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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Chalabi's Home, Office Raided; Did Chalabi Mislead the U.S.?; Officials Deny Wedding Party Strike; Israel Continues Raids on Refugee Camp; Olympic Security Concerns Mount; 9/11 Commission Member: New York Emergency Plans Still Flawed
Aired May 20, 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, Olympic jitters. As President Bush meets with Greece's prime minister, increasing concerns about the safety of the summer games in Athens.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): From ally to outcast. The Pentagon once painted him as the next leader of Iraq. Now, U.S. troops raid his home.
AHMED CHALABI, IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBER: I'm America's best friend in Iraq.
BLITZER: But with (NO AUDIO)... prison photos. A deadly U.S. air strike. Bloody Israeli raids. Adding up the impact on the Arab world.
First daughters. The White House has protected their privacy, but now they're joining the real world and the campaign.
Feeding frenzy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These whales are going after each other and, you know, duking it out.
BLITZER: Killer whales killing off their cousins right off the California coast.
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, May 20, 2004.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: He was a protege of some of the top U.S. officials, a controversial exile who told them what they wanted -- what they may have wanted to hear about the regime of Saddam Hussein.
In some quarters he was seen as the future leader of the new Iraq. Now with an armed raid on his quarters that all seems to have changed so dramatically for Ahmed Chalabi.
We begin in Baghdad with CNN's Harris Whitbeck. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. troops and Iraqi policemen raid the headquarters of the man who calls himself America's best friend in Iraq, Ahmed Chalabi, head of Iraq's national congress.
The man who sat next to Laura Bush during this year's State of the Union address, who provided information that President Bush used to help justify his decision to go to war, now lambasting U.S. policy in Iraq.
CHALABI: I am now calling for policies which to liberate the Iraqi people to get full sovereignty now, and I am putting the case in a way which they don't like.
WHITBECK: Chalabi claims that it's his criticism of the pace and scope of the handover plan that soured his relations with Washington, and that led to the raid on his home.
But Iraqi officials said the raid was directed at men inside Chalabi's compound who were believed to be involved with cases of government fraud and kidnapping.
The U.S. spokesman in Baghdad said neither Chalabi nor his Iraqi National Congress were the targets. And the coalition went to great lengths to say the raid was organized and executed by the Iraqi national police.
DAN SENOR, SENIOR ADVISER, CPA: It was an Iraqi-led investigation. It was an Iraqi-led raid. It was the result of Iraqi arrest warrants.
WHITBECK: Although U.S. administrator Paul Bremer of was aware of the investigation of government fraud before the raid took place.
(on camera) The question now is how much Chalabi's break with the United States will resonate.
Many here say his fortunes in terms of Iraqi public opinion were never really very high in the first place. And his public criticism of U.S. policy in Iraq can't have won him many new friends back in Washington.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: While Chalabi has been a close confidant of several senior officials over at Pentagon, the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, today professed ignorance of the events in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: And I certainly was not aware that there was going to be a raid on a home, if in fact there was. The -- My understanding is that the Iraqis are involved in this, and I think you'd probably best ask the Iraqi leadership.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Did Ahmed Chalabi help steer the United States toward war in Iraq? Did he mislead U.S. leaders?
Our national security correspondent, David Ensor, looks at the record.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the war, Ahmed Chalabi was a consistent voice for disarming Saddam Hussein by force.
CHALABI: Saddam wants to keep weapons of mass destruction. He will not renounce them. And he will hide and lie and cheat and disseminate and defy the United Nations.
ENSOR: Back then, Chalabi offered U.S. intelligence officials several Iraqi exiles who said they knew about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
CIA and State Department officials were skeptical. Chalabi and his group were controversial. But people like Vice President Dick Cheney and Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith were ready to listen.
One allegation ended up in key intelligence documents and Secretary of State Colin Powell's pre-war testimony at the United Nations.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: An Iraqi major who defected confirmed that Iraq has mobile biological research laboratories.
ENSOR: Officials now admit that assertion was based solely on the say-so of the defector offered up by Chalabi, a man the Defense Intelligence Agency determined had lied to them well before Powell spoke.
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: We recently discovered that relevant analysts in the community missed a notice that identified a source that we had cited as providing information that in some cases was unreliable and in other cases fabricated. We've acknowledged this mistake.
PATRICK LANG, FORMER DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY OFFICIAL: When you start listening to the testimony of an emigre or an exile, who is obviously an interested party, in the business of deciding whether or not the United States should intervene in Iraq or whatever home country they have, you take an awfully big chance.
Because this person has every reason in the world to tell you what it is he thinks will move you in the direction that they want you to go.
ENSOR: Which, in this case, was towards war. His ally and friend Richard Perle says Chalabi was only trying to help.
RICHARD PERLE, FORMER PENTAGON OFFICIAL: Ahmed Chalabi and others in the Iraqi National Congress did what they could to gather what information there was to be gathered.
The CIA will tell you how difficult it is to penetrate. In fact, that's part of their excuse for the failure to get things right.
ENSOR (on camera): Aides to Ahmed Chalabi say he never vouched for the information, that it was always up to the intelligence professionals to check it out.
But a senior intelligence official tells CNN that he believes Chalabi's people coached the major, convincing him to say things that he, the major, knew not to be true, but that they thought the Americans wanted to hear.
David Ensor, CNN, the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: "Should Ahmed Chalabi be part of the new Iraqi government?"
You can vote right now at CNN -- Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this program.
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, top aides and generals huddled over at the White House today with the president. This strategy session comes just six weeks before the planned handover of authority in Iraq and a day after a deadly air strike on what U.S. officials still insist was not, repeat not an Iraqi wedding party.
Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Pentagon officials are not disputing now that a number of innocent civilians may have been killed in the strike, but they still insist that they have good reason to believe that this was not a not an innocent gathering of wedding celebrants.
In fact, they're reviewing some of the imagery taken from the strike, including videotapes from the AC-130 gunship that carried out the strike, and a still photograph that was taken just before the strike took place.
And according to officials who have seen that still photograph, they say it shows a series of buildings that look like warehouses in a very remote area of Iraq. No evidence of anything that looks like a wedding celebration. None of the things mentioned by some of the people who said they were guests at the wedding, such as a wedding tent or other evidence of a celebration.
They think it bolsters their case that this was not a wedding. But it is not conclusive evidence, and they're weighing whether or not they should release it, whether it will help or just add to the confusion -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. The mystery obviously still there.
Let's turn from Iraq elsewhere in the Middle East. Israel's bloody offense is grinding on in Gaza. Palestinians say at least eight more people were killed today, including a Hamas leader shot while on his way to plant explosives.
Israel has again used attack helicopters and says its forces have been met with machine gunfire.
Let's go live to Gaza now. CNN's Matthew chance is standing by -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, thank you.
And despite intense international criticism, Israel appears to be stepping up its military operations in the Gaza Strip. The defense official is saying as many or more than a thousand Israeli troops have been deployed now in and around the Rafah refugee camp in the south of the Gaza Strip, backed by tanks and helicopter gunships.
There's been fierce fighting, as you indicated there, with Palestinian militants on the ground. Palestinian hospital officials saying at least eight Palestinians have been killed in the latest fighting.
That brings to 40 the number of Palestinians that have been killed in the past three days of this operation to root out Palestinian militants and to crack down on armed smugglers who operate on that area of the Gaza Strip.
There are big humanitarian concerns, as well. Thousands of people trapped under tight military curfew in the center of these operations.
But again, defying this international criticism, Israel is saying its operations must continue.
BLITZER: Matthew Chance reporting from Gaza for us. Thanks, Matthew, very much.
Let's examine the Arab view. How Muslims around the world are reacting to the newest images coming from Iraq and Israel. That's coming up.
Plus, dreams of Olympic gold are overshadowed by the fear of terrorist acts. Will Greece be ready in time?
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt a punch. It took my breath away, and somebody yelling terrorist pig!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Hate crimes in the United States against American Muslims. Some people say the problem is getting worse. One victim shares her story.
And kid power: the campaign trail getting a youthful lift. Can President Bush's daughters help him get reelected?
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The summer Olympic games in Athens are just 85 days away, and concern is mounting about security. The topic came up when the Greek prime minister met today over at the White House with President Bush.
Our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, has new details. She's joining us live -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the prime minister says that he's doing all he can to ensure safety, but there's a lot of concern that the games make Athens a prime target.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): A series of minor explosions in and around Athens in recent weeks increasing concerns about Olympic security.
ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: We continue to monitor it and see what progress is being made to assure that the -- these Olympics are free from attack. I think it is too early for any dispositive judgment as to the substantial gaps in that security.
ARENA: There is no specific intelligence suggesting any terrorist plan to attack the Olympics this August, but counterterrorism officials say 11,000 athletes from 200 countries makes for a tempting target.
U.S. officials have publicly expressed concern about construction delays and the impact that could have on providing advanced security. And privately, counterterrorism officials have said they're not sure the Greeks are up to handling such a massive undertaking.
During a meeting with President Bush, the country's prime minister offered this assurance.
COSTAS KARAMANLIS, PRIME MINISTER OF GREECE: We'll do everything humanly possible in terms of energy, resources, professionals to secure really successful games, and I'm confident that we succeed.
ARENA: The Greek government is spending an unprecedented $1.2 billion on security. It has asked NATO to assist with air and sea patrols and agents from the FBI and Britain's Scotland Yard will help police the games.
In total, officials say about 100 U.S. Federal agents will be on the ground.
As for the athletes, those from the U.S., Britain and Israel will be given 24-hour armed guards. So far no Olympian has officially pulled out, but there are a handful of athletes said to be wavering.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Some say the terrorists have already won in a way. American athletes have been advised, if they win, to not show enthusiasm by waving American flags, for example. Some security experts say that that could be considered too confrontational.
BLITZER: I will be watching. Thanks very much, Kelli Arena, for that report.
And to our viewers, this note: more on Olympic preparations and security in Greece tomorrow at this time. I'll speak with the Greek prime minister, Costas Karamanlis.
Calls for tougher questioning of the former mayor, Rudy Giuliani.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's ask the real questions! Is that unfair?
BLITZER: Is the 9/11 commission getting the information it needs? I'll speak live with one 9/11 commission member, Tim Roemer.
Targeting a symbol of America: an explosion outside a McDonald's restaurant in Turkey. And more bombs found in Italy.
And later, killer whales off California, truly living up to their name. More dramatic close-up pictures. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says hard lessons were learned from the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, but he also says the 9/11 commission yesterday, that despite all the problems the city was relatively well prepared.
His assessment did not sit well with some members of the audience at the hearing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three thousand people murdered does not mean leadership! It means a vacuum of leadership! Let us ask what the real questions are!
I will give me two minutes -- two minutes to ask a couple of real questions. Don't arrest the whistle-blower! Don't arrest the whistle-blower. Let's ask the real questions!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: In his testimony Giuliani asked the commission to focus its attention on those behind the attacks rather than on assigning blame.
Joining us now to talk about where the commission stands right now, one commission member, Tim Roemer. He's president of the Center for National Policy and a former Democratic congressman from Indiana.
Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.
TIM ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Absolutely.
BLITZER: Did you give Rudy Giuliani a free pass yesterday, as some critics are suggesting?
ROEMER: Absolutely not. By Midwestern standards, I think -- bring hopeful respect and politeness to something like this.
We also bring a certain sensitivity to the fact that 3,000 people died and that Mayor Giuliani was trying to lead the efforts as best he could with the police, the fire, the emergency people to save tens of thousands of lives, which they did.
But you also have to penetrate beyond that and in the New York tradition, I think, ask the tough questions.
BLITZER: Did you get answers, enough answers. Are you completely satisfied on the communications failures and the immediate minutes and hours after the attack that the radios, for example, between first responders, police officers, rescue workers or firefighters, that they couldn't talk to each other?
ROEMER: We had really three jobs going up there to New York and doing it in a very, very difficult environment, Wolf.
The emotions are still raw with all the pain up there.
We wanted to have lessons learned. We wanted to see what had been fixed, and we wanted to see what do we have to do next.
What we've learned is there's still some problems up there.
BLITZER: Give me a specific.
ROEMER: Communications. That -- We had police helicopters that noticed certain things in the fires and the buildings up top, and those messages were not quickly communicated down to the police people, particularly in the North Tower when the South Tower collapsed. The people in the North Tower didn't know that this 110- story building had come down.
Another example: 911 operators. The 911 operators were not giving out the right kind of information to people, you know, informing them where they were in the buildings as to what they should be doing. Too oftentimes the instruction were standard like put a towel under the door, stay where you are and we'll get back to you. Well, that's not the right kind of instruction.
And then one more thing, I think, Wolf, that's important.
We had somebody that did a good job, a great job out of Arlington at the Pentagon, fire chief from Arlington who said it's unconscionable that we still have this division between the police and the fire in New York, this 100-, 200-year-old culture.
It's teamwork. We're all in it together. It's not you do your job on police and we'll do ours on fire.
BLITZER: Have they fixed that problem? Or is that problem still there in New York?
ROEMER: I have to give some credit to mayor Giuliani and Mayor Bloomberg for trying to fix it.
Mayor Giuliani issued a directive in 2001 to try to resolve it. Mayor Bloomberg a few days before we arrived there issued an edit to try to resolve it.
I'm worried that it's more an imitation of what should happen for unified command structures rather than actually accomplishing the difficult task of overcoming these cultural problems.
BLITZER: God forbid, if it were to happen again in New York City, where would the biggest problem be?
ROEMER: Well, one might be evacuation plans. We saw, you know, from 1993 when the terrorists hit and the World Trade Center that we still didn't see enough emphasis put on a city-wide evacuation plan for all of the different high-rises.
We found too many times, Wolf, that even the people in the World Trade Centers had never practiced the plan going down the stairs. They didn't know where the smoke doors were. They didn't know the familiarity of the building. They didn't know how the to get out of it.
BLITZER: I would venture to say in most high-rises, not only in New York but around the United States, people have not done those kind of drills, the kind of drills we used to do when we were kids in elementary or high school.
ROEMER: Well, and a big part of this, too, Wolf we look forward. The 9/11 commission has to look forward. We have to look at good recommendations at the end of day and work in a bipartisan way with the president and the Congress to solve these problems.
One will be working with the private sector. One will be trying to look at standards developed by the private sector and the businesses, kind of like Morgan Stanley and what they did in the World Trade Center, where they implemented a plan. They had thousands of employees over 22 floors. They got most of their people out, because they implemented a plan. They practiced a plan. They made sure their employees would participate in it.
We need more private sector. The voluntary standards are a national standard to put forward on this one.
BLITZER: We're out of time, but your report comes out the end of July. Is that right?
ROEMER: End of July. And the ten commissioners are getting along very well, and we're determined, with history looking at us and with the American people's support, that we're going to put a great recommendation -- set of recommendations forward.
BLITZER: Good luck to you, your fellow commissioners. Thanks very much.
ROEMER: Good to be here.
BLITZER: Despite escalating violence, U.S. officials insist the June 30 deadline to hand over power in Iraq will happen, but will the newly sovereign Iraq look like and who will really be in charge?
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do I have to wear a sign that says, "My son is fighting for you? Why do you want to hurt me?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Hate on the horizon. A personal look at the growing fear of living as a Muslim in America.
And later, all in the family. From college to campaigning, the Bush twins prepare for the trail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Welcome back.
Preparing for the handover in Iraq, some key questions, though still unresolved. Hear why some say the coalition could be on the brink of failure. We'll get to that.
First, though, a quick look at the latest headlines.
A bomb exploded today outside a McDonald's restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey. No one was injured. Apparently, a caller alerted workers to evacuate before the bomb went off.
And in Rome, authorities were able to diffuse two other explosives in front of another McDonald's.
U.S. officials have now confirmed the dead Iraqi prisoner shown in the latest prisoner abuse pictures was the last -- was last questioned by CIA personnel.
Manadel al-Jamadi had suffered head wounds in a struggle with Navy SEALs during his arrest.
Both the Defense Department and the CIA's inspector general are investigating whether there was wrongdoing in the case.
President Bush took the unusual step today of visiting Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The president gave lawmakers from both houses an upbeat report on the war in Iraq and his domestic achievements.
The president expressed confidence in his political standing, because, quote, "Republicans have a record to be proud of."
County health officials in Los Angeles are warning the public the West Nile virus has already appeared in their area this spring. A dozen dead birds have tested positive for the disease. Almost 10,000 cases of the disease were reported in the United States last year. There were more than 250 fatalities.
Just under six weeks from now, U.S. officials hope to be breathing sighs of relief after a successful handover of authority in Iraq, but that vision won't end the grim reality of trying to make things work in that war-torn country.
Once again, our national security correspondent David Ensor is standing by -- David.
