Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Blood Day in Iraq as Civilians Killed; What Will Rice's Testimony Reveal?; Missing College Student Found Alive; Future of Gas Prices Looks Bleak

Aired March 31, 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.


WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now, in Wisconsin a missing college student found alive, but police still have a huge mystery on their hands. The frantic search underway this hour for someone else near the scene of the student's recovery. We'll have extensive coverage.
And three special guests this hour, as well. Senator Bob Graham, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerrick. They speak out on today's devastating news in Iraq and the war on terror.

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Horror in Iraq. Bloody attacks on Americans as jubilant Iraqis drag bodies though the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are people who want Iraq to turn back to an era, mass graves, rape rooms and torture chambers and chemical attacks.

BLITZER: Is there an answer? I'll ask former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger.

Squaring accounts. The 9/11 panel waits for Condoleezza Rice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to clear up any discrepancies between her testimony and other people's.

BLITZER: The price of gas, they're pumping it up by pumping less. What it means for you.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday, March 31, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: By any standard for Americans in Iraq today was a day of horror.

Five U.S. troops were killed by a roadside bomb and four civilian contractors, all Americans, died in an ambush, their bodies dragged through the streets by a cheering mob.

We begin our coverage in Baghdad with our senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers -- Walter.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf.

Well, this was the bloodiest day of the war so far this year, or it tied it, nine Americans killed. Nine Americans died earlier this year in a helicopter crash. But this time it was two separate incidents.

Five American soldiers were killed in the area of Habaniyah (ph). Their Humvee passed by an improvised explosive device. A thunderous explosion that blew a hole in the ground, a crater 15 feet by 10 feet.

But the most dramatic attack of the day was in, of course, Fallujah, the so-called heart of the Sunni Triangle, the epicenter of opposition to U.S. forces.

Two SUVs were driving through the town, four private contractors, all Americans, were in those SUVs when suddenly they were ambushed. Eyewitnesses said men with masks over their head jumped out. They tossed hand grenades at the SUV, stopping them, and then they sprayed the SUVs with bullets, killing everyone inside or incapacitating everyone inside.

And then the Iraqi masked men set those SUVs ablaze. When the fire died down they mutilated the bodies of the private contractors for an American security firm, inside those SUVs. Then they dragged them through the streets and they hung them on a bridge.

General Mark Kimmitt briefed reporters shortly after this happened and tried to put it in some context.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: There are four families in this world today that are going to get knocks on the doors. And you don't want to be on either side of that door when it happens, either hearing the news or delivering the news.

There will be five military families that get that same news today. But that isn't going to stop us from doing our mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: These incidents took place less than 40 miles west of Baghdad. Again, it was in the so-called Sunni Triangle and Fallujah has been the hot bed of resistance in the American occupation -- Wolf.

BLITZER: A cheering mob as well. Walter Rodgers on the scene for us. Walter, thanks very much.

Iraq's insurgents make use of a variety of deadly weapons, many of them improvised. CNN's Mike Brooks is joining us now to help explain this particular threat -- Mike.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN ANALYST: Good evening, Wolf. The insurgents are using a variety of devices: sometimes rockets, roadside bombs or sometimes, like today, grenades thrown inside vehicles.

We've got some photos that show just one of the techniques being used.

This vehicle, which was being used by an American personnel in Baghdad was wired to blow. As you can see from these pictures obtained by CNN there was a booby trap using a hand grenade. It was wired to the frame of the truck.

Another wire was tired to the pin of the grenade with the other end tied to the rim of the tire. The device would have gone off when the truck wheel started turning, killing or seriously injuring the passengers inside.

This grenade was discovered during a security check, but many more so-called improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, aren't. And they end up taking lives.

In order to outwit security checkpoints, insurgents are using creative ways of concealing the IEDs. Federal law enforcement sources who have just returned from Iraq tell CNN that bombs are being concealed in the bodies of dead animals along the side of the road, in piles of trash, and rocks, in donkey carts, in holes in the middle of the roads, where they await unsuspecting vehicles as their next victims.

And, Wolf, I've also heard from law enforcement sources that there are Iraqi citizens that have been coming forward to the coalition forces, letting them know about the location of bombs, saving many, many lives.

And these bombs, we never hear about, but they have saved so many lives. They said they are in an integral part of the investigation into if any of these bombs are linked at all -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Mike Brooks, explaining this part of the horror. Thanks very much, Mike, for that.

More on today's developments in Iraq. I'll speak live with the former senior U.S. policy advisor in Iraq, Bernard Kerrick. He'll join us soon.

And here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: "Does the latest violence in Iraq raise doubts about whether the country can be rebuilt?"

You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results a little bit later in this broadcast.

While you're there, though, I'd love to hear directly from you. Send me your comments any time. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. It's also where you can read my daily online column: CNN.com/Wolf. The chairman of the 9/11 commission says he hopes National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice will testify within the next ten days.

After first refusing to allow Rice to testify publicly and under oath, the Bush administration has now reversed its position. They did that yesterday.

Our national security correspondent David Ensor is standing by to tell us what we can expect. There are discrepancies unfolding between various people that have already appeared before this commission.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Wolf. And there may be some rather pointed questions for Condoleezza Rice when she does testify. Many of them will be shaped around the testimony of Richard Clarke.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): Richard Clarke charges Condoleezza Rice failed to hold cabinet secretaries' feet to the fire in the summer of 2001 when the CIA was warning of a high terror threat from al Qaeda.

By contrast he says her predecessor, Sandy Berger, did exactly that during the millennium threat period, pressing the FBI for information that may have helped to prevent an attack on American soil.

RICHARD CLARKE, FORMER COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISOR: Some people in the FBI knew. And if Condi Rice had been doing her job in holding those daily meetings the way Sandy Berger did, if she had a hands-on attitude for being national security advisor, when she had information that there was a threat against the United States.

That kind of information was shaken out in December 1999. It would have been shaken out in the summer of 2001, if she had been doing her job.

ENSOR: To White House officials those are fighting words and unfair. More meetings in 2001, they say, would not necessarily have stopped al Qaeda.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Richard Clarke had plenty of opportunities to tell us in the administration that he thought the war on terrorism was moving in the wrong direction. And he chose not to.

ENSOR: Rice can expect tough questions, though, from some commissioners about why she didn't do more against al Qaeda before 9/11.

RICHARD BEN-VENISTE, 9/11 COMMISSIONER: Were she here I would ask her the question as to why she did not discuss the issue of al Qaeda sleeper cells in the United States with her counterterrorism coordinator. ENSOR: There will also be questions about Clarke's description of President Bush taking him aside after 9/11 and pressing him to seek evidence of an Iraqi hand in the attacks.

RICE: It's not surprising that the president wanted to know if we were going to retaliate, against whom are we going to retaliate. And of course, Iraq, given our history, given the fact that they tried to kill a former president, was a likely suspect.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: Stay tuned for more revelations at the request of a senior Republican lawmaker. The White House has the CIA reviewing Clarke's closed-door testimony from July 2002 for what must remain classified, with an eye to releasing the rest soon.

BLITZER: All right, David. Thanks very much. This is going to be very fascinating testimony from Condoleezza Rice coming up perhaps as early as late next week.

We'll, of course, have extensive coverage leading up to that.

Earlier, I discussed the investigation with Democratic Senator Bob Graham of Florida. He's a former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He also co-chaired the joint House-Senate review of the events surrounding 9/11.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Senator Graham, thanks very much for joining us. What would you ask Condoleezza Rice if you had a chance to question her right now?

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D), FLORIDA: I would ask her what is this administration preparing to do in terms of increasing the capability of our intelligence and our operational military to deal with terrorism.

I'd like to ask her what is the war on terrorism after al Qaeda?

Third, what are we doing in Syria? Are we butting some pressure on the Syrian government to surface Hezbollah and Hamas and other groups which are using that as a sanctuary?

BLITZER: Well, how concerned are you about Syria? We haven't heard much about Syria lately.

