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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Top U.S. commander attacked in Iraq. New security concerns grounds two planes. Cloning controversy. Schoolbus beating. National Guardsman in custody on espionage charges.

Aired February 12, 2004 - 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)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): General under fire. A top U.S. commander attacked in Iraq.

Flights canceled. New security concerns grounding two planes including one to the U.S.

Cloning controversy. Researchers claim a new landmark.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the first-ever demonstration, a human embryo has been successfully cloned.

BLITZER: Schoolbus beating caught on tape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It felt like I was about to pass out or something.

BLITZER: Why didn't anyone do anything to help?

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, February 12, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: American's top commander in the Middle East found himself under enemy attack in Fallujah, Iraq, earlier today. Three Rocket-Propelled Grenades were fired at a convoy carrying General John Abizaid. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is standing by with details. Barbara, what happened?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, at the end, everything turned out OK. But a very close call for General Abizaid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): U.S. forces immediately returned fire when General John Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, came under attack at a compound in Fallujah.

No one is sure if the assailant knew that General Abizaid was there, but clearly, they were waiting for somebody.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: Today at 1330 in Fallujah, General Abizaid and General Swannack were visiting the local Iraqi Civil Defense Corp battalion headquarters compound when three Rocket- Propelled Grenades were fired at their convoy from rooftops in the vicinity.

STARR: No injuries in this latest episode, but it comes after two days of devastating attacks against Iraqis. Some 100 have been killed this week.

U.S. officials increasingly believe this man, Abu Musab Zarqawi, a suspected leader of terrorists in Iraq, is behind some of the most deadly attacks. There is now a $10 million reward on his head.

Zarqawi appears to be the link between al Qaeda and violence in Iraq. The U.S. desperately wants to stop him from inciting civil war.

DAN SENOR, COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY: It is important for Iraqis to have a crystal clear understanding of this game plan, so that when they are attacked, they are aware that it's not their fellow Iraqis attacking them. It is a foreign terrorists with ties to al Qaeda that is trying to turn this country upside-down and promote blood shed and tragedy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Now, Wolf, the effort to hunt down, capture or kill him now every bit as intense as the hunt once was for Saddam Hussein -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And more later this hour, Barbara, we'll have more information, newly-released information on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thanks very much.

Meanwhile, U.N. envoys in Iraq met with a influential Shi'ite cleric today, but there's still no agreement on how to farm a new Iraqi government. The Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has been demanding early direct elections. U.N. envoys agree they are desirable. But they say Iraq isn't ready for elections yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAKHDAR BRAHIMI, U.N. ENVOY: I think we are pointing out to them that perhaps evaluation of the time that is needed and the conditions that need to be fulfilled are not accurate. And they (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The United States wants to put off elections and instead use a caucus system to select a temporary legislature that would take power June 30.

Here in Washington, White House officials have produced documentation dating back 30 years to try to put questions about President Bush's military background to rest once and for all. They say the answer lies in a dental appointment. Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is joining us now live with more -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, President Bush was in Pennsylvania earlier today, focusing on the domestic agenda, talking about the economy. But as you mentioned, of course, the focus here in Washington is about the controversy, over whether or not he completed his military service.

Now, it was just last night that the White House released dental records dated January 6, 1973 from the Alabama base he was assigned to perform temporary duty. The White House says this proves he was on the base, that he was carrying out those duties.

Now, Democrats don't believe this means much of anything. An official from the Democratic National Committee who I spoke with said here that there are discrepancies from the documents, that they don't explain why his superior officials didn't see him in Alabama. One of them saying, and I'm quoting here, "that none of his commanding officers said he hadn't received dental care, but that he hadn't been seen to report for duty."

Now today White House spokesman Scott McClellan was also asked about the records, the military records of President Bush that were seen at "USA Today." Part of those blackened out portions on arrests and convictions.

McClellan answered the questions and said -- he filled in those blanks saying that there was an incident involving a college prank where he stole a wreath, that there were two traffic violations and two car crashes. This has all been widely reported before.

The White House trying to show they are being as open as possible. But, Wolf, this controversy is not going to go away any time soon.

BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux, thanks very much.

Indeed, as for those allegations, at least one top Republican says they're just evidence John Kerry and the Democrats are ready to run in their words, "a dirty campaign."

RNC national chairman Ed Gillespie is expected to give a scathing speech on that tonight in Reno, Nevada. Our national correspondent Bob Franken is here, he's following that story. Bob, what's going on?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well it's not literally life or death, but it's no accident that a political campaign is described as a war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): Both sides can expect to take a lot of fire. And it goes without saying that it's far better to be the shooter than the target. Which may explain the recent speeches from Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, the latest tonight in Nevada.

As Democrats lob their own artillery...

TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIRMAN: And I would call it AWOL, you call it whatever you want. But the issue is, the president did not show for the year he in Alabama when he was supposed to show up for the National Guard.

FRANKEN: Gillespie is shooting back, as he has for months. Charging that opponents have made clear they intend to run the dirtiest campaign in modern presidential politics.

Gillespie will go on to charge he expects Democrats to use the Internet to spread a scurrilous story that President Bush drove a former girlfriend to an abortion clinic and paid for her abortion. He's quoting a rock musician Kerry supporter in a "New York Daily News" article.

The Democrat's press secretary had a response: "Ed's hyperventilating."

Gillespie isn't through. He quotes a newspaper article, "Teresa Heinz Kerry gave over $50,000 to the League of Conservation Voters, which has endorsed her husband's candidacy." The league says said she made a contribution in May of 2000 of $2,500.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: Well there's a method to all of this madness. No. 1, neutralize the other side's maneuvers by denying them before they happen. And, No. 2, make sure the other side knows that everyone losses in a war, particularly, Wolf, those whose hearts and minds are trying win.

BLITZER: All right. Could get ugly, could get dirty. Thanks very much, Bob, for that.

While presidential front runner John Kerry spends another day off the campaign trail, he's about to win the endorsement of a former rival. CNN has learned Wesley Clark will endorse John Kerry. Speaking with our Judy Woodruff on CNN's "INSIDE POLITICS" just a short while ago, Clark was playing it coy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Let me try one last time, are you going to endorse John Kerry tomorrow?

WESLEY CLARK (D), FRM. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well I'm looking forward to seeing John tomorrow, Judy. And I'm looking forward to going to Wisconsin.

WOODRUFF: Sounds like an endorsement.

CLARK: We'll have more to say about what's happening tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: With the Wisconsin primary coming up Tuesday, Kerry's remaining rivals are looking for votes in the Badger State. John Edwards took his campaign to Milwaukee and Racine.

Campaigning with his wife Judy in Oshkosh, Howard Dean said lobbyists for health care companies have been blocking attempts to extend medical coverage.

Stepping up the hunt. Why the U.S.-led coalition is pulling out all the stops to capture Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Security threat. The concerns that prompted British Airways to cancel two more upcoming flights.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These students have to be dealt with in the harshest way possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Bus beating. A young boy, brutally attacked by other students on the drive to school. This is a frightening scene which may be more common than all of us think.

And cloning breakthrough, the first ever successful cloning of a human embryo. Reigniting an ethical debate. All that coming up.

First, though, today's "News Quiz."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (voice-over): What's the oldest animal ever cloned? Pig, bull, dog, sheep. The answer coming up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The vows heard across the country, San Francisco now issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, forcing a legal and a political showdown. We'll have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: British Airways has been forced to cancel more flights. Citing security concerns, the carrier has canceled a scheduled Sunday flight from London to Washington and a scheduled Monday flight from London to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Our correspondent Mike Brooks is joining us now from the CNN center in Atlanta. He has details. Mike, what's going on?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf. British Airways has canceled flight 223 from London's Heathrow airport to Washington's Dulles airport on Sunday, February 15 and flight 263 from London's Heathrow to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Monday the 16th. The airlines said today the decision to cancel the flight was based on advice from the U.K. due to security reasons.

U.S. law enforcement sources tell CNN that the cancellation of the London to Riyadh flight is based on information from U.S. intelligence linking al Qaeda with a flight into Riyadh. Law enforcement sources also say that the same source of information which led to previous flight cancellations played a role in canceling Sunday's flight from London to Washington.

