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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

President Asks Allies for Help in Iraq; Iraqis Skeptical of Bush's Promises; Testing Confirms Roadside Bomb Contained Sarin Gas

Aired May 25, 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: the White House facing criticism on Iraq. A top national security aide standing by to respond.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The allies answer, but will they give the president a hand in Iraq?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want there to be a complete and real transfer of sovereignty.

BLITZER: Hell and high water. How much more can the Midwest take?

Baghdad backlash. Along with pirated copies of Hollywood hits, there's a new best seller that may further complicate the mission in Iraq.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, May 25, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Hello from New York, where right now U.N. diplomats are wrangling over Iraq's future.

Today in Washington the president wasted no time trying to sell his vision of that future. He turned to one key sector many say is crucial if his plan is to succeed, the very allies who bitterly opposed the Iraq war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The first world leader President Bush spoke with after his speech on Iraq's future, French President Jacques Chirac.

BUSH: What President Chirac and others have said is they want to make sure that the transfer of sovereignty to the interim government is a real transfer. And that's what we want.

BLITZER: While the two found broad agreement, Mr. Chirac, one of the harshest critics of the Iraq war, was tough on at least one key point. The interim Iraqi government must have veto rights over coalition military operations.

BUSH: We'll be there to help, and we'll help in a variety of ways. We'll help by making sure our security forces are there to work with their security forces.

BLITZER: Mixed reaction from two other major critics of the war: Russia and Germany.

Germany says the U.S.-British blueprint for the hand-over of sovereignty is a very good foundation. But Russia is being cautious, saying it wants to see who the players are in the new Iraqi government before signing on to the U.S.-British plan.

At home, swift reaction from the Democrats.

SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D-CT), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: The president didn't even suggest in any way that we made some mistakes or miscalculations.

I think he'd do a lot better, and I don't expect major mea culpas here, but at least admitting that we miscalculated, we made mistakes. We've got to get this right. He's unwilling to even indicate the slightest indication that there were some real problems here.

BLITZER: Presidential candidate John Kerry brushed aside the Bush speech, saying no new ground was broken.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Americans are looking for new leadership. Americans are looking for new direction.

BLITZER: Despite the criticism President Bush is moving forward with his plan, meeting today with Iraqis who faced severe punishment by Saddam Hussein, their hands cut off at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison.

BUSH: These men had hands restored because of the generosity and love of an American citizen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: As the United States looks for help with the hand-over in Iraq, can it count on some of its old friends? Tom Foreman has been looking at how the allies are lining up. He's joining us now live from Washington -- Tom.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there's no question today is the day for reading between the lines.

Yes, the president is being roughed up a little bit by these people. That's to be expected. But they are talking and that is what is important here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FOREMAN (voice-over): For all of the arguing, accusations and resentment between the United States and traditional European allies who did not back the invasion of Iraq, international affairs analysts say when the hand-over comes, America's old allies will very likely help.

JAMES RUBIN, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Because Europe has just as much an interest as the United States in seeing Iraq succeed, in preventing it from becoming a failed state where terrorists can organize and plan the way they did in Afghanistan. Plan attacks on Europeans, too.

FOREMAN: Exactly how and when America's old friends will come back into the process is clearly being negotiated. The Russians want more details about who will be in charge in the new Iraq. The French and Germans are being cautious, too.

"We want to be useful in order to find a way out of this tragedy," the French foreign minister says. "We hope this time we will be listened to."

But beyond the politics European nations that have a long history with Iraq could help in other important ways.

SIMON SERFATY, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: There is also an overwhelming number of tasks to attend to.

FOREMAN (on camera): Restoring the oil economy, education, medicine, police forces.

SERFATY: Exactly. This is not an easy task. We are not rebuilding a country. We are essentially attempting to build one.

FOREMAN: In the end, historically, economically and socially, analysts say Europe is tied much more tightly to Iraq and Muslim culture than the United States. And Europeans will pay dearly if Iraq turns into a disaster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Never forget the geography in all of this. Iraq is just much closer to all of these European countries than it is to the United States.

And when things happen like the bombing in Madrid of the train, this is not lost on European leaders. They don't want a breeding ground for tremendous trouble, and if they don't help build Iraq they're going to have it. They don't want that. That's what is bringing them to the table -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Tom Foreman with that report. Thanks, Tom, very much.

The president's five-point plan and his promises of a brighter future are being greeted with skepticism by many Iraqis.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck has reaction from Baghdad. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush had a tough audience in Baghdad for his speech, billed as a clarification on policies towards Iraq.

Of those we talked to, few here heard anything that cleared up prospects for their future.

Journalism students at Baghdad University were especially interested in the speech. They will, after all, be charged with chronicling the future Bush envisions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There's been more than a year, and all we have gotten from Bush is promises of rebuilding and stabilizing the security situation.

WHITBECK: Hiba Ghanim is about to enroll in graduate school.

HIBA GHANIM, UNIVERSITY STUDENT: We hope that he would carry out all that he says. We only hope. Because they occupied us. We did not see anything particularly changed.

WHITBECK: Bush's promise to destroy the notorious Abu Ghraib prison struck a nerve. Dr. Jaafar Sadik is a journalism professor.

PROF. JAAFAR SADIK, BAGHDAD UNIVERSITY (through translator): The truth is that Iraq is now turned into a big prison. And destroying Abu Ghraib prison will not change that.

WHITBECK: Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawir is the current president of the Iraqi Governing Council. To him, while Bush's speech broke no new ground, it reinforced U.S. Intentions to implement policies Iraqis dream about.

SHEIKH GHAZI AL-YAWIR, PRESIDENT, IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL: The promise that he stated that we're going to get full sovereignty, this is exactly what we expect. And we take that as -- a target that we have to work on for the time being.

WHITBECK (on camera): Opinions of the occupation and the president who ordered it have largely remained unchanged since President Bush's speech. The feeling here is that the occupation must end soon and that full and true sovereignty must be restored.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And joining us now from the north lawn of the White House, the deputy national security adviser for communications, Jim Wilkinson.

Mr. Wilkinson, thank very much for joining us.

What is your understanding about the exit strategy for U.S. troops in Iraq? That seems to be one of the major criticisms that Democrats are leveling, that the president didn't offer an exit strategy last night.

JIM WILKINSON, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: The president made very clear, and one of the key audiences last night was the Iraqi people.

He made clear to the Iraqi people that we are there to help them. We are there to help them rebuild the country. We have 138,000 troops there who are going to help them train their security forces and begin their secure future as they prepare for these national elections and their -- their new government.

It is tough work on the ground, as the president said. The international community, as you're seeing from the reactions, are all committed to a future Iraq where everyone is free, where they have elections, where they have a better more stable future.

So the president was very clear on that point last night in his remarks.

BLITZER: What is the -- So what is the exit strategy? At what point will you be able to declare victory and U.S. troops leave? Will it be when there's a full-fledged democracy in Iraq capable of defending itself?

WILKINSON: Look, the president's five-point plan he laid out last was -- and I've seen a lot of coverage today that it was about June 30.

He actually discussed what's going to happen in the country through the end of 2005. The constitution that the freely elected government will write and bring before the Iraqi people.

A lot of steps on that road to get there, but what must happen, and the president was very realistic last night about the security challenges we face, what must happen is that nation must, in a way, liberate itself.

We've liberated Iraq from the Saddam Hussein regime, but that nation now must liberate itself from its past history of abuses and tragedy.

I noticed, as you reported, the president today met with people who had their hands chopped off by the previous regime and how the American people are helping to give them new limbs. This is the goodness of the American people, and it's showing through in Iraq right now, and it will so.

But it's important that the Iraqis know that we are there to help them. We are not leaving. We're going to help them start their new country. And then we'll be there as long as it takes but not one day longer.

BLITZER: But let me try to rephrase it. What will be the definition of success when the mission has been accomplished? WILKINSON: Can you repeat the question please?

BLITZER: What will be the definition of success, mission accomplished?

WILKINSON: I think clearly when Iraq is stable. When they have a government that represents a unified Iraq. You know, that will be much better there.

But we shouldn't sort of sit here today when Iraqis are still recovering and just beginning to have their new government. Shouldn't sort of sit here today and try to predict everything.

The president gave five steps that are going to get us through June 30 and through next year. And we'll continue to work on those steps.