ENSOR: Wolf, as you say, things are going to definitely be different in six weeks time, but there's still not going to be easy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): Amid the continuing fighting and scandals in Iraq, administration officials are rushing to set out the way they see things working in July after the handover. First and foremost, they say, incoming U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte will not be running the country.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: It is the interim government that is replacing Ambassador Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority, not Ambassador Negroponte.
ENSOR: But newly sovereign Iraq will still have 135,000 or more American troops and Negroponte will have the largest U.S. Embassy on Earth with a staff of almost 1,000.
FRANK RICCIARDONE, STATE DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR: No other embassy in the world is responsible for overseeing $18.4 billion in assistance. ENSOR: With just over 40 days to the turnover, officials admit key questions are unresolved, like how much influence over coalition troops will the new Iraqi government have and in the wake of the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, who will control the prisons? The handover to a new Iraqi government to be selected by the U.N.'s Lakhdar Brahimi cannot come too quickly, say many experts.
LARRY DIAMOND, FORMER ADVISER TO COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY: The overall ineptitude of our mission to date leaves us and Iraq in a terrible bind.
JOSEPH HOAR, FORMER CENTCOM COMMANDER: I believe we are absolutely on the brink of failure. We are looking into the abyss.
ENSOR: Bush administration officials stress that the incoming Iraqi government, the new ministers really will have power. There are plenty of skeptics.
HUSAIN HAQQANI, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT: The general feeling in the Muslim and the Arab world is that the U.S. will not really truly pull out after June 30. What will happen is that there will just be more Iraqi faces and that there will still be a de facto American-run administration.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: After the handover, U.S. officials say the American footprint in Iraq will need to remain large. In addition to the security, the troops and the big embassy, about 200 advisers to the Iraqi ministries, consultants hired by the U.S., will also be in place, most of them from this country -- Wolf.
BLITZER: David Ensor with the latest on that -- thanks, David, very much.
Even before the war in Iraq, there was a huge gap between U.S. intentions in the Middle East and the way Arabs perceived them. It's a situation that's only gotten worse in recent weeks.
Tom Foreman joining us here with more on this part of the story -- Tom.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, all indications are this has been a very bad week for relations between the United States and the Middle East. Arab people may be taking the brunt of much of what is happening there, but the U.S. is taking the blame.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): As America and its allies slog through the physical war with Iraqi insurgents, the diplomatic Wisconsin are proving troublesome, too. In the past few days, the Arab world has seen Israeli strikes in Gaza, the U.S. bombing of what the military called a target and Iraqis call a wedding party, and more pictures of American soldiers, this time posing with a dead Iraqi. HAQQANI: Throughout the Arab and the Islamic world, the feeling is that we are now in top gear for a war of civilizations, a clash of civilizations. Support for the United States is very low.
FOREMAN: Arabic television, radio, newspapers and Web sites are turning around each conflict and increasingly framing them with extremist commentary, that according to Octavia Nasr, who watches Arab media for CNN.
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR FOR ARAB AFFAIRS: The voices of moderation are either not heard or they're heard and they're not so moderate anymore.
FOREMAN: The White House says President Bush will speak publicly about Iraq every week until the end of June, when an interim Iraqi government will assume control. The effort is clearly designed to bolster confidence here and abroad. But when he spoke to the American Israel Public Affairs committee this week, it's unlikely he pleased many Arabs.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: By defending the freedom and prosperity and security of Israel, you are also serving the cause of America.
ANTHONY CORDESMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Our peace efforts are perceived throughout the region and Iraq as weak and dishonest. The United States is viewed as little more than Israel's proxy.
FOREMAN: The result in the Arab and Muslim world:
SHIBLEY TELHAMI, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: In the past one can argue that this was merely an issue of resenting the American foreign policy. Increasingly, it is a much more intense feeling that borders on hate.
FOREMAN: An Arabic Web site sums up the view. Next to a picture of an American soldier and an Iraqi prisoner, the words "And they ask why do they hate us?"
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Well, the return of power to the Iraqis when it comes up at end of June may help, according to all the experts I talked to today. However they all say if the United States is still behind the money and the guns, it is going to be suspect -- Wolf.
BLITZER: That's pretty depressing. Thanks very much, Tom Foreman, for that.
Casualties on the battlefield in Iraq are tragic, but they also can be expected in a war, but civilian casualties in the United States?
CNN's Sean Callebs has the story of one woman, a United States citizen, who represents a different kind of victim in this conflict. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Michelle Rothstein, an American Muslim, a routine shopping trip in suburban Washington took an ugly turn.
MICHELLE ROTHSTEIN, VICTIM: I felt a punch. It took my breath away and somebody yelling terrorist pig. I fell in and on my knees. It just happened so fast.
CALLEBS: That punch was a 3-inch deep stab wound. Rothstein was born Jewish, raised Catholic and converted to Islam in 1988. Local police say they're investigating the attack by a teenage suspect as a hate crime.
ROTHSTEIN: Isn't this supposed to be a safe place where people tolerate what you believe in or how you want to dress or how you want to look?
CALLEBS: Since 9/11, the Justice Department has investigated more than 560 bias crimes against Muslims.
ALEX ACOSTA, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: The fear does not justify violating someone's religious liberties.
CALLEBS: Now the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the problem is getting worse, partly because of the war in Iraq. It says last year it received twice as many reports of hate attacks against Muslims as the year before. The group blames ignorance about Islam and misinformation.
ARSALAN IFTIKHAR, CAIR LEGAL DIRECTOR: I think that that has led to the exacerbation of the anti-Muslim discrimination, the hate crimes that we've seen an increase of. And I think that only through education, I think only through outreach and dialogue are we going to be able to ameliorate this.
CALLEBS: Michelle Rothstein's son, who is not Muslim, is a U.S. Marine who served in Iraq and will likely go back.
ROTHSTEIN: Do I have to wear a sign that says, my son is fighting for example you, why do you want to hurt me?
CALLEBS: And now she's worried against another kind of backlash against her son for the abuse by other U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison.
ROTHSTEIN: I feel sometimes I'm in the middle because my son is military, you know? And I think that when there's wrong done to anyone it's not right. It's wrong.
CALLEBS: For Michelle Rothstein, concern for and loyalty to the country she lives in, despite her lingering scar, a result of what she considers a brutal and unjustified attack against her Muslim faith.
Sean Callebs, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: They're almost out of college, but only to jump into the political ring. Up next, the Bush twins, Jenna and Barbara, can they help the president get reelected?
Life and death struggle, killer whales and gray whales in a fight for survival off California.
Plus, this:
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALCOLM LOCKE, SURVIVED ALLIGATOR ATTACK: He bit me on the and took a chunk out of my ear. And I punched him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Grappling with a gator. A boy gets pulled underwater by a seven-foot alligator and lives to tell the tale. We'll tell you about it.
First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): A leader of the Palestinian uprising is convicted of murder by an Israeli court. The court today found Marwan Barghouti guilty of four of 37 charges against him, including three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. The murder convictions involve the killings of five Israelis in three separate attacks. Barghouti will be sentenced later.
India's new prime minister-designate calls for economic reforms, religious harmony and peace with Pakistan. Manmohan Singh was appointed yesterday to the post after Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi turned the job down. Singh is a Sikh will become the first non-Hindu prime minister.
Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian sounds a conciliatory note to begin his second term. During his inauguration speech, Mr. Chen indicated he's ready for friendlier relations with China. He said, too, that Taiwan's people are not ready to take up the issues of independence and unification with China.
And the world's largest single-masted yacht is unveiled in England. The Mirabella V is 75 meters long and 90 meters tall and sports an outdoor cinema. An American millionaire paid 30 million pounds for this big boat. He plans to rent it out for a quarter million dollars a week.
And that's our look around the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Normally, we try to stay away from reporting about the president's twin daughters. They certainly deserve privacy and we of course respect that. But they have now made a major decision to go public. Jenna and Barbara Bush are both graduating from college this week and they've now posed for a major photo spread in a leading beauty magazine. They also have plans to get involved in their father's campaign.
CNN's Brian Todd joins us now with details of the activities of both candidates' children -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, whether this is intentional on either side or not, we are clearly about to see competing images of the candidates' children, just in time for the campaign to heat up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get more love here than I do at home.
TODD (voice-over): The images at the very least draw attention. And that's the point.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My daughter, Vanessa Kerry.