British Airways issued a statement apologizing to its customers and said, quote, "the safety and security of our operation is always our first priority." Aviation security sources tell me that they know of no plans to cancel any U.S.-based airlines' international flights either coming to or going -- coming from or going to the United States -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Mike Brooks. Thanks, Mike, for that report. We're getting word of a developing story out of the Pentagon. Once again, let's bring back our Barbara Starr, she's following this. Barbara, what exactly is happening?

STARR: Well, Wolf, sources are now confirming that a National Guards man has been taken into custody by military authorities for possible espionage. Let's tell you the few details we have at this time.

This is a National Guardsman from the 81st Brigade. He is in detention at Ft. Lewis, Washington. He apparently was caught in a sting, possibly related to his unit's deployment to Iraq. We are told that he was caught in a law enforcement sting operation, selling or at least he believed he was selling information regarding the protective equipment and capabilities of U.S. army tanks and armored Humvees, those armored vehicles that goes around in for their protection in Baghdad.

This man is taken into custody several days ago. It's worth noting that the 81st Brigade, the National Guard unit he is affiliated with is finishing its training and will go to Iraq on deployment within the next several weeks. Again, in custody for the last several days at Ft. Lewis, Washington, for possible espionage related to being captured in a sting law enforcement operation by the U.S. military for possible espionage possibly related to his deployment to Iraq -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara, have they identified his name?

STARR: We are told that name will be made public shortly by military officials at Ft. Lewis, Washington. It has not been made public yet by the Pentagon.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr with the latest. Thanks, Barbara, very much.

Center of the scandal. A drug linked to the Martha Stewart case is now approved. Saying "I do." A bold challenge to lawmakers' opposition to gay marriage. Wait until you see what one city did today.

Cloning controversy, researchers in South Korea say they've cloned a human embryo.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) The pilot do not feel comfortable taking you inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Not flying. Nuns claim discrimination after airline officials refused to let them board a plane. We'll explain. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked, what's the oldest animal ever cloned? The answer, Bull. In 1998, researchers at Texas A&M University successfully cloned a 21-year-old prize (UNINTELLIGIBLE) bull named Chance. The calf was aptly named Second Chance and was the first calf ever cloned from an adult bull.

Researchers in South Korea say they've become the first to clone a human embryo successfully and extract stem cells from it but the development is already stirring up controversy. Our medical correspondent Christy Feig is joining us now with more on that -- Christy.

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This team says they were not trying to create a living breathing human being, instead they were after the cells within that embryo, cells that might hold the key to curing diseases like Parkinson's and diabetes. Nonetheless, it's very controversial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEIG (voice-over): The researchers knew what their accomplishment would trigger.

PROF. HWANG YOON-YOUNG, HANYANG UNIVERSITY (through translator): The result of our research proves it is possible scientifically for human cloning and we are likely to revive the controversy over human cloning.

FEIG: The South Korean researchers created a cloned human embryo using the same process that made Dolly the sheep. The researchers took an egg from a woman and removed the material inside the egg and injected genetic material from another cell from the same woman into the empty egg. Using a chemical bath, the researchers made this egg divide as if it had been fertilized. After five or six days the egg turned into an early-stage human embryo called a blastocyst and stem cells formed inside. It's the stem cells these scientists were after. They removed them and transferred them to a petri dish. Since stem cells hold the potential of treating many diseases, the process is called therapeutic cloning. When the researchers removed the stem cells the embryo was killed and the research stopped. Even so, it's igniting a controversy. Many scientists want a ban on cloning humans for reproduction because they believe science isn't ready to do it reliably.

The Bush administration bans U.S. scientists from using any federal money to do this type of research. So some U.S. scientists, including one from Michigan who work with the Koreans say they are teaming up in other countries rather than be left out from this embryonic field.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEIG: Now, when researchers say that science isn't ready for cloning humans, that's because for every animal cloned successfully, there have been hundreds of failures, deaths, birth defects and they just believe in humans, that will be unacceptable -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Christy Feig, for that report. Lots of controversy on that. It's not going to go away. To our viewers, here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our web question of the day is this, "do you approve of cloning for stem cell research?" You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.

The cancer drug at the center of the Martha Stewart stock scandal is making headlines once again today. Erbitux has won government approval. For more on that, let's turn to CNN's Allan Chernoff is covering this story. Allan, this is an amazing development.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a very ironic story. Martha Stewart dumped her Imclone stock the day before the Food and Drug Administration first rejected the company's application for Erbitux more than two years ago. Today after reviewing new data the FDA approved Erbitux. It's tragic, also, because thousands of cancer patients have died waiting for the drug.

Erbitux treats the most serious type of colon cancer when it has spread to other parts of the body. And clinical trials show that Erbitux in combination with chemotherapy shrank tumors in nearly one quarter of patients. Sam Waksal, Imclone's former chief executive who is serving a seven-year jail term for insider trading before the first rejection, wrote to me last month claiming, quote, "my drug is everything I said it was and it would not be here were it not for me." Imclone says it will make that drug available to cancer patient in two weeks -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Allan Chernoff, thanks very much for that story.

San Francisco is jumping into the fray over same-sex marriage. The city is trying to force a legal and political showdown in California by issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. That comes as Massachusetts lawmakers grapple with the issue so far without much success. CNN's David Mattingly is in Boston. He's joining us now with more -- David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, after two failures last night, the proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage in Massachusetts remains in limbo at this hour. Giving you some idea of how difficult and divisive this issue remains in this state. Demonstrators again remaining very vocal today, keeping pressure on these legislators went back to work. There have been passionate speeches on both sides of this issue. Most notably from a freshman senator. An openly-gay state representative who spoke of the deeply personal consequences of the vote that is now facing them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JARRETT BARRIOS (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I am the first person to speak on this amendment who's directly affected by it. I'll admit it, my partner of ten and a half years is also affected by it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Many state legislatures, of course, on both sides of this issue taking it very personally as well. On one side, it is a matter of equal rights, on the other side, it is a matter of protecting the sanctity of an age-old institution. Everyone here very aware of how the rest of the country is watching right now. In fact, just today in San Francisco, city officials there presided over a marriage of a lesbian couple, raising the possibility of a new legal challenge seeking the legalization of gay marriage, this time in California.

So everyone here in Massachusetts, very aware that their actions may be felt elsewhere in this country as other states are looking at how they handle this to perhaps push their own constitutional amendment to hopefully, in their words, to avoid having this go to court as it did here in Massachusetts -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's David Mattingly in Boston. Thanks for that report as well.

When we come back, Iraq's most wanted. After calls for an ethnic bloodbath, he's the most sought-after man in Iraq right now and U.S. forces are pulling out all the stops to capture him.

Bus beating caught on tape. A boy gets pounced by his schoolmates as the driver reportedly stands by. Find out what his parents are saying and what the school's doing about it.

And stubborn shark. A snorkeler goes exploring and finds an unexpected creature, one that just wouldn't let go.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS from our studios in Washington.

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

Weapons hunt, controversy over prewar intelligence and weapons of mass destruction inside Iraq. We'll get to that.

First, though, a quick check of the latest headlines.

Barry Bonds' personal trainer is among four people charged today with giving illegal steroids to dozens of pro athletes. The top executives of the San Francisco area nutritional supplements lab BALCO were also charged. No athletes were charged or named in the court documents.

In suburban Phoenix, authorities say they found more than 160 illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America crammed inside a house yesterday. Some of them apparently hadn't eaten in days. Officials say they have arrested several men believed to have smuggled them into the country.

Journalists say gangs supporting Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide are blocking opposition demonstrators from taking to the streets. One reporter tells CNN, the gangs have set fire to barricades in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Last night, Mr. Aristide tried to distance himself from the armed gangs and said he wouldn't interfere with protests. Reporters say the opposition is urging the international community to intervene.

U.S.-led force in Iraq are stepping up efforts to capture Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is accused of leading a plan to tear Iraq apart with an ethnic bloodbath.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): U.S. intelligent sources say he's a Palestinian who was born in Jordan. He began visiting Iraq long before Saddam Hussein's regime was removed. It's believed he even received medical treatment there. U.S. officials say Abu Musab al- Zarqawi is still in Iraq and now has emerged as the U.S.-led coalition's most-wanted man with a new $10 million bounty on his head.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. DEPUTY CHIEF OF OPERATIONS: Abu al-Zarqawi and his organization are closely linked to the al Qaeda terror network.

