Women

Aired November 05, 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: Happening now, how will the White House respond, U.S. Senator John McCain asking for a new strategy and more U.S. troops in Iraq.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday, November 05, 2003.

BLITZER: We'll get to that in just a few moments but we begin with a former truck painter now officially the worst serial killer the country has ever seen. Fifty-four-year-old Gary Leon Ridgway admits murdering 48 women but in a plea deal with prosecutors he faces life in prison instead of the death penalty.

Prosecutors say the majority of the victims' relatives approve of the controversial deal but some concede -- but some insist they do not approve of it and legal experts say it could undermine capital punishment in Washington State.

In exchange for the plea, Ridgway has cooperated in dozens of cases and sentencing is being postponed for up to six months so investigators can continue to work with him.

But what drove Ridgway to kill for almost two decades? His chilling courtroom confession gave us a look inside the mind of a serial killer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF BAIRD, PROSECUTOR (voice-over): I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight, is that true?

GARY LEON RIDGWAY: Yes, it is.

BLITZER (voice-over): With victims' relatives quietly weeping in the background the prosecutor read from Ridgway's statement, a grim litany of murder.

BAIRD (on camera): In most cases when I murdered these women I did not know their names. Most of the time I killed them the first time I met them.

BLITZER: The killing spree started in 1982 and spanned 16 years. Police say Ridgway was a suspect early on but he wasn't arrested until DNA evidence linked him to the killings in 2001. He says he deliberately chose women on the fringes of society as his victims.

BAIRD: I picked prostitutes as my victims because I hate most prostitutes and I did not want to pay them for sex. I also picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I knew they would not be reported missing right away and might never be reported missing. I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught. Is that true?

RIDGWAY: Yes.

BLITZER: The earliest bodies turned up in Washington's Green River earning the killer his name. Prosecutors say 41 of the cases might not have been resolved without the plea agreement reached in June. Ridgway says he disposed of the bodies methodically.

BAIRD: I placed most of the bodies in groups which I call clusters. I did this because I wanted to keep track of all the women I killed. I liked to drive by the clusters around the county and think about the women I placed there.

BLITZER: Forty-eight in all now recorded as victims of the worst serial killer ever to terrorize the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Ridgway how do you plead to the charge of aggravated murder in the first degree as charged in count two for the death of Deborah Bonner?

RIDGWAY: Guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the death of Marsha Chapman?

RIDGWAY: Guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the death of Cynthia Hines (ph)?

RIDGWAY: Guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the death of Opal Mills (ph)?

RIDGWAY: Guilty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Later outside court prosecutors defended their decision to offer Ridgway a plea bargain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORM MALENG, KING COUNTY WASHINGTON PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: The death penalty is too powerful a consequence to be used as a plea bargaining tool but this case squarely presented another principle that is a foundation of our justice system to seek and to know the truth and I knew that there were many people waiting for the truth in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The guilty pleas are cold comfort for many of the relatives of Ridgway's victims. Tammy Avent disappeared in 1983 at the age of only 16. Her remains were found only this last August. Her brother Searun Ford joins us now live from Seattle.

Searun thank you so much for joining us, our deepest condolences to you. What's your reaction to the decision to spare him capital punishment to let him live out his life in prison?

SEARUN FORD, VICTIM'S BROTHER: I don't believe that they should give this man life in prison. I believe he should be put to death but I mean as stated earlier I've been watching the news and heard what the prosecutor Norm Maleng has to say and I feel that maybe eventually we will be able to get this justice from the Washington state penal system.

BLITZER: When you say you may be able to get justice are you thinking that he might someday after all be executed?

FORD: Yes, I believe so. I believe so because there's more than -- there's more victims that they have and they haven't charged him yet so I feel that maybe all hope is not lost. You know maybe in the future maybe we can get what we really want right now.

BLITZER: Searun, the argument that the prosecutors made is that in order to come to closure on so many of these victims they needed this testimony for him. They needed him to cooperate. That's why they decided not to go for the death penalty. Do you think the families, at least the families you've been in touch with, accept that argument?