BLITZER: There seems to be somewhat of a dispute, not a dispute, necessarily, but a disagreement between Colin Powell on the one hand and Tony Blair, the British prime minister, on the other.

If the interim Iraqi government opposes a certain U.S. military action, do they have the final say where and when U.S. forces can operate?

WILKINSON: I don't see any disagreement between Secretary Powell and Prime Minister Blair at all.

Look, we do this every day in places like Afghanistan and Bosnia. We work out these agreements with these governments, and we do it.

The president was very clear last night. As we sit here today the American troops have crystal clear rules of engagement and they report to an American chain of command.

After July 1, when the transition to full sovereignty happens, the American troops will have crystal clear rules of engagement and will report to an American command.

So we do this all over the world. We do it in Afghanistan and in Bosnia. So this is not anything new. And I don't see the disagreement you're talking about. I just don't see it. The president was very clear last night on that.

BLITZER: Will the new Iraqi government, the interim government, be able to veto U.S. military operations?

WILKINSON: Again, it's a sovereign government. And we'll obviously be there with -- at the consent of the government. That is what we have always said.

But our forces will have crystal clear rules of engagement. They will report to an American command. And the Iraqi people want that country to be more secure, more than any of us do. They live there. They want it to secure. And the president is going to make sure that our men and women in uniform have the tools they need to do their job. There are still bad people in Iraq that our troops have to hunt down. There are still dangerous operations. And this president makes sure they have the tools.

That is an important thing he spoke to last night, and believe me, he believes its most important that those men and women in uniform have crystal clear rules of engagement, know who they report to. And they report to an American chain of command, Wolf.

BLITZER: Jim Wilkinson from the National Security Council, joining us from the White House. Thanks very much for that.

And here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: should U.S. allies take on more responsibility in Iraq after the June 30 hand-over? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.

Sovereignty may or may not be just around the corner, but for now, the violence continues.

In Najaf, the most revered Shiite holy place, the Imam Ali mosque was slightly damaged by an explosion. Angry Iraqis protested outside, but it's not clear who was responsible.

While U.S. forces continue to battle the militia of the radical cleric, officials insist troops were not involved in any fighting near the shrine.

In Baghdad, a suicide attacker set off a car bomb in front of a hotel used by foreigners. Several people were wounded. Buildings housing the United Nations World Food Program and the Australian embassy are nearby.

Insurgents also fired rocket-propelled grenades at a police station in the center of the city. A U.S. soldier was wounded.

This just in to CNN, U.S. officials confirm that a roadside bomb found in Baghdad contained sarin gas.

Joining us now with details, our national security correspondent, David Ensor -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you may recall that this was the initial test result that the field test got, that this artillery shell, 155-millimeter artillery shell that had been used by insurgents attempting to use it as a roadside bomb against American troops.

That a field test has showed there was sarin gas, a nerve agent, inside that shell. They sent it back here to the United States for additional testing, and U.S. officials now say those tests have confirmed that the nerve agent sarin was indeed in that shell.

Now, that -- immediately raises the question, how many more shells like it are there in Iraq? And clearly, that will be the main task or one of the main tasks now before the Iraq survey group, which is the group of military and intelligence personnel in Iraq, headed by a CIA man, who are looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

This find, now confirmed, will help the president in the sense that it helps with his argument for going to war. It may raise some additional concerns for security of troops -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David, in terms of the big picture, does this now suggest that the Iraqis, Saddam Hussein, did have WMD's before the war?

ENSOR: It does suggest that, yes. However, there may be very small quantities. This may not be a new artillery shell. This could go back to the '80s. It's in at least one shell, though, that's for sure -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor, with this information just coming in. Thanks very much. Sarin gas confirmed in that shell.

More security in a presidential inauguration. We have new information on why the Washington mall will be prepared for disaster.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL BERNSTEIN, JOURNALIST: The Republicans ought to start looking critically at their president. The same way that courageous Republicans looked at Richard Nixon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Critical comparison. What journalist Carl Bernstein is now saying about President Bush and former President Richard Nixon.

Rising river, severe storms in the Midwest create as major mess for residents. We'll go there live.

And toxic cloud hovering over a suburban Atlanta area. Residents breathing potentially dangerous chemicals right now. We'll have an update on the situation.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: After years of planning, the national World War II memorial will be dedicated this weekend on the Washington mall.

CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve reports that because of the high profile of the event, security will be intense -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a homeland security official says the security is greater for this dedication than for any other event on the national mall ever. Although officials say there is no specific and credible threat information, this large and symbolic gathering involving presidents past and present is the first in a series of pre-election events officials fear terrorists could try to disrupt.

Security planning has been under way for more than a year. More than 35 federal, state and local agencies will provide approximately 1,000 law enforcement officers and special report and response teams.

Chemical and biological sensors on the mall will be supplemented with radiological monitoring. The Coast Guard will patrol the Potomac River. Immigration and customs enforcement will police the air space, which is already closed. Canine explosive teams will be in wide use.

The security will be tightest in the inner perimeter around the monument itself. But all visitors are being told to leave backpacks and large coolers at home.

Almost as big a concern as security, the health of those attending. Emergency medical personnel will be in the subway, in first aid tents, on bicycles with defibrillators.

Heat exhaustion and heart attacks are the greatest concerns. But organizers believe they are prepared to do a mass evacuation if necessary -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve with us. Thanks very much, Jeanne.

False accusations against an Oregon lawyer raise new questions about the FBI and the way it uses fingerprint evidence. We'll take a closer look at the controversy and its important implications.

Rivers are rising in Chicago suburbs. We'll have a live report on the battle against the water.

And tornadoes hit the Midwest. We'll tell you about the destruction and what happened to two girl caught in the storm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're just getting these pictures in from St. Louis, Missouri. You are looking at Interstate 55.

Look at this, the flooding in that part of the country right now pretty serious. This car trying to get through. This is dangerous to try to do this. Series flooding in the St. Louis area.

St. Louis not alone by any means. Right now, the Des Plaines River is still rising in Chicago's northern suburbs, following several days of heavy rains.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim is in Gurnee. That's in Illinois. He's joining us live -- Keith.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. The village of Gurnee is about 40 miles north of the city of Chicago. And it's actually a tourist destination, partly because of a big amusement park here, Six Flags, Great America.

If you take a look behind me you can see that right now a section of Gurnee is better known for its impassable streets. And the rising water of the Des Plaines River that don't seem to quit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Take a walk in the floodplain of Gurnee, Illinois, and you'll find yourself surrounded by water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's never been this bad. About maybe three years ago it was flooded but not nearly this bad.

OPPENHEIM: By late Tuesday the floodwaters are expected to get as bad and as high as they've ever been, breaking a record set in 1986 when the Des Plaines River caused millions of dollars in damage.

Brian Campbell lived through that flood. His home got hit again this time, but he says he had more warning.

BRIAN CAMPBELL, RESIDENT: Our house is 100 years old. It's a brick foundation. So we got water coming in through the foundation like crazy.

OPPENHEIM: Hundreds of volunteers have made a difference, sand bagging and trying to prevent the water from getting inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It costs a lot of money. It creates a lot of damage. And there are some new residents that aren't used to it, unfortunately, and this has been pretty heart wrenching for them.

OPPENHEIM: Heart wrenching for nearly two dozen families who had to evacuate and can only wait until the floodwaters recede.

The rise of the river was caused by rain. Five inches since Saturday. And some residents said they just didn't expect a crisis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never know when, you know. Like, last one we had no warning. This one we had a little warning. But, yes, it's got to be hard on people, lose stuff all the time in floods.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIMER: Wolf, there is some good news, if you can call it that. And that is that the Des Plaines River here in Gurnee is expected to crest early. Instead of tomorrow, it will crest tonight.

And that means by tomorrow some of this water could start to pull back, recede, and that will give people an earlier opportunity to recover.

But the water here is also expected to move downstream, so in communities like Des Plaines and Riverside, folks are pretty anxious about the damage that they see here and they expect it to come down there within a day and a half to two days.

Wolf, now back to you.

BLITZER: All right. Keith Oppenheim, let's hope for the best over there. Thanks very much.

Other parts of the Midwest are cleaning up from tornadoes. This is one of the four tornadoes that hit the Chillicothe, Missouri, area last night.