GRAHAM: Well, I think Syria sort of got lost as the war on terrorism got lost. I'm surprised that we haven't already began to put some very serious pressure on Syria, because Hezbollah in many people's minds is the most efficient, effective and vicious terrorist group in the world.

BLITZER: So do you see a difference between Hezbollah and Hamas on the one hand, Palestinian-related groups as opposed to, let's say, al Qaeda? GRAHAM: Well, one of the differences is that Hezbollah is not just Palestinian-oriented. They conducted some very significant attacks, as far away as Buenos Aires. So they've killed 300 Americans, mainly in Lebanon over the last 25 years.

So they have a global reach, which was the standard that the president set for our targets in the war on terror.

BLITZER: What about that charges that Richard Clarke has made, including that the administration was asleep at the switch during the first eight, nine months of the Bush presidency and neglected the real threat, namely al Qaeda?

GRAHAM: Well, Wolf, this is the final report, 800 pages of the joint House-Senate Intelligence Committee inquiry as to what happened on 9/11. And we covered in this report, which was submitted in December of 2002, well before the book was published, and has gone through the declassification process. And this is what the administration allowed to be released to the public.

They said -- the Bush administration officials testified that they did not begin their major counterterrorism policy until after April of 2001. It appears that significant slippage in the counterterrorism policy may have taken place in late 2000 and early 2001.

So I think that the administration, by its own statement to our committee, as reported in this final bipartisan, bicameral report indicates that there likely was some slowness on the uptake by the new administration.

BLITZER: Senator Graham, the differences expressed between Condoleezza Rice and Richard Clarke, are they differences of nuance, opinion, or are there factual substantive differences there?

GRAHAM: Well, a lot of it is opinion. But there are some facts.

For instance, the fact, it is correct that in February of 2002 the Bush administration began moving military and intelligence capability out of Afghanistan to get ready for the war in Iraq, thus allowing Osama bin Laden to escape and al Qaeda to regenerate?

Is it true that this administration from the day after September 11 had its focus on Iraq more than it had its focus on al Qaeda and the terrorists?

Those are facts. Those are not matters of speculation. And I believe that's what the 9/11 commission will be basing its final set of recommendations upon.

BLITZER: Senator Graham, as usual, thanks very much for joining us.

GRAHAM: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And more reaction to Condoleezza Rice's upcoming testimony coming up. I'll speak live with the former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger.

Plus, this developing story we're following.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE THUE, MOTHER OF AUDREY'S ROOMMATE: They came in and said they found her first and then they said she was alive and everyone's cheering and -- and jumping up and down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What a relief. A missing college student who vanished four days ago is found alive. Police, though, are still searching for her alleged kidnapper. They're searching right now.

Painful prices at the pump and now no relief in sight from oil- producing countries. How high will gasoline prices rise?

Greeted by crowds of cheering fans the embattled pop star Michael Jackson is back on Capitol Hill here in Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Major developments late this afternoon on a case of the missing Wisconsin college student who disappeared four days ago. The young woman, 20 years old, has been found alive, and an intense search is on right now for a possible armed suspect.

CNN's Jason Bellini has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police say 20- year-old Audrey Seiler was found in this marsh, spotted by a passerby. The University of Wisconsin sophomore from Minnesota was taken to a hospital, reunited with her family, and police say she appears to be all right.

THUE: It is a miracle. It's an absolute miracle. But we never gave up faith, and everyone has been absolutely wonderful. Everyone has pulled together. The police are wonderful.

BELLINI: It's still not clear what happened to her. The marsh is less than two miles from Seiler's off-campus apartment building.

A security camera taped her walking out of the building early Saturday without her purse. She never came back.

Heightening the mystery, Seiler was the victim of a still unexplained attack two months ago. Police say she was knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant February 1, struck from behind while out walking after midnight.

Investigators uncovered no motive for that attack. Now authorities are trying to determine whether it was linked to her disappearance of the last four days. Jason Bellini, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And we're standing by this hour, a news conference on her condition. We'll go to her hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. We expect to hear from her doctors to give us an update on how she's doing.

Lawyers for former NBA star Jayson Williams have rested their case. That story tops our justice report. Closing arguments in his manslaughter trial are now set for next week.

Williams is charged with shooting his limousine driver last year and then trying to make it look like a suicide. He did not testify in his own defense. Williams faces 55 years in prison if convicted.

The 14-year-old boy accusing Michael Jackson of molestation reportedly testified before a grand jury. The Associated Press quotes an unnamed source as saying the boy appeared under extreme secrecy, but it was unclear whether he was testifying again today.

The A.P. says the nightclub owner who introduced the boy to Jackson also testified.

Paying more at the pump: gas prices are soaring. Now a critical decision by OPEC. What impact will it have at the pump for all of us?

Nine more Americans dead in Iraq. The violence raging out of control in some areas. I'll speak live with the former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, and New York City's former top cop who trained Iraqi police, Bernard Kerrick.

And off the campaign trail and into the operating room. We'll have details of John Kerry's surgery. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A reminder to our viewers: We're standing by for a news conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Audrey Seiler, the 20-year-old University of Wisconsin student who went missing four days ago, she was found alive today. She was brought to a hospital.

We're standing by to hear from doctors to see how she's doing. We'll go there live once that news conference begins.

In the meantime, let's check other stories we're following, important stories.

A dollar certainly doesn't buy much gasoline these days. And thanks to OPEC, it may buy even less. Today the oil consortium said it will press forward with production cuts, news that could keep the U.S. economy sputtering instead of firing on all cylinders.

CNN's Kathleen Hays is joining us now live with more -- Kathleen. KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you know, every recession since 1960 has been preceded by a big spike-up in oil prices. It's one reason why investors and politicians are watching OPEC so closely.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to be able to pay the rent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a big deal for me. I have five service trucks, and each one uses about 60 gallon as week. So it really adds up.

HAYS (voice-over): And surging gas prices could hit U.S. consumers and businesses even harder, now that the world's biggest oil suppliers agreed to cut production.

PHIL FLYNN, ALARON TRADING: To be honest with you, the way the demand is right now and the supplies and potential future supplies is, we're going to see a squeeze and we're going to see it very, very quickly.

HAYS: OPEC's move comes at a bad time. Two weeks ago, crude oil prices hit a 13-year high of 38 bucks a barrel, pushed higher by a bitterly cold winter that depleted oil inventories and China's bursting economy that is gobbling up oil at a rapid pace.

Now analysts say it could top $40 a barrel after averaging $31 last year.

From higher airline fares to more expensive body lotions, it's a move that will ripple through the U.S. economy.

JOHN KILDUFF, FIMAT USA: Crude oil is the basic building block for gasoline, asphalt, diesel fuel, jet fuel. As that goes higher, all of those end products go higher as well.

HAYS: Economists say it's a painful tax hike that leaves less money to spend on other things like clothes, cars and computers. And less spending by consumers is the last thing the U.S. recovery needs now.

ROBERT HORMATS, GOLDMAN SACHS: People have to dig deeper into their pockets and that does tend to have a negative effect on the economy. Marginal but negative in an economy that's still trying to struggle to sustain growth.

HAYS: But there may be some relief in sight, not from government policymakers but from natural market forces.

KILDUFF: If crude oil price hovers upward of $35 and $40 a barrel, I expect the OPEC cartel and all other non-OPEC countries to really produce almost as much as they can for a time, to cash in on the price and then to bring the price down.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HAYS: And as higher prices force consumers to cut back on trips to the mall, maybe even scale back their summer driving plans, optimists say this will help bring prices down, too -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kathleen Hays, thanks very much for that report. Forty dollars a barrel, pretty shocking when all that long ago was only $20 a barrel. We'll see what happens. Thanks, Kathleen, very much.

As the 9/11 panel awaits Condoleezza Rice's public testimony, speculation mounts about what she might say. Up next, I'll speak live with a man who was originally named to head the panel, the former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger.

The King of Pop turns political. Why Michael Jackson spent the day here in Washington on Capitol Hill.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANEANE GAROFALO, AIR AMERICA TALK SHOW HOST: There is an audience that is hungry for another perspective that is outside of the frame of mainstream media.

