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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
9/11 Hearings; Arab Anger Spills Over Into Iraq; Stuck at Sea
Aired March 23, 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, HOST: Going public.
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FMR. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're always on the lookout for some terrible thing.
COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We knew that al Qaeda was ultimately the source of this kind of terror.
BLITZER: So why did 9/11 take America by surprise? Two administrations on one disastrous day.
Facing their fury. Arab anger over an assassination spills over into Iraq.
Stuck at sea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we don't get this (UNINTELLIGIBLE) off, it will be a slow agonizing death.
BLITZER: Scientists race to save an endangered whale in an entangled trap.
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, March 23, 2004
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Fierce and spirited defense of both the Bush and Clinton administrations mark the first day of testimony before the 9/11 Commission on Capitol Hill. Much of the focus was on whether enough was done to stop Osama bin Laden before the September 11 attacks were carried out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): The 9/11 Commission has released details of a previously unknown opportunity in 1999 to kill Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
PHILIP ZELIKOW, 9/11 COMMISSION: The lead CIA official in the field felt the intelligence reporting in this case was very reliable. The UBL unit chief at the time agrees. The field official believes today that this was a lost opportunity to kill bin Laden before 9/11. BLITZER: But CIA officials told the commission that overly cautious Clinton administration officials feared so-called collateral damage. Namely, that a strike against bin Laden could also kill a prince from the United Arab Emirates and others who were hunting with bin Laden at the time.
ZELIKOW: No strike was launched.
BLITZER: Zelikow says there were other missed opportunities as well during the Clinton administration resulting in this exchange between former Democratic senator Bob Kerrey, a 9/11 commission member and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright.
BOB KERREY, 9/11 COMMISSION: I keep hearing excuse, we didn't have actionable intelligence, what the hell does that say to al Qaeda!
ALBRIGHT: We used every single tool we had in terms of trying to figure out what the right targets would be and how to go about dealing with what we knew to be a major threat.
DIRECTOR: Outside the hearing the Bush administration has also come under sharp criticism for failing to appreciate the al Qaeda threat before 9/11, including explosive allegations from former Bush counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke, who testifies before the panel tomorrow.
RICHARD CLARKE, FMR. WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: The administration had done nothing about al Qaeda prior to 9/11. Despite the fact that the CIA director was telling them virtually every day that there was a major threat.
BLITZER: For the first time since Clarke has come forward with his charges, President Bush has now responded.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: George Tenet briefed me on a regular basis about the terrorist threats to the United States of America. And had my administration had any information that terrorists were going to attack a New York City on September 11 we would have acted.
BLITZER: The White House also came under fire during the hearing for refusing to allow National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to testify before the commission in public and under oath.
TIM ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSION: I hope Dr. Rice will reconsider and come before our commission for the sake of the American people tomorrow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Another key Bush administration official testifying today, the Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Here's part of what he said about intelligence before the 9/11 attacks and President Bush's efforts to fight al Qaeda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I knew of no intelligence during the six-plus months leading up to September 11 that indicated terrorists would hijack commercial airliners, use them as missiles to fly into the Pentagon or the World Trade Center towers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Among the many questions raised, there's this question. If Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell could testify publicly and under oath before the 9/11 commission, why not the National Security Adviser Dr. Condoleezza rice? Joining us with that explanation from the White House, our senior White House correspondent John King. John, what are they saying?
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this has been a question pressing against the administration for a matter of weeks even months now and the answer has been consistent. Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary Powell are cabinet chiefs, they are subject to Senate approval. They have budget authority therefore they answer directly to the Senate for oversight and this commission is created by Congress, so the administration says they will, and obviously now have testified publicly before the commission.
Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser, is a member of the president's staff, and there is a longstanding tradition that senior staff members of the president do not testify in public under oath to Congress. You're right, remember this dispute came up when Tom Ridge was the Homeland Security adviser not the Homeland Security secretary. The administration says Dr. Rice has met for more than four hours in private with the commission, that she's willing to meet with them more in private. But as of now, Wolf, the White House bottom line is she will not testify publicly.
BLITZER: All right, John, let's turn the corner now, the president at his cabinet meeting was asked by reporters about what's happening between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He had some strong words.
KING: He did, Wolf. The president once again walking that fine line, saying he wants all the parties in the Middle East, the Israelis and the Palestinians to be aware any actions they conduct today will have consequences tomorrow. That's the president's way of saying the assassination attempt on the Hamas leader Sheikh Yassin could perhaps, it obviously has set back any effort at all to create a dialogue for peace but at the same time, the president also said that Israel has a right to defend herself against the terrorist threat, the president said he hoped over the next few days there would be a break in the violence, and that perhaps there could come a new diplomatic initiative.
BLITZER: And he then maybe...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: If the circumstances on the ground allow, I'll be sending a team back out to the Middle East next week to see if we can keep the process alive, the process toward peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: I have to say, though, Wolf, the president made that point publicly today, we know his team is making it in private both to the Israelis and the Palestinians, but most believe the idea of a new U.S. diplomatic team on the ground in the Middle East within the next week or so perhaps overly optimistic given the situation on the ground.
BLITZER: That would seem to be the case. John King at the White House -- thanks, John, very much.