FORD: I don't know if they actually accept that argument but I had to listen to it and I feel that maybe they are, they are right. I mean we wouldn't have found over -- we wouldn't have found my sister if he wouldn't have, you know, told them he would tell where they were for a bargain for his life. So, I mean I have to look at the logic in that and I believe that on that point Norm Maleng is right.

BLITZER: Tell us a little bit about your sister, Tammy. She was only 16 years old when she disappeared. What was she like?

FORD: Well, she was -- she was very active. She was very active, you know. I can't really remember much because I was only nine at the time, you know, and it's been a long time. So, I mean as far as my early remembrances they're really sketchy because I was so little.

BLITZER: Tammy has a twin sister is that right?

FORD: Yes, she does.

BLITZER: Your sister how has she coped over all these years since 1983 knowing her twin was so brutally murdered?

FORD: Well, years ago we had a friend, a so-called friend of the family tell us that she was alive and well in Denver, Colorado which now recently evidence has proven untrue and so we believe that maybe there is hope maybe that she is still alive after all these years and we're just now coming to the realization that we've been lied to and it's got everybody in my family pretty angry.

BLITZER: And you're just going to go through a formal burial now because you've only found the body recently is that right?

FORD: Yes, that's right. On Saturday at one o'clock we're having a memorial for my sister.

BLITZER: Searun Ford our deepest condolences to you, to your entire family, your sister, everyone else on the death of Tammy Avent. We'll continue to cover this story for you and for all of our viewers.

With 48 murders on record, Ridgway is now the most prolific serial killer in United States history. Gerald Eugene Stano confessed to 41 killings between 1974 and 1981. He was executed in Florida in 1998.

John Wayne Gacy of suburban Chicago killed 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978. He was executed in 1994.

Ted Bundy confessed to more than 30 killings. He was convicted of only three in Florida and was executed in 1989.

And one of the most notorious serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer, was murdered in prison in 1994. He was convicted of killing 17 men and boys, some of whom he cannibalized.

Here's your turn to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. "Is the plea bargain in the Green River killer case justified"? You can vote right now. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

While you're there I'd love to hear directly from you. Send me your comments anytime. I'll try to read 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.

Moving on now to Iraq a Vietnam War veteran hero is sounding off in the war in Iraq, Senator John McCain today let loose with some serious criticism of the way the mission is being handled right now by the Bush administration.

In a policy speech, McCain called for more troops saying current strategy seems aimed at preserving, and I'm quoting now, "illusion that force levels are sufficient." McCain also suggested the Pentagon is signaling an eagerness to pull out of Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: When our secretary of defense says that it's up to the Iraqi people to defeat the Ba'athists and terrorists we send a message that America's exit from Iraq is ultimately more important than the achievement of American goals in Iraq. We send a signal to every Iraqi, ally, neutral, and adversary, that the United States is more interested in leaving than we are in winning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's go live to our Senior White House Correspondent John King. John, any reaction over at the White House to what Senator McCain is suggesting?

KING: Wolf, no specific public reaction to the speech by Senator McCain today. In private conversations some White House aides say much of it is not new, especially the Senator's contention that more troops are needed in Iraq.

Other White House aides also saying that he is mischaracterizing what Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld mean, the administration saying it is critical, in its view, to get more Iraqis on the front line providing security but it says there is no intention at this White House to pull U.S. troops out before the job is done.

At the White House briefing today, Press Secretary Scott McClellan not asked specifically about Senator McCain but he was asked about those who say more troops are needed and more troops are needed now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think that they've said that we have the troops that we need that we're continuing to involve more and more Iraqis in their security as well. They're the second largest contributors to their own security and, in fact, a number of Iraqis have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their fellow citizens and in defense of their security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So, the administration says the U.S. deployment will continue. It will accelerate the training of Iraqis and, Wolf, in a major speech here in Washington tomorrow the president will make the case that he will not leave Iraq until the job is done.