I was going to say that...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Turning the radio dial to the left. Can liberals win over the airwaves? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN.

And extremely violent and deadly day in Iraq. Two horrific attacks targeting both American soldiers and civilians. I'll speak live with former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, and former U.S. policy advisor in Iraq, Bernard Kerrick.

We'll get to all of that. First, though, a quick check of the latest headlines.

Pop star Michael Jackson spent a second day on Capitol Hill, meeting with members of Congress and officials from Africa. Jackson says he's planning a tour in Africa to highlight and continue his efforts to fight AIDS in Africa.

In Spain today, a national court judge issued international arrest warrants for six suspects in the deadly Madrid train bombings. Five of those suspects are Moroccan. The sixth is Tunisian. Another suspect was or arrested. Almost 200 people were killed in the March 11 attacks. The United Nations Security Council put its formal support behind an independent probe into the Iraq oil-for-food program. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan wanted the outside investigation to look into fraud allegations. The program allowed Saddam Hussein to sell Iraqi oil and use the profits for food and medicine.

We're getting some developing news right now on Martha Stewart. Our Deborah Feyerick is standing by in New York. She's joining us live with that story.

Deborah, what do you know?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Martha Stewart's lawyers filed paper in federal court just about half an hour ago. They are seeking to have the guilty verdict overturned and a new trial. They say that one of the jury members lied on his questionnaire.

Specifically, they are referring to the juror by the name of Chappell Hartridge, the one who spoke to the media right after the verdict was read. Stewart's lawyers say that Chappell Hartridge failed to disclose on the questionnaire during the voir dire that he had physically abused his girlfriend, that she had filed a report with the New York City Police Department, that he was arrested and arraigned in New York County criminal court.

The lawyers are trying to get those records unsealed. The lawyers also charge that he has been sued by someone and that he had been accused of wrongdoing on a job, even though it was a volunteer job. So right now Martha Stewart's lawyers trying to get the entire guilty verdict overturned, asking the federal court for a new trial, this coming down just half an hour ago -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Deborah Feyerick following this story for us -- thanks, Deborah, very much.

Let's get back to our top story, anticipation building towards Condoleezza Rice's public appearance before the 9/11 Commission. The distinguished diplomat who was tapped to lead that panel before stepping down because of potential appearance of conflict of interest concerns is our next guest, the former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who is joining us from New York.

Dr. Kissinger, do you feel bad that you're not chairing this commission right now?

HENRY KISSINGER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I want to correct what you said. There were no potential conflicts of interest. There was a lot of controversy raised, particularly by "The New York Times." And I thought to end that would be to protracted, but there were no conflicts of interest that I was not prepared to resolve.

BLITZER: All right, that's fair enough.

Let's get to the substantive issues before we get to the 9/11 Commission. You have probably by now seen some of the pictures. And we haven't shown our viewers by any means all of the pictures. An angry mob in Fallujah in the Sunni Triangle desecrating really four American civilian contractors, burning their car, and then dragging their bodies through the streets, and then hanging them basically over a bridge. This kind of spectacle we haven't seen in a long time. What does it say to you?

KISSINGER: Well, it says to me that there are profound feelings, obviously, in Iraq and that the idea that this would lead to a smooth transition is -- well, it's not accurate.

On the other hand, it shows also a degree of hostility to the West and to a country that has been trying to help these people and put an enormous amount of resources into it.

BLITZER: What was incredibly shocking to me and I'm sure to you is not only word of the spectacle, this killing, this murder, but that the crowds were cheering. And you could see how much they hated America in their faces, reminiscent of earlier period in our history.

KISSINGER: Yes, but what they are hating is really, they have turned America into a symbol for the West. And what they're doing here is to fight a war of civilizations and of cultures, which we don't want and which we're trying to overcome.

And it showed something about the depth of the hatred which drove the terrorists to begin with and which led to the attacks on the United States. After all, on September 10, the day before the attacks took place, there would have been nobody of the victims who would have thought of the Middle East as a nation of adversaries that were trying to kill Americans. And this is not a specific incident.

This is an attitude that has been systematically fostered by these people, by these terrorists groups. And this has now gone deeper into the public. I have, myself, not seen these pictures because I was on a train coming back from Washington to New York.

BLITZER: Well, the pictures are pretty gruesome. I can assure you.

KISSINGER: I don't doubt it. No, I don't.

BLITZER: And they're reminiscent, to a certain degree, Dr. Kissinger, of what we saw in Somalia in Mogadishu. And, as you know, the U.S., and I'll put it bluntly, cut and run out of Somalia shortly after that. Is there a concern in your mind that given the revulsion in some quarters in the United States, this administration might do the same thing in Iraq now?

KISSINGER: I don't think that this president will cut and run, but I also would stress that we cannot cut and run because these people who are doing -- who did this act, not maybe the same people, but the types of people, will pursue us across frontiers.

This has now become a test case of the terrorists -- of the terror war. And this has been done deliberately in order to create -- to create panic in this country. We must now prevail. And the consequences for us and even for many people who are trying to disassociate from us in Europe, for example, would be extremely severe.

BLITZER: I'm going to just bring up the historic reference to Vietnam right now. As you well remember, Dr. Kissinger, because you were there, you were involved in policy, we heard that kind of explanation in Vietnam as well. Is there a parallel in your mind?

KISSINGER: Well, I think, first of all, these explanations in Vietnam were substantially correct. And it led to a series of major dislocations when we did not carry them out.

But this is different from Vietnam in one respect. In Vietnam, our enemies were in the country. And the effect of Vietnam was the symbolic impact of the United States being ready to abandon its friends. And this is why President Nixon continued a war that he had inherited. In this case, we are talking about organizations that have been murdering people in Bali, in Uzbekistan, in Turkey, in Morocco, in Saudi Arabia, in Spain, and in America, so that if these people believe that America can be induced to cut and run, and America is a symbol of the civilization that they most resent, then I think all bets are off and we will see more and more of these outrages.

BLITZER: Dr. Kissinger, a sober thought for all of us. As usual, thanks very much for joining us.

KISSINGER: Pleasure to be on.

BLITZER: As we've been reporting, a very deadly day in Iraq for American troops. It's bringing renewed doubts, at least in some quarters, about the overall mission. Up next, I'll continue this conversation with a former senior policy adviser about where the United States should go from here, Bernard Kerik, who spent time on the ground in Iraq. He'll join us live.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

AL FRANKEN, COMEDIAN/AUTHOR: Broadcasting from an underground bunker 3,500 feet below Dick Cheney's bunker, Air America Radio is on the air.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLITZER: Clearing the air. Conservatives might dominate the dial right now, but could that soon change as the left starts to tackle talk radio?

And recovery for Kerry. The senator is out of surgery. An update on his condition, that is coming up this hour. We'll get to all of that.

First, though, a look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Violence continues in the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan. The government blames Islamic militants During a police search in the Uzbek capital today, suspects set off a grenade and took hostages.

Afghan appeal. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his country will need billion in international aid if it's going to avoid a return to the days when Afghanistan was a haven for terrorists and drug traffickers. Addressing an international conference on his country's future, Mr. Karzai is seeking $27.5 billion over seven years.

Cautious praise. For the first time, a Palestinian official is saying positive things about Israel's plan to withdraw from Gaza. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia says the proposal could be a step toward peace, but he adds, it should accompanied by an Israeli pullout from the West Bank.

Rolls in Russia. Lenin must be turning in his tomb. Rolls- Royce, the car that epitomized capitalist success, is opening a showroom on Moscow's Red Square. A spokesman says Russia's economic growth in recent years has spurred demand for luxury cars.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More now on our top story, the deaths of nine Americans in Iraq today.

The killing and mutilation of four American civilians raises more questions about the overall mission just months before a planned transfer of power that's supposed to take place June 30.

Joining us now from Las Vegas is Bernard Kerik. He's the former New York police commissioner. He served last year as a senior U.S. policy adviser in Iraq, took on the task of trying to rebuild that country's police force.