Another key figure testifying was the former defense secretary during the Clinton administration, William Cohen. He's here in our studio. He's joining us live.
Thanks very much for joining us, Mr. Secretary.
What do you make of this conclusion by Mr. Zelikow, the executive director of the commission, that there was this opportunity to kill Osama bin Laden in 1999, but because of a visiting prince, or sheik, from the United Arab Emirates was there, it was called off?
WILLIAM COHEN, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS ANALYST: As I recall the information at that time, there was a question in terms of the identity of Osama bin Laden, as to whether that was in fact bin Laden.
As I recall, there were questions raised about it, and I think the best source for that is not the field agent as much, but the director of central intelligence, George Tenet. And I think we should await George Tenet's testimony tomorrow to clarify that. But my recollection was that they had the wrong man, that we might have fired and taken out a prince or sheik from the UAE.
BLITZER: Do you look back on those days when you were the defense secretary, remembering what happened on 9/11, and say to yourself, if only we had done X or Y?
COHEN: Oh, sure, we look, but I think it's important that we not look back just on certain situations in which, if only we had fired a missile, if only we'd done the following.
If only during the past 20 years, we had done a number of things in terms of tightening our immigration policies, enforcing our existing laws, following up on leads, having better integration in terms of sharing information within an agency and then across agencies, all of these things are really something that has to be taken into account, looking for fault, yes, but looking for fault lines in our democratic system.
I think that's the commission's task really is. How do we change our system, remain an open, democratic society, and yet understand that terrorists are here, they're coming again? They now have technology which allows them to -- or permits them to kill many of us by virtue of that technology. BLITZER: You testified and were grilled for more than an hour, an hour and a half or so. One of the most fascinating points -- and I listened to all of it -- was when you raised this whole issue of wag the dog. You were really concerned during the Clinton administration that you would be accused of what?
COHEN: Well, during the course of the attacks upon the camps in Afghanistan, the Sudan plant, and also the attack upon Saddam Hussein in an operation called Desert Fox, it was perhaps prevalent at time for people to say, wag the dog, that the president was acting to divert attention from his personal problems with the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
That was never the case, and I had to -- I did. I volunteered to go up to Capitol Hill. I testified more or less in the well of the House for almost three hours one night to lay out the facts and say this president would never under any circumstances utilize the military for any purpose other than a military operation. And I as secretary of defense would never be a part of that. And President Clinton never tried to shift away from his problems. We, in the Pentagon, certainly never would have tolerated it, myself most particularly.
BLITZER: Because of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the impeachment hearings and the trial and all that, was that, in your opinion -- and you lived through those days every day as the defense secretary -- a factor in not going after Osama bin Laden? Because the president of the United States was preoccupied with these other matters?
COHEN: I never saw him preoccupied when it came to a discussion of national security. I spent many, many days and hours at the White House, meeting with him and his entire national security team. I never once detected he was in any way distracted from making decisions the kinds of decisions that had to be made.
In terms of whether or not that had an impact up on the Hill and his relations with a number of members, it probably did. It probably accounted for the kind of questioning in terms of motivation of these strikes, but that's one thing I tried to point out today. We've got to get back to building a consensus in this country, putting some trust in our leaders without questioning their motivation, that somehow there's been a cynical manipulation of the political process and our military operations in order to exploit fear in order to turn to political advantage.
If we continue to do that, then I think we're going to inflict wounds which will last us and put us in jeopardy for years to come.
BLITZER: One of the other more fascinating parts of the whole day, more than seven hours of testimony, was the conclusion from the 9/11 investigative team so far that, early on, the Clinton administration was hoping that diplomacy and pressure could get the job done in terms of al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, that you can even negotiate with the Taliban in Afghanistan. During those days, was there really a realistic expectation that diplomacy could get the job done?
COHEN: Well, diplomacy in the sense that we tried to urge the Taliban to yield Osama bin Laden, to turn him over. They refused. The administration then was successful in cutting off all funding going to Afghanistan, shutting down the flow of capital going into Afghanistan, shutting down the airlines, the Taliban's airlines.
So we were successful in trying to put pressure on them. It was not enough to force them to turn bin Laden over. So that was diplomacy, sanctions, and ultimately trying to launch a military strike into the camps in Afghanistan. But, yes, we tried to persuade them. We tried to use Pakistan as a matter of fact to help us get bin Laden. It was unsuccessful at the time.
BLITZER: Secretary Cohen, thanks very much for joining us. You must be tired after all that questioning on the Hill. We'll continue this conversation.
Our terrorism analyst Peter Bergen has been closely monitoring today's testimony as well. He's watching it all of it. Peter is here in Washington.
Peter, what surprised you, if anything, during these hours of questions and answers?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, there was a lot of focus on the USS Cole, and I think rightly so.
When historians come to write the history of what happened on 9/11, the lack of U.S. response to the USS Cole attack, after all, an act of war that killed 17 sailors and basically almost sank the ship, is a key moment in the history of al Qaeda. We know from detainee interviews right now apparently that the lack of American response to the USS Cole attack really kind of empowered al Qaeda.
Now, that happened, the USS Cole attack happened late on the Clinton watch, and then the Bush administration. It happened October 2000. Clinton was in office for another three months. Then the Bush administration comes in for almost eight months and there's 9/11. Now, obviously, we saw from the testimony today that there were no really good options even if you wanted to respond to the Cole, but the fact is, we didn't, and I think that surely empowered al Qaeda.