Two girls were in a mobile home that was picked up by a tornado and dropped on a car. But remarkably, they escaped with minor injuries.

A twister knocked out power in Albany, Missouri, and damaged several buildings. A medical center was damaged, forcing the transfer of patients to other hospitals.

Positive news from Wall Street, fueled by a change in oil prices.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNSTEIN: What I'm suggesting is, is that the blind Pavlov-like obeisance to this president, by the Republican Party, is hurting the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Comparing President Bush's administration to that of President Nixon. My interview with Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist, Carl Bernstein.

Images of abuse inside Abu Ghraib prison. And new hot selling blockbuster in Baghdad. A surprising story from Iraq that we will have for you.

Plus this...

Turn down the salad. This unique orchestra is fresh from the garden. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting today from New York.

One of the journalists who broke the Watergate scandal now is making some comparisons between President Bush and President Nixon. I'll speak with Carl Bernstein. We'll get to that.

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

Prices for crude oil dropped today, pushing stocks to their biggest percentage gain since March. The Dow Jones industrials jumped almost 160 points, closing above 10000. The Nasdaq composite was up almost 42 points. The S&P 500 was also up, pushing past 1100.

The governor of New Mexico wants a federal order grounding heavy air tankers used to fight wildfires rescinded. A blaze burning through the Lincoln National Forest for the past 10 days has destroyed 20,000 acres of forest. A second fire 50 miles away has burn through 4,700 acres.

With the U.S. transfer of power to Iraq fast approaching, a crucial issue remains a source of confusion. Just who will command American forces in the country?

Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is joining us now live with more on that -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you heard President Bush last night say that American troops will be under American command and have clear rules of engagement.

But there's already some confusion. If, for instance, the U.S. wanted to launch an operation in Fallujah, as it did recently, when Iraqi Governing Council was opposed to it, who gets the final say? Well, today, Britain's prime minister suggested that the new Iraqi interim government would have a veto.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: ... that they will have a veto.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If there's a political decision as to whether you go into a place like Fallujah in a particular way, that has to be done with the consent of the Iraqi government. And the final political control remains with the Iraqi government. Now, that's what the transfer of sovereignty means.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: But the U.S. insists it will have a final say on launching military action if it's in the U.S. interests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: If it comes down to the United States armed forces protecting themselves or in some way accomplishing their mission in a way that might not be in total consonance with what the Iraqi interim government might want to do at a particular moment in time, U.S. forces remain under U.S. command and will do what is necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Powell seeming to say that the U.S. will do what it has to do, but he also says that this will all be worked out in a U.N. resolution. And he insists, Wolf, it's no big deal. It's something they will be able to work through -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, now, Jamie, on another matter, Ricardo Sanchez, the U.S. general, the top commander on the ground in Iraq, he's expected to rotate out, step down from that position. Any indication why and who might replace him?

MCINTYRE: Well, the Pentagon insists that it is no way related to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, that General Sanchez was scheduled to rotate out anyway as part of a plan to restructure the U.S. military after the transition. They will put a new four-star general to work alongside the U.S. ambassador. That will be General George Casey, if the president recommends him, as is expected.

He is the current vice chief of staff of the Army. And then Sanchez's deputy, Lieutenant General Metz, will take over his specific job of being the ground commander.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thanks for that.

For many Iraqis, one of the major issues isn't who will command American forces in their countries, but the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American troops. And one of the hottest selling items in Baghdad markets right now are C.D.s containing those graphic images of abuse.

CNN's Guy Raz reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the pirated copies of "Rocky IV," "Titanic" and "Terminator," a new blockbuster in Baghdad. "American Army" sits prominently in shelves inside a Baghdad street market. Men gather in silence to watch, a voice-over of an imam extolling viewers to fight against Americans, crusaders, and Zionists.

"I came to the market to look for it," says Sabri Nasr (ph). "Now that I have it, I can see it with my own eyes," he says, "see the crimes committed by the Americans against the Iraqi people." And it only costs 50 cents. "I'm selling them," he says, "so people can see the American methods of torture." Ali Abdel (ph) says he sold more than 6,000 copies. To his customers, the pictures simply reinforce a common viewpoint.

"At first, we were very happy with the prospect of democracy and freedom," says Hasan (ph), "but now look at what has come with this freedom and democracy." It's a similar refrain heard here outside Abu Ghraib prison, a three-day vigil called by a local Islamic group to welcome newly released prisoners. This man just out says he was able to see the pictures on the inside in Iraqi newspapers.

When we saw the pictures, he says, "All the prisoners rallied together and shouted, God is great, because we felt humiliated. We Iraqis are a proud people." This prison perhaps soon to become only a memory. But whether Abu Ghraib is dismantled or not, the memory won't easily be erased.

Guy Raz, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: As reporters for "The Washington Post" in the mid- 1970s, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward wrote about the Watergate scandal, which eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Writing in "USA Today" yesterday, Bernstein said he now sees parallels between President Nixon's problem with Watergate and President Bush's problem with the Iraq prison abuse scandal.

I spoke with Carl Bernstein here in New York just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Carl Bernstein, thanks very much for joining us.

You wrote a powerful piece in "USA Today" and you make a very damning comparison. You say this: "Like Richard Nixon, this president decided the Constitution could be bent on his watch." What specifically are you referring to?

CARL BERNSTEIN, AUTHOR/JOURNALIST: Well, I think regarding the detention and questioning of detainees, one.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Where in the Constitution does it say that you can't detain?

BERNSTEIN: Constitutional rights traditionally are extended to suspects, to combatants, to noncombatants in this country. They haven't been. The Patriot Act has very serious constitutional questions. I think

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Well, let me interrupt. The Patriot Act was passed overwhelmingly...

BERNSTEIN: Right.

BLITZER: ... by the House and Senate, signed into law by this president of the United States. Where is he violating the Constitution?

BERNSTEIN: I think that the courts would find problems with the First Amendment involving the Patriot Act. We will see if it is upheld in the long run.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: But, as of now, the courts have not yet decided.

BERNSTEIN: No, they haven't. But it's in the court.

I think that this president does not respect the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. He's not a conservative in the tradition of Barry Goldwater, who believes in the absolute strict construction of what the founders intended in terms of freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom really not to abuse people, as we have done in these questionings.

BLITZER: But the point that you are trying to make, I think, is that this president should be responsible for what happened at the Abu Ghraib prison and that he should accept responsibility.

BERNSTEIN: I think I make a much broader point in the piece.

And that is that Republicans ought to start looking critically at their president, the same way that courageous Republicans looked at Richard Nixon, not because George Bush is a criminal, but because George Bush's competence and honesty have been called into question by this disastrous war.

BLITZER: But we're only a few months away from an election. The American people will decide November 2 whether he should be allowed to stay in office.

BERNSTEIN: Absolutely. I'm not suggesting he should be impeached.

What I'm suggesting is, is that the blind, Pavlov-like obeisance to this president by the Republican Party is hurting the country, because there are serious questions about this war that need to be raised, that have been raised a little bit by Richard Lugar, the Republican chairman of Foreign Relations Committee, by John McCain, by Chuck Hagel.

But I think that the blind following of a leader who has taken us to war in a country where we are supposed to be fighting terrorism, where there was no terrorism to begin with -- it was -- I have been to Iraq. It was a totalitarian, authoritarian state, but not a terrorist state. Now we have -- instead of containing terrorism, we have unleashed terrorism.

BLITZER: So the bottom line -- and a lot of our viewers, of course, remember you and Bob Woodward broke the Watergate story. So you're making an analogy comparison with Richard M. Nixon. What are you saying, that this president is worse than Nixon?

BERNSTEIN: No. No. I think they are apples and oranges, totally apples and oranges.

Richard Nixon was a criminal president of the United States. George Bush is a president of the United States who has taken us to war in a not straightforward and honest way, who has led us into a situation where, you know, let's take a look at what George Will said. I think let's look at the conservatives.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: You know John Dean, who was the White House counsel, he's written a book saying that this is worse than Watergate. Do you agree with John Dean?

BERNSTEIN: I think they are apples and oranges. I think, however, the long-term implications of this war in terms of the security of the United States are worse than Watergate, worse than Vietnam.

In Vietnam, we weren't being attacked on our own soil. We weren't spreading terrorism, which this war has done through Europe by giving terrorists an excuse. This president, I believe, began very smartly with a war on terrorism in Afghanistan, the right place. But Iraq? This is a war that was conceived in ideology.