Commissioner, thanks very much for joining us.

You were actually there on the ground. When you were there traveling around Iraq, did you see that kind of venomous hatred that was clearly evident in Fallujah today?

BERNARD KERIK, FORMER NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Honestly, Wolf, we did, you know, in some areas, in Kirkuk, in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, Fallujah, Ramadi. These are areas within the Sunni Triangle that were predominately Saddam's people. We had problems then. Those problems will continue. And it's something the Iraqis will have to take care of once they're in power after June.

BLITZER: Well, do you think, based on what you know, they can do this, given the real split within Iraq itself? This Sunni Triangle in and around Baghdad, this is a significant part of the country right there.

KERIK: Well, it is. And, you know, it's going to be something that's -- it's not easily addressed. But it will be addressed. And I think with the Iraqis that we have up and running now, and it's really important that we do as much as possible over the next three months to get as many more recruited, vetted and trained in the police, the military, the civil defense forces, to get them on the streets.

And then, also, we can't forget that we have to give them a support mechanism, resources to do their job and that means not fully pulling out. We're going to have to have people on the ground that supports them in doing their job in the future.

BLITZER: There is one optimistic school of thought, as you well know, Commissioner, that suggests that with the U.S. occupation over, assuming it ends June 30, the Iraqis take charge of their sovereignty July 1, that with the U.S. occupation over, the security situation might improve. Do you believe that?

KERIK: Well, I think it will. Whether it's -- you know, it's not going to happen the next day. It's not going to happen within a week or two weeks. Ultimately, it will improve. That process will continue.

But it's all about the Iraqis. It's about Iraqi enforcement. It's about Iraqi intelligence. You know, we can't fight that intelligence fight. They have to be able to vet and identify the problem areas. They have to be able to identify al Qaeda and Ansar al-Islam and the people on the ground that are doing this, like in Fallujah. They've got to do that. And they will be better set to do that by the more people they get stood up and running. And that will happen over time.

BLITZER: The insurgents, the al Qaeda, the network of intelligence, those that oppose the U.S. in Iraq, they are spreading this word that the United States is simply there to steal Iraq's oil and make a profit. This may be absurd, but a lot of people in Iraq, as you well know, honestly believe this.

KERIK: Well, honestly, Wolf, and this is something that we, you know -- I sort of educate the public on a daily basis, one, that the United States is not getting money from that oil. We could care less about that oil. That oil is paying and going into the Iraqi economic structure.

We're using that to rebuild, to reconstitute. That's what that money's for. And once we pull out of there, if nothing else that we get out of that region, it's a friend. And the people that are then stood up, running the country in sovereignty, in freedom, we need a friend in the region. There are other countries out there, Syria and Iran. You know, we need friends. We need friends in that region. And I think Iraq, a liberated Iraq, a free Iraq, is what we get out of this and it was extremely important to our country.

BLITZER: Commissioner, did the U.S. bite off more than it can chew in Iraq? KERIK: Absolutely not. I think we eliminated a threat against us. We took down a madman and a sick regime. We gave Iraq its liberation. And I think we just have to hang in there, fight this fight, take the fight to the terrorists.

I have two young children, Wolf, 1 1/2 and 4 years old. I don't want them to see another September 11. And I think that can honestly happen if we don't continue this commitment in Iraq and wherever it takes us to fight terrorism.

BLITZER: As you know, there are many who believe that the whole U.S. effort in Iraq is merely diverting essential resources from that war on terror, the war against Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.

KERIK: Well, you know, I guess those people should have spent four months on the ground with me. They should have seen the hatred that Saddam had for this country. They should have looked at the mass graves. They should have looked at the weapons we found. They should have looked at the videos I saw.

If they saw what I saw, you know, if they lived in my mind, they would have a very different opinion of what Iraq is, what it was, and what it's going to be in the future.

BLITZER: Bernard Kerik, the former New York police commissioner joining us -- thanks as usual, Commissioner.

KERIK: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Waving to crowds should get a little easier for John Kerry. Up next, details on the operation he just underwent and what caused his injury.

Also, talk radio takes a sharp left turn, how a band of left- wingers hopes to take on the right-wingers over the airwaves.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: John Kerry took a quick detour off the campaign trail today. The Democratic candidate had outpatient surgery on a torn rotator cuff. Kerry hurt his shoulder on the campaign bus in Iowa.

CNN's Dan Lothian is joining us now live from Boston with an update on Kerry's condition.

Dan's, how he's doing?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Senator Kerry's doctor says the 45-minute operation went smoothly. In fact, after he awoke from general anesthesia, he joked -- quote -- "I hope I didn't reveal any state secrets." He also thanked all of his doctors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LOTHIAN (voice-over): Senator John Kerry tossed a cell phone, joked with reporters, and appeared confident as he walked into Massachusetts General Hospital for surgery.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I feel great. I really feel great. Looking forward just to get it done, get in, get out.

LOTHIAN: The minor procedure which required a 1.5-inch incision, repaired a partial tear in his right rotator cuff injured as the senator braced himself on a bus in January while campaigning in Iowa. Before showing up for surgery, Senator Kerry made a campaign stop in the Boston area, holding a roundtable meeting with unemployed workers and criticizing the Bush administration.

KERRY: This year, they put $120 million into job training. And I'll bet you say, wow, that's really great, right? What they don't tell you is that over the last three years they cut $1 billion from job training.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: The Bush campaign says those numbers are just wrong. They say this is nothing more than political rhetoric.

Now, as for Kerry's recovery, his doctor says that he probably should stay away from throwing any more footballs, but should probably have no problem shaking hands or holding babies on the campaign trail. He is expected to experience moderate pain and will have to wear a sling on his right arm. But in terms of long term, his doctor says all should be well -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And our CNN political unit informing us now that John Kerry has just left the hospital.

Dan Lothian in Boston reporting for us -- thanks, Dan, very much.

Al Franken and Air America signed on today on six stations around the country. The new radio network is an attempt to put a liberal outlook on the air and compete with conservative radio icons like Rush Limbaugh. Franken launched the network with a jab at the vice president.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Broadcasting from an underground bunker 3,500 feet below Dick Cheney's bunker, Air America radio is on the air. I'm Al Franken and welcome to "The O. Franken Factor."

Today is both an ending and a beginning, an end to the right-wing dominance of talk radio and the beginning of the battle for truth, the battle for justice, a battle, indeed, for America itself.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLITZER: Other hosts of the network include the actress Janeane Garofalo, the rapper Chuck D, and one of the creators of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central.

The diva of dunk going where no woman has gone before. Find out where in our picture of the day. Very nice.

Plus, the results of our "Web Question of the Day," that's coming up when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now an update on a still-developing story we're following.

A news conference expected to begin momentarily in Madison, Wisconsin, where missing University of Wisconsin of Audrey Seiler was found today. Seiler was discovered alive in a marsh near her apartment. She was taken to a hospital, reunited with her family. The details behind her disappearance Saturday remain unclear. We'll continue to follow the story.

Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day": Does the latest violence in Iraq raise doubts about whether the country can be rebuilt? Seventy-three percent of you say yes; 27 percent say no. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.

Let's read some of your e-mail.

Bob writes this: "The attacks in Iraq today are infuriating. If the administration allows this dreadful thing to go unanswered, we are the paper tiger we've been accused of being. We have been too easy on the Iraqis. We need to step up the force employed in the occupation."

Richard writes this: "I see that the Iraqis are so pleased to be liberated that they're dragging Americans' bodies through their streets. Since their own people won't police such actions, we should get out now, before more Americans die."

The diva of dunk. It's our picture of the day; 17-year-old Candace Parker beat out five men this week, becoming the first woman ever to win the slam dunk contest in the McDonald's High School All- American game. The 6' 4'' senior says the win was totally unexpected, adding, she was just trying to get one down. Look for more of the same from Parker when she plays for the University of Tennessee next season.

A reminder, we're on weekdays 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Tomorrow at this time, my special guest, Republican Senator John McCain.