And I think just a lot of the debate we saw today about what kind of response we could have taken illuminates the point that the Cole was really a key moment in the history of al Qaeda in the way they saw themselves and the ability to kind of attack the West with impunity.
BLITZER: There was no response after the attack on the USS Cole. But, Peter, there was a response by the Clinton administration after the twin embassy bombings in East Africa, response in Afghanistan, in Khartoum. What was the bottom-line conclusion that the al Qaeda had from that more robust response?
BERGEN: Well, in the case of Sudan, I think it's widely agreed it was a pharmaceutical plant and not a chemical weapons plant, as some of the intelligence seemed to indicate.
In the case of the camps in Afghanistan, these places are made of -- they quickly -- it wasn't very effective. And I want to tell you -- mention three things, Wolf, about why I think bin Laden wasn't there. There was intelligence that he might be there, but, in fact, you know, we evacuated our nonessential personnel from Islamabad, Pakistan, the embassy there, a few days before. We also -- all Westerners left Kabul.
There was a lot of sort of very obvious things that happened that indicated a potential strike was happening. We also know from interrogations of al Qaeda people that they got the word before the U.S. Embassy bombings which happened two weeks before these strikes in Afghanistan to evacuate these camps because they anticipated some kind of reaction from the United States.
So bin Laden, it turns out, was hundreds of kilometers away when these strikes happened. And it had the inadvertent result of turning him from a sort of marginal figure into sort of a cult celebrity in the Muslim world, which was clearly not the intention. But that was the result.
BLITZER: Peter Bergen helping us better understand these historic days today and tomorrow, more testimony, Peter, thanks very much.
To our viewers, CNN's live coverage of the 9/11 Commission hearings will continue tomorrow. We'll hear from the CIA director, George Tenet, the former national security adviser during the Clinton administration, Samuel Berger, and the former national coordinator for counterterrorism, Richard Clarke. He worked during both the Clinton and Bush administrations. Our coverage will begin tomorrow morning.
And once again, here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our "Web Question of the Day" is this. Could the United States have done more to prevent the 9/11 attacks? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.
Israel is on very high alert one day after the assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They should expect very aggressive resistance to their crimes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Hamas names a new leader who immediately sends a strong warning to Israel. We're live from Gaza.
Plus, NASA's big announcement. The rover Opportunity makes a major discovery on the red planet.
And it's a race against time off the East Coast. A rescue team is launched to save an entangled whale and in the process may help an entire species.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Israeli security forces are high alert one day after the founder of Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike. Hamas today chose a Yassin disciple as its acting leader for Gaza until a new leader is selected.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is joining us now live from Gaza with details -- Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, it was announced this afternoon that Hamas had named Abdel-Aziz Rantissi as interim or acting leader for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza. This means he will be assuming some of the responsibilities of assassinated Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin.
Now, it is well known that Mr. Rantissi is a hard-liner within the organization. In his first public statement as acting leader for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza, he vowed that Hamas will fight the Israelis everywhere, that, in his words, we will chase them everywhere. However, it maybe Mr. Rantissi who is going to be chased.
Israeli officials have made it clear that they will not be letting up in their campaign to eliminate the leaders of Palestinian militant organizations, obviously Hamas among them. Israeli security leaders saying that they have everyone in those Palestinian militant organizations in his words in their sights -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ben Wedeman, reporting from Gaza for us, a very volatile situation indeed -- thanks, Ben, very much.
Let's check some other stories happening at this hour. There were violent protests in Iraq over Yassin's assassination; 1,000 people demonstrated in Ramadi. A U.S. military source says someone tried to fire a rocket-propelled grenade and another person rammed a truck into the gate of a government compound. The source says two Iraqi police officers were hurt.
And you're looking live at the United Nations Security Council, holding open debate right now on the Sheik Yassin killing. This session was scheduled after the 15 members were unable to agree on a statement. The United States ambassador says Washington was unwilling to condemn the assassination without also condemning acts of terror against Israel.
Government trustees say Medicare could go broke in 15 years unless changes are made. And they say they'll have to start tapping the program's trust fund this year. They blame the crisis in part on a new prescription drug law which they say will cost half a trillion dollars over the next decade.
The man in charge of securing the nation's transportation system says trains are less likely terrorist targets than airplanes. The Homeland Security Department's Asa Hutchinson spoke to a Senate panel discussing rail safety in the wake of this month's train bombings in Spain.
It's a mission of life or death. As a group of scientists races to save a whale trapped at sea, the amazing pictures -- that's coming up later.
Plus, a rover's mission on Mars uncovers a profound discovery for scientists.
We'll get to all of that. First, though, a quick look at some news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Pakistani troops are going house-to-house in a remote region near the Afghan border, as they keep up their search for suspected al Qaeda fighters. A government official says at least 123 suspects are in custody. Pakistani forces have cordoned off a 19-square-mile area where the suspects have been holed up since last week.