Here at the White House officials say when you hear the president tomorrow you will have a direct rebuttal to Senator McCain's contention that the Pentagon is somehow planning to pack up and leave before there is a democracy up and running in a stable and secure Iraq -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Some of the criticism of the president's policy coming from Republicans, like McCain, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. How worried are they that there could be a split among Republicans?

KING: Well they're worried a little bit about the split in Congress, of course. They're more worried about the fact that in the past few days we have seen two, maybe three public polls showing for the first time that the percentage of Americans who approve of how the president is handling his job in Iraq has now dropped below 50 percent.

That is worrisome to this White House. That is one reason. Again, we will hear the president tomorrow defending his policy and explaining his policy. The speech will go well beyond that.

The president will talk about his view of democracy across the Middle East. But make no question, the president is trying to reinforce and reenergize, if you will, public support for his policy in post-war Iraq.

BLITZER: CNN's John King at the White House thanks, John, very much.

And on the issue of the force level sources are telling CNN that the Pentagon could announce perhaps as early as tomorrow a rotation plan that would send about 100,000 fresh troops to Iraq early next year. These forces, including reserves would replace troops scheduled to leave Iraq. We'll stand by for word from the Pentagon tomorrow on that.

In Iraq, meanwhile, U.S. troops have captured two former Iraqi generals suspected of leading attacks against coalition forces. Coalition officials say the generals are thought to be key financiers and organizers of insurgents in the Fallujah area. That's a hotbed of resistance where a U.S. helicopter went down Sunday killing 15 United States soldiers.

What you may not know about the September 11th terrorist attacks, up next why federal authorities are revisiting the 20th hijacker theory; also this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did my part. First of all I did it as a human being, as an American and as Iraqi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: But now that he's back in the United States, why is this man feeling forgotten?

And other veterans of the battlefield, the ones armed with notepads and microphones, a first look at the new TV tribute to war correspondents. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Rosie O'Donnell versus the publishers, coming up witness testimony of a very heated exchange. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's a new development today and the theory that a 20th hijacker was involved in the 9/11 attacks. Our Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena is joining us now live with the latest. Kelli, what is this? KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this certainly isn't a new concept. I mean investigators have though from day one that there was supposed to be a 20th hijacker but as new information trickles in new theories develop.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): Ever since United Airlines Flight 93 went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania with just four hijackers onboard, investigators have been trying to find out if there was supposed to be one more. That's because there were five hijackers on every other flight used in the attacks on September 11th.

ROGER CRESSEY, FMR. WHITE HOUSE COUNTER TERRORISM OFFICIAL: Just for symmetry sake alone to have one airplane with only four hijackers and the other three with five hijackers didn't add up to us so we always assumed there was in fact a fifth.

ARENA: Sources tell CNN one theory being explored by the FBI is that a 20th al Qaeda operative had been in the United States but left before the attacks took place. Investigators theorize al Qaeda may have been trying to find a replacement but nothing is concrete.

MCCLELLAN: I would certainly not take those reports as the definitive word on the issue.

ARENA: In a government brief released Friday in the case against terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, who investigators first thought was supposed to be the 20th hijacker, prosecutors noted that as late as August of 2001, al Qaeda was still trying to insert new hijackers into the September 11th attacks.

CNN has reported that al Qaeda operative and self-confessed 9/11 planner Ramzi Binalshibh tried at least four times to get into the United States to participate in the attacks but could not get a visa.

Senior sources tell CNN that investigators know of at least two other operatives who also tried to get into the United States, one making it as far as a U.S. airport only to be denied entry. Officials say it is important to find out all they can about the plot to help prevent future attacks.

BRUCE HOFFMAN, RAND CORPORATION: I think it helps in filling out the picture and every, I think, bit of information helps us to understand more clearly how sophisticated this operation was, how orchestrated it was and indeed the planning and care that went into it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: It is chilling that even two years later many questions remain unanswered. Officials say that that shows just how formidable a foe al Qaeda is -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena, very intriguing. Thank you very much. Reputations on the line and a magazine put out of print, coming up Rosie O'Donnell and the details of what's being described as a monster blowout.