BLITZER: Coalition authorities have now released the entire text of what they is a chilling letter written by Zarqawi asking al Qaeda for assistance in organizing civil strife in Iraq.

The letter, first reported Monday by "The New York Times," was being carried by a courier when it was intercepted. The letter spells out a so-called plan of action, including targeted attacks and kidnapping of Americans for prisoner exchanges. "These are the biggest cowards that God has created and the easiest target," the letter reads. "And we ask God to allow us to kill and detain them, so that we can exchange them with our arrested sheikhs and brothers."

A senior U.S. official says Zarqawi, earlier in his career, was associated with Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Osama bin Laden's longtime No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The official says Zarqawi was personally involved in supervising poison testing facilities at terror training camps run by Ansar al-Islam in northern Iraq.

More recently, the officials says Zarqawi and his associates were believed to be involved in the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad. The U.N. headquarters complex there and the Shiite mosque in Najaf. In the intercepted letter, there appears to be a reference to those attacks -- quote -- "We did not want to publicly claim these operations until we become more powerful and we're ready for the consequences."

KIMMITT: Zarqawi will be brought to justice or justice will be brought to him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: While U.S.-led troops hunt for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, they also continue the hunt for weapons of mass destruction.

There seems to be a growing consensus Iraq may not have had WMD, at least not by the time the United States invaded last year. And investigations are under way into the reliability of U.S. intelligence.

We have two experts joining us now. Ken Pollack is a CNN analyst, a senior fellow at the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution here the Washington. Ken Robinson is CNN's national security analyst.

Thanks to both of you for joining us.

I want to get to intelligence in a second. I found in this Abu Musab al-Zarqawi letter this notion of kidnapping Americans in Iraq and holding them for prisoner exchanges, sort of what the Palestinians have tried to do with Israelis, as you know, and they've been successful in getting hundreds of prisoners released for two or three Israelis. Is that the attempt, what they're going to try to do to U.S. personnel in Iraq?

KENNETH POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: Entirely possible.

And we should remember that many of these interests think back to our experience in Lebanon, where you had Hezbollah and other Lebanese groups that kidnapped Americans and turned the United States inside out. We should remember that the entire Iran-Contra fiasco began because the Reagan administration was trying very hard to get those Americans being held hostage in Lebanon freed.

And so, you can really turn the United States inside out if you can capture our personnel.

BLITZER: That's a pretty frightening thought, capturing American soldiers in Iraq and holding them as hostages, in effect, for the release of captured terrorists. KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think they're going ton in for a surprise, though, Wolf, because one of the things that we did learn from in the United States government was the errors that were made in dealing with the Western hostages in Lebanon.

And personal recovery is -- which is a term used in special operations and in the Department of Defense to go after those who have been kidnapped -- is a high priority, as was demonstrated with the rescue attempts in prisons during the war and the rescue attempts of Private Lynch. And there is an extremist force in place to deal with that if that occurs.

BLITZER: I get the sense, getting to the intelligence on WMD going into the war, stockpiles were expected, chemical and biological stockpiles. Almost a year later, they still haven't found any.

But looking back on the intelligence, there were dissenting opinions. It was more nuanced than some of the political leaders might have suggested. Is that normal? You spent a career in the CIA.

ROBINSON: Sure.

And it's always the case that, within the intelligence community, there are a whole variety of different views. And even when those views get presented to the policy-maker, they often have lots of different caveats attached to them. Oftentimes, a policy-maker has to look at the intelligence and say, well, you know what? I can't make policy based on something that is completely caveated. I've got to make a decision one way or the other.

I can't do something halfway. So I've got to decide, is it black or is it white, because that's what I've got to make the decision on. But it also does seem to be the case, at least this point in time, that the intelligence community allowed some of those caveats to fall by the wayside when they prepared the October 2002 national intelligence estimate on weapons of mass destruction.

And the Bush administration then took that and further stretched it in making its case to the American people.

BLITZER: Although that NIE, that national intelligence estimate, that was pretty specific. There was on the bottom line, Iraq has stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. There was no nuance there.

ROBINSON: Absolutely.

No, and that's exactly my point, is, I think that the analysts themselves probably would have liked to have had a bit more nuance. That got dropped out in the NIE. But then again, when you look at some of the speeches that the president made, they took a step beyond even what the NIE was saying.

BLITZER: The U.S. did have human intelligence sources, including the former son-in-law of Saddam Hussein, Kamel Hussein, who defected to Jordan, and he stupidly went back, where he was killed. But in his interrogations, among other things, he said, referring to some launchers: "These two launchers are with the Special Guards, the Iraqi Special Guards. They are hidden in the same location where computer disks with information on nuclear programs are. If you find one, you will find the other. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific location."

What does that say to you? That's pretty good intelligence, presumably.

ROBINSON: It's really tough to vet the motivations of Hussein Kamel, because we didn't get a chance to speak to him for very long. The intelligence community did not, and he's dead now.

However, past performance predicts future behavior. And one of the things that the intel community looked at was capability vs. intent. And when they started looking retrospectively at all of the places where the Iraqis had delayed, denied, obfuscated and buried weapons of mass destruction, which they then found through UNSCOM, that then gave them credence to some of his statements that he made in Jordan when he defected which caused them to lean toward the anticipation that WMD programs were either still existing or were on the verge of being ramped back up again.

BLITZER: In 1995, he also told U.S. interrogators this, Hussein Kamel.

He said: "It is the first step to return to production. All blueprints for missiles are in a safe place, those for the Al-Hussein or longer range."

When you were in the government -- and you left at the end of the Clinton administration, if my memory's right, when you were working at the National Security Council -- was there any doubt whatsoever about stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons?

POLLACK: In all honesty, I think that there were doubts about stockpiles. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the Iraqis were preserving weapons of mass destruction capability. And, clearly, what David Kay has found is, yes, they were, but it wasn't nearly as big as people expected.

The key thing about stockpiles, Wolf, is that the munitions themselves deteriorate very quickly. And they can themselves be produced very quickly. So a lot of the analysts that I was speaking to said, look, he may not have stockpiles because he doesn't need them. The stuff will degrade very quickly and he can make it so fast that all he needs is the production equipment.

BLITZER: And that was basically the assumption.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Ken Pollack, thanks very much. Ken Robinson, thanks to you as well. Let's get back now to our top story, the attack earlier today on the top U.S. commander, the military commander, in the Middle East, General Abizaid. The Associated Press reporter Robert Burns, who has basically covered the Pentagon, was in General Abizaid's convoy when it was attacked in Fallujah, Iraq. He's joining us now on the phone from Qatar.

Bob, thanks very much for joining us. Tell us what happened. You were there.

ROBERT BURNS, ASSOCIATED PRESS: I was in the last vehicle in about a 10-vehicle convoy that pulled into the compound. And we had no more got out of the vehicles than there was this loud explosion.

It wasn't like a car bomb-type explosion. It was like some sort of weapons, rocket or something. And then there were two more in rapid succession. And suddenly, it grew quickly into a major gunfight, with all kinds of machine gunfire and small-arms fire. And it was just a chaotic situation for several minutes.

BLITZER: How close was General Abizaid to physical harm?

BURNS: It's hard to say, to be honest with you.

I was just a few feet away from him. And we couldn't see exactly where the munitions were landing. It was not near him. He was not in immediate danger. But it was around the perimeter of this compound, which has a cinder block wall about eight feet high. And the gunfire, or the rocket fire, was coming from very close range, but they seemed to be pretty inaccurate.

BLITZER: Was it your sense that this attack was targeted because he was in the convoy? In other words, whoever launched this attack, did they know the U.S. Central Commander -- the commander of the Central Command, General Abizaid, was there?

BURNS: It's impossible to know at this point. The Central Command officials are trying to discourage people from thinking that.

But the circumstantial evidence would suggest that someone did know, because -- if only for the fact that he had not been there a minute when this gunfire rang out.

BLITZER: And what about you? How are you doing, Bob? How scared were you?

BURNS: Well, I would have to admit that I was scared. It was a real gunfight. And there I was with a helmet and some body armor, but not knowing really what it was going to turn into.

And we had some trouble getting out of there, to be honest with you, because, after General Abizaid left, we were inadvertently left behind, me and another member of his staff. And they were uncertain of how to get us out of there. We eventually got put into a Humvee and they raced us out of there down the street by ourselves. BLITZER: Well, thank God you're OK, Robert Burns, an old friend. We covered the Pentagon together during the first war. Good to know you're out of there. You're in Qatar right now. Robert Burns works for the Associated Press. He's now in Qatar. He covers the Pentagon.