Tensions in Taiwan. Lawmakers in the Taiwan Parliament traded blows over the island's disputed presidential election. President Chen Shui-bian narrowly won the election Saturday. But his challenger has called for a recount, claiming, among other things, the ballots were rigged. The election was just one day after an assassination attempt on Mr. Chen. The president says the vote-rigging allegations are insulting, but he'll accept the outcome of any recount. The issue is before the courts.
Life behind bars. The man who confessed to killing former Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was sentenced to life in prison today after a court threw out his insanity plea. Lindh was stabbed to death in September in a Stockholm department store.
Loving a loser. Japan's favorite race horse has done it again, lost. Yesterday, Japan's top jockey was atop the animal as it lost yet another race. The losing streak has topped 100. But the streak has won over fans, who now rally behind the horse.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Was there ever life on Mars? Scientists can't say for certain yet, but they now have evidence that one of the key building blocks for life was once there, namely water.
CNN's space correspondent Miles O'Brien reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You looking for a deal on some seaside property? I've got just the place for you, Opportunity landing. Yes, you are a few million years too late for actual water and 100 million miles from most anywhere. Think of the solitude. But there is now no question this is some primo Martian real estate.
STEVE SQUYRES, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: This was a habitable environment on Mars. This was a shallow sea. These rocks -- it's a salt flat, OK? These are the kinds of environments that are very suitable for life.
O'BRIEN: Scientists say they are surfing a tidal wave of evidence to back up their claim these rocks were laid down by water. Check out these ripples. Researchers say the pattern shows clear evidence that water flowed over these rocks during their formative years.
Compare these images gathered by Opportunity's microscopic camera on Mars to this one from the Colorado River.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We also know that the early conditions on Earth were probably not that much different than the early conditions on Mars. So who's to say Mars didn't have its shot at this magic we call life?
O'BRIEN: But, wait, there's more. Scientists say the chemicals in these rocks, bromide and chlorine in particular, also are screaming out water. And these spheres, scientists are calling them blueberries, are apparently like hunks of ready-mixed concrete. You can't make them without water.
ED WEILER, NASA ASSOCIATION ADMIN.: This is a profound discover. It has profound implications for astrobiology. And I'd like to say, if you have an interest in searching for fossils on Mars, this is the first place you want to go.
O'BRIEN (on camera): Unfortunately, Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, are not equipped to see the microscopic fossils that might be there. That will have to wait for future missions. The next one is scheduled for launch next year.
It's very likely now it will be headed to the very same place. For planetary scientists, there may be no more desirable piece of real estate in the solar system.
Miles O'Brien, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Back here on Earth, an attempt is under way off the Atlantic Coast to save an injured whale, but the effort faces long odds.
CNN's Jennifer Coggiola has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are only about 300 North Atlantic right whales in the entire world. And this one is in serious trouble. It became entangled in fishing gear. And if the ropes can't be removed, they will cause a deadly infection. The U.S. Coast Guard and scientists are trying to help, but it's a race against time.
BARB ZOODSMA, NOAA FISHERIES BIOLOGIST: If we don't get this gear off, it's just going to be getting worse and worse and the gear is going to be embedded. Infection will set in. And it will be a slow, agonizing death.
CHARLES STORMY, CENTER FOR COASTAL STUDIES: This one is going to be extremely difficult. I don't think we've seen an entanglement of this nature yet anywhere in the world that has actually successfully been completely disentangled.
COGGIOLA: Rescue workers caught up with the whale off the Florida coast. They attached buoys in order to slow it down and then they went to work removing the ropes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm holding on as best I can.
COGGIOLA: They were only partially successful, but they did manage to plant a tracking device so they can follow the whale and try again. A similar effort to save a right whale took place off the coast of Massachusetts three years ago. That effort ended in failure when that whale swam into deeper water outside the area where rescue boats could maneuver.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it?
COGGIOLA: Rescuers are hoping for better luck this time. They tracked the whale north to a location off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. If weather permits, the rescue effort will resume tomorrow.
Jennifer Coggiola, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: The Dallas Zoo is still trying to figure out how a 340- pound gorilla got out of its compound and went on a wild rampage late last week. The animal injured four people, including a toddler. And now authorities have released some the frantic calls to 911 just after the gorilla got loose.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. My name is Ricky (INAUDIBLE) at the Dallas Zoo. There's a gorilla loose and it's going after people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What part of the zoo is it in?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's at the wildlife...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, hurry up. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gorilla has attacked a man, individual.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BLITZER: The gorilla was finally tracked and shot to death. Zoo officials say human error is not to blame for the escape and federal regulators have now joined the investigation.
BLITZER: Once again, our "Web Question of the Day" is this: Could the United States have done more to prevent the 9/11 attacks? You can vote right now. The results when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day": Could the United States have done more to prevent the 9/11 attacks? Sixty-nine percent of you say yes; 31 percent of you say no. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.
Let's get to some of your e-mail.
Ken writes this: "Terrorism has prospered because we as a nation have refused to hold any administration accountable for its failures. Terrorism is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It is about an America that we love."
Barbara writes this: "I am impressed by those of the 9/11 Commission who have the ability to reach across to another party's administration with the best interests and bipartisan intentions to cooperatively improve upon our nation's security."
A reminder, we're on weekdays 5:00 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you tomorrow at noon and 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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Aired March 23, 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, HOST: Going public.
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FMR. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're always on the lookout for some terrible thing.
COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We knew that al Qaeda was ultimately the source of this kind of terror.
BLITZER: So why did 9/11 take America by surprise? Two administrations on one disastrous day.
Facing their fury. Arab anger over an assassination spills over into Iraq.
Stuck at sea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we don't get this (UNINTELLIGIBLE) off, it will be a slow agonizing death.
BLITZER: Scientists race to save an endangered whale in an entangled trap.
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, March 23, 2004
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Fierce and spirited defense of both the Bush and Clinton administrations mark the first day of testimony before the 9/11 Commission on Capitol Hill. Much of the focus was on whether enough was done to stop Osama bin Laden before the September 11 attacks were carried out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): The 9/11 Commission has released details of a previously unknown opportunity in 1999 to kill Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
PHILIP ZELIKOW, 9/11 COMMISSION: The lead CIA official in the field felt the intelligence reporting in this case was very reliable. The UBL unit chief at the time agrees. The field official believes today that this was a lost opportunity to kill bin Laden before 9/11. BLITZER: But CIA officials told the commission that overly cautious Clinton administration officials feared so-called collateral damage. Namely, that a strike against bin Laden could also kill a prince from the United Arab Emirates and others who were hunting with bin Laden at the time.
ZELIKOW: No strike was launched.
BLITZER: Zelikow says there were other missed opportunities as well during the Clinton administration resulting in this exchange between former Democratic senator Bob Kerrey, a 9/11 commission member and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright.
BOB KERREY, 9/11 COMMISSION: I keep hearing excuse, we didn't have actionable intelligence, what the hell does that say to al Qaeda!
ALBRIGHT: We used every single tool we had in terms of trying to figure out what the right targets would be and how to go about dealing with what we knew to be a major threat.
DIRECTOR: Outside the hearing the Bush administration has also come under sharp criticism for failing to appreciate the al Qaeda threat before 9/11, including explosive allegations from former Bush counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke, who testifies before the panel tomorrow.
RICHARD CLARKE, FMR. WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: The administration had done nothing about al Qaeda prior to 9/11. Despite the fact that the CIA director was telling them virtually every day that there was a major threat.
BLITZER: For the first time since Clarke has come forward with his charges, President Bush has now responded.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: George Tenet briefed me on a regular basis about the terrorist threats to the United States of America. And had my administration had any information that terrorists were going to attack a New York City on September 11 we would have acted.
BLITZER: The White House also came under fire during the hearing for refusing to allow National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to testify before the commission in public and under oath.
TIM ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSION: I hope Dr. Rice will reconsider and come before our commission for the sake of the American people tomorrow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Another key Bush administration official testifying today, the Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Here's part of what he said about intelligence before the 9/11 attacks and President Bush's efforts to fight al Qaeda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I knew of no intelligence during the six-plus months leading up to September 11 that indicated terrorists would hijack commercial airliners, use them as missiles to fly into the Pentagon or the World Trade Center towers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Among the many questions raised, there's this question. If Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell could testify publicly and under oath before the 9/11 commission, why not the National Security Adviser Dr. Condoleezza rice? Joining us with that explanation from the White House, our senior White House correspondent John King. John, what are they saying?
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this has been a question pressing against the administration for a matter of weeks even months now and the answer has been consistent. Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary Powell are cabinet chiefs, they are subject to Senate approval. They have budget authority therefore they answer directly to the Senate for oversight and this commission is created by Congress, so the administration says they will, and obviously now have testified publicly before the commission.
Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser, is a member of the president's staff, and there is a longstanding tradition that senior staff members of the president do not testify in public under oath to Congress. You're right, remember this dispute came up when Tom Ridge was the Homeland Security adviser not the Homeland Security secretary. The administration says Dr. Rice has met for more than four hours in private with the commission, that she's willing to meet with them more in private. But as of now, Wolf, the White House bottom line is she will not testify publicly.
BLITZER: All right, John, let's turn the corner now, the president at his cabinet meeting was asked by reporters about what's happening between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He had some strong words.
KING: He did, Wolf. The president once again walking that fine line, saying he wants all the parties in the Middle East, the Israelis and the Palestinians to be aware any actions they conduct today will have consequences tomorrow. That's the president's way of saying the assassination attempt on the Hamas leader Sheikh Yassin could perhaps, it obviously has set back any effort at all to create a dialogue for peace but at the same time, the president also said that Israel has a right to defend herself against the terrorist threat, the president said he hoped over the next few days there would be a break in the violence, and that perhaps there could come a new diplomatic initiative.
BLITZER: And he then maybe...
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BUSH: If the circumstances on the ground allow, I'll be sending a team back out to the Middle East next week to see if we can keep the process alive, the process toward peace.
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KING: I have to say, though, Wolf, the president made that point publicly today, we know his team is making it in private both to the Israelis and the Palestinians, but most believe the idea of a new U.S. diplomatic team on the ground in the Middle East within the next week or so perhaps overly optimistic given the situation on the ground.
BLITZER: That would seem to be the case. John King at the White House -- thanks, John, very much.
Another key figure testifying was the former defense secretary during the Clinton administration, William Cohen. He's here in our studio. He's joining us live.
Thanks very much for joining us, Mr. Secretary.