BLITZER: Just to nail this down, you are not saying he should resign. You're not saying he should be impeached. You're not going that far.

BERNSTEIN: I'm saying that Republicans ought to lead the questioning to find out what this president has done, what were his policies that he knew of regarding the questioning of these prisoners.

If you take a look, there was a memo written in January of 2002, or it might be 2003, from the counsel to the president, saying that he believes that the -- that he doesn't need, the president does not need to follow the Geneva Accords and that they are quaint, to use the language of the memo. And the president accepted this.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Well, those were for the terrorist suspects who weren't wearing uniforms, who were not traditional combatants in that sense.

BERNSTEIN: The people who are in Abu Ghraib are not wearing uniforms. They are not combatants in the traditional sense.

BLITZER: Right.

BERNSTEIN: They are exactly the kind of extraconstitutional, extracombatants that ought to be protected, not abused, and whose abuse is a result partly of these policies. I just -- I want to go to one last...

BLITZER: We don't have time really for George Will.

BERNSTEIN: Sure.

BLITZER: But a lot of our viewers probably remember that -- I think we just have to wrap it up.

Carl Bernstein, thanks for joining us.

BERNSTEIN: Great.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Secret investigations and indefinite detentions, why the story of Oregon attorney Brandon Mayfield is raising new questions about the treatment of material witnesses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The FBI's latent fingerprint unit will be reviewing its current practices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Fingerprint flap. How did modern technology used in the Mayfield case produce completely inaccurate results?

Toxic cloud, dangerous chemicals forcing hundreds of evacuations in the Atlanta area.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Portland lawyer Brandon Mayfield was detained for two weeks, then released with an apology. This case is again raising serious questions about the material witness statute.

Let's go live to Washington. Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena, standing by -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the material witness statute allows the government to detain individuals without charging them. All the government has to prove is that the person may have information that is helpful to a grand jury investigation.

Now, it's not a new statute, but it is definitely getting new attention.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): Portland lawyer Brandon Mayfield says his time in detention as a material witness was humiliating.

BRANDON MAYFIELD, ATTORNEY: In my estimation, it's an abuse of the judicial process.

ARENA: Government officials say Mayfield was held because initially his print matched a copy of a print found near the scene of the Madrid train bombing. And court documents show he had $10,000 in wrapped $100 bills in his safe deposit box, which the government says could be used to leave town suddenly, valid reasons, some say, for a material witness warrant.

ALICE FISHER, FORMER DEPUTY ASST. ATTORNEY GENERAL: People don't understand that these are things that are signed off on by a federal court and that a judge reviews the entire process and that it is something that is not just new to this terrorism investigation, but that has been used for years.

ARENA: Mayfield argues, keeping him from his family for two weeks with the general prison population was unfair. And critics say the government has abused the material witness statute since September 11. ANJANA MALHOTRA, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: What the government is actually doing underneath that is arresting people it believes are suspects. And the Constitution guarantees that people who are arrested as suspects have a whole panoply of rights under the Constitution so they are not wrongfully abused.

ARENA: The government isn't saying exactly how many individuals have been held as material witnesses since September 11, citing grand jury secrecy rules. In response to congressional inquiries, though, the Justice Department would only say fewer than 50 were held in the course of the September 11 investigation through January of 2003.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: So far, the government's use of the statute has been upheld by the courts, but critics say that they are waiting for just the right case to challenge that law again -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena in Washington, thanks very much.

And joining us now with more on how the FBI got it wrong on the fingerprints in the Brandon Mayfield case, CNN's Brian Todd, joining us live -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the FBI is now reviewing some of its fingerprinting practices, after what most observers agree was a disaster in the Brandon Mayfield case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): A ridge, a dot, a spur, important features on a fingerprint that can make all the difference in nailing down a case. But in Brandon Mayfield's case, all the FBI's sophistication led the agency to the wrong man.

ROBERT JORDAN, FBI: The FBI regrets the hardships that this matter has placed upon Mr. Mayfield and his family.

TODD: How could the fingerprint evidence have been botched in this case? From near the wreckage of bombed-out trains in Madrid, Spanish agents lifted an unidentified latent fingerprint. That's one not visible to the latent eye. They transmitted a digital image of that print to the FBI.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: The U.S. got the image of this print from the Spanish. They ran it through their -- supposedly the best system in the world right now, the IAFIS system.

TODD: IAFIS, or Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, a supercomputer that compares an unidentified print to a database of millions of known prints. From that comparison, IAFIS produce a short list of potential matches, usually between six and 12. These are based on what experts call points of identification or points of minutia, essentially, any similar characteristics between prints. That's where human fingerprint examiners come in, to try to match up the new print with those from the computer's short list. In this case, FBI analysts made the link to Mayfield based on military and criminal prints of him on file and brought in an outside expert who verified it. But last week, Spanish investigators said the print matched that of an Algerian man. So the FBI sent a team to Spain to compare the digital image they had with the actual print. The result, disaster.

JORDAN: Upon review, it was determined that the FBI identification was based on an image of substandard quality.

TODD: We spoke to two forensic experts and a former FBI special agent in charge, who all say the reliance on partial latent fingerprints for matches is a mistake.

In the Mayfield case, the problem was compounded when the FBI first got only a digital image of a latent print. But critics point to other systemic problems.

LAWRENCE KOBILINSKY, PROFESSOR OF FORENSIC SCIENCE: The real issue is that there is an insufficient amount of attention and money spent toward fingerprints. We need national standards.

TODD: Responding to those points, an official with an FBI fingerprint unit told CNN they don't need standards for a number of identical characteristics to be matched because they look at the entire picture, all the shapes and ridges in a print. He said the agency's experts are put through two years of rigorous training and he's got no problem with the funding.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Now, with all its flaws, experts say the real strength in the system, with the use of IAFIS, investigators can narrow down potential matches now with dramatic speed -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd in Washington -- thanks, Brian, for that explanation.

A huge toxic cloud covering over suburban Atlanta right now. A chemical fire sends chlorine-laced smoke billowing into the air. We'll go there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A huge chemical fire that broke out before dawn continues to burn in suburban Atlanta.

CNN's David Mattingly has this update from Conyers, Georgia -- David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we keep watching that swirling yellowish cloud of smoke behind me looking for some sign that this fire might be slowing down.

But we are now in the 14th hour of it and it is still going strong, going strong after starting in the wee hours of the morning literally with a bang.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY Involve Between 3:30 and 4:00 in the morning, a loud explosion startled the city of Conyers, Georgia, east of Atlanta. And soon an ominous plume of smoke billowed eastward, at times blocking out the morning sun.

DAVID GATTIS, EVACUEE: I walked outside and saw the haze, just the thick smoke coming over the top of my house. I walked in, turned on the news and saw it on television and saw that everything was going literally right over my property.

MATTINGLY: A warehouse full of chlorinated compounds used to treat swimming pools burned out of control. There were no mandatory evacuations. Still, hundreds sought out local shelters.

LATRELLE WILSON, EVACUEE: I thought it would just be a few hours. And it never occurred to me that it might be all night tonight, Because I didn't bring a toothbrush or anything.

MATTINGLY: Twenty-eight people were admitted at area hospitals for respiratory problems, none serious. Airborne chlorine can also cause eye and skin irritation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is closed.

MATTINGLY: A 26-mile stretch of Interstate 20, the main east- west route for thousands of Atlanta commuters, was shut down temporarily due to poor visibility and air quality. According to firefighters, the chlorinated compounds continue to burn slowly and are proving extremely difficult to extinguish.

JOHN OXENDINE, GEORGIA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER: The hydro- chlorine is explosive. There are constantly explosions, small explosions going off in small containers. It just sounds like a gun going off every few minutes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: A pattern that is likely to continue well into the night. In fact, the latest word from the scene of the fire is that this fire will continue burning at the same intensity you see it right now, possibly until noon tomorrow -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Mattingly reporting on this fire in Georgia -- thanks, David, very much.

And the sounds of salad, that's our picture of the day coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day." Take a look at these numbers. Remember, this is not a scientific poll. A musical feast in Germany, it's our picture of the day. Look at this, the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra performing in Hamburg, of all places. Instead of traditional musical instruments, musicians use fresh pumpkins, carrots and other seasonal veggies. At the end of each performance, the leftovers are cooked into soup and served to the audience.