The Americans who were there will never forget his bravery on this battlefield but one loyal foot soldier is finding out life after war isn't always easy.

And happy homecomings as sailors, 5,000 of them, return from duty to open arms.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN NEWS: In the skies over Iraq, it was a flight out of the war zone. An Army Chinook helicopter ferrying a group of soldiers to the real world of R&R -- rest and recuperation.

And then their dream flight was shattered by a shoulder-fired missile. Fifteen Americans were killed in Sunday's downing of that chopper, 27 wounded. Two of those wounded spoke to reporters today about the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. CHRISTOPHER NELSON, U.S. ARMY: I was in the aircraft. Then I heard a loud boom. And after I heard the sound, I closed my eyes and I prayed. And after that, I don't know what happened. I blanked out.

And I woke up, I was on the ground. And there was a lot of debris around me. There was people trying to rescue us out of the area.

SGT. RAYMOND MONT-LITTLEFIELD, U.S. ARMY: I was in the aircraft. I heard a loud explosion. And the airplane -- the airplane kind of shook a little bit. I thought it was falling.

And after that I think I went unconscious. I remember -- the last time I remember waking up was in the hospital.

NELSON: I didn't see nothing. I just heard -- I just heard a big boom and that's all I heard. I didn't see nothing else.

MONT-LITTLEFIELD: I didn't see anything of it, either. I was more toward the center of the vehicle. And somewhere (ph) -- it just made -- I had no idea of what it could have been.

(END VIDEO)

BLITZER: Both Sergeants Nelson and Mont-Littlefield said that once they recover, they want to return to their colleagues inside Iraq.

He helped win the war in Iraq, and he's grateful that he had the chance to liberate his native country. But back here in the United States right now, this young Iraqi-American doesn't want any medals. He just wants a job. Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Meet Kadhim al-Waeli, an American born in Iraq.

KADHIM AL-WAELI, FORMER VOLUNTEER IN IRAQ: There is some hesitation, that some people when they talk to me, there is hesitation. They don't want to associate with me or they don't want to socialize with me.

MCINTYRE: If they only knew that Kadhim played a pivotal role in saving the lives of U.S. troops during major combat in Iraq.

He left a good job with a telecommunications firm in St. Louis to volunteer as a free Iraqi fighter. And he served alongside soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division.

LT. COL. CHRIS HUGHES, U.S. ARMY: Essentially, he set me up for success as a commander, to find myself quickly thrown into a situation in Najaf.

MCINTYRE: It was April 3rd in Najaf, Kadhim's home town, where Lt. Col. Hughes calmed an angry crowd which thought American soldiers were moving against a sacred mosque and a local cleric.

HUGHES: They've got to understand. He's not (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ...

MCINTYRE: Hughes knew just how to act, because Kadhim had prepared him.

HUGHES: He told me what to look for in people's non-verbal communication.

HUGHES: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), they've got to move. Turn around. Just turn around and go.

HUGHES: He gave me a number of hands, you know, symbols that I could use. To put your hand on your heart and to bow to an individual or to at least nod to an individual, showed respect.

AL-WAELI: He just like, held his right hand. Turn it -- turn down, I would say. Back up. Sit. Smile. I looked at the colonel. I was like, God, wow. This is -- he made history, honestly.

MCINTYRE: It was Kadhim's cultural smarts, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes firmly believes, that helped keep the battalion casualty-free.

AL-WAELI: I started talking to the people on the speaker. I know how to approach them, or persuade them that we are here to help them (ph).

That's why we -- when we had our (UNINTELLIGIBLE), there was no casualties. MCINTYRE: But after the war, there was no job for the loyal foot soldier. He was thanked and given a ceremonial coin. Despite the shortage of Arabic translators, the only offer from the coalition provisional authority was for the American to accept Iraqi wages -- $10 a day.