Snubbing the sisters, a group of nuns forced off an American Airlines flight and aren't allowed back on. Hear why.

Plus this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SI'MONE SMALL, VICTIM: I have migraines, so it felt like I was about to pass out or something. And it was painful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A horrible bus beating, a 12-year-old boy repeatedly punched in the head by his schoolmates. And a camera catches it all. The fallout, that's coming up next.

We'll get to all of that. First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Israeli boycott. The government won't send a representative to the World Court for a hearing on Israel's controversial security barrier now under construction. Israel says the miles-long barrier is designed to keep terrorists out. Palestinians say it's part of an Israeli land grab.

Funerals in Gaza, one day after Israel's deadliest operation in the territory since 2002. At least 15 Palestinians were killed, including some civilians. Militants are calling for revenge.

Back where they started. Cuban authorities released a family of four to a joyous homecoming celebration. They were among 11 people intercepted last week as they tried to float to the United States in a converted 1959 Buick. The U.S. returned them to Cuba Tuesday.

Stubborn shark. This two-foot carpet shark bit into a snorkeler north of Sydney, Australia, and wouldn't let go. The 22-year-old man swam to shore, then drove to a lifeguard station where a thorough hosing down finally ended the ordeal. The man didn't need stitches, just antibiotics.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Surveillance video images of young boys pummeling a 12- year-old youngster on a school bus have triggered enormous concerns in Jacksonville, Florida. CNN's Jennifer Coggiola is covering the story for us.

This is a shocking story, Jennifer.

JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely shocking video, Wolf. And this just a morning ride to school last week that experts explain is all too uncommon for students, but still incredibly disturbing to school officials and to parents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COGGIOLA (voice-over): What had to be a terrifying ride to school for one 12-year-old boy. Students watched, laughing, cheering, as Si'mone Small was beaten by seven fellow students. Despite the horrific images, the Jacksonville, Florida, student says he was not seriously injured.

SMALL: I have migraines, so it felt like I was about to pass out or something. And it was painful.

COGGIOLA: The incident all caught on videotape, thanks to on- board cameras common in all of Landon Middle School's buses. His mother distraught by the images.

SASHEMIA SMALL, MOTHER: How could you finish your route after you just saw like a child brutally attacked like that?

COGGIOLA: According to school officials, the driver's report says the fighting stopped once they arrived at the next stop. And after asking if Small was OK, he continued on his route. With one in three children bullied every year, the impact could be devastating, according to Sanford Newman, whose organization works to end youth violence.

SANFORD NEWMAN, FIGHTCRIME.COM: We know, for instance, that being bullied makes kids five times more likely to be depressed, six times more likely to become suicidal.

COGGIOLA: The seven students involved have been suspended for now and charged with class-four violations, the harshest possible charge, according to the school district's code of conduct outside of kidnapping and murder.

NANCY SNYDER, DUVALL COUNTY SCHOOLS: I was absolutely appalled.

COGGIOLA: This school official says the boys will get the harshest punishment, expulsion, a move Newman says that doesn't help the problem.

NEWMAN: We need to get them other help, not just kick them out on the school for a free vacation from school, where the problems go on and spiral and hurt the community in other ways for years to come. We need to get them involved in constructive remedies that get them back on track and help them become responsible citizens.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COGGIOLA: The policy of First Student, which is the bus contractor used by the school, is that drivers are forbidden to lay their hands on children or intervene. They're told to evaluate the situation, secure the bus by stopping, and then call for assistance. School officials have said the driver has been suspended -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, still shocking. Jennifer Coggiola, thanks very much for that.

A group of nuns escorted from their plane and held for hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SISTER TESSY PIUS, NUN: I was just thinking, are they thinking we are some terrorists or, you know, why are we kept here?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Why American Airlines grounded the four angels of mercy.

Also ahead, one soldier's love story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: They may be angels on earth, but four nuns from Fresno, California, are no doubt thinking twice about flying again anytime soon. And the airline that ordered them off a recent flight to be searched is doing more public relations damage control.

CNN's Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An uncomfortable situation for four traveling nuns and an airline that's had a run of negative publicity.

PIUS: I was just thinking, are they thinking we are some terrorists or, you know, why are we kept here?

TODD: January 2, American Airlines Flight 631, Dallas to Fresno, Sister Tessy Pius something is amiss before the plane pulls completely out of the gate.

PIUS: Before takeoff, the crew members just kept walking up and down asking if the passengers were getting any smell. And they specifically said it was sulfur smell.

TODD: A sulfur smell that stopped the plane and got everybody pulled off. The four nuns are not allowed back on. The plane departs. The four sisters are held in Dallas for some six hours, their bags searched. Nothing is found and they're rebooked on a later flight to California. Sister Pius says the explanation they got from the airline was not clear. PIUS: Once the lady came back -- could you explain to us why we cannot go in and why are we kept here? And then she said, the crew members and the pilot do not feel comfortable taking you inside.

TODD: Of the four, one is the principal, three are teachers at Mary Immaculate Queen School near Fresno. Sister Pius feels they were singled out because of their appearance.

An American Airlines spokesman tells CNN, the four were among six passengers who were taken off the plane for additional rescreening. He would not specify why those six were held. American has since apologized to the nuns. And Sister Pius says the airline will reimburse them for the fare.

PIUS: I'm sure they didn't mean to do it, but still, for me personally, I would never fly with American Airlines.

TODD: For American, a trying month. January 14, an American Airlines pilot is arrested in Brazil, his crew detained when it appears he gives an obscene gesture over fingerprinting procedures.

Last Friday, an American pilot asks Christian passengers to identify themselves, provoking several complaints from the cabin. The airline says he's not scheduled to fly in the near future.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Our Barbara Starr is getting new information on that story she reported on earlier this hour, an espionage case, an alleged espionage case in Washington state.

We'll have details as soon as we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We've got new developments on that espionage case out in Washington state.

Barbara Starr is over at the Pentagon. She has details -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR: Well, Wolf, new information now coming in.

An Army specialist with a National Guard unit in Washington state taken into custody, pending charges of espionage, we are told, sources telling CNN there are pending criminal charges of aiding the enemy by wrongfully attempting to communicate and give intelligence to the al Qaeda terrorist network.

Now, to be clear, what we are told by several sources is, this Army National Guards man was attempting to communicate through al Qaeda Internet chat rooms. This was a long-standing investigation. By all accounts, he never contacted any al Qaeda agents through these Internet chat rooms. It was a sting operation conducted by the Army, the Justice Department, and the FBI. A press conference is expected in the next several minutes out in Washington state -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr, breaking that story for us -- thanks, Barbara, very much.

Here's how your weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day." Take a look at this. Remember, of course, this is not a scientific poll.

Valentine's Day is Saturday. When love is in the air, there's no telling to what lengths or heights a man might go.

CNN's Maria Hinojosa has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Army Captain Michael Englis has been stationed in Iraq since April. Yes, he's a big tough soldier, but it's his big heart that makes him do the donkey dance with Iraqi children. It's that same big heart that made him want to surprise his wife all the way back in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with a huge Valentine's Day billboard.

(on camera): You had no clue about this whatsoever?

EVELYN ENGLIS, WIFE: No clue. I am -- I'm surprised. I'm very surprised. I'm surprised.

HINOJOSA: Captain Englis e-mailed the billboard company from Iraq and said he wanted to buy one for his wife.

JOHN BARRETT, BARRETT OUTDOOR COMMUNICATIONS: There was really just no way I could say no to, you know, here's someone who is fighting overseas, away from home. I had to do something.

HINOJOSA: The company donated the billboard. Captain Englis has ordered lunch for his wife all the way from Iraq and published love poems for her in the local paper. But this love, it goes both ways.

ENGLIS: When he's down, one time, I sent him our wedding vows, so he can remember, you know, what we promised each other and, you know, to hold our hands, to keep on going. And then, one time, I was going through my difficult time, so he copied them back for me, so we could -- so we can remind each other. So, very difficult, love is.

(LAUGHTER)

HINOJOSA: But this young couple makes loving look so easy, even in times of war.

Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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

concerns grounds two planes. Cloning controversy. Schoolbus beating. National Guardsman in custody on espionage charges.>

Aired February 12, 2004 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): General under fire. A top U.S. commander attacked in Iraq.

Flights canceled. New security concerns grounding two planes including one to the U.S.

Cloning controversy. Researchers claim a new landmark.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the first-ever demonstration, a human embryo has been successfully cloned.

BLITZER: Schoolbus beating caught on tape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It felt like I was about to pass out or something.

BLITZER: Why didn't anyone do anything to help?

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, February 12, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: American's top commander in the Middle East found himself under enemy attack in Fallujah, Iraq, earlier today. Three Rocket-Propelled Grenades were fired at a convoy carrying General John Abizaid. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is standing by with details. Barbara, what happened?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, at the end, everything turned out OK. But a very close call for General Abizaid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): U.S. forces immediately returned fire when General John Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, came under attack at a compound in Fallujah.

No one is sure if the assailant knew that General Abizaid was there, but clearly, they were waiting for somebody.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: Today at 1330 in Fallujah, General Abizaid and General Swannack were visiting the local Iraqi Civil Defense Corp battalion headquarters compound when three Rocket- Propelled Grenades were fired at their convoy from rooftops in the vicinity.

STARR: No injuries in this latest episode, but it comes after two days of devastating attacks against Iraqis. Some 100 have been killed this week.

U.S. officials increasingly believe this man, Abu Musab Zarqawi, a suspected leader of terrorists in Iraq, is behind some of the most deadly attacks. There is now a $10 million reward on his head.

Zarqawi appears to be the link between al Qaeda and violence in Iraq. The U.S. desperately wants to stop him from inciting civil war.

DAN SENOR, COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY: It is important for Iraqis to have a crystal clear understanding of this game plan, so that when they are attacked, they are aware that it's not their fellow Iraqis attacking them. It is a foreign terrorists with ties to al Qaeda that is trying to turn this country upside-down and promote blood shed and tragedy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Now, Wolf, the effort to hunt down, capture or kill him now every bit as intense as the hunt once was for Saddam Hussein -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And more later this hour, Barbara, we'll have more information, newly-released information on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thanks very much.

Meanwhile, U.N. envoys in Iraq met with a influential Shi'ite cleric today, but there's still no agreement on how to farm a new Iraqi government. The Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has been demanding early direct elections. U.N. envoys agree they are desirable. But they say Iraq isn't ready for elections yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAKHDAR BRAHIMI, U.N. ENVOY: I think we are pointing out to them that perhaps evaluation of the time that is needed and the conditions that need to be fulfilled are not accurate. And they (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The United States wants to put off elections and instead use a caucus system to select a temporary legislature that would take power June 30.

Here in Washington, White House officials have produced documentation dating back 30 years to try to put questions about President Bush's military background to rest once and for all. They say the answer lies in a dental appointment. Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is joining us now live with more -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, President Bush was in Pennsylvania earlier today, focusing on the domestic agenda, talking about the economy. But as you mentioned, of course, the focus here in Washington is about the controversy, over whether or not he completed his military service.

Now, it was just last night that the White House released dental records dated January 6, 1973 from the Alabama base he was assigned to perform temporary duty. The White House says this proves he was on the base, that he was carrying out those duties.

Now, Democrats don't believe this means much of anything. An official from the Democratic National Committee who I spoke with said here that there are discrepancies from the documents, that they don't explain why his superior officials didn't see him in Alabama. One of them saying, and I'm quoting here, "that none of his commanding officers said he hadn't received dental care, but that he hadn't been seen to report for duty."

Now today White House spokesman Scott McClellan was also asked about the records, the military records of President Bush that were seen at "USA Today." Part of those blackened out portions on arrests and convictions.

McClellan answered the questions and said -- he filled in those blanks saying that there was an incident involving a college prank where he stole a wreath, that there were two traffic violations and two car crashes. This has all been widely reported before.

The White House trying to show they are being as open as possible. But, Wolf, this controversy is not going to go away any time soon.

BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux, thanks very much.

Indeed, as for those allegations, at least one top Republican says they're just evidence John Kerry and the Democrats are ready to run in their words, "a dirty campaign."

RNC national chairman Ed Gillespie is expected to give a scathing speech on that tonight in Reno, Nevada. Our national correspondent Bob Franken is here, he's following that story. Bob, what's going on?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well it's not literally life or death, but it's no accident that a political campaign is described as a war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): Both sides can expect to take a lot of fire. And it goes without saying that it's far better to be the shooter than the target. Which may explain the recent speeches from Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, the latest tonight in Nevada.

As Democrats lob their own artillery...

TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIRMAN: And I would call it AWOL, you call it whatever you want. But the issue is, the president did not show for the year he in Alabama when he was supposed to show up for the National Guard.

FRANKEN: Gillespie is shooting back, as he has for months. Charging that opponents have made clear they intend to run the dirtiest campaign in modern presidential politics.

Gillespie will go on to charge he expects Democrats to use the Internet to spread a scurrilous story that President Bush drove a former girlfriend to an abortion clinic and paid for her abortion. He's quoting a rock musician Kerry supporter in a "New York Daily News" article.

The Democrat's press secretary had a response: "Ed's hyperventilating."

Gillespie isn't through. He quotes a newspaper article, "Teresa Heinz Kerry gave over $50,000 to the League of Conservation Voters, which has endorsed her husband's candidacy." The league says said she made a contribution in May of 2000 of $2,500.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: Well there's a method to all of this madness. No. 1, neutralize the other side's maneuvers by denying them before they happen. And, No. 2, make sure the other side knows that everyone losses in a war, particularly, Wolf, those whose hearts and minds are trying win.

BLITZER: All right. Could get ugly, could get dirty. Thanks very much, Bob, for that.

While presidential front runner John Kerry spends another day off the campaign trail, he's about to win the endorsement of a former rival. CNN has learned Wesley Clark will endorse John Kerry. Speaking with our Judy Woodruff on CNN's "INSIDE POLITICS" just a short while ago, Clark was playing it coy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Let me try one last time, are you going to endorse John Kerry tomorrow?

WESLEY CLARK (D), FRM. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well I'm looking forward to seeing John tomorrow, Judy. And I'm looking forward to going to Wisconsin.

WOODRUFF: Sounds like an endorsement.

CLARK: We'll have more to say about what's happening tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: With the Wisconsin primary coming up Tuesday, Kerry's remaining rivals are looking for votes in the Badger State. John Edwards took his campaign to Milwaukee and Racine.

Campaigning with his wife Judy in Oshkosh, Howard Dean said lobbyists for health care companies have been blocking attempts to extend medical coverage.

Stepping up the hunt. Why the U.S.-led coalition is pulling out all the stops to capture Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Security threat. The concerns that prompted British Airways to cancel two more upcoming flights.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These students have to be dealt with in the harshest way possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Bus beating. A young boy, brutally attacked by other students on the drive to school. This is a frightening scene which may be more common than all of us think.

And cloning breakthrough, the first ever successful cloning of a human embryo. Reigniting an ethical debate. All that coming up.

First, though, today's "News Quiz."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (voice-over): What's the oldest animal ever cloned? Pig, bull, dog, sheep. The answer coming up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The vows heard across the country, San Francisco now issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, forcing a legal and a political showdown. We'll have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: British Airways has been forced to cancel more flights. Citing security concerns, the carrier has canceled a scheduled Sunday flight from London to Washington and a scheduled Monday flight from London to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Our correspondent Mike Brooks is joining us now from the CNN center in Atlanta. He has details. Mike, what's going on?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf. British Airways has canceled flight 223 from London's Heathrow airport to Washington's Dulles airport on Sunday, February 15 and flight 263 from London's Heathrow to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Monday the 16th. The airlines said today the decision to cancel the flight was based on advice from the U.K. due to security reasons.

U.S. law enforcement sources tell CNN that the cancellation of the London to Riyadh flight is based on information from U.S. intelligence linking al Qaeda with a flight into Riyadh. Law enforcement sources also say that the same source of information which led to previous flight cancellations played a role in canceling Sunday's flight from London to Washington.

British Airways issued a statement apologizing to its customers and said, quote, "the safety and security of our operation is always our first priority." Aviation security sources tell me that they know of no plans to cancel any U.S.-based airlines' international flights either coming to or going -- coming from or going to the United States -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Mike Brooks. Thanks, Mike, for that report. We're getting word of a developing story out of the Pentagon. Once again, let's bring back our Barbara Starr, she's following this. Barbara, what exactly is happening?