Until then, thanks for watching. "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


Aired March 31, 2004 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now, in Wisconsin a missing college student found alive, but police still have a huge mystery on their hands. The frantic search underway this hour for someone else near the scene of the student's recovery. We'll have extensive coverage.
And three special guests this hour, as well. Senator Bob Graham, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerrick. They speak out on today's devastating news in Iraq and the war on terror.

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Horror in Iraq. Bloody attacks on Americans as jubilant Iraqis drag bodies though the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are people who want Iraq to turn back to an era, mass graves, rape rooms and torture chambers and chemical attacks.

BLITZER: Is there an answer? I'll ask former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger.

Squaring accounts. The 9/11 panel waits for Condoleezza Rice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to clear up any discrepancies between her testimony and other people's.

BLITZER: The price of gas, they're pumping it up by pumping less. What it means for you.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday, March 31, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: By any standard for Americans in Iraq today was a day of horror.

Five U.S. troops were killed by a roadside bomb and four civilian contractors, all Americans, died in an ambush, their bodies dragged through the streets by a cheering mob.

We begin our coverage in Baghdad with our senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers -- Walter.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf.

Well, this was the bloodiest day of the war so far this year, or it tied it, nine Americans killed. Nine Americans died earlier this year in a helicopter crash. But this time it was two separate incidents.

Five American soldiers were killed in the area of Habaniyah (ph). Their Humvee passed by an improvised explosive device. A thunderous explosion that blew a hole in the ground, a crater 15 feet by 10 feet.

But the most dramatic attack of the day was in, of course, Fallujah, the so-called heart of the Sunni Triangle, the epicenter of opposition to U.S. forces.

Two SUVs were driving through the town, four private contractors, all Americans, were in those SUVs when suddenly they were ambushed. Eyewitnesses said men with masks over their head jumped out. They tossed hand grenades at the SUV, stopping them, and then they sprayed the SUVs with bullets, killing everyone inside or incapacitating everyone inside.

And then the Iraqi masked men set those SUVs ablaze. When the fire died down they mutilated the bodies of the private contractors for an American security firm, inside those SUVs. Then they dragged them through the streets and they hung them on a bridge.

General Mark Kimmitt briefed reporters shortly after this happened and tried to put it in some context.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: There are four families in this world today that are going to get knocks on the doors. And you don't want to be on either side of that door when it happens, either hearing the news or delivering the news.

There will be five military families that get that same news today. But that isn't going to stop us from doing our mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: These incidents took place less than 40 miles west of Baghdad. Again, it was in the so-called Sunni Triangle and Fallujah has been the hot bed of resistance in the American occupation -- Wolf.

BLITZER: A cheering mob as well. Walter Rodgers on the scene for us. Walter, thanks very much.

Iraq's insurgents make use of a variety of deadly weapons, many of them improvised. CNN's Mike Brooks is joining us now to help explain this particular threat -- Mike.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN ANALYST: Good evening, Wolf. The insurgents are using a variety of devices: sometimes rockets, roadside bombs or sometimes, like today, grenades thrown inside vehicles.

We've got some photos that show just one of the techniques being used.

This vehicle, which was being used by an American personnel in Baghdad was wired to blow. As you can see from these pictures obtained by CNN there was a booby trap using a hand grenade. It was wired to the frame of the truck.

Another wire was tired to the pin of the grenade with the other end tied to the rim of the tire. The device would have gone off when the truck wheel started turning, killing or seriously injuring the passengers inside.

This grenade was discovered during a security check, but many more so-called improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, aren't. And they end up taking lives.

In order to outwit security checkpoints, insurgents are using creative ways of concealing the IEDs. Federal law enforcement sources who have just returned from Iraq tell CNN that bombs are being concealed in the bodies of dead animals along the side of the road, in piles of trash, and rocks, in donkey carts, in holes in the middle of the roads, where they await unsuspecting vehicles as their next victims.

And, Wolf, I've also heard from law enforcement sources that there are Iraqi citizens that have been coming forward to the coalition forces, letting them know about the location of bombs, saving many, many lives.

And these bombs, we never hear about, but they have saved so many lives. They said they are in an integral part of the investigation into if any of these bombs are linked at all -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Mike Brooks, explaining this part of the horror. Thanks very much, Mike, for that.

More on today's developments in Iraq. I'll speak live with the former senior U.S. policy advisor in Iraq, Bernard Kerrick. He'll join us soon.

And here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: "Does the latest violence in Iraq raise doubts about whether the country can be rebuilt?"

You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results a little bit later in this broadcast.

While you're there, though, I'd love to hear directly from you. Send me your comments any time. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. It's also where you can read my daily online column: CNN.com/Wolf. The chairman of the 9/11 commission says he hopes National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice will testify within the next ten days.

After first refusing to allow Rice to testify publicly and under oath, the Bush administration has now reversed its position. They did that yesterday.

Our national security correspondent David Ensor is standing by to tell us what we can expect. There are discrepancies unfolding between various people that have already appeared before this commission.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Wolf. And there may be some rather pointed questions for Condoleezza Rice when she does testify. Many of them will be shaped around the testimony of Richard Clarke.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): Richard Clarke charges Condoleezza Rice failed to hold cabinet secretaries' feet to the fire in the summer of 2001 when the CIA was warning of a high terror threat from al Qaeda.

By contrast he says her predecessor, Sandy Berger, did exactly that during the millennium threat period, pressing the FBI for information that may have helped to prevent an attack on American soil.

RICHARD CLARKE, FORMER COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISOR: Some people in the FBI knew. And if Condi Rice had been doing her job in holding those daily meetings the way Sandy Berger did, if she had a hands-on attitude for being national security advisor, when she had information that there was a threat against the United States.

That kind of information was shaken out in December 1999. It would have been shaken out in the summer of 2001, if she had been doing her job.

ENSOR: To White House officials those are fighting words and unfair. More meetings in 2001, they say, would not necessarily have stopped al Qaeda.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Richard Clarke had plenty of opportunities to tell us in the administration that he thought the war on terrorism was moving in the wrong direction. And he chose not to.

ENSOR: Rice can expect tough questions, though, from some commissioners about why she didn't do more against al Qaeda before 9/11.

RICHARD BEN-VENISTE, 9/11 COMMISSIONER: Were she here I would ask her the question as to why she did not discuss the issue of al Qaeda sleeper cells in the United States with her counterterrorism coordinator. ENSOR: There will also be questions about Clarke's description of President Bush taking him aside after 9/11 and pressing him to seek evidence of an Iraqi hand in the attacks.

RICE: It's not surprising that the president wanted to know if we were going to retaliate, against whom are we going to retaliate. And of course, Iraq, given our history, given the fact that they tried to kill a former president, was a likely suspect.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: Stay tuned for more revelations at the request of a senior Republican lawmaker. The White House has the CIA reviewing Clarke's closed-door testimony from July 2002 for what must remain classified, with an eye to releasing the rest soon.

BLITZER: All right, David. Thanks very much. This is going to be very fascinating testimony from Condoleezza Rice coming up perhaps as early as late next week.

We'll, of course, have extensive coverage leading up to that.

Earlier, I discussed the investigation with Democratic Senator Bob Graham of Florida. He's a former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He also co-chaired the joint House-Senate review of the events surrounding 9/11.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Senator Graham, thanks very much for joining us. What would you ask Condoleezza Rice if you had a chance to question her right now?

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D), FLORIDA: I would ask her what is this administration preparing to do in terms of increasing the capability of our intelligence and our operational military to deal with terrorism.

I'd like to ask her what is the war on terrorism after al Qaeda?

Third, what are we doing in Syria? Are we butting some pressure on the Syrian government to surface Hezbollah and Hamas and other groups which are using that as a sanctuary?

BLITZER: Well, how concerned are you about Syria? We haven't heard much about Syria lately.

GRAHAM: Well, I think Syria sort of got lost as the war on terrorism got lost. I'm surprised that we haven't already began to put some very serious pressure on Syria, because Hezbollah in many people's minds is the most efficient, effective and vicious terrorist group in the world.