What do you make of this conclusion by Mr. Zelikow, the executive director of the commission, that there was this opportunity to kill Osama bin Laden in 1999, but because of a visiting prince, or sheik, from the United Arab Emirates was there, it was called off?
WILLIAM COHEN, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS ANALYST: As I recall the information at that time, there was a question in terms of the identity of Osama bin Laden, as to whether that was in fact bin Laden.
As I recall, there were questions raised about it, and I think the best source for that is not the field agent as much, but the director of central intelligence, George Tenet. And I think we should await George Tenet's testimony tomorrow to clarify that. But my recollection was that they had the wrong man, that we might have fired and taken out a prince or sheik from the UAE.
BLITZER: Do you look back on those days when you were the defense secretary, remembering what happened on 9/11, and say to yourself, if only we had done X or Y?
COHEN: Oh, sure, we look, but I think it's important that we not look back just on certain situations in which, if only we had fired a missile, if only we'd done the following.
If only during the past 20 years, we had done a number of things in terms of tightening our immigration policies, enforcing our existing laws, following up on leads, having better integration in terms of sharing information within an agency and then across agencies, all of these things are really something that has to be taken into account, looking for fault, yes, but looking for fault lines in our democratic system.
I think that's the commission's task really is. How do we change our system, remain an open, democratic society, and yet understand that terrorists are here, they're coming again? They now have technology which allows them to -- or permits them to kill many of us by virtue of that technology. BLITZER: You testified and were grilled for more than an hour, an hour and a half or so. One of the most fascinating points -- and I listened to all of it -- was when you raised this whole issue of wag the dog. You were really concerned during the Clinton administration that you would be accused of what?
COHEN: Well, during the course of the attacks upon the camps in Afghanistan, the Sudan plant, and also the attack upon Saddam Hussein in an operation called Desert Fox, it was perhaps prevalent at time for people to say, wag the dog, that the president was acting to divert attention from his personal problems with the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
That was never the case, and I had to -- I did. I volunteered to go up to Capitol Hill. I testified more or less in the well of the House for almost three hours one night to lay out the facts and say this president would never under any circumstances utilize the military for any purpose other than a military operation. And I as secretary of defense would never be a part of that. And President Clinton never tried to shift away from his problems. We, in the Pentagon, certainly never would have tolerated it, myself most particularly.
BLITZER: Because of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the impeachment hearings and the trial and all that, was that, in your opinion -- and you lived through those days every day as the defense secretary -- a factor in not going after Osama bin Laden? Because the president of the United States was preoccupied with these other matters?
COHEN: I never saw him preoccupied when it came to a discussion of national security. I spent many, many days and hours at the White House, meeting with him and his entire national security team. I never once detected he was in any way distracted from making decisions the kinds of decisions that had to be made.
In terms of whether or not that had an impact up on the Hill and his relations with a number of members, it probably did. It probably accounted for the kind of questioning in terms of motivation of these strikes, but that's one thing I tried to point out today. We've got to get back to building a consensus in this country, putting some trust in our leaders without questioning their motivation, that somehow there's been a cynical manipulation of the political process and our military operations in order to exploit fear in order to turn to political advantage.
If we continue to do that, then I think we're going to inflict wounds which will last us and put us in jeopardy for years to come.
BLITZER: One of the other more fascinating parts of the whole day, more than seven hours of testimony, was the conclusion from the 9/11 investigative team so far that, early on, the Clinton administration was hoping that diplomacy and pressure could get the job done in terms of al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, that you can even negotiate with the Taliban in Afghanistan. During those days, was there really a realistic expectation that diplomacy could get the job done?
COHEN: Well, diplomacy in the sense that we tried to urge the Taliban to yield Osama bin Laden, to turn him over. They refused. The administration then was successful in cutting off all funding going to Afghanistan, shutting down the flow of capital going into Afghanistan, shutting down the airlines, the Taliban's airlines.
So we were successful in trying to put pressure on them. It was not enough to force them to turn bin Laden over. So that was diplomacy, sanctions, and ultimately trying to launch a military strike into the camps in Afghanistan. But, yes, we tried to persuade them. We tried to use Pakistan as a matter of fact to help us get bin Laden. It was unsuccessful at the time.
BLITZER: Secretary Cohen, thanks very much for joining us. You must be tired after all that questioning on the Hill. We'll continue this conversation.
Our terrorism analyst Peter Bergen has been closely monitoring today's testimony as well. He's watching it all of it. Peter is here in Washington.
Peter, what surprised you, if anything, during these hours of questions and answers?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, there was a lot of focus on the USS Cole, and I think rightly so.
When historians come to write the history of what happened on 9/11, the lack of U.S. response to the USS Cole attack, after all, an act of war that killed 17 sailors and basically almost sank the ship, is a key moment in the history of al Qaeda. We know from detainee interviews right now apparently that the lack of American response to the USS Cole attack really kind of empowered al Qaeda.
Now, that happened, the USS Cole attack happened late on the Clinton watch, and then the Bush administration. It happened October 2000. Clinton was in office for another three months. Then the Bush administration comes in for almost eight months and there's 9/11. Now, obviously, we saw from the testimony today that there were no really good options even if you wanted to respond to the Cole, but the fact is, we didn't, and I think that surely empowered al Qaeda.