TODD: The kids are out there and that's all right with the candidates. After years of being shielded from media coverage, the Bush's 22-year-old twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, have indicated they'll join their father's reelection campaign. The two are also profiled in an upcoming article in "People" magazine. And they'll appear in an interview and photo shoot in the August issue of "Vogue" magazine.
A spokesman for first lady Laura Bush tells CNN their roles in the president's campaign are up to them and the decision to participate is entirely theirs. Observers see clear political benefit.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I do that, if they go out, in all likelihood, it will be a positive for the president. Right now, the polls vary from week to week, but he's having trouble with younger voters.
TODD: The Bush daughters have had issues regarding their image. Both pleaded no contest in case involving underaged possession of alcohol. The family has always asked the news media to respect the twins' privacy, and family spokesmen say this stepping out does not mean a no-holds-barred approach to the daughters is appropriate.
But at the same time they acknowledge the roles for Barbara and Jenna are changing somewhat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.
TODD: For John Kerry's kids, the roles have long since changed. Kerry's stepson Chris Heinz left a prestigious job at a private equity firm in New York to join the Democratic senator's campaign. Chris's two brothers aren't as involved, but Kerry's biological daughters, 27- year-old Vanessa and 30-year-old Alexandra, have been very active on the campaign trail.
Alexandra, an aspiring filmmaker, made some jaws drop a few days ago when this revealing photo of her at the Cannes Film Festival was published. A Kerry campaign spokesperson tells CNN says this incident was unintentional. Still, analysts say the upside of having a candidates' kids on the campaign trail more than makes up for these occasional flourishes of potentially negative publicity.
BROWNSTEIN: Several candidates have shown over the years that the children have played a role in helping to make them more of an approachable human, humane figure for voters.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: But one side note on the balancing act that these children and their parents are engaged in. When the daughters graduate, the Bush daughters, that is, when they graduate from the University of Texas and Yale this weekend, their mother and father will not go to the commencement ceremonies.
Their spokesman say they want the attention placed on the graduates and their families and not on how long everybody would have to wait to go through metal detectors -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Brian Todd, thanks very much.
As Brian the mentioned, the Bush twins are being featured in the next issue of "People" magazine. That issue comes out tomorrow.
With more information on their personal plans and ambitions, J.D. Heyman, the associate editor of "People" magazine, joins us. He wrote the article.
I know a whole team was involved in preparing this article, but what are you learning, J.D., about what exactly Jenna and Barbara Bush plan to do?
J.D. HEYMAN, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, "PEOPLE": Well, you know, it's interesting, Wolf. They haven't been in the media at all. So we're learning a heck of a lot about them.
We're certainly learn about Jenna's interest in education and about Barbara's interest in AIDS, in children with AIDS. And we know they're going to be involved in the campaign. And then after that they're both going to be pursuing those interests and going into the working world. So it's, you know, more than we've ever really heard or seen from them and I assume you'll see a lot of them in the summer and into the fall.
BLITZER: Because usually the White House certainly wants us, the news media, to avoid covering the twins. It's hard enough being young women growing up under normal circumstances. Forget about being the daughters of the president of the United States. Have they now changed their attitude? Do they want us to spend more time covering these twins, especially in the aftermath of their decision to grant an interview and a photo spread for "Vogue" magazine?
HEYMAN: Well, you know, Wolf, every president is zealously protective of his children. And certainly the Bushes have been way out there in terms of keeping the girls and being very angry when the girls have been featured in the media for various things.
I think that it only works to their advantage. As you know, Laura Bush is going to be out there on the campaign trail more. She's a net plus for the president. And the calculus I think in terms of the Bush White House is that whatever the girls do decide to do, it is going to be value-added to his campaign.
BLITZER: Is it your sense based on the reporting of your team at "People" magazine, which is, of course, our sister publication -- we're both part -- we're all part of Time Warner -- is it your sense that the "Vogue" magazine photo spread and interview is only just the beginning? Will there be "20/20" or "Dateline" interviews with Diane Sawyer or others, other big magazines? Is that going to follow?
HEYMAN: Well, I'm not sure. I mean, I think "Vogue" is a natural for these girls. They're both very interested in fashion and we can expect a beautiful spread featuring both of them. I don't know whether they'll be licking stamps or if they'll be out there giving speeches, but I think we'll see. I think the campaign will play it very much by ear.
They're both very attractive, you know, bright young women. And if it goes well, they'll probably be out there a lot. I don't think this will be the first -- or, rather, the last Bush girl interview. I think there will be more. I think there will be more appearances in the media.
BLITZER: They didn't give an interview to "People" magazine or allowed themselves to be photographed for "People" magazine.
HEYMAN: No, they did not.
BLITZER: But I assume you, like every other magazine, would love to do that if possible.
HEYMAN: Well, we'd love to talk to them about their lives. I think everyone is interested in what it's like to be in this unique position of being the daughter of the most powerful man on the planet.
And there's always been fascination with president's children. Chelsea Clinton certainly went through this as well, and going back to the Nixon daughters and even before that. So this isn't an unusual speculation or interest.
BLITZER: So if their intention over the next few months is to campaign for their dad's reelection, they're both intelligent. They're very attractive. They have specific career paths they want to go on as well.
HEYMAN: Yes, they do. Jenna's very interested in education, as we understand. She's done some volunteering with a school in Washington that's never been reported or talked about. And she's going to be moving to New York to do that.
And Barbara's very interested in AIDS work and pediatric AIDS, particularly. And she'll be moving to Houston, Texas. So they'll be switching geographically. And she'll be working with the Baylor College of Medicine there and also traveling overseas to work with clinics overseas with kids with AIDS.
So these are serious interests. It's certainly much more than we've ever learned about what their interests are or what they've been up to, aside from their studies.
BLITZER: J.D. Heyman of "People" magazine, thank you very much.
HEYMAN: Thank you, Wolf. Nice to see you again.
BLITZER: Thank you.
An ancient battle wages in the waters off California and it's caught on camera.
Plus, football, basketball and surfing? You might see it offered at select high schools.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A violent and spectacular battle is happening off the Northern Californian coast, pitting one of the ocean's largest inhabitants against one of its deadliest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NANCY BLACK, MARINE BIOLOGIST: This is like an amazing event because it's huge whales like bashing into each other and duking it out.
BLITZER (voice-over): This is why they call them killer whales. This group is working together to get its next meal, a gray whale calf.
BLACK: When you are watching it, yes, it is Sadr. And the calf is sometimes bleeding and just getting bashed into, but the killer whales have to eat.
BLITZER: It's an annual spectacle off the coast of California and a highlight of the whale watching season. Every year at this time, gray whale mothers and their calves pass through Monterey Bay on the way back to the Arctic Ocean from their breeding grounds off Baja, California. The calves are a favorite prey for hungry orcas, but far from easy, as the mother gray whale can put up a tremendous fight.
BLACK: It can take from three to six hours for them to actually kill one of the gray whales. And the gray whales are really struggling. The mother gray whale is trying to help her calf get out of the water and on to her chest and they're trying to make it to shore. So it's pretty brutal to watch.
BLITZER: Brutal and ancient. It's a battle that's been waged since long before man was there to witness it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And on this particular day, we are told the gray whale mother and calf escaped the killer whales by swimming to shallow water near shore, where the orcas won't go.
This in Florida, talk about an amazing fight; 12-year-old Malcolm Locke is missing part of his ear, but is otherwise doing well after fighting off a huge alligator. He said he was attacked by a 4-to-6- foot alligator while swimming in a lake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOCKE: This alligator came up, opened its mouth and bit me. He bit me on the head and took a chunk out of my ear. And I punched him. I ran up there to the porch screaming, grandma, grandma. And I saw blood dripping everywhere. And I'm like, grandma, is my ear still there?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: A very courageous and lucky boy indeed. Authorities say Locke did the right thing in putting up a fight.
Results of our "Web Question of the Day" just ahead. Plus, surf's up for high school athletes in one state. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day." Take a look at this. Remember, of course, this is not a scientific poll.
Let's get to some of your e-mail. Mary writes this: "Ahmad Chalabi is no longer the darling of the administration that used him to promote their way of thinking because he has now has the audacity to criticize it, thus the defunding and tearing-up of his office. As long as he was feeding them the information they wanted to hear, he was a good guy."
Ed writes this: "The Bush administration didn't trust Chalabi. They used him for intelligence. Now he's involving himself in suspicious activities, so the Iraqis are investigating."
Team spirit may soon be measured by how well you angle and if you're ripping. Just be sure you don't get a sand facial. Enough surfer-speak. Here's our picture of the day. Surfing is expected to become an official high school sport in Hawaii. The state board of education meets on Maui today. And all nine members have already said they'll vote in favor. That's awesome.