BLITZER: So do you see a difference between Hezbollah and Hamas on the one hand, Palestinian-related groups as opposed to, let's say, al Qaeda? GRAHAM: Well, one of the differences is that Hezbollah is not just Palestinian-oriented. They conducted some very significant attacks, as far away as Buenos Aires. So they've killed 300 Americans, mainly in Lebanon over the last 25 years.

So they have a global reach, which was the standard that the president set for our targets in the war on terror.

BLITZER: What about that charges that Richard Clarke has made, including that the administration was asleep at the switch during the first eight, nine months of the Bush presidency and neglected the real threat, namely al Qaeda?

GRAHAM: Well, Wolf, this is the final report, 800 pages of the joint House-Senate Intelligence Committee inquiry as to what happened on 9/11. And we covered in this report, which was submitted in December of 2002, well before the book was published, and has gone through the declassification process. And this is what the administration allowed to be released to the public.

They said -- the Bush administration officials testified that they did not begin their major counterterrorism policy until after April of 2001. It appears that significant slippage in the counterterrorism policy may have taken place in late 2000 and early 2001.

So I think that the administration, by its own statement to our committee, as reported in this final bipartisan, bicameral report indicates that there likely was some slowness on the uptake by the new administration.

BLITZER: Senator Graham, the differences expressed between Condoleezza Rice and Richard Clarke, are they differences of nuance, opinion, or are there factual substantive differences there?

GRAHAM: Well, a lot of it is opinion. But there are some facts.

For instance, the fact, it is correct that in February of 2002 the Bush administration began moving military and intelligence capability out of Afghanistan to get ready for the war in Iraq, thus allowing Osama bin Laden to escape and al Qaeda to regenerate?

Is it true that this administration from the day after September 11 had its focus on Iraq more than it had its focus on al Qaeda and the terrorists?

Those are facts. Those are not matters of speculation. And I believe that's what the 9/11 commission will be basing its final set of recommendations upon.

BLITZER: Senator Graham, as usual, thanks very much for joining us.

GRAHAM: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And more reaction to Condoleezza Rice's upcoming testimony coming up. I'll speak live with the former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger.

Plus, this developing story we're following.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE THUE, MOTHER OF AUDREY'S ROOMMATE: They came in and said they found her first and then they said she was alive and everyone's cheering and -- and jumping up and down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What a relief. A missing college student who vanished four days ago is found alive. Police, though, are still searching for her alleged kidnapper. They're searching right now.

Painful prices at the pump and now no relief in sight from oil- producing countries. How high will gasoline prices rise?

Greeted by crowds of cheering fans the embattled pop star Michael Jackson is back on Capitol Hill here in Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Major developments late this afternoon on a case of the missing Wisconsin college student who disappeared four days ago. The young woman, 20 years old, has been found alive, and an intense search is on right now for a possible armed suspect.

CNN's Jason Bellini has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police say 20- year-old Audrey Seiler was found in this marsh, spotted by a passerby. The University of Wisconsin sophomore from Minnesota was taken to a hospital, reunited with her family, and police say she appears to be all right.

THUE: It is a miracle. It's an absolute miracle. But we never gave up faith, and everyone has been absolutely wonderful. Everyone has pulled together. The police are wonderful.

BELLINI: It's still not clear what happened to her. The marsh is less than two miles from Seiler's off-campus apartment building.

A security camera taped her walking out of the building early Saturday without her purse. She never came back.

Heightening the mystery, Seiler was the victim of a still unexplained attack two months ago. Police say she was knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant February 1, struck from behind while out walking after midnight.

Investigators uncovered no motive for that attack. Now authorities are trying to determine whether it was linked to her disappearance of the last four days. Jason Bellini, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And we're standing by this hour, a news conference on her condition. We'll go to her hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. We expect to hear from her doctors to give us an update on how she's doing.

Lawyers for former NBA star Jayson Williams have rested their case. That story tops our justice report. Closing arguments in his manslaughter trial are now set for next week.

Williams is charged with shooting his limousine driver last year and then trying to make it look like a suicide. He did not testify in his own defense. Williams faces 55 years in prison if convicted.

The 14-year-old boy accusing Michael Jackson of molestation reportedly testified before a grand jury. The Associated Press quotes an unnamed source as saying the boy appeared under extreme secrecy, but it was unclear whether he was testifying again today.

The A.P. says the nightclub owner who introduced the boy to Jackson also testified.

Paying more at the pump: gas prices are soaring. Now a critical decision by OPEC. What impact will it have at the pump for all of us?

Nine more Americans dead in Iraq. The violence raging out of control in some areas. I'll speak live with the former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, and New York City's former top cop who trained Iraqi police, Bernard Kerrick.

And off the campaign trail and into the operating room. We'll have details of John Kerry's surgery. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A reminder to our viewers: We're standing by for a news conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Audrey Seiler, the 20-year-old University of Wisconsin student who went missing four days ago, she was found alive today. She was brought to a hospital.

We're standing by to hear from doctors to see how she's doing. We'll go there live once that news conference begins.

In the meantime, let's check other stories we're following, important stories.

A dollar certainly doesn't buy much gasoline these days. And thanks to OPEC, it may buy even less. Today the oil consortium said it will press forward with production cuts, news that could keep the U.S. economy sputtering instead of firing on all cylinders.

CNN's Kathleen Hays is joining us now live with more -- Kathleen. KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you know, every recession since 1960 has been preceded by a big spike-up in oil prices. It's one reason why investors and politicians are watching OPEC so closely.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to be able to pay the rent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a big deal for me. I have five service trucks, and each one uses about 60 gallon as week. So it really adds up.

HAYS (voice-over): And surging gas prices could hit U.S. consumers and businesses even harder, now that the world's biggest oil suppliers agreed to cut production.

PHIL FLYNN, ALARON TRADING: To be honest with you, the way the demand is right now and the supplies and potential future supplies is, we're going to see a squeeze and we're going to see it very, very quickly.

HAYS: OPEC's move comes at a bad time. Two weeks ago, crude oil prices hit a 13-year high of 38 bucks a barrel, pushed higher by a bitterly cold winter that depleted oil inventories and China's bursting economy that is gobbling up oil at a rapid pace.

Now analysts say it could top $40 a barrel after averaging $31 last year.

From higher airline fares to more expensive body lotions, it's a move that will ripple through the U.S. economy.

JOHN KILDUFF, FIMAT USA: Crude oil is the basic building block for gasoline, asphalt, diesel fuel, jet fuel. As that goes higher, all of those end products go higher as well.

HAYS: Economists say it's a painful tax hike that leaves less money to spend on other things like clothes, cars and computers. And less spending by consumers is the last thing the U.S. recovery needs now.

ROBERT HORMATS, GOLDMAN SACHS: People have to dig deeper into their pockets and that does tend to have a negative effect on the economy. Marginal but negative in an economy that's still trying to struggle to sustain growth.

HAYS: But there may be some relief in sight, not from government policymakers but from natural market forces.

KILDUFF: If crude oil price hovers upward of $35 and $40 a barrel, I expect the OPEC cartel and all other non-OPEC countries to really produce almost as much as they can for a time, to cash in on the price and then to bring the price down.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HAYS: And as higher prices force consumers to cut back on trips to the mall, maybe even scale back their summer driving plans, optimists say this will help bring prices down, too -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kathleen Hays, thanks very much for that report. Forty dollars a barrel, pretty shocking when all that long ago was only $20 a barrel. We'll see what happens. Thanks, Kathleen, very much.

As the 9/11 panel awaits Condoleezza Rice's public testimony, speculation mounts about what she might say. Up next, I'll speak live with a man who was originally named to head the panel, the former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger.

The King of Pop turns political. Why Michael Jackson spent the day here in Washington on Capitol Hill.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANEANE GAROFALO, AIR AMERICA TALK SHOW HOST: There is an audience that is hungry for another perspective that is outside of the frame of mainstream media.