STARR: Well, Wolf, sources are now confirming that a National Guards man has been taken into custody by military authorities for possible espionage. Let's tell you the few details we have at this time.

This is a National Guardsman from the 81st Brigade. He is in detention at Ft. Lewis, Washington. He apparently was caught in a sting, possibly related to his unit's deployment to Iraq. We are told that he was caught in a law enforcement sting operation, selling or at least he believed he was selling information regarding the protective equipment and capabilities of U.S. army tanks and armored Humvees, those armored vehicles that goes around in for their protection in Baghdad.

This man is taken into custody several days ago. It's worth noting that the 81st Brigade, the National Guard unit he is affiliated with is finishing its training and will go to Iraq on deployment within the next several weeks. Again, in custody for the last several days at Ft. Lewis, Washington, for possible espionage related to being captured in a sting law enforcement operation by the U.S. military for possible espionage possibly related to his deployment to Iraq -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara, have they identified his name?

STARR: We are told that name will be made public shortly by military officials at Ft. Lewis, Washington. It has not been made public yet by the Pentagon.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr with the latest. Thanks, Barbara, very much.

Center of the scandal. A drug linked to the Martha Stewart case is now approved. Saying "I do." A bold challenge to lawmakers' opposition to gay marriage. Wait until you see what one city did today.

Cloning controversy, researchers in South Korea say they've cloned a human embryo.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) The pilot do not feel comfortable taking you inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Not flying. Nuns claim discrimination after airline officials refused to let them board a plane. We'll explain. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked, what's the oldest animal ever cloned? The answer, Bull. In 1998, researchers at Texas A&M University successfully cloned a 21-year-old prize (UNINTELLIGIBLE) bull named Chance. The calf was aptly named Second Chance and was the first calf ever cloned from an adult bull.

Researchers in South Korea say they've become the first to clone a human embryo successfully and extract stem cells from it but the development is already stirring up controversy. Our medical correspondent Christy Feig is joining us now with more on that -- Christy.

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This team says they were not trying to create a living breathing human being, instead they were after the cells within that embryo, cells that might hold the key to curing diseases like Parkinson's and diabetes. Nonetheless, it's very controversial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEIG (voice-over): The researchers knew what their accomplishment would trigger.

PROF. HWANG YOON-YOUNG, HANYANG UNIVERSITY (through translator): The result of our research proves it is possible scientifically for human cloning and we are likely to revive the controversy over human cloning.

FEIG: The South Korean researchers created a cloned human embryo using the same process that made Dolly the sheep. The researchers took an egg from a woman and removed the material inside the egg and injected genetic material from another cell from the same woman into the empty egg. Using a chemical bath, the researchers made this egg divide as if it had been fertilized. After five or six days the egg turned into an early-stage human embryo called a blastocyst and stem cells formed inside. It's the stem cells these scientists were after. They removed them and transferred them to a petri dish. Since stem cells hold the potential of treating many diseases, the process is called therapeutic cloning. When the researchers removed the stem cells the embryo was killed and the research stopped. Even so, it's igniting a controversy. Many scientists want a ban on cloning humans for reproduction because they believe science isn't ready to do it reliably.

The Bush administration bans U.S. scientists from using any federal money to do this type of research. So some U.S. scientists, including one from Michigan who work with the Koreans say they are teaming up in other countries rather than be left out from this embryonic field.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEIG: Now, when researchers say that science isn't ready for cloning humans, that's because for every animal cloned successfully, there have been hundreds of failures, deaths, birth defects and they just believe in humans, that will be unacceptable -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Christy Feig, for that report. Lots of controversy on that. It's not going to go away. To our viewers, here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our web question of the day is this, "do you approve of cloning for stem cell research?" You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.

The cancer drug at the center of the Martha Stewart stock scandal is making headlines once again today. Erbitux has won government approval. For more on that, let's turn to CNN's Allan Chernoff is covering this story. Allan, this is an amazing development.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a very ironic story. Martha Stewart dumped her Imclone stock the day before the Food and Drug Administration first rejected the company's application for Erbitux more than two years ago. Today after reviewing new data the FDA approved Erbitux. It's tragic, also, because thousands of cancer patients have died waiting for the drug.

Erbitux treats the most serious type of colon cancer when it has spread to other parts of the body. And clinical trials show that Erbitux in combination with chemotherapy shrank tumors in nearly one quarter of patients. Sam Waksal, Imclone's former chief executive who is serving a seven-year jail term for insider trading before the first rejection, wrote to me last month claiming, quote, "my drug is everything I said it was and it would not be here were it not for me." Imclone says it will make that drug available to cancer patient in two weeks -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Allan Chernoff, thanks very much for that story.

San Francisco is jumping into the fray over same-sex marriage. The city is trying to force a legal and political showdown in California by issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. That comes as Massachusetts lawmakers grapple with the issue so far without much success. CNN's David Mattingly is in Boston. He's joining us now with more -- David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, after two failures last night, the proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage in Massachusetts remains in limbo at this hour. Giving you some idea of how difficult and divisive this issue remains in this state. Demonstrators again remaining very vocal today, keeping pressure on these legislators went back to work. There have been passionate speeches on both sides of this issue. Most notably from a freshman senator. An openly-gay state representative who spoke of the deeply personal consequences of the vote that is now facing them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JARRETT BARRIOS (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I am the first person to speak on this amendment who's directly affected by it. I'll admit it, my partner of ten and a half years is also affected by it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Many state legislatures, of course, on both sides of this issue taking it very personally as well. On one side, it is a matter of equal rights, on the other side, it is a matter of protecting the sanctity of an age-old institution. Everyone here very aware of how the rest of the country is watching right now. In fact, just today in San Francisco, city officials there presided over a marriage of a lesbian couple, raising the possibility of a new legal challenge seeking the legalization of gay marriage, this time in California.

So everyone here in Massachusetts, very aware that their actions may be felt elsewhere in this country as other states are looking at how they handle this to perhaps push their own constitutional amendment to hopefully, in their words, to avoid having this go to court as it did here in Massachusetts -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's David Mattingly in Boston. Thanks for that report as well.

When we come back, Iraq's most wanted. After calls for an ethnic bloodbath, he's the most sought-after man in Iraq right now and U.S. forces are pulling out all the stops to capture him.

Bus beating caught on tape. A boy gets pounced by his schoolmates as the driver reportedly stands by. Find out what his parents are saying and what the school's doing about it.

And stubborn shark. A snorkeler goes exploring and finds an unexpected creature, one that just wouldn't let go.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS from our studios in Washington.

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

Weapons hunt, controversy over prewar intelligence and weapons of mass destruction inside Iraq. We'll get to that.

First, though, a quick check of the latest headlines.

Barry Bonds' personal trainer is among four people charged today with giving illegal steroids to dozens of pro athletes. The top executives of the San Francisco area nutritional supplements lab BALCO were also charged. No athletes were charged or named in the court documents.

In suburban Phoenix, authorities say they found more than 160 illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America crammed inside a house yesterday. Some of them apparently hadn't eaten in days. Officials say they have arrested several men believed to have smuggled them into the country.

Journalists say gangs supporting Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide are blocking opposition demonstrators from taking to the streets. One reporter tells CNN, the gangs have set fire to barricades in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Last night, Mr. Aristide tried to distance himself from the armed gangs and said he wouldn't interfere with protests. Reporters say the opposition is urging the international community to intervene.

U.S.-led force in Iraq are stepping up efforts to capture Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is accused of leading a plan to tear Iraq apart with an ethnic bloodbath.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): U.S. intelligent sources say he's a Palestinian who was born in Jordan. He began visiting Iraq long before Saddam Hussein's regime was removed. It's believed he even received medical treatment there. U.S. officials say Abu Musab al- Zarqawi is still in Iraq and now has emerged as the U.S.-led coalition's most-wanted man with a new $10 million bounty on his head.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. DEPUTY CHIEF OF OPERATIONS: Abu al-Zarqawi and his organization are closely linked to the al Qaeda terror network.

BLITZER: Coalition authorities have now released the entire text of what they is a chilling letter written by Zarqawi asking al Qaeda for assistance in organizing civil strife in Iraq.