"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 May 20, 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, Olympic jitters. As President Bush meets with Greece's prime minister, increasing concerns about the safety of the summer games in Athens.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): From ally to outcast. The Pentagon once painted him as the next leader of Iraq. Now, U.S. troops raid his home.
AHMED CHALABI, IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBER: I'm America's best friend in Iraq.
BLITZER: But with (NO AUDIO)... prison photos. A deadly U.S. air strike. Bloody Israeli raids. Adding up the impact on the Arab world.
First daughters. The White House has protected their privacy, but now they're joining the real world and the campaign.
Feeding frenzy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These whales are going after each other and, you know, duking it out.
BLITZER: Killer whales killing off their cousins right off the California coast.
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, May 20, 2004.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: He was a protege of some of the top U.S. officials, a controversial exile who told them what they wanted -- what they may have wanted to hear about the regime of Saddam Hussein.
In some quarters he was seen as the future leader of the new Iraq. Now with an armed raid on his quarters that all seems to have changed so dramatically for Ahmed Chalabi.
We begin in Baghdad with CNN's Harris Whitbeck. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. troops and Iraqi policemen raid the headquarters of the man who calls himself America's best friend in Iraq, Ahmed Chalabi, head of Iraq's national congress.
The man who sat next to Laura Bush during this year's State of the Union address, who provided information that President Bush used to help justify his decision to go to war, now lambasting U.S. policy in Iraq.
CHALABI: I am now calling for policies which to liberate the Iraqi people to get full sovereignty now, and I am putting the case in a way which they don't like.
WHITBECK: Chalabi claims that it's his criticism of the pace and scope of the handover plan that soured his relations with Washington, and that led to the raid on his home.
But Iraqi officials said the raid was directed at men inside Chalabi's compound who were believed to be involved with cases of government fraud and kidnapping.
The U.S. spokesman in Baghdad said neither Chalabi nor his Iraqi National Congress were the targets. And the coalition went to great lengths to say the raid was organized and executed by the Iraqi national police.
DAN SENOR, SENIOR ADVISER, CPA: It was an Iraqi-led investigation. It was an Iraqi-led raid. It was the result of Iraqi arrest warrants.
WHITBECK: Although U.S. administrator Paul Bremer of was aware of the investigation of government fraud before the raid took place.
(on camera) The question now is how much Chalabi's break with the United States will resonate.
Many here say his fortunes in terms of Iraqi public opinion were never really very high in the first place. And his public criticism of U.S. policy in Iraq can't have won him many new friends back in Washington.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: While Chalabi has been a close confidant of several senior officials over at Pentagon, the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, today professed ignorance of the events in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: And I certainly was not aware that there was going to be a raid on a home, if in fact there was. The -- My understanding is that the Iraqis are involved in this, and I think you'd probably best ask the Iraqi leadership.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Did Ahmed Chalabi help steer the United States toward war in Iraq? Did he mislead U.S. leaders?
Our national security correspondent, David Ensor, looks at the record.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the war, Ahmed Chalabi was a consistent voice for disarming Saddam Hussein by force.
CHALABI: Saddam wants to keep weapons of mass destruction. He will not renounce them. And he will hide and lie and cheat and disseminate and defy the United Nations.
ENSOR: Back then, Chalabi offered U.S. intelligence officials several Iraqi exiles who said they knew about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
CIA and State Department officials were skeptical. Chalabi and his group were controversial. But people like Vice President Dick Cheney and Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith were ready to listen.
One allegation ended up in key intelligence documents and Secretary of State Colin Powell's pre-war testimony at the United Nations.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: An Iraqi major who defected confirmed that Iraq has mobile biological research laboratories.
ENSOR: Officials now admit that assertion was based solely on the say-so of the defector offered up by Chalabi, a man the Defense Intelligence Agency determined had lied to them well before Powell spoke.
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: We recently discovered that relevant analysts in the community missed a notice that identified a source that we had cited as providing information that in some cases was unreliable and in other cases fabricated. We've acknowledged this mistake.
PATRICK LANG, FORMER DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY OFFICIAL: When you start listening to the testimony of an emigre or an exile, who is obviously an interested party, in the business of deciding whether or not the United States should intervene in Iraq or whatever home country they have, you take an awfully big chance.
Because this person has every reason in the world to tell you what it is he thinks will move you in the direction that they want you to go.
ENSOR: Which, in this case, was towards war. His ally and friend Richard Perle says Chalabi was only trying to help.
RICHARD PERLE, FORMER PENTAGON OFFICIAL: Ahmed Chalabi and others in the Iraqi National Congress did what they could to gather what information there was to be gathered.
The CIA will tell you how difficult it is to penetrate. In fact, that's part of their excuse for the failure to get things right.
ENSOR (on camera): Aides to Ahmed Chalabi say he never vouched for the information, that it was always up to the intelligence professionals to check it out.
But a senior intelligence official tells CNN that he believes Chalabi's people coached the major, convincing him to say things that he, the major, knew not to be true, but that they thought the Americans wanted to hear.
David Ensor, CNN, the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: "Should Ahmed Chalabi be part of the new Iraqi government?"
You can vote right now at CNN -- Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this program.
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, top aides and generals huddled over at the White House today with the president. This strategy session comes just six weeks before the planned handover of authority in Iraq and a day after a deadly air strike on what U.S. officials still insist was not, repeat not an Iraqi wedding party.
Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Pentagon officials are not disputing now that a number of innocent civilians may have been killed in the strike, but they still insist that they have good reason to believe that this was not a not an innocent gathering of wedding celebrants.
In fact, they're reviewing some of the imagery taken from the strike, including videotapes from the AC-130 gunship that carried out the strike, and a still photograph that was taken just before the strike took place.
And according to officials who have seen that still photograph, they say it shows a series of buildings that look like warehouses in a very remote area of Iraq. No evidence of anything that looks like a wedding celebration. None of the things mentioned by some of the people who said they were guests at the wedding, such as a wedding tent or other evidence of a celebration.
They think it bolsters their case that this was not a wedding. But it is not conclusive evidence, and they're weighing whether or not they should release it, whether it will help or just add to the confusion -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. The mystery obviously still there.
Let's turn from Iraq elsewhere in the Middle East. Israel's bloody offense is grinding on in Gaza. Palestinians say at least eight more people were killed today, including a Hamas leader shot while on his way to plant explosives.
Israel has again used attack helicopters and says its forces have been met with machine gunfire.
Let's go live to Gaza now. CNN's Matthew chance is standing by -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, thank you.
And despite intense international criticism, Israel appears to be stepping up its military operations in the Gaza Strip. The defense official is saying as many or more than a thousand Israeli troops have been deployed now in and around the Rafah refugee camp in the south of the Gaza Strip, backed by tanks and helicopter gunships.
There's been fierce fighting, as you indicated there, with Palestinian militants on the ground. Palestinian hospital officials saying at least eight Palestinians have been killed in the latest fighting.
That brings to 40 the number of Palestinians that have been killed in the past three days of this operation to root out Palestinian militants and to crack down on armed smugglers who operate on that area of the Gaza Strip.
There are big humanitarian concerns, as well. Thousands of people trapped under tight military curfew in the center of these operations.
But again, defying this international criticism, Israel is saying its operations must continue.
BLITZER: Matthew Chance reporting from Gaza for us. Thanks, Matthew, very much.
Let's examine the Arab view. How Muslims around the world are reacting to the newest images coming from Iraq and Israel. That's coming up.
Plus, dreams of Olympic gold are overshadowed by the fear of terrorist acts. Will Greece be ready in time?
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt a punch. It took my breath away, and somebody yelling terrorist pig!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Hate crimes in the United States against American Muslims. Some people say the problem is getting worse. One victim shares her story.
And kid power: the campaign trail getting a youthful lift. Can President Bush's daughters help him get reelected?
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The summer Olympic games in Athens are just 85 days away, and concern is mounting about security. The topic came up when the Greek prime minister met today over at the White House with President Bush.
Our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, has new details. She's joining us live -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the prime minister says that he's doing all he can to ensure safety, but there's a lot of concern that the games make Athens a prime target.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): A series of minor explosions in and around Athens in recent weeks increasing concerns about Olympic security.
ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: We continue to monitor it and see what progress is being made to assure that the -- these Olympics are free from attack. I think it is too early for any dispositive judgment as to the substantial gaps in that security.