Aired November 05, 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: Happening now, how will the White House respond, U.S. Senator John McCain asking for a new strategy and more U.S. troops in Iraq.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday, November 05, 2003.

BLITZER: We'll get to that in just a few moments but we begin with a former truck painter now officially the worst serial killer the country has ever seen. Fifty-four-year-old Gary Leon Ridgway admits murdering 48 women but in a plea deal with prosecutors he faces life in prison instead of the death penalty.

Prosecutors say the majority of the victims' relatives approve of the controversial deal but some concede -- but some insist they do not approve of it and legal experts say it could undermine capital punishment in Washington State.

In exchange for the plea, Ridgway has cooperated in dozens of cases and sentencing is being postponed for up to six months so investigators can continue to work with him.

But what drove Ridgway to kill for almost two decades? His chilling courtroom confession gave us a look inside the mind of a serial killer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF BAIRD, PROSECUTOR (voice-over): I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight, is that true?

GARY LEON RIDGWAY: Yes, it is.

BLITZER (voice-over): With victims' relatives quietly weeping in the background the prosecutor read from Ridgway's statement, a grim litany of murder.

BAIRD (on camera): In most cases when I murdered these women I did not know their names. Most of the time I killed them the first time I met them.

BLITZER: The killing spree started in 1982 and spanned 16 years. Police say Ridgway was a suspect early on but he wasn't arrested until DNA evidence linked him to the killings in 2001. He says he deliberately chose women on the fringes of society as his victims.

BAIRD: I picked prostitutes as my victims because I hate most prostitutes and I did not want to pay them for sex. I also picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I knew they would not be reported missing right away and might never be reported missing. I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught. Is that true?

RIDGWAY: Yes.

BLITZER: The earliest bodies turned up in Washington's Green River earning the killer his name. Prosecutors say 41 of the cases might not have been resolved without the plea agreement reached in June. Ridgway says he disposed of the bodies methodically.

BAIRD: I placed most of the bodies in groups which I call clusters. I did this because I wanted to keep track of all the women I killed. I liked to drive by the clusters around the county and think about the women I placed there.

BLITZER: Forty-eight in all now recorded as victims of the worst serial killer ever to terrorize the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Ridgway how do you plead to the charge of aggravated murder in the first degree as charged in count two for the death of Deborah Bonner?

RIDGWAY: Guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the death of Marsha Chapman?

RIDGWAY: Guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the death of Cynthia Hines (ph)?

RIDGWAY: Guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the death of Opal Mills (ph)?

RIDGWAY: Guilty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Later outside court prosecutors defended their decision to offer Ridgway a plea bargain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORM MALENG, KING COUNTY WASHINGTON PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: The death penalty is too powerful a consequence to be used as a plea bargaining tool but this case squarely presented another principle that is a foundation of our justice system to seek and to know the truth and I knew that there were many people waiting for the truth in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The guilty pleas are cold comfort for many of the relatives of Ridgway's victims. Tammy Avent disappeared in 1983 at the age of only 16. Her remains were found only this last August. Her brother Searun Ford joins us now live from Seattle.

Searun thank you so much for joining us, our deepest condolences to you. What's your reaction to the decision to spare him capital punishment to let him live out his life in prison?

SEARUN FORD, VICTIM'S BROTHER: I don't believe that they should give this man life in prison. I believe he should be put to death but I mean as stated earlier I've been watching the news and heard what the prosecutor Norm Maleng has to say and I feel that maybe eventually we will be able to get this justice from the Washington state penal system.

BLITZER: When you say you may be able to get justice are you thinking that he might someday after all be executed?

FORD: Yes, I believe so. I believe so because there's more than -- there's more victims that they have and they haven't charged him yet so I feel that maybe all hope is not lost. You know maybe in the future maybe we can get what we really want right now.

BLITZER: Searun, the argument that the prosecutors made is that in order to come to closure on so many of these victims they needed this testimony for him. They needed him to cooperate. That's why they decided not to go for the death penalty. Do you think the families, at least the families you've been in touch with, accept that argument?