I was going to say that...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Turning the radio dial to the left. Can liberals win over the airwaves? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN.

And extremely violent and deadly day in Iraq. Two horrific attacks targeting both American soldiers and civilians. I'll speak live with former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, and former U.S. policy advisor in Iraq, Bernard Kerrick.

We'll get to all of that. First, though, a quick check of the latest headlines.

Pop star Michael Jackson spent a second day on Capitol Hill, meeting with members of Congress and officials from Africa. Jackson says he's planning a tour in Africa to highlight and continue his efforts to fight AIDS in Africa.

In Spain today, a national court judge issued international arrest warrants for six suspects in the deadly Madrid train bombings. Five of those suspects are Moroccan. The sixth is Tunisian. Another suspect was or arrested. Almost 200 people were killed in the March 11 attacks. The United Nations Security Council put its formal support behind an independent probe into the Iraq oil-for-food program. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan wanted the outside investigation to look into fraud allegations. The program allowed Saddam Hussein to sell Iraqi oil and use the profits for food and medicine.

We're getting some developing news right now on Martha Stewart. Our Deborah Feyerick is standing by in New York. She's joining us live with that story.

Deborah, what do you know?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Martha Stewart's lawyers filed paper in federal court just about half an hour ago. They are seeking to have the guilty verdict overturned and a new trial. They say that one of the jury members lied on his questionnaire.

Specifically, they are referring to the juror by the name of Chappell Hartridge, the one who spoke to the media right after the verdict was read. Stewart's lawyers say that Chappell Hartridge failed to disclose on the questionnaire during the voir dire that he had physically abused his girlfriend, that she had filed a report with the New York City Police Department, that he was arrested and arraigned in New York County criminal court.

The lawyers are trying to get those records unsealed. The lawyers also charge that he has been sued by someone and that he had been accused of wrongdoing on a job, even though it was a volunteer job. So right now Martha Stewart's lawyers trying to get the entire guilty verdict overturned, asking the federal court for a new trial, this coming down just half an hour ago -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Deborah Feyerick following this story for us -- thanks, Deborah, very much.

Let's get back to our top story, anticipation building towards Condoleezza Rice's public appearance before the 9/11 Commission. The distinguished diplomat who was tapped to lead that panel before stepping down because of potential appearance of conflict of interest concerns is our next guest, the former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who is joining us from New York.

Dr. Kissinger, do you feel bad that you're not chairing this commission right now?

HENRY KISSINGER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I want to correct what you said. There were no potential conflicts of interest. There was a lot of controversy raised, particularly by "The New York Times." And I thought to end that would be to protracted, but there were no conflicts of interest that I was not prepared to resolve.

BLITZER: All right, that's fair enough.

Let's get to the substantive issues before we get to the 9/11 Commission. You have probably by now seen some of the pictures. And we haven't shown our viewers by any means all of the pictures. An angry mob in Fallujah in the Sunni Triangle desecrating really four American civilian contractors, burning their car, and then dragging their bodies through the streets, and then hanging them basically over a bridge. This kind of spectacle we haven't seen in a long time. What does it say to you?

KISSINGER: Well, it says to me that there are profound feelings, obviously, in Iraq and that the idea that this would lead to a smooth transition is -- well, it's not accurate.

On the other hand, it shows also a degree of hostility to the West and to a country that has been trying to help these people and put an enormous amount of resources into it.

BLITZER: What was incredibly shocking to me and I'm sure to you is not only word of the spectacle, this killing, this murder, but that the crowds were cheering. And you could see how much they hated America in their faces, reminiscent of earlier period in our history.

KISSINGER: Yes, but what they are hating is really, they have turned America into a symbol for the West. And what they're doing here is to fight a war of civilizations and of cultures, which we don't want and which we're trying to overcome.

And it showed something about the depth of the hatred which drove the terrorists to begin with and which led to the attacks on the United States. After all, on September 10, the day before the attacks took place, there would have been nobody of the victims who would have thought of the Middle East as a nation of adversaries that were trying to kill Americans. And this is not a specific incident.

This is an attitude that has been systematically fostered by these people, by these terrorists groups. And this has now gone deeper into the public. I have, myself, not seen these pictures because I was on a train coming back from Washington to New York.

BLITZER: Well, the pictures are pretty gruesome. I can assure you.

KISSINGER: I don't doubt it. No, I don't.

BLITZER: And they're reminiscent, to a certain degree, Dr. Kissinger, of what we saw in Somalia in Mogadishu. And, as you know, the U.S., and I'll put it bluntly, cut and run out of Somalia shortly after that. Is there a concern in your mind that given the revulsion in some quarters in the United States, this administration might do the same thing in Iraq now?

KISSINGER: I don't think that this president will cut and run, but I also would stress that we cannot cut and run because these people who are doing -- who did this act, not maybe the same people, but the types of people, will pursue us across frontiers.

This has now become a test case of the terrorists -- of the terror war. And this has been done deliberately in order to create -- to create panic in this country. We must now prevail. And the consequences for us and even for many people who are trying to disassociate from us in Europe, for example, would be extremely severe.

BLITZER: I'm going to just bring up the historic reference to Vietnam right now. As you well remember, Dr. Kissinger, because you were there, you were involved in policy, we heard that kind of explanation in Vietnam as well. Is there a parallel in your mind?

KISSINGER: Well, I think, first of all, these explanations in Vietnam were substantially correct. And it led to a series of major dislocations when we did not carry them out.

But this is different from Vietnam in one respect. In Vietnam, our enemies were in the country. And the effect of Vietnam was the symbolic impact of the United States being ready to abandon its friends. And this is why President Nixon continued a war that he had inherited. In this case, we are talking about organizations that have been murdering people in Bali, in Uzbekistan, in Turkey, in Morocco, in Saudi Arabia, in Spain, and in America, so that if these people believe that America can be induced to cut and run, and America is a symbol of the civilization that they most resent, then I think all bets are off and we will see more and more of these outrages.

BLITZER: Dr. Kissinger, a sober thought for all of us. As usual, thanks very much for joining us.

KISSINGER: Pleasure to be on.

BLITZER: As we've been reporting, a very deadly day in Iraq for American troops. It's bringing renewed doubts, at least in some quarters, about the overall mission. Up next, I'll continue this conversation with a former senior policy adviser about where the United States should go from here, Bernard Kerik, who spent time on the ground in Iraq. He'll join us live.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

AL FRANKEN, COMEDIAN/AUTHOR: Broadcasting from an underground bunker 3,500 feet below Dick Cheney's bunker, Air America Radio is on the air.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLITZER: Clearing the air. Conservatives might dominate the dial right now, but could that soon change as the left starts to tackle talk radio?

And recovery for Kerry. The senator is out of surgery. An update on his condition, that is coming up this hour. We'll get to all of that.

First, though, a look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Violence continues in the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan. The government blames Islamic militants During a police search in the Uzbek capital today, suspects set off a grenade and took hostages.

Afghan appeal. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his country will need billion in international aid if it's going to avoid a return to the days when Afghanistan was a haven for terrorists and drug traffickers. Addressing an international conference on his country's future, Mr. Karzai is seeking $27.5 billion over seven years.

Cautious praise. For the first time, a Palestinian official is saying positive things about Israel's plan to withdraw from Gaza. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia says the proposal could be a step toward peace, but he adds, it should accompanied by an Israeli pullout from the West Bank.

Rolls in Russia. Lenin must be turning in his tomb. Rolls- Royce, the car that epitomized capitalist success, is opening a showroom on Moscow's Red Square. A spokesman says Russia's economic growth in recent years has spurred demand for luxury cars.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More now on our top story, the deaths of nine Americans in Iraq today.

The killing and mutilation of four American civilians raises more questions about the overall mission just months before a planned transfer of power that's supposed to take place June 30.

Joining us now from Las Vegas is Bernard Kerik. He's the former New York police commissioner. He served last year as a senior U.S. policy adviser in Iraq, took on the task of trying to rebuild that country's police force.