"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 25, 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: the White House facing criticism on Iraq. A top national security aide standing by to respond.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The allies answer, but will they give the president a hand in Iraq?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want there to be a complete and real transfer of sovereignty.

BLITZER: Hell and high water. How much more can the Midwest take?

Baghdad backlash. Along with pirated copies of Hollywood hits, there's a new best seller that may further complicate the mission in Iraq.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, May 25, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Hello from New York, where right now U.N. diplomats are wrangling over Iraq's future.

Today in Washington the president wasted no time trying to sell his vision of that future. He turned to one key sector many say is crucial if his plan is to succeed, the very allies who bitterly opposed the Iraq war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The first world leader President Bush spoke with after his speech on Iraq's future, French President Jacques Chirac.

BUSH: What President Chirac and others have said is they want to make sure that the transfer of sovereignty to the interim government is a real transfer. And that's what we want.

BLITZER: While the two found broad agreement, Mr. Chirac, one of the harshest critics of the Iraq war, was tough on at least one key point. The interim Iraqi government must have veto rights over coalition military operations.

BUSH: We'll be there to help, and we'll help in a variety of ways. We'll help by making sure our security forces are there to work with their security forces.

BLITZER: Mixed reaction from two other major critics of the war: Russia and Germany.

Germany says the U.S.-British blueprint for the hand-over of sovereignty is a very good foundation. But Russia is being cautious, saying it wants to see who the players are in the new Iraqi government before signing on to the U.S.-British plan.

At home, swift reaction from the Democrats.

SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D-CT), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: The president didn't even suggest in any way that we made some mistakes or miscalculations.

I think he'd do a lot better, and I don't expect major mea culpas here, but at least admitting that we miscalculated, we made mistakes. We've got to get this right. He's unwilling to even indicate the slightest indication that there were some real problems here.

BLITZER: Presidential candidate John Kerry brushed aside the Bush speech, saying no new ground was broken.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Americans are looking for new leadership. Americans are looking for new direction.

BLITZER: Despite the criticism President Bush is moving forward with his plan, meeting today with Iraqis who faced severe punishment by Saddam Hussein, their hands cut off at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison.

BUSH: These men had hands restored because of the generosity and love of an American citizen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: As the United States looks for help with the hand-over in Iraq, can it count on some of its old friends? Tom Foreman has been looking at how the allies are lining up. He's joining us now live from Washington -- Tom.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there's no question today is the day for reading between the lines.

Yes, the president is being roughed up a little bit by these people. That's to be expected. But they are talking and that is what is important here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FOREMAN (voice-over): For all of the arguing, accusations and resentment between the United States and traditional European allies who did not back the invasion of Iraq, international affairs analysts say when the hand-over comes, America's old allies will very likely help.

JAMES RUBIN, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Because Europe has just as much an interest as the United States in seeing Iraq succeed, in preventing it from becoming a failed state where terrorists can organize and plan the way they did in Afghanistan. Plan attacks on Europeans, too.

FOREMAN: Exactly how and when America's old friends will come back into the process is clearly being negotiated. The Russians want more details about who will be in charge in the new Iraq. The French and Germans are being cautious, too.

"We want to be useful in order to find a way out of this tragedy," the French foreign minister says. "We hope this time we will be listened to."

But beyond the politics European nations that have a long history with Iraq could help in other important ways.

SIMON SERFATY, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: There is also an overwhelming number of tasks to attend to.

FOREMAN (on camera): Restoring the oil economy, education, medicine, police forces.

SERFATY: Exactly. This is not an easy task. We are not rebuilding a country. We are essentially attempting to build one.

FOREMAN: In the end, historically, economically and socially, analysts say Europe is tied much more tightly to Iraq and Muslim culture than the United States. And Europeans will pay dearly if Iraq turns into a disaster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Never forget the geography in all of this. Iraq is just much closer to all of these European countries than it is to the United States.

And when things happen like the bombing in Madrid of the train, this is not lost on European leaders. They don't want a breeding ground for tremendous trouble, and if they don't help build Iraq they're going to have it. They don't want that. That's what is bringing them to the table -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Tom Foreman with that report. Thanks, Tom, very much.

The president's five-point plan and his promises of a brighter future are being greeted with skepticism by many Iraqis.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck has reaction from Baghdad. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush had a tough audience in Baghdad for his speech, billed as a clarification on policies towards Iraq.

Of those we talked to, few here heard anything that cleared up prospects for their future.

Journalism students at Baghdad University were especially interested in the speech. They will, after all, be charged with chronicling the future Bush envisions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There's been more than a year, and all we have gotten from Bush is promises of rebuilding and stabilizing the security situation.

WHITBECK: Hiba Ghanim is about to enroll in graduate school.

HIBA GHANIM, UNIVERSITY STUDENT: We hope that he would carry out all that he says. We only hope. Because they occupied us. We did not see anything particularly changed.

WHITBECK: Bush's promise to destroy the notorious Abu Ghraib prison struck a nerve. Dr. Jaafar Sadik is a journalism professor.

PROF. JAAFAR SADIK, BAGHDAD UNIVERSITY (through translator): The truth is that Iraq is now turned into a big prison. And destroying Abu Ghraib prison will not change that.

WHITBECK: Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawir is the current president of the Iraqi Governing Council. To him, while Bush's speech broke no new ground, it reinforced U.S. Intentions to implement policies Iraqis dream about.

SHEIKH GHAZI AL-YAWIR, PRESIDENT, IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL: The promise that he stated that we're going to get full sovereignty, this is exactly what we expect. And we take that as -- a target that we have to work on for the time being.

WHITBECK (on camera): Opinions of the occupation and the president who ordered it have largely remained unchanged since President Bush's speech. The feeling here is that the occupation must end soon and that full and true sovereignty must be restored.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And joining us now from the north lawn of the White House, the deputy national security adviser for communications, Jim Wilkinson.

Mr. Wilkinson, thank very much for joining us.

What is your understanding about the exit strategy for U.S. troops in Iraq? That seems to be one of the major criticisms that Democrats are leveling, that the president didn't offer an exit strategy last night.

JIM WILKINSON, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: The president made very clear, and one of the key audiences last night was the Iraqi people.

He made clear to the Iraqi people that we are there to help them. We are there to help them rebuild the country. We have 138,000 troops there who are going to help them train their security forces and begin their secure future as they prepare for these national elections and their -- their new government.

It is tough work on the ground, as the president said. The international community, as you're seeing from the reactions, are all committed to a future Iraq where everyone is free, where they have elections, where they have a better more stable future.

So the president was very clear on that point last night in his remarks.

BLITZER: What is the -- So what is the exit strategy? At what point will you be able to declare victory and U.S. troops leave? Will it be when there's a full-fledged democracy in Iraq capable of defending itself?

WILKINSON: Look, the president's five-point plan he laid out last was -- and I've seen a lot of coverage today that it was about June 30.

He actually discussed what's going to happen in the country through the end of 2005. The constitution that the freely elected government will write and bring before the Iraqi people.

A lot of steps on that road to get there, but what must happen, and the president was very realistic last night about the security challenges we face, what must happen is that nation must, in a way, liberate itself.

We've liberated Iraq from the Saddam Hussein regime, but that nation now must liberate itself from its past history of abuses and tragedy.

I noticed, as you reported, the president today met with people who had their hands chopped off by the previous regime and how the American people are helping to give them new limbs. This is the goodness of the American people, and it's showing through in Iraq right now, and it will so.

But it's important that the Iraqis know that we are there to help them. We are not leaving. We're going to help them start their new country. And then we'll be there as long as it takes but not one day longer.

BLITZER: But let me try to rephrase it. What will be the definition of success when the mission has been accomplished? WILKINSON: Can you repeat the question please?

BLITZER: What will be the definition of success, mission accomplished?

WILKINSON: I think clearly when Iraq is stable. When they have a government that represents a unified Iraq. You know, that will be much better there.

But we shouldn't sort of sit here today when Iraqis are still recovering and just beginning to have their new government. Shouldn't sort of sit here today and try to predict everything.

The president gave five steps that are going to get us through June 30 and through next year. And we'll continue to work on those steps.

BLITZER: There seems to be somewhat of a dispute, not a dispute, necessarily, but a disagreement between Colin Powell on the one hand and Tony Blair, the British prime minister, on the other.