FORD: I don't know if they actually accept that argument but I had to listen to it and I feel that maybe they are, they are right. I mean we wouldn't have found over -- we wouldn't have found my sister if he wouldn't have, you know, told them he would tell where they were for a bargain for his life. So, I mean I have to look at the logic in that and I believe that on that point Norm Maleng is right.

BLITZER: Tell us a little bit about your sister, Tammy. She was only 16 years old when she disappeared. What was she like?

FORD: Well, she was -- she was very active. She was very active, you know. I can't really remember much because I was only nine at the time, you know, and it's been a long time. So, I mean as far as my early remembrances they're really sketchy because I was so little.

BLITZER: Tammy has a twin sister is that right?

FORD: Yes, she does.

BLITZER: Your sister how has she coped over all these years since 1983 knowing her twin was so brutally murdered?

FORD: Well, years ago we had a friend, a so-called friend of the family tell us that she was alive and well in Denver, Colorado which now recently evidence has proven untrue and so we believe that maybe there is hope maybe that she is still alive after all these years and we're just now coming to the realization that we've been lied to and it's got everybody in my family pretty angry.

BLITZER: And you're just going to go through a formal burial now because you've only found the body recently is that right?

FORD: Yes, that's right. On Saturday at one o'clock we're having a memorial for my sister.

BLITZER: Searun Ford our deepest condolences to you, to your entire family, your sister, everyone else on the death of Tammy Avent. We'll continue to cover this story for you and for all of our viewers.

With 48 murders on record, Ridgway is now the most prolific serial killer in United States history. Gerald Eugene Stano confessed to 41 killings between 1974 and 1981. He was executed in Florida in 1998.

John Wayne Gacy of suburban Chicago killed 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978. He was executed in 1994.

Ted Bundy confessed to more than 30 killings. He was convicted of only three in Florida and was executed in 1989.

And one of the most notorious serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer, was murdered in prison in 1994. He was convicted of killing 17 men and boys, some of whom he cannibalized.

Here's your turn to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. "Is the plea bargain in the Green River killer case justified"? You can vote right now. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

While you're there I'd love to hear directly from you. Send me your comments anytime. I'll try to read 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.

Moving on now to Iraq a Vietnam War veteran hero is sounding off in the war in Iraq, Senator John McCain today let loose with some serious criticism of the way the mission is being handled right now by the Bush administration.

In a policy speech, McCain called for more troops saying current strategy seems aimed at preserving, and I'm quoting now, "illusion that force levels are sufficient." McCain also suggested the Pentagon is signaling an eagerness to pull out of Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: When our secretary of defense says that it's up to the Iraqi people to defeat the Ba'athists and terrorists we send a message that America's exit from Iraq is ultimately more important than the achievement of American goals in Iraq. We send a signal to every Iraqi, ally, neutral, and adversary, that the United States is more interested in leaving than we are in winning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's go live to our Senior White House Correspondent John King. John, any reaction over at the White House to what Senator McCain is suggesting?

KING: Wolf, no specific public reaction to the speech by Senator McCain today. In private conversations some White House aides say much of it is not new, especially the Senator's contention that more troops are needed in Iraq.

Other White House aides also saying that he is mischaracterizing what Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld mean, the administration saying it is critical, in its view, to get more Iraqis on the front line providing security but it says there is no intention at this White House to pull U.S. troops out before the job is done.

At the White House briefing today, Press Secretary Scott McClellan not asked specifically about Senator McCain but he was asked about those who say more troops are needed and more troops are needed now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think that they've said that we have the troops that we need that we're continuing to involve more and more Iraqis in their security as well. They're the second largest contributors to their own security and, in fact, a number of Iraqis have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their fellow citizens and in defense of their security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So, the administration says the U.S. deployment will continue. It will accelerate the training of Iraqis and, Wolf, in a major speech here in Washington tomorrow the president will make the case that he will not leave Iraq until the job is done.