And I think just a lot of the debate we saw today about what kind of response we could have taken illuminates the point that the Cole was really a key moment in the history of al Qaeda in the way they saw themselves and the ability to kind of attack the West with impunity.
BLITZER: There was no response after the attack on the USS Cole. But, Peter, there was a response by the Clinton administration after the twin embassy bombings in East Africa, response in Afghanistan, in Khartoum. What was the bottom-line conclusion that the al Qaeda had from that more robust response?
BERGEN: Well, in the case of Sudan, I think it's widely agreed it was a pharmaceutical plant and not a chemical weapons plant, as some of the intelligence seemed to indicate.
In the case of the camps in Afghanistan, these places are made of -- they quickly -- it wasn't very effective. And I want to tell you -- mention three things, Wolf, about why I think bin Laden wasn't there. There was intelligence that he might be there, but, in fact, you know, we evacuated our nonessential personnel from Islamabad, Pakistan, the embassy there, a few days before. We also -- all Westerners left Kabul.
There was a lot of sort of very obvious things that happened that indicated a potential strike was happening. We also know from interrogations of al Qaeda people that they got the word before the U.S. Embassy bombings which happened two weeks before these strikes in Afghanistan to evacuate these camps because they anticipated some kind of reaction from the United States.
So bin Laden, it turns out, was hundreds of kilometers away when these strikes happened. And it had the inadvertent result of turning him from a sort of marginal figure into sort of a cult celebrity in the Muslim world, which was clearly not the intention. But that was the result.
BLITZER: Peter Bergen helping us better understand these historic days today and tomorrow, more testimony, Peter, thanks very much.
To our viewers, CNN's live coverage of the 9/11 Commission hearings will continue tomorrow. We'll hear from the CIA director, George Tenet, the former national security adviser during the Clinton administration, Samuel Berger, and the former national coordinator for counterterrorism, Richard Clarke. He worked during both the Clinton and Bush administrations. Our coverage will begin tomorrow morning.
And once again, here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our "Web Question of the Day" is this. Could the United States have done more to prevent the 9/11 attacks? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.
Israel is on very high alert one day after the assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They should expect very aggressive resistance to their crimes.
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BLITZER: Hamas names a new leader who immediately sends a strong warning to Israel. We're live from Gaza.
Plus, NASA's big announcement. The rover Opportunity makes a major discovery on the red planet.
And it's a race against time off the East Coast. A rescue team is launched to save an entangled whale and in the process may help an entire species.
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BLITZER: Israeli security forces are high alert one day after the founder of Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike. Hamas today chose a Yassin disciple as its acting leader for Gaza until a new leader is selected.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is joining us now live from Gaza with details -- Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, it was announced this afternoon that Hamas had named Abdel-Aziz Rantissi as interim or acting leader for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza. This means he will be assuming some of the responsibilities of assassinated Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin.
Now, it is well known that Mr. Rantissi is a hard-liner within the organization. In his first public statement as acting leader for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza, he vowed that Hamas will fight the Israelis everywhere, that, in his words, we will chase them everywhere. However, it maybe Mr. Rantissi who is going to be chased.
Israeli officials have made it clear that they will not be letting up in their campaign to eliminate the leaders of Palestinian militant organizations, obviously Hamas among them. Israeli security leaders saying that they have everyone in those Palestinian militant organizations in his words in their sights -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ben Wedeman, reporting from Gaza for us, a very volatile situation indeed -- thanks, Ben, very much.
Let's check some other stories happening at this hour. There were violent protests in Iraq over Yassin's assassination; 1,000 people demonstrated in Ramadi. A U.S. military source says someone tried to fire a rocket-propelled grenade and another person rammed a truck into the gate of a government compound. The source says two Iraqi police officers were hurt.
And you're looking live at the United Nations Security Council, holding open debate right now on the Sheik Yassin killing. This session was scheduled after the 15 members were unable to agree on a statement. The United States ambassador says Washington was unwilling to condemn the assassination without also condemning acts of terror against Israel.
Government trustees say Medicare could go broke in 15 years unless changes are made. And they say they'll have to start tapping the program's trust fund this year. They blame the crisis in part on a new prescription drug law which they say will cost half a trillion dollars over the next decade.
The man in charge of securing the nation's transportation system says trains are less likely terrorist targets than airplanes. The Homeland Security Department's Asa Hutchinson spoke to a Senate panel discussing rail safety in the wake of this month's train bombings in Spain.
It's a mission of life or death. As a group of scientists races to save a whale trapped at sea, the amazing pictures -- that's coming up later.
Plus, a rover's mission on Mars uncovers a profound discovery for scientists.
We'll get to all of that. First, though, a quick look at some news making headlines around the world.
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BLITZER (voice-over): Pakistani troops are going house-to-house in a remote region near the Afghan border, as they keep up their search for suspected al Qaeda fighters. A government official says at least 123 suspects are in custody. Pakistani forces have cordoned off a 19-square-mile area where the suspects have been holed up since last week.
Tensions in Taiwan. Lawmakers in the Taiwan Parliament traded blows over the island's disputed presidential election. President Chen Shui-bian narrowly won the election Saturday. But his challenger has called for a recount, claiming, among other things, the ballots were rigged. The election was just one day after an assassination attempt on Mr. Chen. The president says the vote-rigging allegations are insulting, but he'll accept the outcome of any recount. The issue is before the courts.