If the interim Iraqi government opposes a certain U.S. military action, do they have the final say where and when U.S. forces can operate?

WILKINSON: I don't see any disagreement between Secretary Powell and Prime Minister Blair at all.

Look, we do this every day in places like Afghanistan and Bosnia. We work out these agreements with these governments, and we do it.

The president was very clear last night. As we sit here today the American troops have crystal clear rules of engagement and they report to an American chain of command.

After July 1, when the transition to full sovereignty happens, the American troops will have crystal clear rules of engagement and will report to an American command.

So we do this all over the world. We do it in Afghanistan and in Bosnia. So this is not anything new. And I don't see the disagreement you're talking about. I just don't see it. The president was very clear last night on that.

BLITZER: Will the new Iraqi government, the interim government, be able to veto U.S. military operations?

WILKINSON: Again, it's a sovereign government. And we'll obviously be there with -- at the consent of the government. That is what we have always said.

But our forces will have crystal clear rules of engagement. They will report to an American command. And the Iraqi people want that country to be more secure, more than any of us do. They live there. They want it to secure. And the president is going to make sure that our men and women in uniform have the tools they need to do their job. There are still bad people in Iraq that our troops have to hunt down. There are still dangerous operations. And this president makes sure they have the tools.

That is an important thing he spoke to last night, and believe me, he believes its most important that those men and women in uniform have crystal clear rules of engagement, know who they report to. And they report to an American chain of command, Wolf.

BLITZER: Jim Wilkinson from the National Security Council, joining us from the White House. Thanks very much for that.

And here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: should U.S. allies take on more responsibility in Iraq after the June 30 hand-over? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.

Sovereignty may or may not be just around the corner, but for now, the violence continues.

In Najaf, the most revered Shiite holy place, the Imam Ali mosque was slightly damaged by an explosion. Angry Iraqis protested outside, but it's not clear who was responsible.

While U.S. forces continue to battle the militia of the radical cleric, officials insist troops were not involved in any fighting near the shrine.

In Baghdad, a suicide attacker set off a car bomb in front of a hotel used by foreigners. Several people were wounded. Buildings housing the United Nations World Food Program and the Australian embassy are nearby.

Insurgents also fired rocket-propelled grenades at a police station in the center of the city. A U.S. soldier was wounded.

This just in to CNN, U.S. officials confirm that a roadside bomb found in Baghdad contained sarin gas.

Joining us now with details, our national security correspondent, David Ensor -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you may recall that this was the initial test result that the field test got, that this artillery shell, 155-millimeter artillery shell that had been used by insurgents attempting to use it as a roadside bomb against American troops.

That a field test has showed there was sarin gas, a nerve agent, inside that shell. They sent it back here to the United States for additional testing, and U.S. officials now say those tests have confirmed that the nerve agent sarin was indeed in that shell.

Now, that -- immediately raises the question, how many more shells like it are there in Iraq? And clearly, that will be the main task or one of the main tasks now before the Iraq survey group, which is the group of military and intelligence personnel in Iraq, headed by a CIA man, who are looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

This find, now confirmed, will help the president in the sense that it helps with his argument for going to war. It may raise some additional concerns for security of troops -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David, in terms of the big picture, does this now suggest that the Iraqis, Saddam Hussein, did have WMD's before the war?

ENSOR: It does suggest that, yes. However, there may be very small quantities. This may not be a new artillery shell. This could go back to the '80s. It's in at least one shell, though, that's for sure -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor, with this information just coming in. Thanks very much. Sarin gas confirmed in that shell.

More security in a presidential inauguration. We have new information on why the Washington mall will be prepared for disaster.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL BERNSTEIN, JOURNALIST: The Republicans ought to start looking critically at their president. The same way that courageous Republicans looked at Richard Nixon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Critical comparison. What journalist Carl Bernstein is now saying about President Bush and former President Richard Nixon.

Rising river, severe storms in the Midwest create as major mess for residents. We'll go there live.

And toxic cloud hovering over a suburban Atlanta area. Residents breathing potentially dangerous chemicals right now. We'll have an update on the situation.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: After years of planning, the national World War II memorial will be dedicated this weekend on the Washington mall.

CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve reports that because of the high profile of the event, security will be intense -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a homeland security official says the security is greater for this dedication than for any other event on the national mall ever. Although officials say there is no specific and credible threat information, this large and symbolic gathering involving presidents past and present is the first in a series of pre-election events officials fear terrorists could try to disrupt.

Security planning has been under way for more than a year. More than 35 federal, state and local agencies will provide approximately 1,000 law enforcement officers and special report and response teams.

Chemical and biological sensors on the mall will be supplemented with radiological monitoring. The Coast Guard will patrol the Potomac River. Immigration and customs enforcement will police the air space, which is already closed. Canine explosive teams will be in wide use.

The security will be tightest in the inner perimeter around the monument itself. But all visitors are being told to leave backpacks and large coolers at home.

Almost as big a concern as security, the health of those attending. Emergency medical personnel will be in the subway, in first aid tents, on bicycles with defibrillators.

Heat exhaustion and heart attacks are the greatest concerns. But organizers believe they are prepared to do a mass evacuation if necessary -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve with us. Thanks very much, Jeanne.

False accusations against an Oregon lawyer raise new questions about the FBI and the way it uses fingerprint evidence. We'll take a closer look at the controversy and its important implications.

Rivers are rising in Chicago suburbs. We'll have a live report on the battle against the water.

And tornadoes hit the Midwest. We'll tell you about the destruction and what happened to two girl caught in the storm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're just getting these pictures in from St. Louis, Missouri. You are looking at Interstate 55.

Look at this, the flooding in that part of the country right now pretty serious. This car trying to get through. This is dangerous to try to do this. Series flooding in the St. Louis area.

St. Louis not alone by any means. Right now, the Des Plaines River is still rising in Chicago's northern suburbs, following several days of heavy rains.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim is in Gurnee. That's in Illinois. He's joining us live -- Keith.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. The village of Gurnee is about 40 miles north of the city of Chicago. And it's actually a tourist destination, partly because of a big amusement park here, Six Flags, Great America.

If you take a look behind me you can see that right now a section of Gurnee is better known for its impassable streets. And the rising water of the Des Plaines River that don't seem to quit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Take a walk in the floodplain of Gurnee, Illinois, and you'll find yourself surrounded by water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's never been this bad. About maybe three years ago it was flooded but not nearly this bad.

OPPENHEIM: By late Tuesday the floodwaters are expected to get as bad and as high as they've ever been, breaking a record set in 1986 when the Des Plaines River caused millions of dollars in damage.

Brian Campbell lived through that flood. His home got hit again this time, but he says he had more warning.

BRIAN CAMPBELL, RESIDENT: Our house is 100 years old. It's a brick foundation. So we got water coming in through the foundation like crazy.

OPPENHEIM: Hundreds of volunteers have made a difference, sand bagging and trying to prevent the water from getting inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It costs a lot of money. It creates a lot of damage. And there are some new residents that aren't used to it, unfortunately, and this has been pretty heart wrenching for them.

OPPENHEIM: Heart wrenching for nearly two dozen families who had to evacuate and can only wait until the floodwaters recede.

The rise of the river was caused by rain. Five inches since Saturday. And some residents said they just didn't expect a crisis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never know when, you know. Like, last one we had no warning. This one we had a little warning. But, yes, it's got to be hard on people, lose stuff all the time in floods.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIMER: Wolf, there is some good news, if you can call it that. And that is that the Des Plaines River here in Gurnee is expected to crest early. Instead of tomorrow, it will crest tonight.

And that means by tomorrow some of this water could start to pull back, recede, and that will give people an earlier opportunity to recover.

But the water here is also expected to move downstream, so in communities like Des Plaines and Riverside, folks are pretty anxious about the damage that they see here and they expect it to come down there within a day and a half to two days.

Wolf, now back to you.

BLITZER: All right. Keith Oppenheim, let's hope for the best over there. Thanks very much.

Other parts of the Midwest are cleaning up from tornadoes. This is one of the four tornadoes that hit the Chillicothe, Missouri, area last night.

Two girls were in a mobile home that was picked up by a tornado and dropped on a car. But remarkably, they escaped with minor injuries.