Here at the White House officials say when you hear the president tomorrow you will have a direct rebuttal to Senator McCain's contention that the Pentagon is somehow planning to pack up and leave before there is a democracy up and running in a stable and secure Iraq -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Some of the criticism of the president's policy coming from Republicans, like McCain, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. How worried are they that there could be a split among Republicans?

KING: Well they're worried a little bit about the split in Congress, of course. They're more worried about the fact that in the past few days we have seen two, maybe three public polls showing for the first time that the percentage of Americans who approve of how the president is handling his job in Iraq has now dropped below 50 percent.

That is worrisome to this White House. That is one reason. Again, we will hear the president tomorrow defending his policy and explaining his policy. The speech will go well beyond that.

The president will talk about his view of democracy across the Middle East. But make no question, the president is trying to reinforce and reenergize, if you will, public support for his policy in post-war Iraq.

BLITZER: CNN's John King at the White House thanks, John, very much.

And on the issue of the force level sources are telling CNN that the Pentagon could announce perhaps as early as tomorrow a rotation plan that would send about 100,000 fresh troops to Iraq early next year. These forces, including reserves would replace troops scheduled to leave Iraq. We'll stand by for word from the Pentagon tomorrow on that.

In Iraq, meanwhile, U.S. troops have captured two former Iraqi generals suspected of leading attacks against coalition forces. Coalition officials say the generals are thought to be key financiers and organizers of insurgents in the Fallujah area. That's a hotbed of resistance where a U.S. helicopter went down Sunday killing 15 United States soldiers.

What you may not know about the September 11th terrorist attacks, up next why federal authorities are revisiting the 20th hijacker theory; also this...

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did my part. First of all I did it as a human being, as an American and as Iraqi.

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BLITZER: But now that he's back in the United States, why is this man feeling forgotten?

And other veterans of the battlefield, the ones armed with notepads and microphones, a first look at the new TV tribute to war correspondents. Stay with us.

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BLITZER: Rosie O'Donnell versus the publishers, coming up witness testimony of a very heated exchange. Stay with us.

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BLITZER: There's a new development today and the theory that a 20th hijacker was involved in the 9/11 attacks. Our Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena is joining us now live with the latest. Kelli, what is this? KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this certainly isn't a new concept. I mean investigators have though from day one that there was supposed to be a 20th hijacker but as new information trickles in new theories develop.

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ARENA (voice-over): Ever since United Airlines Flight 93 went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania with just four hijackers onboard, investigators have been trying to find out if there was supposed to be one more. That's because there were five hijackers on every other flight used in the attacks on September 11th.

ROGER CRESSEY, FMR. WHITE HOUSE COUNTER TERRORISM OFFICIAL: Just for symmetry sake alone to have one airplane with only four hijackers and the other three with five hijackers didn't add up to us so we always assumed there was in fact a fifth.

ARENA: Sources tell CNN one theory being explored by the FBI is that a 20th al Qaeda operative had been in the United States but left before the attacks took place. Investigators theorize al Qaeda may have been trying to find a replacement but nothing is concrete.

MCCLELLAN: I would certainly not take those reports as the definitive word on the issue.

ARENA: In a government brief released Friday in the case against terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, who investigators first thought was supposed to be the 20th hijacker, prosecutors noted that as late as August of 2001, al Qaeda was still trying to insert new hijackers into the September 11th attacks.

CNN has reported that al Qaeda operative and self-confessed 9/11 planner Ramzi Binalshibh tried at least four times to get into the United States to participate in the attacks but could not get a visa.

Senior sources tell CNN that investigators know of at least two other operatives who also tried to get into the United States, one making it as far as a U.S. airport only to be denied entry. Officials say it is important to find out all they can about the plot to help prevent future attacks.

BRUCE HOFFMAN, RAND CORPORATION: I think it helps in filling out the picture and every, I think, bit of information helps us to understand more clearly how sophisticated this operation was, how orchestrated it was and indeed the planning and care that went into it.