ARENA: There is no specific intelligence suggesting any terrorist plan to attack the Olympics this August, but counterterrorism officials say 11,000 athletes from 200 countries makes for a tempting target.
U.S. officials have publicly expressed concern about construction delays and the impact that could have on providing advanced security. And privately, counterterrorism officials have said they're not sure the Greeks are up to handling such a massive undertaking.
During a meeting with President Bush, the country's prime minister offered this assurance.
COSTAS KARAMANLIS, PRIME MINISTER OF GREECE: We'll do everything humanly possible in terms of energy, resources, professionals to secure really successful games, and I'm confident that we succeed.
ARENA: The Greek government is spending an unprecedented $1.2 billion on security. It has asked NATO to assist with air and sea patrols and agents from the FBI and Britain's Scotland Yard will help police the games.
In total, officials say about 100 U.S. Federal agents will be on the ground.
As for the athletes, those from the U.S., Britain and Israel will be given 24-hour armed guards. So far no Olympian has officially pulled out, but there are a handful of athletes said to be wavering.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Some say the terrorists have already won in a way. American athletes have been advised, if they win, to not show enthusiasm by waving American flags, for example. Some security experts say that that could be considered too confrontational.
BLITZER: I will be watching. Thanks very much, Kelli Arena, for that report.
And to our viewers, this note: more on Olympic preparations and security in Greece tomorrow at this time. I'll speak with the Greek prime minister, Costas Karamanlis.
Calls for tougher questioning of the former mayor, Rudy Giuliani.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's ask the real questions! Is that unfair?
BLITZER: Is the 9/11 commission getting the information it needs? I'll speak live with one 9/11 commission member, Tim Roemer.
Targeting a symbol of America: an explosion outside a McDonald's restaurant in Turkey. And more bombs found in Italy.
And later, killer whales off California, truly living up to their name. More dramatic close-up pictures. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says hard lessons were learned from the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, but he also says the 9/11 commission yesterday, that despite all the problems the city was relatively well prepared.
His assessment did not sit well with some members of the audience at the hearing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three thousand people murdered does not mean leadership! It means a vacuum of leadership! Let us ask what the real questions are!
I will give me two minutes -- two minutes to ask a couple of real questions. Don't arrest the whistle-blower! Don't arrest the whistle-blower. Let's ask the real questions!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: In his testimony Giuliani asked the commission to focus its attention on those behind the attacks rather than on assigning blame.
Joining us now to talk about where the commission stands right now, one commission member, Tim Roemer. He's president of the Center for National Policy and a former Democratic congressman from Indiana.
Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.
TIM ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Absolutely.
BLITZER: Did you give Rudy Giuliani a free pass yesterday, as some critics are suggesting?
ROEMER: Absolutely not. By Midwestern standards, I think -- bring hopeful respect and politeness to something like this.
We also bring a certain sensitivity to the fact that 3,000 people died and that Mayor Giuliani was trying to lead the efforts as best he could with the police, the fire, the emergency people to save tens of thousands of lives, which they did.
But you also have to penetrate beyond that and in the New York tradition, I think, ask the tough questions.
BLITZER: Did you get answers, enough answers. Are you completely satisfied on the communications failures and the immediate minutes and hours after the attack that the radios, for example, between first responders, police officers, rescue workers or firefighters, that they couldn't talk to each other?
ROEMER: We had really three jobs going up there to New York and doing it in a very, very difficult environment, Wolf.
The emotions are still raw with all the pain up there.
We wanted to have lessons learned. We wanted to see what had been fixed, and we wanted to see what do we have to do next.
What we've learned is there's still some problems up there.
BLITZER: Give me a specific.
ROEMER: Communications. That -- We had police helicopters that noticed certain things in the fires and the buildings up top, and those messages were not quickly communicated down to the police people, particularly in the North Tower when the South Tower collapsed. The people in the North Tower didn't know that this 110- story building had come down.
Another example: 911 operators. The 911 operators were not giving out the right kind of information to people, you know, informing them where they were in the buildings as to what they should be doing. Too oftentimes the instruction were standard like put a towel under the door, stay where you are and we'll get back to you. Well, that's not the right kind of instruction.
And then one more thing, I think, Wolf, that's important.
We had somebody that did a good job, a great job out of Arlington at the Pentagon, fire chief from Arlington who said it's unconscionable that we still have this division between the police and the fire in New York, this 100-, 200-year-old culture.
It's teamwork. We're all in it together. It's not you do your job on police and we'll do ours on fire.
BLITZER: Have they fixed that problem? Or is that problem still there in New York?
ROEMER: I have to give some credit to mayor Giuliani and Mayor Bloomberg for trying to fix it.
Mayor Giuliani issued a directive in 2001 to try to resolve it. Mayor Bloomberg a few days before we arrived there issued an edit to try to resolve it.
I'm worried that it's more an imitation of what should happen for unified command structures rather than actually accomplishing the difficult task of overcoming these cultural problems.
BLITZER: God forbid, if it were to happen again in New York City, where would the biggest problem be?
ROEMER: Well, one might be evacuation plans. We saw, you know, from 1993 when the terrorists hit and the World Trade Center that we still didn't see enough emphasis put on a city-wide evacuation plan for all of the different high-rises.
We found too many times, Wolf, that even the people in the World Trade Centers had never practiced the plan going down the stairs. They didn't know where the smoke doors were. They didn't know the familiarity of the building. They didn't know how the to get out of it.
BLITZER: I would venture to say in most high-rises, not only in New York but around the United States, people have not done those kind of drills, the kind of drills we used to do when we were kids in elementary or high school.
ROEMER: Well, and a big part of this, too, Wolf we look forward. The 9/11 commission has to look forward. We have to look at good recommendations at the end of day and work in a bipartisan way with the president and the Congress to solve these problems.
One will be working with the private sector. One will be trying to look at standards developed by the private sector and the businesses, kind of like Morgan Stanley and what they did in the World Trade Center, where they implemented a plan. They had thousands of employees over 22 floors. They got most of their people out, because they implemented a plan. They practiced a plan. They made sure their employees would participate in it.
We need more private sector. The voluntary standards are a national standard to put forward on this one.
BLITZER: We're out of time, but your report comes out the end of July. Is that right?
ROEMER: End of July. And the ten commissioners are getting along very well, and we're determined, with history looking at us and with the American people's support, that we're going to put a great recommendation -- set of recommendations forward.
BLITZER: Good luck to you, your fellow commissioners. Thanks very much.
ROEMER: Good to be here.
BLITZER: Despite escalating violence, U.S. officials insist the June 30 deadline to hand over power in Iraq will happen, but will the newly sovereign Iraq look like and who will really be in charge?
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do I have to wear a sign that says, "My son is fighting for you? Why do you want to hurt me?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Hate on the horizon. A personal look at the growing fear of living as a Muslim in America.
And later, all in the family. From college to campaigning, the Bush twins prepare for the trail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Welcome back.
Preparing for the handover in Iraq, some key questions, though still unresolved. Hear why some say the coalition could be on the brink of failure. We'll get to that.
First, though, a quick look at the latest headlines.
A bomb exploded today outside a McDonald's restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey. No one was injured. Apparently, a caller alerted workers to evacuate before the bomb went off.
And in Rome, authorities were able to diffuse two other explosives in front of another McDonald's.
U.S. officials have now confirmed the dead Iraqi prisoner shown in the latest prisoner abuse pictures was the last -- was last questioned by CIA personnel.
Manadel al-Jamadi had suffered head wounds in a struggle with Navy SEALs during his arrest.
Both the Defense Department and the CIA's inspector general are investigating whether there was wrongdoing in the case.
President Bush took the unusual step today of visiting Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The president gave lawmakers from both houses an upbeat report on the war in Iraq and his domestic achievements.
The president expressed confidence in his political standing, because, quote, "Republicans have a record to be proud of."
County health officials in Los Angeles are warning the public the West Nile virus has already appeared in their area this spring. A dozen dead birds have tested positive for the disease. Almost 10,000 cases of the disease were reported in the United States last year. There were more than 250 fatalities.
Just under six weeks from now, U.S. officials hope to be breathing sighs of relief after a successful handover of authority in Iraq, but that vision won't end the grim reality of trying to make things work in that war-torn country.
Once again, our national security correspondent David Ensor is standing by -- David.