A twister knocked out power in Albany, Missouri, and damaged several buildings. A medical center was damaged, forcing the transfer of patients to other hospitals.

Positive news from Wall Street, fueled by a change in oil prices.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNSTEIN: What I'm suggesting is, is that the blind Pavlov-like obeisance to this president, by the Republican Party, is hurting the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Comparing President Bush's administration to that of President Nixon. My interview with Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist, Carl Bernstein.

Images of abuse inside Abu Ghraib prison. And new hot selling blockbuster in Baghdad. A surprising story from Iraq that we will have for you.

Plus this...

Turn down the salad. This unique orchestra is fresh from the garden. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting today from New York.

One of the journalists who broke the Watergate scandal now is making some comparisons between President Bush and President Nixon. I'll speak with Carl Bernstein. We'll get to that.

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

Prices for crude oil dropped today, pushing stocks to their biggest percentage gain since March. The Dow Jones industrials jumped almost 160 points, closing above 10000. The Nasdaq composite was up almost 42 points. The S&P 500 was also up, pushing past 1100.

The governor of New Mexico wants a federal order grounding heavy air tankers used to fight wildfires rescinded. A blaze burning through the Lincoln National Forest for the past 10 days has destroyed 20,000 acres of forest. A second fire 50 miles away has burn through 4,700 acres.

With the U.S. transfer of power to Iraq fast approaching, a crucial issue remains a source of confusion. Just who will command American forces in the country?

Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is joining us now live with more on that -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you heard President Bush last night say that American troops will be under American command and have clear rules of engagement.

But there's already some confusion. If, for instance, the U.S. wanted to launch an operation in Fallujah, as it did recently, when Iraqi Governing Council was opposed to it, who gets the final say? Well, today, Britain's prime minister suggested that the new Iraqi interim government would have a veto.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: ... that they will have a veto.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If there's a political decision as to whether you go into a place like Fallujah in a particular way, that has to be done with the consent of the Iraqi government. And the final political control remains with the Iraqi government. Now, that's what the transfer of sovereignty means.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: But the U.S. insists it will have a final say on launching military action if it's in the U.S. interests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: If it comes down to the United States armed forces protecting themselves or in some way accomplishing their mission in a way that might not be in total consonance with what the Iraqi interim government might want to do at a particular moment in time, U.S. forces remain under U.S. command and will do what is necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Powell seeming to say that the U.S. will do what it has to do, but he also says that this will all be worked out in a U.N. resolution. And he insists, Wolf, it's no big deal. It's something they will be able to work through -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, now, Jamie, on another matter, Ricardo Sanchez, the U.S. general, the top commander on the ground in Iraq, he's expected to rotate out, step down from that position. Any indication why and who might replace him?

MCINTYRE: Well, the Pentagon insists that it is no way related to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, that General Sanchez was scheduled to rotate out anyway as part of a plan to restructure the U.S. military after the transition. They will put a new four-star general to work alongside the U.S. ambassador. That will be General George Casey, if the president recommends him, as is expected.

He is the current vice chief of staff of the Army. And then Sanchez's deputy, Lieutenant General Metz, will take over his specific job of being the ground commander.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thanks for that.

For many Iraqis, one of the major issues isn't who will command American forces in their countries, but the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American troops. And one of the hottest selling items in Baghdad markets right now are C.D.s containing those graphic images of abuse.

CNN's Guy Raz reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the pirated copies of "Rocky IV," "Titanic" and "Terminator," a new blockbuster in Baghdad. "American Army" sits prominently in shelves inside a Baghdad street market. Men gather in silence to watch, a voice-over of an imam extolling viewers to fight against Americans, crusaders, and Zionists.

"I came to the market to look for it," says Sabri Nasr (ph). "Now that I have it, I can see it with my own eyes," he says, "see the crimes committed by the Americans against the Iraqi people." And it only costs 50 cents. "I'm selling them," he says, "so people can see the American methods of torture." Ali Abdel (ph) says he sold more than 6,000 copies. To his customers, the pictures simply reinforce a common viewpoint.

"At first, we were very happy with the prospect of democracy and freedom," says Hasan (ph), "but now look at what has come with this freedom and democracy." It's a similar refrain heard here outside Abu Ghraib prison, a three-day vigil called by a local Islamic group to welcome newly released prisoners. This man just out says he was able to see the pictures on the inside in Iraqi newspapers.

When we saw the pictures, he says, "All the prisoners rallied together and shouted, God is great, because we felt humiliated. We Iraqis are a proud people." This prison perhaps soon to become only a memory. But whether Abu Ghraib is dismantled or not, the memory won't easily be erased.

Guy Raz, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: As reporters for "The Washington Post" in the mid- 1970s, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward wrote about the Watergate scandal, which eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Writing in "USA Today" yesterday, Bernstein said he now sees parallels between President Nixon's problem with Watergate and President Bush's problem with the Iraq prison abuse scandal.

I spoke with Carl Bernstein here in New York just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Carl Bernstein, thanks very much for joining us.

You wrote a powerful piece in "USA Today" and you make a very damning comparison. You say this: "Like Richard Nixon, this president decided the Constitution could be bent on his watch." What specifically are you referring to?

CARL BERNSTEIN, AUTHOR/JOURNALIST: Well, I think regarding the detention and questioning of detainees, one.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Where in the Constitution does it say that you can't detain?

BERNSTEIN: Constitutional rights traditionally are extended to suspects, to combatants, to noncombatants in this country. They haven't been. The Patriot Act has very serious constitutional questions. I think

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Well, let me interrupt. The Patriot Act was passed overwhelmingly...

BERNSTEIN: Right.

BLITZER: ... by the House and Senate, signed into law by this president of the United States. Where is he violating the Constitution?

BERNSTEIN: I think that the courts would find problems with the First Amendment involving the Patriot Act. We will see if it is upheld in the long run.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: But, as of now, the courts have not yet decided.

BERNSTEIN: No, they haven't. But it's in the court.

I think that this president does not respect the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. He's not a conservative in the tradition of Barry Goldwater, who believes in the absolute strict construction of what the founders intended in terms of freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom really not to abuse people, as we have done in these questionings.

BLITZER: But the point that you are trying to make, I think, is that this president should be responsible for what happened at the Abu Ghraib prison and that he should accept responsibility.

BERNSTEIN: I think I make a much broader point in the piece.

And that is that Republicans ought to start looking critically at their president, the same way that courageous Republicans looked at Richard Nixon, not because George Bush is a criminal, but because George Bush's competence and honesty have been called into question by this disastrous war.

BLITZER: But we're only a few months away from an election. The American people will decide November 2 whether he should be allowed to stay in office.

BERNSTEIN: Absolutely. I'm not suggesting he should be impeached.

What I'm suggesting is, is that the blind, Pavlov-like obeisance to this president by the Republican Party is hurting the country, because there are serious questions about this war that need to be raised, that have been raised a little bit by Richard Lugar, the Republican chairman of Foreign Relations Committee, by John McCain, by Chuck Hagel.

But I think that the blind following of a leader who has taken us to war in a country where we are supposed to be fighting terrorism, where there was no terrorism to begin with -- it was -- I have been to Iraq. It was a totalitarian, authoritarian state, but not a terrorist state. Now we have -- instead of containing terrorism, we have unleashed terrorism.

BLITZER: So the bottom line -- and a lot of our viewers, of course, remember you and Bob Woodward broke the Watergate story. So you're making an analogy comparison with Richard M. Nixon. What are you saying, that this president is worse than Nixon?

BERNSTEIN: No. No. I think they are apples and oranges, totally apples and oranges.

Richard Nixon was a criminal president of the United States. George Bush is a president of the United States who has taken us to war in a not straightforward and honest way, who has led us into a situation where, you know, let's take a look at what George Will said. I think let's look at the conservatives.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: You know John Dean, who was the White House counsel, he's written a book saying that this is worse than Watergate. Do you agree with John Dean?

BERNSTEIN: I think they are apples and oranges. I think, however, the long-term implications of this war in terms of the security of the United States are worse than Watergate, worse than Vietnam.

In Vietnam, we weren't being attacked on our own soil. We weren't spreading terrorism, which this war has done through Europe by giving terrorists an excuse. This president, I believe, began very smartly with a war on terrorism in Afghanistan, the right place. But Iraq? This is a war that was conceived in ideology.