Commissioner, thanks very much for joining us.

You were actually there on the ground. When you were there traveling around Iraq, did you see that kind of venomous hatred that was clearly evident in Fallujah today?

BERNARD KERIK, FORMER NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Honestly, Wolf, we did, you know, in some areas, in Kirkuk, in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, Fallujah, Ramadi. These are areas within the Sunni Triangle that were predominately Saddam's people. We had problems then. Those problems will continue. And it's something the Iraqis will have to take care of once they're in power after June.

BLITZER: Well, do you think, based on what you know, they can do this, given the real split within Iraq itself? This Sunni Triangle in and around Baghdad, this is a significant part of the country right there.

KERIK: Well, it is. And, you know, it's going to be something that's -- it's not easily addressed. But it will be addressed. And I think with the Iraqis that we have up and running now, and it's really important that we do as much as possible over the next three months to get as many more recruited, vetted and trained in the police, the military, the civil defense forces, to get them on the streets.

And then, also, we can't forget that we have to give them a support mechanism, resources to do their job and that means not fully pulling out. We're going to have to have people on the ground that supports them in doing their job in the future.

BLITZER: There is one optimistic school of thought, as you well know, Commissioner, that suggests that with the U.S. occupation over, assuming it ends June 30, the Iraqis take charge of their sovereignty July 1, that with the U.S. occupation over, the security situation might improve. Do you believe that?

KERIK: Well, I think it will. Whether it's -- you know, it's not going to happen the next day. It's not going to happen within a week or two weeks. Ultimately, it will improve. That process will continue.

But it's all about the Iraqis. It's about Iraqi enforcement. It's about Iraqi intelligence. You know, we can't fight that intelligence fight. They have to be able to vet and identify the problem areas. They have to be able to identify al Qaeda and Ansar al-Islam and the people on the ground that are doing this, like in Fallujah. They've got to do that. And they will be better set to do that by the more people they get stood up and running. And that will happen over time.

BLITZER: The insurgents, the al Qaeda, the network of intelligence, those that oppose the U.S. in Iraq, they are spreading this word that the United States is simply there to steal Iraq's oil and make a profit. This may be absurd, but a lot of people in Iraq, as you well know, honestly believe this.

KERIK: Well, honestly, Wolf, and this is something that we, you know -- I sort of educate the public on a daily basis, one, that the United States is not getting money from that oil. We could care less about that oil. That oil is paying and going into the Iraqi economic structure.

We're using that to rebuild, to reconstitute. That's what that money's for. And once we pull out of there, if nothing else that we get out of that region, it's a friend. And the people that are then stood up, running the country in sovereignty, in freedom, we need a friend in the region. There are other countries out there, Syria and Iran. You know, we need friends. We need friends in that region. And I think Iraq, a liberated Iraq, a free Iraq, is what we get out of this and it was extremely important to our country.

BLITZER: Commissioner, did the U.S. bite off more than it can chew in Iraq? KERIK: Absolutely not. I think we eliminated a threat against us. We took down a madman and a sick regime. We gave Iraq its liberation. And I think we just have to hang in there, fight this fight, take the fight to the terrorists.

I have two young children, Wolf, 1 1/2 and 4 years old. I don't want them to see another September 11. And I think that can honestly happen if we don't continue this commitment in Iraq and wherever it takes us to fight terrorism.

BLITZER: As you know, there are many who believe that the whole U.S. effort in Iraq is merely diverting essential resources from that war on terror, the war against Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.

KERIK: Well, you know, I guess those people should have spent four months on the ground with me. They should have seen the hatred that Saddam had for this country. They should have looked at the mass graves. They should have looked at the weapons we found. They should have looked at the videos I saw.

If they saw what I saw, you know, if they lived in my mind, they would have a very different opinion of what Iraq is, what it was, and what it's going to be in the future.

BLITZER: Bernard Kerik, the former New York police commissioner joining us -- thanks as usual, Commissioner.

KERIK: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Waving to crowds should get a little easier for John Kerry. Up next, details on the operation he just underwent and what caused his injury.

Also, talk radio takes a sharp left turn, how a band of left- wingers hopes to take on the right-wingers over the airwaves.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: John Kerry took a quick detour off the campaign trail today. The Democratic candidate had outpatient surgery on a torn rotator cuff. Kerry hurt his shoulder on the campaign bus in Iowa.

CNN's Dan Lothian is joining us now live from Boston with an update on Kerry's condition.

Dan's, how he's doing?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Senator Kerry's doctor says the 45-minute operation went smoothly. In fact, after he awoke from general anesthesia, he joked -- quote -- "I hope I didn't reveal any state secrets." He also thanked all of his doctors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LOTHIAN (voice-over): Senator John Kerry tossed a cell phone, joked with reporters, and appeared confident as he walked into Massachusetts General Hospital for surgery.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I feel great. I really feel great. Looking forward just to get it done, get in, get out.

LOTHIAN: The minor procedure which required a 1.5-inch incision, repaired a partial tear in his right rotator cuff injured as the senator braced himself on a bus in January while campaigning in Iowa. Before showing up for surgery, Senator Kerry made a campaign stop in the Boston area, holding a roundtable meeting with unemployed workers and criticizing the Bush administration.

KERRY: This year, they put $120 million into job training. And I'll bet you say, wow, that's really great, right? What they don't tell you is that over the last three years they cut $1 billion from job training.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: The Bush campaign says those numbers are just wrong. They say this is nothing more than political rhetoric.

Now, as for Kerry's recovery, his doctor says that he probably should stay away from throwing any more footballs, but should probably have no problem shaking hands or holding babies on the campaign trail. He is expected to experience moderate pain and will have to wear a sling on his right arm. But in terms of long term, his doctor says all should be well -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And our CNN political unit informing us now that John Kerry has just left the hospital.

Dan Lothian in Boston reporting for us -- thanks, Dan, very much.

Al Franken and Air America signed on today on six stations around the country. The new radio network is an attempt to put a liberal outlook on the air and compete with conservative radio icons like Rush Limbaugh. Franken launched the network with a jab at the vice president.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Broadcasting from an underground bunker 3,500 feet below Dick Cheney's bunker, Air America radio is on the air. I'm Al Franken and welcome to "The O. Franken Factor."

Today is both an ending and a beginning, an end to the right-wing dominance of talk radio and the beginning of the battle for truth, the battle for justice, a battle, indeed, for America itself.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLITZER: Other hosts of the network include the actress Janeane Garofalo, the rapper Chuck D, and one of the creators of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central.

The diva of dunk going where no woman has gone before. Find out where in our picture of the day. Very nice.

Plus, the results of our "Web Question of the Day," that's coming up when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now an update on a still-developing story we're following.

A news conference expected to begin momentarily in Madison, Wisconsin, where missing University of Wisconsin of Audrey Seiler was found today. Seiler was discovered alive in a marsh near her apartment. She was taken to a hospital, reunited with her family. The details behind her disappearance Saturday remain unclear. We'll continue to follow the story.

Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day": Does the latest violence in Iraq raise doubts about whether the country can be rebuilt? Seventy-three percent of you say yes; 27 percent say no. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.

Let's read some of your e-mail.

Bob writes this: "The attacks in Iraq today are infuriating. If the administration allows this dreadful thing to go unanswered, we are the paper tiger we've been accused of being. We have been too easy on the Iraqis. We need to step up the force employed in the occupation."

Richard writes this: "I see that the Iraqis are so pleased to be liberated that they're dragging Americans' bodies through their streets. Since their own people won't police such actions, we should get out now, before more Americans die."

The diva of dunk. It's our picture of the day; 17-year-old Candace Parker beat out five men this week, becoming the first woman ever to win the slam dunk contest in the McDonald's High School All- American game. The 6' 4'' senior says the win was totally unexpected, adding, she was just trying to get one down. Look for more of the same from Parker when she plays for the University of Tennessee next season.

A reminder, we're on weekdays 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Tomorrow at this time, my special guest, Republican Senator John McCain.

Until then, thanks for watching. "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