ENSOR: Wolf, as you say, things are going to definitely be different in six weeks time, but there's still not going to be easy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): Amid the continuing fighting and scandals in Iraq, administration officials are rushing to set out the way they see things working in July after the handover. First and foremost, they say, incoming U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte will not be running the country.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: It is the interim government that is replacing Ambassador Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority, not Ambassador Negroponte.
ENSOR: But newly sovereign Iraq will still have 135,000 or more American troops and Negroponte will have the largest U.S. Embassy on Earth with a staff of almost 1,000.
FRANK RICCIARDONE, STATE DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR: No other embassy in the world is responsible for overseeing $18.4 billion in assistance. ENSOR: With just over 40 days to the turnover, officials admit key questions are unresolved, like how much influence over coalition troops will the new Iraqi government have and in the wake of the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, who will control the prisons? The handover to a new Iraqi government to be selected by the U.N.'s Lakhdar Brahimi cannot come too quickly, say many experts.
LARRY DIAMOND, FORMER ADVISER TO COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY: The overall ineptitude of our mission to date leaves us and Iraq in a terrible bind.
JOSEPH HOAR, FORMER CENTCOM COMMANDER: I believe we are absolutely on the brink of failure. We are looking into the abyss.
ENSOR: Bush administration officials stress that the incoming Iraqi government, the new ministers really will have power. There are plenty of skeptics.
HUSAIN HAQQANI, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT: The general feeling in the Muslim and the Arab world is that the U.S. will not really truly pull out after June 30. What will happen is that there will just be more Iraqi faces and that there will still be a de facto American-run administration.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: After the handover, U.S. officials say the American footprint in Iraq will need to remain large. In addition to the security, the troops and the big embassy, about 200 advisers to the Iraqi ministries, consultants hired by the U.S., will also be in place, most of them from this country -- Wolf.
BLITZER: David Ensor with the latest on that -- thanks, David, very much.
Even before the war in Iraq, there was a huge gap between U.S. intentions in the Middle East and the way Arabs perceived them. It's a situation that's only gotten worse in recent weeks.
Tom Foreman joining us here with more on this part of the story -- Tom.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, all indications are this has been a very bad week for relations between the United States and the Middle East. Arab people may be taking the brunt of much of what is happening there, but the U.S. is taking the blame.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): As America and its allies slog through the physical war with Iraqi insurgents, the diplomatic Wisconsin are proving troublesome, too. In the past few days, the Arab world has seen Israeli strikes in Gaza, the U.S. bombing of what the military called a target and Iraqis call a wedding party, and more pictures of American soldiers, this time posing with a dead Iraqi. HAQQANI: Throughout the Arab and the Islamic world, the feeling is that we are now in top gear for a war of civilizations, a clash of civilizations. Support for the United States is very low.
FOREMAN: Arabic television, radio, newspapers and Web sites are turning around each conflict and increasingly framing them with extremist commentary, that according to Octavia Nasr, who watches Arab media for CNN.
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR FOR ARAB AFFAIRS: The voices of moderation are either not heard or they're heard and they're not so moderate anymore.
FOREMAN: The White House says President Bush will speak publicly about Iraq every week until the end of June, when an interim Iraqi government will assume control. The effort is clearly designed to bolster confidence here and abroad. But when he spoke to the American Israel Public Affairs committee this week, it's unlikely he pleased many Arabs.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: By defending the freedom and prosperity and security of Israel, you are also serving the cause of America.
ANTHONY CORDESMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Our peace efforts are perceived throughout the region and Iraq as weak and dishonest. The United States is viewed as little more than Israel's proxy.
FOREMAN: The result in the Arab and Muslim world:
SHIBLEY TELHAMI, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: In the past one can argue that this was merely an issue of resenting the American foreign policy. Increasingly, it is a much more intense feeling that borders on hate.
FOREMAN: An Arabic Web site sums up the view. Next to a picture of an American soldier and an Iraqi prisoner, the words "And they ask why do they hate us?"
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Well, the return of power to the Iraqis when it comes up at end of June may help, according to all the experts I talked to today. However they all say if the United States is still behind the money and the guns, it is going to be suspect -- Wolf.
BLITZER: That's pretty depressing. Thanks very much, Tom Foreman, for that.
Casualties on the battlefield in Iraq are tragic, but they also can be expected in a war, but civilian casualties in the United States?
CNN's Sean Callebs has the story of one woman, a United States citizen, who represents a different kind of victim in this conflict. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Michelle Rothstein, an American Muslim, a routine shopping trip in suburban Washington took an ugly turn.
MICHELLE ROTHSTEIN, VICTIM: I felt a punch. It took my breath away and somebody yelling terrorist pig. I fell in and on my knees. It just happened so fast.
CALLEBS: That punch was a 3-inch deep stab wound. Rothstein was born Jewish, raised Catholic and converted to Islam in 1988. Local police say they're investigating the attack by a teenage suspect as a hate crime.
ROTHSTEIN: Isn't this supposed to be a safe place where people tolerate what you believe in or how you want to dress or how you want to look?
CALLEBS: Since 9/11, the Justice Department has investigated more than 560 bias crimes against Muslims.
ALEX ACOSTA, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: The fear does not justify violating someone's religious liberties.
CALLEBS: Now the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the problem is getting worse, partly because of the war in Iraq. It says last year it received twice as many reports of hate attacks against Muslims as the year before. The group blames ignorance about Islam and misinformation.
ARSALAN IFTIKHAR, CAIR LEGAL DIRECTOR: I think that that has led to the exacerbation of the anti-Muslim discrimination, the hate crimes that we've seen an increase of. And I think that only through education, I think only through outreach and dialogue are we going to be able to ameliorate this.
CALLEBS: Michelle Rothstein's son, who is not Muslim, is a U.S. Marine who served in Iraq and will likely go back.
ROTHSTEIN: Do I have to wear a sign that says, my son is fighting for example you, why do you want to hurt me?
CALLEBS: And now she's worried against another kind of backlash against her son for the abuse by other U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison.
ROTHSTEIN: I feel sometimes I'm in the middle because my son is military, you know? And I think that when there's wrong done to anyone it's not right. It's wrong.
CALLEBS: For Michelle Rothstein, concern for and loyalty to the country she lives in, despite her lingering scar, a result of what she considers a brutal and unjustified attack against her Muslim faith.
Sean Callebs, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: They're almost out of college, but only to jump into the political ring. Up next, the Bush twins, Jenna and Barbara, can they help the president get reelected?
Life and death struggle, killer whales and gray whales in a fight for survival off California.
Plus, this:
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALCOLM LOCKE, SURVIVED ALLIGATOR ATTACK: He bit me on the and took a chunk out of my ear. And I punched him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Grappling with a gator. A boy gets pulled underwater by a seven-foot alligator and lives to tell the tale. We'll tell you about it.
First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): A leader of the Palestinian uprising is convicted of murder by an Israeli court. The court today found Marwan Barghouti guilty of four of 37 charges against him, including three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. The murder convictions involve the killings of five Israelis in three separate attacks. Barghouti will be sentenced later.
India's new prime minister-designate calls for economic reforms, religious harmony and peace with Pakistan. Manmohan Singh was appointed yesterday to the post after Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi turned the job down. Singh is a Sikh will become the first non-Hindu prime minister.
Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian sounds a conciliatory note to begin his second term. During his inauguration speech, Mr. Chen indicated he's ready for friendlier relations with China. He said, too, that Taiwan's people are not ready to take up the issues of independence and unification with China.
And the world's largest single-masted yacht is unveiled in England. The Mirabella V is 75 meters long and 90 meters tall and sports an outdoor cinema. An American millionaire paid 30 million pounds for this big boat. He plans to rent it out for a quarter million dollars a week.
And that's our look around the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Normally, we try to stay away from reporting about the president's twin daughters. They certainly deserve privacy and we of course respect that. But they have now made a major decision to go public. Jenna and Barbara Bush are both graduating from college this week and they've now posed for a major photo spread in a leading beauty magazine. They also have plans to get involved in their father's campaign.
CNN's Brian Todd joins us now with details of the activities of both candidates' children -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, whether this is intentional on either side or not, we are clearly about to see competing images of the candidates' children, just in time for the campaign to heat up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get more love here than I do at home.
TODD (voice-over): The images at the very least draw attention. And that's the point.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My daughter, Vanessa Kerry.
TODD: The kids are out there and that's all right with the candidates. After years of being shielded from media coverage, the Bush's 22-year-old twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, have indicated they'll join their father's reelection campaign. The two are also profiled in an upcoming article in "People" magazine. And they'll appear in an interview and photo shoot in the August issue of "Vogue" magazine.