The letter, first reported Monday by "The New York Times," was being carried by a courier when it was intercepted. The letter spells out a so-called plan of action, including targeted attacks and kidnapping of Americans for prisoner exchanges. "These are the biggest cowards that God has created and the easiest target," the letter reads. "And we ask God to allow us to kill and detain them, so that we can exchange them with our arrested sheikhs and brothers."

A senior U.S. official says Zarqawi, earlier in his career, was associated with Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Osama bin Laden's longtime No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The official says Zarqawi was personally involved in supervising poison testing facilities at terror training camps run by Ansar al-Islam in northern Iraq.

More recently, the officials says Zarqawi and his associates were believed to be involved in the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad. The U.N. headquarters complex there and the Shiite mosque in Najaf. In the intercepted letter, there appears to be a reference to those attacks -- quote -- "We did not want to publicly claim these operations until we become more powerful and we're ready for the consequences."

KIMMITT: Zarqawi will be brought to justice or justice will be brought to him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: While U.S.-led troops hunt for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, they also continue the hunt for weapons of mass destruction.

There seems to be a growing consensus Iraq may not have had WMD, at least not by the time the United States invaded last year. And investigations are under way into the reliability of U.S. intelligence.

We have two experts joining us now. Ken Pollack is a CNN analyst, a senior fellow at the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution here the Washington. Ken Robinson is CNN's national security analyst.

Thanks to both of you for joining us.

I want to get to intelligence in a second. I found in this Abu Musab al-Zarqawi letter this notion of kidnapping Americans in Iraq and holding them for prisoner exchanges, sort of what the Palestinians have tried to do with Israelis, as you know, and they've been successful in getting hundreds of prisoners released for two or three Israelis. Is that the attempt, what they're going to try to do to U.S. personnel in Iraq?

KENNETH POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: Entirely possible.

And we should remember that many of these interests think back to our experience in Lebanon, where you had Hezbollah and other Lebanese groups that kidnapped Americans and turned the United States inside out. We should remember that the entire Iran-Contra fiasco began because the Reagan administration was trying very hard to get those Americans being held hostage in Lebanon freed.

And so, you can really turn the United States inside out if you can capture our personnel.

BLITZER: That's a pretty frightening thought, capturing American soldiers in Iraq and holding them as hostages, in effect, for the release of captured terrorists. KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think they're going ton in for a surprise, though, Wolf, because one of the things that we did learn from in the United States government was the errors that were made in dealing with the Western hostages in Lebanon.

And personal recovery is -- which is a term used in special operations and in the Department of Defense to go after those who have been kidnapped -- is a high priority, as was demonstrated with the rescue attempts in prisons during the war and the rescue attempts of Private Lynch. And there is an extremist force in place to deal with that if that occurs.

BLITZER: I get the sense, getting to the intelligence on WMD going into the war, stockpiles were expected, chemical and biological stockpiles. Almost a year later, they still haven't found any.

But looking back on the intelligence, there were dissenting opinions. It was more nuanced than some of the political leaders might have suggested. Is that normal? You spent a career in the CIA.

ROBINSON: Sure.

And it's always the case that, within the intelligence community, there are a whole variety of different views. And even when those views get presented to the policy-maker, they often have lots of different caveats attached to them. Oftentimes, a policy-maker has to look at the intelligence and say, well, you know what? I can't make policy based on something that is completely caveated. I've got to make a decision one way or the other.

I can't do something halfway. So I've got to decide, is it black or is it white, because that's what I've got to make the decision on. But it also does seem to be the case, at least this point in time, that the intelligence community allowed some of those caveats to fall by the wayside when they prepared the October 2002 national intelligence estimate on weapons of mass destruction.

And the Bush administration then took that and further stretched it in making its case to the American people.

BLITZER: Although that NIE, that national intelligence estimate, that was pretty specific. There was on the bottom line, Iraq has stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. There was no nuance there.

ROBINSON: Absolutely.

No, and that's exactly my point, is, I think that the analysts themselves probably would have liked to have had a bit more nuance. That got dropped out in the NIE. But then again, when you look at some of the speeches that the president made, they took a step beyond even what the NIE was saying.

BLITZER: The U.S. did have human intelligence sources, including the former son-in-law of Saddam Hussein, Kamel Hussein, who defected to Jordan, and he stupidly went back, where he was killed. But in his interrogations, among other things, he said, referring to some launchers: "These two launchers are with the Special Guards, the Iraqi Special Guards. They are hidden in the same location where computer disks with information on nuclear programs are. If you find one, you will find the other. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific location."

What does that say to you? That's pretty good intelligence, presumably.

ROBINSON: It's really tough to vet the motivations of Hussein Kamel, because we didn't get a chance to speak to him for very long. The intelligence community did not, and he's dead now.

However, past performance predicts future behavior. And one of the things that the intel community looked at was capability vs. intent. And when they started looking retrospectively at all of the places where the Iraqis had delayed, denied, obfuscated and buried weapons of mass destruction, which they then found through UNSCOM, that then gave them credence to some of his statements that he made in Jordan when he defected which caused them to lean toward the anticipation that WMD programs were either still existing or were on the verge of being ramped back up again.

BLITZER: In 1995, he also told U.S. interrogators this, Hussein Kamel.

He said: "It is the first step to return to production. All blueprints for missiles are in a safe place, those for the Al-Hussein or longer range."

When you were in the government -- and you left at the end of the Clinton administration, if my memory's right, when you were working at the National Security Council -- was there any doubt whatsoever about stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons?

POLLACK: In all honesty, I think that there were doubts about stockpiles. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the Iraqis were preserving weapons of mass destruction capability. And, clearly, what David Kay has found is, yes, they were, but it wasn't nearly as big as people expected.

The key thing about stockpiles, Wolf, is that the munitions themselves deteriorate very quickly. And they can themselves be produced very quickly. So a lot of the analysts that I was speaking to said, look, he may not have stockpiles because he doesn't need them. The stuff will degrade very quickly and he can make it so fast that all he needs is the production equipment.

BLITZER: And that was basically the assumption.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Ken Pollack, thanks very much. Ken Robinson, thanks to you as well. Let's get back now to our top story, the attack earlier today on the top U.S. commander, the military commander, in the Middle East, General Abizaid. The Associated Press reporter Robert Burns, who has basically covered the Pentagon, was in General Abizaid's convoy when it was attacked in Fallujah, Iraq. He's joining us now on the phone from Qatar.

Bob, thanks very much for joining us. Tell us what happened. You were there.

ROBERT BURNS, ASSOCIATED PRESS: I was in the last vehicle in about a 10-vehicle convoy that pulled into the compound. And we had no more got out of the vehicles than there was this loud explosion.

It wasn't like a car bomb-type explosion. It was like some sort of weapons, rocket or something. And then there were two more in rapid succession. And suddenly, it grew quickly into a major gunfight, with all kinds of machine gunfire and small-arms fire. And it was just a chaotic situation for several minutes.

BLITZER: How close was General Abizaid to physical harm?

BURNS: It's hard to say, to be honest with you.

I was just a few feet away from him. And we couldn't see exactly where the munitions were landing. It was not near him. He was not in immediate danger. But it was around the perimeter of this compound, which has a cinder block wall about eight feet high. And the gunfire, or the rocket fire, was coming from very close range, but they seemed to be pretty inaccurate.

BLITZER: Was it your sense that this attack was targeted because he was in the convoy? In other words, whoever launched this attack, did they know the U.S. Central Commander -- the commander of the Central Command, General Abizaid, was there?

BURNS: It's impossible to know at this point. The Central Command officials are trying to discourage people from thinking that.

But the circumstantial evidence would suggest that someone did know, because -- if only for the fact that he had not been there a minute when this gunfire rang out.

BLITZER: And what about you? How are you doing, Bob? How scared were you?

BURNS: Well, I would have to admit that I was scared. It was a real gunfight. And there I was with a helmet and some body armor, but not knowing really what it was going to turn into.

And we had some trouble getting out of there, to be honest with you, because, after General Abizaid left, we were inadvertently left behind, me and another member of his staff. And they were uncertain of how to get us out of there. We eventually got put into a Humvee and they raced us out of there down the street by ourselves. BLITZER: Well, thank God you're OK, Robert Burns, an old friend. We covered the Pentagon together during the first war. Good to know you're out of there. You're in Qatar right now. Robert Burns works for the Associated Press. He's now in Qatar. He covers the Pentagon.