BLITZER: Just to nail this down, you are not saying he should resign. You're not saying he should be impeached. You're not going that far.

BERNSTEIN: I'm saying that Republicans ought to lead the questioning to find out what this president has done, what were his policies that he knew of regarding the questioning of these prisoners.

If you take a look, there was a memo written in January of 2002, or it might be 2003, from the counsel to the president, saying that he believes that the -- that he doesn't need, the president does not need to follow the Geneva Accords and that they are quaint, to use the language of the memo. And the president accepted this.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Well, those were for the terrorist suspects who weren't wearing uniforms, who were not traditional combatants in that sense.

BERNSTEIN: The people who are in Abu Ghraib are not wearing uniforms. They are not combatants in the traditional sense.

BLITZER: Right.

BERNSTEIN: They are exactly the kind of extraconstitutional, extracombatants that ought to be protected, not abused, and whose abuse is a result partly of these policies. I just -- I want to go to one last...

BLITZER: We don't have time really for George Will.

BERNSTEIN: Sure.

BLITZER: But a lot of our viewers probably remember that -- I think we just have to wrap it up.

Carl Bernstein, thanks for joining us.

BERNSTEIN: Great.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Secret investigations and indefinite detentions, why the story of Oregon attorney Brandon Mayfield is raising new questions about the treatment of material witnesses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The FBI's latent fingerprint unit will be reviewing its current practices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Fingerprint flap. How did modern technology used in the Mayfield case produce completely inaccurate results?

Toxic cloud, dangerous chemicals forcing hundreds of evacuations in the Atlanta area.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Portland lawyer Brandon Mayfield was detained for two weeks, then released with an apology. This case is again raising serious questions about the material witness statute.

Let's go live to Washington. Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena, standing by -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the material witness statute allows the government to detain individuals without charging them. All the government has to prove is that the person may have information that is helpful to a grand jury investigation.

Now, it's not a new statute, but it is definitely getting new attention.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): Portland lawyer Brandon Mayfield says his time in detention as a material witness was humiliating.

BRANDON MAYFIELD, ATTORNEY: In my estimation, it's an abuse of the judicial process.

ARENA: Government officials say Mayfield was held because initially his print matched a copy of a print found near the scene of the Madrid train bombing. And court documents show he had $10,000 in wrapped $100 bills in his safe deposit box, which the government says could be used to leave town suddenly, valid reasons, some say, for a material witness warrant.

ALICE FISHER, FORMER DEPUTY ASST. ATTORNEY GENERAL: People don't understand that these are things that are signed off on by a federal court and that a judge reviews the entire process and that it is something that is not just new to this terrorism investigation, but that has been used for years.

ARENA: Mayfield argues, keeping him from his family for two weeks with the general prison population was unfair. And critics say the government has abused the material witness statute since September 11. ANJANA MALHOTRA, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: What the government is actually doing underneath that is arresting people it believes are suspects. And the Constitution guarantees that people who are arrested as suspects have a whole panoply of rights under the Constitution so they are not wrongfully abused.

ARENA: The government isn't saying exactly how many individuals have been held as material witnesses since September 11, citing grand jury secrecy rules. In response to congressional inquiries, though, the Justice Department would only say fewer than 50 were held in the course of the September 11 investigation through January of 2003.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: So far, the government's use of the statute has been upheld by the courts, but critics say that they are waiting for just the right case to challenge that law again -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena in Washington, thanks very much.

And joining us now with more on how the FBI got it wrong on the fingerprints in the Brandon Mayfield case, CNN's Brian Todd, joining us live -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the FBI is now reviewing some of its fingerprinting practices, after what most observers agree was a disaster in the Brandon Mayfield case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): A ridge, a dot, a spur, important features on a fingerprint that can make all the difference in nailing down a case. But in Brandon Mayfield's case, all the FBI's sophistication led the agency to the wrong man.

ROBERT JORDAN, FBI: The FBI regrets the hardships that this matter has placed upon Mr. Mayfield and his family.

TODD: How could the fingerprint evidence have been botched in this case? From near the wreckage of bombed-out trains in Madrid, Spanish agents lifted an unidentified latent fingerprint. That's one not visible to the latent eye. They transmitted a digital image of that print to the FBI.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: The U.S. got the image of this print from the Spanish. They ran it through their -- supposedly the best system in the world right now, the IAFIS system.

TODD: IAFIS, or Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, a supercomputer that compares an unidentified print to a database of millions of known prints. From that comparison, IAFIS produce a short list of potential matches, usually between six and 12. These are based on what experts call points of identification or points of minutia, essentially, any similar characteristics between prints. That's where human fingerprint examiners come in, to try to match up the new print with those from the computer's short list. In this case, FBI analysts made the link to Mayfield based on military and criminal prints of him on file and brought in an outside expert who verified it. But last week, Spanish investigators said the print matched that of an Algerian man. So the FBI sent a team to Spain to compare the digital image they had with the actual print. The result, disaster.

JORDAN: Upon review, it was determined that the FBI identification was based on an image of substandard quality.

TODD: We spoke to two forensic experts and a former FBI special agent in charge, who all say the reliance on partial latent fingerprints for matches is a mistake.

In the Mayfield case, the problem was compounded when the FBI first got only a digital image of a latent print. But critics point to other systemic problems.

LAWRENCE KOBILINSKY, PROFESSOR OF FORENSIC SCIENCE: The real issue is that there is an insufficient amount of attention and money spent toward fingerprints. We need national standards.

TODD: Responding to those points, an official with an FBI fingerprint unit told CNN they don't need standards for a number of identical characteristics to be matched because they look at the entire picture, all the shapes and ridges in a print. He said the agency's experts are put through two years of rigorous training and he's got no problem with the funding.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Now, with all its flaws, experts say the real strength in the system, with the use of IAFIS, investigators can narrow down potential matches now with dramatic speed -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd in Washington -- thanks, Brian, for that explanation.

A huge toxic cloud covering over suburban Atlanta right now. A chemical fire sends chlorine-laced smoke billowing into the air. We'll go there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A huge chemical fire that broke out before dawn continues to burn in suburban Atlanta.

CNN's David Mattingly has this update from Conyers, Georgia -- David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we keep watching that swirling yellowish cloud of smoke behind me looking for some sign that this fire might be slowing down.

But we are now in the 14th hour of it and it is still going strong, going strong after starting in the wee hours of the morning literally with a bang.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY Involve Between 3:30 and 4:00 in the morning, a loud explosion startled the city of Conyers, Georgia, east of Atlanta. And soon an ominous plume of smoke billowed eastward, at times blocking out the morning sun.

DAVID GATTIS, EVACUEE: I walked outside and saw the haze, just the thick smoke coming over the top of my house. I walked in, turned on the news and saw it on television and saw that everything was going literally right over my property.

MATTINGLY: A warehouse full of chlorinated compounds used to treat swimming pools burned out of control. There were no mandatory evacuations. Still, hundreds sought out local shelters.

LATRELLE WILSON, EVACUEE: I thought it would just be a few hours. And it never occurred to me that it might be all night tonight, Because I didn't bring a toothbrush or anything.

MATTINGLY: Twenty-eight people were admitted at area hospitals for respiratory problems, none serious. Airborne chlorine can also cause eye and skin irritation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is closed.

MATTINGLY: A 26-mile stretch of Interstate 20, the main east- west route for thousands of Atlanta commuters, was shut down temporarily due to poor visibility and air quality. According to firefighters, the chlorinated compounds continue to burn slowly and are proving extremely difficult to extinguish.

JOHN OXENDINE, GEORGIA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER: The hydro- chlorine is explosive. There are constantly explosions, small explosions going off in small containers. It just sounds like a gun going off every few minutes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: A pattern that is likely to continue well into the night. In fact, the latest word from the scene of the fire is that this fire will continue burning at the same intensity you see it right now, possibly until noon tomorrow -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Mattingly reporting on this fire in Georgia -- thanks, David, very much.

And the sounds of salad, that's our picture of the day coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day." Take a look at these numbers. Remember, this is not a scientific poll. A musical feast in Germany, it's our picture of the day. Look at this, the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra performing in Hamburg, of all places. Instead of traditional musical instruments, musicians use fresh pumpkins, carrots and other seasonal veggies. At the end of each performance, the leftovers are cooked into soup and served to the audience.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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