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ARENA: It is chilling that even two years later many questions remain unanswered. Officials say that that shows just how formidable a foe al Qaeda is -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena, very intriguing. Thank you very much. Reputations on the line and a magazine put out of print, coming up Rosie O'Donnell and the details of what's being described as a monster blowout.

The Americans who were there will never forget his bravery on this battlefield but one loyal foot soldier is finding out life after war isn't always easy.

And happy homecomings as sailors, 5,000 of them, return from duty to open arms.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN NEWS: In the skies over Iraq, it was a flight out of the war zone. An Army Chinook helicopter ferrying a group of soldiers to the real world of R&R -- rest and recuperation.

And then their dream flight was shattered by a shoulder-fired missile. Fifteen Americans were killed in Sunday's downing of that chopper, 27 wounded. Two of those wounded spoke to reporters today about the attack.

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SGT. CHRISTOPHER NELSON, U.S. ARMY: I was in the aircraft. Then I heard a loud boom. And after I heard the sound, I closed my eyes and I prayed. And after that, I don't know what happened. I blanked out.

And I woke up, I was on the ground. And there was a lot of debris around me. There was people trying to rescue us out of the area.

SGT. RAYMOND MONT-LITTLEFIELD, U.S. ARMY: I was in the aircraft. I heard a loud explosion. And the airplane -- the airplane kind of shook a little bit. I thought it was falling.

And after that I think I went unconscious. I remember -- the last time I remember waking up was in the hospital.

NELSON: I didn't see nothing. I just heard -- I just heard a big boom and that's all I heard. I didn't see nothing else.

MONT-LITTLEFIELD: I didn't see anything of it, either. I was more toward the center of the vehicle. And somewhere (ph) -- it just made -- I had no idea of what it could have been.

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BLITZER: Both Sergeants Nelson and Mont-Littlefield said that once they recover, they want to return to their colleagues inside Iraq.

He helped win the war in Iraq, and he's grateful that he had the chance to liberate his native country. But back here in the United States right now, this young Iraqi-American doesn't want any medals. He just wants a job. Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has the story.

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JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Meet Kadhim al-Waeli, an American born in Iraq.

KADHIM AL-WAELI, FORMER VOLUNTEER IN IRAQ: There is some hesitation, that some people when they talk to me, there is hesitation. They don't want to associate with me or they don't want to socialize with me.

MCINTYRE: If they only knew that Kadhim played a pivotal role in saving the lives of U.S. troops during major combat in Iraq.

He left a good job with a telecommunications firm in St. Louis to volunteer as a free Iraqi fighter. And he served alongside soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division.

LT. COL. CHRIS HUGHES, U.S. ARMY: Essentially, he set me up for success as a commander, to find myself quickly thrown into a situation in Najaf.

MCINTYRE: It was April 3rd in Najaf, Kadhim's home town, where Lt. Col. Hughes calmed an angry crowd which thought American soldiers were moving against a sacred mosque and a local cleric.

HUGHES: They've got to understand. He's not (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ...

MCINTYRE: Hughes knew just how to act, because Kadhim had prepared him.

HUGHES: He told me what to look for in people's non-verbal communication.

HUGHES: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), they've got to move. Turn around. Just turn around and go.

HUGHES: He gave me a number of hands, you know, symbols that I could use. To put your hand on your heart and to bow to an individual or to at least nod to an individual, showed respect.

AL-WAELI: He just like, held his right hand. Turn it -- turn down, I would say. Back up. Sit. Smile. I looked at the colonel. I was like, God, wow. This is -- he made history, honestly.

MCINTYRE: It was Kadhim's cultural smarts, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes firmly believes, that helped keep the battalion casualty-free.

AL-WAELI: I started talking to the people on the speaker. I know how to approach them, or persuade them that we are here to help them (ph).

That's why we -- when we had our (UNINTELLIGIBLE), there was no casualties. MCINTYRE: But after the war, there was no job for the loyal foot soldier. He was thanked and given a ceremonial coin. Despite the shortage of Arabic translators, the only offer from the coalition provisional authority was for the American to accept Iraqi wages -- $10 a day.