Snubbing the sisters, a group of nuns forced off an American Airlines flight and aren't allowed back on. Hear why.

Plus this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SI'MONE SMALL, VICTIM: I have migraines, so it felt like I was about to pass out or something. And it was painful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A horrible bus beating, a 12-year-old boy repeatedly punched in the head by his schoolmates. And a camera catches it all. The fallout, that's coming up next.

We'll get to all of that. First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Israeli boycott. The government won't send a representative to the World Court for a hearing on Israel's controversial security barrier now under construction. Israel says the miles-long barrier is designed to keep terrorists out. Palestinians say it's part of an Israeli land grab.

Funerals in Gaza, one day after Israel's deadliest operation in the territory since 2002. At least 15 Palestinians were killed, including some civilians. Militants are calling for revenge.

Back where they started. Cuban authorities released a family of four to a joyous homecoming celebration. They were among 11 people intercepted last week as they tried to float to the United States in a converted 1959 Buick. The U.S. returned them to Cuba Tuesday.

Stubborn shark. This two-foot carpet shark bit into a snorkeler north of Sydney, Australia, and wouldn't let go. The 22-year-old man swam to shore, then drove to a lifeguard station where a thorough hosing down finally ended the ordeal. The man didn't need stitches, just antibiotics.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Surveillance video images of young boys pummeling a 12- year-old youngster on a school bus have triggered enormous concerns in Jacksonville, Florida. CNN's Jennifer Coggiola is covering the story for us.

This is a shocking story, Jennifer.

JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely shocking video, Wolf. And this just a morning ride to school last week that experts explain is all too uncommon for students, but still incredibly disturbing to school officials and to parents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COGGIOLA (voice-over): What had to be a terrifying ride to school for one 12-year-old boy. Students watched, laughing, cheering, as Si'mone Small was beaten by seven fellow students. Despite the horrific images, the Jacksonville, Florida, student says he was not seriously injured.

SMALL: I have migraines, so it felt like I was about to pass out or something. And it was painful.

COGGIOLA: The incident all caught on videotape, thanks to on- board cameras common in all of Landon Middle School's buses. His mother distraught by the images.

SASHEMIA SMALL, MOTHER: How could you finish your route after you just saw like a child brutally attacked like that?

COGGIOLA: According to school officials, the driver's report says the fighting stopped once they arrived at the next stop. And after asking if Small was OK, he continued on his route. With one in three children bullied every year, the impact could be devastating, according to Sanford Newman, whose organization works to end youth violence.

SANFORD NEWMAN, FIGHTCRIME.COM: We know, for instance, that being bullied makes kids five times more likely to be depressed, six times more likely to become suicidal.

COGGIOLA: The seven students involved have been suspended for now and charged with class-four violations, the harshest possible charge, according to the school district's code of conduct outside of kidnapping and murder.

NANCY SNYDER, DUVALL COUNTY SCHOOLS: I was absolutely appalled.

COGGIOLA: This school official says the boys will get the harshest punishment, expulsion, a move Newman says that doesn't help the problem.

NEWMAN: We need to get them other help, not just kick them out on the school for a free vacation from school, where the problems go on and spiral and hurt the community in other ways for years to come. We need to get them involved in constructive remedies that get them back on track and help them become responsible citizens.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COGGIOLA: The policy of First Student, which is the bus contractor used by the school, is that drivers are forbidden to lay their hands on children or intervene. They're told to evaluate the situation, secure the bus by stopping, and then call for assistance. School officials have said the driver has been suspended -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, still shocking. Jennifer Coggiola, thanks very much for that.

A group of nuns escorted from their plane and held for hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SISTER TESSY PIUS, NUN: I was just thinking, are they thinking we are some terrorists or, you know, why are we kept here?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Why American Airlines grounded the four angels of mercy.

Also ahead, one soldier's love story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: They may be angels on earth, but four nuns from Fresno, California, are no doubt thinking twice about flying again anytime soon. And the airline that ordered them off a recent flight to be searched is doing more public relations damage control.

CNN's Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An uncomfortable situation for four traveling nuns and an airline that's had a run of negative publicity.

PIUS: I was just thinking, are they thinking we are some terrorists or, you know, why are we kept here?

TODD: January 2, American Airlines Flight 631, Dallas to Fresno, Sister Tessy Pius something is amiss before the plane pulls completely out of the gate.

PIUS: Before takeoff, the crew members just kept walking up and down asking if the passengers were getting any smell. And they specifically said it was sulfur smell.

TODD: A sulfur smell that stopped the plane and got everybody pulled off. The four nuns are not allowed back on. The plane departs. The four sisters are held in Dallas for some six hours, their bags searched. Nothing is found and they're rebooked on a later flight to California. Sister Pius says the explanation they got from the airline was not clear. PIUS: Once the lady came back -- could you explain to us why we cannot go in and why are we kept here? And then she said, the crew members and the pilot do not feel comfortable taking you inside.

TODD: Of the four, one is the principal, three are teachers at Mary Immaculate Queen School near Fresno. Sister Pius feels they were singled out because of their appearance.

An American Airlines spokesman tells CNN, the four were among six passengers who were taken off the plane for additional rescreening. He would not specify why those six were held. American has since apologized to the nuns. And Sister Pius says the airline will reimburse them for the fare.

PIUS: I'm sure they didn't mean to do it, but still, for me personally, I would never fly with American Airlines.

TODD: For American, a trying month. January 14, an American Airlines pilot is arrested in Brazil, his crew detained when it appears he gives an obscene gesture over fingerprinting procedures.

Last Friday, an American pilot asks Christian passengers to identify themselves, provoking several complaints from the cabin. The airline says he's not scheduled to fly in the near future.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Our Barbara Starr is getting new information on that story she reported on earlier this hour, an espionage case, an alleged espionage case in Washington state.

We'll have details as soon as we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We've got new developments on that espionage case out in Washington state.

Barbara Starr is over at the Pentagon. She has details -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR: Well, Wolf, new information now coming in.

An Army specialist with a National Guard unit in Washington state taken into custody, pending charges of espionage, we are told, sources telling CNN there are pending criminal charges of aiding the enemy by wrongfully attempting to communicate and give intelligence to the al Qaeda terrorist network.

Now, to be clear, what we are told by several sources is, this Army National Guards man was attempting to communicate through al Qaeda Internet chat rooms. This was a long-standing investigation. By all accounts, he never contacted any al Qaeda agents through these Internet chat rooms. It was a sting operation conducted by the Army, the Justice Department, and the FBI. A press conference is expected in the next several minutes out in Washington state -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr, breaking that story for us -- thanks, Barbara, very much.

Here's how your weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day." Take a look at this. Remember, of course, this is not a scientific poll.

Valentine's Day is Saturday. When love is in the air, there's no telling to what lengths or heights a man might go.

CNN's Maria Hinojosa has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Army Captain Michael Englis has been stationed in Iraq since April. Yes, he's a big tough soldier, but it's his big heart that makes him do the donkey dance with Iraqi children. It's that same big heart that made him want to surprise his wife all the way back in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with a huge Valentine's Day billboard.

(on camera): You had no clue about this whatsoever?

EVELYN ENGLIS, WIFE: No clue. I am -- I'm surprised. I'm very surprised. I'm surprised.

HINOJOSA: Captain Englis e-mailed the billboard company from Iraq and said he wanted to buy one for his wife.

JOHN BARRETT, BARRETT OUTDOOR COMMUNICATIONS: There was really just no way I could say no to, you know, here's someone who is fighting overseas, away from home. I had to do something.

HINOJOSA: The company donated the billboard. Captain Englis has ordered lunch for his wife all the way from Iraq and published love poems for her in the local paper. But this love, it goes both ways.

ENGLIS: When he's down, one time, I sent him our wedding vows, so he can remember, you know, what we promised each other and, you know, to hold our hands, to keep on going. And then, one time, I was going through my difficult time, so he copied them back for me, so we could -- so we can remind each other. So, very difficult, love is.

(LAUGHTER)

HINOJOSA: But this young couple makes loving look so easy, even in times of war.

Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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concerns grounds two planes. Cloning controversy. Schoolbus beating. National Guardsman in custody on espionage charges.>