A spokesman for first lady Laura Bush tells CNN their roles in the president's campaign are up to them and the decision to participate is entirely theirs. Observers see clear political benefit.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I do that, if they go out, in all likelihood, it will be a positive for the president. Right now, the polls vary from week to week, but he's having trouble with younger voters.
TODD: The Bush daughters have had issues regarding their image. Both pleaded no contest in case involving underaged possession of alcohol. The family has always asked the news media to respect the twins' privacy, and family spokesmen say this stepping out does not mean a no-holds-barred approach to the daughters is appropriate.
But at the same time they acknowledge the roles for Barbara and Jenna are changing somewhat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.
TODD: For John Kerry's kids, the roles have long since changed. Kerry's stepson Chris Heinz left a prestigious job at a private equity firm in New York to join the Democratic senator's campaign. Chris's two brothers aren't as involved, but Kerry's biological daughters, 27- year-old Vanessa and 30-year-old Alexandra, have been very active on the campaign trail.
Alexandra, an aspiring filmmaker, made some jaws drop a few days ago when this revealing photo of her at the Cannes Film Festival was published. A Kerry campaign spokesperson tells CNN says this incident was unintentional. Still, analysts say the upside of having a candidates' kids on the campaign trail more than makes up for these occasional flourishes of potentially negative publicity.
BROWNSTEIN: Several candidates have shown over the years that the children have played a role in helping to make them more of an approachable human, humane figure for voters.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: But one side note on the balancing act that these children and their parents are engaged in. When the daughters graduate, the Bush daughters, that is, when they graduate from the University of Texas and Yale this weekend, their mother and father will not go to the commencement ceremonies.
Their spokesman say they want the attention placed on the graduates and their families and not on how long everybody would have to wait to go through metal detectors -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Brian Todd, thanks very much.
As Brian the mentioned, the Bush twins are being featured in the next issue of "People" magazine. That issue comes out tomorrow.
With more information on their personal plans and ambitions, J.D. Heyman, the associate editor of "People" magazine, joins us. He wrote the article.
I know a whole team was involved in preparing this article, but what are you learning, J.D., about what exactly Jenna and Barbara Bush plan to do?
J.D. HEYMAN, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, "PEOPLE": Well, you know, it's interesting, Wolf. They haven't been in the media at all. So we're learning a heck of a lot about them.
We're certainly learn about Jenna's interest in education and about Barbara's interest in AIDS, in children with AIDS. And we know they're going to be involved in the campaign. And then after that they're both going to be pursuing those interests and going into the working world. So it's, you know, more than we've ever really heard or seen from them and I assume you'll see a lot of them in the summer and into the fall.
BLITZER: Because usually the White House certainly wants us, the news media, to avoid covering the twins. It's hard enough being young women growing up under normal circumstances. Forget about being the daughters of the president of the United States. Have they now changed their attitude? Do they want us to spend more time covering these twins, especially in the aftermath of their decision to grant an interview and a photo spread for "Vogue" magazine?
HEYMAN: Well, you know, Wolf, every president is zealously protective of his children. And certainly the Bushes have been way out there in terms of keeping the girls and being very angry when the girls have been featured in the media for various things.
I think that it only works to their advantage. As you know, Laura Bush is going to be out there on the campaign trail more. She's a net plus for the president. And the calculus I think in terms of the Bush White House is that whatever the girls do decide to do, it is going to be value-added to his campaign.
BLITZER: Is it your sense based on the reporting of your team at "People" magazine, which is, of course, our sister publication -- we're both part -- we're all part of Time Warner -- is it your sense that the "Vogue" magazine photo spread and interview is only just the beginning? Will there be "20/20" or "Dateline" interviews with Diane Sawyer or others, other big magazines? Is that going to follow?
HEYMAN: Well, I'm not sure. I mean, I think "Vogue" is a natural for these girls. They're both very interested in fashion and we can expect a beautiful spread featuring both of them. I don't know whether they'll be licking stamps or if they'll be out there giving speeches, but I think we'll see. I think the campaign will play it very much by ear.
They're both very attractive, you know, bright young women. And if it goes well, they'll probably be out there a lot. I don't think this will be the first -- or, rather, the last Bush girl interview. I think there will be more. I think there will be more appearances in the media.
BLITZER: They didn't give an interview to "People" magazine or allowed themselves to be photographed for "People" magazine.
HEYMAN: No, they did not.
BLITZER: But I assume you, like every other magazine, would love to do that if possible.
HEYMAN: Well, we'd love to talk to them about their lives. I think everyone is interested in what it's like to be in this unique position of being the daughter of the most powerful man on the planet.
And there's always been fascination with president's children. Chelsea Clinton certainly went through this as well, and going back to the Nixon daughters and even before that. So this isn't an unusual speculation or interest.
BLITZER: So if their intention over the next few months is to campaign for their dad's reelection, they're both intelligent. They're very attractive. They have specific career paths they want to go on as well.
HEYMAN: Yes, they do. Jenna's very interested in education, as we understand. She's done some volunteering with a school in Washington that's never been reported or talked about. And she's going to be moving to New York to do that.
And Barbara's very interested in AIDS work and pediatric AIDS, particularly. And she'll be moving to Houston, Texas. So they'll be switching geographically. And she'll be working with the Baylor College of Medicine there and also traveling overseas to work with clinics overseas with kids with AIDS.
So these are serious interests. It's certainly much more than we've ever learned about what their interests are or what they've been up to, aside from their studies.
BLITZER: J.D. Heyman of "People" magazine, thank you very much.
HEYMAN: Thank you, Wolf. Nice to see you again.
BLITZER: Thank you.
An ancient battle wages in the waters off California and it's caught on camera.
Plus, football, basketball and surfing? You might see it offered at select high schools.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A violent and spectacular battle is happening off the Northern Californian coast, pitting one of the ocean's largest inhabitants against one of its deadliest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NANCY BLACK, MARINE BIOLOGIST: This is like an amazing event because it's huge whales like bashing into each other and duking it out.
BLITZER (voice-over): This is why they call them killer whales. This group is working together to get its next meal, a gray whale calf.
BLACK: When you are watching it, yes, it is Sadr. And the calf is sometimes bleeding and just getting bashed into, but the killer whales have to eat.
BLITZER: It's an annual spectacle off the coast of California and a highlight of the whale watching season. Every year at this time, gray whale mothers and their calves pass through Monterey Bay on the way back to the Arctic Ocean from their breeding grounds off Baja, California. The calves are a favorite prey for hungry orcas, but far from easy, as the mother gray whale can put up a tremendous fight.
BLACK: It can take from three to six hours for them to actually kill one of the gray whales. And the gray whales are really struggling. The mother gray whale is trying to help her calf get out of the water and on to her chest and they're trying to make it to shore. So it's pretty brutal to watch.
BLITZER: Brutal and ancient. It's a battle that's been waged since long before man was there to witness it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And on this particular day, we are told the gray whale mother and calf escaped the killer whales by swimming to shallow water near shore, where the orcas won't go.
This in Florida, talk about an amazing fight; 12-year-old Malcolm Locke is missing part of his ear, but is otherwise doing well after fighting off a huge alligator. He said he was attacked by a 4-to-6- foot alligator while swimming in a lake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOCKE: This alligator came up, opened its mouth and bit me. He bit me on the head and took a chunk out of my ear. And I punched him. I ran up there to the porch screaming, grandma, grandma. And I saw blood dripping everywhere. And I'm like, grandma, is my ear still there?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: A very courageous and lucky boy indeed. Authorities say Locke did the right thing in putting up a fight.
Results of our "Web Question of the Day" just ahead. Plus, surf's up for high school athletes in one state. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day." Take a look at this. Remember, of course, this is not a scientific poll.
Let's get to some of your e-mail. Mary writes this: "Ahmad Chalabi is no longer the darling of the administration that used him to promote their way of thinking because he has now has the audacity to criticize it, thus the defunding and tearing-up of his office. As long as he was feeding them the information they wanted to hear, he was a good guy."
Ed writes this: "The Bush administration didn't trust Chalabi. They used him for intelligence. Now he's involving himself in suspicious activities, so the Iraqis are investigating."
Team spirit may soon be measured by how well you angle and if you're ripping. Just be sure you don't get a sand facial. Enough surfer-speak. Here's our picture of the day. Surfing is expected to become an official high school sport in Hawaii. The state board of education meets on Maui today. And all nine members have already said they'll vote in favor. That's awesome.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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