Life behind bars. The man who confessed to killing former Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was sentenced to life in prison today after a court threw out his insanity plea. Lindh was stabbed to death in September in a Stockholm department store.
Loving a loser. Japan's favorite race horse has done it again, lost. Yesterday, Japan's top jockey was atop the animal as it lost yet another race. The losing streak has topped 100. But the streak has won over fans, who now rally behind the horse.
And that's our look around the world.
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BLITZER: Was there ever life on Mars? Scientists can't say for certain yet, but they now have evidence that one of the key building blocks for life was once there, namely water.
CNN's space correspondent Miles O'Brien reports.
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MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You looking for a deal on some seaside property? I've got just the place for you, Opportunity landing. Yes, you are a few million years too late for actual water and 100 million miles from most anywhere. Think of the solitude. But there is now no question this is some primo Martian real estate.
STEVE SQUYRES, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: This was a habitable environment on Mars. This was a shallow sea. These rocks -- it's a salt flat, OK? These are the kinds of environments that are very suitable for life.
O'BRIEN: Scientists say they are surfing a tidal wave of evidence to back up their claim these rocks were laid down by water. Check out these ripples. Researchers say the pattern shows clear evidence that water flowed over these rocks during their formative years.
Compare these images gathered by Opportunity's microscopic camera on Mars to this one from the Colorado River.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We also know that the early conditions on Earth were probably not that much different than the early conditions on Mars. So who's to say Mars didn't have its shot at this magic we call life?
O'BRIEN: But, wait, there's more. Scientists say the chemicals in these rocks, bromide and chlorine in particular, also are screaming out water. And these spheres, scientists are calling them blueberries, are apparently like hunks of ready-mixed concrete. You can't make them without water.
ED WEILER, NASA ASSOCIATION ADMIN.: This is a profound discover. It has profound implications for astrobiology. And I'd like to say, if you have an interest in searching for fossils on Mars, this is the first place you want to go.
O'BRIEN (on camera): Unfortunately, Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, are not equipped to see the microscopic fossils that might be there. That will have to wait for future missions. The next one is scheduled for launch next year.
It's very likely now it will be headed to the very same place. For planetary scientists, there may be no more desirable piece of real estate in the solar system.
Miles O'Brien, CNN, Atlanta.
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BLITZER: Back here on Earth, an attempt is under way off the Atlantic Coast to save an injured whale, but the effort faces long odds.
CNN's Jennifer Coggiola has the story.
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JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are only about 300 North Atlantic right whales in the entire world. And this one is in serious trouble. It became entangled in fishing gear. And if the ropes can't be removed, they will cause a deadly infection. The U.S. Coast Guard and scientists are trying to help, but it's a race against time.
BARB ZOODSMA, NOAA FISHERIES BIOLOGIST: If we don't get this gear off, it's just going to be getting worse and worse and the gear is going to be embedded. Infection will set in. And it will be a slow, agonizing death.
CHARLES STORMY, CENTER FOR COASTAL STUDIES: This one is going to be extremely difficult. I don't think we've seen an entanglement of this nature yet anywhere in the world that has actually successfully been completely disentangled.
COGGIOLA: Rescue workers caught up with the whale off the Florida coast. They attached buoys in order to slow it down and then they went to work removing the ropes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm holding on as best I can.
COGGIOLA: They were only partially successful, but they did manage to plant a tracking device so they can follow the whale and try again. A similar effort to save a right whale took place off the coast of Massachusetts three years ago. That effort ended in failure when that whale swam into deeper water outside the area where rescue boats could maneuver.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it?
COGGIOLA: Rescuers are hoping for better luck this time. They tracked the whale north to a location off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. If weather permits, the rescue effort will resume tomorrow.
Jennifer Coggiola, CNN, reporting.
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BLITZER: The Dallas Zoo is still trying to figure out how a 340- pound gorilla got out of its compound and went on a wild rampage late last week. The animal injured four people, including a toddler. And now authorities have released some the frantic calls to 911 just after the gorilla got loose.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. My name is Ricky (INAUDIBLE) at the Dallas Zoo. There's a gorilla loose and it's going after people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What part of the zoo is it in?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's at the wildlife...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, hurry up. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gorilla has attacked a man, individual.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BLITZER: The gorilla was finally tracked and shot to death. Zoo officials say human error is not to blame for the escape and federal regulators have now joined the investigation.
BLITZER: Once again, our "Web Question of the Day" is this: Could the United States have done more to prevent the 9/11 attacks? You can vote right now. The results when we come back.
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BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day": Could the United States have done more to prevent the 9/11 attacks? Sixty-nine percent of you say yes; 31 percent of you say no. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.
Let's get to some of your e-mail.
Ken writes this: "Terrorism has prospered because we as a nation have refused to hold any administration accountable for its failures. Terrorism is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It is about an America that we love."
Barbara writes this: "I am impressed by those of the 9/11 Commission who have the ability to reach across to another party's administration with the best interests and bipartisan intentions to cooperatively improve upon our nation's security."
A reminder, we're on weekdays 5:00 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you tomorrow at noon and 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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